motivational analysis of organizations

same for fifteen of the eighteen participants. Similarly, the least-dominant style did not
change for fifteen of the eighteen participants. Thus, style stability seems to exist in 83
percent of the cases. The three participants whose dominant style changed reported that
they were influenced by the feedback and subsequent discussions.
Jain (1982) used this instrument to study the supervisory beliefs of six district
collectors (Indian administrative service officers), who were also rated by their
subordinates (N = 70) with the same instrument. The average scores of the perceptions
of the subordinates differed from the self-assessments of the district collectors in only
two of the six cases. This indicates that self-assessments of supervisory beliefs do tend
to reflect the styles perceived by others. The self-dispensing style in this questionnaire
should be considered close to the nurturant task-leadership style outlined by Sinha
(1980). Sinha’s research indicates that such a style leads to greater group productivity,
satisfaction of group members, and work involvement.
ADMINISTERING THE INSTRUMENT
The Supervisory and Leadership Beliefs Questionnaire should be used for training
purposes only. The instrument could be used for a short session (ninety minutes) on
supervision and leadership or as part of a one-day workshop on supervisory/leadership
styles. It is advisable to administer the questionnaire before any theoretical input is
made. Scoring and interpretation should follow the theoretical input. Interpretation
should focus on style flexibility and the need to use different styles with different
employees, depending on the situations; however, the overall target should be the selfdispensing
style. For a full-day workshop, role plays and simulation activities may be
useful.
Scoring and Interpretation
The three scores obtained from this instrument are for benevolent, critical, and selfdispensing
supervisory (or leadership) styles. The score of each style is obtained by
transferring the points from the instrument to the scoring sheet and totaling each column
on the scoring sheet. The sum of the three totals should equal 18. The column with the
greatest total indicates the dominant supervisory orientation of the respondent. Scores
above 9 normally indicate stronger style orientations, and scores near 0 indicate a lack of
that supervisory orientation. For example, a benevolent score of 10, a critical score of 3,
and a self-dispensing score of 5 would indicate that the respondent has a fairly strong
benevolent orientation and less tendency to use the other two.
Scores are indicative of the strength of the beliefs or orientations underlying each
style. However, a supervisor who was strongly oriented toward a certain style would
probably use that style. Beliefs lead to behavior, although situations can create gaps
between beliefs and behavior.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 19, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 169