CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY OF IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP STYLE ON EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE

The issue of leadership is very important for the survival of any organization. The impact of leadership styles on organizational performance has been a topic of interest among academic, and practitioners working in one area of leadership (Cannella, Giambatista, Barling, Dionne and Rowe et al, 1995).

Perhaps the most prominent reason for this interest is the widespread belief that leadership affects the performance of organizations (Rowe 2003).

The style of leadership adopted by some leaders is considered by researchers to be particular in achieving organizational goals, and in evoking performance among sub-ordinates (Barling, 1996, Benson 2001, Aditya 1997, Guzzo and Dickson 1996 et al).

Consequently, an effective leadership style or programme can be of immense assistance to identify and build leadership qualities among individuals within the organization.

Latest studies provide that organizations heavily invest in Human Resource Development Interventions to update and provide skill to the employees in order to attain job performance, job satisfaction and job involvement.

These skills can be impacted by providing necessary technical and non-technical training and coaching.

Leadership is widely recognized, and verified through research, leadership development can be imparted through experiential learning, vicarious learning and transformational learning and it as imparted as leaders can influence the people and motivate them. (Prooper, 2005).

Leadership development is becoming an increasingly critical and strategic imperative for organizations in the current business environment.

Leadership style remains an importance crux considered and implemented in organizations to increase human capability and other benefits that include gaining competitive advantage.

Against the foregoing, it is clear to note that today’s intensive dynamic markets features, innovation-based competition, price, performance rivalry; decreasing returns, and creative destruction of existing competencies is as a result of the leadership structure organization adopted to run their affairs.

Scholars and practitioners has suggested that effective leadership behaviours can facilitate the improvement of employees’ performance when an organization faces new challenges.

Understanding the effects of leadership style on performance is also important because leadership overtime has been viewed by some researchers as one of the key driving forces for improving a firm’s performance.

Effective leadership is seen as a potent source of management development and sustained competitive advantage for organizational improvement. The focus of this study is to examine the effect of leadership style on employee performance in Owerri Municipal Council of Imo State, Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of the Problems On Impact Of Leadership Style On Employee Performance

The management of people at work is an integral part of the management process. To understand the theoretical importance of people in the organization is to recognize that the human element and the organization are synonymous. Some leaders do not appreciate the fact that employees have to be motivated to ensure they do what they have to do for organizational goals and objectives to be achieved.

Due to the prevalent situation in Owerri Municipal Council and Nigeria in general, where supply of labour is greater than its demand, some employers do not believe much in effective motivation of workers, and in maintenance of good relationship patterns for high organizational performance.

They uphold the view that even if workers are not properly motivated by the leadership style, they cannot leave the job as jobs are scarcely available in the labour market.

Most employers are not effective in their leadership behaviour. They treat workers as machines believing that workers could be treated anyhow to attain their goal.

Some leaders do not also manage their time effectively with their workers to enhance effective job performance from the employees. In response to this, workers do not handle their work properly. There is evidently no proper planning and priority given to tasks and in effect leads to ineffectiveness.

Against this backdrop, it is imperative to state that workers in Owerri Municipal Council, have now formed the attitude of lateness to work, delay in service delivery and have developed the witch hunting attitude etc. Their job performance appears to be influenced by the council’s leadership, with the attendant socio-cultural, political and economic implications.

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1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Academic Significance

The essence of leadership style in every organization is to influence its employee’s degree of impact on the employee’s performance. Leadership styles have varying degree of impact on employee’s performance.

Scholars such as McGraw Hill Curphy and Minberg et al (1973) have explored studies on the above subject matter. Yet such research works are deficient, especially as it lacks acceptance in the changing age of modernity, or globalization.

Their study deficiencies range from theoretical generalization of the research processes especially with their classifications of leaders to be autocratic, thereby implying a total misconception and misuse of the term in explaining leadership style.

Also, the mentioned research studies reveals that they laid much emphasis on statistical indices of the respondents while they failed to imply the FGD method to ascertain first hand result from the group in study.

Against the aforementioned, this research work will serve as a fillip to the deficiencies of studies carried out.

Practical Significance

The study is relevant in time, as it will be instrumental to organizations and mostly local government administrations to encourage administrative trends of local government employee administration in Nigeria.
As a direct outcome of the research evaluation resulting from this work.

It will be of great benefit to the Nigerian public and private civil services, trade unions and industrial relations practitioners as a platform for further intellectual findings.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to examine leadership style and employee’s performance using Owerri Municipal Council workers as reference.

Other specific objectives of this study include:

1. To identify leadership style in the Owerri Municipal Council

2.

3. To ascertain the extent of corporate failure associated with a given leadership style.

4.

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses will guide this work
1. There is a significant relationship between leadership style and enhanced performance of employee.

2.

3. There is a significant relationship between leadership style and employees’ job satisfaction.

1.6 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS

1. Leadership: According to Chemers (1997) leadership is as a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of other individuals in the achievement of a common task.

According to Wikipedia, leadership has been described as “a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of other in the accomplishment of a common task”

2) Leadership style: According to Bass, B.M (1985) leadership style means the pattern of behaviour used by a leader in attempting to influence group members and decision regarding as a set organization goals.

3) Performance: Implies human activities which ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner.

4) Employee: An employee may be defined as “A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written. (Black’s law Dictionary 1979).

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