THE EFFECTS OF LEADERSHIP IN VETERINARY HOSPITALS ON EMPLOYEE

SATISFACTION AND CULTURE.

by

Carol Schubert Hancock

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Business Administration

School of Advanced Studies

University of Phoenix

Phoenix, AZ

April, 2008

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Copyright 2008 by Carol Schubert Hancock

All rights reserved.

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ABSTRACT

Leaders in small veterinary hospitals may lack an understanding of what leader behaviors

enhance job satisfaction and organizational culture. The purpose of the quantitative

correlational survey study examined the relationships between leadership styles, job

satisfaction, and organizational culture in a four county region in Florida small animal

veterinary hospitals. Data from The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the

Organizational Description Questionnaire, the Job in General and Job Descriptive Index,

revealed that leader transformational behaviors are positively correlated with the work,

promotion, and supervisor facets of job satisfaction. Transactional culture is positively

correlated with all facets. Training leaders to improve aspects of transactional culture and

to enhance transformational behaviors may improve overall job satisfaction, satisfaction

with pay, and satisfaction with opportunities for promotion.

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DEDICATION

This study is dedicated to my husband, Guy Hancock, to my family, and to all the

wonderful animal companions who enhance our lives, especially Emma.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to recognize and thank each of my committee members, Dr. Craig

Barton and Dr. Sandra Wise as well as my mentor and committee chair, Dr. Sandy

Kolberg. Each has shown remarkable patience and professionalism throughout this

process.

I would also like to thank my entire family, especially my husband, Guy Hancock,

and my children, Katie and Matthew, for their patience and support. My parents Pat (in

loving memory), and Guy Risley, encouraged and supported me in all I did. I would not

be here today without their wise counsel.

Finally, I would like to thank all participants in this research. Though they

numbered 32 hospitals, well over 150 participants took significant time to complete the

questionnaires required to complete this study. The Florida Veterinary Medical

Association kindly supplied all the names and addresses used to garner participants.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication ............................................................................................................ iv

Acknowledgements............................................................................................... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS.....................................................................................vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION......................................................................... 1

Background of the Problem .................................................................................. 2

Statement of the Problem...................................................................................... 6

Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 8

Significance of the Problem to Leadership......................................................... 10

Nature of the Study ............................................................................................. 12

Research Questions............................................................................................. 13

Hypotheses.......................................................................................................... 14

Theoretical Framework....................................................................................... 15

Definition of Terms............................................................................................. 19

General Terms..................................................................................................... 20

Leadership Sytle Terms ...................................................................................... 20

Organizational Culture Terms............................................................................. 21

Assumptions........................................................................................................ 22

Limitations .......................................................................................................... 23

Delimitations....................................................................................................... 23

Summary ............................................................................................................. 24

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................. 25

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Documentation.................................................................................................... 25

Linkages Between Leadership, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Culture ... 27

Leadership Theory .............................................................................................. 32

Leadership Construct .......................................................................................... 38

Transformational Leadership Factors ................................................................. 38

Idealized Influence....................................................................................... 40

Inspirational Motivation .............................................................................. 41

Intellectual Stimulation................................................................................ 42

Individualized Consideration....................................................................... 42

Transactional Leadership Factors ....................................................................... 42

Contingent Reward ...................................................................................... 43

Management by Exception .......................................................................... 44

Laissez-Faire or Nonleadership ................................................................... 44

Transformational Leadership in Practice ............................................................ 45

Criticisms of the Transformational Leadership Construct.................................. 48

Job Satisfaction ................................................................................................... 49

Organizational Culture........................................................................................ 59

Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 65

Summary ............................................................................................................. 66

CHAPTER 3: METHOD .................................................................................... 68

Research Method and Design Appropriateness .................................................. 70

Research Method ................................................................................................ 70

Design Appropriateness ...................................................................................... 72

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Population and Data Collection .......................................................................... 75

Internal Validity .................................................................................................. 77

Data Collection ................................................................................................... 84

Data Analysis ...................................................................................................... 85

Confidentiality .................................................................................................... 86

Instrumentation ................................................................................................... 87

Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire ................................................................ 87

Job Descriptive Index and Job in General Scale................................................. 89

Organizational Description Questionnaire.......................................................... 90

Demographic Survey .......................................................................................... 94

Alternative Instruments....................................................................................... 94

Summary ............................................................................................................. 96

Chapter 4: Presentation and analysis of Data ..................................................... 97

Demographic Findings - Employees ......................................................... 100

Outcomes from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) ........ 114

Outcomes from the Job Descriptive Index and Job in General Scale........ 118

Outcomes for the Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ) ....... 122

Findings............................................................................................................. 127

Correlations Between Job Satisfaction and Organizational Culture.......... 130

Correlations Between Leadership Styles and Organizational Culture ...... 133

Summary ........................................................................................................... 136

Chapter 5: Summary and Recommendations.................................................... 138

Conclusions....................................................................................................... 140

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Comparison with Previous Research ................................................................ 143

Research Questions and Hypotheses ................................................................ 147

Implications....................................................................................................... 148

Recommendations............................................................................................. 151

Study Replication....................................................................................... 151

Actions....................................................................................................... 152

New Studies ............................................................................................... 158

Summary ........................................................................................................... 159

References......................................................................................................... 114

APPENDIX A: INITIAL LETTER OF REQUEST ......................................... 174

APPENDIX B: FOLLOW-UP/COVER LETTER ........................................... 176

APPENDIX C: INFORMED CONSENT......................................................... 177

APPENDIX D: QUESTIONNAIRES .............................................................. 179

APPENDIX E: MULTIFACTOR LEADERSHIP QUESTIONNARES ......... 187

APPENDIX F: SAMPLE JDI/JIG.................................................................... 191

APPENDIX G: ODQ SAMPLE ...................................................................... 193

APPENDIX H-MLQ PERMISSION................................................................ 194

APPENDIX I-JDI/JIG PERMISSION.............................................................. 195

APPENDIX J- ODQ PERMISSION ................................................................ 196

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List of Tables

Table 1 Euthanasia Statistics.............................................................................. 52

Table 2 Summary of Variables and Statistics to Be Used................................... 71

Table 3 Response rates in recent dissertations .................................................. 79

Table 4 Employee Age ...................................................................................... 101

Table 5 Employee Education ........................................................................... 102

Table 6 Employee Hours Worked/ Week .......................................................... 103

Table 7 Employee Type ..................................................................................... 103

Table 8 Employee Length of Time in Current Hospital .................................... 104

Table 9 Employee Length of Time in Field ....................................................... 105

Table 10 Employee Ethnicity ............................................................................ 106

Table 11 Employee Gender............................................................................... 106

Table 12 Leader Age ......................................................................................... 107

Table 13 Leader Education............................................................................... 108

Table 14 Leader Hours Worked/Week.............................................................. 108

Table 15 Leader Type ....................................................................................... 109

Table 16 Leader Length of Time in Current Hospital....................................... 109

Table 17 Leader Length of Time in Field ......................................................... 110

Table 18 Leader Ethnicity................................................................................. 110

Table 19 Leader Gender ................................................................................... 111

Table 20 Full Time Equivalent Veterinarians .................................................. 111

Table 21 Hospital Revenue ............................................................................... 112

Table 22 Average Client Charge ...................................................................... 112

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Table 23 Clients/ Week ..................................................................................... 113

Table 24 Doctor to Staff Ratio .......................................................................... 114

Table 25 Descriptive Statistics for Leadership Styles....................................... 116

Table 26 Cronbach´s Alpha Coefficients for Leadership Styles ....................... 118

Table 27 JDI and JIG Descriptive Statistics..................................................... 119

Table 28 Cronbach´s Alphas for the Job Satisfaction Scales ........................... 120

Table 29 Betas and Significance of Job Satisfaction Facets

And Demographic Information........................................................... 121

Table 30 Culture Types and Scores .................................................................. 124

Table 31 Descriptive Statistics for Organizational Culture Scores.................. 125

Table 32 Correlations between Leadership Styles and Satisfaction.......................

Facets According To Leaders ............................................................. 128

Table 33. Leader Styles and Job Satisfaction Means ....................................... 129

Table 34 Correlations between Job Satisfaction and Organizational

Culture Scores .................................................................................... 132

Table 35 Correlations between Certain Job Satisfaction Facets And

Leader Styles and Organizational Culture ......................................... 133

Table 36 Leadership Styles and Culture ........................................................... 135

Table 37 Means of Culture Types for Each Leadership Combination ............. 137

Table 38 Demographic Comparisons to Other Studies .................................... 145

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List of Figures

Figure 1. Histogram of Means of Styles as Reported by

Leaders and Employees ........................................................................114

Figure 2. Pareto Chart Representing Reported Leader Styles by Employees ...116

Figure 3. Histogram of Leader Reported Culture Types ...................................125

Figure 4. Histogram of Employee Reported Culture Types ..............................125

Figure 5. Model for leadership behaviors and cultural characteristics leading to

increased job satisfaction ……………………………………………...15

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) sponsored research in

2005 to determine the business practices that best predicted high incomes in small animal

veterinary hospitals (Brakke Consulting, 2005). The results of the study confirmed and

expanded upon a previously commissioned study by the AVMA, conducted by Brakke in

1998 (Cron, Slocum, Goodnight, & Volk, 1998). In the 1998 study, 19 business practices

that were most associated with high incomes in veterinary practices were identified. Eight

of the business practices were critical, one of which was leadership. The other qualities

were employee development practices, business orientation, frequency of financial data

review, negotiating skills, client loyalty, client retention practices, and new client

development practices (Brakke Consulting). Employee development practices were

identified as the most important business practice that lead to high incomes for

veterinarians (Volk, et al., 2005). The focus of this research is further examination of

leadership styles that affect job satisfaction and organizational culture.

An indication of job satisfaction is employee turnover (Harris & Brannick, 1999).

Approximately 36% of employees are actively seeking another job, with slightly fewer

not satisfied with their current positions but not actively seeking reemployment (Hilpen,

2006). Specifically, Schmidt (2005) noted that employee turnover in veterinary medicine

is likely to be the same as in other industries, with 33% being at high risk for leaving and

another 39% feeling trapped. High employee turnover increases expenses in veterinary

hospitals (Amburgy, 2005), and when expenses are increased, less money is available to

increase the pay of the remaining employees. Pay rates, a good employer, and recognition

are all factors that encourage employees to remain (Hilpen). These factors may correlate

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with the employee development practices mentioned as one of the important business

skills identified by the second AVMA study (Brakke Consulting, 2005). Understanding

the relationship between veterinary leadership and employee development practices, as

related to job satisfaction and culture in the veterinary hospital, may be a critical element

in maintaining a healthy veterinary practice.

In chapter 1, the background of leadership, job satisfaction, and culture in

veterinary hospitals will be discussed. Chapter 1 will also cover the problem addressed in

the research, the purpose of the research, and why the research is significant in general

and its significance to leadership. The chapter will also include a discussion of the nature

of the study, an outline of the hypotheses and theoretical framework, and the definition of

some commonly used terms. The assumptions, limitations, and delimitations will be

presented, and the chapter will be summarized.

Background of the Problem

Veterinarians were the lowest paid of nine groups of professionals studied in

1998, with average incomes of $57,130 a year, less than physical therapists, pharmacists,

optometrists, chiropractors, lawyers, and doctors (Cron et al., 1998). Brakke Consulting

(2005) noted that while veterinarians’ incomes increased to $73,270 in 2003, in an

AVMA survey conducted in 2004, 95% of the respondents stated that the improvement

was due to price increases. The survey also showed that on 11 measures for efficiencies

in business or improvements in behavior, the next highest impact on revenue, after price

increase, was inventory control at less than 50%. If Cron et al.’s findings are correct,

future economic health will likely depend on business efficiencies and/or behavioral

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improvements that the leaders make within their practices if price increases and inventory

controls are not to be the primary reasons for income gains.

Ilgen, Lloyd, Morgeson, Johnson, Meyer and Marrinan (2003) confirmed that

Cron et al. (1998) and the authors of the Brakke study (2005) had recognized the

technical skills necessary for becoming a successful veterinarian; the authors affirmed

that business expertise and leadership were among the skills that are desirable but not

emphasized in veterinary practice. As a result, Ilgen et al. studied several facets of

nontechnical matters in veterinary work. Among the nine most important factors,

following direct treatment of animals and working with their owners, was personnel

management.

The economic health of veterinary practices is important for viability of the

business, but economic health is also critical for the staff members. In May of 2004,

veterinary technologists and technicians, defined as individuals with two and four-year

degrees in veterinary technology, earned a median income of $11.90 an hour (U.S.

Department of Labor, 2006). Other animal-care service workers earned a median income

of $8.39 an hour. The poverty level was $18,850 in 2004 for a family of four (United

States Department of Health and Human Services, 2006) and the veterinary technician

with a college education would be earning $23,800 if he or she worked 40 hours a week

for 50 weeks a year. The animal-care worker would earn $16,780. The average salary for

lay and paraprofessional workers in veterinary hospitals is $20,290, which was $1440

over poverty level in 2004. If the owners of the hospitals are not able to increase the

efficiency of their hospitals through increased business acumen or improved behavior,

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hospital staff will continue to experience a high rate of turnover as employees seek better

wages elsewhere.

Reinvestment in hospital facilities and equipment is also critical for continuous

improvement of veterinary services. In the quest to provide excellent veterinary care for

pets, hospitals invest in equipment comparable to that used in human facilities. The Well

Managed Practice Study (Wutchiett,Tumblin, Flemming & Lawson2005) indicated an

array of services offered in veterinary hospitals that included radiology, endoscopy,

ultrasound, electrocardiogram, anesthesia, life monitoring, laboratory and surgery

services, and life sustaining services for nursing and well-pet care. Some veterinary

practices also offer services that require magnetic resonating imaging (MRI), computed

tomography (CT) scans, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and a wide array of

internal medicine services (Veterinary Pet Insurance, 2005). Reinvestment in equipment

to perform diagnostics and services can be expensive. In 2002, the Western College of

Veterinary Medicine invested $1.4 million to buy an MRI and build the room to house it

(Canadian Veterinary Journal, 2002) and Purdue’s School of Veterinary Medicine paid

$500,000 for a refurbished CT imager (Winter, 2004).

According to Brown and Silverman (1999), while mixed results have been

reported regarding clients’ sensitivity to prices in veterinary hospitals, price elasticity has

been shown to equal roughly -0.43, meaning that for every 10% increase in price, the

practice will lose an average of 4.3% of its revenue. The elasticity number showed that

prices have been relatively inelastic in veterinary medicine (Brown & Silverman). Much

of the inelasticity was driven by high-income families, with 70% of households with

incomes over $100,000 reporting unwillingness to change veterinarians if the hospital

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raised their prices by 20%. Fifty percent of households with incomes under $40,000

reported a willingness to change veterinarians if the same price increase were

implemented. A further 43% of small-animal owners felt their veterinarians charged too

much for their services (Brown & Silverman). Given that the Brakke Study was

conducted in 1999, and income of veterinarians rose by 41% adjusted for inflation in two

years, a question arises regarding the ability of veterinarians to depend primarily on price

increases as a means of increased income. In the 2005 study, veterinarians reported

setting prices with little regard to competition and to clients’ willingness to pay (Brakke,

2005). An increased focus on business practices to increase income may be prudent even

with the price inelasticity veterinarians have enjoyed.

Job satisfaction is influenced in part by pay. Other influences include time to do

the job assigned, confidence in one’s abilities, and the tasks assigned (Ernst, Franco,

Messmer, & Gonzales, 2004). In research conducted by Harmon, Scotti, Behnson, Farias

et al. (2003), high-involvement work systems were shown to increase employee

satisfaction and to significantly reduce costs for an organization. High-involvement work

systems include “involvement, empowerment, development, trust, openness, teamwork,

and performance based rewards” (p. 393). Many of these components, namely

empowerment, development, and performance-based rewards, stem from the leadership

styles defined by Avolio and Bass (2004).

Forty-eight percent of pet owners “would spend any amount necessary to keep

their pets healthy”, and 40% consider their pets as children. Forty-two percent buy gifts

for their pets, and 54% miss their pets while they are away (Lue, Pantenburg & Crawford.

2008, p. 531). Given the statistics, and the rising importance of the human-animal bond in

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American society, veterinary hospitals might find importance in increasing margins

through increased efficiencies rather than through continuous price increases. The

efficiencies gained through the lower turnover associated with higher job satisfaction, and

the role that organizational culture plays, are explored in the literature review. How

leadership styles affect study variables is also explored, and the specific impact the styles

have in small-animal veterinary medicine is the focus of this research.

Statement of the Problem

Discussion regarding leadership has been lacking in the veterinary profession,

although the need for leadership has never been greater (Lloyd, Chaddock, Hoblet, Bayly,

Albers, & Burge, 2007). A leadership crisis in veterinary medicine is causing poor life-

to-work integration as well as lack of desired professional success (Lloyd, King, Mase, &

Harris, 2006). Veterinarians commonly define professional success to include economic

success and leadership ability (Lewis & Klausner, 2003). Leadership ability necessitates

human interaction, and veterinarians report being surprised by the amount of human

interaction that is necessary in their jobs, and most feel unprepared for it. Veterinarians

report that human interaction includes delegating to others, giving feedback, hiring

effectively, and managing worker’s performance (Lewis & Klausner).

The general problem is that there are no studies to date that examine the

relationship between leadership styles and job satisfaction and organizational culture in

small animal veterinary hospitals. Brakke (2005) noted that while incomes for small

animal veterinarians have increased since 1996, most of the gains have resulted from

increases in prices rather than improved management practices, specifically leadership

styles as they relate to job satisfaction and staff turnover. The specific problem this study

7

addresses is to help reduce staff turnover by identifying leadership styles and their effects

on job satisfaction and organizational culture in small animal veterinary hospitals with

the intent to positively affect small animal veterinary hospitals’ economic success. The

quantitative survey study outcomes may help to define the leader-employee relationships,

and understanding the relationships may contribute to improved leader development

(Bodaracco, 2002).

Theorists contend that leadership traits affect job satisfaction (Taylor, 1911;

Weber, 1947), and turnover is affected by job satisfaction and organizational culture

(Barak, Nissley & Levin, 2001). Schmidt (2005) wrote that 33% of employees in

veterinary practices are at high risk for leaving their jobs, and another 39% feel trapped.

Schmidt also noted that employee satisfaction is the main reason for staff to remain loyal

to their current employer. Pay, benefits, and the work environment affect employee

satisfaction (Tumblin, 2006). The work environment in Tumblin’s definition includes

feeling valued, the pay of the employee, chances to improve skills, flexibility, and a

family atmosphere (Tumblin). Employing practices to reduce staff turnover increases

veterinary income (Brakke Consulting, 2005). The AVMA-Pfizer study showed that

associate veterinarians felt retention of employees was due to quality medicine and

surgery as well as to compensation and benefits, while hospital owners felt high staff

retention rates were due to employees being treated with respect and being valued as part

of the team. The specific problem that is addressed in this study is to understand job

satisfaction and organizational culture as they relate to leadership styles with the intention

of improving the economics in small animal veterinary hospitals in Florida.

8

The AVMA-Pfizer study (Brakke Consulting, 2005) indicated that the personal

income of veterinarians was $34,470 higher for veterinarians who employed practices to

promote their employees’ longevity. Given that veterinarians rank among the lowest paid

of nine measured professionals (Brown & Silverman, 1999), the added income from

promoting longevity may improve the economics of veterinary practice. Nonveterinary

staff-member compensation typically accounts for 23% of the total revenues of a

veterinary hospital (Wutchiett, Tumblin, Flemming, & Lawson, 2005). Because such a

large portion of the hospital’s revenues are spent on lay and paraprofessional salaries, the

staff’s general satisfaction and intention to remain in the practice can have a significant

financial and cultural impact on the practice.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this quantitative survey study is to determine if there is a

relationship between transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant leadership

styles and job satisfaction and organizational culture for leaders and employees in small

animal veterinary hospitals in a four-county region in Florida. The independent variable

is defined as leadership styles, specifically transformational, transactional, and passive-

avoidant, and the dependent variables are defined as job satisfaction and organizational

culture.

Veterinary hospital leaders would benefit from knowing what styles could be

associated with high levels of job satisfaction and optimal organizational culture within

their organizations. No published scholarly studies have related leadership styles to job

satisfaction or organizational culture in veterinary medicine. The purpose of this

quantitative survey study is to examine a cross section of small animal veterinary

9

hospitals in a four-county area in Florida, using survey outcomes to determine the

relationships between leadership styles and job satisfaction and organizational culture. A

cross-sectional survey design is appropriate because the population will be examined at

one point in time, and “attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or practices” (Creswell, 2002, p. 398)

of leaders and employees will be assessed. Conversely, a longitudinal design examines

general populations over time (Vogt, 2005), and that was not the intent behind this

research.

The quantitative method is appropriate because values can be assigned to

variables using four survey instruments, and the results of each will be compared to the

others to determine if relationships exist. The surveys contain specific questions relating

to leadership, which represents the independent variable, as well as job satisfaction and

organizational culture, which denote the dependent variables, enabling the researcher to

focus on the relationships between all the variables in a given population. The

relationships between leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational culture are well

understood in non-veterinary fields, as will be discussed in the literature review in

chapter 2. Qualitative research helps where little existing research is available on a

subject, which is not the case when comparing leadership, job satisfaction, and

organizational culture (Creswell, 2002) in non-veterinary venues.

Significance of the Problem

Intention to leave a job, turnover, absenteeism, withdrawal, and reduced

commitment are all signs of employee burnout and have a significant negative effect on

the overall morale of a company as well as on productivity (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter,

2001). Maslach et al. further noted that a number of job characteristics contribute to

10

burnout, among which are lack of social support from supervisors and coworkers, lack of

ability to participate in decision making, and lack of feedback. The responsibility of the

leaders in organizations is to assure the culture is conducive to employee satisfaction and

to modify the culture if necessary (Schein, 2004). Linking specific leadership styles to

cultural issues and to job satisfaction may help veterinary practices reduce turnover and

increase productivity and morale.

Relationships are anticipated between particular leadership styles, job satisfaction,

and organizational culture. Understanding the relationships may help inform veterinary

hospital leaders how to enhance their ability to improve job satisfaction and

organizational culture through their own behaviors.

Significance of the Problem to Leadership

In a larger sense, veterinary practices may not be much different from other

organizations. When defining leadership styles that may most likely engender employee

satisfaction and a positive organizational culture in a veterinary environment, the

presumption that the same skills might be important for leaders in related or nonrelated

fields should be considered. While the results of some studies have supported the

suggestion that supportive-type leaders with consideration-type cultures reap the highest

job satisfaction (Lok & Crawford, 2004; Parsons & Stonestreet, 2003; Silverthorn, 2004)

and lowest turnover, the application of the concept to veterinary practice is new. The

interplay between leadership styles and job satisfaction and turnover in veterinary

medical practices may impact society in the United States because of the rising

importance of the human-animal bond (Hines, 2003). Risley-Curtis, Holley, and Wolf

(2006) noted that pet ownership has health-enhancing qualities and improves quality of

11

life for owners in general. The health benefits can include circulatory improvements,

improvements in depressed patients, and survival rates for some patients after a medical

crisis (Donohue, 2005). If veterinary hospitals can improve financial performance by

improving job satisfaction, organizational culture, and turnover, more resources may be

available to care for pets.

Considering the social implications of pet ownership in the United States, along

with the large number of households owning pets, veterinary practices have an obligation

to provide care to pet patients and their clients that will help engender the human-animal

bond. Many people enjoy the quality-of-life improvements that pet ownership brings. In

the U.S. population, 62% of people report having owned a pet and 68% report viewing

their pets as family members (American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 2003).

Along with pet ownership for pleasure, animals are involved in many programs to help

humans in tangible ways, including animal-assisted activities for nursing home residents

and for those in hospitals, pet usage in prison programs, animal-assisted therapy as well

as employment of service dogs, which includes dogs who assist the blind, the deaf,

persons with compromised mobility, patients who have suffered seizures, and those who

are hearing impaired (Hines, 2003). Improvements in job satisfaction and organizational

culture that are created by particular leadership styles can help facilitate optimal animal

care, thus promoting and enhancing the human-animal bond that is important to society.

In a study done in 2003 by Ilgen et al., veterinarians who were practicing at that

time rated 22 factors that influenced their decision to enter veterinary medicine as a

profession. Of the top three influences, two were “knowing a veterinarian” and “a part-

time job with a veterinarian” (p. 38). Given the influence veterinarians have over new

12

entrants into the field, leadership behaviors of practicing veterinarians may be of

importance. Because working for a veterinarian ranks as a top factor in attracting new

entrants to the field, the potential entrant’s job satisfaction and the organizational culture

experienced within the hospitals might be important factors in the decision to attend

veterinary school.

Nature of the Study

A quantitative survey approach will be used to examine the relationship between

leadership styles, job satisfaction, and the organizational culture within veterinary

hospitals using existing instruments. Quantitative correlational research is designed to

describe how two or more variables are associated (Creswell, 2002). Cross-sectional

survey designs are used when the researcher collects data at one point in time and

examines the “attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or practices” (Creswell, p. 398) of a

population. The purpose of this quantitative survey study is to determine whether certain

leadership styles relate to job satisfaction and organizational culture within small-animal

veterinary hospitals. By relating leadership styles to job satisfaction and organizational

culture variables, findings may help veterinarians to determine how to effectively lead

veterinary practices in future years.

Alternatives to the quantitative research method might include a qualitative

approach by conducting interviews with hospital administrators and employees in small-

animal veterinary clinics. A qualitative approach would necessarily limit the number of

participants in the study and employ interpretations of events or phenomena (Leedy &

Ormrod, 2005). The qualitative approach is normally used when there is a paucity of

research on a subject (Creswell, 2002), which is not the case here. Relationships between

13

leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational culture have been established in other

industries but not in veterinary hospitals. The research could also employ a quantitative

experimental design. Experimental research would require an intervention as well as

control of all external factors (Leedy & Ormrod). To attempt to understand the leadership

characteristics most suited for job satisfaction and optimal organizational culture, the

intervention that is required by experimental research could create an environment in

which the subjects are not behaving naturally.

The research design incorporates four commercially available instruments that

will be administered to employees and administrators/owners in small-animal veterinary

hospitals in Florida. The administrators/owners were asked to complete a demographic

questionnaire, and the leadership and organizational-culture instruments, while the

employees were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire, the leadership

instrument, two job satisfaction instruments, and the organizational-culture instrument.

The results were analyzed using SPSS analytical and statistical software, with

relationships examined between leadership styles and job satisfaction and organizational

culture.

Research Questions

The purpose of this quantitative survey study is to determine the relationships

between transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles and job

satisfaction and organizational culture. The leadership styles represent the independent

variables, and job satisfaction and organizational culture represent the dependent

variables. Specifically, the data analyzed will help to answer two questions. Research

Question 1 is, what is the relationship between transformational, transactional, and

14

passive-avoidant leadership styles, as defined in the MLQ, and employee satisfaction, as

defined in the JIG and JDI? Research question two is, what is the relationship between

transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles, as defined in the

MLQ, and organizational culture, as defined in the ODQ?

Hypotheses

The purpose of this quantitative survey study is to determine if a relationship

exists between transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles and

employee satisfaction and organizational culture in small animal veterinary hospitals in

Florida. The MLQ survey instrument was used to determine transformational,

transactional, and passive-avoidant styles of the leader as measured by his or her

followers and by self-assessment. Job satisfaction of followers was measured using the

JDI and JIG, and organizational culture was measured using the ODQ survey instrument.

H01: No relationship exists between transformational, transactional, or passive-

avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the MLQ, and employee satisfaction, as

measured by the JIG and JDI in small animal veterinary hospitals in Florida.

H11: A relationship exists between transformational, transactional, or passive-

avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the MLQ, and employee satisfaction, as

measured by the JIG and JDI in small animal veterinary hospitals in Florida.

H02: No relationship exists between transformational, transactional, or passive-

avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the MLQ, and organizational culture, as

measured by the ODQ in small animal veterinary hospitals in Florida.

15

H12: A relationship exists between transformational, transactional, or passive-

avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the MLQ, and organizational culture, as

measured by the ODQ in small animal veterinary hospitals in Florida.

Theoretical Framework

Motivational, organizational, and leadership theories are the fundamental

underpinnings of the current research. Maslow (1943), Herzberg (1964), and McGregor

(1960) presented theories of motivation, including Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the two-

factor theory, and theories X and Y. Maslow, in the hierarchy of needs, suggested that

people have five levels of needs, starting with the lowest level, representing the most

basic need, and ascending to the most complex. The five levels are physiological, safety,

social, ego, and self-actualizing needs. In 1971, Maslow added several levels to the

hierarchy; transcendence was added beyond self-actualization, and the need to know and

understand as well as an aesthetic need, were added beyond the ego need. Herzberg’s

two-factor theory referred to hygiene factors, which are extrinsic motivators in a job, and

motivators that are content-oriented and are intrinsic rewards of a job. The hygiene

factors include supervision, relationships, working conditions, pay and benefits, and

policies and practices of the company (Hansen, Smith, & Hansen, 2002; Lunenburg &

Ornstein, 2004). The intrinsic rewards include achievement and recognition, challenging

work, and opportunities for personal growth. Theory X, as explained by McGregor,

posited that people generally dislike and will avoid work and must be coerced into doing

it. Theory X also posited that people had to be directed and would avoid responsibility,

wanting security above all else. McGregor explained that in theory Y, the average worker

treated work as a natural extension of play. Theory Y posited that people would be self-

16

directed in their work efforts, and their self-actualization would be based on their natural

satisfaction from a job well done. McGregor further stated that humans have a natural

knack for imaginative work and for being creative in job application and that a human’s

potential is only partially utilized in the normal work environment.

Early organizational theory began with Fayol, who listed principles of

management that included unity of command, hierarchical chain of command, separation

of powers, centralization, and order (Fayol, 1965). According to Fayol, managers need

specific abilities, including health and vigor, the ability to learn and understand, the

ability to use good judgment, and moral qualities such as energy, initiative, loyalty, tact,

and dignity. Managers also need a good general education as well as specialized

knowledge appropriate to their functions. Finally, managers need experience. Weber

(1947) presented his theory of bureaucracy enumerating seven essential elements The

elements included division of labor, implementation of a chain of command, selection of

offices on the basis of on technical competency, appointment of officials to positions,

payment of fixed salaries to individuals who have career positions, appointment of

administrators who are not owners, and finally, appointment of administrators who will

adhere to strict rules and controls in the execution of their official duties.

In the scientific management era, the hierarchical theories evolved into time-and-

motion studies designed to assist industry to produce more efficiently (Wren, 1994). The

consensus was that workers would be motivated by the monetary rewards that increased

production would net, and would avoid the pain associated with the embarrassment,

ridicule, or decreased pay resulting from lower production. Taylor (1911) was among the

earliest thinkers in the scientific management era, having gained experience at Midvale

17

Steel. Taylor began to establish the science in management by setting standards whereby

an organization could tool, staff, and measure output and production. Later theory

proposed that managers use experience, control of effort, and promotion of worker

effectiveness to help increase efficiency (Wren). The last point diverges from the

hierarchical models in that the approach promotes the workers’ physical and mental well

being while on the job. While many theorists added to the ideas of scientific

management, the Gilbreths did landmark work in time-and-fatigue studies, increasing

organizations’ abilities to produce through worker incentives, training, and systemization,

without increasing the workers’ pace (Wren).

The scientific management era evolved into the human relations movement

(Wren, 1994). Based on social theory and human relations, and as an outgrowth of the

parent discipline of philosophy (Wren), the movement’s central theme was that

organizations were based on the concept that social systems were complex and required

equilibrium and that when the equilibrium was disturbed, all would act in concert to

restore balance. Employee representation became a cornerstone in the scientific

management era, and unionization emerged as a way for workers to participate in

management decision-making. During the human relations movement, results from the

Hawthorne Studies helped researchers understand that worker behavior was highly

dependent on social circumstances (Wren). Mayo determined from the Hawthorne

Studies that the human relations-oriented leader must work through collaboration with his

or her employees (Wren). Using communication skills, maintaining equilibrium between

economic and social needs, and developing an understanding of logical and illogical

behaviors of workers enabled collaboration (Wren).

18

Leadership theory falls into four major subsections, which include power-

influence, leader behavior, leader traits, and situational factors (Bass, 1990). Within the

power-influence category are thinkers such as Machiavelli (as cited in Bass) who studied

the traits and behaviors of leaders to determine what was most effective, given particular

circumstances, most notably in a kingdom. Weber (1947) envisioned the leader as

encompassing the traits of a strong hierarchical head of an organization, directing and

controlling all the functions therein. Charismatic leaders possess traits that inspire

employees to follow their vision, thus influencing them through personal power (Rost,

1991).

Leadership can be described as a process that involves influence, occurs in a

group context, and leadership involves attaining goals (Northouse, 2004). Employees’ job

satisfaction is largely influenced by leaders’ actions, specifically through performance

appraisals, training, and the guidance the leaders provide (Rich, 1997). Bass and Avolio

(1988) distinguished between transactional and transformational leadership.

Transactional leaders depend on a system of rewards and punishments to motivate

employees, while transformational leaders rely on motivating them through appealing to

higher ideals and morals. Bass and Avolio developed the Multifactor Leadership

Questionnaire based on transformational and transactional leadership skills.

Debate abounds regarding whether leaders are born or made (Northouse, 2004).

Allio (2005) suggested that leadership cannot be taught, but it can be learned. Leaders

become competent through practicing leadership. Leadership literacy can be present, yet

leaders can lack in implementation skills if the necessary fundamental traits are not there.

Allio noted that teaching leadership could increase the historical perspective of learners

19

as well as teach leadership theory and new paradigm shifts. Simply attending leadership

workshops, classes, or conferences confers on employees a greater perceived authority

and endorsement from supervisors. Though employees can polish particular skills and

add resource information to their leadership libraries, practice is the only way to

strengthen leadership. The current study may act as a resource for potential or current

leaders by identifying the particular styles most conducive to job satisfaction and optimal

organizational culture. Until an individual practices leadership, the information on

effective styles may not be sufficient to cause administrators and owners to behave

differently.

Chapter 2 will include a discussion on a number of studies that have examined

relationships between leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational culture in industries

outside veterinary medicine. No scholarly studies were found that have examined

leadership in veterinary medicine or that have compared leadership to job satisfaction or

organizational culture. In chapter 5, the outcomes of the current study will be compared

to outcomes of similar ones in other industries, based on the literature review. The

comparisons may be useful by informing the generalizability of other research.

Definition of Terms

The definitions pertaining to leadership and organizational culture are derived

from the instruments that were used in this research. For the leadership definitions,

Avolio and Bass’s (2004) definitions are used. For organizational culture, Bass and

Avolio’s (1992) definitions are used. Bass (1985) delineated the differences between

transformational and transactional leadership:

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General Terms

Employee turnover is defined by the number of employees who leave an organization

in a specified period of time. Employee turnover involves both direct and indirect costs.

Turnover can be calculated by dividing the number of employees at midmonth into the

number of separations during the same month and multiplying by 100 (Bohlander &

Snell, 2004). For example, if a veterinary practice has 30 employees at midmonth and

two left during that month, the turnover rate would be 6.67%.

Jepson and Bin Sheu (2003) described two forms of job satisfaction. General or

global job satisfaction refers to the employee’s attitude of liking or not liking his or her

job in general. Facet job satisfaction refers to an employee’s attitude of liking or not

liking a particular part of his or her job, for instance, his or her pay (Jepson & Bin Sheu).

A veterinary technician or technologist is an employee whose responsibilities are

similar to a human nurse’s. The veterinary technician will perform laboratory procedures,

anesthesia, radiological procedures, dental cleaning, and various other nursing duties.

Technologists often receive a bachelors degree in the field, and technicians an associates

degree, but there is little distinction between them in practice (U.S. Department of Labor,

2005).

Leadership Style Terms

Charismatic/inspirational leadership provides employees with a role model for a

vision and ethical standards to live by. The charismatic leader provides a clear sense of

purpose (Avolio & Bass, 2004).

Individualized consideration in leaders is recognized by a development

orientation toward followers that encourages them to grow to the followers’ fullest

21

potential (Avolio & Bass, 2004). The last transformational leadership factor is intellectual

stimulation, which causes followers to use their imaginations and insights in creative

ways, generate new thoughts, and question paradigms (Avolio & Bass).

A laissez-faire approach is similar, except that the leader does not care what

happens in the organizational setting and therefore, does not take responsibility for

followers’ actions or behaviors (Avolio & Bass, 2004).

Passive-avoidant leaders may avoid any decisions or, at the very most, take

corrective action only after problems have become serious (Avolio & Bass, 2004).

Transactional leadership is based on reinforcements that are contingent on

performance of followers. Transactional leadership manifests itself in contingent reward,

which defines expectations from employees and what will be received in return for

performance. Transactional leadership also manifests in active or passive management by

exception, which monitors performance and corrects problems when they arise, or does

nothing about them at all if the manager is passive (Avolio & Bass, 2004).

Transformational leadership includes idealized influence, inspirational

motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Northouse, 2004).

Leaders display idealized influence when showing determination, taking risks,

engendering a sense of empowerment, displaying a faith in others, and applying creative

solutions (Avolio & Bass, 2004).

Organizational Culture Terms

Organizational culture refers to the shared history of a group that manifests itself

through stability, intangibility, and pervasiveness (Schein, 2004).

22

Nine types of organizational cultures can be defined, according to Bass and

Avolio (1992). The coasting organization is balanced between transformational and

transactional culture where external and self-controls are equally identified. In a garbage

can culture, little leadership exists so there is little consensus or vision. The high-contrast

organization is marked by a visionary approach, but also has transactional characteristics.

The loosely guided organization has few formal agreements, and the employees are

highly independent of each other. External and internal controls are balanced in the

loosely guided organization. In a pedestrian culture, the employee will not accomplish

tasks without specific instructions to do so, thus avoiding risk. The predominately and

moderately bureaucratic organization are two culture types that are internally

competitive. Employees work for their own self-interests and rules predominate. The

predominately transformational and moderately transformational organizations are two

culture types marked by visionary approaches. The culture is not highly dependent on

contracts and is not highly dependent on rewards (Bass & Avolio).

Assumptions

An assumption is made that all the survey participants answered the questions

truthfully even though the answers may have changed from day to day given changing

attitudes. The design is typical of a cross-sectional survey because the questions asked

required answers representing opinions at one point in time (Vogt, 2005). Another

assumption is that the participants volunteered their time and understood their answers

were confidential. Confidentiality disclosures were provided pertaining to all the

instruments to which participants were asked respond. The reliability and validity of the

survey instruments is assumed to remain the same throughout the study, as was reported

23

in previous literature. It is assumed that the responses to the surveys in the current study

provided a valid measure of leaders’ and employees’ opinions.

Limitations

The study is limited to the subjects who agreed to participate voluntarily, the

number of subjects surveyed, and the amount of time that was available to conduct the

study. Because the study was based on participants who chose to take part, it does not

reflect the views of those unwilling or unable to participate. The validity of the study is

limited to the reliability of the instruments used, which will be further discussed in

chapter 3.

Relationships do not indicate causation (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005). If particular

leadership styles are related to certain elements of job satisfaction and organizational

culture, the styles may only be indicators of phenomena that need further review.

Results were confined to the perceptions of leadership styles, job satisfaction, and

organizational culture expressed by survey participants and represent the “attitudes,

beliefs, opinions, or practices” (Creswell, 2002, p. 398) of leaders and employees at one

point in time. Any given day, these perceptions could change, and the outcomes could be

different. Limitations are represented by the honesty of the answers from the participants,

the time participants dedicated to answering the instruments before mailing them back to

the researcher, and the perceptions on the day the participants answered the questions.

Delimitations

The current study was confined to surveying veterinary practice leaders and

employees located in Hillsborough, Sarasota, Manatee, and Pinellas counties in Florida,

though the study could have been based on a population of practices anywhere in the

24

United States. The population was chosen for convenience to the researcher, as will be

explained in further detail in chapter 3. The study focuses on leadership styles, employee

satisfaction, and veterinary organizational culture. Only voluntary participants who were

veterinary hospital leaders and employees were included in the study

Summary

Chapter 1 has provided the framework for this research, including the background

of the study, the study’s purpose, the problem, and its significance in general and to

leadership. The purpose of this quantitative survey study is to determine if a relationship

exists between the leadership styles of veterinary hospital administrators or owners and

employee satisfaction and organizational culture within the practices the administrators or

owners lead in Florida. The independent variables are transformational, transactional, and

passive-avoidant leadership styles, as defined by the MLQ instrument (Avolio & Bass,

2004), and the dependent variables are job satisfaction, as measured by the JDI and JGI

(Balzer, Kihm, Smith, Irwin et al., 1997), and organizational culture, as measured by the

ODQ (Bass & Avolio, 1992). In the next chapter, the literature regarding leadership,

employee satisfaction, and organizational culture will be explored.

Chapter 2 contains an overview of literature regarding leadership, job satisfaction,

and organizational culture. A number of leadership theories are presented, and the basis

for job satisfaction and organizational culture is discussed. In chapter 3, the methodology

for the study is outlined.

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CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The purpose of this quantitative survey study is to determine if there is a

relationship between transformational, transactional, or passive-avoidant leaders’ styles,

and job satisfaction, and organizational culture within veterinary hospitals. The

independent variable is leadership styles, specifically transformational, transactional, and

laissez faire, and the dependent variables are job satisfaction and organizational culture.

There is a great deal of interest in leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational culture

as well as the relationships between them (Bass & Avolio, 1993: Kouzes & Posner, 2002;

Russell & Stone, 2002). Many studies have been conducted in varied industries in an

attempt examine these relationships, but none has been conducted in the veterinary

environment (Lok & Crawford, 2001; Morris & Bloom, 2002). The purpose of chapter 2

is to present the theoretical foundation upon which the current research is based. The

chapter will begin with the theoretical underpinnings that link leadership, employee

satisfaction, and organizational culture together and examine theories of leadership, job

satisfaction, and organizational culture separately.

Documentation

Searches were conducted on leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational

culture in libraries and on the Internet. Searches were done on specific subjects such as

leadership, veterinary management, healthcare management, job satisfaction, and

organizational culture, and searches were also done in various combinations of the terms.

Special attention was given to publications containing information concerning healthcare

professions. Much research has been conducted in the human healthcare professions as

well as industries unrelated to healthcare regarding leadership, job satisfaction, and

26

organizational culture, but no studies were found where the researchers examined these

variables in veterinary hospitals.

To assure all current research was accessed prior to publication of this research, a

subsequent search was conducted in three online databases and two veterinary peer

reviewed journals. Search words included veterinary, leadership, job satisfaction,

organization, and culture. Three additional articles were included because of the searches.

The searches netted the following: 99 scholarly articles, 17 dissertations, 35

books, and 4 websites for a total reference count of 155. Of the articles, 79 were

published in 2001 or after, and 10 of the older articles were germinal. Of the books, 19

were published in 2001 or after, and eight of the older ones were germinal. Seventy-seven

percent of the references are dated 2001 or later, and of the older references, 19 of the 36

are germinal. Many of the theories and concepts that underlie the current research are

central to the understanding of leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational culture.

The percentage of older references indicates a gap in the literature. As of this date, no

research has been done relating the variables in veterinary medicine and the current

research will attempt to fill that gap. Very little research has been conducted in the non-

medical aspects of veterinary practice. Extensive research has been conducted in the

human healthcare profession and other unrelated professions relating leadership styles to

job satisfaction and organizational culture, and representative samples from non

veterinary research are included in this literature review. However, the human healthcare

profession has limited association to leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational

culture in veterinary medicine because the business structures are different. Human

healthcare organizations tend to be large, centrally operated, bureaucratic structures

27

whereas veterinary hospitals are dominated by small entrepreneurial organizations.

Examples of research from outside the healthcare profession are less applicable, but

representative samples have been chosen because there may be some limited similarities.

Given the limited applicability of studies conducted outside the veterinary profession,

many of the concepts relating to leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational culture in

this literature review have been derived from germinal writings.

Linkages between Leadership, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Culture

Strong leaders build a strong sense of community (Kouzes & Posner, 2002;

Russell & Stone, 2002). Part of being a strong leader requires leaders to not only honor

the diversity of constituencies but also to inspire them to share a common vision. Leaders

inspire by maintaining credibility in all they do and by modeling the way (Kouzes &

Posner, 2004). Bass and Avolio (2004) noted that “[t]here is a constant interplay between

culture and leadership. Leaders create mechanisms for cultural development and the

reinforcement of norms and behaviors expressed within the boundaries of the culture” (p.

113). The authors further pointed out that where the leaders focus attention, how they

react to crises, whom they hire, and the roles they model would control the cultural

norms. A leader’s vision inspires and unites members, promoting organizational integrity

and incorporating a value system (Russell & Stone). In a universal sense, Lok made the

point best in a study done with Crawford (Lok & Crawford, 2001) on 251 nurses, in

which the authors found that leadership had a significant impact on both job satisfaction

and organizational commitment.

Morris and Bloom (2002) found several important linkages between leadership

and organizational commitment and job satisfaction in their study of mental-healthcare

28

professionals. Organizational commitment appeared to increase when policies and

procedures were formalized. Organizational commitment also increased as the size of the

institution increased. Employees who held higher-level positions in the organization

tended to be more satisfied than lower level employees. A hypothesis was postulated that

the increased job satisfaction might be due to increased agency. The researchers posited

that if lower level staff members were allowed to participate in decisions more readily,

the employees might feel more satisfied with their jobs as well. Platonova’s (2005)

research confirmed Morris and Bloom’s findings that involvement in decision-making

among staff members increased job satisfaction. Amburgy (2005) found that length of

employment affected job satisfaction. K. Chen (2005) also noted that tenure and position

in the company affected job satisfaction positively. Employees who had been with a

company for up to six years experienced increasing levels of job satisfaction each year.

Between 6 and 10 years, there was a small decrease in job satisfaction, and after 11 years,

satisfaction grew again (Amburgy). Because job satisfaction could be a result of time

with a company, this demographic factor may be a mitigating one when examining

satisfaction because of leadership styles or organizational culture. Both Amburgy and K.

Chen found that gender and level of education did not affect levels of job satisfaction,

and K. Chen noted that marital status had no impact either. Morris and Bloom also found

that a decreased focus on profitability might result in increased job satisfaction in the

institutions studied, as would more use of technology. Finally, increased job satisfaction

might result in increased service quality and organizational performance (Dumdum,

Lowe, & Avolio, 2002; Morris & Bloom; Riketta, 2002; Walumbwa, Wang, Lawler, &

Shi, 2004).

29

Many studies have shown that linkages exist between transformational leadership,

organizational commitment, job satisfaction, productivity, and role clarity (Hanson &

Miller, 2002; Mackenzie, Podsakoff, & Rich, 2001; Viator, 2001). Research conducted

by Mackenzie, Podsakoff, and Rich indicated that transformational leaders have a

stronger effect on sales performance of workers than do transactional leaders. The

authors’ findings noted that transformational leaders not only encouraged better sales

performance, which the authors labeled in-role, but also prompted extra-roles, which

included sportsmanship, civic-virtue, and general overall helping characteristics. Viator

found that transformational leaders were highly correlated with organizational

commitment, role clarity, and job satisfaction and indirectly associated with job

performance. Hanson and Miller’s research indicated that employees who felt that the

leaders were attentive to their individual motivational needs and who employed the

workers’ knowledge and skills experienced higher levels of job satisfaction and were less

likely to leave their organizations.

Transformational leadership was highly correlated with a number of facets of job

satisfaction as well as with the measure of global satisfaction in police officers (Alarcon,

2005). Satisfaction with pay, opportunities for promotion, supervision, and coworkers

were all closely associated with high levels of transformational leadership. Satisfaction

factors were also highly associated with departmental tier within the organization.

Alarcon found that detention officers were less satisfied with each job facet and less

globally satisfied than their law enforcement counterparts. The author posited that

decreased satisfaction was because detention tasks were routine and mundane, as opposed

to the more creative, variable, autonomous, complex, and enriching tasks in enforcement.

30

Hiring into the detention tier and promoting out of it was suggested as a possible solution

to the problem as this might increase satisfaction. Such an approach might have

implications in veterinary medicine if some tasks are more mundane than others and

might decrease satisfaction. Perhaps hiring into mundane jobs and promoting from them

could be considered.

In a study of 150 employees representing 12 organizations in China, the results

showed that transformational leadership does not have a direct effect on job satisfaction,

according to Chen (2005), but only has an indirect effect through the modification of trust

between the leader and the subordinate. Transformational leadership was also found to

have a negative correlation with continuance of employment. Chen’s findings indicated

that if an employee were to be presented with a favorable job opportunity, having a

transformational leader would not influence the staff member’s intention to leave.

Transactional leadership, specifically contingent reward and exception-active

management, were significantly and positively related to job satisfaction in Chen’s

research, and management by exception and passive management significantly and

positively related to job continuance. The findings from Chen’s research were contrary to

those of some other researchers. Alarcon and Griffith (2004) stated that job satisfaction

was positively related to transformational leadership characteristics, so discerning what

leadership type might affect intention to leave and job satisfaction in general in small-

animal veterinary hospitals might be beneficial to small-animal veterinary hospitals.

Leaders affect the organization’s culture, and the culture affects the leader (Bass,

1998a). Leaders create a vision and engender dedication to that vision in a cultural

context (Bass & Avolio, 1992). Transformational leaders are likely to create a culture in

31

which the workers are considered trustworthy; there is a belief that everyone has a

meaningful contribution and that many employees are capable of handling complex

problems. Transformational leaders teach employees, encouraging them to reach the

employee’s fullest potential. The leaders also encourage creativity. To encourage, leaders

must create the mechanisms for employee development, reinforcement of norms, and

rewards for desired behaviors (Bass & Avolio).

Likewise, an organization’s culture can establish the boundaries in which leaders

can operate. For example, if an organization has been accustomed to autonomy and trust

at the middle-management levels, it may be harder for a leader to exert behaviors that

may increase his or her personal power. If a leader wishes to change cultural assumptions

and behaviors, he or she needs to recognize that desired changes must evolve over a long

period (Bass & Avolio, 1992).

Leaders’ effect on organizational culture was apparent in a study of multinational

organizations that focused on performance-oriented values, long-term employee

commitment, and continuous improvement (Rodsutti & Sweirczek, 2002). Companies

that focused on these values were shown to perform better than those that did not, in a

study of over 1,000 firms. The organizations were effective partly because they placed

leaders with nurturing personalities in supporting roles so that the organization had a

transformational feel. The practice maximized the employee satisfaction in the companies

studied (Rodsutti & Sweirczek).

The information gleaned from the linkage section of the literature review suggests

that leadership is related to job satisfaction and organizational culture (Bass & Avolio,

2004; Hanson & Miller, 2002; Lok & Crawford, 2001; Mackenzie, Podsakoff, & Rich,

32

2001; Morris & Bloom, 2002; Viator, 2001). It might be reasonable to assume that these

relationships exist in small-animal veterinary hospitals, and the current study will help

determine if this is true. Researchers have netted differing results from examinations of

leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational culture variables and the variables’ effects

on each other. The current research findings may generate outcomes that will help to

determine the variables’ relationships in small-animal veterinary hospitals. In the next

section of the literature review, leadership theory, as well as job satisfaction and

organizational culture theories will be examined. Germinal thinkers have informed 21st

century thought in many of these areas, and Bass and Avolio have been the current

theorists who have most influenced the direction of this research through their work on

leadership and organizational culture.

Leadership Theory

According to Bass (1990), the definition of leadership has changed from defining

a leader as one who is the head of state in an official way to one who is at the center of

group change. Leadership concepts evolved into a definition of a leader as a person who

holds his or her position as a result of great potential in the field in which he or she

functions. Certain theorists posited that leaders lead by virtue of their personalities or

through demanding compliance (Bass). Some felt that successful leaders exerted

influence to become successful, while others led through sheer power. Many stories, from

Homer’s tale of Achilles and Hector to the stories of Julius Caesar and war heroes like

Alexander and Patton, describe men who have overcome hardships and conquered their

enemies. Bass suggested that leadership might involve heroism, rulerism, and

management.

33

Management theory has evolved through time, beginning with scientific

management and then moving into the social-person era. From there, the modern era

began (Wren, 1994). The scientific movement involved time and efficiency foci, whereas

the social-person era represented the beginning of understanding human psychology and

how that affected work. The postmodern era combined an organizational focus with that

of human psychology. Many of the theories outlined in the literature review are products

of the last two eras and are interrelated in that the authors emphasize respect for all

workers, understand that workers have different needs, and recognize that relationships

between leaders and followers are critical to outcomes. While not directly used in the

current research, the theories serve as a background in understanding transformational

and transactional leadership styles, which are the underpinnings of this study.

Kantian leadership theory subscribes to the concept of dignity and respect for each

individual involved in an employee/employer relationship (Beauchamp & Bowie, 2004).

The work community is bound by rules that must be respected by everyone, including the

leader. All members of the community are equally subservient and sovereign

(Beauchamp & Bowie). In contrast to servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1977), the leader in

Kant’s moral philosophy could not be used as a means to an end by his or her followers.

The relationship is autonomous, with the expectation that followers can be transformed

into leaders (Beauchamp & Bowie). The leader can propose solutions and processes but

may not impose them on the basis of his or her power or position. In other words, the

leadership is participative (Beauchamp & Bowie).

The notion of servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1977) arose from the concept that a

true leader is motivated by a desire to help others. Greenleaf felt that helping others,

34

including employees, clients, and the community, is the leader’s greatest responsibility.

The servant leader’s most valuable assets are listening, empathy, healing, awareness,

persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of

people, and building community (Spears, 2004). Smith, Montagno, and Kuzmenko

(2004) conducted research on the difference between transformational and servant leaders

and found that the leaders are different and are suited to different types of organizations.

The servant leader tends to use his or her strengths to develop an organizational culture

focusing on spirituality, preserving the status quo, and being somewhat passive. The

transformational leader engenders an organization that is more proactive, innovative,

empowered, and dynamic. The researchers suggest that servant leaders may do better in

religious, not-for- profit, or volunteer organizations (Smith, Montagno, & Kuzmenko).

Northouse (2004) offered an overview of leadership theories that included the

skills model, the style approach, the situational approach, the contingency approach, the

path-goal theory, and the leader-member exchange theory. The skills model was tested in

the early 1990s, using a military setting, and observers found that leadership capability

could be developed over time and with experience. The leadership capability begins with

general cognitive ability, motivation, and personality, advances to problem-solving skills,

social judgment skills, and knowledge, then pinnacles at effective problem solving and

performance.

The style approach may be most typified by the Blake-Mouton managerial grid,

whereby managers and leaders take a short test that nets results that can be placed on a

grid (Bass, 1990; Northouse, 2004). The grid is divided into five areas that label the

manager as taking a country club, team, middle-of-the-road, impoverished, or authority-

35

compliant approach to management. Each style comes with a specific definition, and the

ideal style is team management (Northouse).

The situational approach to leadership is best typified by the Hersey-Blanchard

Four Leadership Styles model (Bass, 1990; Northouse, 2004). Though called a styles

model, the theory delineates the types of people to be managed, based on the followers’

development and the behaviors best suited to manage them, including a delegating,

supporting, coaching, or directing environment. Few research studies have been able to

support Hersey and Blanchard’s model (Northouse).

Fiedler (as cited by Bass, 1990) developed the contingency theory of leadership

based on which styles of leaders were best or worst for a particular organizational

context. The styles are generally described as task- or relationship-motivated, and the

Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale was developed to measure the contingency theory

construct. Leaders who scored high on the scale were more relationship-motivated than

those who scored low. Three situations are considered in the model: position power, task

structure, and leader-member relations. Task structure is either rated high or low, position

power is rated strong or weak, and the leader-member relationship is either good or poor.

The three constructs, taken together, determine the preferred leadership style in a

particular organizational context. The Least Preferred Co-Worker instrument has received

much criticism because it does not correlate well with other leadership measures and the

instrument is difficult to complete correctly. Even Fiedler admitted something was

lacking because the theory does not explain some important phenomena (Northouse,

2004).

36

The relationship between the leader’s style and the follower’s work setting is

emphasized in the path-goal theory. Largely based on expectancy theory, the path-goal

theory assumes workers will be motivated if they believe they can do a good job, believe

they will be rewarded, and believe the outcomes from work will be fruitful. The theory

embraces four components: leader behaviors, subordinate characteristics, task

characteristics, and motivation. Leader behaviors are subdivided into achievement-

oriented, participative, supportive, and directive behavior. Subordinate characteristics are

based on employees’ desire to belong, their propensity to prefer a specific structure or

span of control, and the employees’ sense of his or her skills as related to the job.

(Northouse, 2004). Task characteristics include design, the formal authority system, and

the employee’s coworkers. In path-goal theory, particular leader approaches are

suggested for specific workers and tasks. In spite of the path-goals’ enormous scope, the

theory only enjoys partial support in research (as cited in Northouse).

The leader-member exchange theory (LMX) is based on the relationship between

leaders and followers. According to Bass (1990), some relationships are based on

contractual agreements or defined roles, and some are based on expanded or negotiated

agreements, or extra roles. How subordinates expand their extra roles helps to define the

quality of the relationship with their bosses, and the more the employees do, the more

they become part of the in-group. If subordinates are only interested in fulfilling

prescribed job descriptions, the employees tend to become part of the out-group. Being a

member of the in-group affords subordinates “more information, influence, confidence,

and concern from their leaders” (Northouse, 2004, p. 150) than out-group members

enjoy. In research conducted by Stringer (2006), Stringer maintained that when

37

employees have a high-quality LMX, there are also higher levels of job satisfaction, as

well as mutual trust, more support, more consideration, communication that is more

effective, and higher self-esteem. Such employees accomplish more and better help the

organization to prosper. Further, employees with a low-quality LMX may perceive their

supervisors as being unfair and will end up resenting them (Wech, 2002). Ambiguity and

low intrinsic job satisfaction may neutralize the correlation between LMX and

performance, as reported in research by Dunegan, Uhl-Bien, and Duchon (2002).

Conversely, low ambiguity and high intrinsic satisfaction actually enhances the LMX.

Low role conflict also enhances the LMX, and high conflict lessens the LMX effect, but

does not remove it (Dunegan et al.). The LMX theory, while contributing to the

understanding of the leadership process, does not allow reliable measurement of leader-

member exchanges (Northouse).

Lowe and Gardner (2001) found, in a content analysis in Leadership Quarterly,

that one third of the articles were about transformational leadership. A tremendous

amount of attention centers on transformational leadership style in academia, and the

instrument used to measure it is important in the current research. Bass and Avolio

(1988) developed seven leadership factors. The factors were based on underlying theories

including the reinforced-change theory, as posited by Bass (1960), in which “leadership

is the observed effort of one member in a group to change the motivation, understanding,

or behavior of other members…Motivation is increased by changing the members’

expectations of being rewarded or punished” (as cited in Bass, 1990, p. 46). The path-

goal theory of leadership was an attempt to explain how and why contingent reward

influences the motivation and satisfaction of subordinates (House, 1971). The leader-

38

member exchange theory, as originally set forth by Dansereau, Cashman, and Graen in

1973 (as cited in Bass) suggested that a positive relationship between a leader and his or

her subordinate(s) led to greater performance in the units in which they worked.

Leadership Construct

Transformational Leadership Factors

Bass and Avolio (1988) distinguished transactional leadership from

transformational leadership. The authors noted that transformational leadership helps to

motivate followers by emphasizing morals and ethics and that transactional leadership

relies on punishments and rewards for motivation. Northouse (2004) wrote that the

transformational leadership style inextricably links the leader and follower in a

transforming process.

Beginning with Burns’ definitions of transformational leadership, Bass and

Avolio (1988) developed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) that helped to

identify the leaders’ styles and followers’ reactions to them. Research regarding the MLQ

showed that charismatic leadership was an important component of transformational

leadership, as were individualized consideration, orientation to development of

subordinates, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational leadership (Antonakis & House,

2002). The MLQ was further developed into the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire

(MLQ5X) to more fully cover the full range of leadership theories, as presented by Yukl

(2002) in the leader member exchange theory (LMX) and by Bennis and Nanus (2003) in

their visionary theory. As previously noted, the LMX suggested a reliance on rewards

between a leader and follower, based on in-group status, and the visionary theory

suggested four leadership strategies: attention through vision, meaning through

39

communication, trust through positioning, and deployment of self. The MLQ5X

incorporated the transformational leadership qualities, as the MLQ did, but also included

the constructs of employee perception of the organization, such as job satisfaction,

organizational commitment, and intention to leave or stay.

In a study of 255 veterinary hospital managers, results from the MLQ indicated

the managers’ styles were mostly transformational, meaning 45.9% tested purely

transformational, while an aggregate 91.3% showed transformational behaviors (Grey,

2005). The highest level of education of transformational leaders in Grey’s study was a

bachelor’s degree, meaning these leaders were not veterinarians. According to Bass

(1990) and Antonakis and House (2002), transformational leadership has five

components: charisma, idealized influence, inspirational leadership, intellectual

stimulation, and individualized consideration. Charismatic leadership and idealized

influence are often combined and characterize leaders who are role models, are

trustworthy and respectable, and act ethically. Inspirational leaders are visionary and

arouse a sense of team spirit in followers, causing them to feel excited and enthusiastic

about their work. Eliciting creativity and innovation characterizes the leader who

exemplifies intellectual stimulation. Leaders help subordinates develop themselves

socially and emotionally through the leaders’ style of individualized consideration

(Avolio & Bass, 2004). Bass (1985) argued that transformational leaders motivate

followers by encouraging them to understand the value of ideal goals, by helping them to

transcend the follower’s self-interest for the interests of the whole and by assisting them

in self-actualizing.

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Seven leadership factors are noted in the transformational and transactional

leadership model. Four are transformational: idealized influence or charisma,

inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Two

are transactional: contingent reward or constructive transactions and management by

exception or active and passive corrective transactions. The last factor is laissez-faire or

nontransactional leadership (Antonakis & House, 2002: Northouse, 2002). Bass (1998b)

stated that the most ideal leadership scores from the MLQ were over 3 for the

transformational scale, about 2.5 for the transactional scale, and under 1 on the laissez-

faire, or passive avoidant scale. Many transformational leadership factors are correlated

with increased job satisfaction and improved organizational culture (Alarcon, 2005:

Amburgy, 2005; K. Chen, 2005; Platonova, 2005). Interestingly, one study found

significant correlation between satisfaction with supervisor, a facet of job satisfaction,

and laissez-faire leadership (Alarcon). In the next section, each of the leadership factors

will be examined individually.

Idealized Influence

The idealized influence factor of transformational leadership is based on House’s

(1976) theory of charismatic leadership. Since the theory’s original publication, further

studies have expanded on charismatic theory (Conger & Kanungo, 1998). Weber (1947)

originally discussed charisma in writings on management, positing that the trait gave

leaders superhuman powers, perhaps of divine origin. House wrote that charismatic

leaders displayed a strong sense of self, were highly moral, dominant, and influential.

The idealized influence or charisma factor today defines leaders who are role

models for their subordinates. Their followers want to emulate them because of the

41

leader’s conduct and dependability. Charismatic leaders are highly respected and trusted

and provide a vision for the future (Northouse, 2004). Bennis and Nanus’s (2003) work

supported the successful effects of transformational-type leaders, who used vision, were

social architects, and created trust and who emphasized their strengths and minimized

weaknesses. Tichy and DeVanna (1990) found that transformational leaders recognized

the need for change, created a vision, and then institutionalized change. The leaders were

able to do this through a transformational process that caused the people around them to

see the vision and be inspired to follow it. Kouzes and Posner (2002) noted that

exemplary leaders model the way and inspire a shared vision, as defined in the

transformational leadership model. Bass and Avolio (2004) agreed when the authors

submitted that transformational leaders who build cultures based on inspiration and

vision also display a clear personal inspiration and vision that the leader can convey to

their followers.

Inspirational Motivation

Leaders who use inspirational motivation encourage followers by having high

expectations of them and convincing them that the shared vision in the organization is

worthwhile. The leaders often encourage followers through using symbols and other

appeals that cause subordinates to believe that they will accomplish more through team

work than through seeking self-interests (Northouse, 2004). Meaning and challenge is

provided, partially by using team spirit, partly through inspiring enthusiasm and

optimism (Bass, Avolio, Jung, & Berson, 2003). Kouzes and Posner (2002) noted that

leaders inspire a shared vision through being forward looking and envisioning the future.

The leaders enlist the help of others through a shared sense of destiny.

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Intellectual Stimulation

Transformational leaders encourage their followers to examine their own beliefs,

values, and perceptions of their leaders’ capabilities (Northouse, 2004). Problem solving

is the hallmark of the transformational approach, and followers are allowed the leeway to

be creative in reframing problems without ridicule or criticism (Bass et al, 2003:

Northouse). Followers are included in decision-making and problem solving.

Transformational leaders will encourage subordinates to challenge the process, make the

challenge meaningful, and take risks (Kouzes & Posner, 2002).

Individualized Consideration

Individualized consideration is the last factor in the transformational leadership

construct. Based on Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs, the leader acts as a coach,

mentor, or advisor in his or her attempt to allow the follower to self-actualize (Northouse,

2004; Bass et al., 2003). Leaders will often create venues or opportunities in which the

followers can exercise new skills. Enabling others to act through collaborating to improve

performance, creating a climate of trust, supporting face-to-face interactions, and

facilitating positive interdependence help to ensure success (Kouzes & Posner, 2002).

Kouzes and Posner also pointed out that leaders can help to strengthen individuals

through assuring that power is equally distributed, that people can lead themselves, are

provided with choices, develop competence and confidence, and recognize their

interdependence through fostering accountability.

Transactional Leadership Factors

Yukl (2002) noted that transactional exchanges between leaders and followers

involved interactions from which both parties derive something of value. The relationship

43

is one of mutual dependence, and both sides acknowledge the benefits and rewards.

There are two transactional leadership factors, contingent reward and management by

exception. The Grey (2005) study of veterinary hospital managers found that 3.1 % were

transactional, with 7.06% showing transactional behaviors. High school was the highest

level of education among the leaders with these scores. Given Grey’s findings for

transformational and laissez-faire leadership and the associated education levels, there

may be a correlation between education and leadership style in small-animal veterinary

hospitals.

Contingent Reward

Podsakoff, Todor, and Skov (1982) found in a metastudy that effective

subordinate performance was correlated with positive rewards from the subordinates’

leaders. When leaders used negative reinforcement, performance suffered or there was no

correlation between the negative reinforcement and performance. Contingent reward

involves the leader attempting to gain agreement on benefits to followers that will be

awarded for the work that needs to be done. Rewards can be in the form of salary,

benefits, time off, recognition, and boosted esteem, and the rewards must outweigh the

costs.

Hollander (1987) noted that exchanges are thought to be fair if leaders give a

sense of direction and recognition, are responsive, and help the follower feel a sense of

self-esteem (as cited in Bass, 1990). Both leaders and followers enter into a psychological

contract that employs a number of expectations, both written and assumed (as cited in

Bass). When followers fulfill the psychological contracts in ways that the leaders expect,

positive rewards follow, or at the least, the employee avoids punishment.

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Management by Exception

Management by exception can be active or passive. Management by exception

involves overt criticism, negative feedback, and negative reinforcement. Active

management by exception occurs when a manager or leader gives feedback to a follower

on a routine basis. Passive management by exception will be exhibited only after

standards have not been met, problems have occurred, or deviations from expectations

have happened. A manager will often give negative feedback at performance evaluation

time (Northouse, 2004; Bass, 1990).

Management by exception will be accompanied by an outward action or reaction

from a manager including anything from disapproval to discharge (Bass, 1990). Negative

feedback typically does not net high follower satisfaction or leader effectiveness (Bass,

1985); however, there is more satisfaction and effectiveness with the active than with the

passive type (Waldman, Bass, & Yammarino, 1990).

Laissez-Faire or Nonleadership

Laissez-faire represents the absence of leadership. Derived from the French, the

term refers to a hands-off approach, where a leader abdicates his or her responsibilities in

decision making, giving feedback, or helping followers to fulfill their needs (Northouse,

2004).

Bass (1990) pointed out that there might be two types of laissez-faire leaders:

those who show no leadership by avoiding it and those who do not lead because

leadership is not necessary. Those who avoid leadership actually may be shirking

responsibilities by burying themselves in paperwork, avoiding subordinates, setting no

goals, and letting things drift. Laissez-faire supervisors whose subordinates are self-

45

motivated, achievement oriented, and highly independent may not need the intervention

other subordinates do. The latter should not be confused with participative management

or delegation because laissez-faire is not active leadership. Active leadership remains

concerned with follow-up, whereas laissez-faire does not (Bass, 1990). The Grey study

(2005) found that 11% of the responding members of the Veterinary Hospital Managers

exhibited laissez-faire leadership. Thirty-five percent of the laissez-faire leaders were

veterinarians. The number of laissez-faire leaders should be contrasted with

transformational and transactional leadership in the Grey study, in which neither

represented any veterinarians as respondents.

Transformational Leadership in Practice

Even though the transformational leadership concept appears to be one based on

trait characteristics rather than on behavioral ones (Northouse, 2004), Bass (1999) stated

that when leaders have made the effort and have received training regarding how to

improve transformational leadership abilities, the leaders have experienced generally

positive results. The specific training that precedes improvement includes education

regarding leadership theory. Leaders in collectivist cultures tend to have an easier time

adopting or learning transformational leadership concepts and behaviors (Bass). Further,

women have shown more transformational leadership qualities than men, which have

resulted in greater employee satisfaction and effectiveness of the organization (Bass).

In a study of platoon leaders done by Bass et al. (2003), both transactional and

transformational leadership were required for platoons to be effective. The authors

posited that transactional leadership was important because complex environments

require a higher level of transactional leadership than less complex ones do. The authors

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also noted that when turnover is rapid, transactional leadership may provide a more stable

base for effective performance (Bass et al.). Also noted in the study was that sergeants’

transformational leadership ability was more important than the platoon leaders’. Three

reasons were offered. One was that the sergeants had more daily contact with the platoon

members; the second was that the sergeants had greater tenure and thus more respect. The

third was that the sergeants typically came up through the ranks of the military and so

were identified with more readily by platoon members (Bass et al.). However, in Julia,

Natalie, and Tony’s (2003) research, the authors found that transformational leadership

was a significant predictor of low turnover intent and trust in managers.

While specific leadership traits were not correlated to specific cultural traits,

overall, employees viewed the organizational culture more positively when their

supervisors were more transformational. Further, transactional traits augmented

satisfaction among employees when a supervisor was already transformational using

contingent reward (Block, 2003).

In a study of school principals, (Griffith, 2004) transformational leadership traits

netted higher job satisfaction and lower turnover among the staff members at the

principal’s school. Schools with transformational leaders also had higher student

achievement scores. Schools that housed more disadvantaged students experienced more

positive benefits in the form of staff satisfaction and progress in student achievement

when the schools had transformational principals (Griffith).

Consideration and initiating of structure are considered dichotomous factors of

leadership (Bass, 1990). The two factors led to the highest levels of job satisfaction in

teachers in Taiwan (Liu, 2006). The consideration factor correlated highly with

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satisfaction with the employees’ supervision, advancement, and total job satisfaction, and

the initiating of structure correlated highest with the employees’ supervision, happiness

with coworkers, the working conditions, pay advancement, and total job satisfaction

(Liu). The teachers in the Liu study were most satisfied with the level of responsibility,

which included the degree of satisfaction with work, the ability to persuade students to

learn, and the ability to help make decisions. The teachers were least satisfied with the

recognition received, which included attention, appreciation, prestige, and the esteem of

their supervisors, colleagues, students, and parents (Liu).

In a qualitative study of nurses, (Leer, 2006) effective managers were considered

honest, trustworthy, respectful, and knowledgeable about the workload of the nurses they

lead, organizational policies, and the managers were perceived to be fair. The good

supervisors were competent mentors and communicators. Bad managers, on the other

hand, were not knowledgeable and did not follow up on the concerns of the workers. The

nurses in the study were happier when afforded opportunities to learn and develop skills,

were assigned to challenging cases, perceived they could make a difference, had a lot of

camaraderie and teamwork, and had substantial peer support (Leer). While the qualitative

review did not incorporate specific transformational leadership language, many of the

qualities nurses identified were similar to the qualities described in the literature.

Leadership styles are strong predictors of organizational culture, and the styles

can affect two types of culture that, in turn, affect productivity of organizations. The two

types of cultures that styles can affect are innovative culture and competitive cultures,

which are externally oriented cultures, but style has little effect on bureaucratic and

community cultures, which are internally oriented. The implication is that leadership

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style has an indirect effect on productivity through organizational culture (Ogbonna &

Harris, 2000). The researchers also found that transactional leadership was not linked to

superior performance. However, MacKenzie et al. (2001), found in a study of

salespeople, that transformational leadership directly related to performance.

There is significant concern regarding the four factors of transformational

leadership: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and

idealized consideration. The constructs may not be clearly delimited and may be

measuring the same concept. Some of the transformational leadership factors have been

found to correlate highly with laissez-faire, which suggests that the factors may not be

unique to transformational leadership. The newest version of the MLQ may validate the

legitimacy of the factors (Northouse, 2004). The primary focus of the current study is to

determine what leadership quality relates with the highest levels of job satisfaction and a

functional organizational culture. The precise type of transformational leadership a leader

displays may not be critical. What is critical is whether a leader is transformational or

displays laissez-faire qualities, however, and the reliability and validity of the MLQ

seems to indicate that discerning these qualities will not be problematic (Avolio & Bass,

2004).

Criticisms of the Transformational Leadership Construct

The transformational leadership model seems to treat leadership as a personality

trait. If it is a personality trait, leadership may not be teachable. Many scholars, including

Weber (1947), House (1976), and Bass (1995), insist that transformational leadership

addresses behaviors and can therefore be taught, but the image of transformational

evokes a trait, and the term visionary does as well. Further, the model seems somewhat

49

elitist, placing the leader well above the followers in ability and power, almost in a hero’s

role. This is largely because the model focuses on the leader and not on any shared or

reciprocal leadership arrangement with followers. Another criticism is that the model is

based on qualitative data from CEO levels of companies. More recent studies are being

conducted that include leaders within organizations and not leaders of organizations, to

help substantiate the model (Northouse, 2004). The last criticism is that transformational

leadership can be frightening. Because part of the model involves charisma, a question

may arise regarding the wholesomeness of the leader’s vision and his or her ability to

evoke followership (Northouse).

Job Satisfaction

According to Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn (2004), “Job satisfaction is the

degree to which individuals feel positively or negatively about their jobs” (p. 100). The

authors pointed out that job satisfaction is an emotional response to the tasks to which

one is charged as well as to the physical and social conditions with which one is faced. A

worker’s level of job satisfaction may also serve as a filter by which he or she sees the

situation at work overall. Depending on positive or negative feelings regarding overall

job satisfaction, work interventions may be viewed differently by different employees,

(Balzer et al., 1997). Employees who are more satisfied with their jobs are more likely to

stay with their employers (SRHM, 2004; Larrabee et al., 2003). Larrabee et al. elaborated

by noting that not only was job dissatisfaction the major indicator for intent to leave but

psychological empowerment was the greatest indicator for job satisfaction. Job

satisfaction can be measured in two ways: an overall measure of satisfaction, which is

50

labeled global job satisfaction, and separate, specific measures of areas within a person’s

work, called facet job satisfaction (Nagy, 1996).

The global measure is ascertained by asking individuals about the factors and

motivations that led to a perception of satisfaction. The global measure seems a simplistic

approach and, as such, has been subject to criticism. However, global job satisfaction has

been found to be a good initial investigation into the level of job satisfaction of an

individual (Nagy, 1996). Facet satisfaction reveals specific areas of a person’s job that

may or may not be satisfying. The facet measure can help a manager or leader address

specific intrinsic or extrinsic factors that might improve a worker’s perception of his or

her job.

In veterinary medicine, Ilgen et al. (2003) studied both global and facet job

satisfaction perceptions in 585 veterinarians. One global measure was described as

identification and was defined as how the individual related to his or her profession. The

premise was that in the professions, what a person does is who he or she is, and that his

or her profession influences how he or she behaves. Individuals who identify more with

their profession, tend to work harder to maintain it, are less likely to leave it, and are

more likely to advocate others to join it. Veterinarians in small-animal practice strongly

identified with the profession on a 5- point Likert-type scale, with the mean score just

over 4, with 4 equating to strongly agree. Veterinarians also identified strongly with their

workgroups and their organizations (4.2 and 4.3). Overall satisfaction was also measured,

and small-animal veterinarians’ jobs ratings on the Likert-type scale were 3.87. In a later

study (Johnson, Morgeson, Ilgen, Meyer, & Lloyd, 2006), many of the same researchers

51

who were involved in the Ilgen et al. study found that job satisfaction was predicted by

organizational, professional, and workgroup identification in veterinary medicine.

Areas of facet job satisfaction were also measured. Veterinarians strongly agreed

that autonomy was high and teamwork was good, and agreed or strongly agreed (3.6) that

their supervisors were supportive. The veterinarians were not as enamored with pay, with

a satisfaction rating of 3.64 (Ilgen et al., 2003). The Ilgen study was not conducted on

veterinary hospital staff, but employed associate veterinarians were included. The

employees are considered staff, and their satisfaction and intention to leave are critical to

the culture of the hospital and its productivity. While the study is not a comprehensive

analysis of all staff, the study provides an indication of the perceptions of a small portion

of it.

Rohlf and Bennett (2005) studied moral stress experienced by veterinary hospital

workers. The particular situation experienced in small-animal veterinary hospitals that

may cause moral stress includes euthanasia for human convenience rather than to relieve

animal suffering. Three social support systems may help relieve the moral stress small-

animal veterinary workers suffer. Support measures include peer support, affiliation with

companion animals, and the worker’s relationship with management (as cited in Rohlf &

Bennett). More than 70% of animal-care workers enter the field because they love and

respect animals, or because they feel empathy with them. Though the majority of animals

are euthanized for reasons other than convenience in small-animal veterinary hospitals,

both veterinary nurses and veterinarians perform euthanasia frequently.

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Table 1

Euthanasia Statistics

Reason for

euthanasia

Percentage of veterinarians who

perform euthanasia

Percentage of veterinary nurses

who perform euthanasia

Sick 97.4 100

Old 92.1 95.7

Behavioral 81.6 63.8

Unwanted 42.1 40.4

Note. Adapted from Rohlf & Bennett, 2005, p. 210.

The social support given to people performing euthanasia relates to feelings of

stress, and therefore to feelings of job dissatisfaction (Rohlf & Bennett, 2005). The

workers’ animals reportedly provided the highest level of social support, and employers

provided the lowest level of social support (Rohlf & Bennett).

Job satisfaction may be a result of innate personality characteristics. Huang

(2005) showed that fundamental personality traits, as measured by a personality-style

inventory, played an important role in perceptions of job satisfaction. Work stress is

related to turnover intention (Huang) and personalities measuring high in introversion,

intuition, feeling, and perceiving scored high in these areas. Specifically, low scores on

the intuition factor were directly and negatively correlated with high job satisfaction

scores. Personalities scoring high on sensing, thinking, and judging also had the longest

work experience, were the oldest, had the highest salaries, and rated highest on job

satisfaction (Huang). Huang suggests that while leadership and organizational culture

may play roles in job satisfaction, a worker’s personality may be a moderator. While

53

personality characteristics will not be examined in the current study, it should be noted

that Huang’s findings regarding stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention relate to

Rohlf and Bennett’s (2005) findings.

Peer socialization and group dynamics, specifically cohesion of the work group,

play an important part in job satisfaction. Conversely, a lack of control over work

situations, lack of presence of a supervisor, and poor-quality leaders influence

dissatisfaction (Fletcher, 2001; Price, 2002). In the education sector, staff satisfaction

levels are enhanced when supervisors receive regular training to increase effectiveness.

Amongst nurses, dissatisfaction has been shown to affect patient mortality and burnout

(Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, Sochalski, & Silber, 2002). Further, nurses seemed happier when

supervisors worked side by side with them and did not simply manage (Santos et al.,

2003). In Platonova’s (2005) research, involving human resource management in human

hospitals, job satisfaction increased in the presence of several factors. Factors included

the fair handling of promotions, the selection of internal candidates for promotions,

conducting performance reviews fairly and in a timely way, the perception of job

security, and adequate staffing. The author also found that performance recognition was a

mitigating factor for satisfaction with current benefits and that employees were more

satisfied when involved in the decision making of the organization. Some of the factors

Platonova described align with transactional leadership traits, namely, promotions, job

security, performance reviews, and staffing, and some align with transformational

leadership, such as involvement with decision-making.

While it is possible that job satisfaction is not a causal factor for turnover,

behavior, or productivity in the workplace, the construct is still useful (Balzer et al.,

54

1997). Satisfaction measures may correlate with organizational dysfunction, intention to

stay, organizational change, cultural characteristics, values and goals, or reactions to

stress (Balzer et al.). While Balzer et al. did not see that turnover was directly related to

satisfaction, Barak et al. (2001) suggested that there were several antecedents to turnover,

namely, organizational commitment and job satisfaction as well as perceived fair

compensation and diversity. Silvestro (2002) produced research in the United Kingdom

that indicated that employee satisfaction and productivity, efficiency, and profitability

were inversely related. In Silvestro’s study of four large supermarket chains, the most

profitable stores were shown to have the least satisfied employees. Silvestro suggested

that four situations could be identified in which employee longevity, which was one of

the measures for satisfaction, may be important. Situations where customer contact was

high, where there was little opportunity for technological substitution, where staff contact

was critical to the value proposition, and where services carried with them a high labor

cost.

Pekala (2001) reported that 78% of workers would change jobs if the right

opportunity presented itself. Forty-eight percent of workers are actively looking for other

opportunities. Employee turnover is estimated to cost organizations about 5% of the total

annual operating budget (Waldman, Kelly, Arora, & Smith, 2004). In veterinary

medicine, the estimated cost was $22,360 each time a hospital employee leaves

(Veterinary Economics, 2006). Tumblin (2006) stated that unhappy employees yield

higher turnover. When a staff member leaves an organization, his or her knowledge,

skills, and experiences are lost. Newcomers take some time to become fully functional,

depending on how difficult the requirements of the position are to learn. Estimates for

55

full functionality range up to six months (Waldman et al.). The major predictor for

employees leaving jobs is not social but organizational and job-based (Barak et al., 2001).

When employees are not happy, outcomes for companies include higher turnover,

increased absenteeism, burnout, low commitment, stress, and decreased satisfaction while

on the job, leading to diminished performance (Barak et al., 2004).

Herzberg (1964) constructed an early conceptualization of job satisfaction in the

two-factor theory. The hygiene factor involved the environment in which the worker was

surrounded and included his or her supervision, salary, relationship with coworkers and

supervisors, and status. Other authors further included organizational policies under

hygiene factors (Hansen, Smith, & Hanson, 2002; Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2004).

Herzberg labeled the second dimension as motivation, relating to job tasks and content,

the need for recognition and achievement, and the worker’s ability to grow in his or her

job. While meeting the hygiene needs would not satisfy an employee, Herzberg felt the

hygiene needs would keep the employee from being dissatisfied. Satisfying the

motivators could cause job satisfaction, but the absence of them could not cause

dissatisfaction.

Increased job satisfaction for associate pastors in Korea was related to intrinsic

factors, such as increased self-esteem, opportunities for personal growth, and feelings of

accomplishment (Lee, 2005). The author noted that the motivating factors were closely

associated with the transformational leadership practices of the senior pastors in the large

churches that were studied. Conversely, dissatisfaction with the associate pastors’ jobs

was largely associated with hygiene-related factors, such as not understanding the job

expectations, unfair treatment from supervisors, and the amount of supervision received.

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A more popular and modern conceptualization of job satisfaction is one-

dimensional. The conceptualization makes the distinction between how much an

employee currently has and how much he or she wants. Called discrepancy theory,

(Locke, 1969), the distinction is thought to be a reasonable measure of job satisfaction,

although extremely hard to measure. However, multiple facets regarding a person’s job

can be measured, A worker may like some facets of his or her job but not others. For

example, a person may be very satisfied with pay, yet not satisfied with coworkers.

Overall, this coworker may score similarly to another who likes his or her coworkers but

is dissatisfied with his or her pay (Balzer et al., 1997).

The Gallup Organization recently published a book regarding what managers

might do to improve the job satisfaction of workers. Based on research involving more

than a million people in 114 countries, the study showed that 12 elements concerning job

satisfaction emerged. Employees said

1) I know what is expected of me at work, 2) I have the materials and equipment I

need to do my work right, 3) at work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best

every day, 4) in the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for

doing good work, 5) my supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me

as a person, 6) there is someone at work who encourages my development, 7) at

work, my opinions seem to count, 8) the mission or purpose of my company

makes me feel my job is important, 9) my associates or fellow employees are

committed to doing quality work, 10) I have a best friend at work, 11) in the last

six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress, and, 12) this

last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow. (Gallup, 2006, p.1)

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Many of the comments relate to qualities that both transactional and transformational

leaders display as well as to the culture of the organization. Comments 1, 2, 4, and 11

relate to transactional-type leadership, comments 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 12 relate to

transformational-type leadership, and comments 9 and 10 relate to the organization’s

culture. The researchers at Gallup found that when employees feel job satisfaction

through having their needs met as identified, absenteeism was reduced by 72%, which led

to fewer accidents. Having employees’ needs met boosted productivity by 18% and

profitability by 12%, reduced turnover by 31-51%, and increased creativity. Customer

satisfaction scores increased by 12% (Gallup, 2006).

Satisfaction is measured in terms of the worker’s time and situational frame of

reference. A person may be satisfied with pay, especially relative to others in the family

or among coworkers. The time continuum is of equal importance in reporting satisfaction.

When asked how satisfied a worker is with his or her salary, he or she may be satisfied

while he or she is in college, or in the short term, but would not be satisfied with the job

as a long-term solution (Balzer et al., 1997).

Modern trends are affecting job satisfaction among workers. Trends can include a

growing number of Generation Y employees, defined as people born after 1981, more

women entering the workforce, the exit of baby boomers from the workforce through

retirement, and increased care of elderly parents (SRHM, 2004). Employers must gauge

their perception of employees’ needs against those of the workers to assure a better fit

(SRHM, 2004). In 2002, employees reported that the most important factor in job

satisfaction was security. Security was closely followed by benefits, communication with

management, work/life balance, and compensation. Also, in 2002, employees overall

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were highly satisfied with their jobs (SRHM). In 2004, 8 of 10 employees reported being

highly satisfied with their jobs. Yet, in 2004, rather than security being of utmost

concern, benefits and compensation rose to number one. Following pay came safety in

the workplace, job security, and work/life balance (SRHM). Female workers reported that

safety in the workplace was the main concern.

Gibson, Ivancevich, Donnelly, and Konopaske (2003) noted that job satisfaction

was correlated with performance. The authors further delineated five areas that are

critical for job satisfaction. The five areas are pay, which includes both the amount

received and the perceived equity, the extent to which the job is interesting and presents

opportunities to the worker, promotion opportunities, satisfaction with supervisors, and

the supportiveness, competency, and friendliness of the employee’s coworkers. Lok and

Crawford (2004) further noted that employees need to have opportunities for

advancement or the employee may become mentally or emotionally separate from work

and the organizational mission. Feeling distant affects morale and overall job satisfaction.

Liu (2006) reported that high job satisfaction among teachers in Taiwan was inversely

related to higher pay, which contradicts one of Gibson et al.’s findings. Liu posited that

the increased satisfaction at lower salaries might be caused by the difficulty in obtaining

jobs by new candidates. The researcher noted that the teacher feels fortunate to have the

position. The finding may not be unusual. It is possible that when applicants are hired in

their desired field for the first time, the applicant might experience similar satisfaction at

lower pay levels.

Ganzach (2003) found that workers who had a higher education level experienced

both more and less job satisfaction. Workers who experienced more tended to find more

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opportunities that were professionally and emotionally rewarding. Workers who found

less job satisfaction tended to expect higher rewards for education than they were

receiving in the form of salary and benefits. Lok and Crawford (2001) tested the age

relationship with job satisfaction and found no statistical correlation. Other studies

showed no correlation between either age or education and job satisfaction (Alarcon,

2005; Chen, 2005; Huang, 2005; Liu, 2006).

Several scales are available to measure job satisfaction. One is the Job Descriptive

Index (JDI) that was developed by Smith and colleagues in 1989. The JDI measures five

facets of satisfaction: the work itself, coworkers, the employee’s supervisor, his or her

pay, and promotional opportunities (Bowling Green State University, 2006). The JDI is a

popular measure for job satisfaction, being highly reliable and valid (Nagy, 1996;

Harwell, 2004). Nagy wrote that the JDI is not a conceptually strong measure of job

satisfaction in that the instrument emphasizes the characteristics of a job, not an

employee’s feeling about his or her job. The Job in General Scale (JIG) was developed,

in part, to help address the employee’s feelings about his or her job (Smith et al., 1989).

Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is typically a set of shared values and assumptions that are

a reflection of the founder’s beliefs (Bass & Avolio, 2004). In the 1980s, 83% of the

fastest growing companies were founded by the same CEOs that were either currently

there or who died running the companies (Bass & Avolio, 1993). Organizational renewal

is critical to survival and success. “[C]reativity, problem solving, risk taking, and

experimentation” (Bass & Avolio, p. 114) are key to organizational regeneration.

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An organization is structured to make sense of its external environment, and the

type of structure the organization adopts will largely determine how the organization will

receive and process information. The structure is represented by its culture, and the

structure also represents the patterns and learned behavior of the organization’s members.

The patterns are transmitted from one employee generation to the next through stories,

rituals, beliefs, expectations, and values (Bass & Avolio, 1992). Lund (2003) expanded

this shared belief system to include workers’ beliefs about the organization’s leadership,

its strategy, and the organization’s effectiveness. The larger the organization, the more

likely it is to have subcultures because one unique culture is difficult to maintain (Schein,

2004). Individuals will often learn to function in one or more subculture, within the

organization depending on need.

The strength of any given culture will depend on how long the culture has existed,

the group’s stability, and how member’s feel about their experiences within the culture.

(Schein, 2004). Schein outlines four characteristics of culture. It has structural stability,

depth, breadth, and patterning or integration. The stability is enforced by a sense of group

identity, and the identity provides meaning and predictability. Culture is largely

unconscious and therefore deeply seated. With culture come many assumptions that may

not be overt. Culture is all encompassing in that it controls all that the group does. All the

rituals, values, and behaviors implicit in a culture tie together to create a pattern that

defines that culture.

A distinction can be made between the visible and invisible components of culture

(Schein, 2004). The visible culture can be seen in the culture’s artifacts, such as the way

meetings are conducted, the dress code, or the office layout. The invisible culture is

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represented by shared values and implicit assumptions. Both the visible and invisible

cultures tend to persist over time, but the invisible culture is more persistent because

workers tend to be unaware that it exists (Parry & Proctor-Thompson, 2001). Though

both components are hard to measure, doing so is likely to have a positive impact on

profits if the results are used to improve effective organizational cultures (Parry &

Proctor-Thompson).

Understanding the organization’s culture requires an appreciation of its stated and

implied assumptions. The understanding cannot be reached through observations of

behavior alone because people are deeply embedded in the cultural fabric and cannot

articulate the culture’s assumptions and values. The worker’s understanding and behavior

is automatic and often undecipherable. As such, an understanding of the underlying

values that inform behaviors is imperative to understand culture (Bass & Avolio, 1992).

While other studies have shown an association between leadership style and

performance, Ogbonna and Harris (2000) found that organizational culture is a mediating

factor. In other words, the authors found that there is only an indirect link between

leadership and performance. Bureaucratic and community cultures, which are defined as

internally oriented cultures, were not found to be linked to good performance but

competitive and innovative cultures were (Ogbonna & Harris). Each type of cultures is

externally focused on positioning and responsiveness. Specifically, bureaucratic cultures

were negatively linked to performance. The authors suggested that shared values (Schein,

2004) are only an asset if the values are focused on the competitive environment.

Peterson (2002) found that school cultures tended to be either positive or toxic.

Positive cultures tended to have a strong vision and purpose, and the cultures fostered

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continuous improvement, while toxic ones did not have a clear mission or vision, and

employees tended to be adversarial. Peterson noted that leaders needed to identify the

existing culture and promote the positive but discourage the negative. The author

observed that cultural shifts are very hard to make and that the leader needs to understand

the organization’s history to attempt change.

Bolman and Deal (2003) outlined four types of framework to describe

organizational culture: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. The structural

frame has its roots in Taylor’s (1911) and Weber’s (1947) works with regard to the power

and control that management exerts over the organization. The division of labor,

hierarchical structures, rules, controls, and policies are the cornerstones of the structural

frame. Often, the size of the organization dictates how complex the hierarchy is.

The human resource frame derives from McGregor’s and Argyris’s work.

McGregor defined theories X and Y in terms of whether an employee’s motivation arises

internally or externally. Argyris theorized that employees want to self-actualize instead of

being treated like immature adults (as cited in Bolman & Deal, 2004; Bass 1990;

Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2004). Bolman and Deal noted that the human resource

frame depends on the dual dependency between the employee and the organization. The

organization needs the employees’ talents, experience, knowledge, and abilities to run a

successful company. Conversely, the employee needs a salary and the benefits provided

by the company. The company operates more smoothly when the needs of organizations

and employees are aligned.

Individual and group interests comprise the political frame of an organization.

Power is the underlying force that drives the political workings of an organization.

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Coalitions have different goals and objectives, and each coalition is competing for scarce

resources. While the political maneuverings may seem counterproductive on the surface,

they are often the catalyst for positive change within companies.

The last frame is the symbolic one. Myths, indoctrinations, assumptions, stories,

and traditions comprise the symbols, some of which manifest as artifacts (Schein, 2004).

These symbols help create a bond between all employees to guide them through stressful

times and decision-making. Symbols also help orient new employees to become part of

the culture more quickly.

Lund (2003) studied organizational culture and its effects on job satisfaction. The

results of the author’s research indicated that cultures could be separated into four forms:

clan, adhocracy, hierarchy, and market. Job satisfaction was dependent on the cultural

form. Clan cultures demonstrated cohesiveness, facilitation of relationships, and the

development of people. Adhocracies tended to be entrepreneurial, creative, and risk-

taking. Employees were satisfied in the clan and adhocracy cultural types. Block (2003)

studied the relationship between leadership and culture in the private sector and found

that transformational leadership styles contributed to perceived favorable cultures more

than transactional leadership did.

Huang (2005) studied personality types that preferred particular cultures, as

measured by a personal style inventory. The author found that clan culture dominates the

other types that were shown as preferred and that people who liked that culture liked its

family-type atmosphere and the clan culture’s emphasis on teamwork because the

management was highly committed and because it focused on employee development

(Huang). Those preferring the clan culture demonstrated the highest scores in job

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satisfaction, the lowest turnover intention, and the lowest work stress. Specifically, the

personality traits’ order of prevalence among subjects studied were introverted, sensing,

thinking, and perceiving, at 83.3%; extroverted, sensing, feeling, and perceiving, at

76.9%; and introverted, sensing, feeling, and perceiving, at 72.7%. The other personality

types demonstrated prevalence at less than 70%. Overall, the highest scores in feeling and

perceiving and the lowest scores in thinking correlated with a strong preference for a clan

culture, and high scores in extroversion, sensing, thinking, and judging correlated with a

strong preference for the moderate clan culture (Huang). Huang’s research indicated that

leadership and job satisfaction may be moderated by personality type when perceptions

of organizational culture are being studied. Personality types may be a subject for further

research in small animal veterinary hospitals.

Waris (2005) found that employees preferred a market culture, as defined by

Lund (2003). Though Huang (2005) stated that employees preferred the family

orientation that promoted teamwork and employee development, Waris’ research showed

that employees felt pride and satisfaction when working together to improve and ensure

customer satisfaction. The market orientation, which focuses on customer satisfaction,

was correlated with less employee tardiness, lower turnover and absenteeism, and higher

organizational productivity.

Transformational leaders engender transformational leadership cultures (Bass,

1998a). Bass and Avolio (1992) stated that transformational cultures have a sense of

family and shared feelings among members. Employees in transformational cultures tend

to transcend immediate needs and attempt to understand and meet the organizational

goals. Alternatively, transactional leadership culture focuses more on the contractual

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relationships between the organization and the employees. Transactional cultures

engender individualism rather than organizational goals. The status quo tends to be

valued, and flexibility is not encouraged (Parry & Proctor-Thompson, 2001). No culture

is strictly transformational or transactional, but often a clear tendency toward one or the

other is apparent.

Conclusion

Leadership may affect job satisfaction and organizational culture in important

ways. Evidence that leadership may affect performance of an organization exists, with

organizational culture being a mitigating factor (Ogbonna & Harris, 2000). The

satisfaction of employees with leaders and working environments can affect productivity

because evidence shows that satisfaction affects turnover rates as well as morale (Gallup,

2006).

While numerous leadership theories and instruments to measure them are

available, Avolio and Bass’s (2004) transformational leadership instrument seems to

collate many of them into one. Similarly, a number of job satisfaction and culture

instruments are used in research and more than one may be appropriate for the current

study. Job satisfaction is solely based on the unique perspective of the individual

reporting his or her feelings. The feelings may be molded by his or her relationship with

coworkers, pay, supervisors, or intrinsic rewards. What is important is to measure the

variables in a consistent and reliable manner so that understanding relationships between

them is possible. The assumption made is that studying how leadership affects employee

satisfaction and organizational culture in veterinary hospitals may be an integral

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component to increasing satisfaction and productivity in small-animal veterinary

hospitals.

Several research studies specific to veterinary medicine were available, namely,

that of Grey (2005), which correlated leadership traits and values among hospital

managers, and the Ilgen et al. (2003) and Johnson et al. (2006) studies that examined how

veterinarians related to the profession and workgroups. Further, a study was found that

examined stress caused by euthanasia (Rohlf & Bennett, 2005), which could affect

employees’ intention to leave. More generalized theory related to the current research

includes Avolio and Bass’s (2004) approach to transformational and transactional

leadership, Bass and Avolio’s (1992) work on organizational culture, and the Smith et al.

(1989) research on job satisfaction.

Small-animal veterinary hospitals have an average of 2.63 veterinarians per

hospital (AVMA, 2008) and 1.15 employees per veterinarian (Brown & Silverman,

1999). Studies done in healthcare organizations generally occur in large hospital settings

that may not translate into small business venues. No studies have been done that relate

leadership styles to either job satisfaction or organizational culture in veterinary

medicine. Because veterinary hospitals are different from human healthcare businesses in

organizational structure, the findings from the current research may be significantly

different.

Summary

In the preceding literature review examined prominent leadership, job

satisfaction, and organizational culture theories. The three domains are interdependent,

with leadership influencing the other two and culture possibly being the intervening

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factor (Ogbonna & Harris, 2000). Instrumentation exists for researchers to examine each

of these domains within organizations to determine how the domains are affecting one

another. Understanding the nature of the relationships between them may help to

influence employee’s job satisfaction and organizational culture. The research may

inform veterinary hospital leaders’ behaviors, helping small animal veterinary practices

to become more productive.

Chapter 3 will include a discussion of the methods that will be used in the current

study and why the methods were chosen. The research design, the validity and reliability

of the proposed instruments, the design’s appropriateness, the study population, the

proposed geographical location, and the proposed data collection techniques will also be

discussed.

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CHAPTER 3: METHOD

Chapter 3 will contain a discussion of the methods, design, population, data

collection techniques, the instrumentation proposed, and the instrumentations’ validity

and reliability. The purpose of this quantitative survey study is to determine whether

transformational, transactional, or passive-avoidant leadership styles relate to job

satisfaction and organizational culture in small animal veterinary hospitals.

The quantitative method is appropriate for the current study because values can be

assigned to variables using four survey instruments, and the results of each can be

compared to the others to determine if relationships exist. A cross-sectional survey design

is appropriate because “attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or practices” (Creswell, 2002, p. 398)

of small-animal veterinary hospital leaders and employees will be measured at one point

in time. The surveys contain specific questions relating to leadership, which represents

the independent variable as well as job satisfaction and organizational culture, which

denote the dependent variables, enabling the researcher to focus on the relationships

between all the variables in a large population. The relationships between leadership, job

satisfaction, and organizational culture are well understood in non-veterinary fields, as

was discussed in the literature review in chapter 2. To date, no research relating the

factors has been conducted in the veterinary field, though, and a large population of

respondents is required to gain the information needed to establish the relationships in the

veterinary industry. Qualitative design is appropriate when the study of a subject is hard

to quantify (Vogt, 2005). Leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational culture are

quantifiable using the instruments chosen for the current study. Qualitative research is

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appropriate where little existing research is available on a subject (Creswell), which is not

the case when comparing leadership, job satisfaction, and organizational culture.

The research design identifies the set of instructions for gathering and interpreting

evidence (Vogt, 2005). The cross-sectional survey design for the current study is

appropriate because the dependent and independent variables were defined and the values

were determined through aggregate scores derived from surveys within small-animal

veterinary hospitals (Vogt). The surveys represented the “attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or

practices” (Creswell, 2002, p. 398), at one point in time, of a population of veterinary

hospital leaders and employees in a four-county region in Florida. A longitudinal survey

design was not chosen because it is intended to ascertain changes in people or their

attitudes and beliefs over time (Creswell), which is not the focus of the current study.

The leadership instrument (MLQ) was completed by the owners or administrators

of participating veterinary practices in a four-county area in Florida who were actively

involved in the daily functions of the hospital. The MLQ was completed by all the

participating employees of participating hospitals. The owners and/or administrators also

completed the organizational description questionnaire (ODQ). The employees

completed the job satisfaction instruments (JIG and JDI) as well as the ODQ. The

relationships observed between the variables measured by the instruments will help

managers and owners understand how leadership styles affect job satisfaction and

organizational culture in small-animal veterinary hospitals.

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Research Method and Design Appropriateness

Research Method

Quantitative survey research is used in an attempt to understand concurrent events

and how events relate to each other. In the case of the current research, relationships

were analyzed between leadership styles, specifically transformational, transactional, and

passive-avoidant, and job satisfaction, and culture within veterinary hospitals, using

existing survey instruments. Quantitative correlational research is designed to describe

“the degree of association between two or more variables” (Creswell, 2002, p. 361).

Characteristics of populations can be determined through surveys in the form of

interviews or paper surveys, and in cross-sectional survey design, the results are obtained

at one point in time (Vogt, 2005). Longitudinal design is not appropriate because the

design studies changes in people over time (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005 rather than people’s

current attitude and practices .

Relationships were determined between variables without attributing one

variable’s effect on another (Creswell, 2002). Transformational, transactional, and

passive-avoidant leadership styles, as represented by the MLQ, were related using the

Pearson product-moment correlation to all possible outcomes in the JIG, JDI, and ODQ.

The correlation measure is appropriate because the instruments in the research are being

measured at the interval level (Sweet & Grace-Martin, 2003). Multiple regression

analysis was used to determine the correlations between job satisfaction as measured by

the JDI, JIG and demographic variables as measured by the demographic survey to a

significance level of p < .05.

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Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the internal reliability, and was run on

each survey instrument with a significance level set at p < .05. Internal reliability is

assumed if the alpha is 70% or higher (Sweet & Grace-Martin, 2003). Table 2 outlines

the research question or variable tested, the source for the data, and the test statistics that

were used for analysis.

Table 2

Summary of Variables and Statistics Used

Research question/supporting data Source of data Test statistic

What is the relationship between

transformational, transactional,

and passive-avoidant leadership

styles, as defined in the MLQ, and

employee satisfaction, as defined

in the JIG and JDI?

Items 1-36 on leader

and rater MLQ forms

and all items on the

JDI/JIG forms that

employees complete

Pearson product-moment

correlations, frequencies

What is the relationship between

transformational, transactional,

and passive-avoidant leadership

styles, as defined in the MLQ, and

organizational culture, as defined

in the ODQ?

Items 1-36 on leader

and rater MLQ forms

and all items from the

ODQ forms as

completed by all

respondents

Pearson product-moment

correlations, frequencies

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Table 2 (cont)

Summary of Variables and Statistics Used

Research question/supporting

data

Source of data Test statistic

Internal consistency for MLQ,

JDI/JIG, and ODQ

Items 1-36 on leader and rater

MLQ forms, and all items from

the JDI/JIG and ODQ

Cronbach’s alpha

Relationships between

demographic data and job

satisfaction

All items from the

demographic survey and all

items from the JDI/JIG

Multiple regression

Design Appropriateness

The independent variables in the current research are transformational,

transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership in veterinary hospitals and the MLQ

survey instrument was used for that determination. Bass and Avolio (2004) supported the

notion of leadership as the independent variable for culture by noting that leaders’ traits

are the basis for cultural norms. Lok and Crawford (2001) also noted that leadership had

a significant impact on both job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Rodsutti

and Sweirczek (2001) found that leadership directly affected satisfaction and culture in

multinational firms. Transactional and transformational leadership were both found to be

related to job satisfaction and productivity in a study of platoon leaders done by Bass et

al. (2003). Block (2003) found that transformational leadership qualities affected

employees’ views of the organizational culture. Job satisfaction was shown to be

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positively affected in studies done by Griffith (2004), Liu (2006), and Leer (2006).

Transformational leadership, as demonstrated by idealized attributes, idealized behaviors,

inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration was

measured. Transactional leadership, as indicated by contingent reward and active

management by exception, was also measured. The last leadership dimension calculated

was passive-avoidant leadership, as measured by passive leadership-by-exception and

laissez-faire. Each leadership dimension represents the independent variables, and the

leaders in participating veterinary practices rated themselves. The hospital employees

also rated the leaders.

The independent variables were related to the dependent variables, as represented

by the employee satisfaction scales and organizational description scales. The Job

Descriptive Index (JDI) measured work on present job, present pay, opportunities for

promotion, supervision, and attitude towards coworkers. Each of these facets uses nine to

eighteen questions in a yes/no/? format to determine workers’ satisfaction in each of

these areas. The Job in General (JIG) scale measures global job satisfaction in a yes/no/?

format. Together with the JDI, the tests give an excellent overview of an employee’s job

satisfaction, performance outcomes, and intentions about staying or leaving (Bowling

Green State University, 2006).

Missing information was treated as the JDI and JIG user’s manual suggested

(Balzer et al., 1997). If three or fewer questions are not answered on the 18-items scales,

the data should be treated as a “?”. On the 9-item scales, the treatment should be for

scales with two or fewer items left unanswered. If more than two or three answers are left

blank, the authors suggest that the entire scale be left unscored.

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The final dependent variable is organizational culture, and the Organizational

Descriptive Questionnaire (ODQ) measured the construct. The ODQ measures two

factors, the transformational leadership culture and the transactional leadership culture.

The questionnaire contains 24 questions, 12 for each culture type, with the option of a

true, false, or undecided response (Parry & Proctor-Thomson, 2001). Learning about the

assumptions that frame employees’ views of the culture in which the employee work

helped the researcher place the organization in one of nine categories that reflected the

level of transactional and transformational behavior within that organization. There is an

optimal organizational approach called “moderately transformational” (Bass, 1998, p.

69), in which companies tend to operate most effectively.

The Administration Manuals for the MLQ (Bass & Avolio, 2004) and the ODQ

manual (Bass & Avolio, 1992) did not outline a standard procedure for handling missing

responses in the surveys. As such, if two or fewer responses were missing in a particular

scale, the mean responses for the other items in that scale were used as substitutes. If

three or more responses were missing, that scale was not scored.

The study was post hoc because no there were no interventions, and results were

based on historic data. The intent was to study what is occurring daily in small-animal

veterinary hospitals without interventions, which would cause an interference with the

behaviors as they are occurring. Qualitative analysis could have been chosen, but using

survey instruments in larger populations of workers allows the researcher to examine

more data from more subjects than individual interviews would have allowed. The

purpose of the quantitative survey study was to examine styles of leaders in veterinary

hospitals and relate them to particular facets of satisfaction and culture. The examination

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was not necessarily subjective and could be measured through the administration of

commercially available, validated instruments.

Population and Data Collection

The population of veterinary hospitals were represented by the members of the

Florida Veterinary Medical Association (FVMA) who operated in Pinellas, Hillsborough,

Manatee, and Sarasota counties in Florida. Postal requests were sent to member hospitals

in the four identified counties, and all practicing small animal respondents were used.

The population was chosen because the proximity of the researcher allowed

communication with hospitals, which increased the probability of participation. The

researcher also attended local association meetings to promote participation among

hospitals in the selected areas. Small animal hospital owners and administrators who

were actively involved in their clinics were the subjects for the MLQ and ODQ, and the

employees at those same hospitals participated in the MLQ-rater, JIG, JDI, and ODQ.

Hospitals were recruited through direct mailings and visits to local association meetings,

where participation was requested.

Veterinary hospitals typically consist of at least one veterinarian, who may or may

not be a specialist, at least one receptionist, and at least one assistant. Other positions in

veterinary hospitals are managers, technicians, groomers, and kennel helpers. Managers

may be office managers who typically supervise the reception activities, a hospital

manager who typically oversees the entire hospital staff, with the exception of the

veterinarians, and who does not typically handle contractual relationships, or an

administrator who typically supervises all staff, including the doctors, and is involved in

contracts (Veterinary Hospital Managers Association [VHMA], n.d.). The administrator

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may be the owner and is often the leader. Technicians in veterinary hospitals are similar

to nurses in human hospitals, and most states have credentialing requirements for them.

Some people call themselves technicians without having the credentials, making it

difficult to determine the difference without specific questioning. If the person is not

credentialed, he or she is generally referred to as an assistant. Credentialed technicians

typically have graduated from a 2 or 4-year veterinary technology school and perform a

wide variety of clinical duties. Groomers typically handle the aesthetically important

aspects of a pet, and some veterinary hospitals employ them, but many do not. All

veterinary hospitals have cages to house pets but not all have kennels. Some kennels are

used for long- or short-term boarding, and some are only used for medical patients.

Kennel workers attend to the pets in the kennels.

The primary municipalities in the four-county region for the study were Tampa,

Saint Petersburg, and Sarasota. Between these cities, and not including the 70 others that

were in the four counties or the unincorporated regions, there were approximately 340

veterinarians, of which 65% represented exclusively small animal practices (AVMA,

2007). If the average per hospital is 2.63 veterinarians, the three major cities provided a

population of 84 veterinary hospitals. Letters describing the study and requesting

participation were sent to practices. Favorable responders were asked to indicate the size

of the practice in terms of numbers of employees and veterinarians and state whether the

owner works in the practice. Veterinary hospitals were also recruited through visits to

local county association meetings and through direct mailings.

Estimated times for completion of all the instruments were provided to potential

participants, along with an explanation of the benefit for completion. The benefit for the

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hospitals included receiving the results of the study. The benefit for completion to

individuals participating was to better understand the leadership styles that may improve

the participants’ job satisfaction and culture in the organization in which they work. Each

hospital was informed that participation from employees was not mandatory and that the

owners or administrators will not be informed of whom on the staff did and did not

participate. All completed instruments were mailed directly to the researcher with self-

addressed and stamped envelopes.

Validity and Reliability

Selection bias and causal ambiguity are two internal validity threats implicit in the

study. Selection bias exists because all the participants were volunteers. Because of the

voluntary participation, and because there were no effective ways to decrease the threat,

the threat remains a limitation (Vogt, 2005). Causal ambiguity remains a threat and a

limitation because it is not possible to unconditionally state that leadership styles affect

job satisfaction and organizational culture or the reverse, and also because the study was

cross-sectional rather than longitudinal and was not time-ordered (Vogt).

Results from 84 or fewer veterinary hospitals in the four counties in central

Florida may not be sufficient to say with 95% certainty that the results from the current

research will be repeatable if an infinite number of people participated in the same study.

A confidence interval of 5-10% is considered acceptable at the 95% confidence level

(Agrressi & Finlay, 1999). To determine the confidence interval that was acceptable in

this study, a survey of ten dissertations was conducted, and their confidence intervals

averaged (Table 3). The average confidence interval of the ten dissertations was 8.343%

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at the 95% confidence level, so this confidence interval will be the standard in the current

study.

79

Table 3

Response rates and confidence intervals in recent dissertations

Study University/year

Type of

research/

population

Author

Response rate /

confidence

interval

Leadership Practices

of School Nutrition

Professionals

East Tennessee

State University/

2007

Quantitative/

survey/

194

Linda Gail

Dycus 40.7%/8.51%

The Invisible

Majority: Perceptions

of Community

College Adjunct

Faculty

Walden/ 2007

Quantitative/

mixed/

survey/49

Susan A.

Holmes 29%/21.3%

A Correlational

Analysis of Servant

Leadership and Job

Satisfaction in a

Religious Educational

Organization

University of

Phoenix/ 2005

Quantitative/

survey/

254

Kelly

Preston

Anderson

78%/ 3.28%

80

Table 3 (cont)

Response rates and confidence intervals in recent dissertations

Study University/

year

Type of

research/

Population

Author

Response rate/

confidence

interval

Transformational

Leadership and Job

Satisfaction of

Advanced Practice

Nurses in Public Health

Settings

University of

Phoenix/ 2007

Quantitative/

survey/

1287

Mary

YimLing

Wong

40.5%/3.31%

Managerial Ethics: A

Quantitative,

Correlational Study of

Values and Leadership

Styles of Veterinary

Managers

University of

Phoenix/ 2005

Quantitative/

survey/

945/

Cynthia

Ann

Kawolics

Grey

27%5.25%

81

Table 3 (cont)

Response rates and confidence intervals in recent dissertations

Study University/year

Type of

research/

population

Author

Response rate/

confidence

interval

Employee Perceptions

of Collaborative

Leadership/Manageme

nt in Higher Education

Institutions

University of

Nebraske/2007

Quantitative/

survey/554

Keith A.

Butler

30.7/

6.26%

A National Survey of

Athletic Training

Educators’ Academic

Role Strain, Role

Orientation, and Intent

to Leave

University of

North Carolina

at Greensboro/

2007

Quantitative/

survey/

250/

Robert S.

Charles

Liscombe

26%/10.48%

82

Table 3 (cont)

Response rates and confidence intervals in recent dissertations

Study University/year

Type of

research/

population

Author

Response rate/

confidence

interval

Differences in

Perceptions of

Organizational Culture:

Executives,

Administrators, and

Faculty at North Texas

Community Colleges

University of

Phoenix/ 2007

Quantitative/

survey/

304

David John

Gregory

Foster

36.2%/7.48%

Diffusion of

Innovations: Factors

Predicting the Use of

E-Learning at

Institutions of Higher

Education in Germany

University of

Phoenix/ 2004

Quantitative/

survey/2000

Bernd

Heesen

4%/10.74%

83

Table 3 (cont)

Response rates and confidence intervals in recent dissertations

Study University/year

Type of

research/

population

Author

Response rate/

confidence

interval

A Comparison of North

Carolina's State,

Private, and

Community Colleges

and Universities

Regarding Assistive

Technology and

Services for Students

With Disabilities

East Tennessee

State

University/2007

Quantitative/

survey/110 Chris Cain

65%/6.82%

Using Cronbach’s alpha as a measure of reliability, the Multifactor Leadership

Questionnaire resulted in .86 for idealized influence attributed to the leader, .87 for

idealized influence that the leader displays, .91 for inspirational motivation, .90 for

intellectual stimulation, .90 for individualized consideration, .87 for contingent reward,

.74 for active management by exception, .82 for passive management by exception, and

.83 for laissez-faire (Avolio & Bass, 2004). The Cronbach’s alpha for the five facets of

job satisfaction as measured by the Job Descriptive Index and the Job in General scale

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ranged from .86 to .91 (Balzer et al., 1997). The Cronbach’s alphas for the Organizational

Description Questionnaire measured .88 for the transformational scale and .74 for the

transactional scale (Parry & Proctor-Thomson, 2001).

Data Collection

A letter of request was sent to small-animal veterinary hospitals in the four-county

area in Florida, specifically Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties, and

the letter asked for participation from the owner/administrator of the hospitals as well as

all the employees. The letter included a section indicating willingness to participate, and

the number of employees. The first letter of request is in Appendix A. The package that

was sent to potential participants included the cover letter (Appendix B), an Informed

Consent form (Appendix C), a demographic survey (Appendix D), the Leadership

Survey, both for leaders and raters of leaders (Appendix E), the Job Descriptive Index

(Appendix F), the Job in General Scale (Appendix G), the Organizational Description

Questionnaire (Appendix H), and an addressed and postmarked return envelope. Each

survey was labeled with a tracking number, so individual responses were grouped

together by hospital so that employees and leaders could be matched. Confidentiality was

guaranteed to the parties as a whole and individually. The research results was offered to

participating hospitals once completed.

Each of the instruments used, as represented by Appendices E-H, are survey

instruments that have been previously validated. The answers to them represented the

leaders’ and employees’ “attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or practices” (Creswell, 2002, p,

398), such as are appropriate for a cross-sectional survey design. The leadership survey

(MLQ) is answered on a Likert-type scale, and questions on job satisfaction (JIG and

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JDI) as well as organizational culture (ODQ) are answered as a Yes/No/? or a

True/False/?. Pearson product-moment correlation is appropriate for analyzing these

results because the results reflect a comparison of interval variables (Sweet & Grace-

Martin, 2003).

Each participant completed paper surveys, and the surveys were sent back to the

researcher in self-addressed, stamped envelopes. After the surveys were analyzed on a

password-protected, non-networked computer, they were kept in a locked file cabinet at

the researcher’s home, and will continue to be for three years, after which they will be

shredded. Surveys that are internet-based were also available but were not be used

because the results would be limited to people who are comfortable with computers, who

spend time on the Internet (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005), and who do not fear the online

venue. Such parameters could have possibly skewed the results.

Confidentiality was guaranteed to each surveyed participant through assigning

numbers rather than names to him or her. The numbers were used on all scoring sheets

and testing materials (Salkind, 2005). The researcher assured that no coercion was used

to force participants to take part in the surveys (Appendix C).

Data Analysis

Specific participants in this study were anonymous to the researcher, but practices

were bundled together and the leader and employees were identified by number.

Participants were encouraged to complete all instruments and return them within a two-

week time frame. If surveys were not returned, two follow-up phone calls were made to

serve as reminders. The cover letter requested that participants return uncompleted

surveys to the researcher if they chose not to participate. The researcher’s contact

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information was included in the cover letter for questions or concerns. During analysis,

the data were stored on the researcher’s hard drive, which was password-protected and

nonnetworked. Once the research was completed, the data were transferred to an external,

password protected nonnetworked hard drive for archival purposes.

The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis.

Data were analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics, frequencies, and percentages.

The transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles, which

represent the independent variables, were related to job satisfaction and organizational

culture, which are the dependent variables, to better understand the effects of particular

leadership styles on facets of job satisfaction and types of organizational culture. Pearson

product-moment correlations were derived relating the three leadership outcomes:

transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant (Avolio & Bass, 2004) to the

numerous facets of job satisfaction and organizational culture. The facets of job

satisfaction are work on present job, pay, opportunities for promotion, supervision,

people on your present job, and job in general (Balzer et al., 1997). The organizational

culture descriptors are predominately transformational, moderately transformational, high

contrast, loosely guided, coasting, moderately bureaucratic, garbage can, pedestrian, and

predominately bureaucratic (Bass & Avolio, 1992). Multiple regression analysis was used

to determine if any demographic factors significantly affected employees’ reports of

perceived job satisfaction.

Confidentiality

Participants were assured of confidentiality in the consent forms signed

(Appendix C). Individual results were not shared with practice owners, administrators, or

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supervisors, nor was individual participation discussed. Participants returned the surveys

to the researcher in self-addressed, stamped envelopes to help ensure confidentiality.

Participants were coded as employees or leaders at a particular hospital. Hospitals were

numbered consecutively in a spreadsheet based on their alphabetical placement. The

number of employees for the hospital determined the number for each employee. If a

hospital had 20 employees, an employee number ranging from 1-20 followed the number

of the hospital. The codes referred to individual surveys that are locked in a safe at the

researcher’s home for three years, at which point, the paper copies will be destroyed.

Instrumentation

Three instruments were used in the current research, the Multifactor Leadership

Questionnaire, the Job Descriptive Index and Job in General Scales, and the

Organizational Description Questionnaire. A fourth instrument, created by the researcher

to delineate the demographics of each participant, was also used. Each is detailed below.

Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire

The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) is based on Bass and Avolio’s

(1988) theory of transformational and transactional leadership and further developed by

Avolio and Bass (2004). The questionnaire has been validated over the last two decades

(Avolio & Bass). The leadership styles will represent the independent variable in the

research. The MLQ consists of 45 questions that combine into nine scores: idealized

influence that is attributed to the leader, idealized influence that the leader displays,

inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, contingent

reward, active management by exception, passive management by exception, and laissez-

faire (Mental Measurements, 2004b). The first five are grouped into transformational

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leadership, the next two into transactional, and the last two are grouped into passive

avoidant leadership (Avolio & Bass). The survey is answered in a 5-point Likert-type

scale, representing the frequency of each behavior.

Validity and reliability have been established through testing 2080 respondents in

nine samples. The divergent and convergent validity of all the factors netted generally

positive results (Avolio & Bass, 2004). The LISREL VII was chosen to test validity;

however, the sample size was very large, and this test is not considered useful alone

because slight differences are too hard to detect between the matrices. Therefore, the

goodness of fit index (GFI) and the root mean squared residual (RSMR) were used. The

GFI was .91, which was above the .90 criterion recommended, and the RSMR was .04,

which satisfied the below .05 criterion. The GFI measures for one, two, three, four, five,

and seven factors were less than for the six factors, and only the seven factor would be

acceptable, with the GFI measuring .90 and the RSMR measuring .04.

Reliability was reported, using factor loading by scale, with idealized influence

attributed to the leader at .86, idealized influence that the leader displays at .87,

inspirational motivation at .91, intellectual stimulation at .90, individualized

consideration at .90, contingent reward at .87, active management by exception at .74,

passive management by exception at .82, laissez-faire at .83, extra effort at .91,

effectiveness at .91, and satisfaction at .94 (Avolio & Bass, 2004). Any measure under .3

or .4 is not considered meaningful (Vogt, 2005).

External validity has been established through many studies, both domestic and

foreign, including studies conducted in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Norway,

Sweden, Israel, Turkey, China, Thailand, and Korea (Avolio & Bass, 2004). External

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validity has also been established over numerous organizational venues, including the

military, health-related companies, educational institutions, financial institutions, and oil

producers. The MLQ has been used in over 300 research programs, dissertations, and

theses (Avolio & Bass). In all cases, transformational leaders have been shown to

generate higher commitment from followers and higher effectiveness and satisfaction.

Job Descriptive Index and Job in General Scale

The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) was first developed in 1959 and had a second

revision in 1997, and the Job in General Scale (JIG) was developed in 1989 (Mental

Measurements, 2004a). The JDI requires the respondent to answer 72 questions that are

divided into five areas of job satisfaction. Work on present job represents 18 questions

and focuses on the job itself. The employee’s present pay represents nine items.

Opportunities for promotion is represented by nine questions, which concentrate on

promotion policy and its administration. The supervision that the employee receives is

represented by 18 questions, and questions on satisfaction with coworkers are answered

in the people on present job section. The Job in General (JIG) scale has 18 questions that

ascertain the employee’s overall satisfaction. Respondents answer “yes,” “no,” or “?” to

short and easy-to-read questions (Balzer et al., 1997; Mental Measurements).

As from 1959, the JDI was compared to four other measures of job satisfaction to

test for validity. Using cluster and factor analyses, the instrument was found to have high

levels of discriminant and convergent validity (Balzer et al., 1997). The Cronbach’s alpha

for the five facets, using 1600 respondents, ranged from .86 to .91, with numbers above

.70 suggesting that items are measuring the same thing (Vogt, 2005). The JDI has

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correlated with other job-satisfaction scales as well as with job attitudes and behaviors,

indicating the reliability of the instrument (Mental Measurements; Balzer et al.).

The JIG scale was developed to measure global job satisfaction. Not only was the

JIG intended to measure the main five facets of job satisfaction but the instrument also

was intended to measure facet interactions and contributions to longer term factors that

contributed to a person’s feelings about his or her job (Balzer et al., 1997). As a result, 18

questions, which are posed using adjectives, are asked that help the respondent to

evaluate his or her feelings regarding the job. Coefficient alpha reliability estimates of the

JIG exceeded .90 in a test population of 3,566 people. Testing with other measures of

satisfaction showed convergent validity. Three scales were used, and the correlations

ranged from .66 to .80.

Organizational Description Questionnaire

Based on Bass and Avolio’s leadership theories (1988), the goal of the

Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ) instrument is to identify the employees’

assumptions, processes, and expectations that cause particular behavior and feelings

(Bass, 1998a). The measures of organizational culture will be a dependent variable on the

leader styles identified in the MLQ. The Organizational Description Questionnaire is a

28-item survey designed to be completed by members of an organization. Fourteen items

represent the transformational aspects of the business, and 14 represent the transactional.

The odd-numbered questions, which represent the transactional aspect, explore concepts

such as “You get what you deserve, no more, no less; [e]veryone bargains with everyone

else for resources; and specific rules afford little opportunity for discretionary behavior”

(Bass, 1998, p. 67). The even-numbered questions, which represent the transformational

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aspects, explore concepts such as whether “people go out of their way for the institution,

whether individual initiative is encouraged, and [whether employees] believe in trusting

each other to do the right thing” (Bass, p. 67).

The 14 items questioning the transactional aspects of the organization are

answered as +1 for true, -1 for false, and 0 for undecided. As a result, the scores on the

transactional scale can range from -14 to +14. The outcome of the survey allows for the

categorization of nine types of organizations, as defined by Bass and Avolio (1992):

highly transformational, moderately transformational, high contrast, loosely guided,

coasting, moderately bureaucratic, garbage can, pedestrian, and predominately

bureaucratic.

A highly transformational organization receives high transformational scores, or

+6 to +14, and low transactional scores, or -6 to -14. Teamwork is essential in a

transformational organization where vision, purpose, and values are discussed often. The

organization is flat and decentralized, and expressiveness is accentuated. Creativity is

high, and newcomers are confused regarding what to expect and/or what it means to be

effective (Bass, 1998a).

A moderately transformational organization has transformational scores between

+6 and +14 and transactional scores between -5 and +5. Similar to the transformational

culture described above, a moderately transformational organization incorporates many

of the transactional elements that help employees know the expectations, so there is less

confusion. The moderately transformational type of organization is very adaptive and is

perhaps the most desirable (Bass, 1998; Parry & Proctor-Thomson, 2001).

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The high contrast organization is both highly transformational and highly

transactional. The transformational scores are +6 to +14 and the transactional scores are -

6 to -14. There is conflict between the transformational and transactional approaches in

high contrast organizations, but there is a great deal of trust because of the

transformational components, so the conflict is generally constructive. Elite military

groups such as the Navy Seals and the Army Rangers tend to be the best examples of

high contrast organizations (Bass, 1998a).

The loosely guided organization is not highly transformational, but the employees

can do what they please, and the organization is not transactional at all. The

transformational scores for the loosely guided organization are -5 to +5 and the

transactional scores are -6 to -14. Examples of an organization like this are university

departments or a consultancy firm (Bass, 1998a).

The coasting organization is neither highly transformational nor highly

transactional. The coasting type of organization is most prevalent, with both

transformational and transactional scores ranging from -5 to -15. The organization does

not maximize the use of its resources or opportunities. A great deal of dissatisfaction is

found among the employees, yet change is not sought (Bass, 1998a).

In the predominately bureaucratic organization, employees are controlled

through contracts, bureaucratic control is high, turfdom is prevalent, discretion is

discouraged, and employees cannot identify the vision or the mission of the organization

(Bass, 1998; Parry & Proctor-Thompson, 2001). There is a price on everything. Large

civil service agencies are examples of the predominately bureaucratic type of

organization (Bass).

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Scores on the transactional scale of -6 to -14 and scores on the transformational

scale of -5 to +5 characterize the pedestrian organization. The organization does not

allow even its leaders much discretion, and there is only a general sense of structure and

procedure. Some volunteer associations are good examples of pedestrian organizations

(Bass, 1998a).

The last type of organization is referred to as the garbage-can culture. Garbage-

can culture scores are the lowest on each scale, or -6 to -14. Consensus is not present, and

all workers do what they want without any coordination. While the garbage-can type of

organization has no form, is confused, and has no purpose and no values, few

organizations exhibit this structure. However, some committees within organizations may

display these characteristics (Bass, 1998a).

The Cronbach’s alpha’s internal consistency indicator was used to test the

reliability of each of the scales. The transformational scale measured a .88 and the

transactional scale was .74. Descriptive statistics for the transformational characteristics

were M = 8.76 and SD = 6.5. For the transactional characteristics, the M = -1.07 and the

SD = 6.16. Adequacy was determined at over .70 (Parry & Proctor-Thomson, 2001;

Vogt, 2005). A factor analysis was conducted using Principle Component Analysis with

promax rotation. This assumes that the starting variables are correlated and, in this case,

that the transformational and transactional items are negatively correlated at r = -.61, p <

.001. A verimax and promax rotation were used and both provided the same explanation

of variance over four factors, 45.3%; however, the promax rotation provided a clearer

factor structure. Only 4 of the 28 factors did not clearly load on the other factors, which

suggests a robust instrument (Parry & Proctor-Thomson).

94

The ODQ measure of transformational leadership positively correlated with the

nine items operationalizing the social processes of leadership, and the same social

process negatively correlated with transactional leadership (Parry & Proctor-Thomson,

2001). When workers observe leadership being displayed by colleagues, the workers

perceive the organization to have a transformational culture, which provides convergent

validity (Parry & Proctor-Thomson). Similarly, transformational culture was correlated

with organizational effectiveness, r = .39, p < .01 but transactional culture was not, r = -

.34, p < .01. Role conflict, or an organizational structure where there is a hierarchy yet

the employee must take commands from more than one boss, correlated significantly

negatively (r = - 32) with transformational culture and significantly positively (r = .35)

with transactional culture (Parry & Proctor-Thomson).

Demographic Survey

The demographic survey is an instrument that was created by the researcher to

acquire specific information on the participants regarding employment type, length of

time working in that particular hospital, length of time working in veterinary medicine in

general, level of education, age, full- or part-time status, and gender. The leader of the

practice is further asked questions regarding the practice revenue, if the leader is a

veterinarian, his or her average client transaction and clients seen per week, and finally,

the doctor-to-staff ratio at the hospital. The participants were asked to mark an X beside

the appropriate response to each item.

Alternative Instruments

Other considerations for the leadership instrument included the Leadership

Practices Inventory by Kouzes and Posner and the Situational Leadership assessment by

95

Hersey and Keilty (Mental Measurements, 2004a). The Kouzes and Posner instrument,

while scoring well in reliability and validity, was rejected because the instrument needed

to be used in a workshop-type environment. The instrument measures five practices,

including challenging the process, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act,

modeling the way, and encouraging the heart. The Situational Leadership instrument

identified four styles of leadership: (1) high task-low relationship (telling), (2) high task-

high relationship (selling), (3) low task-high relationship (participating), and (4) low task-

low relationship (delegating), as based on the Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership

model (Bass, 1990). The situational leadership instrument was rejected because it was not

tested adequately for reliability and validity.

Not many reliable or valid options for job-satisfaction instruments were available.

According to Saane, Sluiter, Verbeek, and Frings-Dreson (2003), the JDI is the most

widely used and the JIG is the best measure of employee responsiveness. The Measure of

Job Satisfaction (MJS) is another multidimensional scale used to measure job

satisfaction, and the MJS’s construct validity and test-retest reliability are also high. The

instrument uses 38 questions, measured on a Likert-type scale for determining employee

attitudes on five work factors. These factors include personnel satisfaction, workload,

professional support, salary, and prospects and training (Saane et al.).

The Organizational and Team Culture Indicator was examined as an

organizational culture instrument. The instrument was rejected because the developers

required test administrators to undergo specific training to use the instrument. The

developers tried to find a mentor who would help in the training for the current research

project but were not able to do so. The Organizational Culture Indicator (OCI) was also

96

examined, and not only has it not been tested adequately for reliability and validity

(Mental Measurements, 2004a) but measuring with the OCI is also very expensive

(Human Synergistics, 2005).

Summary

The purpose of this quantitative survey study is to examine the relationships

between the transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant styles of leaders of

small-animal veterinary hospitals in Florida and the organizational culture and job

satisfaction among the employees in the hospitals in which the leaders work. The data

collection techniques, reliability and validity of the instruments, and data analysis

techniques have been identified. The independent variables are the transformational,

transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles, as defined in the MLQ (Avolio &

Bass, 2004), and the dependent variables are the job satisfaction and organizational

descriptors, as defined in the JDI, JIG (Balzer et al., 1997), and ODQ (Bass & Avolio,

1992). The research was conducted through the use of surveys sent to small-animal

veterinary hospitals in a four-county area in Florida, and all survey results were used.

Chapters 4 and 5 will outline the results from the research and the analysis and

implications derived from the findings. The hope is that the results from the current

research will help inform leaders in the veterinary industry regarding the behaviors that

are possibly associated with higher employee satisfaction and effective organizational

culture.

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CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

Chapter 3 presented an overview of the research methods used in the current

study, which included the research design, the sample population, the instruments to be

used, and the data collection and analysis. Chapter 4 presents the findings of the

quantitative correlational study, which compares leadership styles with job satisfaction

and organizational culture.

The purpose of this quantitative survey study is to determine if there is a

relationship between transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant leadership

styles and job satisfaction and organizational culture for leaders and employees in small

animal veterinary hospitals in a four-county region in Florida. The independent variable

is defined as leadership styles, specifically transformational, transactional, and passive-

avoidant and the dependent variables are defined as job satisfaction and organizational

culture.

The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was used to determine the

leadership styles as reported by the leader and as reported by the leaders’ followers, or

employees. The MLQ consists of 45 questions that reflect the leaders’ transformational,

transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles. Transformational leaders tend to

recognize followers’ needs, and develop them through raising their level of awareness,

encouragement, and development (Avolio & Bass, 2004). Transactional leaders tend to

recognize their followers’ roles and tasks that will lead to desired outcomes in the form of

rewards (Avolio & Bass). Passive-avoidant leadership is characterized by providing little

to no leadership, avoiding responsibility, absence from the work environment when

needed, and squelching freedom of expression (Bass & Avolio, 2000).

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The following research questions guided this quantitative, correlational study.

Research Question 1 is, what is the relationship between transformational, transactional,

and passive-avoidant leadership styles, as defined in the MLQ, and employee satisfaction,

as defined in the JIG and JDI? Research question 2 is, what is the relationship between

transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles, as defined in the

MLQ, and organizational culture, as defined in the ODQ?

Chapter 4 includes a description of the sample population, analysis of the

demographic data, correlation analyses between leadership styles and job satisfaction and

organizational culture, and regression analyses to understand demographic factors that

affect job satisfaction. The chapter concludes with a summary of the results of the study.

Data Collection

The population for this quantitative, correlational analysis included 340

veterinarians representing approximately 84 hospitals in the four-county region of Florida

consisting of Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, and Hillsborough counties. The Florida

Veterinary Medical Association (FVMA) provided the mailing list for these

veterinarians. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA),

about 65% of all veterinarians are exclusively small animal (AVMA.org, 2008); so

approximately 221 of the 350 veterinarians who were mailed requests were qualified to

participate. Because there is only one leader per hospital, the 30 responding leaders

represented 36% of qualified leaders. Brown and Silverman (1999) reported that in 1999,

the employee/doctor ratio was 1.15/1. The ratio translates to 254 qualified employees of

which 137 participated for response rate of 54%.

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A letter describing the study was sent to each veterinarian on the mailing list, and

a self addressed, stamped envelope was included for a reply that indicated willingness to

participate, number of employees, and name of the leaders (Appendix A). Survey

packages were then sent to participants. The packages included a cover letter (Appendix

B), survey packets for employees, and a survey packet for the leader. Each survey packet

included a self addressed and stamped envelope for return. The leader packet included an

informed consent form (Appendix C), a demographic questionnaire (Appendix D), the

Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (Appendix E), and the Organizational

Description Questionnaire (ODQ) (Appendix G). The employee packets included an

informed consent (Appendix C), a demographic questionnaire (Appendix D), the MLQ

(rater) (Appendix E), the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and the Job in General Scale

(Appendix F), and the ODQ (Appendix G).

Hospital and employee numbers were assigned to each participant. Each page of

the returned surveys was marked with the identifying numbers. A total of 30 hospitals

participated, which accounted for 30 leaders and 137 employees, representing a 36%

response rate from leaders and a 54% response rate from employees. Leedy and Ormond

(2005) stated that if the population is under 100, the entire population must respond for

valid results. Because there were not enough leader responses to analyze with a high

enough degree of confidence, only employee responses have been used for the

correlational analysis. The research questions do not require that leaders’ responses be

included.

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Analysis of Data

All data were entered on Excel spreadsheets. Separate sheets were used for the

JIG/JDI, the MLQ and ODQ, and then data were summarized on another spreadsheet,

which included the demographic information. A similar process was used for the leader

data, only the job satisfaction surveys were not used on the leaders. While analysis of

leader demographic data is included in chapter 4, no correlations were analyzed using the

leader outcomes. One of the original intents of the research was to determine leaders’

perceptions of their own leadership skills and compare those perceptions with employee

satisfaction and organizational culture. Populations under 100 require a 100% response

rate to yield valid results (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005). There were 84 leaders in the

population for the current research, and 30 responded. Because the response rate was

36% for leaders, the number of leaders was not adequate for a valid analysis. The

population of employees totaled 254, of which 137 responded, yielding a 54% response

rate. In chapter 3, a confidence interval under 8.343% using a 95% confidence level was

established as adequate. An employee population of 254 with a sample size of 137 yields

a confidence interval of 5.59% at the 95% confidence level, which is within the limits

established in chapter 3. As a result, the current research will focus on employee

responses.

Demographic Findings - Employees

Employees were asked to answer a number of demographic questions including

employee type, ethnicity, the length of time they had worked in the hospital being

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studied, the length of time they have worked in the veterinary field, their education level,

the number of hours they work each week, their age, and their gender.

The mean and median age for employees was 25-40 years old. The next most

common age was 18-25 (Table 4).

Table 4

Employee Age

Age Responses Percent

18-25 years 37 27

25-40 years 51 37

41-55 years 29 21

Over 55 years 6 4

Missing 13 10

Total 137 100

The median education level was some college. Most respondents had more than a

high school education (Table 5),

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Table 5

Employee Education

Level Responses Percent

Not graduated from high school 1 1

High school graduate 17 12

Some college 47 34

Graduate of veterinary-related technical

school

17 12

Four-year degree 27 20

Graduate degree 15 11

Missing 13 10

Total 137 100

The majority of employees work over 33 hours a week. Both the mean and

median for hours worked indicated that nearly all the employees were full time (Table 6).

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Table 6

Employee Hours worked/ week

Hours/week Responses Percent

0-20 1 1

21-32 20 15

Over 33 103 75

Missing 13 9

Total 137 100

The majority of the employee respondents were non-veterinary staff, meaning

they had no formal veterinary education. The respondents in the second largest group

were credentialed technicians (Table 7).

Table 7

Employee Type

Type Responses Percent

Non-veterinary staff member 59 43

Credentialed technician 36 26

Hospital manager 11 8

Veterinarian 11 8

Hospital administrator 4 3

Owner 2 2

Missing 14 10

Total 137 100

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Most of the employee respondents worked at their present job for two to seven

years (59%), while those who worked at the study hospital 0-1 years totaled 41%. The

mean and median for this statistic suggested that most employees worked in their present

positions for 2-3 years (Table 8).

Table 8

Employee length of time in current hospital

Years Responses Percent

0-1 42 31

2-3 29 21

4-7 30 22

8-15 16 12

Over 15 7 5

Missing 13 10

Total 137 100

Only 15% of the employee respondents worked in the veterinary field less than

one year, and more than half (62%) of them worked in the field two to seven years. The

median for the current analysis was 4-7 years, and the mean was slightly higher (Table

9).

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Table 9

Employee length of time in field

Years Responses Percent

0-1 15 11

2-3 20 15

4-7 42 31

8-15 29 21

Over 15 17 12

Missing 13 10

Total 137 100

The majority of employees reporting were white (Table 10). Most of the

employees responding were female (85%) (Table 11).

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Table 10

Employee ethnicity

Ethnicity Responses Percent

White 111 81

Other 11 9

Missing 15 10

Total 137 100

Table 11

Employee gender

Gender Responses Percent

Female 116 85

Male 7 5

Missing 14 10

Total 137 100

Demographic Findings - Leaders

Although the leader statistics were not analyzed to answer the research questions,

the outcome of the analysis of them is reported. Leaders were asked to answer a number

of demographic questions including employee type, ethnicity, the length of time they had

worked in the hospital being studied, the length of time they have worked in the

veterinary field, their education level, the number of hours they work each week, their

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age, and their gender. The leaders also answered questions regarding the hospital’s

revenue, the number of full-time equivalent veterinarians employed by the hospital, the

veterinarian’s average client charge, the number of clients the veterinarian saw each week

if they were also the leader, and the full time doctor to full time staff ratio.

Most leaders were between the ages of 25 and 55. The median age was 41-55

(Table 12).

Table 12

Leader Age

Age Responses Percent

18-25 years 0 0

25-40 years 12 40

41-55 years 13 43

Over 55 years 5 17

Total 30 100

The majority of the leaders (58%) had a graduate degree. The mean education was

a four-year degree, and the median was a graduate degree (Table 13).

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Table 13

Leader Education

Level Responses Percent

Not graduated from high school 0 0

High school graduate 2 6.7

Some college 6 20

Graduate of veterinary-related technical school 4 13.3

Four-year degree 1 3.3

Graduate degree 17 56.7

Total 30 100

Most leaders worked over 33 hours a week a represented by the mean (Table 14).

Table 14

Leader Hours worked/ week

Hours/week Responses Percent

0-20 0 0

21-32 1 3.3

Over 33 29 96.7

Total 30 100

Most of the leaders were veterinarians (40%) followed closely by hospital

administrators (33%) (Table 15).

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Table 15

Leader Type

Type Responses Percent

Non-veterinary staff member 0 0

Credentialed technician 1 3.3

Hospital manager 7 23.3

Veterinarian 12 40

Hospital administrator 10 33.3

Total 30 100

The mean time the leader had been at the study hospital was 4-7 years. The

median time at the current hospital was 8-25 years (Table 16).

Table 16

Leader length of time in current hospital

Years Responses Percent

0-1 7 23.3

2-3 4 13.3

4-7 2 6.7

8-15 10 33.3

Over 15 7 23.3

Total 30 100

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The leaders spent an average of 8-15 years in the field of veterinary medicine

(Table 17).

Table 17

Leader length of time in field

Years Responses Percent

0-1 1 3.3

2-3 0 0

4-7 3 10

8-15 11 36.7

Over 15 15 50

Total 30 100

As with the employees, the leaders were mainly white (93%) (Table 18), and

mostly female, though the percentage of females was about 58% in contrast to the

employees who were well over 90% (Table 19).

Table 18

Leader ethnicity

Ethnicity Responses Percent

White 26 93

Other 2 7

Total 28 100

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Table 19

Leader gender

Gender Responses Percent

Female 17 56.7

Male 13 43.3

Total 30 100

The next set of tables show the demographics for the hospitals reporting. The

median number of veterinarians in a hospital was two, but the mean was three (Table 20)

Table 20

Full time equivalent veterinarians

Number Responses Percent

1 11 36.7

2 8 26.7

3 3 10

4 2 6.7

5 3 10

7 1 3.3

9 2 6.7

Total 30 100

The mean and median revenue for the hospitals was between $800,001 and

$1,200,000. The highest number of hospitals reported $500,001 and $800,000 (Table 21).

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Table 21

Hospital revenue

Dollars/year Responses Percent

0-200,000 0 0

200,001-500,00 4 14

500,001-800,000 8 29

800,001-1,200,000 5 18

1,200,001-2,000,000 4 14

Over 2,000,002 7 25

Total 28 100

The mean amount a client was charged in the study hospitals was $101-150 per

visit (Table 22).

Table 22

Average client charge

Dollars Responses Percent

50-100 5 21

101-150 14 58

151-200 1 4

201-250 1 4

Over 251 3 13

Total 24 100

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The mean number of clients seen per week was 51-75 (Table 23). The ratio of

doctors to staff mean was slightly lower than one doctor to four staff members (Table

24).

Table 23

Clients/ Week

Number Responses Percent

0-50 5 33

51-75 8 44

76-100 3 17

101-125 1 6

151-200 1 6

Total 18 100

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Table 24

Doctor to staff ratio

Ratio Responses Percent

1:1 1 3

1:2 5 17

1:3 7 25

1:4 7 25

1:5 5 17

1:6 1 3

1:7 2 7

1:8 1 3

Total 29 100

Outcomes from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ)

The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) is based on Bass and Avolio’s

(1988) theory of transformational and transactional leadership and further developed by

Avolio and Bass (2004). The questionnaire has been validated over the last two decades

(Avolio & Bass). The leadership styles will represent the independent variable in the

research. The MLQ consists of 45 questions that combine into nine scores: idealized

influence that is attributed to the leader, idealized influence that the leader displays,

inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, contingent

reward, active management by exception, passive management by exception, and laissez-

faire (Mental Measurements, 2004b). The first five are grouped into transformational

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leadership, the next two into transactional, and the last two are grouped into passive

avoidant leadership (Avolio & Bass). The survey is answered in a 5-point Likert-type

scale, representing the frequency of each behavior.

The 136 employees and the 30 leaders who responded to the leader rater survey

that is part of the MLQ reported mean values for transformational leadership at 2.8 and

2.7 respectively. The mean values for transactional leadership were 2.0 and 1.7

respectively. The mean values for passive-avoidant leadership were 0.7 and 0.7

respectively (Figure 1). The means, standard deviations, and skewness of each leader

style as reported by leaders and employees are presented in Table 25.

Means for leader styles

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Transformational Transactional Passive-avoidant

Employee meanLeader Mean

Figure 1. Histogram of means of styles as reported by leaders and employees

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Table 25

Descriptive statistics for leadership styles

Leader style M SD Skewness

Leader transformational 2.69 1.159 -1.661

Leader transactional 1.71 .753 -1.471

Leader passive avoidant .69 .869 1.757

Employee transformational 2.81 .818 -1.680

Employee transactional 2.0 .637 -1.510

Employee passive avoidant .73 .786 1.543

Avolio and Bass (2004) report that population means for the transformational

style at 2.85, the transactional style at 2.27, and the passive avoidant style at 0.84.

Typically, the leaders’ ratings of themselves are lower than the raters’ (Avolio & Bass).

Values of over three constitute transformational behavior, over two indicate transactional

behavior, and over one indicates passive-avoidant

(http://www.mindgarden.com/products/mlqr.htm). Using these standards, leaders often

fell into one or more behavior categories, and they are labeled here as transformational

(TF), transformational/transactional (TF/TC), transformational/passive-avoidant (TF/PA),

transactional (TC), transactional/passive-avoidant (TC/PA), passive-avoidant (PA),

leaders who display no solid leadership behavior (NONE), and those who display all of

them (ALL). Based on this identification scheme, the most common style was

transformational/transactional (Figure 2).

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Leader styles

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

tf tf/tc tf/pa tc tc/pa pa none all

Figure 2. Pareto chart representing reported leader styles by employees. n = 133

Cronbach’s Alpha was used to determine the internal reliability for

transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles. Alpha scores can

range from 0 to 1.0, with 1.0 representing 100% reliability (Vogt, 2005). An alpha score

of 0.70 is acceptable for any instrument. The alphas for the factors of the MLQ ranged

from 0.45 to 0.93 (Table 26). Avolio & Bass (2004) reported that the alphas for each

leadership style exceeded .70 for a sample population of over 2000. Given that the MLQ

is a generally accepted instrument and large population samples exceed an alpha of .70, it

is assumed that the lower alphas in the current study were a result of lower sample size.

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Table 26

Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficients for Leadership Styles

Leader style Cronbach’s Alpha

Leader transformational .85

Leader transactional .59

Leader passive-avoidant .69

Employee transformational .93

Employee transactional .45

Employee passive-avoidant .79

Outcomes from the Job Descriptive Index and Job in General Scale

The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) was first developed in 1959 and had a second

revision in 1997, and the Job in General Scale (JIG) was developed in 1989 (Mental

Measurements, 2004a). The JDI requires the respondent to answer 72 questions that are

divided into five areas of job satisfaction. Work on present job represents 18 questions

and focuses on the job itself. The employee’s present pay represents nine items.

Opportunities for promotion is represented by nine questions, which concentrate on

promotion policy and its administration. The supervision that the employee receives is

represented by 18 questions, and questions on satisfaction with coworkers are answered

in the people on present job section. The Job in General (JIG) scale has 18 questions that

ascertain the employee’s overall satisfaction. Respondents answer yes, no, or ? to short

and easy-to-read questions (Balzer et al., 1997; Mental Measurements, 2004a).

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The JIG scale was developed to measure global job satisfaction. Not only was the

JIG intended to measure the main five facets of job satisfaction but the instrument also

was intended to measure facet interactions and contributions to longer term factors that

contributed to a person’s feelings about his or her job (Balzer et al., 1997). As a result, 18

questions, which are posed using adjectives, are asked that help the respondent to

evaluate his or her feelings regarding the job.

For each scale, the maximum score is 54, so the neutral point is 27, which is

exactly in the middle. Scores well above 27 indicate high satisfaction, and those under 27

indicate high dissatisfaction (Balzer et al., 1997).

One hundred thirty four employees responded to the JDI and JIG instruments.

Employees rated above neutral their satisfaction with their work, supervisors, and co-

workers (Table 27).

Table 27

JDI and JIG descriptive statistics

Facet M SD Skewness

Work 43 10 -1.2

Pay 30 12 -.43

Promotion 25 16 .4

Supervisor 43 11 -1.23

People 41 12 -1.11

Job in General 28 7.7 1.25

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Cronbach’s Alphas ranged from the low of 0.62 for satisfaction with pay to a high

of 0.90 for the JIG scale (Table 28). Vogt (2005) stated that an alpha of 0.70 was

generally acceptable to establish reliability. Alphas as reported by Balzer et al, (1997)

exceeded .85 in all job satisfaction facets in a sample population of 1629, so it is assumed

that the lower alphas in the current study were the result of smaller sample size.

Table 28

Cronbach’s Alphas for the Job Satisfaction Scales

Job satisfaction facet Alpha

Work .84

Pay .62

Opportunities for promotion .86

Supervisor .87

People .88

Job in General .90

Multiple regression analysis was used to determine if any of the employee

demographic factors affected the job satisfaction factors. Several demographic variables

had a statistically significant, yet slight, effect on some of the factors. Employee’s

satisfaction with the people with whom they work is negatively associated with the time

they have worked at the study hospital, meaning the longer they have worked at the

hospital, the less satisfied they are with their co-workers. Their satisfaction with fellow

employees is positively associated with the participant’s age. An employee’s satisfaction

with their supervisor is positively associated with the employment type, meaning the

121

more responsible their position, the happier they were, and negatively associated with

their education level, meaning the less education they had, the less they were happy with

their supervisor. An employee’s satisfaction with the work they do is positively

associated with the number of years they have spent in the profession (Table 29).

Table 29

Betas of Job Satisfaction Facets and Demographic Information

Time with

hospital

Age

Employment

type

Education

Time in

profession

Work β =2.73*

People β = -2.2* β =3.1*

Supervisor β =2.14* β =-2.57*

* p < .05

While not related to the research questions or hypotheses, several outcomes

arising from the analysis of the data can be noted. First is the relative satisfaction

employees reported, keeping in mind that a score of 27 represents neutral, 54 perfectly

satisfied, and 0 as not at all satisfied. The facets with which employees appeared most

satisfied were supervisors with a mean of 43, the work they do at 43, and their co-

workers at 41. The mean scores for employees’ satisfaction with their pay were 30, with

their opportunities for promotion at 25, and their jobs in general at 28 (Table 27). Low

pay and a job with no upward mobility appear to decrease employees’ abilities to be

completely satisfied with their work. Tumblin (2006) and Veterinary Economics (2006)

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supported the findings that employees’ pay, opportunities for promotion, job satisfaction,

and intention to leave were related.

Outcomes for the Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ)

Based on Bass and Avolio’s leadership theories (1988), the goal of the

Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ) instrument is to identify the employees’

assumptions, processes, and expectations that cause particular behavior and feelings

(Bass, 1998a). The measure of organizational culture is a dependent variable on the

leader styles identified in the MLQ. The Organizational Description Questionnaire is a

28-item survey designed to be completed by members of an organization. Fourteen items

represent the transformational aspects of the business, and 14 represent the transactional.

The odd-numbered questions, which represent the transactional aspect, explore concepts

such as “You get what you deserve, no more, no less; [e]veryone bargains with everyone

else for resources; and specific rules afford little opportunity for discretionary behavior”

(Bass, 1998, p. 67). The even-numbered questions, which represent the transformational

aspects, explore concepts such as whether “people go out of their way for the institution,

whether individual initiative is encouraged, and [whether employees] believe in trusting

each other to do the right thing” (Bass, 1998, p. 67).

Based on Bass and Avolio’s leadership theories (1988), the goal of the

Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ) instrument is to identify the employees’

assumptions, processes, and expectations that cause particular behavior and feelings

(Bass, 1998a). The measures of organizational culture will be a dependent variable on the

leader styles identified in the MLQ. Members of an organization complete the 28-item

Organizational Description Questionnaire. Fourteen items represent the transformational

123

aspects of the business, and 14 represent the transactional. The odd-numbered questions,

which represent the transactional aspect, explore concepts such as “You get what you

deserve, no more, no less; [e]veryone bargains with everyone else for resources; and

specific rules afford little opportunity for discretionary behavior” (Bass, 1998, p. 67). The

even-numbered questions, which represent the transformational aspects, explore concepts

such as whether “people go out of their way for the institution, whether individual

initiative is encouraged, and [whether employees] believe in trusting each other to do the

right thing” (Bass, 1998, p. 67).

The 14 items questioning the transactional aspects of the organization are

answered as +1 for true, -1 for false, and 0 for undecided. As a result, the scores on the

transactional scale can range from -14 to +14. The outcome of the survey allows for the

categorization of nine types of organizations, as defined by Bass and Avolio (1992):

highly transformational, moderately transformational, high contrast, loosely guided,

coasting, moderately bureaucratic, garbage can, pedestrian, and predominately

bureaucratic. The scores for each organizational culture are noted in Table 30. Bass

identified the most functional organizational culture as the moderately transformational.

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Table 30

Culture Types and Scores

Culture type Score (transactional / transformational)

Predominately or Moderately Transformational -14 to +6 / +7 to +14

High Contrast +7 to +14 / +7 to +14

Loosely Guided -14 to -7 / -6 to +6

Coasting -6 to +6 / -6 to +6

Predominately or Moderately Bureaucratic +7 to +14 / -14 to +6

Garbage Can -14 to -7 / -14 to -7

Pedestrian -6 to +6 / -7 to -14

Thirty leaders and 136 employees answered the questions on the Organizational

Description Questionnaire. All were asked to complete the ODQ. The mean leaders’

reports of organizational culture were -2 on the transformational scale, and 10 on the

transactional scale, which translates to the predominately or moderately bureaucratic

cultures. The employees reported a mean for organizational culture of -.63 on the

transformational scale, and 8.86 on the transactional scale, or also predominately to

moderately bureaucratic.

The leaders’ transformational mean was about -2, and has a slight negative skew

of -0.148. The transactional mean was about 10, with a stronger negative skew of 2.012.

Employees’ mean transformational culture score was about -1 with a slight positive skew.

Their transactional mean was about 9 with a negative skew (Table 31).

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Table 31

Descriptive Statistics for Organizational Culture Scores

Leader type M SD Skewness

Leader Transformational -1.88 4.013 -.148

Leader Transactional 10.5 5.572 -2.012

Employee transformational -.6 4.4 .9423

Employee Transactional 8.76 6 -1.016

Combinations of scores on the transactional and transformational scales identified

the nine organizational styles (Table 29). Using these combinations, employees identified

five organizational culture types and the leaders reported three. Employees identified

transformational, high contrast, bureaucratic, coasting, and loosely guided while leaders

reported bureaucratic, high contrast, and coasting (Figure 3 and 4). Both groups reported

bureaucratic organizations more often than any other.

126

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Bureaucratic High Contrast Coasting

Figure 3. Histogram of leader reported culture types

0

5

10

15

20

25

Bureaucratic High Contrast Coasting Transformational Loosely Guided

Figure 4. Histogram of employee reported culture types

Cronbach’s Alpha was used to determine the reliability of the ODQ. Vogt (2005)

explained that an Alpha over 0.70 indicated that an instrument displayed internal

127

reliability. The transformational culture scales as reported by employees and leaders were

.91 and .69 respectively. The transactional culture scales were .45 and .46 respectively.

Parry & Proctor-Thomson (2001) determined that the alpha for the transformational

culture scale was .88, and the transactional culture scale was .74. It is assumed that the

alphas in the current study for both types of culture are lower as a result of small sample

size.

Findings

The statistical outcomes for the demographic, leadership styles, job satisfaction

levels, and organizational culture were presented for this quantitative study. The

Multifactor Leadership Questionnaires (MLQ), the Job in General and Job Description

Indexes JIG and JDI), and the Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ) were

used as instruments to measure these outcomes. The results from the data help to answer

the two research questions in the study.

Correlations Between Leadership Styles and Job Satisfaction

Research Question 1: What is the relationship between transformational, transactional,

and passive-avoidant leadership styles, as defined in the MLQ, and employee

satisfaction, as defined in the JIG and JDI?

Transformational leadership as reported by the employees positively correlated

with three of the six facets of job satisfaction, which included their work, opportunities

for promotion, and their supervisors. Transactional leadership did not correlate with any

of the facets of job satisfaction. Passive avoidant leadership negatively correlated with

three facets, employees’ opportunities for promotion, satisfaction with their supervisor,

and satisfaction with their co-workers (Table 32).

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Table 32

Correlations between Leadership Styles and Satisfaction Facets According to Leaders

Satisfaction facet Transformational

leadership

Transactional

leadership

Passive-avoidant

leadership

Work n=131

Pay n=132

Promotion n=130

Supervisor n=133

People n=133

JIG n=133

PR

.261*

.15

.440*

.602*

.163

.037

PR

-.010

-.045

.076

.004

-.075

.052

PR

-.047

-.030

-.257*

-.499*

-.244*

-.093

*p < .05.

Scores for transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant leadership are

considered together to determine the overall leadership style. If the transformational score

was over 3, the leader was labeled transformational. If the transactional score was over 2,

the leader was labeled transactional. If the passive-avoidant score exceeded 1, the leader

was labeled passive-avoidant. Many leaders fell into more than one category, and some

did not fall into any. Each leadership style is compared to the means for each facet of job

satisfaction in Table 33.

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Table 33

Leader styles and job satisfaction means

tf

n=1

tf/tc

n=77

tf/pa

n=3

tc

n=16

tc/pa

n=6

pa

n=3

none

n=3

all

n=9

average

n=133

Work 45 44 46 37 41 44 34 44 42

Pay 32 31 33 22 34 33 33 28 31

Promotion 27 28 14 16 12 17 11 24 19

Supervisor 45 48 38 31 32 24 41 40 37

People 45 42 47 36 25 48 41 39 40

General 30 29 29 28 25 26 24 25 27

Total 224 222 207 170 169 192 184 200 196

Average Mean 37 37 35 28 28 32 31 33 33

tf – transformational; tc – transactional; pa – passive-avoidant; none – no style; all – all styles

Any leadership style that included transformational behaviors rated highest. The

highest average means were associated with the transformational style, and

transformational/transactional style. These means were followed closely by the

transformational/passive-avoidant style and when all leadership styles were used. The

only two types of leader styles that exceeded the average mean in all job satisfaction

categories were transformational, and transformational/transactional.

The correlations between leadership styles and job satisfaction resulted in the

rejection of the first null hypothesis, H01: No relationship exists between

transformational, transactional, or passive-avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the

MLQ, and employee satisfaction, as measured by the JIG and JDI in small animal

130

veterinary hospitals in a four-county region in Florida. It also resulted in supporting the

directional hypothesis, H11: A relationship exists between transformational, transactional,

or passive-avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the MLQ, and employee

satisfaction, as measured by the JIG and JDI in small animal veterinary hospitals in a six-

county region in Florida. Specifically, there is moderate support for H11 where

satisfaction with supervisor and opportunities for promotion are correlated with

transformational leadership. Using Creswell’s (2002) definitions of strength of

correlations, there is slight support for the positive correlation between satisfaction with

the work and transformational leadership, and a slight negative correlation between

satisfaction with co-workers and passive avoidant leadership (Table 32).

While employees reported being generally satisfied with their work, it appears

that they are happier when a leader exhibits a transformational style (Table 33). If leaders

attempt to be more transformational in their behaviors, satisfaction may increase in

veterinary hospitals. Because more satisfied employees will generally result in lower

turnover (Gallup, 2006; Tumblin, 2006), there may be financial and stability benefits to

veterinary hospitals if a leader can train to become more transformational in his or her

behavior. Bass (1999) stated that when leaders have made the effort and have received

training regarding how to improve transformational leadership abilities, the leaders have

experienced generally positive results.

Correlations Between Job Satisfaction and Organizational Culture

While not associated with the research questions or hypotheses, correlations were

found between job satisfaction scores as reported by employees and organizational

culture scores. Using Creswell’s (2002) and Leedy and Ormrod’s (2005) definitions of

131

strength of correlations, there was a negative correlation between transformational culture

scores and all six facets of job satisfaction, and two of those correlations were moderate;

satisfaction with employees’ supervisors and co-workers. A slight negative correlation

existed between transformational culture and satisfaction with pay. Positive correlations

were shown between transactional culture scores and all job satisfaction scores, and the

correlation was moderate with the employees’ work at present job, employee’s

opportunities for promotion, satisfaction with employees’ supervisors and co-workers.

The correlation between transactional culture was slight positive when compared to the

employees’ work on the present job and their jobs in general (Table 34).

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Table 34

Correlations between job satisfaction and organizational culture scores

Transformational culture Transactional culture

Work r = -0.263* .368*

Pay r = -0.196* .196

Promotion r = -.169 .450*

Supervisor r = -.432* .560*

People r = -.415* .461*

General r = -.040 .227*

* p < .05

Upon comparison, it appears that leadership styles that result in transformational

leadership behaviors net the highest overall job satisfaction (Table 33) Likewise,

organizational cultures that are more transactional net higher job satisfaction (Table 35).

Because job satisfaction facets for supervisor, work on present job, and co-workers are

already high in veterinary hospitals, a focus on behaviors and cultures that cause an

increase in satisfaction in pay, opportunities for promotion, and job in general might be

beneficial. An analysis of the data suggests that a transactional culture is correlated with

slightly higher satisfaction with pay, and opportunities for promotion than is

transformational leadership (Table 35). Transactional culture is more highly correlated

with the job in general than transformational behaviors.

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Table 35

Correlations between certain job satisfaction facets and leader styles and organizational

culture

Satisfaction facets Pay Promotion General

Transformational Leadership correlation .150* .440* .037

Transactional Leadership correlation -.045 .076 .052

Passive Avoidant Leadership Correlation -.030 -.257* -.093

Transformational Culture correlation -.096* -.169 -.040

Transactional Culture correlation .196* .450* .227*

* p < .05

Correlations Between Leadership Styles and Organizational Culture

The Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ) nets several outcomes.

There is an overall transformational score and an overall transactional one. These scores

indicate the general nature of the culture and can vary from -14, which represents that the

culture being tested is not at all present, to 14, which represents that the culture being

tested is pervasive. Bass and Avolio (1992) combine the scores for nine organizational

types, which can be helpful to understand how the culture feels. Both the independent

scores and the combined ones are important. Because most of the leaders and employees

described their cultures as bureaucratic, which is represented by scores on the

transactional scale of 7-14, and the transformational scale of -14 to 6, it seems that

increasing the transformational component could help increase the satisfaction with their

jobs in general. The transformational component, according to Bass (1998) will be

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affected by exhibiting more transformational behaviors. Considering the means of the job

satisfaction scales overall, the only two facets that might benefit from a cultural change

are pay and promotion. Bass and Avolio asserted that the moderately transformational

culture is the most ideal. Its scores are represented by -14 to 6 on the transactional scale,

and 7-14 on the transformational. The mean reported for transformational culture in the

current research was near -1 and the mean for transactional was near 9. The scores

indicate that the transformational component is very low while the transactional

component is slightly high, so the cultures as reported in the current study might be more

effective if the transactional score were reduced and the transformational scores were

increased.

Research question 2: What is the relationship between transformational,

transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles, as defined in the MLQ, and

organizational culture, as defined in the ODQ?

Scores on transformational leadership correlated negatively with transformational

culture, and positively with transactional culture (Table 36). This finding is contrary to

Bass’ (1998) assertion that transformational leaders engender transformational cultures.

No correlations existed between the identified leader styles as reported by employees and

any of the nine culture styles that were calculated from the combined transformational

and transactional scores.

Because transformational leadership styles correlated with both culture styles, the

findings result in rejecting of the null hypothesis, H02: No relationship exists between

transformational, transactional, or passive-avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the

MLQ, and organizational culture, as measured by the ODQ in small animal veterinary

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hospitals in a four county region in Florida. The analysis supports the directional

hypothesis, H12: A relationship exists between transformational, transactional, or passive-

avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the MLQ, and organizational culture, as

measured by the ODQ in small animal veterinary hospitals in a four county region in

Florida. Using Creswell’s (2002) definitions for strength of correlations, the correlation is

slight negative between transformational leadership and transformational culture, and

moderately positive between transformational leadership and transactional culture.

Table 36

Leadership styles and culture

Leader style Transformational culture

scores - employee

Transactional culture

scores- employee

Employee reported transformational

Employee reported transactional

Employee reported passive-avoidant

r = -.193*

r =.152

r =.093

r = .504*

r =.088

r = -.290*

* p < .05

Considering the eight leadership behaviors that include transformational (TF),

transformational and transactional (TF/TC), transformational/passive-avoidant (TF/PA),

transactional (TC), transactional and passive avoidant (TC/PA), passive-avoidant (PA),

no leadership behaviors (none), and all leadership styles (all), the TF/TC style most

closely matches the population mean for culture scores of -.60, 8.76 (Table 37).

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Table 37

Means of culture types for each leadership combination

Leader style Transformational culture mean Transactional culture mean

tf -1.2 11.55

tf/tc -0.95 8.85

tf/pa 2.5 7

tc -2.29 9

tc/pa 0 7.67

pa -1.67 8.67

none -1.6 9.65

all -3.5 12.75

tf – transformational; tc – transactional; pa – passive avoidant

Summary

Chapter 4 presented the data collected in this quantitative correlational study.

Several instruments were used for data collection, and the scores and outcomes from

them were recorded in Excel and SPSS. Demographic data on leaders and employees was

examined, and then multiple regression was used to determine if any demographic data

affected job satisfaction. Leadership styles were determined through the leader and rater

forms of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), however because of low

response rates for leaders, only employee ratings were considered in the analysis. Job

satisfaction was determined through the use of the Job Descriptive Index and Job in

General Scales. Leaders’ and their followers’ leadership scores were correlated with the

outcomes of the job satisfaction instruments. Finally, the Organizational Description

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Questionnaire was used to determine organizational culture type. The identified culture

was correlated with leadership styles as identified by the MLQ.

The predominant leadership style as reported by employees was transactional

using the raw scores from the MLQ. When assessing the behaviors of the leaders, it

appeared that the leaders most commonly showed transformational and transactional

leadership behaviors. The predominate culture type was bureaucratic. Employees exceed

the neutral score for satisfaction on five of the six scales, meaning they are satisfied with

most aspects of their work. Opportunities for promotion was the only scale where

employees reported less than neutral satisfaction. The job satisfaction scores for pay and

the job in general were only slightly above neutral.

Chapter 5 will review the research problem, purpose, and research methodology.

The following chapter will review the research questions from the study, and then review

the data in relation to the hypotheses of the research. Chapter 5 will then focus on

conclusions, implications, and recommendations arising from the data.

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CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Chapter 4 presented the findings and analysis of the data for this quantitative

correlational study that compares leadership styles with job satisfaction and

organizational culture. The analysis in chapter 4 included text, charts, and figures that

were used to describe summary information. Chapter 5 provides the conclusions,

implications, and recommendations based on the summaries.

The AVMA-Pfizer study (Brakke Consulting, 2005) indicated that the personal

income of veterinarians was $34,470 higher for veterinarians who employed practices to

promote their employees’ longevity. Given that veterinarians rank among the lowest paid

of nine measured professionals (Brown & Silverman, 1999), the added income from

promoting longevity of employees may improve the economics of veterinary practice.

The cost to veterinary hospitals when each employee leaves were estimated to total

$22,360 (Veterinary Economics, 2006), and the turnover is, at least in part, caused by

unhappy employees (Tumblin, 2006).

Nonveterinary staff-member compensation typically accounts for 23% of the total

revenues of a veterinary hospital (Wutchiett, Tumblin, Flemming, & Lawson, 2005).

Because such a large portion of the hospital’s revenues are spent on lay and

paraprofessional salaries, the staff’s general satisfaction and intention to remain in the

practice can have a significant financial and cultural impact.

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study is to determine if there is a

relationship between transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant leadership

styles and job satisfaction and organizational culture for leaders and employees in small

animal veterinary hospitals in a four-county region in Florida. The independent variable

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is defined as leadership styles, specifically transformational, transactional, and passive-

avoidant, and the dependent variables are defined as job satisfaction and organizational

culture.

The study was limited to the subjects who agreed to participate voluntarily, the

number of subjects surveyed, and the amount of time available to conduct the study.

Because the study is based on participants who choose to take part, it does not reflect the

views of those unwilling or unable to participate. The response resulted from an initial

letter to the participating practices, a follow-up letter, and a phone call. The study was

promoted at two local veterinary meetings as well, and through a notice in the veterinary

association’s quarterly newsletter.

The results from the current research were confined to the perceptions of

leadership styles, job satisfaction, and organizational culture expressed by survey

participants and will represent the “attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or practices” (Creswell,

2002, p. 398) of leaders and employees at one point in time. Any given day, these

perceptions could change, and the outcomes could be different. Limitations are

represented by the honesty of the answers from the participants, the time participants

dedicate to answering the instruments before mailing them back to the researcher, and the

perceptions on the day the participants answer the questions.

Chapter 5 presents conclusions based on the data analysis. Following the

conclusions, implications for leaders and employees based on the two research questions

are presented, and recommendations are made for further research and future actions.

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Conclusions

Leadership may affect job satisfaction and organizational culture in important

ways. The satisfaction of employees with leaders and working environments can affect

productivity because evidence shows that satisfaction affects turnover rates as well as

morale (Gallup, 2006; Tumblin, 2006; Veterinary Economics, 2006). The assumption

made is that studying how leadership affects employee satisfaction and organizational

culture in veterinary hospitals may be an integral component to increasing satisfaction

and productivity in small-animal veterinary hospitals as well as decreasing staff turnover.

Job satisfaction is solely based on the unique perspective of the individual

reporting his or her feelings. The feelings may be molded by his or her relationship with

coworkers, pay, supervisors, or intrinsic rewards. Satisfaction measures may correlate

with organizational dysfunction, intention to stay, organizational change, cultural

characteristics, values and goals, or reactions to stress (Balzer et al., 1997). Barak,

Nissley & Levin (2001) suggested that there were several antecedents to turnover,

namely, organizational commitment and job satisfaction as well as perceived fair

compensation and diversity. The major predictor for employees leaving jobs is not social

but organizational and job-based (Barak, et al., 2001). When employees are not happy,

outcomes for companies include higher turnover, increased absenteeism, burnout, low

commitment, stress, and decreased satisfaction while on the job, leading to diminished

performance (Barak et al., 2004). Employee turnover is estimated to cost organizations

about 5% of the total annual operating budget (Waldman et al., 2004), and in the case of

veterinary hospitals, $22,360 per departing employee (Veterinary Economics, 2006).

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According to Bass (1998), transformational leaders engender transformational

leadership cultures. The current research did not net that finding; rather the analysis

suggested that transformational leadership engendered transactional cultures. Bass and

Avolio (1992) stated that transformational cultures have a sense of family and shared

feelings among members. Employees in transformational cultures tend to transcend

immediate needs and they attempt to understand and meet the organizational goals.

Transactional leadership culture, on the other hand, focuses more on the contractual

relationships between the organization and the employees. Transactional cultures

engender individualism rather than organizational goals. The status quo tends to be

valued, and flexibility is not encouraged (Parry & Proctor-Thompson, 2001). No culture

is strictly transformational or transactional, but often a clear tendency toward one or the

other is apparent.

Ilgen et al. (2003), Cron et al. (1998) and the authors of the Brakke study (2005)

recognized the technical skills necessary for becoming a successful veterinarian; these

authors affirmed that business expertise and leadership were among the skills that are

desirable but not emphasized in veterinary practice. As a result, Ilgen et al. studied

several facets of nontechnical matters in veterinary work that may positively affect the

economics of veterinary practice. Among the nine most important factors, just behind

direct treatment of animals and working with their owners, was personnel management.

The economic health of veterinary practices is important for viability of the

business, but economic health is also critical for effective personnel management. In May

of 2004, veterinary technologists and technicians, defined as individuals with 2 and 4-

year degrees in veterinary technology, earned a median income of $11.90 an hour (U.S.

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Department of Labor, 2006). Other animal-care service workers earned a median income

of $8.39 an hour. The poverty level in 1996 was $15,911 for two adults with two

children. Assuming an inflation rate of 3%, the poverty rate would be $20,155 in 2004

and the veterinary technician with a college education would be earning just over poverty

level, at $23,800, if he or she worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year. The animal-

care worker would earn under poverty level, or $16,780. If the owners of the hospitals are

not able to increase the efficiency of their hospitals through increased business acumen or

improved behavior, hospital staff will continue to experience a high rate of turnover as

employees seek better wages elsewhere.

Job satisfaction is influenced in part by pay (Tumblin, 2006). Other influences

include time to do the job assigned, confidence in one’s abilities, and the tasks assigned

(Ernst et al., 2004). In research conducted by Harmon et al. (2003), high-involvement

work systems were shown to increase employee satisfaction and to significantly reduce

costs for an organization. High-involvement work systems include “involvement,

empowerment, development, trust, openness, teamwork, and performance based rewards”

(p. 393). Many of these components, namely empowerment, development, and

performance-based rewards, stem from the leadership styles defined by Avolio and Bass

(2004).

The intent of the current study is to determine if leadership styles correlate with

job satisfaction of employees. The intent is also to determine if leadership styles correlate

with organizational culture within the veterinary hospitals the same way leadership styles

affect these variables in other venues. If correlations exist, leadership styles might be

modified within veterinary hospitals to increase satisfaction and to improve culture.

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Comparison with Previous Research

The demographic findings are comparative with the Well Managed Practice Study

(WMPS) (Wutchiett et al., 2005). Practices having three or fewer veterinarians totaled

58% in the WMPS study compared to the current study that netted 62%. The WMPS

reported 33% of practices had 3-5 veterinarians, and this research showed about 28%.

The WMPS reported 19% of practices had over five veterinarians, and the current study

had 20%. Doctors had about 3200 transactions a year according to the WMPS, and the

average in the current research was 3900.The WMPS reported an average client charge of

$128 and the outcomes of the demographics studied here resulted in most veterinarians

reporting between $101-150. The Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA)

conducted a salary and benefits survey in 2005, and the only demographic measured there

that was also measured in the current study was time with the practice. The VHMA’s

study reported that 44% of the staff worked at the present hospital 0-2 years, 29% 3-5

years, 15% 6-10 years, and 12% over 10 years (Veterinary Hospital Managers

Association, 2005). The current study divided tenure into smaller time periods. Through

extrapolation of the data, it appears that about 41% had tenure of 0-2 years, 28% had 3-5

years, 16% had 6-10 years, and 15% had over 10 years. Brown and Silverman (1999)

conducted the last comparable study where veterinarians generated 85 transactions per

week. Demographics from the current survey report 3900 per year, and assuming a fifty-

week work year, veterinarians reported in this study that they had 78 transactions per

week. The demographic comparisons are presented in Table 38.

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Table 38

Demographic comparisons to other studies

Demographic Study WMPS VHMA Brown Silverman

3 or less vets 62% 58%

3-5 vets 28% 33%

Over 5 vets 20% 19%

Transactions per week 78 64 85

Average charge $101-150 128

0-2 years in hospital 41% 44%

3-5 years in hospital 28% 29%

6-10 years in hospital 16% 15%

Over 10 years in hospital 15% 12%

WMPS – Well Managed Practice Study; VHMA – Veterinary Hospital Managers

Association

Vogt (2005) stated that generalizability is defined by the “extent to which you can

come to a conclusion about one thing based on information about another” (p. 131).,

Because the demographic findings from other veterinary studies appear to be similar to

the findings in the current study, generalizability to the greater population of small animal

veterinary hospitals may be possible. Further, because the confidence interval, or margin

of error, is 5.7%, and less than the limit set in chapter 3 of 8.343%, generalizability to the

population in the four county region of small animal veterinary hospitals is likely. Small

animal hospitals in the United States are fairly similar in size and composition of

employees, so the findings from this study may be generalized to the U.S. population of

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small animal hospitals. Researchers should be cautious about generalizing to populations

outside of the United States, and professions that are not related to the veterinary

industry.

Morris and Bloom (2002) reported that higher position levels within an

organization net more satisfied employees due to increased agency. This finding was

similar in the current study when employee demographics indicated that the higher the

level of employee, the more satisfied they were with their supervisor. Amburgy (2005)

found that employees were more satisfied the longer an employee had been in a particular

place of employment. The current study netted mixed results relating to time in a venue.

One finding indicated that the length of time in a hospital was negatively related to the

employee’s satisfaction with co-workers, but the more time they were in the profession,

the more satisfied they were with the type of work they did. Amburgy and Chen (2005)

found no relationship between gender and satisfaction, which was true in the current

study, but they found no relationship between level of education and satisfaction unlike

outcomes here, which related education level to dissatisfaction with the employee’s

supervisor.

Many authors found that transformational leadership was positively correlated

with job satisfaction (Alarcon, 2005; Hanson & Miller, 2002; Viator, 2001) similar to the

results of the current study. Alarcon further found that department tier related to

satisfaction, meaning that the more mundane jobs netted less satisfaction than the jobs

that were more interesting. Outcomes showing employees’ dissatisfaction with their

opportunities for promotion may be similar to Alarcon’s. It may be that if employees

knew they could improve their position in the veterinary hospital, and knew how to

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accomplish that, they may be more satisfied. Chen (2005) found that transformational

leadership had no direct effect on satisfaction, and a negative correlation with the

continuance of employment. Chen’s findings were not supported in the current research.

It is important to note that Chen’s research was performed in Taiwan where the culture is

significantly different than in the United States.

Two studies relating to leadership and satisfaction have been reported. Grey

(2005) studied members of the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, and found that

the predominant leadership style was transformational, whereas outcomes analyzed in the

current study found leaders to be transformational/transactional. There may be a

difference between members of an association who are interested in veterinary hospital

management and leaders who are responsible for the veterinary hospital. It also appears

that Grey’s method for identifying leadership types was different from the method used

here. The Grey study identified leaders as one of three types; transformational,

transactional, or passive-avoidant, and anyone who did not fit one of these three

categories was labeled an outlier. The outliers represented 40% of the managers in Grey’s

study (p. 94). The analysis of measurements of leadership styles used in the research here

determined that leaders who did not fit into the criteria Grey used were not outliers, but

exhibited a combination of styles that could be identified.

In a study conducted by Ilgen et al. (2003), veterinarians’ job satisfaction was

measured through a series of questions to which they agreed or disagreed. The

veterinarians reported satisfaction with their supervisors, but they were just above neutral

in their satisfaction with their pay. The satisfaction of the non-leaders who were also

veterinarians in veterinary hospitals, and the average satisfaction with the employees’

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supervisors was very high, and satisfaction with pay was just above neutral. Similarities

between Ilgen’s study and the current one are limited to one kind of employment type,

the veterinarian, and that employment type was not well represented here.

Research Questions and Hypotheses

Most of the leaders in the current research demonstrate the transactional style of

leadership according to the raw scores from the MLQ as reported by employees, (Figure

1 and Table 25) but displayed transformational and transactional behaviors (Figure 2). No

demographic characteristics correlated with any leadership style. Most of the cultures

were bureaucratic (Figures 3 and 4). Employees were more satisfied with

transformational leaders than transactional ones when the raw scores were analyzed

(Table 32), and the means for job satisfaction were higher for all leadership styles that

included transformational (Table 33). No correlations existed between the cumulative

culture scores that result in the nine culture styles identified by Bass and Avolio (1992)

and leadership styles reported by leaders and employees. However, transformational

leadership positively correlated with transactional culture as reported by employees when

the raw scores for each type of culture were analyzed (Table 36). Though not specifically

identified as a research question, it is important to note that transactional culture

positively correlated with all six job satisfaction facets (Table 34). The data analysis,

based on a 54% response rate, resulted in the rejection of the null hypotheses H01 and

H02 that were:

H01: No relationship exists between transformational, transactional, or passive-

avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the MLQ, and employee satisfaction, as

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measured by the JIG and JDI in small animal veterinary hospitals in a four-county region

in Florida.

H02: No relationship exists between transformational, transactional, or passive-

avoidant leadership styles, as measured by the MLQ, and organizational culture, as

measured by the ODQ in small animal veterinary hospitals in a four-county region in

Florida.

There is moderate (Leady & Ormrod, 2005) support for H11 where satisfaction

with opportunities for promotion and supervisor are correlated with transformational

leadership. There is slight (Leady & Ormrod) support for the positive correlation between

satisfaction with the work and transformational leadership. There is a moderate (Leady &

Ormrod) negative correlation between passive-avoidant leadership and satisfaction with

supervisor, and a slight negative correlation with opportunities for promotion and

satisfaction with co-workers.

There is a moderate (Leady & Ormrod, 2005) positive correlation between

transformational leadership and transactional culture, and a slight (Leady & Ormrod)

negative correlation with transformational culture. There is also a slight negative

correlation between passive-avoidant leadership and transactional culture.

Implications

The implications of the current research study of leadership and job satisfaction

and organizational culture in small animal veterinary hospitals in a four-county region in

Florida indicates that most leaders in the study are transactional/transformational (Figure

2), and most employees are satisfied with their supervisors, co-workers and work on the

present job, but would like more pay, and more or better opportunities for promotion

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(Table 27). The employee satisfaction measure for the job in general was 28, which is

slightly above neutral (Table 27), suggesting that pay and opportunities for promotion

may drive overall satisfaction lower. The analysis of the data also suggests that leadership

behaviors that include transformational leadership net the highest overall job satisfaction

for employees (Table 33), so leaders’ ability and willingness to train to become more

transformational could benefit job satisfaction. The cultures of the hospitals as reported

by employees were mostly bureaucratic (Figure 4), and could be improved upon with

more transformational leadership behaviors and better leader articulation of what is

necessary to secure higher pay and meaningful promotions, which are related to

particular transactional characteristics. Because no leadership type correlates to

satisfaction with pay, and a transactional culture correlated with pay and opportunities for

promotion (Table 35), a focus on cultural characteristics that may increase opportunities

for promotion and satisfaction with pay may be required. The analysis of the data found

that the means for organizational culture as reported by employees were too high on the

transactional scale (8.76) and too low on the transformational scale (-.6) (Table 31)

compared to what Bass and Avolio (1992) found was ideal. It may be beneficial for

leaders to understand better what aspects of transactional culture are beneficial, and how

leaders can behave more in a more transformational manner to better balance the

transactional culture within their practices.

Leaders of veterinary hospitals have the opportunity to provide a service that

enhances and sustains the human-animal bond. As in any business, the quality of services

a veterinary hospital provides is, at least in part, a result of a financially robust business.

It has been established that veterinary hospitals have probably maximized the financial

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gains that are available through price increases, so continued financial health will be

possible mostly through increases in efficiency (Cron et al., 1998). Efficiency, in part, is

accomplished through controlling costs. A balance between the cost of losing an

employee and providing satisfactory pay and promotions should be considered to help

increase efficiency.

Maslow’s Hierarchy (Maslow, 1949) established that individuals have basic

needs. The need for food, water, and shelter are most fundamental, and then the need for

security comes next. The pay a person receives satisfies these two levels. Maslow’s

Hierarchy then identifies love, belonging and esteem as the next most important needs.

Opportunities for promotion help satisfy the security, belonging, and esteem needs of an

individual, so between pay and promotion, the first four levels of needs that the Hierarchy

identifies are met. A transactional culture, which institutionalizes pay through a distinct

scale that applies to everyone, and outlines positions and requirements to fill them, will

establish the foundation for a satisfied individual as outlined in Maslow’s Hierarchy.

Leaders who behave in a transformational manner will help employees experience the

last two levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy through experiencing meaning and purpose in their

jobs, and reaching a level of self-actualization where employees feel they are reaching

their full potential.

Because price increases in veterinary hospitals have been maximized to increase

revenue (Brakke, 2005), increases in efficiency related to lowering employee turnover

and increasing job satisfaction will be the next important step in the veterinary

community to sustain or increase profitability. To earn higher salaries and opportunities

for promotion, employees should perform work at the veterinary hospital that they are

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qualified to do; thus freeing the veterinarian to do more of the work only he or she is

qualified to do (Cron, et al., 1999). Assuming that a veterinary practitioner can garner

more clients, the overall effect of delegating more responsibilities to the staff will be to

increase revenue because the veterinarian is now able to see more clients. The increased

revenue will enable the hospital to increase wages, and will enable employees to perform

more diverse and interesting tasks. As employees gain more responsibility, it may be

possible to establish specialized areas in which the employees may work, thus providing

opportunities for promotion into and out of the specialized areas.

Recommendations

Based upon the data analysis from the current study and comparisons with

previous research, the researcher made several recommendations regarding study

replication and calls for action for leaders. These recommendations can be disseminated

in the veterinary profession through public speaking, articles pertaining to the results of

the study, and publication of sections of chapter 5 in veterinary-refereed journals.

Study Replication

The first recommendation would be to repeat this research with a higher number

of hospital and employee respondents so that the research may be more generalizable to

larger populations. A 54% response rate in the current study resulted in a 5.7%

confidence interval, and new studies might target a 3- 5% confidence interval for

increased generalizability. Garnering participants in the study required much time

because the requests for participation preceded the actual mailing of the surveys.

Recruiting more hospitals will require more time than was available. While there were

well over 150 study participants, they represented only 30 hospitals. The demographics

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from the hospitals in the study closely matched the demographics from other larger

studies, implying that the results are generalizable to small animal veterinary hospitals,

but a larger number of hospitals in the study might yield more comprehensive and

dependable results.

A better description of ideal transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant

leadership scores is needed so that when the styles are compared with other outcomes

such as job satisfaction, the researcher does not need to assume ranges for each style. In

the current research, leadership was examined two ways. One was on the raw scores for

transactional, transformational, and passive-avoidant leadership, and the other was the

behavior leaders displayed as defined by a transformational score of over 3, a

transactional score of over 2, and a passive-avoidant score of over 1.

Actions

Recommendations for actions include the use of the Multifactor Leadership

Questionnaire (MLQ) in practices. The leaders would complete the leader questionnaire,

and the employees the rater questionnaire. Differences can be noted between how the

leader perceives him/herself and how the aggregate employees perceive the leader. From

the ratings and the differences between the leaders’ and employees’ perceptions, the

leader may embark on a course of personal development. The current study did not

produce large discrepancies between leaders’ and employees’ perceptions of leadership

types within their practices (Table 25). The personal development can include identifying

if a more transformational or a more transactional approach might net better job

satisfaction results. Likewise, leaders might benefit from understanding what aspects of

transformational and transactional culture are beneficial.

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In a qualitative study conducted by Mase, Lloyd, and King (2003), study

participants identified the need for more leadership training. The second of three

recommendations for future actions included “Develop leadership courses specifically

targeted for the veterinary profession. Professional trainers with cross-functional

experience should teach these courses. Veterinarians must learn to allow outside experts

to teach and help them.” (p. 1517). These leadership courses might include training on

transformational leadership and transactional culture, and where each is important to an

effective veterinary practice because each of these characteristics positively correlated

with higher satisfaction with pay and opportunities for promotion (Table 35).

If a veterinary hospital owner plans to hire someone who will fill a leadership role

in the hospital, it may be useful to have him or her take the MLQ leader questionnaire to

determine the likely approach the new leader will take. Scores above or near 3.0 for

transformational, around 2.5 for transactional, and less than 1 for passive avoidant would

be ideal (Bass, 1998b) for a well-balanced leader. The leadership construct as reported by

employees in the current study netted a mean score for transformational leaders of 2.81,

transactional leaders at 2.0, and passive-avoidant leaders at 0.73 (Table 25).

Employees should be encouraged to take the Job Descriptive Index and the Job in

General Scale to determine if they are satisfied. Scores for each facet should exceed 27.

Repeating the satisfaction scales every year could net an updated understanding of how

employees are feeling at any given time. Job satisfaction scores in the current study

exceed the average of 27 in all facets except opportunities for promotion. Satisfaction

with pay and the job in general only slightly exceeded neutral of 27, and satisfaction with

opportunities for promotion rated under neutral, at 25 (Table 27).

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As determined by the means of the job satisfaction scores, promotional

opportunities and perception of fair pay appear to be the single most important job

satisfaction facets that can be improved in small animal veterinary hospitals by

modifications on leadership styles and organizational culture (Table 35). Increasing

satisfaction in these areas might help to improve employee’s satisfaction with their jobs

in general (Balzer, et al., 1997). The nature of a small animal veterinary hospital

concerning opportunities for promotion may be somewhat limited because they are small

businesses with little ability to provide upward mobility through the typical hierarchy.

Veterinarians must have a doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) degree and credentialed

technicians undergo some combination of college level schooling and certification. Most

others in the hospital have no specific veterinary medical training, nor is it required. Even

with this limitation, leaders should think creatively about how tasks and responsibilities

may be distributed to allow employees more diversity in their jobs, and attempt to reward

them fairly for their work.

Underutilization of staff members in small animal veterinary hospitals causes

turnover, and a clear career path is vital to retention (Veterinary Economics, 2006). In a

survey conducted by VetMedTeam.com, the number one reason staff members leave

veterinary practices was that the new job offered more opportunities to use their skills or

gave them more responsibility. The second most cited reason by employees for leaving is

lack of leadership. Seventy-seven percent of veterinarians surveyed stated that

appreciation of employees is related to job turnover (Veterinary Economics).

A transactional culture positively correlates with employees’ satisfaction with

their work on the present job, pay, opportunities for promotion, satisfaction with the

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supervisor, satisfaction with co-workers, and satisfaction with the job in general (Tables

36 and 37). Transformational leadership styles yield the highest satisfaction levels in all

facets as well. Both transactional culture and transformational behaviors help satisfaction

levels, and transactional culture helps more than transformational behavior in the problem

areas of pay and opportunities for promotion as well as satisfaction with the job in

general (Table 35). Because outcomes demonstrating satisfaction with pay and

opportunities for promotion are low, a focus on improving these facets is important. The

means for transactional cultures in the veterinary hospitals studied are higher than the

ideal (Bass & Avolio, 1992), so it is recommended that the leaders improve the

institutionalized aspects of a veterinary hospital such as pay and opportunities for

promotion, but discourage the negative aspects of transactional culture like focus on short

term goals, limitations on employee discretion, and self-interest (Bass & Avolio, 1992).

To moderate the negative aspects of transactional culture, the leader should become more

transformational which will help to engender longer-range goals, more employee

discretion, and less self-interest. Through training, a leader’s understanding of leader

styles and organizational culture aspects will help map the behaviors and focus required

to maximize employee satisfaction.

Because the transformational leadership style correlated positively with

transactional culture, and negatively with transformational culture, it may be that

effective transformational leaders have solidified the important transactional aspects of

their culture (Table 36). Transformational leaders exhibit specific characteristics

including charisma, stimulation for employees, consideration for employees’ needs and

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wants, and the ability to motivate, however, to be more effective, the leader may need to

enhance some of the transactional aspects of the practice’s culture.

An important aspect of maximizing employee satisfaction as measured by the Job

Descriptive Index (JDI) is to institutionalizing pay in veterinary hospitals, which can be

accomplished several ways. A pay scale that is well understood by employees and fairly

applied can help in the attempt to institutionalize the pay facet. For instance, the tenure of

an employee at the hospital, his or her education level, and previous veterinary

experience can be rewarded in a point system. Additional points may be earned through

assuming new responsibilities in the hospital, learning new skills, willingness to work full

rather than part time, and accessing more continuing education. When the pay system is

communicated and adhered to, employees may feel more fairly compensated. It is

assumed that they will also understand what is necessary to increase their compensation

and promotional opportunities. Once a fair pay scale is implemented along with the

requisite promotional opportunities implicit in it, a leader has established a firmer

foundation for a satisfied employee as measured by the pay, opportunities for promotion,

and job in general facets of the JDI and JIG. The leader’s transformational behaviors will

add to an employee’s satisfaction by helping him or her to develop both personally and

professionally.

One example of promotional opportunities among paraprofessionals is specialty

training for veterinary technicians. According to a study conducted in 2005 by Laforcade,

Morrissey, Rowell, and Schwartz, veterinary technicians felt that their job satisfaction

would be greatly increased if they were afforded opportunities to work in specialized

areas of a veterinary hospital. Ninety three percent stated they would be interested in

157

pursuing a technical specialty, while only 64% of veterinarians stated they would be

willing to hire a specialty technician. Veterinarians further reported that they would be

willing to hire a specialty technician at $16.13 per hour. Veterinarians’ perception of fair

pay for specialty technicians contrasted with the $20.51veterinary technicians felt they

should earn as specialty technicians. There is a discrepancy between the number of

technicians wanting specialty training and the veterinarians willing to hire them, as well

as the discrepancy between pay expectations. Factors like these will need addressing as

additional promotional opportunities are considered.

A conceptualization of these findings is presented (Figure 5). Similar to Maslow’s

Hierarchy, there is a hierarchy of needs in a veterinary hospital. The transactional culture

characteristics that institutionalize pay and opportunities for promotion are fundamental

to an employee’s satisfaction. When these needs are met, the leader’s transformational

behavior will enhance an employee’s satisfaction by helping him or her to develop

professionally and personally.

Figure 5. Model for leadership behaviors and cultural characteristics leading to increased

job satisfaction

158

New Studies

Job satisfaction and turnover rate in businesses are closely related (Harris &

Brannick, 1999). New studies in small animal veterinary hospitals that help determine

behaviors of leaders and managers most suited for the highest job satisfaction might be

helpful. The studies could be accomplished by using different leadership instruments, or

instruments that focus on how the values of leaders and employees match.

An experimental study may be helpful to better understand the relationships

between leadership style, job satisfaction, and culture. Baseline leadership styles,

employee satisfaction, and organizational culture could be measured. Training would

then be administered to the leaders and employees regarding transformational and

transactional leadership as well as transformational and transactional culture. After a

time, the subject hospitals would complete the leadership, satisfaction, and culture

instruments again to determine if the training had any effect on employee’s job

satisfaction. Comparing the tasks performed by employees at the beginning of the study

and at the end will determine if leadership and culture training have affected the

delegation of tasks within a hospital. The study might be able to determine if pay and

opportunities for promotion are improved that relate to the increased delegation.

A qualitative study that uses interviews with employees concerning their job

satisfaction may be helpful. Using any particular job satisfaction instrument limits the

researcher’s ability to gain an understanding of factors that are not predefined in the

instrument. A qualitative study might help to understand interrelationships of feelings

regarding job satisfaction, and nuances that might be missed in a rigid survey.

159

A study to test the model proposed in the current study would help to further the

understanding of how employees rank satisfaction facets in veterinary hospitals from

most important to least important, or from most critical to least critical. The model

proposes that pay is fundamental to employee’s satisfaction, then opportunities for

promotion is next most important, then professional and personal development can build

on the foundation created by pay and promotion. The model was created as a result of the

conclusions that employees were least happy with pay and opportunities for promotion,

and that they were happiest when their leader displayed more transformational behaviors.

The model’s creation was also reflective of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. The study did

not rank the importance of job satisfaction facets, and for the model to be further

supported, an examination of these rankings is necessary.

Summary

Based on the results of this quantitative, correlational study, leaders and

employees report that the most common type of leadership style is transactional, the most

desirable leadership behavior is any combination of leadership that includes the

transformational style The most common organizational culture type is bureaucratic, and

employees are generally satisfied with their jobs with the exception of opportunities for

promotion, pay, and their jobs in general. It is theorized that institutionalizing some

transactional aspects of culture, namely pay and opportunities for promotion is a key

factor to maintaining satisfied employees. Leaders need to apply more transformational

behaviors within the cultures to help moderate some of the aspects of a transactional

culture. Leaders can modify their behaviors to become more transformational through

160

articulating and living their vision, motivating employees, considering each employee’s

needs for development and growth, and through stimulating employees intellectually.

161

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APPENDIX A: INITIAL LETTER OF REQUEST

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to ask your assistance in a research project being conducted to

analyze the relationships between leadership styles and job satisfaction of employees and

organizational culture in small-animal veterinary hospitals. This is an independent study

conducted as part of the doctoral requirements of my degree at the University of Phoenix

in Business Administration.

Your small-animal veterinary practice is being requested to participate in this

research by completing a total of three questionnaires. The leader(s) of your practice will

complete two, one on the perceptions of his or her own leadership styles and the other on

the perceptions of the organizational culture at his or her hospital. Employees in the same

hospital will be asked to complete three questionnaires. One will be on the employee’s

perceptions of the styles of the leader(s), one on his or her perceptions of job satisfaction,

and the last on his or her perceptions of the organizational culture. Because I will need to

know how many leader and employee questionnaires you will need, I will follow this

letter with a phone call to inquire about your willingness to participate and your

questionnaire needs.

The benefits of this study include identifying leaders’ behavioral styles that may

be most conducive to decreasing employee turnover, increasing general job satisfaction,

increasing productivity, and improving the general culture of small-animal veterinary

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hospitals. Overall, improving these factors in veterinary hospitals may help improve care

to pets, improve wages, and free capital for investment into newer and better equipment

and facilities.

Be assured that all participants’ information will be held in the strictest

confidence and will only be released in summary form. Each questionnaire will have

tracking numbers so questionnaires can be grouped appropriately by hospital. The

tracking number is not used for personal identification. Participation in the research must

be completely voluntary, so no party in your hospital should be forced to take part.

I look forward to contacting you within 2 weeks to ascertain your willingness to

participate.

Warmest regards,

Carol Schubert

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APPENDIX B: FOLLOW UP/COVER LETTER

Dear Colleague,

Thank you for your willingness to participate in the research project as outlined in

the previous letter and as discussed on the phone. Please find enclosed the appropriate

number of leader, rater, job-satisfaction, and organizational-description questionnaires

and a short demographic survey. Please distribute the leader questionnaires to the leaders

in your practice, and the rater and job-satisfaction questionnaires to the rest of the staff.

The organizational-description questionnaires, the demographic survey, and informed

consent letters are to be given to everyone. Note that the demographic survey comes in

two formats, one for the leaders and one for the staff members. Please ensue that the

proper individuals complete each.

I have enclosed the proper number of self-addressed, stamped envelopes for

everyone to return the documents directly to me. No member of the staff, owner,

supervisor, or owner is to know whether a staff member participated, and participation

should not be made mandatory. Please encourage everyone to return the forms to me

even if they do not plan to participate. Upon completion of the research, I will send my

findings to each hospital that participated.

In advance, I sincerely thank you for your participation in this important project.

Warmest Regards,

Carol Schubert

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APPENDIX C: INFORMED CONSENT

Dear Research Participant,

Carol Schubert, a doctoral student at the University of Phoenix, is conducting

research to analyze the relationships between leadership styles and job satisfaction and

organizational culture in small-animal veterinary hospitals.

You are being asked to participate in this research by completing two or three

questionnaires and a demographic survey. Completing the surveys should not take longer

than about 20 minutes. A return envelope has been provided for collection of the

questionnaires. Please know you are not required to participate and that if you choose to

take part, you may cease participation once you begin or may omit items that you are not

comfortable answering. Your answers will remain completely confidential, and your

supervisor, the owner, or your peers will not know whether you participated in this

project.

The benefits of this research include learning about possible leadership behaviors

that may help improve job satisfaction, decrease employee turnover, increase

productivity, and improve the work climate in small-animal veterinary hospitals. These

improvements may, in turn, improve the care provided to pets.

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By returning the questionnaire, and signing the bottom of this letter, you are

indicating that you are at least 18 years of age, and your consent to participate in the

study. If you choose not to participate, please return the uncompleted surveys if possible.

Should you have questions or concerns, please contact the researcher at the above

address, or phone, or email. Most of all, thank you so much for your participation.

Warmest Regards,

Carol Schubert

“By signing this form I acknowledge that I understand the nature of the

study, the potential risks to me as a participant, and the means by which my identity

will be kept confidential. My signature on this form also indicates that I am 18

years old or older and that I give my permission to voluntarily serve as a participant

in the study described.”

Signed: ____________________________________________________

Dated:______________________________________________________

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APPENDIX D: QUESTIONNAIRES

Demographic Survey–General Employee

Demographic Questionnaire--General

Carol Schubert–Researcher

Leadership styles and employee satisfaction and organizational culture in small-

animal veterinary hospitals

Your answers will remain completely confidential.

Mark ONLY ONE ANSWER. If more than one applies, choose the one BEST

SUITED.

1. Employment type

o Non-veterinary staff member

o Credentialed technician

o Hospital manager

o Veterinarian

o Hospital administrator

o Owner

2. Ethnicity (optional)

o White

o Hispanic

o Asian

o Pacific-Islander

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o Black

o Other

3. Zip code (hospital) ___________

4. Length of time working at present hospital

o 0-1 year

o 2-3 years

o 4-7 years

o 8-15 years

o over 15 years

5. Length of time in veterinary field altogether

o 0-1 years

o 2-3 years

o 4-7 years

o 8-15 years

o over 15 years

6. Highest level of education

o Have not graduated from high school

o High school graduate

o Some college

o Graduate of a veterinary-related technical school

o Four-year degree

o Graduate degree

7. At this job, I work

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o 0-20 hours per week

o 21-32 hours per week

o over 33 hours per week

8. I am

o Under 18 years old

o 18-25 years old

o 25-40 years old

o 41-55 years old

o over 55

9. I am

o Female

o Male

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Demographic Survey–Leader

Demographic Questionnaire--Leader

Carol Schubert–Researcher

Leadership styles and employee satisfaction and organizational culture in small-

animal veterinary hospitals

Your answers will remain completely confidential.

Mark ONLY ONE ANSWER. If more than one applies, choose the one BEST

SUITED.

1. Employment type (may mark more than one)

o Nonveterinary staff member

o Credentialed technician

o Hospital manager

o Veterinarian

o Hospital administrator

2. Owner Ethnicity (optional)

a. White

b. Hispanic

c. Asian

d. Pacific-Islander

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e. Black

f. Other

3. Zip code (hospital) ___________

4. Length of time working at present hospital

a. 0-1 year

b. 2-3 years

c. 4-7 years

d. 8-15 years

e. over 15 years

5. Length of time in veterinary field altogether

a. 0-1 years

b. 2-3 years

c. 4-7 years

d. 8-15 years

e. over 15 years

6. Highest level of education

a. Have not graduated from high school

b. High school graduate

c. Some college

d. Graduate of a veterinary-related technical school

e. Four-year degree

f. Graduate degree

7. At this job, I work

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a. 0-20 hours per week

b. 21-32 hours per week

c. over 32 hours per week

8. I am

a. Under 18 years old

b. 18-25 years old

c. 26-40 years old

d. 41-55 years old

e. over 55

9. I am

a. Female

b. Male

10. This hospital’s revenue is

o 0-$200,000/year

o $200,001-500,000/ year

o $500,001-800,000/year

o $800,001-1,200,000/year

o $1,200,001-2,000,000/year

o over 2,000,001/year

11. There are _____ full-time equivalent veterinarians in this practice (estimate the

closest whole number)

o 1

o 2

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o 3

o 4

o 5

o 6

o 7

o 8

o 9 or more

12. My average client charge is (if you are a veterinarian)

o $50-100

o $101-150

o $151-200

o $201-250

o over $251

13. I see (if you are a veterinarian)

o 0-50 clients a week

o 51-75 clients a week

o 76-100 clients a week

o 101-125 clients a week

o 126-150 clients a week

o 151-200 clients a week

o over 201 clients a week

14. Our full-time doctor to full-time staff ratio is (doctor:staff)

o 1:1

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o 1:2

o 1:3

o 1:4

o 1:5

o 1:6

o 1:7

o over 1:8

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APPENDIX E: MULTIFACTOR LEADERSHIP QUESTIONNARES

Sample Leader and Rater Surveys MLQ

188

189

190

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APPENDIX F: SAMPLE JDI/JIG

192

193

APPENDIX G: ODQ SAMPLE

194

APPENDIX H-MLQ PERMISSION

195

APPENDIX I-JDI/JIG PERMISSION

196

APPENDIX J- ODQ PERMISSION