Leadership Style And Organizational Goal Attainment In The Public Sector

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

Organizations are formed all over the globe, in both the public and commercial sectors, with the primary purpose of achieving predefined goals and objectives. The importance of human components (workers) in accomplishing these aims and objectives cannot be overstated (Gberevbie, Joshua, Excellence-Oluye, & Oyeyemi, 2017). This is because, regardless of other resources (financial, land, technical), companies cannot achieve anything meaningful in terms of achieving their specified goals unless human resources galvanize all other resources (Gberevbie, Joshua, Excellence-Oluye, & Oyeyemi, 2017; Jain & Duggal, 2015). Several factors, including innovative remuneration structures, access to employee benefits, a pleasant work environment, an organization’s core values, career advancement opportunities, recognition, and employee engagement, have been attributed to improved employee and organizational performance (Armstrong & Murlis, 2004; Armstrong & Taylor, 2014; Popli & Rizvi, 2016).

Furthermore, research have indicated that leadership, which refers to the leader’s style and the influence it has on the organizational workforce’s commitment to performance, is at the top of the list of factors influencing employee commitment (Avolio, Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009; Trottier, Van Wart, & Wang, 2008; Yasir, Imran, Irshad, Mohamad, & Khan, 2016). Leadership is defined as a process in which one or more people persuade a group of others to do a certain action. The term “leadership” has been used in a variety of contexts, including politics, business, academia, and social work. According to Messick and Krammer (2004), the degree to which an individual shows leadership attributes is determined not only by his personal characteristics and talents, but also by the circumstances and environment in which he finds himself. As a result, an individual will support the organization if he believes that it will help him achieve his personal objectives and goals; otherwise, the individual’s interest will wane. Profitability and attainment of maturity and liquidity status are two of any organization’s goals. Organizations allocate scarce resources to competing ends in order to achieve these goals. They create jobs, offer products and services, and buy goods and services in the process, all of which contribute to the overall expansion of society and economy. According to Unamaka (1995), the availability of and access to personnel, finance, machinery, raw materials, and the ability to make their goods and services available to their customers determine the effectiveness of this process. The extent to which members of an organization contribute to the organization’s resources being harnessed is also determined by how well the organization’s managers or leaders understand and apply appropriate leadership styles in their roles as managers and leaders.

As a result, leadership styles, among other things, have a major role in resource mobilization, allocation, utilization, and organizational productivity development. According to Chuang (2005), an excellent leader not only inspires subordinates to improve their efficiency, but also meets their needs in the process of achieving the organization’s common goal. According to Fry (2003), leadership is the employment of a leading approach to provide motivating motivation and to maximize the staff’s potential for growth and development within the company. According to Burn (1978), leadership motivates subordinates to put forth more effort in the pursuit of higher-order needs, to support a larger vision for their work group or organization, and to perform above expectations.

According to Stoner (2000), leadership is the process of directing and influencing group members’ tasks and related activities. It may also be defined as the process of persuading others to help an organization accomplish its goals. Bass (1982) defines leadership as “the interaction of group members.” Leaders are change agents, people whose actions have a greater impact on others than their actions have on them. Organizational leaders in some parts of the world have been accused of using top-down, command-and-control leadership styles to lead their subordinates, which frequently results in negative reactions from their subordinates (employees) and impedes cordiality between the two parties (Akinbode & Fagbohunde, 2012). The consequences of these leadership styles include demotivation of employees and degradation of employee commitment, among other things. This is generally evident when such personnel have no quick option to quit the business for whatever reason, and they grow emotionally disconnected from it (Nasurdin, Ahmad, & Razalli, 2014). This study looks at the impact of leadership style in organization growth and development.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Having ineffective, weak leaders in the workplace has a number of negative consequences for employees and the company as a whole. Companies with a weak leadership style nearly usually underperform; they lack vision, a thorough knowledge of company finance, and effective communication abilities.

Bad leadership is costly; under the watchful eye of inept leaders and managers, employee morale plummets and employees become less devoted to the company and its goal, resulting in lower-quality work and a slower pace of completion. A poor leadership style might stifle management’s ability to generate new ideas and solve issues. It also has a negative impact on the organization’s performance. Based on the slew of issues listed above, poor leadership style has a negative impact on organizational performance.

It’s also worth noting that the relationship between leadership styles and employee commitment has gotten a lot of scholarly attention. Most leadership studies have identified a variety of leadership styles that leaders use to manage companies (Kelly & MacDonald, 2019; Sudha, Shahnawaz, & Farhat, 2016; Yukl, 2013).

The most often adopted leadership styles in organizational leadership research have been characterized as transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and laissez-faire leadership (Abasilim, 2014; Rehman, Shareef, Mahmood, & Ishaque, 2012; Rukmani, Ramesh, & Jayakrishnan, 2010). Employees in firms display three primary types of commitment (affective, normative, and continuity commitment) (Othman, Mohammed, & D’Silva, 2013).

Leadership style can either motivate or discourage employee, which in return can cause employee increase or decrease in their level of performance. Leadership and it effectiveness is primary focus for organization to achieve their organizational goals and to create commitment in the employees for the organizations.

1.3 Research Questions

The research has adopted the following research question for the study.

Does the leadership style adopted by the leaders motivate the subordinates towards performance?

Does workers perception of their leaders motivate them toward better performance?

Does workers satisfaction with boss leadership style increase organizational growth?

Does your satisfaction with your leadership style promote staff development and training in the organizational growth?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The concept of leadership is prevalent in most literature of management. This is so because it has attracted many export in management science. This research will also contributes tremendously to the growing literature in the field primarily, this study will achieve the following purposes:

To enhance people’s understanding of leadership as an important concept in organizational behaviour and management

To look at the various problems by leaders in organizational and suggest ways to resolve such problems

To look at the relationship between leadership style and workers performance.

To look at the relationship between leadership style and workers performance.

To examine the quality of leader needed in the organization.

1.5 Statement of the Hypotheses

The leadership style adopted by the leaders motivates the subordinates towards performance.

Workers perception of their leaders motivates them toward better performance.

Workers satisfaction with boss leadership style increase organizational growth.

1.6 Scope of the Study

Leadership is a common phenomenon in organization. The study is an explanatory research involving the activities of their member. This study which is explanatory is designed to investigate on the leadership style in organizational growth and development. In order to achieve the designed objective, the research critically examines the concept of leadership, sources of leadership power, leadership and leadership styles.

1.7 Significance of the Study

The significance of the study can be subordinated into two broad categories namely: theoretical significance and practical significance.

1) Theoretical Significance:

This study can be used to explain the relationship between leadership process and workers performance in the organization. The study can also help to generate other researcher interest generated by the study can lead to more researchers on relationship between leadership process and workers performance. The study can enrich literature on the leadership and enhance peoples understanding of the concept.

2) Practical Significance:

This study will be useful to the organization. The management of a can use the finding and recommendation of the study to improve the qualities of it organization leadership for the purpose of the subordinate performance. Other organization not included in this study can also draws vital lessons from the findings and recommendation of the study in improving the leader subordinate relationship in the organization.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

In the course of this study the problem encountered by the researcher was the attitude of the respondents was skeptical of the researchers intention and refused to co-operate. Finally there was one problem of finance, the finance the researcher has a student was inadequate to meet the requirements of the project, in doing this research, the researcher adopted some technical terms for a clear understanding of the terms by its potentials users.

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined as they are used in this study:

Leader:

One who directs the behaviour of other group members and gives instruction on how a task is to be done.

Leadership:

A process whereby a person in directing and influencing people towards realization to the organizations goals.

Subordinate:

A person who is working under someone else or inferior in the official hierarchy

Goal:

This is the aim and objectives of an organization or individual

Power:

This is the ability of a person’s to make other do what one want them to do

Perception:

This is the way the people view things in the organization

The organization:

This is the structured process in which people have interest for objectives

Satisfaction:

This refers to a person contentment with his job what be get in the organization.

Management:

This is the process of planning, directing, controlling and coordinating human and material resources in order to achieve the organizational goal. Stephen (2009).

Labour:

Is the process of getting work done by a worker through reward, the wages paid to an employee by an employer is called reward. The work done by an employee is amount to the reward (wage) paid by the employee of the labour.

Unskilled Worker:

This is an individual that does not possess their required skills or special training in an organization.

Skilled Worker:

Is an individual that posses or demonstrate the accomplished skills of special training required in an organization.

1.10 Organization of the Study

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study.

Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.

Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.

Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.

Chapter five gives summary, conclusion and also recommendations made of the study.