Hermann Spangenberg

Development of a Uniquely South African Leadership Questionnaire

This paper describes the development of a leadership questionnaire the aim of which is to assess the behaviours required to lead change and transformation, while at the same time managing organisational unit performance effectively. A Delphi technique was used to facilitate the identification and testing of emerging leadership dimensions and items, starting with a three-stage model of charismatic leadership, The resultant leadership model comprises four stages, measured as 21 dimensions. The research questionnaire consists of 235 items. The questionnaire was field tested by means of 360° assessment conducted amongst 189 unit managers from a diverse group of organisations. Seven hundred and fifty completed questionnaires were obtained. Unrestricted principal component analyses were performed on each of the sub-scales (dimensions) to examine the unidimensionality assumption. This procedure resulted in the formation of three additional sub-scales. Item analyses on each of the sub-scales produced highly satisfactory Cronbach Alpha values. Further confirmatory factor analyses using LISREL were conducted on each of the 24 sub-scales. A series of goodness-of-fit indices generally showed satisfactory results. Overall, results indicate that a 96-item questionnaire format consisting of 24 dimensions with four items each (selected on the basis of factor loadings) could be used with confidence. Recommendations are made for further research.

A Leadership Competence Utilization Questionnaire for South African Managers

Schroder has developed ten independent High Performance Leadership Competencies (HPLCs) that predict superior work unit performance in dynamic environments. Assessment centre technology was used for measuring HPLCs. On the basis of recent research, Schroder developed a 360° instrument, called the Competence Utilization Questionnaire (CUQ), to measure these competencies. The aim of this study was to adapt the CUQ for South African managers. Subjects were 128 middle and senior managers from three major business and utility organisations. Respondents (n = 658), who were either peers or work unit members of subjects, completed CUQs regarding them. The questionnaire consisted of the ten Schroder competencies, and Contextual Sensitivity, a hypothesised South African competency. A true assumption-free, data-driven exploratory factor analytic study revealed seven well-defined common factors. These are Organisational Learning, Inspiration Building, Strategic Decision-making, Proactivity, Recognition for Development, Performance Feedback, and Contextual Sensitivity. Alpha reliability coefficients were above the 0.80 level, except Factor seven (0.74).

Developing a performance management audit questionnaire

In this study the authors aim to develop and validate a Performance Management audit questionnaire. The audit questionnaire, consisting of 102 items, was completed by 626 South African managers and employees from eight organizations representing finance, commerce, industry and utility organizations. Items for the audit questionnaire, which was developed specifically for this study, were obtained from interviews with Performance Management facilitators, related literature and results from a survey on problems experienced with Performance Management. Items were categorized according to a systems model of Performance Management. Results from an item analysis and a series of factor analytic investigations provide limited confirmation that the Performance Management Audit Questionnaire (PMAQ) provides a reliable and content valid measure of the Performance Management domain as conceptualized by the systems model. Three second-order factors were identified, i.e. management processes, feedback, and linkages at various levels. Performance Management seems to emerge as a considerable force in both conceptually and operationally integrating various human resources related activities.

Confirmatory factor analysis of the performance management audit questionnaire

This article reports on the findings of a more sophisticated and demanding re-analysis of a data set collected and analyzed by Spangenberg and Theron (1997) to examine the validity of a Performance Management audit questionnaire. LISREL 8 was used for a confirmatory factor analysis to determine the fit of the measurement model that guided the construction of the Performance Management Audit Questionnaire (PMAQ). The findings reported here corroborate the position explicated in Spangenberg and Theron (1997) that the PMAQ provides a content valid measure of the Performance Management domain as conceptualised by the systems model.