An Investigation of the Influence of Leadership Style upon Employee’s Morale at Ramkhamhaeng University

Abstract

Employee morale is an important aspect of human capital among organizations. This research project aimed to 1) examine the level of personnel’s morale at Ramkhamhaeng University in Thailand; 2) investigate the personnel’s morale classified by demographic variables; and 3) investigate the impact of
leadership styles upon personnel’s overall and three dimensions of morale namely Cohesive Pride, Personal Challenge and Leadership Synergy. Data were collected from 414 personnel working with the university during November 2018. Data collection instrument elicited demographic data, perceived immediate leader’s styles, and personnel’s morale. Staff Morale Questionnaire (SMQ) was utilized. Results suggested that male and female personnel had statistically different levels of morale in the overall level and all dimensions of morale. Age influenced Cohesive Pride and overall morale. Job position affected Leadership Synergy, Personal Challenge and overall morale. Tenure affected all dimensions and overall morale. All leadership styles had influences on almost all dimensions of morale except for Participative, and Achievement-oriented leadership styles which did not influence Cohesive Pride dimension of morale. The adjusted r² was .917.