(a) Non-Verbal Communication 10 (b) Factors Affecting Quality of Work Life 10 (c) Transformational Leadership 10 (d) Sources…

(a) Non-verbal communication

Non-verbal communication is the sending of messages without words, through body, space, time, voice and appearance. In a workplace it often tells more than speech, because the listener reads the manner and the message together; Mehrabian's finding that most of the emotional impact of a message comes from non-verbal cues applies to feelings and attitudes, not to all communication.

Its main components are:

• Kinesics: body movement, posture, gestures, facial expression and eye contact.
• Proxemics: the use of space and distance between people.
• Haptics: touch, such as a handshake.
• Paralanguage: tone, pitch, pace and pauses of the voice.
• Chronemics (use of time), appearance and dress, and the office layout.

For example, a manager who agrees in words but avoids eye contact and crosses her arms conveys doubt. Non-verbal cues support, repeat, replace or contradict words, show emotion and build trust. Meaning varies with culture, so cues must be read in context and along with the words.

(b) Factors affecting quality of work life (QWL)

Quality of work life is the degree to which employees can satisfy important personal needs through their work in the organisation. It covers both the job and the work environment, and good QWL raises morale, commitment and productivity while lowering turnover and absenteeism.

The factors are:

• Adequate and fair compensation, including benefits and a link with performance.
• Safe and healthy working conditions and reasonable hours.
• Job design: job enrichment, autonomy, variety and use of skills.
• Growth and security: career development, training and job security.
• Participation in decisions, through quality circles, suggestion schemes and workers' participation.
• Supervision and a good social climate: respect, fair treatment, a sense of belonging and constitutionalism in HR rules.
• Work-life balance and the social relevance of the work.

Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics model links core job dimensions to motivation and satisfaction. Pay and conditions are extrinsic factors, while enrichment and growth are intrinsic.

(c) Transformational leadership

Transformational leadership, developed by Burns and extended by Bass, is a style in which the leader inspires followers to go beyond self-interest for a shared vision and to raise their own motivation and values. The leader changes the outlook of followers and the organisation, not merely the routine.

Its four elements (the four I's) are:

• Idealised influence: the leader is a role model, trusted and admired.
• Inspirational motivation: the leader communicates an appealing vision and high expectations.
• Intellectual stimulation: the leader encourages questioning, creativity and new approaches.
• Individualised consideration: the leader coaches and attends to each follower's needs.

It differs from transactional leadership, which relies on rewards and punishment in exchange for performance and on maintaining the status quo. Examples include Mahatma Gandhi in public life and, in business, leaders who rebuilt firms around a new vision. It suits periods of change but depends heavily on the leader's character.

(d) Sources of resistance to change

Resistance to change is the tendency of individuals and groups to oppose or avoid changes in their work. Its sources are:

Individual sources:

• Fear of the unknown and loss of security, status or income.
• Habit and comfort with routine.
• Selective perception and mistrust of the motives of management.
• Economic fear of job loss, and lack of skills for the new work.

Organisational and group sources:

• Structural inertia, fixed rules and an existing culture.
• Threat to the power and relationships of groups and to the existing resource allocation.
• Past failed changes, a poor communication of the reasons, and no participation in planning.
• Sunk investments in the present system.

Lewin's force-field analysis treats change as a balance of driving and restraining forces. Resistance is reduced by communication, participation, support and training, and negotiation, with coercion as the last resort.

(e) Power and authority

Power is the capacity of one person or group to influence the behaviour of another, whether or not the other agrees. Authority is the formal right to make decisions and give orders, which comes from the position in the organisation and is accepted by subordinates.

French and Raven describe five bases of power:

• Legitimate: from the position held.
• Reward: the ability to give benefits.
• Coercive: the ability to punish.
• Expert: from knowledge and skill.
• Referent: from admiration and identification with the person.

Authority is therefore a legitimate form of power. Authority is formal and tied to the post, limited to the area of the job and flows downward, whereas power can be informal, can exist without a position and may flow in any direction. A junior expert can hold power without authority, and a manager can lack the power to make authority effective.