Die verband tussen bestuursleierskap en belynde verbondenheid as sleutelkonsepte van 'n motiverende klimaat

Abstract

The relation between management-leadership and aligned commitment as key concepts of a motivating climate.

Change and challenges are the order of the day in the world and also in all enterprises, and in the midst of this it is of the utmost importance to maintain a creative, productive and committed work force. Many enterprises are busy with restructuring, and organisational leaders are experimenting with new approaches. Motivation is perhaps the most important management problem that South African managers have to cope with today, and for this reason it is important to focus on the factors which contribute to a motivating climate. Aligned commitment is an indicator of the existence of a motivating climate and can only be brought about in an enterprise where a motivating climate exists and the work milieu motivates the employees to apply the skills they acquire. A key element in the creation of a motivating climate (more so, a pre-requisite for creating one) is effective management-leadership which in turn leads to aligned commitment among employees. The aim of this research under discussion was to determine whether this link between management-leadership and aligned commitment as key concepts of a motivating climate, in fact, exist.

The research is of a quantitative nature. Existing data derived from a comprehensive investigation undertaken in May - June 2000 within one specific industry, namely mining, and within one specific area of mining, namely diamond exploration, is used for the purpose of this study. The measuring instrument used was the Organisational Diagnostic Questionnaire. The relationship between management leadership and aligned commitment was determined. This research design is suitable, since the aim is to determine the relation between the different constructs without any planned intervention. The total population was ± 3684 at the time of the investigation, of whom ± 1600 were literate. From these a 50% stratified, random sample was taken (800), representing four sections of the mining enterprise. It is this data which is used for the purpose of this study. The results of the empirical investigation point to the fact that there is a practical meaningful correlation between the two main factors, namely management leadership and aligned commitment, and this probably implies that effective management leadership will result in the attainment of aligned commitment by employees in an organisation as well as improved productively, improved organisation effectiveness and improved job satisfaction. Limitations regarding the study are pointed out and recommendations for future research are suggested.