LEADERSHIP STYLE AND EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION IN SELECTED SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN DELTA STATE.

Abstract

Employees have resigned from well-paid organization due to the leadership style of their managers. This study examines the effect of leadership style on employee satisfaction in selected small and medium scale enterprises in Delta State, Nigeria. Sixty copies of questionnaires were distributed to selected respondents in small and medium scale organizations in Delta State. Out of the sixty, fifty-one were returned and used for the analysis. This survey instrument was adapted from both the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) which measures transactional and transformational leadership style and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) which measures employee satisfaction. The study used STATA 13.0 statistical package. The results show a positive and statistically significant relationship between employee satisfaction and leadership style when independent samples were treated separately (simple regression). However, when multiple regression models were applied both results report positive relationship but transactional leadership style now becomes statistically insignificant. It is recommended among other things that managing directors should select the right style of leadership that enhances their worker’s productivity and motivation.