ABSTRACT
Digital
revolution has brought about employee mobility resulting in increased turnover
intentions which is now regarded as a global challenge; and universities are
not excluded. Employees seemed
dissatisfied with their job; and many stayed due to non availability of alternatives.
Dissatisfaction leads to turnover intentions
which have become a topical issue and provides an estimation of employees’
self-assessments on whether they might quit in the near future. Understanding
the reasons why employees quit might be a precursor to high turnover
intentions. Turnover intentions of librarians have become a human resource
problem in private universities because of their inability to retain librarians
they nurtured due to ready availability of job alternatives. This study
investigated the influence of Leadership Style (LS), Emotional Intelligence
(EI) and Empowerment of Librarians (EL) on Turnover Intentions (TI) in the
private universities in South-West and South-South, Nigeria.
The
survey research design was adopted. A
total of 200 librarians from selected private universities in South-West and
South-South, Nigeria constituted the target population for the study. Purposive
sampling technique was used to select twenty-seven out of the thirty-eight
private universities in South-West and South-South, Nigeria. Total enumeration
was used. The instrumentfor data collection was a modified and validated
questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients for the variables
ranged between 0.69 and 0.97. A response rate of 85% was recorded for the 200
copies of the questionnaire administered. Data were analysed using descriptive and
inferential (Pearson Product Moment Correlation and multiple regression) statistics.
The findings indicated that there was a
significant correlation between LS (r=0.40, p<0.05);
EI (r=0.24,p<0.05); EL (r=0.18, P<0.05) and TI. LS had a significant
influence on TI;(Adj. R2=0.292;F(3,166)= 23.974;P<0.05). EI had a significant
influence on TI(Adj.R2= 0.106;F(3,166)=7.586;P<0.05). EL also had a significant
influence on TI(Adj.R2=0.041; F(2,167)=4.525; p<0.05). LS, EI and EL had a combined
influence on TI (Adj.R2= 0.149; (F(8,161)=10.764;P<0.05).
The study concluded that the
appropriateness of leadership style and leadership behaviour remain the secret
tool in understanding employees’ behaviour, attitude and retention. The
engagement and retention of Librarians is highly dependent on leaders with a
critical mass of emotional intelligence and empowering behaviours. It was
therefore recommended that continuous leadership trainings with emphasis
onemotional intelligence and empowering behaviour should be conducted in
conjunction with relevant stakeholders. Curriculum in library schools should
integrate emotional intelligence skills while exit surveys should be conducted for
quitting librarians to identify reasons for leaving.
Keywords: Leadership
style, Emotional intelligence, Empowerment, Librarians, Turnover
intentions, Private universities
Word Count: 402
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Content Page
Title Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv-v
Abstract vi
Table of Contents vii
List of Tables x
List of Figures xi
Abbreviations xii
Appendices xiii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study 1
- Statement of the Problem 12
- Objective of the Study 12
- Research Questions 13
- Hypotheses 13
- Scope of the Study 14
- Significance of the Study 15
- Operational Definition of Terms 15
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 The Concept of Leadership, Definitions, and Core Theories 18
2.2 Full-Range Leadership Model (FRLM) Attributes 28
2.3 Emotional Intelligence (EI) Concept, Components and Importance 39
2.4 The Concept of Empowerment and its Organizational Relevance 49
2.5 Empowering Management Practices 60
2.6 The Concept of Turnover Intention (TI) 67
2.7 Empirical Review of Literature 77
2.8 Theoretical Framework 84
2.9 Conceptual Model 87
Content Page
2.10 Appraisal of Literature 90
CHAPTER THREE:
METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction 93
3.1 Research Design 93
3.2 Population 93
3.3 Sample size and sampling Technique 95
3.4 Research Instrument 96
3.5 Validity and Reliability Test of Research Instruments 97
3.6 Data Collection Procedure 98
3.7 Method of Data Analysis 98
3.8 Model Specification 99
3.9 A Priori Expectation 99
3.10 Model Evaluation and test of Significance 99
3.11 Ethical Consideration 100
3.12 Post Research Benefits 100
CHAPTER
FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS, AND DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS
4.0 Introduction 102
4.1 Analysis of the Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents 102
4.2 Research Questions 106
4.3 Hypotheses 119
4.4 Discussion of Findings 122
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction 131
5.1 Summary 131
5.2 Conclusion 133
5.3 Recommendations 134
5.4 Contribution to Knowledge 135
5.5 Implications of findings 137
5.6 Limitation of the Study 137
5.7 Suggestion for Further Studies 137
REFERENCES 139
Appendix I- Questionnaire 165
Content Page
Appendix
II- Notification of Ethical Clearance
Appendix
III- Informed Consent Form
Appendix IV- Turn it in Result
LIST
OF TABLES
Table Page
3.1 The names of the universities, their Locations, Year of Establishment and the Number of Academic Librarians in Private Universities in South-West and South-South, Nigeria 94
3.2 Reliability Statistics of the Pilot Study 98
4.2.1 Transformational Leadership Style in use in private university libraries 107
4.2.2 Transactional Leadership Style in use in private university libraries 108
4.2.3 Passive/Laissez Faire Leadership Style in use in private university libraries 108
4.3 The level of application of emotional intelligence by leaders Private university libraries 111
4.4 The level of librarian’s empowerment in private university libraries 113
4.5 The level of turnover intentions of librarians in private university libraries 115
4.6 Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis (correlation matrix) on relationship between leadership style, emotional intelligence, librarians empowerment and turnover intentions 119
4.7 Regression analysis on significant prediction of leadership styles on turnover intentions 120
4.8 Regression analysis on significant prediction of emotional intelligence on turnover intentions 121
4.9 Regression analysis on significant prediction of librarian’s empowerment on turnover intentions of librarians in South-West and South-South Nigeria 121
4.10 Regression analysis on composite prediction of leadership style, emotional intelligence and librarian’s empowerment on turnover intentions of librarians 122
LIST OF
FIGURES
Figure Page
2.1 Competence and Commitment Value Categorization of Librarians 38
2.2 Building Followers and Building Leaders/ Winning Teams 39
2.3 Societal changes and Associated New Organizational Requirement. 41
2.4 Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence Model in Practice 42
2.5 Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence Competencies Model 46
2.6 Empowered Organizations Model 62
2.7 Impact of Empowering Management Practices 67
2.8 Conceptual Model for Leadership Style, Emotional Intelligence, Empowerment and Librarians’ Turnover Intention in Private University Libraries in South-West and South-South, Nigeria 87
4.1 Pie chart illustrating gender distribution of the respondents 102
4.2 Bar chart illustrating marital status of the respondents 103
4.3 Bar chart illustrating age range of the respondents 103
4.4 Bar chart illustrating highest academic qualification of the respondents 104
4.5 Bar chart illustrating designation/status of the respondents 104
4.6 Bar chart illustrating number of years in service 105
4.7 Bar chart illustrating Department/Section/Unit in the Library 106
ABBREVIATIONS
LS- Leadership Style
EI- Emotional Intelligence
LE- Librarians’
Empowerment
TI- Turnover
Intentions
FRLM- Full
Range Leadership Model
TPB- Theory of Planned Behaviour
MLQ- Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire
FURLEIEMTI- Full
Range Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Empowerment, Turnover Intentions.
NYSC- National Youth Service
Corps
SPSS- Statistical Package
for Social Sciences
CIPD- Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study
Information
society has brought about some developments which are dictating the direction
of the future of humanity. These
developments include globalization, the prominence of the knowledge economy and
the permeating effect of information communications technology. These three developments have combined to
exert increased importance on the human
capital which, more than ever, has the freedom to decide where to work and
whom to work for. One significant attribute of the knowledge society is
globalization which has also brought more visibility and competitiveness among
organizations resulting in employee mobility. Employee mobility has the
resultant effect of high employee turnover and turnover intentions for every
organization, and more especially for organizations that do not embrace best
management and human resource practices. In the higher education sector,
universities have become “open global markets” where only the best will
ultimately survive and retain good quality staff, whose demand often out-strips the supply; hence, the need
to pay serious attention to staff turnover and the intent. The Human
Development Report: Work for Human Development (2015) states pointedly that the
fast changing world of work, driven by globalization of work and digital
revolution, presents opportunities, but at the same time poses risks; affirming
that the benefits of this evolving new world of work is not evenly distributed
and there are winners and losers.
Tettey (2006)
argues that a well-developed human capital base is not only an asset
that enables countries to promote forward-looking ideas, initiate and guide
action and build successes; it also makes those countries attractive
destinations for investment and intellectual collaboration, both of which if managed
appropriately will lead to positive returns and transformation. This also
applies to every organization, and the transformation of an organization is a
leadership responsibility. The impact of leadership in every organization
cannot be over emphasized. Leadership as
a concept for centuries has continued to attract the attention of philosophers,
academics, researchers, human resource practitioners, organizations and
countries. Stodgill(1974) affirms that
there are many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have
attempted to define the concept.
Bennis(1959:259) summarizes
this when he says:
Always, it
seems, the concept of leadership eludes us or turns up in another form or
taunts us again with its slipperiness and complexity so that we have invented an
endless proliferation of terms to deal with it… and still the concept is not sufficiently
defined.
This
study defines leadership as the ability to manage uncertainty, conflict,
adversity, inadequacy, abundance, human and physical capital under changing
circumstances with appropriate tenacity in harnessing and turning environmental
information into knowledge in arriving at the proposed goal to the benefit of
group members and organization. The
consistent pattern of action or attitude which a leader exhibits over a time is
regarded as the leadership style.
Leadership style (LS) is regarded as a form of cross situational behaviour
consistently exhibited by a leader, which highlights the manner inwhich a
leader interacts with his/her subordinates, contemporaries, outsiders and
stakeholders. Leadership style also
depicts the way or form in which a leader influences employees decision to be
hired, decision to be engaged, committed and remain with the institution in
spite of other alternatives; the way structural changes are managed, reducing
administrative demands, ensuring quality reviews, without compromising high
standard.
The changing demographics of labour
market, enduring skills shortages and employees’ demand for work-life balance
have created a so-called “war for talent”(CIPD 2006) This “war” implies that organizations must
seek to improve their strategies, policies as well as practices for the
attraction, development, deployment and retention of talents vital for their
sustenance and success. This is also applicable to private university libraries
which seemingly have challenges with staff retention. The CIPD/Hays Resourcing
and Talent Planning Survey (2013) reports that the proportion of employers
reporting a war for talent has risen from 20% in 2009 to 62% in 2013; and six
in ten organizations had experienced difficulties filling vacancies. Leadership
needs to realize more than ever that superior talent is increasingly recognized
and accepted as the prime source of competitive advantage. The supremacy of the
employees, the rapidly changing business environment and globalization have
brought about the growing need for globally aware managers and professionals
with multi-functional fluency, technological literacy, entrepreneurial skills
and the ability to operate in different cultures, structures and markets. This is a function of leadership who is
expected to function effectively in trans-border as well as domestic contexts. This assertion demands the need for a careful
selection, grooming and development of leaders who can operate in a globalised
environment.
Leadership capability has to do with the process
which is employed to hire qualified employees and equally retain them through
the establishment and practice of a culture of quality work-life, good work
ergonomics, motivated work climate as well as best practices in talent
management and human resources and all these have to do with leadership style.
This study in determining the effect of leadership style on turnover intention
of librarians in private university libraries in South-West and South-South
geopolitical zones of Nigeria, has adopted a definite leadership style which is
the Full Range Leadership Model(FRLM) developed by Avolio and Bass(1994). The Full Range Leadership Model (FRLM)
consists of a combination of three styles of leadership as a continuum. These are the Transformational Leadership
style, Transactional Leadership style and Passive Avoidant Leadership style. Researchers in the field of leadership
believe leaders adopt more than one leadership style, hence the Full Range
Leadership style seems to be an answer to addressing the inadequacies inherent
in adopting a single leadership style.
The Full Range Leadership Model(FRLM) is a
well-researched model in the higher education sector. Studies by Bodla and
Nawaz (2010) ; Gozukara (2016) and Morris (2016) agree on the effectiveness of
FRLM in colleges and universities. The
FRLM in its current form comprises nine measurable elements which are combined
to form the basis on which leadership style; behavior and effectiveness are
scaled. The FRLM is organized around two axes. The first being the degree of
activity and the second is the degree of effectiveness of leadership. The activity axis rates the behavior pattern
of the leader in terms of how active or passive in relating to others and
towards the aims and goals of the organization and in this study, private
university libraries and the university communities at large. The activity axis concerns the leader’s level
of engagement and involvement in the leadership process.
On the other hand, the effectiveness axis has to do
with the effect the specific leadership style has on the employees, group and
organizational outcome, such as performance, internal motivation and wellbeing,
and willingness to remain on the job. Ultimately, transformational leadership
is based on intrinsic or autonomous motivation according to Bono and Judge
(2003). This means motivation of group members is basic, inherent, ingrained,
inseparable, and ineffaceable to transformational leadership style. Transformational leadership provides clear
vision
and mission, inspires self-esteem in employees wherein the leader gains trust
and respect through charisma. The Transactional Leadership style transacts
rewardas a leader/member exchange, with subordinates performing tasks as
planned. Employees are rewarded in line with stated standards inexchange for
accomplishments according to Sosik and Jung(2010). The rewards also include punitive measures in
cases where subordinates do not live up to expectation. Transactional
leadership style could be termed as a “Quid
pro quo” style – meaning an exchange of goods or services, where one
transfer is contingent upon the other. The Passive Avoidant/Laissez-faire style
allows the system to run itself while the leader only intervenes
occasionally. Some consider it an
ineffective off-hand style, however it has its usefulness under some specific
organizational clime.The other part of the style is the Leadership By Exception
(passive) wherein the leader is reactionary and only intervenes when things are
going wrong. This style of leadership
may be sparingly applied in systems where employees are expected to be
knowledgeable workers, self-motivated, and are able to workindependently with
little or no supervision to produce result; especially in a manufacturing
outfit where schedules are defined and specific.
University
library leadership and the style of leadership are essential to the library’s
effectiveness as a central academic organ.
Hersberger (1989) argues that an important aspect of a successful
library leadership is the ability to recognize what can be offered to
“followers” that might “engage” or “satisfy” their “motives”. The FRLMfulfillsthis sinceit is not about a
single pattern of behavior, but the dominantpattern which could be interchanged
with others becomes the style. Laissez
may crop up at times, but it is the consistent combination of transformation
and transactional styles that make the FRLM quite attractive, and suitable for
private university libraries in South-West and South-South, Nigeria. According
to a Conference board study of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development (CIPD), the recruitment and retention of talented employees is the
number one business concern of Chief Executives in Europe. It is therefore generally believed that
leaders and their skills in evolving a healthy work-place environment or
culture that speaks to employees in a way that encourages them to feel valued
and willing to stay on the job, remains a secret weapon in preventing or
ameliorating turnover and TI. This
presupposes the ability of leadership to exhibit and apply EI skills which can
negate turnover intentions of librarians who are the subject of this study.
This could ordinarily be interpreted as making the work environment
employee-centred.
Today’s
workforce and work environment are becoming increasingly diverse and employees
are seeking for opportunities to learn and enhance their skills as well as
having an open valve for imagination, expression and creativity, in order to
add value to their organizations. It follows therefore that a leader’s interest
in the employees’ well-being, a workplace culture which promotes psychological
conditions which give meaning to work, making it safe, and enriched, with
supportive supervisors and good organizational citizenship are all that the
work environment requires. The recognition of these values by leaders will
result in greater employee loyalty and lower turnover intentions. All these
attributes require a critical mass of emotional intelligence. EI involves a
combination of competencies which allow a person to be aware of, to understand,
and to be in control of his or her emotions, to recognize and understand the
emotions of others, and to use this knowledge to foster success for self,
others, and organization. Emotional
Intelligence is an intangible trait in every being which affects how we manage
behaviour, interpret others’ feelings, navigate social complexities and make
decisions which affect others as well as personal decisions.
Emotion is a significant and an influential
component of personality and the effective management of emotion remains an
important aspect of human adjustment to life situations; while some even
consider it as an aspect of mental health.
People with highly developed EI are said to be more successful in the
workplace because they understand their emotions and why they behave the way
they do. Goleman (2006) defines EI as the habitual practice of using emotional
information from self and others, further integrated with our thinking and
using this in arriving at informed decision making, problem solving, helping to
get what is required or sought after from the immediate situation and life. One
of the most applied constructs which EI has been associated with is that of
leadership; and leadership literature equally suggests that effective leaders
must possess a critical mass of EI. The perception of the leader’s EI is said to
significantly affect subordinates’ turnover intentions. Goleman (2001) posits that leaders high in EI
are key to organizational success, linking aspects of EI to success in the
sense of accuracy about performance feedback and aptness of rewards; the clarity
people have about mission and values; and finally the level of commitment to a
common purpose. Each factor has a
measurable effect on the “climate” of the organization. All these are based on level of the emotional
intelligence of business.
McAdam and McClelland (2002) identify six key
factors which could influence an organization’s work environment: its
flexibility– that is how free the employees feel to innovate, unencumbered by
red-tape; their sense of responsibility to the organization; the level of
standard that people set; the sense of accuracy about performance feedback and
aptness of reward; the clarity people have about mission and values; and
finally the level of commitment to a common purpose. Each factor has a
measurable effect on the “climate” of the organization. All these are based on
the level of emotional intelligence of leaders which this study believes is
necessary for university library leadership.
Emotional Intelligence consists of three main models; the ability EI
model, the trait EI model, and the mixed EI model. Emotional intelligence is made up of six core
skills that pair up under three Primary Competencies – Personal Competence –
self regulation and self awareness; Social Competence – relationship management
and social awareness; and Empathy- affective and cognitive.
Gottman
(2002) argues that in the last few decades, science has discovered more facts
about the role which emotions play in human lives. He claims researchers have
found that even more than IQ, emotional awareness and abilities to handle
feelings will determine success and happiness in all walks of life. Emotional Intelligent leaders inspire
employees to have a sense of self-actualization, apart from meeting the goals
of the organization and this feeling often has to do with the need for
recognition as employees are value-driven.
This idea is driven home by the
Global Workforce Study Report 2014.
The
Global Work Force Study Report reveals that after decades of emphasizing the
responsibility of the employeesto know the customers’ needs and meet them; many
employees have now started to expect the same from their employers, to know
employees’ needs and meet them. The Global Workforce Study Report clearly
points to the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership as companies
where employees rate their leaders high on EI have more engaged employees. It
also raised the need to handle the concerns of the employees painstakingly;
emphasizing the importance of empowering employees. It stressed theimpact of
effective leadership on employees’ commitment, productivity and engagement
which will result in low turnover intentions.
Emotionally
intelligent leaders, naturally empower the employees. Ultimately, an
organization’s concern for the welfare, work environment and the needs of
employees remain a great response to empowering employees and initiating effort
to retain them. Although empowerment
within organization is aimed at a systemic change, organizational leadership
now recognize that, this is what the global environment requires in order to
retain good employees. The changing
nature of the relationship of employees to organization is pushing
organizational leaders to rethink traditional power structures. As individuals r
