Collection of data was initially done in two ways, namely secondary and primary data.
Emotional Intelligence, being a psychological phenomenon, an interview was used to make follow-ups on inconclusive issues. Where it was difficult to obtain responses through questionnaires, the interview method was used. Most of the information needed was captured on the standard questionnaire which is appendix 1 to this work.
6.6.1 Secondary Data.
This was obtained from writings in special collections from University of Zambia., the Copperbelt University and the University of Kwazulu Natal, the ZESCO and ZAMTEL planning departments, journals, periodicals, and to a much lesser extent from newspapers’ business columns.
6.6.2. Primary Data
i) A questionnaire involving respondents in leadership of the two organizations was given out for six months although some took longer than that to respond..
111 ii) Interviews were carried out with stakeholders and with some managers/directors
within the two firms who were not part of the sample.
iii) Observations were also used to collect data as leadership is a behavioural phenomenon. This was particularly evident in the way the questionnaire was handled and behaviour towards it.
The purposes of using the above instruments vary but their use supplemented each other so that quality data could be obtained. The questionnaire’s overall purpose was to get quick and easily obtained information from people without imposing the researcher’s personality on them. Whereas in the interview the researcher attempts to obtain a fuller understanding of the respondents’ experience and can probe the real issues behind what they had written in the questionnaire. On the other hand, observation works best as a complementary method and its main purpose is to accurately gather information by examining processes and programmes as they are running. Coldwell and Herbst (2004:48) point out advantages and challenges each of these methods have.
112 Table 6.2 Advantages and Challenges of data collection methods used in Study
S o u r c e :
C o l d w e l l
D
d
H e r b
Source: Coldwell, D and Herbst, H, Business Research 2004 p48
Method Advantages Challenges
Questionnaires
Can be completely anonymous
Inexpensive to administer
Easy to compare and analyse
Can be administered to many people.
Can get a lot of data.
Many sample
questionnaires already exist.
Might not get careful feedback Wording can bias clients’
responses
Are impersonal
In a survey, may need a sample expert.
Does not get a full story
Interviews
Gets full range and depth of information
Develops relationship with
client
Can be flexible with client Can take much time.
Can be hard to analyse and compare.
Can be costly
Interviewer can bias client’s
Observations View operations as they are actually occurring
Can adapt to events as they occur
Can be difficult to categorise observations.
Can influence the behaviours of programme participants.
Can be expensive.
113
These are the three methods of data collection used in the study. However, the questionnaire was the most used for the collection and documentation of the information in this report. Interviews and observation supplemented the findings of the questionnaire where the researcher was not sure or did not understand the situation in the company.
There will be further description of the questionnaire as the main research instrument.
6.6.2.1 Research instrument.
The major research instrument in this study was a standard questionnaire which was used to obtained data that was needed. Coldwell and Herbst (2004:53) pointed out language used in questions ought to be in simple and clear. The type of language used in the questionnaire should match the level of education and cultural background of the respondents. This was done in spite of the fact that respondents were senior managers and over 80 percent of them have a minimum of a first degree and others a professional qualification of ACCA. The effective questionnaires as Neuman (1997:142) suggests, must provide acceptable content validity, which must focus on key areas, wording of the questions, length of the questions, the sequence of questions and the layout of the questionnaire.
6.6.2.2 Structure of the Questionnaire.
The layout of the questionnaire was in five sections which consisted of closed questions except for the last section which was open. It was meant to allow respondents to have a free discussion on the leadership and operations of their companies, i.e. ZESCO and ZAMTEL. The sections were categorized as A, B, C, D and E. The questions that have been used are mainly based on the leadership competence model from the work of Daniel Goleman (Goleman et al: 2002:147). Sections C and D are based on this model while others bring out related information.
Section A contains questions of introductory nature and deal with the definition and the understanding of emotional intelligence. Being a new phenomenon for most managers, they needed to understand at least a working definition of emotional intelligence, so that
114 they could separate it from common sense usage that we use in day-to-day speech.. A table was drawn up, showing the relationship between emotional intelligence which in this case is the independent variable in columns A and B and enterprise performance – the dependent variable. The impact shows the relationship in the interaction of the independent and the dependent variables. The independent variable is represented by the competences in column A and the operational definitions of those competences in column B. The impact which is motivation must be complimented by three other variables that produce performance, that is, skills and abilities, role perception and availability of opportunities to perform. It was after going through this table that respondents were requested to respond as questions in this section were related to it.
The questions under this section were of two types, that is, closed and open. Both types were meant to find out whether the provided information in the table could be seen in their company leadership. The open questions have their own good reasons for being included as the researcher was requesting the respondents for their opinion or comment on potentially sensitive subject matter. It could also be the case that they have more information outside the researcher’s domain (Coldwell and Herbst: 2004:51).
Section B dealt generally with conceptual understanding of emotional intelligence. All the questions were closed and respondents were to give their assessment decision on a 5 point rating scale developed by White and Ruh as pointed out by Sekaran (1992:180).
This was done to reduce taxing the respondents as the subject they were responding to was technical and new to most of them as earlier discussed.
Section C dealt with questions relating to the understanding of competences of emotional intelligence. These questions were personal and related to the individual respondents as they understood the questions within their own lives. All the questions in this section were assessing personal competences and were closed except for one follow-up question.
The rating scale still remained the same with 5 being the highest rate of too much while 1 was the lowest being nothing. These questions weighed twice as much in the evaluation as those in sections A and B.
115 Section D was the most important, as it was the core of the research study. The questions here are weighted twice as much as those in section C. This section is the fulcrum of the study of the assessment of emotional intelligence. The questions deal with respondents’ assessment of the organizational leadership in their companies. The decision scale used is still the 5 to 1, i.e. from very much to nothing. Question 8 rates the various attributes of managers’ that contribute to organizational performance.
Section E is the last part of the questionnaire with questions that are open to allow the respondents to comment on various aspects of their respective companies. The respondents were requested to rate their companies against other companies in the parastatal sector in Zambia.