Research Publications (Management Sciences)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/217
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Item The impact of ethical leadership on employee engagement within a South African public higher education institution(LLC CPC Business Perspectives, 2019-11-29) Bhana, Anrusha; Suknunan, SachinEthical leadership has become a fundamental building block amongst the corporate organizations globally. However, minimal research evidence was found from a higher education institution (HEI) perspective, including the evidence from a South African higher education setting. Due to the lack of research linking the ethical leadership`s style and employee`s engagement (EE) at higher education institutions, it becomes important to find out if ethical leadership can positively promote the EE, which, in turn, can promote various other benefits at the institutions. Therefore, this study aims to examine this from the perspective of ethical leadership style and its impact on the EE. This study focused on a large HEI (Higher Education institution) based in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). Quantitative data collection employed the probability sampling targeting 420 employees. Questionnaires were used as data collection tools and obtained a response rate of 312 (74%). The results show that the average mean value for EE (M = 2.87) was weak in comparison to the measurement standard of 3.00, which implied a lack of EE between leadership and employees. In addition, the results indicate that ethical leadership can positively influence the EE (M = 4.27), thus, indicating the need for more ethical leadership at this institution. Furthermore, the current lack of employee`s engagement by leaders that do not exhibit the ethical leadership style can result in employees` disengagement at the institution.Item Building ethical leadership through training and development approach at a higher education institution in South Africa(LLC CPC Business Perspectives, 2020-04-06) Bhana, Anrusha; Suknunan, SachinThe research has shown that many leaders lack ethical practice, but training and development geared towards ethical leadership can serve to bridge this gap in theory and practice. This paper focuses primarily on the key aspect of training and development to promote more ethical leadership within a higher education institution setting. The data were drawn from a mixed-method study adopting both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Simple random sampling constituted a sample of 312 academic and administrative staff members at the institution. The purposeful sampling for the qualitative component was a realized sample of 3 executive management leadership and 9 line management leadership participants, indicating a total response rate of 67%. The results for executive management leadership reflect poor leadership style from the employees’ perspective in relation to respect and fairness, transparency, behavior, and other ethical leadership-related items (of M = 2.74, SD = 0.033). In addition, there was a clear need for leadership to attend ongoing training courses (M = 4.20, SD = 0.904). From the qualitative perspective, more than 50% of the leadership respondents indicated no appropriate university leadership programmes or ethical leadership programs. Therefore, the investment in training and development can promote more ethical leadership style, which in turn can have a positive impact on employees (M = 4.43, SD = 0.740). In light of this, the results provide a strong inclination towards more training and development programs to ensure that leaders develop ethical considerations in their role as leaders.