How communicative leadership influences co-workers’ health – a quality management perspective

Abstract

Findings -The result shows concrete communication behavior and methodologies that influence co-worker well-being and the working environment positively and negatively.Another result is a description of the prerequisites for managers to be able to communicate in a way that influences co-worker well-being and the working environment. The analysis of the communication behaviors and communication methodologies versus the health-related Quality Management values shows that several of the health-related Quality Management dimensions were present. Research limitations/implications -A limitation of this research is that it is just managers'view that has been investigated and analyzed.Practical implications -Managers acting and behaving in accordance with the communicative behaviors and methodologies described in the results can influence co-worker health and the working environment in a positive way. The level of awareness of the prerequisites could help managers to influence co-worker well-being and create a good working environment. Originality/value -The connection between Communicative Leadership and health-relatedQuality Management values is rarely made. This research can contribute to greater understanding in both areas.Keywords Health-related Quality Management, co-worker health, Communicative Leadership, well-being, working environment.Paper type Research paper. IntroductionAccording to top management, the most important factor for organizational success is good communication skills (Barrett, 2006). A leader's communication behavior can enthuse coworkers with a sense of purpose, direction and identity Monge, 1986, Fairhurst, 2001). Face-to-face communication, which is related to leaders' openness, listening skills and careful articulation of strategic messages, has been found to be important for co-worker awareness of strategic goals, (Berson and Avolio, 2004). Leadership communication is also important to ensure low levels of sickness absence, and in organizations where this is practised, a systematic leadership philosophy is probably implemented (Stoetzer et al., 2014).The concept of 'Communicative Leadership' is used in Swedish business and private organizations (Johansson, Miller, & Hamrin, 2014) and it relates to research findings on the kind of leadership communication which leads to higher levels of individual performance as a result of role clarity, co-worker commitment and engagement, (DeRue et al., 2011, Kozlowski and Bell, 2003, Morgenson et al., 2010. During the past decade, both public and private organizations have referred to the concept in the context of leaders who 'engage others in communication'. In the late 1990s, Communicative Leadership emerged in Sweden in response to a more complex and changing business environment according to Högström et al. (1999). It was also discussed in Norway, in the context of public institutions by Eriksen, (1997, p. 164), who commented that: "Communicative Leadership generally is characterized by greater openness and dialogue with the employees". Communicatio...

Effects of Service Quality Policies in the Tourism Sector Performance: An Empirical Analysis of Spanish Hotels and Restaurants

“…The majority of authors state that a motivated and prepared worker is the key to operating in sectors with a high degree of contact with the client, which is the case for hotels and restaurants [22][23][24]. In this context, certain authors have demonstrated that the implementation of QMPs can improve staff working conditions as much as it can improve their training and promotion prospects, which, in turn, lead to more motivated and more prepared workers [25][26][27][28].…”

“…Lastly, it is worth noting that the quality facilitates a focus on the customer and continuous improvement [33,34] through long-term supervision in very dynamic surroundings with high degrees of competitiveness, such as the tourism sector. A firm's focus on quality can become a market trend signal [35] and can have positive effects both on current clients, by increasing their loyalty, and on potential clients, by improving their acquisition [27,36]. Many other studies confirm that the implementation of QMPs helps address client needs and adapt to demand [11,26,37].…”

“…Quality policies explaining and standardizing processes and tasks, which detect those items considered as valuable by the client, also focus on the formation of key processes, which improve worker performance and customer satisfaction with the company in comparison with its competitors [11,39], which also breeds loyalty [37]. As a consequence of this interlinked chain of factors, through a series of cause-effect relationships, the company can generate a competitive advantage that will improve its image [27,40,41] and increase sales by maximizing the yield from current clients and by acquiring new consumers [42]. Better positioning in the market can also allow a company to be more resilient when faced with potential crises and increase a company's capacity to remain in the market [26,27,30].…”

“…As a consequence of this interlinked chain of factors, through a series of cause-effect relationships, the company can generate a competitive advantage that will improve its image [27,40,41] and increase sales by maximizing the yield from current clients and by acquiring new consumers [42]. Better positioning in the market can also allow a company to be more resilient when faced with potential crises and increase a company's capacity to remain in the market [26,27,30]. Other researchers have found yet more routes for improving competitiveness in hospitality.…”

Health-related quality management values – comparing manager and co-worker perceptions

“…In one research study, the dimensions of health-related QM values in relation to the key principles of communicative leadership were examined, and the results show that there is a relationship between the two (Bäckström, Ingelsson and Johansson, 2014b). Another study showed that managers' views of communicative leadership are supported by most of the underlying dimensions of health-related QM values (Bäckström, Ingelsson and Johansson, 2016). A modified and improved version of the survey has been used to measure Lean values and the health-related QM values 'Leadership Commitment' and 'Participation of Everybody' in two manufacturing companies .…”