AN EXAMINATION INTO LEADERSHIP STYLES AND MOTIVATION SYSTEM OPERATIVE IN SUSTAINING MEMBERS' COMMITMENT IN VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS

Abstract

Voluntary work is unpaid work -performed by citizens through organisations to help others. In Singapore, voluntary organisations that carry out direct social welfare activities are called the voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs). The objectives of this study are to determine if leadership of the committee chairmen, group dynamics among the committee members and the organisation's reward system influence the VWOs volunteers' motivation, organisational commitment and job satisfaction. The respondents of this study were taken from the 1991 membership list of the Singapore Council of Social Service. Of the 187 organisations, 100 were randomly selected to participate in this study. 262 respondents representing 45 organisations participated in this study. The first phase of the study was to obtain organisational data from the participating organisations. The second phase involved members selected from the committees which had carried out the most activities in the last fiscal year. The findings of the study show that volunteers enjoy voluntary work that is interesting, challenging as well as able to utilise their skills and knowledge. Furthermore, volunteers are happy when they are given responsibilities, when clients make progress and appreciate their efforts. When these factors exist, volunteers are motivated to carry out their voluntary work. Group cohesiveness is the attraction individual members have for each other and it is found to have an impact on the commitment of the volunteers. When there is communication between members, open group process exists. Hence, increased involvement in the decision making process will create more cohesiveness in the committee. When volunteers are considered as equal partners, and a valued and integral part of the organisation by the professionals or staff, the volunteers satisfaction and commitment also increased. Furthermore, the ability of the professionals/paid staff to create a conducive working environment has also been found to affect volunteers' organisational commitment and job satisfaction. Although the findings of this study are to an extent, inconclusive, they have contributed to a greater understanding of the VWOs in Singapore. This will help staff and leaders of VWOs to better manage their activities and volunteers, thus enabling them to better understand how to sustain volunteers. As this research has been constrained by time and resources, more research needs to be carried out in other aspects of voluntary organisations, not just on the VWOs in Singapore, in order to better attract and retain competent volunteers.