Transformational leadership boosts employee well-being
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/transformational-leadership-boosts-employee-wellbeing/1139099/
A transformational leadership style - valued for stimulating
innovation and worker performance - is also associated with increased
well-being among employees, a new study has found.
"A transformational leadership style, which conveys a
sense of trust and meaningfulness and individually challenges and develops
employees, could lead to greater employee well-being," according to the
research by Christine Jacobs of University
of Cologne in Germany and
colleagues.
Workers at six German information and communication
technology companies were surveyed regarding their employer's leadership style.
A transformational leadership score was based on qualities such as leading by
example, making employees feel they are contributing to a common goal,
providing intellectual stimulation, and giving positive feedback for good
performance.
Employees also completed a standard test of psychological
well-being. Employees perceiving a higher degree of transformational leadership
were more likely to experience well-being, the researchers found. The effect of
transformational leadership remained significant after accounting for other
factors linked to well-being, such as age, education, and job strain.
The findings add to studies from other industries suggesting
that a transformational style can favourably affect employee well-being. That's
especially important because company leadership and managers can readily learn
communication skills used in transformational leadership, such as recognising
the needs of others and resolving conflicts.
"Such training programmes can be seen as another
essential component of workplace health promotion and prevention efforts and
therefore should receive wide support," Jacobs and co-authors concluded.
The study was published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine, official publication of the American College
of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
Bodhgaya: Sonia Gandhi visits serial blasts site, no lead
yet in probe
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bodhgaya-sonia-gandhi-visits-serial-blasts-site-no-lead-yet-in-probe/1140018/
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi visited the Bodhgaya temple along with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde even as
investigators groped for clues in the
Sunday's serial blasts.
Shinde did not rule out the involvement of three to four
persons in the attack. He said a detailed probe was being carried out by the
National Investigationg Agency (NIA), which has taken over the probe.
"We condemn the bomb blasts in Lord Buddha's holy land.
Such blasts in the peaceful land
of Bodhgaya is a matter
of serious concern...
"We have put in two big teams for investigation. It is
the top investigating agency on par with the CBI. We have started investigations
and questioning a number of people," Shinde told reporters after visiting
the site.
He said the Centre
had entrusted complete investigations to the NIA after the request of Bihar government in this regard.
"We have visited all the places. 10 out of 13 bombs
went off...Small gas cylinders of two to three kilos and nails and
ball-bearings were filled and connected with detonators and a watch was kept.
All this happened between 5 to 6 am. They must have kept (bombs) at night.
"We are
conducting complete investigations. Three-four people may be involved...with a
car. We are conducting detailed investigations," Shinde said.
Asked why no arrests have been made in the case, he said,
"Arresting anyone in a hurry is not right. Investigations should go into
detail and catch hold of the real culprits."
Bodhgaya serial blasts: After 'IM' arrests last year, temple
was known as target
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bodhgaya-serial-blasts-after-im-arrests-last-year-temple-was-known-as-target/1138985/
After warnings of a possible terror attack at Bodhgaya
temple, 16 CCTVs had been installed on the premises, but only one could record
Sunday's explosions and images of a possible suspect. Probe agencies are
banking on this footage to provide the first breakthrough in the case.
The alert was sounded following "confessions" by
Indian Mujahideen (IM) suspects caught by the Delhi Police between August and
October last year for involvement in the 2012 Pune blasts. They allegedly
revealed that they planned to target Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad
and Bodhgaya temple in Bihar. The suspects
also claimed to have discussed Pune court and jail as targets. Related: Blasts
at Bodhgaya, 2 hurt
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officers had also
said at the time that interrogation of the IM men had revealed Bodhgaya and
Dilsukhnagar as targets.
However, the warning appears to have failed to prevent
either the February 2013 attack in Dilkushnagar, or the Sunday blasts in
Bodhgaya.
In his statement to the Delhi Police, Sayed Maqbool, a
resident of Nanded in Maharashtra, had allegedly said that he along with others
planned to carry out suicide attacks on Buddhist shrines in Bodhgaya as a
retaliation to the alleged atrocities being committed upon Muslims in Myanmar. Their
plan apparently had the approval of the Bhatkal brothers — Riyaz and Iqbal.
Related: Dalai Lama, Tibetan govt express shock
In an official release dated October 26, 2012, the Delhi
Police said: "....sustained interrogation of the accused arrested by us
revealed that a person Sayed Maqbool was in close association with (the four
previously arrested terrorists) and together they planned to commit fidayeen
attacks on the Buddhist shrines in Bodh Gaya in Bihar as retaliation to the
alleged atrocities being committed upon Muslims in Myanmar".
While the alleged IM men had carried out a recce in Hyderabad, they didn't
make a similar trip to Bodhgaya.