Abstract

The scale of work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Pakistan has drastically increased in the last few years due to man-made and natural disasters. These disasters have brought huge funding into Pakistan for implementation of emergency, relief and rehabilitation projects implemented by  Government, United Nations, Population Welfare Department, International and Local NGOs. Effective Implementation of these projects was not possible without transformational leaders that could promote ethical values within organizations and contribute for increasing employee performance through their supportive role. Researchers have focused on linkage of transformational leadership with ethical leadership. This study focused on how leadership qualities and organizational culture support employee performance. This study also analyzes how ethical leadership plays a mediating role between organizational culture and despotic leadership. In order to test the research hypotheses, this study used structural equation model (SEM) technique. Stratified random sampling was used and data were collected from 377 management staff of local and International NGOs working in Pakistan. The study has found positive and significant relationship among transformational leadership, organizational culture, ethical leadership and employee performance. The study further found negative relationship between ethical leadership and despotic leadership. The study findings are important for NGOs in promoting ethical values in organizations contributing to employee performance.

Key words: Transformational leadership, organizational culture, ethical leadership, employee performance and despotic leadership.