Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Abstract
There are many popular theories of leadership and motivation that have been discussed and applied by managers to motivate subordinates. Two ways of looking at people are by using theory X and theory Y. As these analyses are about human characteristics therefore, the theories may vary with culture and economy. There are also differences between the actual underlying beliefs of the managers and the subordinates perceptions of the managers' beliefs. A survey was conducted to obtain the workers' beliefs and perceptions on leadership characteri stics in various construction firm s in four states of Malaysia. The survey involved people of many position s from owners to general labourers. The results of the survey indicated that the cumulative actual beliefs and perceptions of the workers is towards theory
