Words: 5024
Many nations of the world are presently undergoing serious economic, financial, political, ethnic and religious crises, due largely to the ineptitude of their leaders and ineffective leadership styles adopted. Geographical, social, religious, racial as well as domestic crises among others, are evidences of such ineffective leadership styles adopted towards the accomplishment of set goals and objectives in different spheres of human endeavourer.
Nigeria as a nation has been very unfortunate since independence to have leaders who lack the basic laity of good leadership with which the nation would have been transformed into a powerful and vibrant nation. This has resulted to the fact that Nigeria, within her very short period of existence as a sovereign nation, has witnessed quite a number of coup-d-tat, which is a direct product of bad leadership. This phenomenon of leadership style inherent in our sovereign nation runs across different spheres of endeavourers.
It is not uncommon then in Nigeria for various categories of workers and students to embark on strike actions or mass protest to demonstrate their disenchantment with the authorities. Nigeria leaders e it at the Federal, State or Local Government levels as well as the leaders of the pratfalls and Non-government organizations have been known to be insensitive to the plight of the masses, so cold and hardened that they are not willing to effect changes in the lives of Nigerian.
The public sector in Nigeria has been badly affected by poor leadership style that SEES (2001 – 2003) opined that “The public sector is characterized by generally negative work attitude, low motivational at tendencies and generally low productivity. Leadership is of particular importance in industries and organizations because of its far- caching effects on the accomplishment of objectives and the attainment of organizational goals. It is the key role in the success or failure of organization and industries. The primary challenge of leadership is to guide an organization towards the accomplishment of objectives.
The leader does so by influencing and encouraging employees to attain high level of performance within the limitations of available resources, skills and technology. He inspires others to work willingly towards the achievement of a goal through application of his personal capabilities and qualities. The leaders I therefore expected to have some basic attributes such as skills, intelligence, determination, imagination and courage. He is expected to be a hands-on leader who personally talks to customers about helping them to run their business better.
Someone who focuses on “expectations of performance and not on bureaucratic rules of behavior. ” One whose focus is always on solving customers’ problems, one under whose leadership everybody is productive and one who leads by example, making tough decisions. Leadership therefore, is the process of influencing and directing the activities of an organizational group towards the achievement of the group organizations set objectives. In leadership, there is interpersonal relationship between the leader and the members of the group, the intention of which to achieve the goals of the organization with confidence and keenness.
Cole (2002) defines leadership as a process of influence whereby a member of a group influences others to contribute to the progress or achievement of the organization. Cole also identified five types of leaders as follows: Charismatic leaders: The influence stems from personality Traditional leaders: The influence stems from birth Situational leaders: The influence stems from a particular situation. Appointed leaders: Influence arises directly out of position Functional leaders: secures his position by what he does rather than by what he is. . 1. 1 Concept of Leadership The topic of leadership has been of interest for many hundreds of years, from the early Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates to the plethora of management and leadership gurus, whose books fill airport bookshops, seldom, however, has the need for effective leadership been voiced more strongly than now. It is argued that in this changing, global environment, leadership holds the answer not only to the success of individuals and organizations, but also to sectors, regions and nation. Our productivity as a nation is already lagging behind our competitors in north America and Europe. By tacking our management and leadership deficit with real vigor, we unlock the doors to increased productivity, maximize the benefits of innovation gain advantage from technological change and create the conditions for a radical transformation of public services. ” (Dies, 2002) despite recognition of the importance of leadership, however, there remains a certain mystery a to what leadership actually is or how to define it. In a review of leadership research, Stodgily (2002, p. 59) concluded hat there are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept” and that was arrears ago! The problem of defining leadership lies two fundamental difficulties. Firstly, like notions such as ‘love’, freedom’ and ‘happiness’ leadership is a complex construct open to subjective interpretation. Everyone has his or her own intuitive understanding of experience and learning, which is difficult to capture in a succinct definition. Secondly, the way in which leadership is defined and understood is strongly influenced by one’s theoretical stance.
There are those who view leadership s the consequence of a set of traits or characteristics possessed by leaders’ whilst others view leadership as a social process that emerges from group relationships. Such divergent views will always result in a different of opinion about HTH nature of leadership. Grind (2004) identifies four problems that make consensus on a common definition of leadership highly unlikely. Firstly, there is the ‘process’ problem – a lack of agreement on whether leadership is derived from the personal qualities (i. E. Traits) of the leader, or whether a leader induces fellowship through what she/he does (i. . A social process). Secondly, there is he ‘position’ problem – is the leader in charge (i. E. With formally allocated authority) or in front problem is one of ‘philosophy’ – does the leader exert an international, causal influence on the behavior of followers or are their apparent actions determined by context and situation or even attributed retrospectively? A fourth difficulty is one of ‘purity’ – is leadership embodied in individuals or groups and is it a purely human phenomenon? In addition to these relatively theoretical contentions Grind also distinguishes between attitudes towards coercion.
Some definitions of Leadership restrict it to purely non- receiver influence towards shared (and socially acceptable) objectives. Within such frameworks the likes of Hitler, Stalin and Sad Hussein would not be seen as leaders, but rather as tyrants working solely for threat, violence and intimidation rather than the more subtle processes of interpersonal influence more frequently associated with ‘true’ leadership. Such distinctions, however, are always problematic, as certain individual and groups could perceive the actions of nearly all leaders more or less beneficially. . 1. 2 Types of Leadership Four basic leadership styles have been identified. They are Autocratic Democratic Participative Laissez-fairer The above relationship styles are based on the approach that a leader to the use of authority and participation in decision-making. Some leaders are autocratic. They delegate little authority and invite little participation by subordinates in the decision-making activity. Other leaders are participative they invite involvements by their subordinate in making decisions.
Some other leader referred to as free rein leaders (also called Laissez fairer leader) do it on your own, delegate considerable authority to subordinates and this covers the point in the organizational structure at which missions are set and problems are solved. 1 . 1. 3 The Autocratic Leader An autocratic leader tells subordinates what to do and expects to be obeyed without question. He delegates authority to his subordinates and expects them follow his/her order and the extent of their participation in problem solving as primarily limited to making the leader award of the problems.
The leader uses his authority to establish and carry out the mission of the organization. Subordinates tend to be very dependent on this type of leader. Production is often reduced when he is absent. Most often, subordinates are generally not so ell informed about missions as their counterparts working for other types of leaders. They may find it difficult to develop a sense of security and well being because their leader who is often work-centered rather than people-centered, frequently uses incentives based on fears.
Subordinates under an autocratic leader are generally not well prepared for promotions and tend to shy away from decision making because they fear reprisals. 1. 1. 4 The Democratic Leader A democratic leader tried to do what the majority of subordinates’ desire. Participative and democratic leaders together with their subordinates discuss robbers and limitations and work out plausible solutions. The subordinates are quick to identify with a solution because they have an active voice in its construction and this makes them fell that they are important in the organization.
This feeling of being part of the organization consequently leads the subordinated in putting in their best efforts towards the organizational growth and success of the organization. Because they participate actively in decision, they know more about objectives and issues facing the organization. The participative and democratic leadership styles are preferable to the autocratic styles as they emphasis team work and group effort. The assumption underlying these styles (participative and democratic) is that subordinates are willing and able to take an active part in the decision making process.
In turn, the active prepares them for positions of more responsibility in the organization while it give the participant a feeling of acceptance. The organization also gains from the combine knowledge of the superior and his subordinates. 1. 1. 5 The Laissez-Fairer Leader The Laissez-fairer or the free rein leader delegates considerable authority to his subordinate. He expects them to establish for the most part of the missions they will pursue but stand ready to provide general instructions and counsel.
The Laissez-fairer leader is distinguished from the participative leader in that the Laissez-fairer leader is uninvolved in the work of the unit, there must be a high quality subordinate group if this approach is to work well. It is difficult to defend this leadership style unless the leaders’ subordinates are experts and well- motivated specialists, such as scientist. The use of Laissez-fairer leadership style is limited to very special circumstance. In fact, practically every leadership who has detained recognition for effectiveness has done so by being involved and active. 1 . 1. Effective Leader Effective leader is a function of many variables that affect or influence the manner in which a manager performs his job. Accordingly, 3 variables influence effective leadership: The forces in the manager The forces in the subordinates The forces in the situation 1 . 1. 7 Criteria of Organization – Success Bennie (2003) has proposed the following criteria organizational health: Adaptability: This is the ability to solve problems and to react with flexibility to changing environmental demands. A Sense of Identity: Knowledge and insight n the part of the organization of what it is to be done.
Pertinent questions include-to what extent are goals understood and shared widely by members of the organization. Capacity to Test Reality: The ability to search out accurately and correctly interpret the real properties of the environment that have relevance for the function of the organization. In their own system resources to the analysis of effectiveness, seashore and Yachtsman (2003) see effectiveness as the ability of the organization to be most effective when it maximizes it’s bargaining position and optimizes its resources procurement.
In addition, the cited criteria of effectiveness proposed by Katz and Calm (2002) include organizational efficiency, minimization of profits, providing useful products and services for society, increasing productivity and increasing high employee morale. These are based on the principles of the greatest good for the greatest number of people and the largest times as the most valid criteria success. 1. 1. Characteristics of Effective Organization Beachhead (2002) described an effective organization as one in which: The total organization, the significant subparts and the individual manage their work against goals and plan for achievement of these goals. The problem or task or project determines how the many resources are organized. Decisions are made by those near the source of information regardless of where the sources are located in the organization chant. Communications laterally and vertically is relatively undistorted – people are generally open and share all the relevance of facts including feelings.
There is a minimum mount of inappropriate win/lose activities between and conflicts situations as problems subject to the problem solving method. The organization and its parts see themselves as interactive with each other and with a larger environment. . 1. 9 Theoretical Background of Leadership Styles Several theories have been propounded on leadership styles and organizational effectiveness. An electric approach in which salient features of the major leadership theories can be combined will be used in this study. 1. 1. 0 Trait Theories This approach represented the first “scientific” effort to study and understand leadership. It is referred to as the “great man” approach to the study of leadership. The trait theory emanated from the concept that successful leadership is the function of particular traits of an individual. In this respect, Aristotle had earlier asserted that from the hour of birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for ruler ship. Also, he hypothesized those who were born to be leaders were believed to possess certain traits that make them leaders.
However, some of the traits observed to contrast between leaders and followers according to Preloaded (2001) were intelligence, personality, physically characteristics and supervisory ability Stodgily (2002) however observed from appraisal of numerous leadership studies that they had contradicting conclusion. He identified seven traits that include intelligence scholarship, dependability ND responsibility; social activity, high originality and socio-economic status are trait, which the average person who occupies a position of leadership have higher than average members of his group.
The contradiction in result findings on leadership made Stanford (2001 ) to apply allude that we can conclude with reasonable creativity that: There are either no general leadership traits, or if they exist that are not to be described in any of our family psychological or common sense terms and in a specific situation, leaders do have traits which set them apart from followers, but what trait set which leaders apart from what lowers have vary from situation to situation.
This means that it is possible for a Bank Manager to function effectively as a leader in that position in a small bank of a leader in similar position in a very large Urban Bank. Other shortcoming in employing a trait approach to the study of leadership has been identified. Trait approach ignores subordinates. There is no doubt that followers have a significant effect on the job accomplished by a leader. Except for Eggshell, traits theorists don’t specify the relative importance of various traits (Doomed, Gibson and Financiers 2001). Again, the research evidence is inconsistent.
For every study that supports the idea that a particular trait is positively related to improve effectiveness there seems to be one that shows a negative relationship or no relationship at all. According to Agility (2001), there was the recognition that some of the identified traits in leadership studies may have been learned while a person in leadership position may recognize that in order to improve their performances, they need to become more assertive, more decisive and stronger in the ability to communicate. During this process, their levels of self- inference may also increase.
Agility (2001) further points out that there was the related understanding that effective leadership depends not so much on who the leader is but on. What the leader does and how well he/she adapts to the varying requirement of different situations. This he added led researchers to an examination of the behavior of styles of the leaders control of and influence in the situation. In the theory, Flailed made important distinctions between the terms leadership “behavior refers to the specific acts of a leader in directing and co-coordinating the work of the group members.
In contrast, dervish style denotes the underlying needs structure of the leader that motivates behavior in various leadership situations. Fielded (2002) believed that leadership style is relatively inflexible and since no one style is appropriate for every situation, he suggested that the best way to achieve effective work group performance is to match the manager to all the situation. Fielder went further to identify three major elements in the situation that will help determine which leadership will be effective.
These factors he enumerated as leader-member relations; task-structure and the leader position power. He also asserted that he most favorable situation (greatest leader influence) is one characterized by position or good leader-member relationship, high task structure and high or strong position power and vice-versa. Moreover, the three elements in a situation permit classification of situation that is: Very favorable, intermediate in variableness and Unfavorable: He finally developed the least preferred co- worker (ALP) scale/questionnaires measure leadership style.
Critics of the theory despite extensive support by other researcher are varied. For instance, the question whether managerial style is indeed UN-dimensional and rigid as claimed y Fielded, there is also concern over the lack of attention to the interaction between leadership and situation, while other critics fault the Methodology of measuring the [ALP within the validity of the ALP measure. 1. 1. 1 House Path- Goal Theory Path-goal theory is a contingency approach to leadership The general dissatisfaction with the trait approach to the study of leadership motivated management scholars to shift their emphasis to the analysis of the actual behavior of leaders. Unlike the trait theory, which attempts to describe leadership on the basis of what leader, is. Leadership behavioral approach seeks o explain leadership in terms of what they do and it is interested in explaining the relationship, which exist between behavioral and work group performance. . 1. 12 Situation/Contingency Leadership Theories The contemporary of leadership theory of leadership is referred to as the contingency approach. Contingency theory, according to Ho and Missile (2001) maintained that leadership effectiveness depends on the fit between personality characteristics of the leader and the situational variables such as task structure, power, subordinates skills, attitudes and perception. This, there is no "best” dervish style, which makes one to agree with the concept of universality.
The contingency approach tries to predict which type of leader will be effective in different type of situation. Two most widely accepted contingency theories are: Fielders contingency model and house’s goal theory. Fielded (2002) constructed the first major theory to specifically propose contingency relationship in the study of leadership. The basic postulates of Fielder’s model accordingly to Ho and Missile (2002) are: Leadership style is determined by the motivation of the leader Group effectiveness is a joint unction of the leader’s group and the situation.
Variableness, that is, a group performance is contingent upon the leaders motivation and upon that which was developed by House (2001 ), the theory is designated path-goal because it focuses on how leaders influence their subordinates perception of work goals, social goals and path to goal attainment. 1. 1. 13 Mac Gregory Theory X And Y Mcgregor (1960) populated theory X and Y. Theory Y is based on democratic principles of benevolent participation and self-control.
Theory Y perceives employees as individuals pursing some psychological needs, which could e achieved by allowing them to participate in decision-making delegation of authority and decentralization of power. Mac Gregory treats both traits and followers equally important. Theory Y is likely to enhance greater efficiency, high moral and increase level of productivity. Theory X perceives employees as a machine/tool that can operate to achieve organizational objectives: there is no adequate concern for the welfare of workers.
The general and specific requirement in this example can at lease partially be explained by combining the trait theory and the situation theory. The trait theory can be described generally s the characteristics needed in leadership situations. The situations theory can specifically define the difference in these characteristics between organizations. 1 . 1. 14 Emergent Leadership Theory In most organizational settings, formal leaders are people who occupy certain specified roles.
Foreman or forewomen are the leaders for the rank and file otherwise referred to as production workers. They surprise and direct the first line organizational activities. Similarly, as one goes higher in the organization there would always be supervisors and the supervised. 1. 2 Statement of The Problem In the recent past, various classes of Nigeria people experience huge losses at the hands of their bankers, which consequently has led the collapse and death of much business.
There have been cases of fraud at the highest hierarchy of the banking sector. Bank executive have involved themselves in various forms of embezzlement of customers money. Some ran away with huge sums of money to foreign countries, thereby rending businessmen that deposited money with them redundant. Some of these bank chief not only embezzle money but encourage advance fee fraudsters popularly known as ‘BIB to thrive in their equines deals which have consequently led to many banks going bankrupt, distressed and leading to eventual collapse.
This has led to retrenchment of their employees, More so, the unemployment ratio has gone so high as the bank chiefs cannot pay salaries to staff any more. Moreover, activities of these bank chiefs have led to the revocation of license by the Federal Government thereby throwing workers out of jobs and even crumbling some business in the society. These would be attributed to the ineptitude and lapse of the leaders and the leadership styles, which obtain in the banking industry especially the commercial ankhs.
From this point, the problem of this study is to investigate the influence of the relationship between managers’ leadership style and organizational effectiveness particularly as obtain in the banking industry and to ascertain the leadership style that make managers much more effective as to enable banking sector live up to expectation. 1. 3 Purpose of The Study This is aimed at investigating the influence the leadership styles on organization effectiveness of bank workers thereby resolving the issue of whether the manager leadership styles are directly related to organization success and effectiveness.
This study also sought to: Identify the type of leadership styles that are being used by managers in the banking industry especially in the urban areas of Lagos State. To ascertain the effect of each style of leadership on manager effectiveness performance. 1. 4 Research Questions In order to achieve the purposes of this research study, the research study will attempt to provide answers to the following research questions. 1. What influence does the leadership style of managers have on the effectiveness of the organization? . What does leadership style affects the productivity of workers? 3. What are here factors hindering the manager from using his leadership style toward the accomplishment of organizational goals? 4. What does the leadership style adopted by the manager have to do with how the manager motivates his subordinates? 5. What is the relationship between the leadership style of the manager and the organizational successes/effectiveness? 1. 5 Research Hypotheses The following null hypotheses will be appraised and tested.
HI There is no relationship between leadership style of managers and effectiveness of the organization. H2O There is no relationships between leadership behavior in determine the training needs f employees. HA There is no relationship between information on skills and talents in improving leadership behavior. HA There is no relationship between leadership style has effect on manager’s performance business. HA There is no relationship between leadership style of a leader/subordinates relationship. 1. Significance of The Study The significance of this study cannot be overstated in the sense that information gathered as a result of the study will provide useful guide and advice to the banking industry used as a case study on the best approach to leaders so as to improve organizational success/effectiveness. The findings are likely to help prospect bank managers, theorist, and policy makers in the administration of banking business. Looking at our present society, many banks are in distress as a result of mall-administration, misappropriation and failure to change with the time due to rigidity of some chief executive officers.
This study is useful to the management of banks, as information will be provided so that the goals of the organization are fully realized at the end. This study also contributes to the advancement of knowledge in leadership theory in at least two different ways. Firstly, it identifies the leadership behavior of manager as perceived by their subordinates and secondary, it also finds out the effect of these styles on the subordinates performance. Lastly, this study is quite significant because it bridges the gap between the present study and the previous ones in related areas. 1. Delimitation of The Study The study was carried out and limited to Lagos metropolis. The study was essentially to the effects of leadership styles on organizational effectiveness. It is assumed that the bank workers randomly selected from the five operational sections in the bank in Lagos State (Zenith Bank). It is therefore recommended that a more elaborate and under settings be use by researchers in this study were foreign one. These instruments may not be true reflection or measurement of leadership style in Nigeria content and may not even applicable to the Nigerian situation 1. Operational Definition of Terms The following terms were explained below in the denotation and connotation: Organization – an entity managed and coordinated by one or more people in order to achieve a set goal and objective. Leadership – is a process of influence others to contribute to the regress or achievement of the organization. Management – is a process of getting things done through other people. Communication – is a process of sending information from sender to the receiver. Leader – is a person or thing that leads.
Performance – a measure of how well a thing is doing. Business performance – this refers to the effectiveness of strategies and combination of organizational resources to achieve its goals. Bankrupt – is a situation whereby someone not having money or capacity to pay one’s debts. Resources – these are required factors necessary for production of good and services. They include assets, capabilities, processes, and attributes, Information, knowledge e. T. C. Environment – the surroundings in which a person animal or plant lives.
Also it means the natural world. Goals – an outcome to be reached over a period of time through the exercise of management resources. Team – a group of people who interact regularly and coordinate their work to accomplish a common objective. Morale – the attitude and feelings workers have about the organization and their total work. Research – is a process of arriving at dependable solution to problem through the planner and systematic, collection, analysis and interpretation of data. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2. Introduction Chapter two of the project work is devoted to the review of various literatures on the impact of leadership on employee performance. The review also focuses on the manager’s leadership and workers effectiveness. Meanwhile, the chapter reviews the related literature in: The effects of leadership behavior on employee’s performance. The manager’s leadership role at work. Leadership and organizational performance Historical background of zenith bank Pl and their life style 2. 1 The Effects of Leadership Behavior on Employee’s
Performance Leadership is a very slippery topic and is of interesting concern to researcher, practitioners, policy makers and theorist in almost all subjects/ discipline, so slippery is the term because in leadership there are many definitions of the concept as there many authors involved in studies related to it. Recent researchers on leadership have been invalidated earlier findings and it is only recently that sense is being made from a synthesis of the numerous research findings on leadership. The first widely known empirical study on leadership was undertaken by lippie and white (2002).
The study was carried out at Low University, United State of America. The researchers made an inquiry into the psychological dynamics of democratic, authorization and laissez – fairer leadership with children who were eleven years old. They found that there was a systematic difference in the behavior of group members as a function of leadership, which they observed to include warmth, friendliness and work continued even in the absence of the leader of democratic group. The democratic group relaxed and showed no friendliness within.
The laissez – fairer groups were hopeless and hostile. The easies-fairer leader maintains a non-interference policy and allows the group a complete freedom to act, as it likes. Most researchers according to Jenkins and Black-Man (2001) placed emphasis on one aspect of managers’ leadership style, for example, task-oriented, person-oriented or transactional approach. Stodgily and his associates in Ohio state leadership studies (2002) initiated an interdisciplinary team of researchers from psychology, sociology, economics and so on.
Using leadership behavior description questionnaire (LBS.) to analyses leadership on numerous types of group and situations, and the answers were objected to factor analysis. The outcome was amazingly consistent. Two dimensions of leadership emerged that substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by subordinates. Theses two dimensions were consideration and initiating structure. The consideration factor is described as the extent to which a person is likely to have job relationship that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for subordinates’ ideas and regard for their feelings.
He or she shows concern for followers” comfort, well being status, and satisfaction. A leader high in consideration dimension could be described r seen to be one who helps subunits with personal problems, is friendly and approachable treats all subordinates as equals, respectful and warmth, and these made his subordinates to achieve more while the initiating structure which refers to the extent to which a leaders is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of subordinates in the search for goal.