UNIVERSITY OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY, TARKWA

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS; DEPARTMENT OF

MANAGEMENT STUDIES

MODULE: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT -

MODULE NO: MB571

AUTHOR: MICHAEL SAM ODURO (PGP 1285822)

INSTRUCTOR: ERNEST K. AFFUM, PhD.

IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP STYLES ON EMPLOYEES’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS
THEIR LEADER AND PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF GCB GHANA

AUTHOR: MICHAEL SAM ODURO (PGP 1285822)

 ABSTRACT

This article presents the outcomes of research that looked at the influence of managers'

leadership styles on the performance of their subordinates. The effect of leadership styles on

employee performance with a special focus on the banking industry of Ghana. The focus of the

study was on four major leadership styles namely; Transformational, transactional, authoritarian,

and lazier-Faire This study has provided deep insights into leadership styles and found out that

both transformational, and transactional styles have a positive impact on organizational

performance; however, autocratic and lazier-faire were deemed to have a negative impact on

organizational performance because they do not provide employees with opportunities and

freedom.
 INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

In today’s globally competitive business landscape, the success and failures of any organization

are determinants of its intrinsic organisational culture as much as prevailing operational factors. (

Denison (1996) Many authors agree that organisational culture influence all aspects of the

operation inducing profitability and both short and long term growth (lvesson, 1993; Chatman

& Caldwell 1991;Xu & Wang, 2008)

However, a key influence on the type of culture adopted by a corporation largely is the degree of

influence the leadership body can exert on the entire workforce as leaders are charged with the

task of formulating a strategy for achievement of the goals and objectives, and also steer the

organization in the right direction to face challenges through an effective tool of competitive

advantage, hence the importance of the concept of leadership. (Xu & Wang,

2008)

The concept of leadership is defined by Monga and Coetzee (2012) as the pattern associated with

managerial behaviour, which is designed to integrate the organizational or personal

interest and effects for achieving particular objectives, other such as Ngambi

(2011) define leadership as a process of influencing others’ commitment towards realizing their

full potential in achieving a value-added, shared vision, with passion and integrity.

The Ghanaian banking industry and particularly the commercial banks in recent times have been

fraught with a lot cases of sub-standard performance resulting in sanctions of some leading

baking individuals and the subsequent mergers and dissolution of some banks (Agyemang et. al,
2020) Although this has not been attributed to leadership styles adopted by those at the helm of

these banks, the industry has been hit hard by huge job losses and for long has been labelled for

poor workers’ performance. ( Agyemang et. al, 2020) This study, therefore, sees the need to

carry out a comprehensive to evaluate research on the extent to which leadership style has

influenced the performance of the GCB bank Ghana, The objective of this study primarily seeks

to identify the style or styles of leadership adopted by the managers, and examine its effect on

workers’ performance, thereby an extension of its performance.

 LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

Leadership is the lifeblood of every company, and its significance cannot be overstated. There is

no conscious definition of what leadership is, no dominant paradigm for researching it, and

limited consensus on the best tactics for developing and exercising it (Bennis, 2007; Hackman &

Wageman, 2007; Vroom & Jago, 2007). With the growing complexity and change in global

operations, leadership has become a point of contention, yet no universal definition has emerged.

Leadership, according to Jong and Hartog (2007), may be described as the process of persuading

others to achieve the intended results. According to Andersen (2016), leaders are those that

encourage, motivate, and acknowledge their colleagues to get things done and accomplish the

intended results. Leaders use a variety of leadership styles to encourage and stimulate their

workforce, thereby outing them in the position to be able to forecast an organization's success or

failure in time.

Leadership styles

The concept of leadership fall under broad distinctions and traits namely; charismatic,

transitional, transformational, visionary, and culture-based leadership styles (Bass, 1985;

Sergiovanni, 1987, Bass, 1990; Yukl, 1994; Sashkin, 1996). Each style or trait is significantly

different in its approach to mobilizing human resources and level of enrichment from the leader.

some of the notable styles of leadership are further discussed below;

Transformational leadership

A transformational leader motivates subordinates to attain desired levels of performance by

utilizing values and principles (Bass, 1985).

According to Buns (1978), transformational leadership is a process in which "one or more

individuals connect with others in such a way that leaders and followers lift one another to

greater levels of motivation and morality.” In terms of the motivational approach used by

leaders, transformational leadership varies from transactional leadership. In a transformational

leadership style, followers have faith in their leader and show sincerity, loyalty, and respect for

him. His style can endear critical thinking and thinking outof the box solution for problems

which is achieved through the intellectual stimulation of followers.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leaders described by (Boehlke et al, 2003) are characterised by their reliance on an

exchange process that requires followers to comply with the leader's request but this however is

unlikely to create enthusiasm and devotion to work. In this situation, the leader concentrates on

the tasks done by the organization's internal players the transactional leader's primary focus is

ensuring that the organization's objectives are understood by its personnel and that possible

communication obstacles are overcome. Transactional leadership entails both constructive and

corrective actions. The leader in transactional leadership seeks ways and means to encourage

personnel based on their interests. As captured by Buns (1978) transactional leadership thrives

on leaders rewarding their subordinates on their performance and rate at achieving their targets.

Laissez-faire style Leadership

This type of leadership style is paired with leniency as leader's attempt to intervene as little as

possible in the affairs of subordinates, even to the point of failing to provide explicit commands

and instructions. The leader avoids responsibility and does not establish two-way contact with

his subordinates under this style of leadership. In this kind, most subordinates are dissatisfied
with their boss, and output objectives are not fulfilled, resulting in poor organizational

performance. (Dubinsky, Yammarino, Jolson, and Spangler, 1995)

Laissez-faire styles are often problematic to administer and are often associated lack of

leadership. Employees and subordinates are often left on their make take their own decisions

under this leadership trait (Dubinsky, Yammarino, Jolson, and Spangler, 1995)

Autocratic leadership

This type of style has a strong adherence to authority and regulation these leaders are typically

inexperienced, having had leadership foisted upon them in the form of a new post or task

including people management. Autocratic leaders keep all decision-making power for

themselves. They can irrevocably harm a business by forcing their 'followers' to execute plans

and services in a very restricted fashion, based on a subjective sense of what success looks like.

There is no shared vision, and there is little motivation other than force. Autocratic leadership

often eliminates commitment, creativity, and innovation. There is no shared vision and little

motivation beyond coercion as innovation is typically eliminated by autocratic

leadership (Michael, 2010)

Relationship between Leadership Styles and Organizational Performance

A 2013 study compiled by Klien et. al, support the assertion that leadership style has a bearing

on the output of organisations. In the study, the Transformational leadership style particularly

was associated with developing the overall value system of the employees, credited with

increasing motivation and performance. Transformational leadership demonstrates superior

leadership performance in comparison with and ranked among the most preferred in the study.
Transactional leadership style particularly helps in creating an environment that is optimal for

performance and also articulates the compelling vision that enhances the overall organizational

performance (Longe, 2014) this included sustaining and organising and human capabilities and

more. However, a similar study by Sofi and Devanadhen (2015) implored that transactional

leadership does not have a direct influence on organizational performance as much

transformational style and was characterised by lack of originality and invention, and as a result,

employees fail to meet the organization's objectives.

Autocratic leaders are traditional and dictatorial. Autocratic bosses want their employees to work

for them. Autocratic leaders typically maintain decision-making authority (Obiwuru et al., 2011).

Autocratic leaders compel their people to carry out services and plans in a specific manner.

Iqbal, Anwar, and Haider (2015) investigated the influence of leadership styles on organizational

performance. According to the study, autocratic leadership is also known as authoritarian

leadership. Autocratic leaders are less imaginative and merely encourage one-sided dialogue.

Conclusion

The focus was on only 4types of leadership styles- transformational, Transactional, autocratic

and lazier-fare. The transformational and transactional styles were found to be better at

improving organisational performance much more than autocratic and lazier-fare leadership

styles and thus the bank must adopt the transformational style of leadership since it offers the

opportunity for growth and improvement with the workforce.

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