The impact of paternalistic leadership on organizational outcomes : a study of Singapore-based organizations.

• Main Authors: Chan, Lena Sock Jing., Lim, Vivian Zhi Hui., Tan, Wei Xin.
• Other Authors: A Ahad M Osman-Gani
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Management::Organizational behavior; DRNTU::Business::Management::Leadership
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/15296
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The need to adopt appropriate leadership styles in order to achieve the desired organizational outcomes is more evident now because of the increasing effects of globalization. In order for organizations to survive in the present global economic slump, the need to have effective leaders is even more crucial. Despite research had shown the use of Paternalistic Leadership in the Asian context, little had been done to empirically examine the impact of this leadership style, and its three aspects, Benevolent Leadership, Authoritarian Leadership and Moral Leadership, and the organizational outcomes. Most of the previous researches have been conducted in the Western context, and there appears to be limited information on the generalizability of applying the findings to a predominately Chinese society like Singapore (Cheng, 2003). Guided by a conceptual framework, this study aims to identify the effects of Paternalistic Leadership and other related issues on various organizational outcomes such as Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Job Performance and Work-Family Conflict in Singapore-based organizations. This research used a survey approach to collect empirical data from supervisors/leaders and their respective subordinates working in Singapore-based organizations. A total of 140 supervisors/leaders questionnaires and 420 subordinate questionnaires were distributed of which 62 supervisors/leaders and 158 subordinate completed questionnaires were received. The results showed that only Benevolent Leadership had positive effects on subordinates‟ OCB. Job Performance of employees may increase when a leader adopts Paternalistic Leadership. However, Subordinates‟ Work Family Conflict may escalate when a leader adopts Authoritarian Leadership style. It was found that leaders adopt Moral leadership style in high Power Distance and high Collectivist culture. In addition, Transformational leadership style is only adopted in high Power Distance society. The detailed implications of these findings are discussed in the rest of the report.