An exploratory study of Thai employees' preferred style of managers

Abstract

[Abstract]: This study examined the perceived and preferred style of managers among employees in Thai organisations. Data were collected from a sample of employees in manufacturing firms. The correlation analysis and analysis of variance techniques were employed to examine the relationships between power distance, perceived influence in decision making, satisfaction with participation, and job satisfaction. The results showed that the most preferred style of manager for employees was the consultative manager, followed by participative, paternalistic, whilst the smallest proportion of employees preferred an autocratic manager. On the other hand, the largest proportion of employees perceived their managers to be consultative, followed by paternalistic, autocratic, and participative. In addition, employees who perceived their managers to be more democratic also reported a higher level of influence in decision making, greater satisfaction with participation, and job satisfaction. Employees who perceived their managers to be autocratic or paternalistic also reported being afraid to express disagreement than those working under a democratic manager.