Transformational leadership and organisational learning in public universities in Uganda.

Abstract

This study is premised on the fact that changes taking place in public universities in Uganda have led to new challenges that call for improved exchange of knowledge and information among university staff to engage in organizational learning. Transformational leadership has been singled out as the most appropriate leadership style needed to foster organizational learning. Consonant with the above background, this study aimed at establishing the nature of transformational leadership and organizational learning existing in public universities, and establishing the relationship existing between transformational leadership behaviours and organizational learning in public universities in Uganda.

Cross-sectional Servey research design guided this study and data for this study was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. The sample of the study consisted of 330 academic staff from four public universities in Uganda. Content and thematic analyses were used to analyse qualitative data; while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation Coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. The findings of the study are that transformational leadership existing in public universities in Uganda is in nature more of inspirational motivation than individual consideration, idealized influence, and intellectual stimulation respectively. The findings of the study further indicated that organizational learning taking place in public universities in Uganda is generally low and leans more on professional development activities than on establishing trusting and collaborative climate, sharing and monitoring university mission, and than taking initiatives and risks respectively. It was also found out that perceived idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration behaviours of transformational leadership were individually positively related to the perceived organizational learning taking place in public universities in Uganda. Therefore, it is imperative for public universities to aspire towards transformational leadership in order to enhance organisational learning.

On the basis of the findings of this research, study recommends that public universities in Uganda should engage more in transformational leadership and organizational learning. Specifically, the study recommends that public universities in Uganda should maximize the use of idealized influe nce, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration behaviours of transformational leadership in their operations. The study also makes a set of recommendations, such as allocating more time to every day organisational learning activities, introducing a mentoring system and improving the exchange of information and knowledge among university departments and units. Finally, the study recommends a more systematic research to be carried out in the areas of the effect of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) and strategic planning on organizational learning in the entire tertiary institutions in Uganda. A comparative study of the influence of organizational learning on organisational effectiveness, and on career development of academic staff in tertiary institutions in East Africa is also recommended.