Difference between Perceived and Desired Leadership Styles : THE EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES

Describes a study which was conducted within the state headquarters of a statutory body of the Australian Federal Government. It measured the level of perceived and desired autonomy people either received or wished for in decision making, level of job satisfaction and level of organizational commitment. There was no relationship between the perceived participation level in decision making and the level of job satisfaction. The level of desired participation in decision making by the people in the enterprise was greater than their perceived level of participation. The absolute difference (dissonance factor) between the preferred and perceived styles of leadership was significantly related to various outcomes. The smaller the difference, the greater was the level of organizational commitment, the higher was job satisfaction and the higher the level of job tenure. Thus it could be argued that the dissonance factor is an intervening variable which, when low, leads to high job satisfaction and then on to other benefits. Thus managers might consider measuring leadership styles, both preferred and perceived, as well as job satisfaction when they conduct the organizational attitudinal surveys. This would allow more understanding of the job satisfaction measure and the level of desired and perceived levels of involvement of the workforce.