A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF LEADERSHIP STYLES AND THEIR EFFICIENCY IN THE ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOR
ABSTRACT
This research project aims at investigating leadership Styles and work productivity in an organization: A study of Keffi Local Government Council. Some of the topics dealt with are summarized in the research and findings are stated accordingly.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.0 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Leadership is an important aspect of management. Indeed it exists in various segment of the population that is studies, military, business, home, mosque, church, etc.
Leadership is only one part of management the two terms are not interchangeable. While leadership is an important part of management, particularly at the supervisory level, a good manager or leader must have conceptual and technical skill as well as human leadership skill.
A leader who is successful at directing worker to strike toward group objective, which he has identified goals are attainable and can be periodically achieved.
The word leadership can be regarded as influence or process of influencing people so that they will strive willing and in flusiatcally toward the achievement of group goals or organizational goals, there are certain designable traits or style which makes a leader to be effective for example charisma, foresight, initiative, integrity persuasiveness and intevigence etc.
Leaders can be replaced if we could identify the style associated with leadership then our ability to select effective leadership behavior and a technique is therefore improved.
Nevertheless, leadership is both effectuate that bond works group together and the catalyst that triggers employer’s motivation. As a result of this, the leader’s straight comes primarily from the support of the sub-ordinates; without their support and co-operation, the leader finds It practically impossible to reach the planned objective and the come generally in effect.
Moreover, leadership occurs within a specific situation. In the social setting there is a person, a position and a situation despite all that has been written about leadership, these has been no consensus concerning the primary role, or function of leadership.
Finally, leadership becomes necessary in all area of management either in trading concern or non-trading organization because it help those who direct others or influence others to know why it is necessary to allow fairness and justice in their decision making.
1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Leaders, in most of the organization are political appointees who may not be professionally competent; these political appointees interfere in the day to day activities of the organization. As a result of these political and in-competent interference, many organizations cannot perform their responsibility effectively and efficiency, in most organizations. There are poor leadership systems. As a result of improper control and directives become rampart in most of the organization. Poor attitude of leadership toward obligation also militate against efficiency.
1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this project work as to give an in-depth research or examination of leadership style effectiveness in the organization performance: Some of the objectives are as follows:
i. To identify some of the general characteristic of a leader and show the situation in which a group find its seat in determining the choice of a leader.
ii. To determine how the leaders behavior affects the behavior of others in different fields.
iii. To examine the various ingredients and function of leadership.
iv. To examine the factors affecting leadership styles and
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
i. How dose effective leaders gain the power to control and influence other to achieve organization objectives?
ii. How can the behaviors of leaders affect the behaviors of their subordinates?
iii. What are the various ingredient and function of leadership?
iv. What are the major problems associating with leadership and how they can be solved?
1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Presented below is a set of hypothesis used for this research work.
Ho: Style of leadership does not determine the attainment of organization goals and objective.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Apart from the fact, it will also be useful to companies and organizations, this is because the country is striving hard to make necessary effort to improve leadership style in all the sectors of the organization and this would help the economic growth and development of Nigeria.
1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The research work covers the major factors, which leaders need to know, this includes the style of a good leader to improve productivity and attainment of the organizational goals and also to meet the team of expert, the behavior and style of leader well as the existing type of leadership.
There are certain constraints, which were encountered during the course of this study.
1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following terms are hereby briefly defined
i. Leader: A leader is defined as someone who guides others action and opinion, it’s also entail one who checks activities of others in any big enterprise.
ii. Leadership: leadership is defined as the prominent of one or few individual in a group which is the process of control and co-ordination.
iii. Organization: Is a system by which manager’s co-ordinate human and materials resources within the formed structure of task or authority.
iv. Style: Can be define as a way of performance in an organization, in order to retain satisfies her customer according to their demand.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 INTRODUCTION
There is no universal agreement on what leadership is or how it is conceptualized. Akpan (1982:3) defined leadership as “ability to influence subordinate to do what they have to do. It has been defined as the art of inducing subordinate to accomplish their assignments seal and confidence”.
According to Montgomer (1962) defined leadership as the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purposed, and the character which inspires confidence. Thus, leadership has to do with character, inspiration and capacity in guiding the conduct of subordinates. Lord Slim further attempted to differentiate between leadership and management. He said “There is different between leadership and management. Leadership is of the spirit, compounded of personality and vision; its practice is an art. Management is of the mind, more a matter of accurate calculations, of statistics, of methods, timetables, and routines, its practice is science, managers are necessary; while leaders are essential”. Viewed from the standard point of result, leadership can be defined as getting people to what the leader wants them to do because he has influenced or inspired them to believe it is what they want to do.
Leadership is viewed from other contest by Robert C. Klekamp, Daniel W. Geesing in their work entitled Management Principles and Practices (1982). They defined leadership as a way of stimulating and motivating subordinates to accomplish assign task. Apart from stimulating leadership is also concerned with guiding, conducting and directing.
He/she moves the group within the constraints of it maximum capabilities to attain certain specified objectives. Their group response will depend upon capacities of the leaders.
Leadership has a greater relevant in activating and controlling sector, one should assume that leading is synonymous with managing. A good manager is a good leader, may not increase to be a manager.
Leadership was defined by Mallam Hammed Yanga (1960) in management as the “Process of influencing members of the organization or to work willingly with zeal and confidence so that organizational or the group’s objective can be accomplished. To lead is to guide, direct and proceed” According to Apple (1961), leadership simply refers the ability of management to induce subordinate to work toward organizational goals with confidence and Drucker (1962) argues that when we talk of leadership, we are talking common men. Leadership “Is the lifetime of a man’s vision to higher sights, the raising of man’s performance to a higher standard, the building of man’s personality beyond its normal limitation”. Therefore, leadership occurs whenever one person influence and other to work toward some prediction goals, willingly and enthusiastically.
Leadership is term used to describe a position in an organizational hierarchy. Following this definition, the president of chief executive officer of a firm is a leader by virtue of holding a high office. Others use the term to describe particular personal characteristic under this definition, a person is fudged a leader because of possessing certain style (for example; perseverance, maturity, intelligence, fairness, spirit of competition inquisitiveness, honesty and integrity, among others).
Finally, the term leadership is also used to describe a category of behavior, following this development, leadership refer to a dynamic process in which individual behaves in a certain manner thereby influencing other to follow stating. To those view point, leadership is the art of individual or group activities towards achievement of enterprise goal. Leadership has given a variety of definition in behavioral science; leadership is social influencing process for the attainment of goals.
A leader is the most influential person in organization who provides direction to follow, guide group activities and ensures group objective are realize. The function of leadership pervades all organizations. A good leader therefore, is one who of personating other to move enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals. An example of a charismatic leader could be creative, initiative and moving on his speech, actions including his style of interaction with other people in his society.
Leaders characteristically induce or inspire other to achieve leadership because it occurs within a specific situation on the role or function of leadership. According to Nwachukwu (1962) maintained despite all that has been written about leadership, there had been no consensus on the primary role or function of leadership.
