Influence of Transformational and Transactional Leaderships, and Leaders’ Sex on Organisational Conflict Management Behaviour

Abstract

Conflict is an inevitable organisational feature with implications for both functional and dysfunctional effects on organisational life depending on how it is managed. Effective management of organisational conflict is suggested to depend on the quality of organisational leadership  behaviour. This study therefore investigated the effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles and leaders’ sex on organisational conflict management behaviour. Data on measures of transformational and transactional leadership styles, leaders’ sex and organisational conflict management behaviours were collected from one hundred and six male and female employees of eights service organisations in Lagos and Ibadan. Employees were accidentally selected. Results revealed that effective organisational conflict management behaviour is more related to transformational leadership than transactional leadership, there is no significant difference between male and female leaders and there is no significant interaction between leaders’ sex and leadership style in effective conflict management behaviour. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.

Key words: Transformational and Transactional Leaderships, Leaders’ Sex and Organisational conflict Management