Leadership Styles in United Kingdoms Industries - Research Proposal Example

Leadership styles in United Kingdom’s industries: Are specific styles more appropriate for different industries? Chapter one: Introduction Rationale There exist different leadership styles, each with distinct leadership qualities that suggest specialization among leaders. Work environment, based on situational leadership (Hellriegel and Slocum 2008, p. 278), influences applicable leadership styles because of existence of different factors that determines followers’ willingness to submit to a leader. Similarly, leadership styles may be suitable for specific environments that may be predominant in different industries. Charismatic leadership style, for example, motivates output and loyalty and may be suitable for industries that focus on quantity such as the manufacturing industries and for lower level workers in the industry (Lussier 2011, p. 337). The style further requires no tangible initiatives (Ledlow and Coppola 2013, p. 73). Transformational leadership however identifies simulations, could be suitable for industries with technical applications, and associated change target not only followers but also the organizations (Ricketson 2008, p. 18; Lussier and Achua 2009, p. 354). Transactional leaders are however go getters who inspire followers towards set targets (Bertocci 2009, p. 48). The approach has such factors as rewards and punishment and may not be suitable for sensitive industries that also focus on quality rather than quantity (Daenzer 2009, p. 40). The health care industry is an example in which the style may leads to mistakes that may threaten lives from resultant services. Research questions The scope of leadership styles and applications and suitability in industries establishes the following research questions. Are some leadership styles suitable for some industries than other leadership styles are? Have the industries in the United Kingdom demonstrated specialization in leadership styles by industries? Research aims and objectives The study seeks to develop an understanding of application of leadership styles in the United Kingdom’s industries and potential benefits of specialization in leadership styles by industries. Research structure The research is organized into five sections. The first section offers background information into the study, rationale, and objectives. The second section reviews literature on the subject and identifies knowledge gap while the third section discusses the study’s methodology. The forth section will offer results while the fifth section will discuss the results and offer its implications. Chapter 2: Literature review Theories and practice Situational Leadership II model offers the basis for the proposed study. According to the model, ability to manage a relationship between a leaders and a follower determines leadership success and identifies the role of the environment to dictate leadership styles. Difference in environments, based on industries and associated scopes of work, then suggests a situational approach to leadership based on industries (Pitman 2009, p. 207; Blanchard 2009, p. 182). According to the model, need for support and direction, that may vary by both industry and organization develops the need for situational leadership. “Delegating leadership style” and self-reliance are for example suitable for organizations that environments that require limited support and direction. Set ups that require low level expertise but a higher-level commitment however requires directing leadership styles. Supportive leadership approaches are however suitable for organizational environments that requires high level of support but limited guidance while coaching is the most intensive leadership scope and requires high levels of both leadership and direction. It is suitable for environments in which a level of expertise exists but commitment is a challenge (DuBrin 2012, p. 150- 153). The model suggests that demands in every industry may require a specific leadership approach. Review Leadership styles determine outcomes in organizations (Michie and Zumitzavan 2012, p. 622- 624). A moderator factor exists between significance of leadership styles and followers’ commitment to a leaders or an organization. In investing the relationship between leadership styles and employees’ commitment, Keyes (2014, p. 38, 39) noted the role of organizational set up on the relationship and explains that a leadership style such as transformational leadership will have different effects, based on environment. Environmental factors into the differences may be semi-micro and identify industry characteristics such as codes of conduct and types of work that employees deal in. culture play a significant role on success of leadership and leadership styles. Culture may however arise from geographical, professional, or industrial set ups and this means that different leadership styles may have different relative effectiveness across industries and regions. Transactional leadership style may be effective in the United States’ manufacturing industry but not in the same industry in the United Kingdom because of differences in national cultures. Similarly, differences in professional values, in a nation’s industries may dictate variation in effectiveness of a leadership style in industries to induce specialization (Aritz and Walker 2014, p. 78- 86). In China, for instance, transformational leadership is considered predominant and is associated with emotional intelligence, factors that may undermine significance of difference in leadership styles across industries (Lam and O’Higgins 2013, p. 450-452). Dynamism, in the Chinese environment, and not industries, appears the significant determinant of predominant leadership style (Du and Choi 2013, p. 1571). In addition, different industries have different needs that may command predominant application of a leadership style and the difference between transformational leadership and transactional leadership explains this. transactional leadership focuses on rules and may be more suitable for leadership in service provision in the security and intelligence work environment, unlike transformational leadership style that motivates performance and may be more appropriate for innovative environments such as in the manufacturing industry (Clarke 2013, 31- 35). A study of leadership styles among managers in the food service sector also develops insights into a possible relationship between effectiveness of leadership styles and an industry in which an organization operates. In a study to investigate situational leadership in the sector, Ogbeide (2011, p. 186, 188) noted that only some leadership styles were effective. The study collected data from both organizations’ leaders and subordinates and even though the managers identified effectiveness of “directive, supportive, participative, and achievement oriented” leadership approaches, leaders in the food service industry believes that directive and achievement oriented approaches are more effective (2011, p. 186). Opinions among subordinates concurred with those of the leaders on effectiveness of directive and achievement oriented leadership approaches. Ninety-three percent of followers who participated in the study by Ogbeide concurred with their leaders o effectiveness of directive leadership style and 95 percent agreed with their leaders on effectiveness of achievement oriented leadership style. Even though both leaders and their subordinates recognized effectiveness of other leadership approaches, these were not as effective and this suggest that for the food service industry, focus should be made on the two leadership styles for effectiveness and efficiency of operations. The observed differences in effectiveness of leadership approaches were further significant. The Collegiate Aviation industry however offers different results. According to a study by Phillips and Baron (2013, p. 114- 116), unlike the food service industry that identifies significant differences in effectiveness of leadership approaches, no significant difference exist in leadership effectiveness in the aviation industry. Significance however emerges with combination of leadership styles and this suggests significance of the industry as a moderator of effectiveness of leadership styles. It further suggests that some industries may respond to particular leadership styles than to other styles while some industries may be insensitive to leadership styles. Leadership in religious set ups, non-profit making organizations, in the United Kingdom identifies similarities and differences in noted trends in leadership across industries and geographical regions. The set up identifies similarities in preference of particular leadership styles that further indicate relative effectiveness of the styles. It however establishes differences in the leadership behaviour that s dominant in its environment. Based on results from a study by Francis, Robbins, and Ryland (2012, p. 220), most religious leaders prefer judgmental (86 percent) and sensing (71 percent) leadership practices. Leadership in the United Kingdom’s academic environment has however been characterized by aggressiveness and competitiveness (White, Bagilhole and Riordan 2012, p. 293). Little literature however exists on leadership potentials and orientation in the health sector (Ireri, Walshe, Benson and Mwanthi 2011, p. 26). Knowledge gap Rich literature exists on leadership styles and their dominance across industries and regions. There is however conflicting information because while some literature suggest relative significance of leadership styles in industries, some shows lack of significance while other suggest that no leadership style is dominant in some industries. In addition, variation exist in significance of leadership styles by region and little information exist on relative significance of leadership styles in industries in the United Kingdom. The proposed study seeks to bridge this gap by investigating leadership styles by industries in the United Kingdom. Chapter 3: Methodology Research philosophy The study will assume a positivist perspective to research. It will assume that leadership styles can be measured objectively and without bias. Research design Quantitative research method’s survey design will be used to implement the study. The design involves collection of quantitative data from their existence in natural phenomenon and is preferred for its advantages and suitability for the study. The design is easy to design and implement and has fewer legal and ethical implications as compared to other quantitative research designs. This is because it does not offer treatment to research participants. Population and sample Employees, leaders, and managers are the study’s target population. The study will assume that minors do not participate in active employment and lack sufficient rationale for evaluating effectiveness of leadership styles. People with majority age in active roles in profit and not profit making organization therefore identify the study’s population. An integration of purposeful sampling and stratified sampling will be used in the study. Measures will be taken to ensure that the sample is representative with respect to gender, age, industry, and region. Stratified sampling will be used for the study to sample organizations. Organizations will be sampled by the major industries in the United Kingdom’s economy. For each industry, at least one organization will be a non-profit making organization and measures will be taken to ensure regional balance. A minimum of 175 participants will be selected for the study and these will be employees, leaders, and managers in the selected organizations. Data collection instruments Online questionnaires, with scales for measuring leadership traits and associated leadership effectiveness, will aid data collection. The data collection instrument is selected because of its advantages that include cost efficiency and convenience to respondents. A single document can be sent to all the participants without reproduction cost. In addition, delivery of the data collection instrument to research participants is cheap and fast. Participants also access and respond to the instrument at their convenience, a factors that may bridge the barrier due to perceived disturbance by respondents. Procedure Databases from professional organizations in each of the nation’s major industries will be used to sample organizations for the study. Contacts will then be made to each of the sampled organizations and their list of employees obtained for sampling. Informed consent from the organizations will be sought at this stage. Potential participants will be identified and contacts made for informed consent. A final list of participants will then be made from those who accept to participate. Contacts will then be made to explain contents of the questionnaires and to identify the participants’ conveniences for completing the questionnaires. Once questionnaires are returned, data will be analyzed, using SPSS, to identify predominant leadership styles in each industry and differences in effectiveness of leadership styles within and across industries. Audience Organization, their leaders and managers, training institutions, and professional organizations are the study’s target audience. The information is significant to hem for equipping leaders with leadership potentials that are effective in the leaders’ respective industries for better results. Research questions The following are the study’s research questions. Are some leadership styles suitable for some industries than other leadership styles are? Have the industries in the United Kingdom demonstrated specialization in leadership styles by industries? Ethical issues The study’s scope survey design has limited legal and ethical implications because it conducts no experiment on humans. It is however, susceptible to ethical concerns such as informed consent, non-malfeasance, autonomy, and anonymity but measures such as ethical approval and sensitivity to research ethics and the legal environment will ensure compliance with both moral and legal regulations. Read More