RESEARCH PROPOSAL ON IMPACT OF

LEADERSHIP STYLES ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE.

FALL 2024-5

STUDENT NUMBER: 22320366

STUDENT NAME : ASSIATOU KOUYATE

EMNT 525 Group: 1
Program: Business Administration with Thesis

ABSTRACT

Leadership is one of the key determinants associated with the success

and failure of any organization. Leadership styles is the approach a leader
uses to guide and motivate individuals toward achieving organizational
objectives . This study examines the impact of leadership styles on
organizational performance, the focus was on six leadership styles -
transformational, transactional, autocratic, and democratic -on
organizational performance . The findings showed that charismatic,
bureaucratic and transactional leadership styles have a negative impact
on organizational performance .
While transformational, autocratic and democratic styles have a positive
impact. Organizations are encouraged to adopt leadership styles that
develop the skills and abilities of their employees.

INTRODUCTION

Effective leadership is essential for establishing an organization's vision,

mission, and goals, as well as for directing and coordinating organizational
activities and efforts and developing strategies, policies, and methods to
accomplish those goals (Xu & Wang, 2008).To accomplish the objective
and vision and adapt to changes in the external environment, top-notch
leadership is crucial (Harris et al., 2007).Many firms are currently dealing
with issues like low financial performance, excessive employee turnover,
and unethical tactics. This might be because there isn't enough capable
leadership. Many organizations' primary goal is to achieve their stated
objectives; therefore, they require capable leaders to organize and inspire
the employees (Vigoda-Gadot, 2012). Unfortunately, some companies do not take
account of the leadership style adopted by their managers. Based on this premise, the
present study aims to explore the relationship between leadership style and organizational
performance. There are several types of leadership styles such as transformational
leadership, transactional leadership, autocratic, democratic leadership, participative
leadership style, etc. The leadership styles chosen for the study are charismatic,
transformational, transactional, autocratic, bureaucratic, and democratic. The reason behind
choosing these leadership styles is the fact that they are the most practiced leadership styles
throughout the globe, and if any new ideology is developed through the research, it can
improve these leadership styles further and bring further success to organizations.
Therefore, the survey was designed to focus on these six leadership styles only .

The main objective of this study is to determine the effects of several leadership styles on
organizational performance including autocratic, democratic, transactional,
transformational, charismatic, and bureaucratic leadership. The research hypothesis was
developed to determine how leadership style affects organizational performance. According
to the hypothesis

Ho: Leadership style dimensions have a significant impact on the

organization performance.

Literature Review

Leadership style

Leadership style encompasses a blend of characteristics, traits, and behaviors

employed by leaders to interact with their subordinates (Mitonga-Monga & Coetzee,
2012). It is viewed as a managerial behavior pattern aimed at aligning organizational
and personal interests to achieve specific goals.
Harris et al. (2007) define leadership style as the nature of relationships that
encourage individuals to collaborate towards a common objective. Modern
leadership styles can be categorized into transformational, transactional, culture-
based, charismatic, and visionary leadership styles (Harris et al., 2007).

Organizational performance

Organizational performance is a complex and multifaceted concept that

reflects the actual outputs of an organization compared to its intended
goals. It encompasses three key areas : financial performance (e.g .,
return on investments and profits), shareholders return (e.g., economic
value added) and market performance (e.g., market share and sales )
( Gavrea et al. 2011) .

Relationship between Leadership styles and organizational

performance.

The leadership style influences the culture of the organization which, in

turn, influences the organizational [Link] al proved this fact
by using four factor theory of leadership along with the data collected
from 2,662 employees working in 311 organizations.

Transformational leadership style and organizational performance .

Transformational leadership emphasizes developing employees’ values,
morals, skills, and motivation, creating a solid connection between leaders
and followers (Bass & Avolio). This style inspires high performance by
broadening employees’ interests and motivation. Wang et al. found a
positive link between transformational leadership and both individual and
team performance, enhancing followers’ growth and creating fulfilling
relationships. Their research on organizations, using SEM and SPSS tools,
confirmed that transformational leadership has a direct, positive impact
on organizational performance.

Charismatic leadership encourages creativity and inspires workers

with a clear vision, it can also result in a dependence on the leader that
leaves them without direction. Long-term performance problems could
result from this dependence (Germano, 2010; Ojukuku et al., 2012).

Transactional leadership style and organizational

performance

Transactional leadership encourages performance through rewards,

but it inhibits creativity (Uchenwamgbe, 2013).
Democratic leadership fosters innovation and morale through
collaborative decision-making (Tannenbaum & Schmidt, 2012). According
to Iqbal et al. (2015),
Autocratic leadership might lower employee engagement even when it
works well for urgent tasks. Routine activities gain from
Bureaucratic leadership that is centered on rigid processes, but overall
morale and performance are constrained (Germano, 2010).

Methodology

This study utilizes quantitative approach as the objective is to determine

relationship between dependent variable organizational performance and
independent variable leadership styles.

Sampling and Data Collection

The data were collected using the survey questionnaires. The responses of
the respondents were measured using a five point Likert scale where the
frequency performance was distributed into 5 levels
«never», «little», «occasionally», «often» and «always».

Data Analysis

The impact of the leadership styles on their performances was measured using the
organizational performance scale. The scale compares the performance of the banks with
their competitors.

Results and discussion

Adverse Impacts: Innovation is limited by transactional factors (-
0.174, P < 0.001).Dependency is created by charisma (-0.432, P
< 0.001).Motivation is decreased by bureaucratic processes (-
0.292, P < 0.001).
Benefits :Democratic: Increases participation (0.156, P <
0.001).Transformational: Encourages self-reliance (0.265, P <
0.001)• Autocratic: marginally advantageous (0.064, P < 0.001)

Statistical analysis : The results of the statistical study showed

that transformational, democratic, and autocratic leadership had
a favorable impact on organizational performance (R2 = 0.252, P
< 0.05).

REQUIRED BUDGET
The estimated budget for this research includes:
Survey tools and materials: 700 Tl
Participant incentives:530Tl
Data analysis software:1716
Travel expenses for interviews:500TL
Total Estimated Budget:1846TL

Conclusion :

This study has focused on the impact of leadership styles on organizational performance. It
is important for a leadership style to offer opportunities to employees,offer a sense of
belonging along with allowing them to participate in the decision -making. This has
significantly reduced the scope and applicability of the research.

References

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London: SAGE Publications
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[Link] Styles and Organizational Performance. Strategic Management
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performance: Mediating role of leader-member exchange and relational
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5. Ebrahim Hasan Al Khajeh (2018), Journal of Human Resources Management
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10.5171/2018.687849
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7. Germano, M. A., 2010. Leadership Style and Organizational Impact. [Online]

Available
at:
[Link]
08/spotlight/
Iqbal, N., Anwar, S. & Haider, N., 2015. Effect of leadership style on
employee performance. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 5(5),
pp. 1-6.