Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Today, leadership plays an important and decisive role in the success and sustainability of organizations, as it is considered one of the most influential factors on employee behavior in the workplace. It can be said with confidence that the role of leadership is one of the most effective and important components that makes a difference in the way organizations are run, and it is clear that in the current situation, leadership styles have gained an important relationship with the success and failure of organizations. The occurrence of negative and destructive behaviors by some organizational leaders indicates that leaders do not always have appropriate behaviors and effective performance. Exploitative leaders are an example of such leaders who, with their selfish behaviors towards subordinates, always put pressure on them, which in this way prevents the growth and promotion of employees and the organization. In this way, exploitative leaders try to achieve their personal goals and interests by assigning difficult and difficult tasks and also applying double and comprehensive pressures to their employees. While there is no career advancement and development for employees. Such leadership in the workplace causes stress in employees, so that they drain the motivation and energy of employees. In fact, these leaders also cause mental, psychological, and emotional distress to subordinates with their hostile behaviors. Exploitative leaders create division among their subordinates and constantly challenge them. Due to being in a position of power, these leaders experience a kind of baseless and irrational dominance. Exploitative leaders are self-centered and do not value or respect others. Therefore, exploitative leaders are considered a serious threat to the self-esteem of subordinates in a way that prevents leaders from behaving with dignity and respect towards them. In fact, the exploitative leadership style is one of the complications and weaknesses of leadership that focuses on advancing the leader's personal interests through exploitation and neglect of the interests of subordinates.
METHODOLOGY
The present study is based on mixed qualitative and quantitative research in the inductive deductive paradigm, which is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of nature and method. The statistical population of this study is experts who include university professors in the field of organizational behavior management and human resource management as well as senior managers of government organizations, whose sample members were selected by snowball sampling method and based on the principle of theoretical adequacy, 30 of them. Also, in the quantitative part, due to the information familiarity of the sample members with the research topic, the same previous sample was used. They were selected. The data collection tool in the qualitative part is a semi-structured interview, whose validity and reliability were tested by content validity and theoretical validity, and intra-coder and inter-coder reliability. Also, the data collection tool in the quantitative part is a questionnaire, whose validity and reliability were measured by content validity and test-retest reliability.
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Considering the importance of the role of government organizations in today's society, it should be noted that if the leaders of these organizations do not have leadership qualifications and competence, they can leave dangerous effects on the organization with any of their behaviors such as; incompetent leadership, corruption, sabotage, unethical behavior, and criminal behavior. Therefore, it can be said that paying attention to the leadership style of managers, especially exploitative leadership, in these organizations is of particular importance. In fact, in government organizations in Lorestan province, the performance and actions of leaders do not always pave the way for the success and progress of the organization, and in some cases, the emergence of negative and unethical leadership styles such as; exploitative leadership can be the cause of pushing employees and the organization towards weakening performance. In general, exploitative leadership can have negative consequences and effects on employee performance and consequently on the performance of the organization. If the negative role of exploitative leadership is ignored and no effort is made to prevent or strengthen this leadership style, its consequences will ultimately affect the entire organization. The present study seeks to answer the question of what the pattern of formation of exploitative leadership is like in government organizations of Lorestan province using the interpretive structural modeling method.
CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
The basis of the results of the present study, considering its mixed nature, consists of the findings of the qualitative and quantitative sections. So that in the qualitative section of the research, the factors affecting the exploitative leadership style were identified through interviews with experts and using the coding method and the Atlas software, the desired data. Regarding the method of coding and extracting qualitative data, it should be noted that considering the nature of the questions and the way the experts responded, the exact words and phrases they mentioned were in the form of components related to exploitative leadership, that the selective, axial and open coding method was used. Then, in the quantitative section, the model of the emergence of exploitative leadership was presented. In this way, by designing a questionnaire whose rows and columns formed the factors affecting exploitative leadership in the form of a matrix, the experts were asked to respond to the questionnaire using the interpretive structural modeling method, which ultimately presented the model of the emergence of exploitative leadership. The findings of the qualitative part of the research indicate that the conditions for the formation of exploitative leadership with a narcissistic personality, Machiavellian personality type, and extreme ambition provide in government organizations of Lorestan province. Also, the results of this part indicate that the dimensions of exploitative leadership include gaining credibility, weakening employees, creating discord, creating stress and psychological distress in government organizations of Lorestan province. In addition, the findings showed that managerial colonialism and exploitation of subordinates, administrative profiteering and seeking a share of organizational resources, dominance and totalitarianism are factors in the emergence of exploitative leaders. Finally, the qualitative findings indicate that minimizing the effective exchange between members and leaders, the emergence of a paranoid atmosphere and the spread of pessimism in the organization, and the lack of production of original and innovative ideas are the consequences of exploitative leadership. Also, the results of the quantitative part indicate the exploitative leadership pattern at four levels. The research model is based on four levels of formation contexts and platforms, dimensions of exploitative leadership, emergence of exploitative leaders and its consequences. Regarding the developed model, it should be stated that in order to prevent the emergence of exploitative leadership, it is necessary to prevent the provision of the necessary contexts and platforms. These contexts include narcissistic personality, having a Machiavellian personality type, and extreme ambition. Also, the dimensions of exploitative leadership refer to gaining credibility, weakening employees, causing discord, creating stress and psychological distress. When the contexts for the formation of exploitative leadership and its dimensions are provided, the factors for the emergence of exploitative leadership, which include managerial colonialism and exploitation of subordinates, administrative profiteering and seeking a share of organizational resources, hegemony and totalitarianism, are strengthened and ultimately consequences such as; minimizing the effective exchange between members and leaders, the emergence of a paranoid atmosphere and the spread of pessimism in the organization, and the poverty of producing original and innovative ideas are directed at government organizations in Lorestan province.
Based on the findings, the present study suggests that government organizations in Lorestan province pay special attention to the style and characteristics of exploitative leaders, because the research findings show that the destructive behaviors and ineffective personal competencies of such leaders will lead to harmful consequences for organizations. Based on what has been stated, the following practical suggestions can be made to reduce the destructive effects of this leadership style:Based on the research findings, it was determined that divisiveness is one of the dimensions of exploitative leadership. Given that this characteristic can create disagreement and conflict among subordinates, so that the spirit of employee participation is destroyed by employing a confrontational and defensive strategy in the organization, and as a result, employees become unaware of the organization's main goals and ideals and become confused. First of all, it is suggested that managers learn about effective leadership styles by using scientific articles and apply them, so that the emergence of discord in the organization can be prevented as much as possible. It is also suggested that leaders and managers of government organizations strengthen and promote an organizational culture based on respect in order to reduce discord. In this way, organizational values such as mutual respect and cooperation in the organization are emphasized. Also, managers can identify the early signs of discord by using conflict management tactics in a constructive way and take action to prevent its escalation.
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