Date of Award
1989
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Abstract
How do some managers inspire extraordinary achievement, going beyond productivity to touch the lives of their subordinates, while others in the same organization, drawing from the same employee pool, make do with ordinary or insufficient performance? One key difference appears to be the leadership style of the manager. Situational Leadership Theory contends this can be done by matching the leader's amount of relationship and task oriented behaviour to the skill level and willingness of subordinates. Transformational Leadership Theory contends it is done through charisma, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation.;This research applies the two theories and measures their impact on subordinate productivity and growth. Staff who supervise inmate work in penitentiaries were divided into three groups. One group received training in Situational Leadership, another group received training in Transformational Leadership, and the third group served as a control. Measures were taken on the work-group productivity and inmates' personal growth for a three month period before the training and a three month period after the training program. The training program was also evaluated.;Both experimental groups improved on many of the dependent variables, with increases of ten percent to fifty percent on key measures, while the control group was generally stable. Both courses were highly rated by those who attended and by the managers who saw the impact on their staff. Both experimental groups improved on both productivity and personal growth variables. The Situational Leadership Group had greater improvement on productivity, the Transformational Group had greater improvement on personal growth and development.
Recommended Citation
Crookall, Paul Stanley, "Leadership In Prison Industry" (1989). Digitized Theses. 1766.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/1766