| TITLE | Leadership Behaviors of Managers and Employee Productivity in a Health Care Environment |
| RESEARCHER | Tinker Van Zile Division of Nursing Northwestern State University of Louisiana Master of Science Thesis: May 1995 |
OBJECTIVE
Is there a relationship between leadership behaviors as perceived by the
managers and employees and employee productivity in an urban health care facility?
METHODOLOGY
The sample involved 26 managers (41% response rate) and 144
employees (37% response rate) in an urban health care facility in a northeastern part of a
south central state. Nursing and non-nursing departments were represented in the sample.
The typical manager was caucasian (96%), female (81%), 40 to 49 years of age (54%), with
11 to 20 years career experience (39%). Eleven were non-nursing departmental managers
and 15 were nursing managers. The typical employee was caucasian (75%), female nursing
service employee (88%), 30 to 39 years of age (39%), with less than five years career
experience (33%). Most (63%) were employees of nursing departments. Respondents
completed the LPI (alpha coefficient was between .61 to .90 for managers and for others
was between .90 and .95) and the Productivity Measurement Scale (McNeese-Smith, 1991;
alpha = .91).
KEY FINDINGS
No relationship was found between employees' perceptions of productivity
and managers' perceptions of leadership behaviors; however, employees' perceptions of
productivity were directly related to their perceptions of the managers' leadership
behaviors. The behavior most related to employee productivity was Inspiring a Shared
Vision. Managers consistently rated their leadership practices higher than employees rated
them. No differences were found between nursing and non-nursing departments.
