Leadership Issues of Different Not for Profit Organizations - Research Paper Example

This research has been carried out in order to investigate and explore different leadership issues faced by the management of different Notfor Profit organizations. Apart from this, different leadership styles have been analyzed and made an attempt to identify the most effective leadership style for the leader of Not for Profit organizations. In this regard extensive primary and secondary research has been conducted. For the primary research, example of Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos (YEAL) has been used. Self administered questionnaire and personal interviews have been used for the purpose of collecting information from them. Leader is the most important element for any organization. Overall performance of the organization is directly dependent on the abilities of the leader. Same is true for all Not for Profit organizations. In fact, leaders of such organizations should be able to encourage and motivate the employees and volunteers to provide their best. The basic aim of Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos (YEAL) is to support the young entrepreneurs for establishing different business ventures. This will also contribute in improving the overall economy of the country. Hence, it is essential to ensure that the organization has implemented best leadership style and organizational structure, which in turn will facilitate the organization in achieving the set targets and goals in effective and efficient manner. INTRODUCTION: Ongoing changes and advancements in the overall scenario of the world have placed additional importance on the role of the leader in any organization. Leader is a person who directs and guides a certain group of people for the achievement of a particular objective or aim (Fleishman, 1953). Leaders are associated with the tasks of not only managing the people but they have to perform their own tasks and become an inspiration for others. Leadership has evolved as one of the most studied and researched areas. The concept of leadership has been closely associated with the ideas of organizational structure, organizational culture, employee motivation, employee productivity, and overall performance of the organization (Judge, Bono, Ilies, & Gerhardt, 2002). There are different styles of leadership which are based on several factors. These various styles of leadership have certain implications on the output generated by the organizations. Despite of the considerable research work in the area of leadership, researchers have been ignoring the importance and other implications of leadership in the nonprofit sector. Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos (YEAL) has been established with the aim of promoting youth entrepreneurship in the country and supporting different young entrepreneurs. This Not for Profit association facilitates the growth of new business ventures on part of youth. This not only helps the young entrepreneurs but also improves the status of overall economy. The association is divided on the basis of geographical areas and there are total 12 provinces with 12 different presidents. All these presidents are monitored by the executive board. The organization has decentralized organizational structure, as each president has the authority to take different decisions. Apart from this the organization has participative leadership style and contribution from every member is welcomed and encouraged. Organizational structure of this non-profit organization has been shown in the following image; LITERATURE REVIEW: Leaders have a major influence on the organization as the type of leadership style helps in defining the organizational culture and setting the tone for the rest of the employees of the organization (Lord, De Vader, & Alliger, 1986). Leaders have a major role in the success and failure of the organizations as employees look towards the leader when they face any kind of difficulty and therefore he has to be a self-started and a self motivator so that he does not only motivates himself but encourages his team to put their best possible efforts (Zaccaro, Rittman, & Marks, 2001). Leaders are helpful in defining the success or failure of any organization whether its purpose is to make profits or it is a non-profit organization (Thach, and Thompson, 2007). Therefore the role of a leader is very important for organizations that are operating with the intention of making profits or not (Weisbrod, 1998). There are different leadership styles and different leaders have been successful at different stages in different types of organizations. The qualities and characteristics of a leader are also an important factor that defines whether the organization would be able to achieve success or not (Zaccaro, 2007). The visionary capability of a leader helps any kind of organization to have the ability to view its long term perspective and then plan and work accordingly (Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, & Fleishman, 2000). Without a proper vision, no organization can achieve success in the long run however the visionary quality cannot be found in everyone but it is the ability of leaders to identify and analyze the vision and then create different strategies that are helpful in achieving the vision and mission of the organization and at the same time it is the analytical skills of a leader to identify different risks faced and then take steps to mitigate them. In addition to this, another important quality of a leader is that it encourages team work and supports everyone in the team (Hackman, & Wageman, 2005). The leader acts as a role model for others in solving issues and problems faced by them and inspires them with his efforts and with his skills. Besides this, there are several other qualities of a leader that can be helpful in the success of the organization for instance the quality of a leader to control his emotions and to read emotions of others is very important characteristic because even if the leader is under pressure or feeling the stress then this message would not be conveyed to the other members of the organization as this might discourage them (Kaiser, Hogan, & Craig, 2008). The role of a leader is very important in any organization as employees look at him as an inspirational figure and when they are down and in difficult situation, they expect their leader to be with them in fact helps them to get out of the crisis situation. A leader is someone who can improve the productivity and efficiency of the organization and similarly a poor leader can reduce the efficiently and performance of the organization (Alexander, 2000). Without a good and competent leader, no organization can flourish even if it has exceptional individuals working for it (Fry, 1995). Leaders of non-profit organization have another major responsibility on their hands as people are not given similar incentives like employees of profit making organizations therefore the role of a leader is critical in explaining to everyone that money is not the only motive behind work (Sandler, and Hudson, 1998). Leaders in a non-profit organization help his coworkers to work in motivating them and inspiring them (Carver, 1990). For a non-profit oriented organization, motivation is one of the major aspects in making the organization successful (Rotemberg, and Saloner, 1993). Unless and until, the leader lead from the front and guides other members in the organization who have been working with them for the society rather than own benefits then it would be difficult to maintain a positive environment (Brudney, and Murray, 1998). In a non-profit oriented organization, the objective of the organization is to serve the humanity and society (Dees, 1998) instead of making profits therefore in such an organization the salaries are generally low (Speckbacher, 2003) which is one of the major elements that discourages people (Sawhill, and Williamson, 2001) therefore the role of a leader in such a situation is highly important where he not only has to motivate himself but encourage others so that their motivation level do not decrease. Charismatic leader can play a significant role in inspiring others and acting as a role model for others (Richmond, Wagner, & McCroskey, 2009). RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The research study undertakes mix methodology and incorporates both qualitative and quantitative research methodology. Data collection tool of questionnaire has been used for quantitative research and personal interviews have been used for qualitative research. Secondary and primary data has been used for the purpose of analysis. Secondary research is characterized by the use of data and information which has been previously gathered for some other purpose (Stewart, 1993). On the other hand the primary data is that information which has been particularly collected for that particular research project (Glass, 1976). Aims and Objectives of Research Study: The aims and objectives of the research are: To investigate different leadership issues in the Not for Profit organizations. To identify the most effective leadership style in the Not for Profit organizations. Purpose of Research: This research study comes in the category of ‘descripto-explanatory’ (Saunders et al., 2009, p.140). This type of research is a combination of descriptive and explanatory research. Descriptive research is used in order to explain the existing situation and to depict the actual condition (Aanstoos, 1983). In context to this research study, descriptive research is used by the researcher for analyzing the current leadership style followed at Not for Profit Organization. In contrast to this approach, exploratory research is used by the researchers for establishing and exploring the cause and effect relationship among various factors (Patton, 2002). In context to this research study, researcher has used the approach of explorative research in order to investigate the impact of the leadership styles on overall employee performance in Not for Profit organizations. Research Approach: Scientific approach will be used by the researcher in order to achieve the aims and objectives of the research study under investigation. The scientific approach is directly related with the deduction and it is perceived that it is possible to understand and explain anything which can be measured (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005). In this approach of research, the final analysis is dependent on different observations, facts, and measurements. Apart from this, scientific research approach ensures objectivity of the research and research, as the researcher is separated from the topic under investigation and available information. This allows the researcher to keep himself unbiased in all aspects of the research (Crabtree, 1992). Scientific approach can also be compared with the research philosophy of positivism. This research philosophy facilitates the collection and analysis of data in peaceful state of mind. Along with this, positivism is characterized by developing objective validation for the phenomenon under investigation, elaborating the theories, and applying the theories in order to generate positive outcomes (Jankowicz, 2005, p.11). Research Strategy: The research strategy used for this research project is a mixture of case study and collection of data through questionnaire and interviews. The research studies based on the descriptive and explanatory research are normally conducted in more efficient way with the help of case study (Yin, 2009). Apart from this the method of questionnaire and interviews is also beneficial for collecting considerable amount of relevant data (Sekaran, 2006). LIMITATION OF STUDY: The research study is limited in scope because of the time and budget constraint. The researcher does not have considerable amount of time and budget required for increasing the scope and implications of the research. Apart from this another limitation of the research study is that it focus on only one Not for Profit organization which is Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos (YEAL) and hence it is difficult to generalize the results and findings of respective research project. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: Role of a leader is significant in any kind of organization whether its motive is to make profits or not. Leader plays an important part in defining the organizational culture and thus a good leader can make or break the organization. leaders have to motivate everyone working in the organization and they have to collaborate, communicate and ensure that everyone in the organization is performing their duties efficiently to achieve the organizational objectives. After analyzing the situation of Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos (YEAL) it can be said that the role of a leader is very critical and crucial for any organization and the leader has a major part to play in defining the vision, mission and objectives of the organization and in making the organizational successful. Questionnaire Name: Age: Gender: Designation at Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos (YEAL) 1. How important it is to have an inspirational leader? a. Very important b. Somewhat important c. Not really important 2. Leaders are very inspiring for everyone in the organization a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree 3. Leaders are helpful in motivating everyone in the organization a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree 4. Leaders have a greater influence on the productivity and performance of any organization a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree 5. Leadership style is an important factor in building organizational culture. a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree 6. Leadership style has a major influence in building organizational culture at Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos (YEAL). a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree 7. What leadership style should be adopted by the leaders at Non-Profit organizations? a. Autocratic b. Participative c. Charismatic d. Transformational e. Laissez Faire 8. What leadership style should be adopted by the leaders at Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos (YEAL)? a. Autocratic b. 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