THE IMPACT OF
LEADERSHIP STYLE IN THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY GOAL IN VITA
FOAM LIMITED
(A CASE STUDY OF VITA FOAM LIMITED, KADUNA)
ABSTRACT
The confined
success enjoyed by many organizations is derived from balances that are
achieved in terms of goals of both the employees and management of the
organization through effective leadership. The major purpose of this study is
to determine the impact of leadership qualities on growth and development of
organizations especially the private sector. In order to accomplish this
objective, research questions were formulated and data were collected through
the use of questionnaires that were distributed to staff of VITA FOAM Limited,
Kaduna. The data was analyzed using statistical techniques such as percentage
and chi-square that were interpreted. In work organization, the quality of top
management often determines the quality of work output and margin profit.
Effectiveness are achieved and sustained through effective leadership when the
management of an organization harnesses the potential of available manpower,
and also utilizing leadership principles. There are different leadership styles
that are applicable to different work situations and sometimes, they vary with
the nature of ownership of the organization.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title
page – – – – – – – – – – i
Declaration
– – – – – – – – – ii
Approval
page – – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgment – – – – – – – – – v
Abstract – – – – – – – – – – vii
Table
of Contents – – – – – – – – viii
CHAPTER ONE:
Introduction
1.1 Background
to the Study – – – – – – 1
1.2 Statement
of the Problem – – – – – – 3
1.3 Objectives
of the Study – – – – – – – 6
1.5
Significance of the Study – – – – – – 7
1.6 Scope
of the Study – – – – – – – 8
1.7 Limitations
of the Study – – – – – – 8
1.8 Historical
Background of the Case Study – – – – 8
1.9 Definition
of Terms – – – – – – – 9
CHAPTER
TWO: Literature Review
2.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – 11
2.1 Concept
of Leadership – – – – – – – 11
2.2 Factors
of Leadership – – – – – – – 12
2.3 Theory
of Leadership – – – – – – – 14
2.4 Boss
Theory of Leadership – – – – – – 14
2.5 Managerial
Grid – – – – – – – – 18
2.6 Leadership
and Management – – – – – – 21
2.7 Evaluating
Leadership Effectiveness – – – – 25
2.8 Developing
Effective Leadership Behaviour – – – 29
2.9 The
Need for Effective Leaders and Managers – – – 32
2.10 Organizational
Structure/Chart of VITA FOAM Limited – – 33
2.11 The Concept
of Leadership – – – – – – 34
CHAPTER
THREE: Research Methodology
3.1 Research
Design – – – – – – – – 36
3.2 Research
Population – – – – – – – 36
3.3 Sample
Size and Sample Techniques – – – – 37
3.4 Method
of Gathering Data – – – – – – 37
3.5 Justification
for the Method Used – – – – – 39
3.6 Method
of Data Analysis – – – – – – 39
3.7 Justification
for the Instrument Use – – – – 40
Bibliography – – – – – – – – 42
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Leadership
is a very important management function that involves harnessing of human and material
resources for the attainment of organizational goals. Leadership has been
viewed by many authors as a process whereby an individual exerts influence upon
others in an organizational context.
Bowler
and Seashore (1996) enumerated the basic functions of leadership to include:
–
Enhancing others feeling of
self-esteem and support.
–
Facilitating an interaction
such that group members develop a close and mutually satisfying relationship.
–
Goal emphasis for high
performance and achievements.
–
Work facilitation such that
targets are achieved through such activities as scheduling, coordinating,
planning and the effective application of knowledge.
It
is expected therefore that in every organization, there should be a leader who
will in addition to planning, organize and coordinate work, mobilize, inspire
and utilize available human and material resources optimally for effective
organizational growth and development. Leadership often emerges in a social
context, in that it does not exist in a vacuum, but a phenomenon for people and
by the people. The objectives of leadership are products of clear vision and
its actions are dictated by great focus and a sense of mission. The way and
manner leadership is conducted in any given situation, depends on the interplay
of such factors as individual personality, work demand and the exigencies of
the environment.
The
extent to which any of these factors dominates one’s behavior determines to a
large extent the person’s accumulation of natural or situational leadership
traits.
Several
arguments have been raised over time about the relationship between leadership
and employee’s attitude. However, most scholars caution against tendencies to
propose a cause-effective relationship because of the confounding effects of
the interviewing variables.
For
instance, a leadership characteristic determines leadership behavior, and
consequently, the attitude of subordinates towards him and the work situation,
Katz (1994).
And
the view of Meornick (1991), democratic leader tend to affect employees more
positively than authoritative leaders, while authoritative leaders tend to
achieve production targets better than the former.
However,
Petz (1952) theorized that what matters in the leader-subordinate relationship
is not just the imposing attitudes of the leader, but also the enduring
characteristics of the subordinates. He also advocated the principle of
reciprocal influence and integration, according to him, subordinates expect
their supervisors to exercise upward influence when dealing with problems which
affects workers themselves, but when this is perceived as being limited, they
develop unfavourable reactions.
Consequently,
this will thwart the attainment of organizational objectives and effectiveness.
However, organizational effectiveness depends to a great extent on the ways the
various group in the organizational hierarchy are structured and integrated.
Effective management should therefore develop effective group membership to
which they owe loyalty. That is why effective leadership is necessary in any
organization, as all activities that will promote organizational effectiveness
are to a large extent measured by their productivity.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Leadership
is considered as the bane of development in Nigeria organization. In political
circle for instance, the problem of leadership is described with despicable
terms as corruption, ineptitude, red-tapism and nepotism etc.
There
is no gain saying the fact that most of the socio-economic maladies which the
nation faced currently are product of poor management and bad or ineffective
leadership.
For
over a decade now, the world bank has reported consistently in her annual
bulletin and publications that Nigeria ranks amongst the sixth poorest nations
of the world despite her abundant human and natural resources.
In
addition, capacity utilization of Nigeria industrial organizations has been
very low level since 1983, and many industries have since folded up. This is an
apparent failure on the part of those leadership positions which the
organizations operate and design practical and effective response strategies to
cope with the prevailing situations, the obvious conclusion is that they have
serious leadership problems.
Many
organizations which could have been economically viable are folding up even
now, and some which are surviving could hardly meet their targeted maximum
production level even when such organization have financial backing, enough raw
material and human resources. Therefore, leadership remains the problem
militating against the growth and development of such organization. To curb
this menace, there is need for an effective leader to effectively put these
resources to proper use for maximum result.
Government
organizations never really get extinct by virtue of their ownership structure.
This is not the case with private organizations which may be devastated to the
point of folding up due to numerous problems amongst which is leadership. Their
survival capacity is much easier than the former.
It
should be noted that when leadership creates a turbulent work environment,
moral drops, production decreases and the prospects for survival as well
diminish. Most of the studies conducted in Nigeria have focused on the
relationship between motivation and productivity (e.g. Egwu, 992) but have
rarely contemplates on the relations between leadership and organizational effectiveness.
Meanwhile,
in most organizations, the quality of management is often measured by the
quality of work output and the margin of profit. However, different leadership
styles are required for different work situations and sometimes they vary in
the nature of ownership. Leadership entails harnessing the potentials of
available manpower and material resources in such a way that organizational
objectives are achieved and sustained.
VITA
FOAM Limited is a service and profit oriented organization, owned by some
individuals. Such similar study has not been carried out as to determine how
leadership influences it.
The
current study therefore intends to examine the impact of leadership on the
performance of this private sector organization.
Research Questions
i)
What is the perception of
staff in VITA FOAM Limited about effective leadership and its impact on
organizational effectiveness?
ii)
Are there gender and
educational differences in perception of effectiveness of leadership in VITA
FOAM Limited?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This
study is intended to satisfy the task of those seeking knowledge and the
importance of leadership towards the achievement of organizational goals and
objectives.
The
overall objective of this project is to:
i)
Identify the environment in
which the organization operates, the outcome of the work environment and how
leadership activities contribute to the achievement of those outcomes.
ii)
To appraise the different
leadership theories in relation to employees and organizational objectives as
well as determine perception of the supervisory management cadre in private
sector organizations about effective leadership.
It
is obvious that the primary objective of every organization, is to provide
consumers with goods and services at the right time, place and price so as to
satisfy them. Hence, effectiveness and efficiency are the watch words.
In
the final analysis, the write up will reveal that democratic leaders tend to
affect the employees more positively than authoritative leaders, while
authoritative leaders tend to achieve production target better than democratic
leaders. However, organizations should ensure that an effective leader with
well equipped and trained staffs, should manned the affairs of the firms so as
to attain organizational effectiveness.
1.4 Statement of Hypothesis
Hypothesis I
H0: Effective leadership does not contribute to effectiveness and
productivity of workers in VITA FOAM Limited, Kaduna.
H1: Effective leadership contributes to effectiveness and
productivity in VITA FOAM Limited, Kaduna.
1.5
Significance of the Study
The
significance of the study is that, that, it will serve as an instrument for
harnessing the impact of leadership in the achievement of organizational
effectiveness and objectives in the private sector i.e. VITA FOAM Limited,
Kaduna.
The
outcome of this research would:
–
Identify aspects of the
Nigeria work life that need to be influenced by planned and exceptive
management.
–
Highlights qualities that
show effective leadership and are critical to growth and development of private
sector enterprise in Nigeria.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The
study was designed to cover VITA FOAM Limited Kaduna, a caring and service
organization among other private sectors. The study is to cover the impact of
leadership on organizational effectiveness in VITA FOAM Limited, and also
operation, procurement and finance unit.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
Constraints
encountered in the course of this study includes finance and time, as the
staffs of VITA FOAM Limited had little time to squeeze out of their schedule of
duty to attend to the researcher, and besides, not all the staffs can be seen
at the same time as some were on shifting duty and that necessitated the
researcher constantly coming around and that posed a serious financial
implication.
1.8 Historical Background of the Case Study
VITA
FOAM Limited was established in 1972 by VITA FOAMrine from Lebanon. He was the
sole owner and later went into VITA FOAM pipe, which is a subsidiary of VITA
FOAM. VITA FOAM limited is a company that specialize in manufacturing different
sizes of mattresses. In the year 2006, 65% of VITA FOAM Limited shares were
sold to Artistes a group of foreign investors, while 35% was retained by VITA
FOAMrine. The diversification and sold of 65% shares to group of foreign
inventors, was to provide the best product at affordable cost to the general
public or populace. Despite the changes in administrative set up of the
organization, it has continued to witness higher patronage. The reason for
this, is that the leadership has been efficient in its operation.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Ø
Leadership: The
act or process of influencing people to strive willingly and enthusiastically
towards the accomplishment of group goals.
Ø
Management:
The process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals
work together in group to accomplish effectively selected aims and objectives.
Ø
Efficiency:
Ability to work well without wasting time and resources.
Ø
Impact:
Strong impression or effect of leadership on organizational effectiveness.
Ø
Organization:
A structure or process in which persons interact for objectives or an
enterprise itself.
Ø
Productivity:
Efficiency in the accomplishment of objectives.
Ø
Performance:
An action or achievement considered in relation to how successful it is.
Ø
Satisfaction:
Pleasure derived from doing one’s job.
Ø
Behaviour:
Individual unique way of exhibiting his or her action.
Ø
Democratic:
Consultative or participative type of group behvaviours.
Ø
Junior Staff:
Workers on grade level 1 – 6 comprising of uneducated and those educated to
secondary school level.
Ø
Senior Staff:
Workers on grade levels 7 and above.
Ø
Manager:
A person who is in charge