Investigating the relationship between servant leadership with organizational trust and employee empowerment in Mazandaran gas company

Master's Thesis in Public Administration, Human Resources Orientation

Abstract

This research was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between servant leadership and organizational trust and employee empowerment in Mazandaran gas company. The statistical population in this research is 459 employees of Mazandaran gas company and the statistical sample includes 329 employees of this company. The data collection tool was made by the researcher through a questionnaire and the reliability of this tool was obtained through Cronbach's alpha equal to 0.97. In the inferential analysis, Pearson correlation test, independent t test and path analysis were used to check all research hypotheses. The results obtained from the data analysis showed that there is no significant difference between employees' and managers' perception of servant leadership in Mazandaran Gas Company, and there is also a positive and meaningful relationship between servant leadership and organizational trust and employee empowerment.                                                                     

There have been studies abroad about servant leadership as a new theory and tools have been provided to measure servant leadership. Also, in recent years in empirical research, the relationship between servant leadership and job satisfaction has been examined.

In Iran, in the form of a master's thesis - Hazrati (2008), Faculty of Management, Tehran University - and a doctoral thesis - Delkhosh Kasmai (2011), School of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabatabai University - the effect of servant leadership on organizational trust and employee empowerment, comparing the dimensions of servant leadership in two groups of employees and managers, the ideal model of servant leadership in the direction of excellence organizational, and how the effect of servant leadership on organizational excellence has been studied through organizational culture and the leader-follower relationship.

Key words: servant leadership, organizational trust, employee empowerment, Mazandaran gas company.

1-Generalities of the research

1-1: Introduction

Trust is considered a valuable topic that includes important concepts for study, because through trust Human behavior can be coordinated. Trust is the main key for interpersonal relationships in various fields. Trust can be a suitable alternative to hierarchical control mechanisms. The use of hierarchical control mechanisms can reduce the opportunities for trust formation. Control and trust mechanisms can be complementary mechanisms in the development of efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. The existence of an atmosphere of trust in the organization can make the employees and the management cooperate widely and comprehensively and strive to achieve the goals.

An effective work environment is an environment where employees are the main driving force. Therefore, today, empowering the potential capacity to exploit the source of human abilities is considered a definite principle in production, distribution and service organizations, so that this potential force flourishes and is guided. Empowered employees bring good benefits to their organization, they consider their lives and jobs to be purposeful, and this perception leads to continuous improvement in work systems and systems (Sidjavadin, 66: 1382).

Many believe that organizations can improve and improve productivity through the process of empowering their employees. According to Hall (1994), the changes in the work environment have forced organizations to review and revise their management systems in order to survive in today's turbulent world, and this is where employee empowerment becomes the main issue in relation to leadership and management functions, and it provides the possibility for organizations to act more competitively. An ideal leader always believes in serving his followers and respecting their dignity. These leaders always show a great desire to nurture employees and influence the growth and development of the organization, and in this way they can achieve the maximum potential of their employees. Therefore, the servant leadership style is felt and necessary more than ever for the growth and empowerment of employees and the improvement of the performance of organizations. Examining the written documents of ancient times dating back to 5000 years ago, suggests the fundamental principles regarding leadership behavior (Bass[1], 1981).Leadership is still often one of the most studied topics and yet remains one of the most enigmatic aspects of the social sciences. Especially, the lack of understanding of when and why certain behaviors of leadership need to emerge, causes the scholars of the subject of leadership to be unconvinced and satisfied with the many principles and perspectives that have been proposed, and forces them to try and search for a deeper understanding of the causal relationship between leadership behaviors and the various reactions of followers. It is the growth or death of organizations. The leader directs the process of moving from the current situation to the desired situation and at every moment, to create a better future in the monoculture. Government organizations are formed and operate in line with the implementation of legal duties to achieve the goals of the government, implement approved programs and provide services to the people, and due to the expansion of government activities, attention to government organizations has become more important than ever. Therefore, efforts to improve the performance of government organizations are an undeniable necessity. In this type of organizations, managers are the most central element. If the managers of government organizations can provide conditions that actualize the potential forces of employees, the performance of these organizations will certainly improve. Therefore, it is necessary to empower employees. However, the studies conducted in this field in government organizations are few and most of the studies related to the empowerment of employees are related to non-governmental institutions. Also, in order for the managers of government organizations to be able to perform their tasks and activities well, they must create the feeling in their employees that their managers are trustworthy, and this is while the trust in the government organizations of our country is at a low level. Of course, building trust is a continuous, continuous and long-term process. Trust between management and employees has a significant impact on the quality of public administration. Weakening of the sense of trust in government organizations is one of the issues that creates unmotivated and indifferent employees and slows down the implementation of programs.

Since building trust and empowering employees is considered one of the characteristics of servant leadership and a lot of emphasis has been placed on them, it seems that servant leadership is a suitable solution to solve these two basic problems in government organizations (Alvani and Danai Fard, 2010).

Success Organizations depend on winning the trust of expert employees and leadership has become a knowledge that has transformed the culture governing organizations by creating human skills for management. Because organizational culture lies mostly in common beliefs and behavioral norms within organizations (Kord Naij et al., 2018) and has actually linked organizational behavior with leadership behavior. Therefore, the appropriateness of leadership style has become an issue of the day for organizations and has led many researchers to study in this field, and as a result, various models have been invented and developed. Servant leadership model, which is the latest theory in the mentioned evolutionary path, emphasizes personal integrity and honesty and serving others including employees, customers and communities. Ingram [2] considers the roots of service in the principles, beliefs and values ??of leadership and says that this is contrary to most leadership models that are explained based on the requirements of leadership models. The leader wants to serve others (Ingram, 2003). In order for an organization to achieve effectiveness, it is necessary to identify and exploit the unique talents of its employees and strengthen and develop them. Leaders can play an important role in helping their employees to identify their talents (Wayne and Sparrow [3], 2000).

A new approach in leadership called servant leadership emphasizes the development of its employees in such a way that they achieve the highest level of their ability in terms of work effectiveness, community stewardship (lawyer and community advocacy), self-motivation and leadership capabilities in the future leadership of the organization (Greenleaf [4], 1977).

Servant leadership is a new kind of leadership that is based on serving. Farmer (2009) stated that love is the basis of servant leadership and communication with followers.