Impacts of head chefs’ leadership styles on job satisfaction of kitchen staff in Dublin’s top gourmet restaurants

Delekovcan, Silvija (2013) Impacts of head chefs’ leadership styles on job satisfaction of kitchen staff in Dublin’s top gourmet restaurants. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

This study focuses on impacts of head chefs’ leadership styles on kitchen employees. In particular, this study investigates impacts of head chefs’ leadership styles on job satisfaction of kitchen staff working in Dublin’s top gourmet restaurants in two different situations – (a) busy service hours and (b) non-service hours.

For the purposes of research in this paper both quantitative and qualitative research was conducted. Quantitative portion of the study used the Path-goal Leadership Questionnaire which has been specifically arranged to provide sufficient information for respondents about the four Path-goal leadership styles: Directive, Supportive, Participative and Achievement-Oriented. Qualitative portion of the study used focus group discussion with a group of chefs working in Dublin’s top gourmet restaurants to confirm and debate the findings.

The results of this study show that a strong correlation exists between job satisfaction and perceptions of head chefs’ leadership styles in both situations. In addition, however, the results also show that while employee job satisfaction is hugely affected by, it is not limited to head chefs’ leadership styles.

Even though limited to Dublin area, this study contributes to the theoretical literature in the area of leadership in service driven, high standard restaurants. Therefore, the results of this study may assist head chefs running high standard restaurants across the globe in developing their leadership styles which could enable them to optimise kitchen output, improve employee satisfaction and maintain current levels of the quality of their culinary creations, hence sustaining the competitive edge and profitability position of their respective organizations.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Specific Industries > Food Industry H Social Sciences > HM Sociology > Leadership H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Leadership H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work > Quality of Work Life / Job Satisfaction
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Caoimhe Ní Mhaicín
Date Deposited:	29 Nov 2013 12:27
Last Modified:	29 Nov 2013 12:28
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/897

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