Leadership and Change Management: Impact on Employee Job Satisfaction and Organizational Obligation in the Construction Sector of UAE

This paper discusses different leadership styles and their impact on employee job satisfaction and organizational obligation in the construction sector of the UAE. It also explores various theories of leadership and their classification. The paper emphasizes the importance of culture in defining the efficiency of leadership style. The leadership styles preferred in the construction industry are also discussed.

RUNNING HEAD: Leadership and change management
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Leadership and change management

Leadership and change management 1
According to Kim and Maubourgne (1992), Leadership is identified as the capability to
inspire confidence and assist people who are required to attain organizational goals. The
leadership is a process which maximizes the efforts towards attainment of the goals (Kim and
Maubourgne, 1992). The leadership is an addition of considering leadership behaviors and
outlook. A leader can be effective in one situation but do not necessarily to be effective in all
the situations. The different type of leadership is adopted for a different situation. Each leader
should know when to display a specific approach. The course of action provides detailed
information about the background of the study. This paper aims to define different leadership
styles put an impact on the employee job satisfaction and organizational obligation in the
construction sector of the UAE. The factors considered as determinants of leadership style
are:
 The level in the authority hierarchy
 Function and scope of the administrative unit
 Task characteristics and expertise
 Crisis situation
 Lateral interdependence
 Phases in the business life cycle
 Subordinate’s capability and enactment
There are different theories of leadership are emerged which can be classified as:
Great man theories: According to Randeree and Ghaffar Chaudhry, 2012, great leaders are
born with certain inherent characteristics like charisma, self-reliance, social skills and
aptitude which make natural-born leaders. The great man theory views that capacity for the
leadership is inherited by the leaders, not made. This theory believes that an individual cannot
learn how to become strong leaders. It is something which a person is born with or without
(Randeree and Ghaffar Chaudhry, 2012).
Trait theories: The trait theories accept that people succeed to specific qualities and
individualities which make them better apposite to the leadership. This theory recognizes a
particular personality or individualities shared by the individuals. For instance, the traits like
self-confidence, courage, and extroversion are possibly associated with the great leaders. The
trait theory concentrates on evaluating mental, physical and social appearances to gain an
understanding of the combination of characteristics (Woods, 2016).

Leadership and change management 2
Behavioral theories: The behavioral theories focus on offering a new perspective as the
behaviour of the leaders as conflicting to the mental, physical or social features. The progress
in psychometrics has made possible to measure basis an effect relationships of human
behaviors. The behavioral theories are alienated into two categories. One apprehensive with
the tasks whereas the other concerned with the people.
Contingency theories: This theory focus on the specific variable linked to the environment
which defines what specific type of leadership is best suitable for the situation. The
contingency theory is not all about the potentials of a leader but striking a balance between
behavior, needs, and circumstance (Eizaguirre and Parés, 2018). The efficient leaders assess
the need of the followers and adjust behaviors accordingly. This theory is more likely to be
used when leaders feel that the followers will be responsive.
Situational theories: As per the situational theories, the leaders pick for the best course of
action centred upon the situational variables. There are various styles of leadership which are
suitable for the specific decision-making. For instance, the authoritarian style is suitable
where a situation consists of an educated and experienced member of a group. In other
situations where group members are capable experts, a democratic type of style is preferable
(Beerbohm, 2015).
Participative theories: The participative theories propose that the ultimate leadership
identified is one which takes the input of others into account. Such leaders boost involvement
and assistances from group members. It helps individuals of the organization to feel more
pertinent and dedicated to the decision making process. The leaders generally hold the right
to permit input of others in the participative theories. Participative leadership is considered an
element of job satisfaction. The job satisfaction is regarded as affected by the culture. For
instance, it is experienced that the European nation’s job satisfaction is majorly prejudiced by
the culture of the company along with the behavior of the managers (Fiaz, Su and Saqib,
2017). On the other side, job satisfaction of Far East Asian is majorly inclined by the
extrinsic factors like job security, salary, and more assistance.
Management theories: participative theories are also recognized as transactional theories. It
focuses on the role of the supervision along with the organization and group performance.
These theories are centered on the rewards and sentences. These theories are generally cast-
off in the business when employees are prosperous they are rewarded, when they fail they are
penalized.

Leadership and change management 3
Relationship theories: The relationship theories also identified as transformational theories. It
focuses on the associates designed between leaders and followers. The transformational
leaders encourage and stimulate people by assisting group members to view the prominence
and greatness of the task. Such leaders aim to focus on the enactment of the good members. It
is also required by these leaders that members fulfill their potential. Transformational leaders
maintain high standards of ethical and moral.
The preference of the leadership style relies on the nature of the situation along with the
power accessible to the leader. The international market has formed various cross-cultural
teams in the last few years ensuring the basis for transacting international business.
According to Alder (2002), the leadership behavior is culturally determined. The national
culture has a significant role to play in defining the efficiency of leadership style. The
national boundaries have a role in considering differences in the leadership style (Alder,
2002). As a result, culture impacts the style of leadership. The leadership style may vary but
the principles remain the same. The leadership is regarded as behavior not position. The
leaders undertake accountability of making decisions and introduce change. Leaders motivate
individuals to use the greatest potential. The leaders are judged by the attitude, behavior and
actions. It is also the principle to set an example as the best way to influence. In order to get
the best out of the team, an example is set. The example should be shown instead of telling to
the team members. The followers follow the practice of leaders. So, it should be made sure
that the followers will do the same. The principle of leading means making an impact. The
leadership is not just about setting and achieving goals. These are great communication skills.
As per Amanchukwu, Stanley and Ololube, 2015, leaders contribute to the welfare of society
in order to bring a positive change. The activities carried are meaningless without a vision.
The leadership relies on the principle of chasing vision, not money (Amanchukwu, Stanley
and Ololube, 2015). The vision has a role in encouraging people to take action. The activities
are coordinated with the vision to inspire each member of the team. The principles of
leadership define that action speaks louder than words. The actions are chosen as what is
viewed is more effective than what they hear. It is suggested not to waste endless
conversations just intend the plans and ensure that everyone sees it. The principle of
flexibility refers to behaviou, not values. The flexibility is considered a truly effective trait.
Each decision of the individuals should be based on the value system. The value-based action

Leadership and change management 4
gains the trust and respect of the people. The leadership is all about the people. Leadership
comprises being influencing, communicating and engaging. Effective leadership is centered
on communication skills. The continuous efforts of making relationships with the people
result in achieving the amazing results. The leadership principle considers that it is totally
fine to admit mistakes. If everything is done perfectly then the individuals can lose the ability
of assessment and improvement. The mistakes are proof that something is attempted by the
individuals. The mistakes enhance the scope of improvement. The leaders embrace the team
by relying on the unity of strength. The leadership ensures that all the members of the team
work on the principle of unity of strength (Terry, 2015). The on-going improvement is must
as a basis of the principle of leadership. The daily practices can become useless if there is no
improvement. The efforts should be made always to do a little more towards the organization.
Here are various styles of leadership approaches like autocratic, bureaucratic, laissez-faire,
democratic, charismatic, situational, participative, transformational and transactional
leadership (Lin, 2018). According to Iqbal, Anwar and Haider, 2015, leadership style
influences the employee job satisfaction along with the organizational commitment. It is
characterized that the ratio of female respondents in the comparison of the males is low in the
construction industry. The autocratic leaders are also identified as authoritarian leadership
categorized by the individual control over all resolutions (Iqbal, Anwar, and Haider, 2015).
The choices are made on the basis of ideas and judgments by the autocratic leaders. The
autocratic leaders make all the major decisions. The work done by such leaders tends to be
highly structured and very rigid. In the construction industry, the democratic style of
leadership is most preferred. The leadership in the company is strongly influenced by job
satisfaction. The Arab culture has unique characteristics which govern managerial thinking
and behavior (Tian, Risku and Collin, 2016). The age has a dominant effect in determining
attitudes. The demographic leadership is considered as the most preferred style in the
demographic. The majority of the construction groups demonstrate that the leadership
preference revolves around the democratic, team management, consensus, and consultative
leadership styles. As per the conducted survey, the consequences represent that the
organizational employees desire consensus, team management and democratic leadership
approaches (Robertson, 2016). The predominant leadership style in the UAE has not shown
any specific results. In the democratic leadership, the members of the organization take more
participation in the decision making process. The ideas are swapped freely and employees are
stimulated to discuss the matters. The democratic leadership style is used by the industry and

Leadership and change management 5
the leader takes charge of contributing to the decisions made. It has even resulted in higher
productivity, better contributions and enhanced group morale (Teles, 2015). The members of
the team also feel encouraged and rewarded. It puts a positive impact on employee
engagement. When the employees are connected to the work, they tend to improve 20 to 25%
in the industry. This leadership is used influentially because it offers a great pact of flexibility
in order to adapt a healthier method of doing things. The consultative leadership style focuses
on task orientation. It is all about the final result of leadership style which is a decision. It is
suitable for the construction industry because sometimes it happens that the leader does not
know the complete state of affairs. It helps in making appropriate decisions through opinion
and views of the individuals of the organization (Genovese, 2017). This leadership style is
more helpful when the leader is not involved in day-to-day operations. It is challenging to
lead the team but the consultative approach is an efficient way to assist in the situations
where team agreement is the priority. It has been proved as a supportive and development
approach. On the other hand, participative leadership invites efforts from the employees in
order to determine the course of action. The employees are given a personal stake in the
success of the company. The company also adjusts fastly for the policy changes. It offers
employees more than the chance of improving revenue through good enactment. It provides
employees with the option to be active in influential future success (Mohelska and Sokolova,
2015). Enabling active efforts of the employees in the organization encourages employees to
stay in the company.

Leadership and change management 6
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