Individual Assignment - Prof Moqib (Leadership)

7/28/2019 Individual Assignment - Prof Moqib (Leadership)

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LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION

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Issue : The Teachers Workload Dealing with Poor Leadership in School Organization

Situation : Sungai Limau Primary School

School Background

The Sungai Limau Primary School are located at District of Kuala Muda/Yan. In here,there

are 457 pupils. For administrative section,teachers and supportive staff have 40 people.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Vicissitudes and advanced failure of a school depends heavily on commitment and

enthusiasm of the headmaster and the teachers in carrying out their duties in school. This is

because all the action and task and activities that occur on school triggered by the headmaster

and it is driven by the teacher. Teachers cannot afford engaging in any activity or program

alone without the participation of the teachers. Commitment teachers of the tasks entrusted to

them is to start with comfort and enjoyment of their work. All their actions are due to several

factors makes the existence of an atmosphere and environment they work in schools,

including style leadership of school managers (head teachers).

The school is an institution of formal education structure organization, led by the

headmaster as the key leadership in the school. As a leader, this individual will determine the

rise and fall of a school thus play a very important role in determining the direction of the

success of the school. Leadership in tandem with information technology, smart schools,

school effective, the target of 60% science students and efforts to make Malaysia a centre

world-class educational excellence. Educational leadership is very important to lead

organizational goals. Image is determined by the image of school education and image of

leadership. According Bardford (1981), a less capable leader will lead to job dissatisfaction

among teachers. Leaders determine the degree of influence effectiveness of the plan, decision

and action strategies. Actions of a leader is not It only affects the organization he leads even


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in terms of job satisfaction staff especially teachers under his control should also be

emphasized because it involves a person's credibility. The teaching profession is a profession

that requires commitment and determination high in order to produce human capital that is

useful to society and the nation. Performed by the process of educating teachers is a

continuous process undertaken in all ages begins at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

Institutions education at all levels play a role in each stage in order to produce quality of

human capital based on the National Education Philosophy.

Based on the background of the above problems and realize the fact that the question

leadership and job satisfaction is an important issue and should be viewed from the concept

responsibility that has major implications on the success of the organization, thus affect the

future of the country. Hence this research is to examine the level of job satisfaction among

teachers associated with the headmaster's leadership style in schools in Educational of

District Office, Kuala Muda Yan .Although there are many factors that determine the comfort

and satisfaction of teachers in school, however, this study only focuses on the headmistress's

leadership style. This study was done to see the level of job satisfaction is closely related to

the style factor Headmaster leadership and how leadership style favoured by teachers for

create job satisfaction in school.

THE JOB SATISFACTION ARE RELATED TO THE WORKLOAD OF TEACHERS

Assume the role of a teacher is not as simple as throw the word guru itself. If look

at the National Education Philosophy (1989), there is a phrase which sets education as an

ongoing effort to produce a balanced and harmonious in terms of intellectual, spiritual,

physical and emotional. If we were to work for the realization of this the National Education

Philosophy is severe. It is difficult for the human form and mould a variety of spiritual


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backgrounds toward a common goal. Therefore teachers should be competent in human tasks,

able to deal with the problem of students and constantly change with time (Fitri, 2006).

The teaching profession is a demanding career fields. Teachers are considered experts

in the field (Abdul Rahin et al.2000) job teachers do not just go to class teaching and marking

exams, but more extensive than that. Teaching profession is a profession that demands

seriousness disseminate knowledge in order to build a highly civilized society. Such large

impact on the teaching profession nation-building. So mainly the responsibility of a teacher

then so greater the burden should rest with the teacher.

Workload can be defined as a trust entrusted to the teacher whether it is done in the

classroom or outside the classroom and aims to complete the work associated with the school

(Shukri, 1998). This workload is measured by looking at the tasks allotted time in a week.

Looking at the definition of this workload can be concluded that the tasks assigned to the

teacher is able to pressure especially if the task is given in excess. Task charged to the teacher

must take into account the priority of the teacher's responsibility. Along with the

development of education, teacher experience increases. However, the teacher's ability to

cope with a given workload depends on the individual. Too large workload will interfere with

emotions and in turn affects the quality of the teaching (Fitri, 2006).

Various measures have been taken to overcome this problem. This is to ensure that

the focus of the teacher to educate not disturbed. No doubt teachers also need to be

responsible for a variety of data on students, but teachers also need to know his student data

to help teachers adapt teaching methods, but so do other than educate teachers should be

given to thrift with the primary responsibility of a teacher.

The teacher is not subject to teach only. Teaching is a fraction of the tasks to be

performed by the teacher. According to Shukri (1998), in addition to teaching, teachers role is


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to plan, organize, manage and evaluate. Based Handbook of teachers and staff (2011), the

teacher can be divided into ten sections, namely:

i. Teaching

ii. Administrative classroom

iii. Internal examination

iv. External examination

v. Disciplinary care

vi. School administration

vii. Activities, extra-curricular activities

viii. Semi-professional tasks

ix. Non-professional tasks

x. Other tasks

2.1 Duties of Teaching

Teaching requires teachers to teach certain subjects according to teacher

qualifications. However, teachers also need to master the skills needed to teach the subject

and be able to describe the contents of the syllabus and the Syllabus. In addition, teachers

also need to provide a complete lesson record book with a lesson plan for one year / one term

/ week / day and implement lessons based on the plans ahead. Teachers also need to provide

training to students as well as check book training before being shown to the administrator.

If teachers can detect flaws in studies among students, it is the responsibility of the teacher to

conduct coaching classes in addition to providing test to detect the weaknesses of their pupils.

Tests and records must be recorded in the record books teach.

As a teacher who teaches the subject, teachers need to become an expert in the subject

committee and attend and participate in meetings and activities undertaken by the committee.


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If the Ministry of Education, the State Education Department or the District Education Office

to organize a briefing or meeting, the teacher concerned should attend and spread the

information obtained to the teachers who teach the same subject. Place unlimited teach in the

class, but for certain subjects such as Life Skills requires students moving and learning in a

specially prepared room. Individual teacher to be responsible for the safety of students as

well as the cleanliness and safety equipment used.

2.2 Administration Classrooms

In administering the classroom, some of the tasks to be performed by the teacher. This

includes carrying out various collection of the fees charged by the school. In addition,

teachers also need to ensure that relationships with parents continue to do all correspondence

if necessary. Teachers also need to keep a list of other classes keep students 'personal

information such as students' personal files, books consolidated progress reporting books and

extra-curricular provision and certification letter. In addition, teachers also need to be

controlling and supervising the classroom situation.

2.3 Internal Examination

The duties include the provision of internal examination questions. These questions

need to be provided in accordance with the examination calendar provided by the school.

Time of examination, the teacher should monitor the ongoing examination that there was no

fraud and the results more transparent.

After completing the exam, the teacher should check the answer scripts of students'

answers to be scored and conducted grading. After that, the results of the analysis will be

conducted to look at the overall student performance.

2.4 External Examination

External examination means examination conducted and administered by parties other

than the school and the examination usually conducted simultaneously throughout the


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country and involve all students in certain years such as the Primary School Assessment Test

(UPSR). Therefore, the teacher simply involves the collection related fees, fill out the entry

form and exam invigilator should be directed.

2.5 Care Discipline

Scopes of work in the care of discipline include supervision of students discipline in

general. This means that teachers are allowed to reprimand or demonstration if there are

students who do wrong. Hygiene is also contained within the scope of duty of care discipline.

Teachers are responsible for ensuring the cleanliness class and pupils as clothing is always

awake and obey school rules.

2.6 Administration School

Through field work proved that the teacher does not stop at teaching only. Teachers

also need to be involved in the administration for the smooth functioning of the school.

Among the things to do is help corporate rooms such as science labs, art room, music room,

workshop and so on.

In addition, teachers are also involved in administering such thing as a textbook

distribution, the distribution schedule for teachers and coordinating the work of multiple

classes or subjects. It is important to avoid conflicts and duplication of time and work.

2.7 The activities of the Co-curriculum

Activities, extra-curricular activities should be conducted in the school and to comply

with the rules and instructions given. Extra-curricular activities include uniformed bodies,

associations and clubs. In addition to carrying out the activities of the co-curriculum, teachers

are also required to record and supervise all activities.


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2.8 Semi-Professional Duties

Semi-professional tasks means that tasks are not directly related to the student. In

other words, the semi-professional tasks refer to activities to benefit students or students who

need a teacher as a governor or actuator activity.

These tasks involve things such as visits to schools outside the area either with the

purpose of competition, sports games or educational visits. In addition, teachers are also

responsible for organizing festivals and special ceremonies and school development projects.

Although there are activities that do not involve students in particular as school projects, but

the end result of the project benefits the entire school community, including students.

2.9 Non-Professional Duties

The duties of this profession are not seen as a task that is not in contact with the main

task of the teacher as an educator to the community. This task can also be seen as a social

responsibility of a teacher to the school and community.

Among the items contained in the non-professional tasks are school buildings and

landscaping care and hygiene school. Teachers need to ensure that school places are always

clean and cheerful so that the students who come to school to learn in a comfortable

environment. In addition, teachers also need to control the traffic and maintain security of

schools and students. Therefore, teachers should report any damage in the school and set the

traffic to the students and parents who attend the school.

If there are special cases such as student illness or have a problem that prevented to

attend school, teachers have visited the home of the student. Besides getting clear information

about the situation and problems of students, teachers also indirectly strengthen the

relationship between teachers and parents. Next, to help students in their studies, teachers are

required to sell books to the students training.


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2.10 Other Duties

As the head of an organization of schools, the headmaster has the power to direct the

teachers to do certain tasks if the task that will benefit the school. Therefore, these other tasks

are tasks related headmaster directed by from time to time.

Based on this teacher to-do list it is clear that the teacher is not just to teach but to

cover the entire course related to students. In summary the teacher can set consists of two

parts, namely the management of teaching and learning as well as the management and

administration of the school. However, under each section comprises a variety of other tasks

demanding field breakdown endurance teachers to implement. Headmaster of the school as

the head of administration should take aware of this scenario. Thus headmaster should be

more concerned and do a more fair division of labor as well as emphasizing the welfare of

teachers felt that teachers who shouldered his burden can be reduced.

3.0 LOAD DUTY TEACHER

In addition to the parents at home, teachers are the ones responsible for developing

soul and character grinding to determine the rise and fall of next generation. Therefore

teachers should play a responsibility to educate with the passion and sense of responsibility.

If the teacher negligent in discharging its trust, the greater the possibility to see the next

generation of life in the soul and humility personality flaws (Shukri, 1998). Centered on this

matter it is clear that the teacher is an important component in making the country filled by

people who are not only knowledgeable but also has a soul and an outstanding personality.


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Education system and the educational goals that have been set seen so noble goals.

Yet teachers as implementers need to have a good quality performance to ensure the FPN can

be realized. However, stress and workload will affect the quality of teaching and thus affect

the performance and efficiency of the teacher (Sazali, 1997). The situation is exacerbated by

pressure from the community and high expectations given to teachers (Soh, 1987).

Today the teacher not only in the classroom but also involve clerical work (Moran,

1998). Based on studies conducted by the Salwa (1996), the average hours of work of a

teacher is 65.77 hours per week. Of the total 37.67 hours used to manage and conduct

academic affairs while remaining 28.10 hours was used for non-academic tasks. This task

assignments dtambah again with the positions held by the teacher. On average a teacher holds

six posts covering the role of classroom teachers, the task associated with extra-curricular

activities and special tasks assigned. The research also shows that teachers generally

expressed shouldered workload is heavy.

The report submitted by the Special Committee Addressing Load Master (2010) of 17

teachers showed that 8 out of 17 times the number of teachers assigned to teach more than 29

hours a week. 9 out of 17 teachers expressed their hours of duty that includes teaching and

learning time is over 66 hours a week. The report also said the 17 teachers agreed that they do

not have a specific list of duties and responsibilities are not clearly real and actual work time.

In addition, all 17 teachers agree that the main burden being shouldered is clerical

work.Load teacher is varied. Even nowadays many clerical work that had to be done by the

teacher. This coupled with the question of discipline, classroom management, timetable and

lesson planning and teaching material (Lim, 1995). Due to this common work of teacher

brought it home. Indirect work time, teachers are beyond working hours the other office

bearers.


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The teacher on this very important day because the teacher is part of an important

subject for sketching portraits of the country's success. Too great a burden placed on the

shoulders of the teachers are able to cause the teacher missed the runway to create a brilliant

student. This is because the main task of educating cannot be done as effectively as possible

(Moran, 1998). Therefore, it is very appropriate that the relevant parties can review more

closely related to this issue. It is meant to prevent teachers feel pressured to unnecessary

workload. Fear stress experienced by teachers will affect the quality of service of a teacher's

knowledge. Undeniably the burden of teachers keep pace with the country's dream of

achieving developed nation status, but so should be a priority to produce quality human

capital and these efforts should start from school. It is a loss to the nation if these efforts

retardation and disturbed since the beginning.

4.0 HOW TO REDUCE THE BURDEN OF TEACHER JOB

The issue of teacher workload has opened the eyes of many teachers over the years

have been charged with a variety of tasks that should not affect the main focus for educating

teachers. Not only that, the workload is able to bring a lot of stress for teachers. According

Sazali (1997), many teachers reported that they face pressure and burn out at some stage of

their careers. This in turn affects the level of professionalism in the handling of the case.

Thus, the various parties including academics have given some recommendations to address

this problem. Among them is Tan Sri Dr Abdul Rahman Arshad, former Director General of

Education as described in the Daily News newspaper dated May 24, 2010. Four

recommendations given by him is fully capitalize on the success of the role of parents in

school activities, optimize private sector involvement in the development of education,

promoting the contribution of former students and teachers create retirees association. He

added that the proposed recommendation is triggered by the concept of "socialization of


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education" and did not involve any additional cost to the government. However, these efforts

need to involve the private sector, parents and the government to look at this concept can be

realized.

Effort to address teacher workload can also be seen through the formation of the

Special Committee Addressing the burden of teachers in 2010. Through the establishment of

this committee which aims to list the duties and responsibilities of teachers, identifying the

factors that lead to increased teacher burden besides recommending measures to address

teacher workload among others.

He has recommended 13 steps you can take to reduce the workload of teachers. 13 steps are:

i. Laboratory tests conducted once during the exam.

ii. Shrink the size of the class.

iii. Add the number of teachers.

iv. Create a workshop assistant positions.

v. Reduce the time to teach teachers (including teacher discipline).

vi. Fair distribution of tasks.

vii. Give priority to the welfare of teachers.

viii. Provide suitable facilities according to the specifications of other civil servants.

ix. Reduce activities Saturday or exemption from duty on Saturday as other public

servants.

x. Make special leave right teacher.

xi. Create a special position for co-curricular activities.

xii. Increase cooperation with the community and PTA through smart partnerships.

xiii. Creating a teacher assistant positions for clerical work.

Of recommendations proposed by the Special Committee Addressing Load more

comprehensive Teacher's seen. In addition to regular teachers involved in addressing this


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issue, submitted proposals also involve other school administrators involve the government as

policy builder. Furthermore, the proposed recommendations also concern for the welfare of

teachers.

This point concurs with the suggestions made by Shukri (1998) proposes to set up a support

staff to assist the work of clerical allowance of teachers and the need for teachers to do the

work over time. He added that the task given to the teachers to match their abilities and skills

available to the teacher and the teacher does not result in overburdened.

Salwa (1996) suggest, reduced class size to 35 people for a class. In addition, he also

suggested that academic work should be limited to 39.80 hours per week and non-teaching

duties reduced to 4.23 hours per week. The recommended time is significantly different than

66 hours off duty (by combining academic and non-academic assignments) as reported by the

Special Committee Addressing the Burden of Teachers.

Suggestions made should not be ignored. The parties concerned should take proactive

measures to help address the problem of teacher workload. This matter should be taken

seriously to help teachers achieve high job satisfaction without stress by not burdening

teachers with extreme workloads. It is time profession is lifted back the prestige and quality,

not just a victim of ridicule and criticism of society. To accomplish such intention, of course,

the quality of teaching needs to be improved first by priority focus for educating teachers.

With the intention to produce knowledgeable and high moral no longer be an empty promise.

5.0 CONCLUSION

Workload issue is no longer a new issue. In fact no exaggeration to say that this issue

is an issue like endless bad. Every year teachers will continue to complain of workload

experienced to interfere with the primary responsibility for educating


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Solving this issue can not be done with the involvement of only one side. Sequential solution

must start from the policy makers (government) until the policy implementers (teachers).

Hence, the government through the Ministry of Education to review the tasks entrusted to the

teacher. Unmanageable task execution will cause problems for teachers and students also

receive impact.

Further, the curriculum has been designed not to be too frequently changed. This will result

in teachers not well prepared with the skills of the new curriculum demands to suit a variety

of business infrastructure available at the school. This situation coupled with the pressure of

parents who always want good results regardless of what experienced by teachers. Whereas,

if we examine all sides agreed examination results is not a determinant of success (Sazali,

1997).

Tendency on the part of policy-makers who only emphasize the goal to make the welfare of

student teachers neglected. True the teacher is educating students but must be relevant to the

existing ability. Party policy makers need to look back on things that need to be implemented

to realize the intention of the founding fathers rather than recklessly policies. This means that

all prospective and existing constraints faced by the teacher should be seen.

Other parties, especially the parents can not assume the task is the task of educating teachers

alone. Parents need to play a role monitor their children in terms of discipline and provide

basic education to ease the burden of teachers.

In Finally, extensive cooperation from all parties need to make this issue can be resolved and

thus make improved the quality of teaching as well as the country can produce human capital

that is able to propel the country towards success and material and spiritual progress.

Is the workload of teachers related to leadership style?..... Are they concerned about this

issues?


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3.2 Leadership and teacher satisfaction

Research conducted by UKs Institute of Public Policy Research (West & Patterson,

1999, p. 22), based on an 8-year long study of 100 companies, concluded that "an employee's

satisfaction with their work and a positive view of the organisation, combined with relatively

extensive and sophisticated people management practices, are the most important predictors

of the future productivity of companies." The people-management practices referred to here

include ones that concentrate on enabling staff to actually enjoy their work rather than feel

oppressed by it; ones that encourage questioning and thinking; ones that develop cooperation

through investing in social capital and mutual trust within the organisation. Recent research

in England suggests that such conditions may not be a strong feature of schools. A report by

the think-tank for the National Union of Teachers in that country (Gardner, 2001, p. 8) found

that younger teachers in particular felt pay prospects and lack of control over the way they

taught as a result of government initiatives, were causing them to question their commitment

to the profession.

Most teachers argued consistently that centrally driven educational reform meant

that they experienced change as never-ending barrage of externally imposed, randomly timed

and badly managed initiatives that they had little constructive role in helping to shape. As

stress was purported to be a widespread feature of work in teaching in England, Troman

(2000) studied an opportunity sample of 20 teachers referred to a local authority

Occupational Health Unit as experiencing stress. The study found that the intensification of

teachers' work was involved in eroding positive staff relationships. Changing trust relations

in high modernity (including public distrust of expert systems, professionals) were found to

be shaping the social relations of low-trust schooling and impacting negatively on teachers'

physical and emotional well being and their collegial professional relations. School leaders


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can be a major influence on such school-level factors as well as help buffer against the

excesses of the mounting and sometimes contradictory external pressures. As the analytical

framework for OECDs Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers Project

(OECD, 2002, p. 8) argues, A skilled and well-supported leadership team in schools can

help foster a sense of ownership and purpose in the way that teachers approach their job.

conferring professional autonomy to teachers will enhance the attractiveness of the

profession as a career choice and will improve the quality of the classroom teaching

practice. (OECD, 2002, p. 14) Spencer (2001, p. 814) makes clear that the single most

powerful recruiter of teachers are schools themselves. People who have had positive

experiences in school can prolong that experience by becoming teachers. Once in the

profession, intrinsic rewards are consistently rated highest in studies of teacher satisfaction.

For example, annual surveys administered to teachers over the past several decades

reflect teachers altruism as one of the most common reasons for entering teaching. Teachers

who work together in a meaningful and purposeful way have also been found to be more

likely to remain in the profession because they feel valued and supported in their work.

(Beane 1998; Bath 1999) Little (1995) is one researcher who has found clear evidence of the

positive effect of teacher leadership on teachers self efficacy and levels of morale. In

contrast, Blas and Blass (2002) study of 50 exemplary teachers in U.S.A. and Canada who

believed they had experienced significant principal mistreatment found that the adverse

effects included early and long-term psychological and emotional problems, physical and

physiological problems, damaged schools, and ultimately leaving the job. Unfortunately these

researchers also found that workplace abusers often target the bold, best and brightest

teachers.

3.3 Leadership and teacher role/performance


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In decentralised school settings principals have the autonomy to develop two very

different leadership models:

a more hierarchical and directive model, or

a more inclusive model which brings teachers in particular, and the local school community

into the frame. (Riley & Louis, 2000, p. 216) Research on decision making in Australian

primary (Mulford et al, 2000) and secondary (Mulford et al, 2001) schools found that the

more positively teachers viewed the decision making processes in the 18 school the higher

the degree of influence and control they perceived to be exerted by education staff groups in

the school. Ongoing analysis of this data base (Mulford et al, in press) shows that where

decision making is perceived by teachers in secondary schools as collegial, cooperative and

consultative and providing adequate opportunities for participation it will be more likely to

lead to positive student perceptions about their school and teachers as well as perceptions

about relationships and their own performance than where decision making is more top-

down, executive, or does not foster widespread teacher involvement.

However, the results also show that while decentralisation may have occurred from the

system to school level it had not necessarily occurred within schools and where it had it

tended to be about administrative rather than education matters. These results are supported

by other research. Gray (2001, p. 13) points out that in England teachers note considerably

greater changes in areas to do with their schools management and organisation than in ethos,

culture or teaching classroom-level changes were far less frequent than school-wide

initiatives. From case studies in nine Scottish secondary schools Adler et al (1997, Pp. 6-7)

also concluded that implementation of devolved school management has, so far, fallen short

of transforming the culture and working patterns of schools but had contributed to a dramatic

change in the role and status of head teacher. Schools seemed able to respond more

quickly to changing needs and priorities, but this was mainly in terms of repairs,


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maintenance and equipment. Teachers will be attracted to, and stay in, the profession if they

feel they belong and believe they are contributing to the success of their school and students.

Louis and Kruse (1995) have shown the important role of school-level leadership in the

development of a professional community. Teacher morale, efficacy, conditions of work, and

professional autonomy have all been shown to be crucial to the emotional lives of teachers.

(Hargreaves, 2000) There is no doubt that teachers themselves prefer principals who are

honest, communicative, participatory, collegial informal, supportive and demanding and

reasonable in their expectations with a clear vision for the school - principals who work

with rather than through. (Day et al, 2000, p. 20) Day et al (2000, p. 160) conclude that,

Research findings from diverse countries and different school contexts have revealed the

powerful impact of leadership processes related to school effectiveness and improvement.

Essentially, schools that are effective and have the capacity to improve are led by head

teachers who make a significant and measurable contribution to the effectiveness of their

staff. Research on school leaders in Denmark, Scotland, England and Australia by

MacBeath (1998, p. 63) identified a number of characteristics of effective leaders including

Good leaders are in the thick of things, working alongside their colleagues, respecting

teachers autonomy, protecting them from extraneous demands, and look ahead, anticipate

change and prepare people for it so that it doesnt surprise or disempowering them. Durland

and Teddlie (1996) posit a Centrality-Cohesiveness Model of Differentially Effective

Schools. Differentially effective schools can be distinguished by the cohesiveness of the

staff (webbed versus stringy) and the centrality of the leadership within the school. Well-

webbed structures and central leadership where found to be more effective than those

based on cliques, or stringy structures, and a perceived lack of leadership

Great leaders see beyond their egos.


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There is no argument that strongleadershipis critical for organizations to flourish. In

currentbusinessenvironments, it is almost a daily event to witness the exposure of poor

leadership in the largest companies worldwide. Whether you agree with media infiltration or

not, the length of time between when initial concerns are brought to the forefront about

companies and/or leadership and full transparency as the exposure unfolds is getting shorter

and shorter.

Accountability and responsibility have never been more important as the landscape of

corporate transformation alters in response to the turmoil in the economy. There have always

been weak leaders and those who cripple organizations with their lack of leadership skills.

However, the high visibility factor may have a tendency to provide a check and balance affect

in strengthening how leaders lead.

The book, Good to Great, by Jim Collins, has become, for some, the final word in what

strong leadership should look like and how leaders should lead. Jim Collins

states, Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness is largely a matter of

conscious choice, and discipline.However, the confidence required to lead complex

organizations doesnt always provide an infrastructure for supporting a Level 5 Leader, as

defined in Good to Great. Often this high level of confidence is accompanied by an ego that,

if not kept in check, will take over and compromise effective decision-making. You can pick

up any newspaper and read about the fall of a CEO due to greed, ego and/or compromised

integrity. The discipline described by Jim Collins may be the most difficult behaviours to

sustain.
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Below are a few signs that indicate poor leadership is present.

Leadership expects the workforce to tighten the financial belts, but does not tightentheir own. This is especially serious if the organization is in financial crisis.

There is little communication and transparency from top leadership. They choose tobe removed from all levels of the workforce. This may result in a deterioration of trust

by the workforce.

The organizational strategy is inconsistent and changes frequently. The strategy is notunderstood and is not integrated throughout the organization. Without clear direction,

you run the risk of spinning your wheels and getting nowhere.

The top leader takes credit for success and no responsibility for failure. The lack of understanding or belief that all levels of the organization are of equal

value in the grand scheme of things.

While there tends to be more focus on the results of poor leadership than strong, I believe

there are many more strong leaders than weak. However, as our economy begins to turn

around, the requirements for success will demand the best of leadership skills. Isnt it relevant

today to assess todays leadership and the leadership of tomorrow? Training, assessments,

succession planning and development are the focus of smart leadership and are systemic to

organizations that will thrive in the future.

Workload and Work Pace

The experience of being overworked is not new, and, if anything, some would suggest that it

is increasing within particular sectors (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997). The strains associated

with being overworked have been


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found to be uniformly negative across behavioral, psychological, and physiological outcome

domains (e.g., Jex & Beehr, 1991). Measures of role overload are empirically linked to

assessments of both context-free (e.g., Kelloway & Barling, 1991) and context-specific

mental health (see, for example, Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1992; Posig & Kickul, 2003).

Issues of workload and work pace become increasingly important in an environment in which

hours of work are increasing. The data suggest that working couples have

seen their average work year increase by nearly 700 hours in the past two decades and that up

to 30% of the workforce is exhausted by the end of the workday (NIOSH, 2002).

Organizational leadership is clearly linked to workload and pace in most organizations. By

establishing the pace of work and the amount of work that

is required, and by specifying deadlines, organizational leaders effectively establish

workloads and work pace for most individuals. Thus, when leaders set tight deadlines or

assign extra tasks without considering existing workloads, they become a source of

workplace stress through the experience of overload. To the extent that passive leaders are

unaware of the concerns of their employees, they may be less attuned to the amount of work

that their employees can reasonably manage and thus endorse a heavy workload or

unmanageable work pace. Similarly, abusive leaders who in their actions display little

concern for the welfare of their employees may also be more likely to set unreasonable

deadlines and workloads than highly effective leaders.

Role Stressors (Conf li ct, Ambiguity, and Inter role Conf li ct)

Role conflict exists whenever individuals face incompatible demands from two or more

sources. Role ambiguity reflects the uncertainty employees experience about what is expected

of them in their jobs; the opposite of role


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ambiguity would be role clarity. Inter role conflict exists when employees face incompatible

demands from two or more roles. The most common form of inter role conflict is work-

family conflict in which the demands of work conflict with the roles of parent or spouse.

Kelloway and Barling (1991) found that the experience of role stressors at work predicted

mental health in the workplace. Considerable research has also now emerged documenting

the stressors associated with inter role conflict and, more specifically, work-family conflict

(see, for example, Kelloway, Gottlieb, & Barham, 1999; Gignac, Kelloway, & Gottlieb,

1996; Gottlieb, Kelloway, & Martin-Matthews, 1996). Because organizational leaders are

tasked with establishing the expectations

for employees, they are a potent source of role expectations for individuals in organizations.

Thus, supervisors who fail to establish clear expectations or who promote conflicting goals

actively promote increased

role stress. Supervisors who establish expectations for long hours in the office may promote

work-family conflict. Researchers have long believed managers play a key role in the

presence of role ambiguity. Certainly, passive leaders may neither take the time to assure that

their employees have clear role descriptions nor even realize that their employees are

experiencing any type of role conflict. In many instances, however, researchers have argued

that role ambiguity is the variable that might be most readily influenced by managers. Singh

and Rhoads (1991) have argued that role ambiguity is most susceptible to managerial

intervention in attempts to reduce stress in the workplace. With respect to abusive leadership,

research by Monat, Averill, and

Lazarus (1972) suggests that a hostile situation is even more stressful if one does not know

when exactly it will occur (i.e., role ambiguity). Temporal uncertainty is yet another avenue

by which abusive leaders affect the stress levels of those they lead. Temporal uncertainty

refers to an individuals inability to know when a given event or action is likely to occur.


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Within the context of this discussion, temporal uncertainty refers to the unpredictability of the

leaders behavior. This suggests that abusive bosses who have bursts of aggression not only

have a direct psychological impact on individuals but also produce a chronic state of stress in

workers as workers find themselves always needing to be on guard, not knowing when

another outburst will be directed their way. As highlighted by the example at the start of this

chapter, the worker is not shocked by his or her bosss escalation in anger but by the

unpredictability of the bosss actions during his state ofchaos (i.e., throwing a coffee pot out

the window).

Career Concerns

Career-related factors such as job insecurity, fear of job obsolescence,under- and

overpromotion, and, more generally, concerns about career development have been identified

as stressful. For example, in their study of

South African miners, Barling and Kelloway (1996) found that job insecurity was associated

with both negative affective reactions and raised blood pressure. The importance of job

insecurity as a stressor in the workplace is

highlighted by observations that the temporary or contingent labor force is rapidly increasing

and that job tenure has declined for many workers (NIOSH, 2002). Recently, the

development of the effort-reward imbalance model has focused research attention on the role

of organizational rewards as a psychosocial stressor. Siegrist (1996) proposed the effort-

reward imbalance model that essentially suggests that strain results when rewards are not

consistent with efforts in work environments. In this view, efforts are described as the

strivings of the individual to meet the demands and obligations of the job. Rewards are

conceptualized as encompassing financial rewards, esteem rewards, and career rewards,

including job security. Similar to its intellectual


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forebearer, equity theory (Adams, 1965), the effort-reward imbalance theory is based on the

notion that individuals attempt to maintain a state of equilibrium and cannot maintain an

imbalance between effort and rewards over an extended period of time. Siegrist does,

however, involve an individual variable (i.e., over commitment) to explain potential

discrepancies. That is, individuals who are overcommitted to their work may maintain a high

effort, low-reward environment. Eventually, however, this condition will result in ill health

(Siegriest, 1996). Initial results using cardiovascular risk as the outcome generally support the

model propositions (Peter & Siegrist, 1999). The relative recency of the effort-reward

imbalance theory has

resulted in a lack of formal evaluation of the theory, although these initial results seem

promising.

Organizational leaders are, of course, the primary gatekeepers of organizational reward

structures. Indeed the legitimate power (e.g., French & Raven, 1959) of supervisors is closely

linked to reward power. Managers

have the power to reward subordinates (Yukl & Falbe, 1991) or, alternatively, to deny such

rewards. For example, bonuses, merit pay, and career decisions are frequently based on

annual performance reviews conducted by organizational leaders (Murphy & Cleveland,

1995; Milliman, Nason,Zhu, & De Cieri, 2002). The empirical data suggest that such ratings

are often a function of whether or not supervisors like their subordinates

(Lefkowitz, 2000). For example, Scullen, Mount, & Goff (2000) found that over 50% of the

variance in performance ratings was attributable to idiosyncratic rating errorsmore than

twice as much as was attributable to true variation in employee performance.

Work Scheduling

Working rotating shifts or permanent night work results in a disruption of physiological

circadian rhythms as well as disrupted social activities and has been identified as a work-


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related stressor. For example, employees who work nights or overtime report that this affects

their mental and physical health outcomes (Ettner & Grzywacz, 2001), and there is a great

deal of literature on how to schedule shifts so as to minimize these effects (e.g.,Tucker,

MacDonald, Folkard, & Smith, 1998). These effects are sufficiently well established to

provide the basis for labor law in the European Union that regulates the scheduling of shifts

and rest days (International Labour Office,1988, 1990). On a more macro scale, researchers

have examined the effect of scheduling of vacation time (Westman & Eden, 1997) on well-

being. Related to issues of workload and pace, there has been concern expressed about the

absolute number of hours required of some employees, particularly trainees

and interns who may be required to work excessively long hours during the course of their

training (e.g., Bartle & Rodolfa, 1999).Again, in many organizations, shift schedules are

drawn up by those in organizational leadership roles, and supervisors can create or minimize

stress by adjusting how they schedule shifts. Decisions as to when to require overtime or who

is required to work overtime are also frequently left to managers

and supervisors. To that extent, individuals who report to passive or abusive leaders may not

receive optimal work scheduling options, as these leaders are likely less aware of or

concerned about the importance of work

scheduling for the well-being of individual employees.

I nterpersonal Relations

Poor interpersonal relations in the workplace are consistently identified as a source of

stress. Conversely, having well-established sources of social support (i.e., receiving support

from co workers and supervisors) may actually

reduce the effects of other workplace stressors (House, 1981). As we previously reviewed,

leaders who are abusive, aggressive, or punitive are a clear source of stress for individuals in

the workplace. However, such behaviours by a supervisor may also lead to individuals


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becoming isolated or rejected by the work group. That is, in order to win favor with, or avoid

being a victim of, an abusive supervisor, co workers may harass, exclude, or engage in

mobbing (Schuster, 1996) co workers. Supervisors may also affect well-being through their

impact on interactional injustice. Interactional injustice refers to the perceptions of low-

quality interpersonal treatment experienced by individuals within a work environment (Bies,

2001). A sample of behaviors exhibited by a supervisor that could be perceived as

interactional injustice may include not paying attention to subordinates concerns, not

displaying any empathy for an employees quandary, not treating employees in a fair manner,

betraying confidences, and not interacting with employees in a civil manner. These examples

are by

no means exhaustive but are examples of forms of injustice that share the common thread of

being interpersonal in nature and at the dyadic level.Although the other two forms of injustice

(procedural and distributive) have

received more empirical scrutiny, Mikula, Petrik, and Tanzer (1990) report findings that a

large portion of perceived injustices concern the manner in which people were treated

interpersonally rather than the procedural or distributive elements in a job.Organizational

scholars have empirically linked justice evaluations to a

host of organizational outcomes such as organizational citizenship (Skarlicki & Latham,

1996), job satisfaction (Parker, Baltes, & Christiansen,1997), and retaliation (Skarlicki,

Folger, & Tesluk, 1999). However, research

into the relationship between interactional justice and employee health variables is lacking

(Elovainio, Kivimaki, & Helkama, 2001). Articles do exist, however, that link these two

variables through indirect mechanisms. Thus, drawing on this thin literature, we reason

supervisor interactional injustice to have negative impact on employee stress. More

specifically, we propose that abusive supervisors through unjust interactions negatively affect


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employees pride and self-esteem, which serially affects the level of stress they encounter at

work. Subordinates who experience interactional justice come to trust and respect their

leaders. We argue that this, in turn, is likely to result in high quality relationships with their

supervisors, which will have positive effects on employees psychological well-being and

performance on the job. A meta analysis exploring this proposition found high-quality

relationships between supervisor and follower to be positively correlated to job performance,

satisfaction with supervision, overall satisfaction, commitment, lack of role conflict, and low

turnover intentions (Gerstner & Day, 1997). Conversely, when passive or abusive supervisors

behave in an unjust manner, employees may deem these interactional injustices to be a breach

of the psychological

contract. These employees, in turn, are more likely to feel stress and anger and be moved to

retaliate (see Rousseau, 1995).

Job Content and Control

As phrased by Sauter et al. (1990, p. 1153), narrow, fragmented, invariant and short-

cycle tasks that provide little stimulation, allow little use of skills or expression of creativity

and have little intrinsic meaning for workers are considered as stress provokers in the

NIOSH content model of workplace stressors. There is now substantial evidence that job

characteristics such as skill use, skill variety, and autonomy are associated with both

motivation and individual mental health (Fried & Ferris, 1987; Hackman & Oldham, 1980;

Kelloway & Barling, 1991; Parker & Wall, 1998). Because organizational leaders are

responsible for job design and task assignment, they have the potential to influence the

content of jobs. Perhaps most significantly, supervisors and managers directly affect the

amount of control experienced by employees.The notion that personal control is beneficial to

psychological and physiological well-being is not new. Organizational scholars have


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confirmed repeatedly the convincing relationship between job control and health and lack of

job control and ill health (e.g., Bosma, Stransfeld, & Marmot, 1998; Shirom, Melamed, &

Nir-Dotan, 2000; Tetrick, Slack, DaSilva, & Sinclair, 2000). Control, autonomy, and decision

latitude are increasingly referred to,often interchangeably, as organizational practices that

promote job performance. Within research circles, control has long been regarded as a critical

element in job redesign research to promote performance (Hackman & Oldham, 1980) and

worker mental health (Wall & Clegg, 1981). Not surprisingly, the role of job control in stress-

strain process has been receiving increased investigation. The primary impetus for this line of

research has largely been a result of Karaseks (1979) demand-control-support model.

Karasek and Theorell (1990) argue that a healthy workplace is one where the workers level

of demand on the job is met with appropriate levels of control, promoting growth and

development on the job. Conversely, a job in which demands are high and control is low is

posited to result in job strain and burnout. Empirical findings, however, have not supported a

moderating pattern between job control and employee health (Pomaki & Maes, 2002).

Nonetheless, increasing empirical evidence accumulates in the literature on the importance of

job control in promoting well-being (see Karasek & Theorell, 1990).

Although certain organizational level policies restrain the amount of control one has

on the job (Thomas & Ganster, 1995), following Karasek and Theorells (1990) model, we

argue that an employees immediate supervisor, given behavioral and psychological

proximity to his or her followers, has a vast influence on an employees perceived level of

job control. Given that passive leaders either avoid the responsibilities of their position or

only step in during crisis situations, it is unlikely that they will take the necessary time to

engage in a stress prevention strategy such as attempting to positively influence an

employees perception of control. With respect to abusive supervisors who occupy an

immediate leadership role, we suggest that theirmunique position may enable them to


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significantly limit employees job control across two areasenvironmental control and

perceived control.Environmental control refers to the measure of alternatives the employee is

given by the supervisor, the organization, or the immediate work environment (Spector,

1998). In most instances, the specified amount of control remains at the discretion of the

employees immediate supervisor. Forinstance, Johansson, Aronsson, and Lindstrom (1978)

found that jobs that taxed employees cognitive ability while giving employees little control

of the pace of work (machine controlled) resulted in increased health disorders, job strain,

and job dissatisfaction. Abusive leaders exert tight control over their environment

(Offermann & Hellmann, 1996), and by controlling their environment,mthey are able to

control the people within it. It is this control these types of leaders mobilize in abusing their

power. Environments in which leaders are granted the power to control work demands

present an ideal situation for abusive supervisors to exercise their power. Perceived control is

a measure of the alternatives individuals believe they have (Spector, 1998). It is possible,

even with control, for the individual to perceive the situation to be out of control. For

instance, Steers and Rhodes (1978) have shown a small degree of absenteeism to be healthy

for an organization as it allowed employees to temporarily escape the stressful conditions.

Many organizations subscribe to this notion and have set policies that allow employees to be

absent from work when they feel it is needed, for example, for family or personal

responsibilities. Nonetheless, individuals may not trust management (Kramer,1999) enough

to exercise their control, instead fearing that they might be disciplined or punished. In a

relationship that is already characterized by power and status differences, employees who

have to deal with abusive supervisors may, out of distrust or fear, choose not to approach

them. In addition, individuals may also feel low job control when they lack self-efficacy.

Self-efficacy (a form of perceived control) refers to a persons conviction that he or she can

accomplish a certain task successfully (Bandura,1997). Given the ability to change the pace


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of work, work environment, or resources, an individual with low self-efficacy will likely feel

incapable of accomplishing the work. This problem is compounded when this same

individual reports to an abusive or passive supervisor. Given that an individuals self-efficacy

can be influenced by words and actions directed at the individual (Bandura, 1997), verbally

abusive supervisors who constantly put down their workers are most likely to have an adverse

effect on their employees self-efficacy. Passive leaders, relative to transformational leaders,

are often out of touch with the needs of their employees. To that extent, they will be less

likely to engage in encouraging conversations and provide the type of positive feedback that

may elevate an employees self-esteem. In either case, when employees are faced with a job-

related setback and must take control, their run-down self-efficacy will make this an arduous

task. Parkes, Mendham, and von Rabenau (1994) found that a job that entails high demands

but low control prompts ill health in employees only when support is low. This suggests that

in jobs where there is an inherently high level of demands and low control and in jobs where

supervisors have little influence on job demands or control, the amount of support extended

by the supervisor to the employees has the potential to help cushion the psychological and

physiological impact of the work environment. Thus, it is not hard to imagine an unskilled

leader in this situation (a) failing to recognize employees struggle in coping with a high-

demand, low-control job, and consequently (b) failing to extend the necessary support for the

employees in such jobs. Drawing on past research (Tepper, 2000), it is also conceivable that

abusive supervisors, recognizing employees struggle with the workconditions, intentionally

withdraw support for their employees as a form of passive aggression toward them (Neuman

& Baron, 1998).

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