The impact of Leadership Style on Employees Performance - Research Proposal Example

The impact of Leadership Style on Employee Performance of the of the The impact of Leadership Style on Employee Performance Background and Scope of Research The research is conducted with the aim of studying and evaluating the impact of leadership style on individual employee performance and overall performance of an organization. The evaluation of the impact of leadership style on employee performance is done on the basis of a multi-dimensional approach. At the core of this research lies the relation between leadership styles and practices, and employee and organizational performances. Emphasis is put in this research on the establishment of positive linkages between leadership styles and employee performance in organizations. The continuously evolving and turbulent business situations have made it necessary to steer an organization in the right direction to achieve higher performance. Although a number of factors influence the success and continuity of an organization, the role of leadership is found to be critical in this aspect. Leadership effectiveness is considered to be a key requirement in every organization for being successful in the present undertakings and also for ensuring continued success and competitiveness in the future (Manning & Curtis, 2003). Exceptional organizational performances are often mapped back to the presence of dynamic leadership within the company. Also, leadership effectiveness in enhancing organizational performances is often considered to be the result of skillfulness in a business. The quality of leadership in an organization is one of the most significant determinants of the level of performance of the organization (Lussier & Achua, 2004). Thus, the research topic seems to be highly relevant and contextual for study in the modern business world. Research Objectives The primary objective of the research is to study the impact of different leadership styles on employee performances. The secondary objectives of the research are formulated as follows: To identify whether the performances of employees are influenced by different leadership styles. To identify whether the overall organizational performances are influenced by different leadership styles. To evaluate the role of leadership styles in influencing employee performances. To evaluate the role of leadership style in influencing job satisfaction and motivation. To identify and evaluate the different components of leadership effectiveness with respect to performances within the organization. To establish the cause and effect relationships between leadership styles and employee performances. The theoretical contributions that are formulated in this research have both theoretical and practical applications in the leadership and performance related arenas of modern organizations. Research Hypotheses There are two main research hypotheses for this research as devised against the background of the research. These two research hypotheses are given below: H0: There is a positive correlation between leadership styles and employee performance and organizational performance in an organization. H1: There is a negative correlation between leadership styles and individual employee performance as well as organizational performance. Literature Review It is important to understand the terms such as leadership, leadership style and performance to conduct the proposed research. Leadership in an organization is a component that is inclusive of a number of strategies that can be used in the organization. Goleman, Boyatzis, and Mckee (2001) stated that leadership behavior is found to play an influential role in enhancing motivation, job satisfaction, and work quality. On the other hand, the performances of the employees are the building blocks of an organization. These also form the foundation on which the overall performance of the organization rests. Performance is identified by Cunningham and McGregor (2000) to be a multidimensional aspect that is aimed to achieve goals and is significant for an organization in achieving its strategic objectives. Figure 1. Five levels of hierarchy of performance excellence. Adapted from “Trust and the Design of Work: Complementary Constructs in Satisfaction and Performance,” by J. Cunningham & J. MacGregor, 2000, Human Relations, 53(12), 1575–1591. Since the business world is a dynamic domain, it is essential for the leaders in this domain to continuously evolve, develop visions and inspire the organizational followers to achieve the vision and challenge the existing status quos in the industries. As per Landsberg (2000), leadership can be defined as the process in which people can be influenced to work enthusiastically, persistently and voluntarily towards the achievement of organizational objectives. Leadership is identified by Adair (2006) as a key intangible resource in the business world. Leadership is an important component in the current business situation in which companies are continuously competing with the aim of increased profits and greater market shares. The main purpose of employment of different leadership styles is to translate the potential for exceptional performance into productivity and efficiency in the organization. Effective employee performance is largely dependent on efficient leadership. According to M. Sashkin and M. G. Sashkin (2003), employee performance can be measured on two dimensions –effectiveness and efficiency – wherein effectiveness indicates doing the right things and efficiency means doing things right. Leadership styles can be of various types. Bono and Judge (2003) stated that leadership theories can be used to identify two main types of leaders, which are transformational leaders and transactional leaders. Conger (2004) made a sharp distinction between the transformational leaders and the transactional leaders and argued that they lie at the extreme ends of a spectrum. While there remains some similarity between transformational leadership style and transactional leadership style, the applications of these leadership styles are clearly distinct. According to the work of Barling, Slater, and Kelloway (2000), transformational leadership style is an extensional aspect of transactional leadership style. Transformational leadership involves an extensive focus on team building, collaboration with the employees, and motivation building with the aim of accomplishing business objectives. Bass, Avolio, Jung and Berson (2003) identified that the transformational leadership style involves setting incentives and goals that would push the employees towards higher performance levels and at the same time would create opportunities for the professional and personal well-being and growth of individual employees. Figure 2. Four dimensions of transformational leadership style. Adapted from “Predicting Unit Performance by Assessing Transformational and Transactional Leadership,” by B. M. Bass, B. J. Avolio, D. I. Jung, Y. Berson, 2003, Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(2), 207–218. In contrast, the transactional leadership style is more stringent and focuses on pre-decided operational procedures rather than employee benefits and growth. As per Griesser, Boerner, and Eisenbeiss (2007), this leadership style is based on an exchange of rewards with employee performances. According to the work of Kouzes and Posner (2007), both transactional leadership style and transformational leadership style have significant effects on the performances of the employees in an organization. As stated by Goris, Vaught, and Pettit (2003), the success of an organization is largely dependent on the ability of leaders to optimize the human resources available in the organization. The optimization of human resources can be done by the leaders through the establishment of mutual trust and cooperation between the employees and the managers or leaders. In line with the ideas of Charlton (2003), a good leader should ideally have an understanding of the importance of the human resources of a company in achieving its goals and objectives. An efficient leadership style should also involve motivating the employees because this is of paramount significance in making the organization equipped to achieve its strategic and corporate goals and objectives. As identified by M. Singer and A. Singer (2001), effective leadership is expected to add value to the performances of the employees in an organization and subsequently enhance the performance of the organization as a whole business unit. It is observed that a job centric leadership behavior or a transactional leadership style has a positive effect on employee performance and job productivity. However, it is also seen that very little orientation towards the employees often result in a negative effect on the employee performances because of the lack of motivation. Many times, a single leadership style is not sufficient to make a positive impact on the employee performances. Masi and Cooke (2000) stated in their work that it is necessary for a company to employ suitable leadership styles according to situations arising in the business. Research Methodology The research involves the collection of both primary and secondary data. The primary data for the research will be collected through the administration of a questionnaire on a selected sample for the study (Appendix 1). The questionnaire is designed with open-ended questions that can be used to take up an exploratory view of leadership style and employee performances in various organizations selected for the study (Brace, 2008). The main tool for data collection used in this research is a questionnaire designed with the aim of collecting data from a sample of 50 respondents. The sample will be selected from the overall population of the research, which includes all the leaders and employees operating in different organizations across a wide array of industries. Out of the 50 respondents, 20 leaders and managers and 30 employees will be selected from 10 different organizations with two leaders and three followers selected from each of the organizations. The secondary data will be collected from different valid sources of secondary data including company publications, case studies, academic journals and other literature and research reports prepared by various scholars. The views of different academicians and researchers presented in the literary works will be accessed as part of the secondary data collection process. The research is designed as a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. The research uses both correlative and descriptive research designs as part of the research methodology. Correlation studies will be used in this research to establish causal relationships between two or more variables (Goddard & Melville, 2004). The correlation design will be used to establish suitable relations between the independent and dependent variables. The independent variables selected for this study include the transactional and transformational leadership styles. The moderating variable selected is the organizational culture; the mediating variable is the job satisfaction of the employees; and the dependent variable selected for the study is employee performance. The research will employ the purposive sampling method as a non-probability sampling technique for the selection of the sample. The purposive sampling technique involves the selection of a sample by the researcher, and the main purpose of this sampling process is to focus on collection of relevant data. This technique is selected because it is an efficient sampling technique while being cost effective and less time consuming (Kothari, 2004). Significance of the Proposed Research The significance of the proposed study lies in value of exchange as well as value of use. This research is expected to create value by providing relevant inputs that are necessary for the assessment and design of different leadership programs in organizations, aimed at improving the performance of employees and consequently that of the organization as a whole. Secondly, the research would also create value because this can be used as an important literary work for reference by other researchers and scholars to conduct further research in the same line of investigation. References Adair, J. (2006). Leadership and motivation: The fifty-fifty rule and the eight key principles of motivation others. London: Kogan Page Limited. Barling, J. Slater, F., & Kelloway, E. K. (2000). Transformational leadership and emotional intelligence: An exploratory study. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 21(3), 157–161. Bass, B. M., Avolio, B. J., Jung, D. I., & Berson, Y. (2003). Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(2), 207–218. Bono, J., & Judge, T. (2003). Self-concordance at work: Toward understanding the motivational effects of transformational leaders. Academy of Management Journal, 46(5), 554–571. Brace, I. (2008). Questionnaire design: How to plan, structure and write survey material for effective market research. London: Kogan Page. Charlton, G. (2003). Human Habits of highly effective organizations. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. Conger, J. A. (2004). Developing leadership capability: What’s inside the black box? Academy of Management Executive, 18(3), 136–139. Cunningham, J., & MacGregor, J. (2000). Trust and the design of work: Complementary constructs in satisfaction and performance. Human Relations, 53(12), 1575–1591. Goddard, W., & Melville, S. (2004). Research methodology: An introduction. Claremont: Juta & Company. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & Mckee, A. (2001). Primal leadership: The hidden driver of great performance. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 42–51. Goris, J. R., Vaught, B. C., & Pettit, J. D. (2003). Effects of trust in superiors and influence of superiors on the association between individual job congruence and job performance/satisfaction. Journal of Business and Psychology, 17(3), 327–343. Griesser, D., Boerner, S., & Eisenbeiss, S. (2007). Follower behavior and organizational performance: The impact of transformational leaders. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 13(3), 15–26. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology. New Delhi: New Age International. Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2007). The leadership challenges (4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Landsberg, M. (2000). The tools of leadership. London: HarperCollins. Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2004). Leadership: Theory, practice and skills development (2nd ed.). Thomson: South Western. Manning, G., & Curtis, K. (2003). The art of leadership. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Masi, R., & Cooke, R. (2000). Effects of transformational leadership on subordinate motivation, empowering norms, and organizational productivity. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 8(1), 16–47. Sashkin, M., & Sashkin, M. G. (2003). Leadership that matters. San Francisco: Berrettkoehler. Singer, M., & Singer, A. (2001). Situational constraints on transformational versus transactional leadership behavior, subordinates leadership preference, and satisfaction. The Journal of Social Psychology, 130(3), 385–396. Appendices Appendix 1: Questionnaire Do you think leadership style in an organization has any effect on the productivity in the organization? Do you think leadership style in an organization has any effect on the efficiency levels in the organization? Do you think the transactional leadership style is more effective as compared to the transformational leadership style? Why or why not? Do you think the transactional leadership style is better for practical implementation as compared to the transformational style? Why or why not? What kind of leadership style is most profoundly followed in your organization? Do you think this leadership style in your organization is effective? If not, what other leadership style would you suggest for improving employee performances? Read More