DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF GHANA LEGON TITLE THE INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP STYLES AND EMPLOYEE PERSONALITY TRAITS ON WORK-RELATED OUTCOMES STUDENT AKUA AMANKWAAH BROBBEY (10181671) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY OF UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY (MPHIL) DEGREE IN INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY MARCH, 2016 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I, Akua Amankwaah Brobbey, do hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my research carried out in the Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon under the eminent supervision of Dr. Maxwell Asumeng and Dr. Adote Anum who are both my lecturers and supervisors. I further do declare that all research works cited in this study have been duly acknowledged. __________________________________ AKUA AMANKWAAH BROBBEY (STUDENT) DATE ______________________________ This thesis has been submitted for examination with the approval of: __________________________________ DR. MAXWELL ASUMENG (PRINCIPAL SUPERVISOR) DATE ___________________________ __________________________________ DR. ADOTE ANUM (CO-SUPERVISOR) DATE ___________________________ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ii DEDICATION I dedicate this research work first and foremost to God Almighty for successfully seeing me through the completion of this thesis. I also dedicate this research work to the Brobbey family for their immense support in diverse ways. And lastly to my friend Aseye and also to my husband Mr. Amoako Asante Kakra for their immense support and contribution towards this research. May God Almighty richly bless you all. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In undertaking such a study, I had to “stand on the shoulders of giants” to enable me achieve my aim. Such people I need to acknowledge. I am most grateful to them. I am highly grateful to God for bringing me this far in my university education. I thank Him for His countless favors and blessings which have been very instrumental in my academic accomplishments. Besides these giants, there are others who have encouraged and helped me along the way. I am particularly grateful to Dr. Maxwell Asumeng and Dr. Adote Anum, my supervisors, whose advice and directions have been of immense help to my study. In addition, I wish to acknowledge my respondents who spent time to assist me obtain the necessary information for this research. I am indeed grateful to them. Last but not least, I want to thank my family and friends for their immense support. Finally, I am thankful to all individuals who, in diverse ways, have contributed to the success of my university education. God bless you all. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE DECLARATION……………………………………………………………….…….…....i DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………...ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………………………….…iii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………….......iv LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………….vii ABSTRACT..........................………………………………...…………………………….viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………….………….…...….1 1.1. Background of study………………………………………….……..……...........….1 1.2. Statement of the Problem…………………………..…………….…..……..............10 1.3. Aims and Objectives of Study……………………………………...………..……..11 1.4. Relevance of study……………………………………………………………….....12 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………..…….................14 2.1. Introduction…………………………………………………..…………………………14 2.2. Theoretical Frameworks…………………………………..…………………………….19 2.3. Review of Related Studies…………………………………..…………………………..43 2.4. Rationale for the Present Study…………………………………..……………….……...45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v 2.5. Statement of Hypotheses………………………………………………..…..................45 2.6. Operational Definition of Terms………………………………………….…….….......46 2.7. Conceptual Framework ………………………………………………………………..47 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY……………………………………….…………...……….…………49 3.0. Introduction………………………………………………………………...………..49 3.1. Population……………………………………………………….……………….…..50 3.2. Sample size / Sampling Technique………………………………………….…..…...52 3.2. Participants……………………….………………………………………….…..…...53 3.4. Measures/ Instruments…………............…………………………………………….55 3.5. Research Design…….…………............…………………………………………….60 3.6. Pilot…….…………………………………….……….………………..…………….61 3.7. Procedure…………………………………….……….………………..…………….62 3.8. Ethical Considerations…………………………..…………………………..….........63 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS…………………………………..………………………...…….……………66 4.0. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………66 4.1. Preliminary Analyses…………………………………………...….………………..67 4.2. Hypotheses Testing…………………………………………...….……………….....68 4.3. Summary of Findings…………………...…………………….…………………….79 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vi CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSIONS…...…………………………………………………..…….……...…82 5.0. Introduction…………………………………………………………….……..….82 5.1. Discussion......…………………………………………………….......………95 5.2. Limitations of the Study...........................................................................96 5.3. Recommendations………………...………………………………..…………….96 5.4. Conclusion………………………………………………………………….……100 REFERENCES…………………………..…………………………….………..........101 APPENDIX…………………………………………………………………................112 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vii List of Tables Table Page Table 1: Demographic characteristics of the sample....................................................................54 Table 2: Descriptive Statistics and reliability indices of the study variables (N=178) …………………………………………………...........................................................................67 Table 3: Pearson Correlations among the studyvariables..............................................................68 Table 4(a) Hierarchical Linear Regression analyses on predictors of organizational Commitment .........................................................................................................................................72 Table 4 (b) Hierarchical Linear Regression analyses on predictors of Job Satisfaction ………..76 Table 5: Results of Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analyses for the moderation effect of Self- Efficacy in Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Organizational Commitment ............................ .......................................................................................76 Table 6: Results of Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analyses for the moderation effect of Self- Efficacy in Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Job Satisfaction ............................ ........................................ .................................................................78 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh viii ABSTRACT The study investigated the influence of transformational and transactional leadership styles and employee personality traits (locus of control and self-efficacy) on work-related outcomes. Work- related outcomes were defined in terms of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The cross-sectional survey design was employed. A total of 178 employees of First Capital Plus consisting of both males (n=87) and females (n=91) were asked to fill questionnaires that contained Work Locus of Control Scale, Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, and Job Satisfaction Scale. The Linear Regression test was employed to analyze the data. The results revealed leadership styles, locus of control, and self-efficacy as significant predictors of both job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In addition, self-efficacy moderated the relationship between transformational leadership and work related outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment). There were no significant gender differences in job satisfaction and organizational commitment. These findings have been discussed with relevant theoretical and empirical references. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study Work environments have become more complex and sophisticated in such a way that emphasizing on improving the human resource determines the success of the organization. Most organizations today face tremendous challenges from external environment, including an uncertain economy, continued globalization of markets, and rapidly advancing technology. Organizations are also facing major internal challenges, many of them resulting in restructuring, re-engineering and downsizing in the form of mergers and acquisition. With the increasing challenges resulting from internal and external environment, organizations can succeed by emphasizing on certain decisive factors that affect the work related outcomes of their employees (Kuchinke, 1999). Assessment of effective leadership styles and personality traits has therefore become more critical for employees’ work related outcomes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Earle, 1996). To run organizations smoothly, effectively and efficiently, the most valuable and indispensable factor organizations need is human resource (Mosadragh, 2003). Well-qualified and capable personnel are important in context of achieving goals and objectives of an organization. The success of an organization depends on hard working, loyal and involved managers and employees. Ulrich (2002) argued that the competitive edge of companies no longer lies in its product, but in its human resource. In this modern era where the world has become a global village, firms are considered to be competitive on the basis of the competence of their human resources. Studies have indicated that for performance to be optimal, an employee’s full potential is needed at all levels in organisations (Rothmann & Coetzer 2002). This is because it is University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2 somewhat a difficult task to handle people who are physically and psychologically detached from the organization. This throws more emphasizes on the issue of employee commitment and satisfaction on the job as critical in the success of any organization. 1.1.1. Work related outcomes (Job satisfaction and organizational commitment) The concepts of organisational commitment and job satisfaction have attracted considerable interest in an attempt to understand and clarify the intensity and stability of an employee’s contentment and dedication to the organisation (Lumley 2010). However, most of these researches have emanated from the western countries. In light of the fact that research on the relationship between job satisfaction and organisational commitment, particularly within the context of the Ghanaian financial sector appears to be limited, it is worthwhile to set out to add empirical research that unravels the underlining factors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in the Ghanaian context. Concerns about employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment are just as critical in the financial institutions as they are in other business sectors. Similarly, the motivation to investigate job satisfaction and organizational commitment among financial institution employees is similar to the interest of research concerning work related behaviours in industrial settings (McBride, 2002). Job satisfaction deals with an affective reaction to a job, based on a comparison between actual outcomes and desired outcomes (Mosadeghrad, 2003). A person with high job satisfaction appears to hold generally positive attitudes, and one who is dissatisfied holds negative attitudes towards their job (Robbins 1993). Job satisfaction is generally recognized as a multifaceted construct that includes employee feelings about a variety of both intrinsic and extrinsic job elements. It encompasses specific aspects of satisfaction related to pay, benefits, promotion, University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3 work conditions, supervision, organizational practices and relationships with co-workers (Miseneret al., 1996). Organizational commitment on the other hand is the psychological connection that individuals have with their organisation, characterized by strong identification with the organisation and a desire to contribute to the accomplishment of organisational goals (Meyer & Allen 1997). The level of employees’ organisational commitment will possibly ensure that they are better suited to receiving both extrinsic rewards (which include remuneration and benefits) and psychological rewards (which include job satisfaction and associations with fellow employees) related to the organization. Meyer and Allen (1991) conceive of organisational commitment as reflecting three core themes, namely affective, continuance and normative commitment. Affective commitment refers to the employee’s emotional connection to, identification with, and participation in, the organisation (Meyer & Allen 1997). Employees who are dedicated at an emotional level usually remain with the organisation because they see their individual employment relationship as being in harmony with the goals and values of the organisation for which they are currently working (Beck & Wilson 2000). Continuance commitment is regarded as the willingness of an employee to remain in the organization because of the perceived cost associated with leaving the organisation (Meyer & Allen 1997). Employees with continuance commitment remain with a specific organisation because of the money they as employees earn as a result of the time spent in the organisation, and not because they want to. Normative commitment on the other hand is based on an employee’s sense of responsibility to continue employment with a specific organisation (Meyer & Allen 1997). The normative element is seen as the commitment individuals consider morally appropriate regarding their remaining with a specific organisation, irrespective of how much status improvement or fulfilment the organisation provides the individual over the years (March & Mannari 1977). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4 1.1.2. Determinants of job satisfaction and organizational commitment Numerous studies have independently assessed the factors that influence job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Though evidence indicate that job satisfaction and organizational commitment are determined by managerial and personality factors (Fiedler & House, 1988), the inconsistencies in these findings as to the ultimate managerial and personality factors is a clear indication that important factors influencing job satisfaction and organizational commitment remain indeterminate. There is therefore the need for more empirical research to unravel the underlying factors of work related outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) among employees. This study assesses key leadership styles and employee personality characteristics that influence employees’ job satisfaction and their commitment to the organization. The study first examines how employee’s perception of transformational and transactional leadership affects their job satisfaction and commitment. It also assesses how employees’ personality factors such as their self-efficacy and locus of control serve as determinants of their job satisfaction and commitment. 1.1.3 Leadership styles as determinants of work related outcomes Stordeur, D'hoore, and Vandernberghe (2001) revealed that managerial behaviours such as style of leadership provide possible explanations to work related outcomes than other category of factors. Rizi, Azadi, Farsani and Aroufzad (2013) also found that among determinants of job satisfaction, leadership is an important predictor and plays a central role in determining employee’s behaviour for organizational effectiveness. Leaders, as the key decision-makers, determine the acquisition, development, and deployment of organizational resources, the conversion of these resources into valuable products and services, and the delivery of value to organizational stakeholders. Everyone is leading someone somewhere, but the question is where University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5 and how. A good leader is determined by the style of leadership one adopts. Leadership as a management function is mostly related to human resources and social interaction. Dependable and apposite leadership is crucial to the success of any organization (Spinelli, 2006). Leadership is the ability of a manager to influence, motivate, and enable employees to contribute toward organizational success (Rowe, 2001). The most substantial of leaders is their influential personality that has positive relation with the follower’s job satisfaction and the performance (Lian, 2011). Having acquired the human resources, there is the need to maintain and keep them together, it should be noted that every individual has his personal expectation for working in an organization. To this effect, the leader must employ the various ways of making sure that the employees stay at work, feel contented, ready to put in their best and that their expectations are met without neglecting the overall corporate objective(s) of the organization (Lussier & Achua, 2004). There is no generally accepted universal leadership style. Different leadership styles are needed for different situations. Managers can utilize various leadership styles to lead and direct their employees including autocratic, bureaucratic, laissez-faire, charismatic, democratic, participative, transactional, and transformational leadership styles. According to Goldberg (2002), no matter how one leads its members, the style adopted can be classified into one of two types of leadership styles. These are the transformational and the transactional leadership styles. Transformational leadership has received more empirical scrutiny in the organizational literature suggesting that it is positively related to work related outcomes than the transactional type of leadership style (Judge & Bono, 2000; Lowe & Gardner, 2000). Rizi, Azadi, Farsani and Aroufzad (2013) however indicated that it is not only transformational leadership that influence employees work related behaviours. They indicated that transactional leadership equally University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6 influences work related outcomes like that of transformational leadership style. There is therefore the need to do comparative studies of these two leadership styles to determine their relative effectiveness in predicting work related behaviours which has not been a major focus for some researchers (e.g., Lowe & Gardner, 2000; Rizi et al., 2013; Judge & Bono, 2000). Transactional leadership styles are more concerned with maintaining the normal flow of operations. Transactional leaders use disciplinary power and an array of incentives to motivate employees to perform at their best. A transactional leader generally does not look ahead in strategically guiding an organization to a position of market leadership; instead, these managers are solely concerned with making sure everything flows smoothly today (Moss & Ritossa, 2007). Transactional leadership helps organizations achieve their current objectives more efficiently by linking job performance to valued rewards and by ensuring employees have the resources needed to get the job done. Transactional leaders are considered to concentrate on compromise, intrigue, and control; therefore they are more likely to be seen as more inflexible, detached, and manipulative (Moss & Ritossa, 2007). Transformational leader on the other hand go beyond managing day-to-day operations and crafts strategies for taking his company, department or work team to the next level of performance and success (Moss & Ritossa, 2007). Transformational leadership styles focus on team-building, motivation and collaboration with employees at different levels of an organization to accomplish change for the better. Transformational leaders set goals and incentives to push their subordinates to higher performance levels, while providing opportunities for personal and professional growth for each employee (Moss & Ritossa, 2007). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 7 1.1.4. Personality factors as determinants of work related outcome It is not only the managerial behaviours that influence the work related outcomes of employees. Many research studies have increasingly reaffirmed the role of personality factors at work (House, Shane, & Herold, 1996; Mount, Barrick, & Ryan, 2003). Nonetheless, the increased interest in the role of personality at work is often restricted to the Big Five personality traits which include neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience (Caligiuri, 2000; George & Zhou, 2001; Hans, Mubeen & Ghabshi, 2013; Kristof- Brown, Barrick, & Franke, 2002). Consequently, personality traits which fall outside of these have gained little attention within organizational science literatures. There are a number of key personality traits that have been found outside the big five which have an influence on work related outcomes (Howell & Avolio, 1993). One of such key personality trait is that of internal versus external locus of control. 1.1.4.1. Locus of control personality factor Locus of control reflects the degree to which an individual perceives reinforcement as contingent upon his or her own behaviour or on some other person and/or external force. Spector (1988) described work locus of control as a personality variable and defined it as a generalized expectancy that rewards, reinforcements or outcomes in life are controlled either by one’s own action or other forces beyond the control of the employee. These rewards or outcomes include promotion, favourable circumstances, salary increases and general career advancement. Individuals who believe they can influence outcomes through their own abilities, efforts, skills and characteristics are designated as internals. Those who perceive that outcomes are contingent upon external forces such as luck, chance, fate and powerful others or are of the belief that University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8 events are unpredictable because of the many complexities in the environment are designated as of external orientation (Hans, Mubeen & Ghabshi, 2013). In the organizational setting, internal and external locus of control determines how employees approach work, both attitudinally and behaviorally. Because internalizers believe they are in control of affairs, they are more likely to be satisfied with what they receive and show higher level of commitment compared to externalizers who believe events in the organization and beyond their influence (Vijayashree & Vishalkumar, 2011). 1.1.4.2 Self-efficacy personality factor Another personality factor under consideration is self-efficacy. Self-efficacy has become an important variable within organizational research because of its association with various favourable or unfavourable consequences within the context of work such as performance, commitment, job satisfaction etc. however, the concept of self-efficacy as it relates to work has not received much preview because it fall outside the big five personality traits (Howell & Avolio, 1993). Self-efficacy is one’s belief in the likelihood that goal completion can be motivating in itself (Van der Bijl & Shortridge-Baggett, 2002). Self-efficacy is also the conviction that one can successfully execute a given behaviour required to produce certain outcomes. Perceived efficacy affects how people think, make choices, set goals, commit to the goals, put forth effort, anticipate outcomes from their efforts and persevere during challenging experiences (Bandura, 2006). Employees with low level of self-efficacy exert low effort and exhibit low level of commitment because they do not believe in themselves as capable of completing a task they set for themselves. Because employees with low self-efficacy do not believe they can accomplish University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 9 a task, they do not even set greater goals which accomplishment will lead to higher level of satisfaction (Mahajan & Kaur, 2012). 1.1.5. Interaction between leadership styles and personality factors The study on self-efficacy is not only important because it predicts work related outcomes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment, but because several studies have also reported findings of supervisor behaviour (leadership styles) influencing employees feeling of self-efficacy (Eden & Kinnar 1991). In self-efficacy, two lines of development has emerged which appears to be distinct from each other but have some overlaps occasionally. These include motivational theories, where self-efficacy is conceptualized in motivational terms and cognitive theories where self-efficacy is conceptualized in terms of control and expectancies (Howell & Avolio, 1993). Transformational leadership as opposed to transactional leadership often possesses elements of employee motivation. Transformational leaders have the ability and capacity to stimulate, steer and inspire employees towards the attainment of goals for which they may otherwise not be enthusiastic about. Transformational leadership styles also tend to stimulate in the individual the sense of control over what they do. This background indicates that the type of leadership style adopted by leaders and the personality traits of employees (self-efficacy and locus of control) can together determine the satisfaction and commitment level of the employees. The present study is a further research aimed at clarifying outcomes by looking at the main effect of personality factors (locus of control and self-efficacy) and leadership styles (transactional and transformational) and their interactive effects on work related outcomes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10 1.2 Statement of the Problem Issues of employee commitment and satisfaction on the job are critical in the success of any organization especially in the recent competitive and turbulent world of work. Some negative effects linked to lack of employee commitment and low job satisfaction include absenteeism and turnover (Bennett & Durkin 2000) which are detrimental to the effectiveness of organizations. According to Lumley (2010), leadership styles and personality traits contribute to this lack of commitment and low level of satisfaction among employees. It appears from available literature that, employees working in the public sector seem to be dissatisfied with their jobs and have little commitment to their jobs which by insinuation can be said as accounting for many of the recent labor strikes and agitations among public sector workers in Ghana. However, very little research has been done in this regard within private sector organizations particularly, the financial sector to ascertain whether the same pertains there. Seldom have employees in the private sectors particularly the financial sector embarked on strike actions or any such form of labor agitations. The question that remains is whether managerial leadership styles in the private sector are contributing factors of the effective work related behaviors/outcomes compared to their counterparts working in the public sector where there is incessant labor unrest. Most organizations in Ghana seldom have standardized recruitment and selection procedures in place to aid in the employment of the appriopriate caliber of people (Asante, 2012). Their focus on recruitment centre mainly on educational qualifications and work experience with fewer policies that rely on other factors such as personality. However, in view of the fact that employees within organizations are persons made up of varied personality traits which play University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 11 central role in attitudes towards work, it is essential that human resource practitioners attach more importance to it during their recruitment and hiring processes. Moreover, researches on leadership styles in available literatures rely on the traditional view of leadership which places the leader at the background of attention and power to a more collaborative approach. Most of these studies have also concentrated much on demographic characteristics such as age, gender and tenure of work. However, the link between these work related factors and self-efficacy as a personality factor as well as transactional and transformational leadership styles are limited and available evidence indicate contradictory results. Due to this, the present study seeks to assess the influence of leadership styles and personality traits on work related behaviours such as job satisfaction and employees commitment within the financial institution in the Ghanaian context. 1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study The study investigated the phenomena related to the possible relationship between leadership styles, employee personality traits and work outcomes among employees in First Capital Plus Bank. It further identifies the moderating role of perception of leadership styles on the relationship between self-efficacy and job satisfaction as well as organizational commitment. Specifically, the study assessed the following objectives: (1) Determine whether leadership style, self-efficacy and locus of control influence employee work outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) (2) Identify whether the relationship between leadership style and employee work outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) would be moderated by self-efficacy University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12 (3) Explore gender differences in employee work outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) 1.4 Relevance of Study The importance in studying the relationship between leadership styles, employee personality traits and work outcomes among employees cannot be overstated because enhancing the commitment and job satisfaction among employees through effective leadership style benefits both the individual and the organization at large. For both employees and the organization, the findings would provide a foundation in exploring the impact of perceived leadership style, locus of control and self-efficacy on job satisfaction and organizational commitment of employees which will further help the organization to create best ideas and draw suitable plans to increase the sustainability of their employees in the organization. This may help the management of organizations to initiate some change in management strategy to increase the level of job satisfaction and commitment among their employees. The study would be able to generate viable solutions to some administrative lapses including leadership inefficiencies that will help boast the effectiveness of the organization based on commitment and satisfaction among employees. The findings of the present study will thus help determine the type of leadership styles that will maximize the satisfaction and commitment levels of employees to generate viable solutions to some of the administrative lapses. This would guide other financial institutions to improve their service deliveries through committed and satisfied employees. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13 The results of the research could mold how future leadership training will be configured within the sector being investigated and also advocate for HR practitioners to adopt often, the practice of assessing personality factors during the process of staff recruitment. Finally, the study expects to contribute to the paucity of literature and advance the knowledge in this area by examining the interactive relationship between personality traits, leadership styles and follower outcomes. Findings will therefore add to the number of studies done in this field and give direction to future researchers on other relevant areas to be examined. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 14 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction This section introduced the dimensions of the variables under consideration in this study. These variables include leadership styles (transformational and transactional), employee personality traits (self-efficacy and locus of control) and employee work outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment). It then continues with the various theoretical underpinnings of the study. This is followed with the review and criticisms to the studies related to the present research. Hypotheses are then formulated followed by the hypothesized model showing the relationship existing between the various variables. The chapter then ends with operational definition of terms in the study that needs further clarifications. 2.1 Theoretical Framework The grounds for the impact of leadership styles (transformational and transactional), employee personality traits (self-efficacy and locus of control) on employee work outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) is based on leader-member exchange theory (Graen, 1976; Wang et al., 2005), Social Empowerment Theory (Kanter, 1993) and the Organization Identification Theory (Ashforth, 2008). 2.1.1. Leader-Member Exchange Theory (Graen & Cashman, 2005) Graen and Cashman (2005) contributed to the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, which suggests that leaders adapt their styles of leadership to generate an interchange geared towards followers or subordinates. The basic idea behind the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory is that leaders form two groups, an in-group and an out-group, of followers. In-group members are University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 15 given greater responsibilities, more rewards, and more attention. The leader allows these members some latitude in their roles. They work within the leader’s inner circle of communication. In contrast, out-group members are outside the leader’s inner circle, receive less attention and fewer rewards, and are managed by formal rules and policies. The LMX theory focuses on a dyad, that is, the relationship between a leader and each subordinate considered independently, rather than on the relationship between the supervisor and the group. Each linkage, or relationship, is likely to differ in quality. Thus, the same leader may have poor interpersonal relations with some subordinates and open and trusting relations with others. The relationships within these pairings, or dyads, may be of a predominantly in-group or out-group nature. The leader will provide support, consideration, and assistance mandated by duty but will not go beyond such limits. In effect, the leader is practicing a contractual exchange with such members; they are hired hands, who are being influenced by legitimate authority rather than true leadership. These employees will do what they have to do and little beyond that with less satisfaction. According to Graen and Cashman, when the strength of the relationship between employees and the leader is low, it just supports the contract of exchange, but when relationship strength is high, trust and respect come into play. An important implication of the leader-member exchange theory is that the quality of the relationship between the leader and each group member has important job consequences. Specifically, the research supporting the LMX theory indicates that subordinates with in-group status with their leaders will have higher level of job satisfaction, and organizational commitment (Chen, Lam, & Zhong, 2007). The LMX theory has some implications on work related outcomes. The theory suggests that for any leader to elicit positive response from followers, the leader-follower relationship must not be University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16 impersonal. In organizational settings, if employees perceive impersonal relationship from their leaders, they will respond by doing only what is required of them. They will act without any intrinsic desire to promote organizational effectiveness. Thus, for a leader to exhibit effective leadership qualities, that leader ought to go beyond what is officially required, to attend to the psychological needs of the individuals in the organizations. Comparatively, transactional leaders are likely to interact with their followers on impersonal goals whilst transformational leaders are likely to be responsive and adaptive to the psychological needs of individual employees. As the theory suggests, leaders who adapt their styles of leadership to generate an interchange derive more positive response. 2.1.2. Social Empowerment Theory (Kanter, 1993) Employee empowerment is a style of management that puts managers in the role of coach, adviser, sponsor, or facilitator. Empowerment involves delegating the decision-making authority regarding the action to be taken on a task that is considered to be important to both the manager and employee. According to this theory, empowerment is promoted in work environments that provide employees with access to information, resources, support, and the prospect to learn and expand their job specifications. Kluska (1993) noted that psychological empowerment includes feelings of competence, autonomy, job meaningfulness, and an ability to impact the organization through the knowledge, skills and abilities developed. According to the social empowerment theory, empowerment is thought to occur when an organization sincerely engages people and progressively responds to this engagement with mutual interest and intention to promote growth. Empowerment develops over time as employees gain greater control over their lives and increasingly take part in decisions which University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 17 affect them. Kluska (1993) study suggested that constant learning of employees “increases their sense of empowerment and foster self-growth and organizational development" (p. 96). Employees who are empowered are more committed to the organization, more accountable for their work, and also in an effective manner fulfill their job demands (Degner, 2005). The social empowerment theory is relevant in explaining how leadership can be used to arouse feelings of empowerment and competencies in followers. In relation to the present study, the theory implies that the type of leadership that will involve employees in decision making will promote higher level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Kalleberg (1990) found there is a positive correlation between empowerment and work related outcomes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. According to Kanter (1993), employees are empowered when management promote work environments that provide employees with access to information, resources, support, and the prospect to learn and expand their job specifications. Employees are empowered when the style of management puts managers in the role of coach, adviser, sponsor, or facilitator. Employees who are empowered are more satisfied, committed to the organization, more accountable for their work, and also in an effective manner fulfill their job demands (Degner, 2005). According to the social empowerment theory, empowerment is thought to occur when an organization sincerely engages people and progressively responds to this engagement with mutual interest and intention to promote growth. Empowerment develops over time as employees gain greater control over their lives and increasingly take part in decisions which affect them. Koh, Steers, and Terborg (1995) study indicated that transformational leadership empowers employees to be satisfied and committed to the organization compared to transactional leadership. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 18 2.1.3. Organization Identification Theory (Ashforth, 2008) The organizational identification theory proposes that organizational identification is a function of one’s self-definition, importance, and affect, which provide the core of identification. Also, the content of identification is proposed to stem from one’s values, goals, beliefs, traits, knowledge, skills, and abilities. According to this theory, employee’s level of commitment and job satisfaction will depend on their traits and abilities. When employees believe they have some kind of control over how, when, and why rewards are distributed, instrumentality tends to increase and their level of organizational identity intensifies. The core and content of identification are proposed to influence behaviours reflecting one’s identity. According to transformational leadership and self-concept-based explanations of such leadership, transformational leaders influence followers’ self-definitions, affect, values, beliefs, and behaviors. They also guide followers to recognize the importance of their work and develop their knowledge, skills and abilities to reach their full potential (Bass, 1985). Thus, transformational leaders are likely to be associated with empowered followers who possess strong identification with their organizations. Vigoda - Gadot (2006) indicated that employee’s demonstrate high level of organizational identification when their leaders exhibit transformational leadership. The implication of this theory is that organizational commitment cannot occur when employees have not first developed strong attachment to and identification with the organization and its norms and values. Identification with the organization is therefore a necessary condition for organizational commitment. However, such identification can only be solidified among employees through dynamic leadership style and process. Kark and Shamir (2002) proposed that transformational leaders influence two distinct levels of their followers’ self-concept: the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 19 relational and the collective self. Followers come to identify with their particular leader through the relational aspects of the followers’ self-concept, while organizational or social identification is influenced by priming of their collective self. Transactional leaders emphasize more on organizational justice, so followers are more likely to be satisfied to identify with their remuneration and not with the physical and psychological attachment with the leader and the organization. Furthermore, transformational leaders can create group level influences, including collective identification, by establishing symbolic activities, which will increase follower self-esteem and consequently lead to employee satisfaction and higher level of commitment (Shamir et al., 1993). Transformational leaders create a supportive work environment that emphasizes employees’ needs and feelings, develops new skills, and helps solve various job problems and other challenges. This increases employee’s social identity and create a sense of satisfaction. Empirically, research has indicated that transformational leadership has a more positive effect on creating higher social identity among employees compared to transactional leadership (Lowe, 1996). 2.2. Review of Related Studies In addition to the theories guiding the present study, this section reviews empirical studies examining the influence of leadership styles (Transformational and Transactional Leadership styles), and personality traits (self-efficacy and locus of control) on work related outcomes (organizational commitment and job satisfaction). The empirical review is categorized into the relationship between leadership style and work related outcomes, personality traits and work- related outcomes, gender and work related outcomes. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 2.2.1. Leadership styles and work outcomes Work related outcomes such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment are influenced by a lot of factors. One of these factors that have received a lot of interest in the literature is style of leadership. It has been widely accepted that effective organizations require effective leadership and that organizational performance will suffer in direct proportion if effective leadership is neglected (Fiedler & House, 1988). The interest of researchers on leadership is varying from leadership behaviors to the effects of these leadership behaviours on organizational and individual outcomes. Among the various leadership behaviours studied, transactional and transformational leadership behaviours have received substantial attention by researchers in leadership studies in recent times because these two leadership styles are said to provide possible explanations to work related outcomes than the other categories (Stordeur, D'hoore, & Vandernberghe, 2001). Leadership styles and job satisfaction Arzil and Farahbod (2014) studied the role of leadership style using quantitative approach for measuring the impact of components of transformational leadership and transactional leadership on job satisfaction. Overall, 121 data have been collected from hotels of Iran. The collected data have been analyzed through Multiple Regression analysis. Among components of transformational leadership, intellectual stimulation, vision and supportive leadership had the significant impact and on the other side inspirational communication and personal recognition did not have any significant impact. Moreover, supportive leadership had the most significant impact. Both two dimensions of transactional leadership had significant and positive impact on job satisfaction. The impact of contingent reward was more than management expectation. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 21 To determine whether leadership styles have direct impact on job satisfaction among employees, Rad and Yarmohammadian (2006) selected 814 employees, first line, middle and senior managers using stratified random sampling. Results indicated that the dominant leadership style of managers was participative. There was significant correlation between the use of leadership behaviors and employees job satisfaction. The correlation between employee job satisfaction and employee-oriented and task-oriented dimensions of leadership style were all significant. However, the correlation coefficient between employee oriented and task oriented dimensions of leadership style and employees job satisfaction indicated that the relationship between participative leadership style and job satisfaction was more effective than the relationship between task-oriented dimensions and job satisfaction. The satisfaction scores for men were found to be significantly higher than those of women. This study focused on descriptive statistics which doubts the significance of the differences in job satisfaction among the groups. The use of inferential statistics is therefore very necessary to draw valid conclusions. Moreover, Rizi, Azadi, Farsani and Aroufzad (2013) found that among determinants of job satisfaction, leadership is as an important predictor and plays a central role. In their study which examined the relationship between leadership styles and job satisfaction among 125 physical education organization employees, results showed a significant positive correlation between overall leadership styles and job satisfaction. Also, the correlations between leadership styles sub-scales such as transactional leadership and transformational leadership and job satisfaction was significant. Unlike the study by Riaz and Haider (2010), Rizi, Azadi, Farsani and Aroufzad (2013) which failed to find any significant difference in the amount of variance accounted for job satisfaction by transformational and transactional leadership styles. The inconsistency in the results demand further studies to determine which of the two leadership styles will significantly predict and account for higher variances in job satisfaction. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 22 Chang and Lee (2007) did a quantitative research assessing the relationship between leadership style, organizational culture and job satisfaction. A total of 1,000 questionnaires were mailed out and 134 valid replies were received and used for the analysis. The results showed that transactional leadership style have a significantly higher relationship with job satisfaction compared to transformational leadership. Although the research adopted the use of concise questionnaires, it is very difficult to emphasize whether the respondents substantially understood the original contextual meaning of the questionnaires since the questionnaires were mailed online to them and so could not ask questions on items they did not understand. Moreover, the non- response bias of 86.6% was too high which has a deadly blow to both the reliability and validity of survey study findings (Draugalis, Coons & Plaza, 2008). According to Babbie and Mouton (2001), a response rate of 50% is adequate for analysis thus the response rate of 13.4% obtained in Chang and Lee (2007) study was not adequate for qualitative analyses. Voon, Lo, Ngui, and Ayob (2011) observed in their study that both transactional and transformational leadership have direct relationships with employees’ job satisfaction. The results showed that transformational leadership style has a stronger relationship with job satisfaction. Though the study by Voon, Lo, Ngui, and Ayob (2011) employed a total of 300 questionnaires and a high response rate (66.7%) was obtained, the study employed the qualitative design which need further study to determine the significance of the findings through quantitative analyses. Similarly, Riaz and Haider (2010) used a total of 240 responses (n = 240) from various private organizations working in the capital city of Pakistan to determine the impact of transformational and transactional leadership style on career satisfaction. Questionnaires were mailed to the respondents; however in some cases self-administered surveys were also conducted. Results showed that transactional leadership accounted for higher variance than transactional leadership University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 23 in predicting job satisfaction. The results of Riaz and Haider (2010) study showed that leadership styles accounted for 16.5% of variances in job satisfaction which means that there is the possibility of other variables predicting job satisfaction that needs to be verified. Leadership style and organizational commitment A number of studies have also been done on leadership and leadership effectiveness in predicting organizational commitment. However, different types of leadership styles on commitment have gained much attention with the impact of transformational and transactional leadership styles on organizational commitment relatively unattended to by leadership researchers. Avolio, Zhu, Koh, and Puja (2004), using a sample of 200 staff nurses employed by a large public hospital in Singapore to investigate the relationship between leadership styles and organizational commitment, found a positive significant relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment. Koh, Steers, and Terborg (1995) also found a positive relationship between transformational leadership and work related attitudes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and performance in a study to investigate the relationship between leadership styles on job satisfaction, commitment and job satisfaction among 108 teachers. Moreover, Jung, Butler, and Baik (2000) reported a significant positive relationship between the two types of leadership styles (transformational and transactional leadership) on organizational commitment during a study to assess the influence of leadership styles on commitment in a study of 220 workers of an engineering firm in Canada. Selamat, Nordin and Adnan (2013) also revealed that there was a positive and strong linear relationship between transformational leadership behavior and organizational commitment in a study in University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 24 which they conducted to find the relationship between leadership styles on commitment and job performance using 150 mining sector workers . Similarly, Batool (2013) investigated the impact of transformational leadership style on subordinate’s level of organizational commitment in the banking industry of Pakistan using 100 staff of the bank. The quantitative survey method was used and a randomly selected sample of 100 employees took part in the study. The findings indicated a positive significant relationship between transformational leadership style and organizational commitment. All these studies only emphasized on the relationship between the two types of leadership styles on work related outcomes such as organizational commitment and job satisfaction without assessing which of the two leadership styles is more effective in predicting organizational commitment. The present study thus aims at assessing which of the two leadership styles will have a significant higher impact on organizational commitment. Moreover, Cemaloglus, Sezgin and Kilinc (2012) determined the relationships between school principals transformational and transactional leadership styles and teachers' organizational commitment. A total of 237 primary school teachers employed participated in the study. Results indicated that there were significant relationships between transformational and transactional leadership styles of principals and organizational commitment of teachers. The study by Cemaloglus, Sezgin and Kilinc (2012) though made it clear that both types of leadership style predict organizational commitment, yet the most effective among the two were not verified. Moreover, only leadership style was accounted for in predicting organizational commitment even though the results showed that the two leadership styles accounted for only 21% of the variances in organizational commitment. The present study thus assessed the amount of variances that personality factors will account for the remaining variances that was not accounted for by leadership styles. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 25 Yavirach (2012) assessed the impact of transformational and transactional leadership to subordinates job satisfaction and organizational commitment in thirteen (13) autonomous universities in Thailand. Findings of the study showed that leadership’s styles in general have a significant impact on subordinate’s job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The result of individual level found that subordinates’ job satisfaction had higher direct effects from transactional leadership than transformational leadership. Organizational commitment however had higher direct effects from transactional than transformational leadership. Other studies have however found inconsistent results. The study by Dvir et al. (2004) examined the relationships among the sub-dimensions of transformational and transactional leadership and commitment and found significant positive associations. The study also showed that transformational leadership influences organizational commitment, without the use of rewards or punishments and elicits higher support than transactional leadership from members for the organization through their acceptance of the organization’s values, goals, and behaviours based on interaction with the transformational leader. Additionally, Loke (2001) found transformational leadership style to have significantly higher relationship to organizational commitment than transactional leadership. The inconsistency in findings therefore demand further clarification into the most effective leadership style in predicting organizational commitment which the present study seeks to provide. Dhammika, Ahmad and Sam (2013) also conducted a study to examine the impact of transactional and transformational leadership on commitment of unionized employees. Sample of 380 questionnaires were retrieved for analyses from 33 public sector organizations through mail. The parallel model testing procedure based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used for testing the hypothesized models. The results revealed that transactional and transformational leadership has a direct effect and an indirect effect as well via union commitment on University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 26 organizational commitment of employees. Both transactional and transformational leadership had a significant positive effect on organizational commitment while transformational leadership had the highest positive impact on commitment. Though the findings of Dhammika, Ahmad and Sam (2013) undeniably are in line with available literatures and so its reliability cannot be questioned, yet the use of questionnaires by mail is questionable. One cannot be sure whether the respondents understood the contextual meaning of the items in the scale since there was no room for them to ask for clearance of the items they did not understand and no pilot study was reported before the distribution of the questionnaires. Self-administered face to face method could have curb this pitfall increasing the reliability of the results. Leadership styles, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment Some studies have also assessed the impact of leadership styles in predicting the two work related outcomes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) together. A study by Aydin, Sarier, and Uysal (2013) analyzed the effect of leadership styles of school administrators on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of teachers using the method of meta-analysis. Twelve research findings made in Turkey were analyzed. The research results showed that particularly, transformational leadership style affected job satisfaction and organizational commitment of teachers in a positive way. It was concluded that as the leadership style of administrators changes from transactional to transformational, the level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of teachers' rose indicting higher amount of variance accounted by transformational leadership than transactional leadership in job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Though the study by Aydin, Sarier and Uysal (2013) compared the relative effectiveness of the two leadership styles in predicting job satisfaction and organizational commitment, the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27 researchers adopted the meta-analytical approach which is highly criticized (Walker, Kattan & Hernandez, 2008). Walker, Kattan and Hernandez (2008) emphasized that several conditions are critical for review of large previous studies and small violations of those conditions can lead to misleading results. According to Walker, Kattan and Hernandez (2008), meta-analysis is influenced by publication bias since studies relevant to previous findings are the only ones selected. Based on this, conclusions of meta-analyses have not been fully justified. A cross-sectional study was conducted by Mosadeghrad and Ferdosi (2013) using self- administered questionnaires distributed among 814 hospital employees and managers through a stratified random sampling technique. Hospital employees were moderately satisfied with their jobs and committed to their organization. Salaries, benefits, promotion, contingent rewards, interpersonal relationships and working conditions were the best predictors of job satisfaction among the hospital’s employees. Leadership, job satisfaction and commitment were closely interrelated. The leadership behaviour of managers explained 28% and 20% of the variations in job satisfaction and organizational commitment respectively. Also, Top, Tarcan, Tekingündüz, and Hikmet (2013) examined the relationships among organizational commitment, organizational trust, job satisfaction and transformational leadership in two Turkish public hospitals. Eight hundred and four employees were recruited for the study with a response rate of 38.14%. Results indicated that there were significant relationships among overall job satisfaction, overall transformational leadership and organizational trust. These studies though assessed leadership styles, job satisfaction and organizational commitment together are not without flaws. In the two studies, leadership styles accounted for not up to half of the variances in job satisfaction and organizational commitment. This means other predictive variables must be studied to assess their relative contribution in predicting job satisfaction and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 28 organizational commitment. Moreover, the response rate of 38.14 was relatively small for quantitative analyses (Babbie & Mouton, 2001). Nguni, Sleegers and Denessen (2006) examined the effects of transformational and transactional leadership on primary school teacher’s job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Among the respondents, 82.8% were female teachers and 17.2% male teachers. Results using regression analyses showed that both transformational and transactional leadership dimensions have significant effects on teacher’s job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Transformational leadership had significant influence on job satisfaction and organizational commitment than transactional leadership. Leadership styles explained 39% and 28% of the variance in teacher’s commitment and job satisfaction respectively. The job contexts of teachers are normally different from that of other employees in financial institutions. Teachers normally do not have direct influence on their headmaster who is the direct manager and their remunerations are decided by other bodies that do not have direct influence on the work related outcomes of employees thus making it difficult to generalize it to other employees in financial organizations such as those in First Capital Plus Bank. In addition, Walumbwa, Orwa, Wang and Lawler (2005) explored the nature of the relationship between transformational leadership and two work-related attitudes, organizational commitment and job satisfaction, by comparing Kenya and the United States. The results indicated that transformational leadership has a strong and positive effect on organizational commitment and job satisfaction in both cultures. A positive significant relationship was found to exist between transformational leadership styles and work commitment as well as job satisfaction. Transformational leadership accounted for higher relationship with job satisfaction than University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 29 commitment. Though this study assessed both job satisfaction and organizational commitment, it emphasized only on transformational leadership style without comparing the relative effectiveness of transactional leadership style in predicting organizational commitment and job satisfaction and which of the two leadership styles will predict higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment which is one of the main focus of the present study. Moreover, Chen (2002) examined the impact of leadership styles on organizational commitment and job satisfaction among three steel companies, which have undergone reengineering, restructuring, and downsizing within a month. Results indicated that both transformational and transactional leadership behaviors have a slightly positive relationship with organizational commitment and job satisfaction with transformational leadership predicting significantly higher variance in organizational commitment and job satisfaction than transactional leadership style. However, the problem with this study is its emphasis on the use of organizations which have undergone reengineering, restructuring, and downsizing. The downsizing leading to layoff and economic recession could have influence the level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the unaffected employees. Therefore, the work related behaviours of job satisfaction and organizational commitment could have been influenced by the downsizing. In summary, vast array of knowledge has been accumulated both on the behaviours and the effect of transactional and transformational leadership on employees’ outcomes since they have been the mostly explored leadership aspects in leadership studies (Kovjanic, Schuh, Jonas, Quaquebeke, & Dick, 2012). The effect of these two leadership styles on employee work related outcomes such as job satisfaction (Batool, 2013; Koh, Steers, & Terborg, 1995), and organizational commitment (Nguni, Sleegers & Denessen, 2006; Walumbwa, Lawler & Avolio (2005) are well established in leadership literature. However, it is clear when analyzing these studies, that researchers have not been eclectic in their approach. Some of these studies have University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 30 also reviewed inconsistent results. Moreover, previous research studies have found that other factors contribute to organizational commitment and job satisfaction and the present study assessed the contribution of personality traits in predicting job satisfaction and organizational commitment. 2.2.2. Personality factors and work related outcomes Personality is a stable characteristic that employees bring to the work place (Omari, K’Obonyo & Kidombo, 2012). According to Barrick and Mount (1991), personality traits influence work related behaviours and outcomes. This study employed two personality factors which include work locus of control and self-efficacy because less attention has been generated to them in predicting work related behaviours and outcomes. Compared with self-efficacy, which emphasizes more on confidence with respect to actions or behaviours, locus of control, focuses more on confidence in being able to control outcomes. 2.2.3. Locus of control and work related outcomes Locus of control and organizational commitment McMahon (2007) conducted a study to ascertain how the dimensions of the two types of commitment correlate with locus of control among 171 employees. The survey included a demographic questionnaire and four scales measuring the variables detailed below. Twenty-four participants from one organization (a financial services company) recorded responses on a paper survey, while the remaining participants were provided a link to an online survey. Response rate among participants who completed the paper survey was approximately 15%, while the online University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 31 response rate was approximately 25%. The results showed that the less an individual feels in control of personally relevant outcomes, the more likely he or she is to be less committed to the organization. However, Bruno and Popoola (2011) examined the influence of work locus of control on the organizational commitment among medical records personnel. Five hundred and twelve employees were selected from 17 sampled university teaching hospitals to take part in the study. The result showed that though locus of control had inverse relationship with organizational commitment, it did not make significant contribution to organizational commitment. Aside the inconstancy in the results of the two studies, their methodology is not devoid of criticisms. The use of both face to face questionnaires administration and online survey by McMahon (2007) could generate different results. Whilst the face to face administered participants could seek for clarification on question they did not understand, those in the online survey could not have that chance. Moreover, the response rate of 15% and 25% for the face to face administration and online response was too small for quantitative analyses (Babbie & Mouton, 2001). Bruno and Popoola (2011) also assessed locus of control as a single construct without verifying the relative contribution of internalizers and externalizers. The present study thus took into consideration other factors such as leadership style which has found evident in work related behavior literatures. Locus of control and job satisfaction Aside the impact that locus of control has on organizational commitment, the predictive ability of locus of control on job satisfaction has also been found evident in available literatures. Hans, Mubeen and Ghabshi (2013) assessed the relationship between locus of control and job satisfaction among middle level management in semi-government organizations. The results of University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 32 the study indicated that the middle level management employees in semi-government organizations were primarily driven by internal locus of control and most of the employees in the sector scored low in job satisfaction scale. The use of 100 employees from 25 companies constituting eight sectors in semi-governmental organization was relatively small to yield any findings that could be generalized. Moreover, the unit sample consisted of only middle level management employees of semi government without considering those in the lower level. There is also evidence to support a significant relationship between both internal and external locus of control and job satisfaction when the two locus of control are treated different. A study conducted by Vijayashree and Vishalkumar (2011) demonstrated that there was a positive correlation between internal locus of control and job satisfaction as well as between external (other) locus of control and job satisfaction but the relationship between external locus of control and job satisfaction was partial. Using survey, the relationship between work locus of control and job satisfaction was examined by Tillman et al., (2010). Tillman et al., (2010) found empirical links between internal and external locus of control and job satisfaction. Though the two types of locus of control predicted job satisfaction, internalizers demonstrated significantly higher level of job satisfaction than externalizers. Mahajan and Kaur (2012) carried out an empirical study using a sample of 150 teachers selected from different colleges of Amritsar city in India. They used Pearson Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation and T-test for their analyses. The results showed a significant relationship between locus of control and job satisfaction of college teachers with internalizers having higher level of job satisfaction than externalizers. Among male and female teachers, male teachers with high job satisfaction possessed a positive locus of control as compared to female college teachers with high job satisfaction. In contrast, a study was also conducted on the impact of job stress on the relationship between locus of control and accountants’ job satisfaction by Abedi and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 33 Khorshidifar (2011). A sample of 65 senior and regular accountants who work for thirteen different regional municipalities of city of Mashad in east part of Iran was taken up for the study. The study found no significant difference in level of job satisfaction between internalizers and externalizers. Aside the cross-sectional design used by Mahajan and Kaur (2012) as well as Abedi and Khorshidifar (2011), the major limitation of their study is that they investigated job satisfaction using employees in middle management without taking into consideration those in the junior levels. Locus of control, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment Few studies have also examined how locus of control influences both job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Omari, K’Obonyo, and Kidombo (2012) examined the effect of human resource practices on the relationship between locus of control and employee outcomes. Out of 284 questionnaires distributed, 181 (63.7%) responses were obtained. Employee outcomes studied were job satisfaction, trust, employee commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour. Results obtained indicated that human resources practices (leadership styles) influence the relationship between locus of control with job satisfaction and employee commitment. No significant difference was found in level of job satisfaction between internalizers and externalizers. A negative relationship between locus of control and commitment indicating that external locus of control exhibited higher level of commitment than internal locus of control was found. Moreover, Chhabra (2013) explored the direct relationship of job satisfaction and locus of control on organizational commitment. The study was conducted among 449 Indian IT professionals using structured questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that locus of control was positive and significant to both commitment and job satisfaction. Though the University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 34 findings of these studies conform unarguably to previous studies, the amount of variance accounted by locus of control did not exhaust all the variables which are related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment since the combined amount of variance predicted by locus of control in the two studies did not exceed 50% for the two studies. 2.2.4. Self-efficacy and work related outcomes Another personality factor which has found numerous support in predicting job satisfaction and organizational commitment is self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in his or her capacity to mobilize the cognitive, motivational, and behavioral resources needed to meet given situational demands. Self-efficacy has been widely used in organizational research and some empirical researchers have support that self-efficacy is correlated with work related outcomes. Self-efficacy and job satisfaction The work related literatures also contain empirical findings strongly indicating the influence of self-efficacy on job satisfaction. A meta-analysis by Judge and Bono (2001) offer specific support for the role of self-efficacy on job satisfaction in a study spanning 12 years of training research. The findings of the study indicated that the corrected correlation coefficient between self-efficacy and job satisfaction was 0.23 which the researchers described as moderately high. The result goes to suggest that self-efficacy plays a prodigious role in job satisfaction. As earlier indicated, there are a lot of criticisms in the use of meta-analysis as in the case of Judge and Bono’s (2001) study. The use of meta-analytical design makes the study questionable since meta-analytical studies are controversial due to the numerous conditions and violation of these conditions can lead to misleading results (Walker, Kattan & Hernandez, 2008). The outcome of a meta-analysis also depends on the studies included. Searches of databases such as University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 35 PubMed or Embase can yield long lists of studies. However, these databases include only studies that have been published. Such searches are unlikely to yield a representative sample because more often there is a selective publication with studies that show a positive result more likely to be published than those that do not (Walker, Kattan & Hernandez, 2008). Karabiyik and Korumaz (2014) also examined the relationship between teacher’s self-efficacy perceptions and job satisfaction level using 83 teachers from different schools in Turkey. Data were collected via e-mail. The study adopted the qualitative survey method. Results indicated that there was a significant and positive relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy perception and job satisfaction level which indicated that teacher’s job satisfaction level increased with the increase of teachers’ self-efficacy. There was however no significant differences in teacher’s self-efficacy perception and job satisfaction level according to gender. Similarly, Hassan, Kibriya and Nawaz (2013) found that self-efficacy has a significant positive effect on organizational results such as organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Moreover, Lai and Chen (2012) assessed self-efficacy and its impact on job performance and job satisfaction. Among the total amount of 803 copies, a usable sample of 616 questionnaires was utilized in this study, yielding a response rate of 76.7%. The structural equation modeling (SEM) with LISREL was used to analyze and test the data. The results reveal that that self-efficacy has a positive effect on job performance and job satisfaction. The studies by Karabiyik and Korumaz (2014) and Hassan, Kibriya and Nawaz (2013) all adopted the qualitative research design and the results need to be quantified using the quantitative design as was done in the present study. Tojjari, Esmaeili and Bavandpour (2013) adopted the descriptive research method to investigated the effect of self-efficiency on job satisfaction among 191 sport referees. The results showed that the general self-efficacy of sport referees has a significant effect on intrinsic and extrinsic factors of job satisfaction, while this effect was not significant for general factors of job University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 36 satisfaction. The perceived self-efficacy of referees showed no significant effect on none of intrinsic, extrinsic or general factors of job satisfaction. Aside the fact that the present study adopted the descriptive analysis, it did not treat job satisfaction as a single entity which could have accounted for the insignificant relationship between the variables. Self-efficacy and organizational commitment Literature on the relationship between self-efficacy and organizational commitment supports the notion that self-efficacy is an important determinant of organizational commitment. Sinha, Talwar, and Rajpal (2002) explored the relationship between organizational commitments and self-efficacy among 167 managers in India. The results revealed that organizational commitment was positively related with self-efficacy. Similarly, Hurter (2008) found that professional commitment was positively related with self-efficacy. Hurter (2008) also determined whether there is a correlation between perceived self-efficacy and employee commitment in a South African sugar manufacturing company. The results of this study indicate that there is a positive correlation between self-efficacy and employee commitment. Though these studies found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and organizational commitment, Shahril, Sulaiman, and Mohi (2007) did not find any significant relationship between self-efficacy and organizational commitment. Shahnawaz and Jafri (2009) also explored psychological capital (which includes psychological capacities of self-efficacy and hope) as a predictor of organizational commitment between public and private sector organization. Results revealed that all psychological capacities; self-efficacy, optimism resilience and hope were not predicting organizational commitment in both types of organizations. Driskell, Copper, and Moran (1994) argued that if people expect failure then they will put less effort into a task. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 37 Saleem, Saba and Adnan (2012) explored self-efficacy as a predictor of organizational commitment among bank employees. The data was collected from 150 employees, which consisted of equal number of employees of private and semi-public sector banks of Sargodha. Correlational analyses indicated that self-efficacy was positively correlated with organizational commitment. Only managers, accountants, cashiers and all others employees whose qualification was master or above masters were taken as participants in the study by Saleem, Saba and Adnan (2012). This does not give the true reflection of employees in the organization. 2.2.5. Self-efficacy as a moderator for leadership styles and work related outcomes Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura 1997) Self – efficacy since its conception has been applied to varied contexts (bandura, 1977, 1982, 1997). Self-efficacy and social cognitive theories both provide a number of suggestions that can be applied in the work setting. Social Cognitive Theory suggests that increasing the self-efficacy of employees will boost motivation and performance. The basic idea behind this theory is that motivation and performance are determined by how successful people believe they can be (Bandura, 1982). This is extremely useful in the workplace because employers can develop and improve self-efficacy beliefs in their employees to make them more productive at the work place by being committed and dedicated to their jobs and giving off their best towards the success of their organizations. According to bandura (1982), self –efficacy affects employees in three different ways i.e. the goals they choose, the efforts they exert on the job and the persistence at which an employee will learn a new and difficult task. Employees high in self –efficacies are thought to be more confident and therefore will persist when encountering a problem. (Bandura, 1997; Jex &Bliese, 1999; Schwarzer, 1999) consider self-efficacy as relevant in the study of work and stress fulfilling a moderating role. the basis for this is found in considering leadership University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 38 style’s influence and personality of employees as a key factor in influencing work outcomes of employees such that, depending on how self-efficacious employees are, it could influence work outcomes. This is consistent with bandura’s cognitive social theory which considers self- efficacy in terms of its level of influence on outcome of work such as commitment, motivation, performance and job satisfaction. Awamleh and Al-dmourj (2004) tested transformational leadership theory among managers at a functional level in Jordanian banks. They examined the effects of both transformational and transactional leadership styles of bank mangers/supervisors on employees’ satisfaction and self-perceived performance. Self-efficacy, self-esteem and leadership disposition (romance of leadership) of employees were hypothesized to act as moderators. Data was collected from employees working in Jordanian banks. A multiple regression analysis indicated that transformational leadership style, transactional leadership style, and self-efficacy were all related to job satisfaction. On the other hand, self-efficacy, romance of leadership (RLS), and self-esteem were related to self-perceived performance. Furthermore, a mancova analysis indicated significant effects of self-efficacy, RLS, and self-esteem as covariates. Results showed that to elicit higher levels of satisfaction among bank employees, managers/supervisors need to demonstrate transformational and transactional attributes at the same time. Aggarwal and Krishnan (2013) believed that enhancing the belief in the abilities of employees to perform a particular task is the critical role played by a transformational leader subject to impression management strategies used by the employees. These authors conducted a study on how self-efficacy of the subordinates is enhanced by their use of impression management strategies on supervisors and the impact of transformational leadership in enhancing subordinate’s self-efficacy. Data were collected from 112 respondents (40 females and 72 males) working in the information technology industry in India. They responded to questions about their University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 39 supervisor’s transformational leadership, the impression management strategies they used on their supervisors and their self-efficacy. The results show positive relationship between transformational leadership and the self-efficacy of the subordinates. Self-focused impression management strategies were positively related to the self-efficacy. Other-focused strategies had positive relationship with transformational leadership. Other-focused and job-focused strategies also moderated the relation between transformational leadership and self-efficacy, such that there was a positive relationship between transformational leadership and follower self-efficacy only when followers’ use of other-focused and job-focused impression management strategies was high. Again, Nielsen, Yarker, Randall and Munir (2009) examine two possible psychological mechanisms that link transformational leadership behaviours to employee job satisfaction and well-being using a cross-sectional study design. Their study took place in two elderly care centers in large Danish local government. Staffs were predominantly healthcare assistants but also nurses and other healthcare-related professions participated in the study. A total of 274 elderly care employees completed the questionnaire. Surveys were sent to all employees working at the centers. 91% were female. The average age was 45 years. A questionnaire was distributed to all members of staff in the elderly care centers and where employees were asked to rate their line manager’s leadership style and were asked to evaluate their own level of self-efficacy as well as the level of efficacy in their team (team efficacy) and their job satisfaction and psychological well-being. The results showed that both team and self-efficacy acted as mediators, however, their effects differed. Self-efficacy was found to fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and well-being and team efficacy was found to partially mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction and fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and well-being. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 40 2.2.6. Demographic characteristics and work related outcomes It is well known that there has been an increase in the presence of women in the workplace over the last few decades and this growth pattern is projected to continue. With this increase in participation rates of women in the workforce, there has been an emphasis in organizational research on examining whether gender differences exist in the workplace attitudes and behaviors of men and women (Aven, Parker, & McEvoy, 1993). The range of workplace variables in which gender differences have been examined is quite broad but the interest of the present study was on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The concentration on these workplace attitudes and behaviors is not surprising in light of the costs of low job satisfaction and employee commitment (Cascio, 1991). Potter (2012) did a quantitative causal-comparative study between males and females on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. A stratified random selection of schools based on the administrator’s gender (female, n = 85; male, n= 85) was selected and a response rate of 50% was achieved. No gender differences were observed in both job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Similarly, Gumbang, Suki and Suki (2010) gathered data from 112 employees to examine whether significant differences exist between the two genders in term of employees’ job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Results showed that both male and female employees have the same level of perception of job satisfaction and level of organisational commitment. As explained by Aven, Parker, and McEvoy (1993), the type of occupation influence the level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment among males and females. These studies were all conducted among teachers. Wahn (1998) stipulated that the educational sector is not a gender stereotypic occupation and so one may not expect gender differences in level of job satisfaction and University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 41 organizational commitment. There is therefore the need to use other organization such as financial institutions to see if the results will be applicable among them. Celik (2008) also examined the relationship between components of organizational commitment and job satisfaction of tax office employees. The Mann Whitney U test and Kruskall Wallis test were used for the analyses. Males were more committed than females. This study used the non- parametric test which has got less power and thus difficult rejecting the null hypothesis even when it is not true. The present study thus employed the parametric test to ascertain the reliability of the results. Several meta-analyses on organizational commitment have also been conducted to help elucidate the gender differences in empirical controversy. Mathieu and Zajac’s (1990) meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of organizational commitment revealed that women are more organizationally committed than men. In a six study meta-analytical review, Aven et al. (1993) also found that there were no gender differences in organizational commitment. Unfortunately, all these meta-analyses have some limitation that minimizes the extent to which the findings can be generalized. These studies adopted the meta-analytical design which is associated with publication bias. Moreover, the number of studies in the review that included measures of transfer in the study by Aven et al. (1993) was relatively small to generate reliable findings. Critical analyses of the literature concerning the influence of demographic information such as gender, organizational commitment and job satisfaction among employees gives varying results. Throughout the years of research, contrasting results have been identified. For example, there are some researchers who suggest that women are less satisfied and experience low level of committed to their work than men (Karrasch, 2003; Kinnier, Katz, & Berry, 1991; Loscocco, University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 42 1990). Much of these contentions have as their roots the idea that women, as a result of their socialization, place a greater emphasis on family roles than men, which in turn may result in women placing less importance on their work roles (Dodd-McCue & Wright, 1996). Among 745 survey respondents, Bogler (2001) revealed female employees were more satisfied than male teachers. Other studies have found significant gender differences in the levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction. As Sax and Harper (2007) explored employee’s gender differences in job satisfaction, women were more likely to have feelings of being overwhelmed, which negatively affected their level of job satisfaction. Sodoma and Else (2009) examined over a six year span overall job satisfaction and job satisfaction according to gender of school principals. Surveys were administered to principals, and a stratified random sample of 300 respondents was attained in 1999 and again in 2005. Results indicated statistically significant differences in overall job satisfaction and in job satisfaction between males and females. Respondents were more satisfied in 2005, and male respondents were more satisfied than females in both years of study. In contrast with studies supporting higher level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment among either male or female employees, other studies have found inconsistent results between males and females in job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Eckman (2004) combined quantitative and qualitative data from surveys and interviews to examine the similarities and differences between male and female secondary principals. She discovered equal satisfaction results between males and females. The varied results of these studies that have examined gender differences in job satisfaction and organizational commitment confirm the need for further research. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 43 Studies have also indicated that gender differences in job satisfaction and organizational commitment may depend on the type of leadership style. Afolabi et al. (2008) found females to demonstrate higher levels of commitment when compared to males. They studied the commitment of 140 employees. The results indicated a statistically significant influence of leadership style on gender in predicting organizational commitment. Males were more satisfied when they perceived transactional leadership style whilst females were satisfied when their leaders practice transformational leadership style. These relationships were however not affirmed in a study by Chen et al. (2010). Chen et al. (2010) found that employees have the same job satisfaction, regardless of gender, when transformational leadership practices were utilized. However, when transactional leadership styles were used, job satisfaction was based on gender. 2.3. Rationale for the present study Literature in the field of organizational processes has consistently noted leadership styles, and personality variables as some of the key elements central to work related outcomes. However, as a result of many decades of effort by researchers, there appears to be a high level of disagreement among scholars on the influence of leadership style (transformational and transactional) and personality traits (locus of control and self-efficacy) on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. These inconsistencies demand further studies. It is based on this that the present study has been conducted. In addition, although both transformational leadership and efficacy beliefs have been independently linked to organizational outcomes in a variety of settings (Avolio et al., 2004; University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 44 Gully et al., 2002; Judge & Piccolo, 2004; Stajkovic & Luthans, 1998), previous research has not fully considered their interaction effects on followers’ work-related outcomes in financial institutions. This study integrates these two important concepts to identify both their independent and joint effects in predicting followers’ work-related outcomes in the financial sector. These results extend the literature on leadership and work-related outcome by suggesting that transformational leadership and efficacy beliefs are contingently, rather than independently, related to employees’ work-related outcomes in the banking sector. That is, self-efficacy is important to explaining the relationships between transformational leadership and followers’ work-related outcomes among employees in financial institutions. Finally, in terms of measurement, most of transformational/transactional leadership models assume that followers attribute leadership qualities based on face-to-face exchanges with the leader. The bulk of studies in this area end up measuring distant as opposed to close leadership relationship. This tends to weaken their results and invites criticism. For instance, Meindl (1995) argues that attributions of leadership often emerge from social contagion processes, whereby influential followers “spread the word” to persons who lack direct contact with the leader. In that respect, this study is different, leadership qualities were tapped at a functional level. More specifically, this study provides evidence of transformational and transactional effects in a real organizational setting where f