The relationships among emotional intelligence, leadership styles and performance of employees in enterprises in Ha Noi, Viet Nam

46 Relationship Between Employee Performance Leaders’ Emotional Intelligence ……… 51 Relationships among Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Styles and Employee Performance ……….. However,

i

LEADERSHIP STYLES AND PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES

IN ENTERPRISES IN HANOI, VIETNAM

_

A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School Southern Luzon State University, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

in Collaboration with Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

ii

iii

iv

I am deeply indebted to Dr Edwin Bernal and sincerely grateful for

his infinite patience, direction, support, wisdom, and guidance throughout

the completion of this research

Secondly, I would like to thank the following individuals for their

contributions and cooperation throughout the research:

• All the leaders and employees who took the time to complete

the questionnaires;

• Dr Nguyen Thanh Hai and Trinh Thi Hieu, from the International

Training Center of Thai Nguyen University, for their help and assistance;

• My colleagues in The University of Labor and Social Affair, for

their continuous encouragement and support, through the good and bad

times, and also for helping with the proofreading of the document

NGUYEN THI THU HUONG (ALICE)

v

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents, my

husband, my children, and all of my dear friends who instilled within me a

love of creative pursuits, science and language, all of which finds a place

in this the dissertation

NGUYEN THI THU HUONG (ALICE)

vi

PAGE

TITLE PAGE ……… i

APPROVAL SHEET ……… ii

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ……… iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ……… iv

DEDICATION ……… v

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……… vi

LIST OF TABLES ……… viii

LIST OF FIGURES ……… ix

LIST OF APPENDICES ……… x

ABSTRACT ……… xi

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ……… 1

Background of the Study ……… 3

Objectives of the Study ……… 6

Statement of the Problem……….… 6

Hypothesis of the Study ……… 7

Significance of the Study ……… 7

Scope and Limitations of the Study ……… 9

Definition of Terms ……… 9

II REVIEW OF LITERATURE ……… 13

Conceptual Framework ……….… 37

III METHODOLOGY 39 Locale of the Study ……… 39

Research Design ……… 39

Population, Sample and Sampling Designs ……… …… 39

Research Instrument ……… 40

Data Gathering Procedure ……… 42

Statistical Treatment ……… …….…… 43

vii

IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ……… 44

The Survey Respondents ……… 44

Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Employee Performance Leadership Styles ……… 46

Relationship Between Employee Performance Leaders’ Emotional Intelligence ……… 51

Relationships among Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Styles and Employee Performance ……… 55

Most Effective Leadership Style in Vietnamese Companies ……… 56

V SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 58 Summary of Findings ……… 58

Conclusions ……… 60

Recommendations ……… 60

REFERENCES ……… ……… 62

APPENDICES ……… 70

CURRICULUM VITAE ……… 98

viii

1 Sample and Response Rates ……… 45

2 The Distribution of the Participants in Terms of Gender … 45

3 The Distribution of the Participants in Terms of Company 46

4 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of Leadership

5 The Leadership Styles According to the Type of Company 48

6 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of Employee

ix

2.1 The Conceptual ……… 37

4.1 The Pie Chart of Leadership Styles ……… 47

4.2 Box Plot of Emotional Intelligence Scores ……… 53

x

A Leadership styles Questionnaire (Leader version) ……… 71

B Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (Leader version) … 74 C Leadership styles Questionnaire (Subordinate version) … 77 D Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (Subordinate version) ……… 80

E Employee Performance Evaluation ……… 83

F Emotional Intelligence Scoring Key ……… 86

G Employee Performance Scoring Key ……… 87

H Leadership Styles Scoring Key ……… 88

I Reliability Analysis ( Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Coefficients) ……… 89

J Covariance Matrix ……… 95

K The Results of Linear Regressions ……… 96

`

xi

Title of Research : THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG EMOTIONAL

INTELLIGENCE, LEADERSHIP STYLES AND PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES IN

ENTERPRISES IN HANOI, VIETNAM

Researcher : NGUYEN THI THU HUONG ( ALICE )

Degree Conferred : DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Name and Address

of Institution

: Southern Luzon State University Lucban, Quezon, Philippines and Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Adviser : Dr Edwin Bernal

Year Written : 2013

This study aims to determine the effect of leadership styles and

emotional intelligence on employee performance The subjects of this study

include 375 leaders and 730 subordinates in various enterprises in Hanoi,

Vietnam The data gathering questionnaire has two parallel forms, one for the

leaders to rate themselves and another one in which subordinates rate

their own performance as well as the leadership style and the emotional

intelligence of their leaders The leadership styles and emotional intelligence

were identified as the independent variables and the employees’ performance

as the dependent variable Data obtained from each of the research

instruments were then statistically analyzed Through linear regression

analysis it was concluded that there is a significant relationship

between leadership styles and employee performance However, only three

leadership styles – transactional leadership, transformational leadership and

charismatic leadership – were seen to have positive effects on the significant

subscales of employee performance In contrast, a visionary leadership style

xii

analysis showed that there is a positive significant linear relationship between

emotional intelligence and employee performance Moreover, these results

showed that a combination of the various leadership styles and emotional

intelligence of the leader proves more effective and enhances employee

performance However, out of four leadership styles, the visionary leadership

combine leader’ emotional intelligence has negative effect on employee

Finally, although emotional intelligence and leadership styles have

significant effects on employee performance, the emotional

intelligence-charismatic leadership had affected performance more than others

This research, therefore, adds a new dimension to employee

performance, leadership styles and emotional intelligence, since no study of

the same kind has been conducted in the recent past As this research takes

place in the Vietnam context, the findings of this study are expected to

provide relevant reference to business enterprises in strategizing their human

resource management, in developing the appropriate leadership style and in

cultivating emotional intelligence

Chapter I INTRODUCTION

In today’s global competitive market, human resource management

has been recognized to be playing a vital role in the productivity and efficiency

of an organization This is true not only of business organizations but also of

institutions in the service sector, particularly those of health and education As

more and more business organizations make their way toward progress, the

effectiveness of human resource development as a strategy for enhancing

productivity is increasingly accepted This realization is reflected in the

increased efforts of many private and public organizations to improve

employees’ performance through programs designed to develop their skills,

capabilities and potentials Moreover, to address problems that accompany

the increasing complexity of management and supervision, many

well-established organizations have created separate human resource (HR)

departments This HR section takes care of the organization’s hiring needs,

as well as the training and other physical and social needs of the staff

including the drafting of policies aimed at improving the efficiency of the

workers The institutionalization of effective policies is also a primary concern

of HR managers

The present concern of organizations for HR development emphasizes

the importance they attach to improving employees’ performance with the end

in view of maximizing productivity, efficiency and overall gain whether in terms

of monetary profit or services to consumers and users To the extent further

that harmonious relationship in the workplace is widely accepted as essential

to quality output, the development of the attitudinal and behavioral aspects of

staff performance has become an integral component of the HR development

agenda of most institutions It is also acknowledged that strengthening the

human relations aspect of organizational management involves all the actors

in the workplace: leaders and followers, superiors and subordinates, from the

top management to the lowest members of the organization

The above premise is anchored on the contention that quality

employee performance is the foundation of any successful organization

However, it is also recognized that there are other key factors that impact on

employee performance and contribute significantly to overall productivity This

research posits that leadership style, and emotional intelligence both exert

influence on employee performance in varying degrees, leading to significant

changes in the productivity and efficiency of an organization While these

three aspects may be assumed to contribute positively to the achievement of

organizational vision, mission and goals, it is the intention of this research to

conduct a deeper investigation of the magnitude of relationship that each of

the three factors of productivity bears on the other The emerging findings in

this research are expected to guide organizations’ management on the

strength of contribution of each aspect and, thus, help it to identify what

specific features to focus on in developing human resources It is also

envisioned that the usefulness of this research would transcend its worth in

business organizations since it would be of greater value for government

organizations, particularly, in relation to a nation’s efforts toward economic

growth

Background of the Study

This research focuses on enterprises operating in Hanoi, Vietnam At

this point, it is important to consider that the form of leadership, emotional

intelligence and level of employees’ performance are factors of organizational

efficiency that are largely influenced by the cultural and social milieu where

the enterprise is located This argument is supported by T Quang & N.Y

Vuong (2002) who described management style in an organization as

profoundly influenced by the social cultures in which it operates This seems

to show that relationships in the workplace are extensions of the cultural

system existing in the outside community

Many of the customs and practices of present day Vietnamese

enterprises may be explained by its deep cultural heritage that extends over a

period of 4000 years Northern Vietnam, especially, is strongly influenced by

the Chinese culture owing to a 1000-year period of dominance by Chinese

feudal rulers in the region

The Vietnamese people are by nature hospitable and hardworking

However, Vietnam’s history and geographic location present evidence of the

fact that the Vietnamese people share many of the cultural and business

practices of their Chinese neighbors In the words of Hofstede (1980), the

Vietnamese culture can be described as characterized by high power

distance, high collectivism, moderate uncertainty avoidance, and high context

(Swierczek, 1994; Quang, 1997; Ralston et al., 1999) High power distance

typical of daily life in Vietnam tends to be carried over to the business

workplace As sons and daughters are expected to obey parents’ orders, so

also in organizations, a clear line of authority is observed in

subordinate-superior relationship Titles, status, and formality are very important in the

Vietnamese society

Collectivism has depicted the Vietnamese people for a very long time

It is manifested in the existing tight social frameworks and self-functioning

communities People expect ‘in groups’ to look after their members to protect

them, and provide them with security in return for their loyalty Collectivism is

clearly manifested also in the Vietnamese people’s placing great value in

getting along well with others To maintain harmonious relationship within the

community, much effort is exerted to avoid losing one’s face

In the presence of conflicts, the Vietnamese would prefer to come out

with a win-win situation This is demonstrated in the Vietnamese people’s

display of moderate uncertainty avoidance They try to avoid ambiguous

situations by establishing more formal rules and rejecting deviant ideas and

behavior A distinctive feature of the Vietnamese society in avoiding

uncertainties is the use of indirect speech mainly for the intention of face

saving, a custom which may reflect the value placed on self-respect For

what seems to be regarded as a negative trait, the use of indirect discourses

is somewhat compensated by their very good sense of humor, surfacing often

in every opportunity and conversation

In terms of economy, Vietnam may be described as a nation in

transition and a country full of opportunities It has a large, young, dynamic

and highly literate population with a great potential to be developed as

manpower sources to attain high levels of sustained economic growth

(Quang, 2006)

Before 1986, Vietnam was a command economy dominated by large

bureaucratic State-owned enterprises (SOEs), an inefficient agricultural base

and small family businesses In the years beginning 1986, Vietnam

introduced profound economic reforms that aimed to transform the country

from a command economy into a market oriented one the so-called Doi moi

As a consequence, Vietnam substantially elevated its economy translated into

a higher living standard for the people It experienced a relatively modest

economic growth rate of over 7% (GDP) during the 1990s and early 2000s,

even reaching more than 8% in 2006 This development made Vietnam one

of the highest growing economies in the world in that period (World Bank,

2006)

Despite the promising economic growth induced by economic reforms,

Vietnam’s economy has suffered some inadequacies The Global

Competitiveness Report (GCR) for 2011-2012 showed Vietnam in the 65th

position out of a total of 142 countries The country dropped six spots from

the previous year, losing points in 10 of the 12 indicators considered by the

World Economic Forum (WEF)

For Vietnam to improve its ranking and become more competitive in

the global environment, experts assert the need to find out how Vietnamese

enterprises may be made to work more efficiently in order to raise their

productivity and, thus, contribute significantly to economic growth Toward

this end, an examination of the factors exerting positive influence on the

productivity of enterprises in Vietnam is deemed in order This research

addresses this concern

Objectives of the Study

The specific problems being investigated require the application of

reliable statistical methods that would prove the existence of significant

relationship among leadership style, emotional intelligence and employee

performance Hence, the following objectives are presented:

1 To statistically test the existence and the significance of relationship

between leadership styles and employee performance;

2 To statistically test the existence and the significance of relationship

between employee performance and leaders’ emotional

intelligence;

3 To statistically test any existence and the significance of any

relationships among emotional intelligence, leadership styles and

employee performance

Statement of the Problem

This research springs from a perceived need to find out what factors in

organizational management exert significant influence on the performance of

employees More specifically, this study attempts to examine the relationship

among leadership, emotional intelligence and employee performance by

addressing the following questions:

1 Is there any relationship between leadership styles and employee

performance?

2 Is there any relationship between the employee performance and

the leaders’ emotional intelligence?

3 Is there any relationship among emotional intelligence, leadership

styles and employees’ performance?

4 Which leadership style is most effective in Vietnamese companies?

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were statistically tested:

H1: There is a relationship between leadership styles and employees’

performance

H2: There is a relationship between employee performance and

emotional intelligence

H3: There is a relationship among emotional intelligence, leadership

styles and employees’ performance

Significance of the Study

There has been no known research regarding the relative

effectiveness of an emotionally intelligent transactional leader and an

emotionally intelligent transformational leader with respect to employee

performance in a Vietnam organization This study, therefore, aims to

investigate and explore the relationship among employee performance,

leadership and emotional intelligence in a Vietnam organization The results

of this study will serve the information needs of the human resource

development programs of enterprises in Vietnam Specific findings could

provide important inputs in developing guidelines for hiring and promotion,

performance evaluation, and drafting policy direction toward desired change

for better employee performance This study could also provide important

inputs in developing training programs on human relations through which

managers; supervisors and subordinates can have first-hand knowledge of

what it takes to enhance their performance as leaders and followers More

importantly, the outcome of this study would contribute to the improvement of

more complex government organizations in terms of effectiveness and

efficiency of service More specifically, the study will be significant to the

following:

Vietnamese Leaders This study offers empirical evidence to prove

the important role of leadership styles and emotional intelligence in the

workplace This information will help Vietnamese leaders improve their

leadership skills, enhance leadership effectiveness in their work, and help

Vietnamese enterprises to build strong and solid grounds at developing

strategies to improve effective use of human resources in order to increase

competitiveness and productivity in business

Employees in Vietnamese Enterprises The research output will

serve as an eye opener for hundreds of thousands employees in various

enterprises to be more observant of their managers’ and supervisors’

leadership styles and the level of emotional intelligence as a way of striking a

balance between superior – subordinate relationships in the workplace

Human Resource Managers and Headhunters in Vietnamese Enterprises The knowledge on the various theories and concepts relative to

emotional intelligences and leadership styles and the findings of this study

shall serve as aids to managers of HR departments and the recruitment

officers in providing inputs to management on how to effectively manage

people, and in strategizing at finding the most suitable person for a particular

job

Academic Institutions For the educators and the students, the

research output shall become a rich source of information and knowledge

about emotional intelligence, leadership styles and employee performance

Future Researchers For the researcher who would like to further

explore the vast opportunity for discovering more about emotional

intelligences, leadership styles and employee performance, and perhaps

duplicating the research in a particular industry and business sector, this

current research can become an important input for further studies

Scope and Limitations of the Study

One of the main limitations of the study was the dearth of information

on emotional intelligence as there has been very little study in Vietnam

conducted on this area The data generated by this research is limited to the

geographical area in Hanoi Another shortfall of the sample is that there were

no established differences between males and females regarding overall

emotional intelligence

Definition of Terms

For better understanding the following terms are conceptually and

operationally defined:

Emotional intelligence – as used in this study, emotional intelligence refers

to the qualities of a person that enable him to relate with others

harmoniously, both in the sociological and psychological sense, that

helps him to meet problems adequately within the workplace It means

being aware of his own feelings and those of his co-workers or

subordinates, being able to motivate them, capable of managing his

own emotions and not letting them adversely influence his decisions

related to work In this study, these qualities are gauged in terms of

specific behavioral and attitudinal manifestations, which are rated for

an individual along a seven-point Likert scale where 1 means “never

true” for this person and 7 means “always true” (see Appendix F for

the criteria used in the measurement)

Emotional Competency Profiler (ECP), as identified by Wolmarans, is a tool

used to measure emotional intelligence through seven (7) constituent

competencies: self-motivation; self-esteem; self-management; change

resilience; interpersonal relations; integration of “head and heart”; and

emotional literacy

Leadership – In the context of this study, leadership would refer to an

individual’s capacity to lead, guide, and provide direction to subordinate

employees in the pursuit of a common goal for their organization For

this research, the style or mode of leadership of an individual is

appraised in terms of a set of characteristics, behavior or attitude

measured along a seven-point Likert scale where 1 means “never true”

for this person and 7 means “always true” (see Appendix H for the

criteria used for measuring leadership)

Employee Performance – As used in this study, employee performance

involves a number of criteria used to measure how well an employee

carry out his task in the workplace In this research, seven (7) aspects

of employee performance were used, to wit: quality, productivity, job

knowledge, reliability, initiative/creativity, teamwork, and customer

The performance of an employee in terms of each of these criteria is

measured along a rating scale of 1-5 where 1 means “needs

improvement” and 5 means “exceptional” (see Appendix G for the

different indicators used to measure each performance aspect)

Transformational Leadership – Transformational leadership is used to

describe the type of leaders who improve followers’ accomplishments

and success by influencing their needs, values and attitudes for work

Transformational leaders effect a change in their followers’ beliefs,

values and behavior to align them with those of the organization The

transformational leaders may also motivate their followers towards

self-development and higher levels of personal success (see Appendix

H for the different criteria used in gauging the transformative style of a

leader)

Transactional Leadership – Essentially, transactional leadership refers to

motivating followers through a system of reward and punishment

Toward achieving a routine performance goal, a transactional leader

lays down what is required to be done in exchange for a reward when

what is desired is done Conversely, when the follower fails to do what

is required, punishment ensues In concrete terms, the reward may be

in the form of bonuses or a raise, promotion, or recognition, while

punishment may include demotion or removal of some benefits

normally given to those with satisfactory performance (see Appendix H

for the different criteria used in gauging the transactional style of a

leadership)

Charismatic Leadership – Charismatic leadership generally describes

leaders who, through sheer charm and grace, persuade followers to

react and to do something to please or emulate them Drawing

followers toward a charismatic personality or his interest may not

necessarily mean pursuing common goals for the organization This is

evident in some of the qualities of a magnetic leader as used in this

study such as instilling pride in others for being associated with him or

the display of a sense of power and confidence Other qualities

indicative of charismatic leadership may be found in the questionnaire

for leadership style (see appendix H)

Visionary Leadership: Visionary leadership refers to a leader who

optimistically perceives opportunities for success in the future as well

as the challenges likely to confront the achievement of goals Such a

leader also envisions positive steps toward future growth The visionary

leader also inspires his followers to pursue explicit actions for them to

make real contribution to the organization This description is

emphasized in this study in the following qualities: display of

confidence that goals will be achieved; talking optimistically about the

future; articulating an optimistic view of the future These qualities

were used to appraise the visionary character of the leadership in this

study (see Appendix H)

Chapter II REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This section presents an exhaustive review of relevant literature and

earlier studies supporting the need for the research and the investigation of

some factors perceived to be associated with employee performance Thus,

this review includes three important aspects of management: employee

performance, leadership style and emotional intelligence An extensive

discussion of these research variables is presented for a better understanding

of their definitions, meanings, categorization, labeling, and, most importantly,

the theories related to each variable and the relationships among them

Leadership

Bass (1990, in Bujang, 2012) posits that different leadership theories

try to establish the various factors at play in the emergence of leadership, the

nature of leadership, or the consequences of leadership In the same way,

Bujang (2012) cites Barling, Fullagar and Bluen (1983) observation that

these theories on leadership styles have been identified in relation to how

leadership is generally practiced

Traditional Leadership Approach

Hairuk Hisam Bin Bujang (2012), citing Senior (1997), notes that three

traditional leadership approaches have been developed over time: the trait

approach, the behavioral approach, and the situational/contingency approach

These approaches describe the various leadership dimensions and the

effects of such factors between leaders and followers (Senior, 1997, in

Bujang, 2012)

The first attempt on studying the nature of leadership at a theoretical

level was made as early as the 1900s when leadership trait model was

established (Bujang, 2012) According to Hershey, et al (1996), cited by

Bujang (2012), leadership studies prior to 1945 opined that there are

particular traits that leaders possess, which might be adaptable to different

situations The research has been instrumental in identifying several notable

traits innate in majority of leaders (Bujang, 2012) Bujang (2012), citing

Maude (1978), say that the trait approach “attempts to explain leadership

effectiveness in terms of the personality and psychological traits of the

leader” The following traits have been noted to be inherent to leaders:

emotional intelligence, an extroverted personality (charisma), dominance,

masculinity, conservatism, and being better adjusted compared to

non-leaders (Senior, 1997, in Bujang, 2012) Bujang (2012), supporting the

observations of Senior (1997), asserts that to strengthen this assumption,

various studies have cited emotional intelligence as key to a leader’s success,

as well as, a vital resource for groups

Bujang (2012), however, cited Bass’ (1997) observation that

researchers have been seeing others ways of assessing individuals aside

from traits, and considering instead the leaders’ behavior as contributor to

success or failure of leadership This is similarly noted by Swanepoel, et al

(2000), as cited by Hayward, saying that the decline in trait theories’

popularity has contributed to the development of alternative leadership

approaches

This development has given researchers new grounds for studying

leadership styles and approaches such as observing leaders’ behavior in

laboratory settings or asking individuals in field settings to describe the

behavior of persons in positions of authority, then applying different criteria

of leader effectiveness to these descriptions (Hayward, 2005) Hayward

(2005) notes that this resulted in the development of a leadership-behavior

model that helped establish the “behavioral school of leadership” This

particular model of leadership presupposes that behavior, and not the

personal characteristics of a leader influences followers (Shriberg, Lloyd,

Shriberg & Williamson, 1997, in Hayward, 2005) These recent developments

have made encouraged extensive research in the area of behavioral

approaches to leadership (Hayward, 2005) Among those more popular

behavioral leadership theories are Lewin, Lippit and White’s Theory

(1939), McGregor’s Theory (1960), the Managerial Grid Model of Blake and

Mouton (1964) and the Ohio State University of Michigan Models (Bass,

1990, in Hayward, 2005)

However, Hayward (2005) observed that one area of concern in this

particular leadership style model is the omission of situational factors on the

level of leader effectiveness Another concern noted by Senior (1997), cited

by Hayward (2005) is “whether one particular method of leading is

appropriate for all situations, regardless of the development stage of the

organization, the business environment in which it operates, or the type of

people employed by the organization” Additionally, the idea that there is only

one best way to lead has shifted and theorists started to give emphasis on

how a leader ought to behave in order to be effective (Senior, 1997, in

Hayward, 2005)

Hayward (2005), however, noted that there was dissatisfaction with

the trait and behavioral theories, and this, thus, gave rise to the

situational/contingency approach to leadership which is focused on how

leadership changes from situation to situation According to Mullins (1999)

and Swanepoel, et al (2000), this model presumes that effective leaders

know how to diagnose situations, can identify the most effective leadership

style for the situation, and has the ability to determine if they are capable of

implementing the required style (Hayward, 2005) Bass (1998) cites Fielder’s

Contingency Theory of leadership, the Path-Goal Theory of leader

effectiveness which embodies transactional leadership, Hersey and

Blanchard’s Life-Cycle Theory, the Cognitive-Resource Theory, and the

Decision-Process Theory as among those which are prominent in the

situational/contingency approach to leadership

The situational approaches paradigm to leadership was “a result of

attempts to build upon and improve the trait and behavioral

approaches to leadership” (Hayward, 2005) This also shifts the focus on

the importance of the situation as the dominant feature in effective

leadership, together with the leader and the followers, and establishes

the assumption that different environments may require different types of

leadership styles (Mullins, 1999; Hersey & Blanchard, 1988; in Hayward,

2005)

This particular approach is significant because it does not presume to

be an ideal leadership style Rather, it pays attention to a leader’s ability to

adapt to varying situations and environments Additionally, Hersey and

Blanchard (1988), as cited by Hayward, mentioned that situational

leadership studies both the leader and the followers’ behavior in different

situations They also argue that this is not about a specific best leadership

style, rather, they could be guides for managers’ best attitudes Hayward

(2005) also posits that acknowledging that there are different leadership

styles that might be effective for different development levels and different

types of situations is the significant highlight of the situational approach to

leadership

Recent Approaches to Leadership

While the mentioned approaches to leadership have been significant

in studies concerning organizations and leadership, criticisms on the

limitations of the trait, behavioral and contingency theories also abound

Given these issues on limitations, theorists tried to develop new styles and

approaches in the study of leadership styles, taking into consideration also

how organizations have been rapidly changing in previous years and the

need for styles that are more democratic in nature

This progress in leadership approaches contributed to the

development of four new views of leadership, namely: transactional

leadership, transformational leadership, vision leadership, and charismatic

leadership

Charismatic Leadership Theory

Charisma is defined as a “magical aura” which but a few leaders may

have (Sinha, 1995) Similarly, Max Weber, as cited in Sinha includes

charisma as one of the three (3) bases of authority, along with traditions and

rights and privileges, factors which Weber equate with a person’s heroism

and exemplary character These super human qualities, as reflected in a

person’s character, strength and skill, are, thus, tied to a leader who becomes

an icon who offers direction and inspiration, and who delivers his followers to

safety during a crisis or a catastrophic event

According to Sinha (1995), a charismatic leader ascribes significance

to his vision, speech, capacity to take risks and, most importantly, to the

emotions of his subordinates Robert J House, (in DuBrin, 1995) has

identified nine effects which charismatic leaders have on their followers,

namely: group member’s trust in the correctness of the leader’s beliefs,

congruence between the leader’s and the group’s beliefs, acceptance of the

leader, affection for the leader, willing obedience to the leader, identification

with and admiration for the leader, emotional involvement of the group

member in the mission, challenging goals of the group member, and belief in

the accomplishment of the mission These nine effects were later on

statistically clustered into the following three dimensions: referent power,

which refers to the ability of the leader to influence others with the help of his

desirable traits and characteristics; expert power, which refers to the ability of

the leader to influence others through his specialized knowledge and skills;

and job involvement, which refers to the ability of the leader to

encourage group members toward the accomplishment of the job (DuBrin,

1995)

According to Bass (1990) there are also five (5) types of charismatic

leaders: (1) socialized charismatic, a leader in pursuit of fulfilling the needs of

the group members and providing intellectual stimulation to them; (2)

personalized charismatic is a leader who offers consideration, help, and

support to group members only when it helps to achieve their own goals; (3)

office holder charismatic is a leader who owns respect and recognition

through the office or status he holds, not because of his personal

characteristics; (4) personal charismatic, a leader who exerts influence on

others owing to his personal traits and skills, not his high status or position;

and (5) divine charismatic, a leader who is believed to be endowed with a

gift or divine grace

Transactional Leadership

Bass and Avolio (1997) describe the transactional leadership style as

being based on traditional bureaucratic authority and legitimacy It is

observed that transactional leaders are able to encourage subordinates to

perform and, thus, achieve set goals with the promise of rewards and benefits

for the accomplishment of tasks (Bass, 1990) He describes the transactional

leader’s relationship with the subordinates as having three phases Firstly,

he recognizes what subordinates want to get from their work and ensures

that they get what they want given that their performance is satisfactory

Secondly, rewards and promises of rewards are exchanged for employee’s

effort Lastly, the leader responds to his employee’s immediate self interests if

they can be met through completing the work Senior (1997) posits that

leaders who implement structure and who are understanding towards their

employees are transactional leaders Similarly, Bass (1985:27) maintains

that transactional leaders have the capacity to reflect on how to marginally

improve and maintain the performance, how to replace one goal for

another, how to decrease resistance to particular actions, and how to

execute decisions For Bass (1985), this shows a type of leadership that puts

emphasis on the clarification of goals, work principles and standards,

assignments and equipment

The focus of transactional leaders are on task completion and

compliance, congruently, they rely on organizational rewards and

punishments to influence employee performance, with reward reflective on

the followers carrying out roles and assignments set by the leader (Bass &

Avolio, 2000; Mester, et al., 2003) The transactional leader, thus, also have

the power to change promises for votes and works within the framework of

the self-interest of his or her constituency (Bass, 1990)

In exchange for agreed upon services to be delivered by a

subordinate, a transactional leader follows a cost-benefit, economic

exchange to meet subordinates’ current material and physical needs

(Bass, 1985) Transactional leaders are, therefore, seen to have an

exchange-based relationship with their followers (Burns, 1978; Senior, 1997)

Bass (1985) maintains that transactional leadership uses satisfaction of lower

order needs as the leader’s basis for motivation It is also posited that the

central point of transactional leadership is on role elucidation The leader and

the follower have a supportive relationship in understanding precisely what

needs to be achieved in order to meet the organization’s objectives (Bass,

1985)

A transactional leader is able to define and communicate the work

that must be done by followers, how it will be done, and the rewards their

followers can expect for accomplishing goals and objectives (Burns, 1978, in

Bass and Avolio, 1990; Avolio, Waldman & Yammarino, 1991; Meyer &

Botha, 2000) Transactional leadership is also capable of either correcting a

problem or establishing an agreement that will lead to better results Brand, et

al (2000) also observe that transactional leadership makes work behavior

more instrumental for followers to reach their own existing goals, at the same

time contributing to the organization’s objectives and goals

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership has emerged as one of the most

extensively researched leadership paradigms to date (Bass, 1985) Hater and

Bass (1988) suggest that transformational leadership research might have

become self-sustaining given the positive results that continue to emerge on

the effects of transformational leadership

Transformational leadership focuses on the transformation of followers’

beliefs, values, needs and capabilities (Brand, et al., 2000) Yukl (1989, in

Kent and Chelladurai, 2001:204) defines transformational leadership as

the process of influencing major changes in attitudes and assumptions of

organizational members and building commitment for the organization’s

mission and objectives According to Bass (1994), transformational leaders

also teach their followers to become transformational leaders themselves

Hayward (2005), citing Cacioppe (1997), states that transformational

leaders encourage subordinates to adopt the organizational vision as their

own, through inspiration It is also widely accepted that transformational

leadership take place when people engage with each other in such a way that

leaders and followers raise each other’s levels of motivation (Burns, 1978, in

Hayward, 2005) These leaders similarly attempt to raise the needs of the

follower in congruence with their own goals and objectives, as well as

communicates a vision that inspires and motivates people to achieve

something extraordinary (Hayward, 2005) A transformational leader’s ability

to align people and the systems is also believed to contribute to the

establishment of integrity throughout the organization (Hughes, Ginnett &

Curphy, 1994, in Hayward, 2005)

Transformational leaders are also known for motivating employees rise

above ordinary expectations by appealing to higher order needs and moral

values Bass (1998) noted that this leadership has constantly shown

advantages on a range of individual and organizational outcomes, such as

objectives and performance The setting of more challenging

expectations and raising levels of self and collective efficacy has similarly

contributed to achieving significantly higher performance and commitment

levels from employees (Yukl, 1998; Arnold, Barling & Kelloway, 2001;

Hater and Bass, 1988 in Mester, et al., 2003)

However, while transformational leadership encourages common goals

and aspirations that tend to transcend followers' individual needs and

result in the accomplishment of significant transformation in work-place

effectiveness, it would be biased to see transformational leaders as the

exclusive participants in the process of leader-follower exchanges (Hayward,

2005) According to Bass, Avolio and Goodheim, (1987, in Hayward, 2005),

transformational leadership covers transactional leadership to attain

higher levels of subordinate performance, but accomplishes this by

employing various motivational methods and diverse types of objectives and

goals Barling, et al., (2000) also found that subordinates’ organizational

commitment was positively correlated with their supervisor’s transformational

leadership behaviors

Visionary Leadership

Visionary leadership is the ability to create and express a realistic,

attainable, and attractive vision of the future for organizations which

grow continuously Visionary leaders should create inspiring and

innovative visions for their organizations rendering them credible in the

eyes of the people in the organization at the same time

Visionary leaders are said to have three qualities which are related to

their effectiveness First, they have the ability to explain and articulate a vision

to others Second, they can express the vision not just verbally but through

behavior Third, they can communicate the vision through different leadership

contexts Robbins (1998) noted that this can be manifested by an

organization’s vision, through its leaders, appealing to employees in different

departments

Emotional intelligence

The concept of emotional intelligence cannot be said to be a new idea

Langley (2000) points out that there are suggestions that it was probably

Aristotle who first to mentioned the significance of emotions in human

interaction Aristotle believed that “those who possess the rare skill to be

angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right

purpose, and in the right way are at an advantage in any domain of life”

(Goleman, 1996 in Langley, 2000:177) However, Thorndike (1920), is

credited to have been the one to lay down the first real theory of emotional

intelligence through his writings, who presupposed that there were diverse

types of intelligence He identified three basic types of intelligences –

abstract, one that is measured through intelligence quotient tests; concrete,

which is used in understanding and manipulating objects and shapes; and

social, which he defines as “the ability to understand and relate to people”

This social intelligence is what is termed these days as emotional intelligence

The value of emotional intelligence and its place in an organization has

been well-studied in the past years Various theories have been proposed by

experts on the subject of emotional intelligence to shed light on the workings

of this concept and how it might affect the lives of employees

According to John Mayer and Peter Salovey (2005), emotional

intelligence refers to one’s ability to accurately identify and understand one’s

own emotional reactions and those of others, as well as, the ability to regulate

one’s emotions to use them to make good decisions and to act effectively In

a similar manner, Reuven Bar-On (1997), defined emotional intelligence as

being concerned with effectively understanding oneself and others, relating

well to people and adapting to and coping with the immediate surroundings to

be more successful in dealing with environmental demands

Daniel Goleman, on the other hand, posited that emotional intelligence

is the capacity to recognize one’s own and others feeling for motivating one

self and for managing one’s emotions, both within a group of individuals and

in their relationships with one another (Ashkanasy, et al., 2000) These

definitions, thus, present an overview that for an employee to perform

effectively on the job, he is supposed to possess emotional intelligence

abilities The employees who have the ability to manage their emotions in an

effective way are observed to be more successful on the job

To better understand the concept of emotional intelligence, theories

and models related to this matter were developed and conceptualized, and

divided into three categories, namely: ability model, traits model and mixed

model

Ability model of emotional intelligence describes emotional intelligence

as the “ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to

discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking

and actions.” Meanwhile, traits model of emotional intelligence includes

non-cognitive competencies such as self-esteem, self-actualization, general

mood, and general well-being Mixed model of emotional intelligence, on the

other hand, is a combination of ability model and traits model of emotional

intelligence The mixed model designates the idea that aspects of personality

and cognitive intelligence as significant factors in assessing emotional

intelligence (Schutle, 2006)

Reuven Bar-On (1997), taking emotional intelligence as a

springboard, later on developed the term “EQ” or “Emotional Quotient”, and

described his approach in evaluating emotional and social competence

Bar-On created the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), which is taken to be the

first test of emotional intelligence It was Daniel Goleman (1995), however,

who is thought to have brought the concept of emotional intelligence to

mainstream studies when he developed his own model of emotional

intelligence after reviewing the works of John Mayer and Peter Salovey

Recently, Wolmarans (2001) proposed constituent competencies of

emotional intelligence that were used to develop the Emotional Competency

Profiler (ECP) tool to help measure emotional intelligence Wolmarans (2001)

notes that the purpose of the ECP is to allow the individual to look at: (1)

emotional skills in a “mirror” through his own eyes; (2) behavior through the

eyes of other people, as indicated by the ratings of others; and (3)

strengths and development areas

The competencies measured by the ECP are based on a content

analysis of current leadership competency requirements as outlined by

various authors and service providers (Wolmarans, 1998) The ECP tool

divides emotional intelligence into seven constituent competencies or

clusters: self-motivation; self-esteem (and self-regard); self-management;

change resilience; interpersonal relations; integration of ‘head and heart’; and

emotional literacy (Wolmarans and Martins, 2001)

Self-motivation refers to the ability to create a challenging vision and

set goals, and is also the ability to remain focused and optimistic despite any

setbacks that may occur in obtaining set goals Self-motivation means taking

action every day and remaining committed to a particular cause Finally,

self-motivation requires taking responsibility for one’s successes and failures

(Wolmarans and Martins, 2001) Self-esteem, meanwhile, refers to “an

honest, objective and realistic assessment of, and respect for, one’s own

worth as an equal human being” (Palmer, et al., 2005:10) Having self-esteem

includes unconditional, non-defensive acceptance of one’s talents, values,

skills and short-comings According to Wolmarans and Martins (2001), a high

self- esteem is manifested by one’s ability to have the courage to stand by

one’s values in the face of opposition, as well as the ability to admit mistakes

in public and even possibly laugh at oneself, if and when appropriate

Self-management refers to the ability to manage stress and harness energy in

order to create wellness and a healthy balance between body, mind and

soul, without neglecting one in order to gratify another The concept of

self-management is displayed through the ability to remain calm during

conflict and provocative situations, while at the same time keeping

defensiveness to a minimum and ultimately restoring rationality with the

aggravated party (Wolmarans and Martins, 2001)

Change resilience, on the other hand, indicates one’s ability to remain

flexible and open to new ideas and people, encourage the necessity for

change and improvement, but at the same time considerate of the possible

emotional impact that this change may have on other individuals “An

advanced level of change resilience is demonstrated by an ability to

cope with ambiguity, to thrive on chaos, without forcing premature

closure, and to get re- energized by the beautiful scenes encountered

along the way, as well as the anticipation of the unknown” (Wolmarans

and Martins, 2001 in Palmer, et al., 2005:11) Interpersonal relations are

characterized by an intuitive understanding of people, and a deep level of

caring and compassion for them This presupposed that one needs to have a

real concern for other people’s well-being, growth and development, as well

as sincerity in taking pleasure in and recognizing other people’s success

Interpersonal relations involve motivating others by setting high expectations

and encouraging them to commit to a cause It also includes the ability to be a

team leader as well as a team contributor to achieve set goals A high level of

interpersonal relations is demonstrated through a person’s ability to connect

with others on an emotional level and the capacity to build trust and loyalty

in order to sustain long-term relationships (Wolmarans & Martins, 2001)

The integration of ‘head and heart’ is the ability to access the functions of

both sides of the brain This involves using one’s head and one’s heart – or

the facts as well as feelings and emotions – in order to make decisions and

solve problems An ability to turn adversity into opportunity and to make

intuitive and implementable breakthroughs during moments of crisis

demonstrates an advanced integration of ‘head and heart’ (Wolmarans and

Martins, 2001) Wolmarans’ (2001) model of emotional competence is

particularly relevant to this research study as it was developed for use in the

Vietnam context, and is a statistically validated emotional intelligence

assessment tool

Employee performance

The topic on performance is not a straightforward one (Corvellec,

1995, in Hayward 2005) Organizations are commonly evaluated by its

performance In fact, “performance” is utilized extensively in all fields of

management However, despite the extensive usage, its precise meaning is

seldom clearly defined even by authors writing about the subject

Hayward (2005) noted that in the workplace, performance is oftentimes

identified or equated with effectiveness and efficiency (Neely, Gregory and

Platts, 1995) He also mentioned Corvellec’s (1995) statement saying that

performance is a relative concept defined in terms of some reference

employing a complex set of time-based measurements of generating future

results Individual performance can also be defined as actions and behaviors

that individuals do which are linked to company goals (Campbell, et al.,

1993)