A study of Thai employees' preferred leadership style

Abstract

This study examined the perceived and preferred style of leadership among employees in Thai organizations. Data were collected from a sample of employees in manufacturing firms. Correlation analysis and analysis of variance techniques were employed to examine the relationships between preferred leadership style, perceived leadership style, influence in decision making, satisfaction with participation, and job satisfaction. The results showed that the most preferred style of leader for employees was the consultative manager, followed by participative, paternalistic, whilst the least preferred leader was 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. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.