The effect of leadership style on employee work behavior in the Buea Council

Abstract

Managers are in charge of leading their employees to higher levels of performance that meet or surpass the organization’s objectives. Managers can use democratic, autocratic, or laissez-faire leadership styles to achieve organizational goals and objectives, depending on the situation.

As a result, the primary goal of this research is to look at the impact of leadership style on employee work behavior in Buea Council.

The study’s precise goals were to determine the type of leadership practice used at Buea Council, the impact of leadership style practice on employee work behavior at Buea Council, and the challenges, face by council with the present form of leadership practice at Buea Council.

The study used a descriptive survey design and quantitative data analysis to sample 95 members of the Buea Council’s staff and employees using a structured questionnaire.

Random sampling techniques were used in the study, and the findings were analyzed in SPSS (21.0) using descriptive statistics and regression tests.

According to the findings, the Autocratic leadership style was used by managers and leaders at the Buea Council, in which leaders express authority to subordinates by making all the rules, not involving employees in decision-making, continuous monitoring of employees, and the use of a rewards system to punish and reward employees’ job output.

According to regression research, there is a substantial positive association between the leadership style used by the Buea Council and the work behavior of its employees.

The survey also found that as a result of the leadership style used, management faces a variety of issues, including a shortage of sufficient resources for staff to do their daily tasks.

Poor communication between employees and their supervisors, frequent confrontations at the council, employee absenteeism, and staff turnover are all issues that need to be addressed.

It was suggested that the Buea Council’s management facilitate this. managers and supervisory leaders to adopt democratic form of leadership styles in the course of discharging their managerial responsibilities.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The job environment has changed dramatically since the turn of the century. Globalization, technological advancements, and social changes have put a lot of strain on organizational executives.

Recognizing the pattern of change and capturing the windows of opportunity is the actual power to act in today’s volatile and chaotic environment. As a result, leaders’ responsibilities have shifted from primarily overseeing and issuing orders to building and managing cross-functional teams, offering services to subordinates, and developing long-term connections with field clients.

To survive in this type of climate, organizational leaders must possess a wide range of skills.

This means that leaders must learn to manage complex circumstances by bringing together all of their contacts with subordinates, peers, and superiors into a unified whole.

This element is a hard challenge because each individual represents a unique aggregation of knowledge, skills, limitations, and strengths, and organizational leaders must handle all of this variety to achieve the organization’s performance objectives.

As a result, every organization and team believes that they require leadership.

Employee behavior is influenced by leadership inside the organization (Naile and Selesho, 2014). Successful leaders are iconic figures who influence the behavior of their subordinates and followers in order to attain organizational goals and objectives.

According to Michael (2010), leaders in an organization can influence or create the organization’s culture, values, change tolerance, and employee motivation. It influences the success of organizational tactics.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The major subject and challenge of this research is that we frequently think of a manager or leader as having to behave properly with employees or subordinates.

However, most organizations in Cameroon, notably municipal councils, have task-focused and predictable work schedules with limited flexibility, and subordinates are imposed decisions and policies.

Employees would pretend to do well in such organizations when the leadership views employees as simple hands to get the job done because of the standards and measures assigned to them.

Employee performance, on the other hand, is mostly a product of the employee’s conduct at work, which includes performing prescribed assignments, meeting deadlines, employee competency, effectiveness, and efficiency in accomplishing work.

Various organizations require a strong leadership) style that motivates employees to achieve at their best.

Managers must motivate personnel, including those who report to them, coworkers, superiors, and customers, to do their tasks. As a result, in order for an organization’s leadership to be effective and efficient, the human aspect must be scrutinized alongside employee performance.

Importantly, we discovered that Buea Council personnel had a negative attitude toward work, which has a negative impact on the quality of services offered by the council, to the detriment of the general population.

Poor leadership style may be to blame for employees’ dissatisfaction with their jobs.

A good leadership style is required to guide employees’ actions toward reaching established organizational goals. As a result, the purpose of this study is to see how different leadership styles (such as authoritarian, democratic, and liaises faire) effect the work behavior of employees at Buea Council.

1.3 Objective of the Study

1.3.1 Main Objective

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of leadership style on employee work behavior in Buea Council.

1.3.2 Specific Objective

The study seeks to achieve the following specific objectives:

1. To identify the type of leadership practice at Buea Council
2. To determine the effect of leadership style practice on employees work behavior at Buea Council
3. To examined the challenges, encountered by the council with the present form of leadership practice at Buea Council

1.4 Research Question

1.4.1 Main Research Question

What is the effect of leadership style on employee work behavior in Buea Council?

1.4.2 Specific Research Questions

1. What is the type of leadership practiced at Buea Council?
2. What is the effect of the practiced leadership style on employee work behaviour at Buea Council?
3. What challenges are faced by the Buea council as a results of the type of leadership practiced?

FURTHER READING: MANAGEMENT PROJECT TOPICS WITH MATERIALS