EFFECTS OF LEADERSHIP STYLES AND EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA

1.1 Introduction

Leadership style refers to the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically (Ehrhart, 2004). Leadership style has influence on employee’s behaviour, commitment including their adoption of the organization strategy and organizational value and has a link to both organizational outcomes and employees’ work performance. The word "leadership" has been used in various aspects of human endeavour such as politics, businesses, academics, social works, etc. This leadership style encourages subordinates to rise above their self interest to achieve organizational goals beyond the stated expectations. The leadership of a company is certainly considered to have a strong impact on its success, employee satisfaction, and employee engagement (Bhargavi & Yaseen, 2016).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Today it becomes necessary for every organization to have full level of its employee commitment in order to have outstanding performance on long term basis. Currently employees act like entrepreneurs when they work in a team and every member of the team tries his level best to prove himself the best amongst all others. Those things increase their commitment level in the organization that ultimately increases the performance of the organization.

In the past organizations provide job security to its employees to improve their commitment level in the organization and to improve their productivity. Higher level of employee commitment in the organization for individual projects or to the business is assumed as a major reason for better organizational performance that leads to organizational success.

One aspect of employee organization linkages that has received broad attention from both managers and behavioural scientists is the concept of employee commitment. The concept’s popularity is increasing due to the assumed impact organizational commitment has on employees and organizational performance. Employees in modern organizations are increasingly expected to show effort, motivation and initiative. The success of an organization depends not only on how the organization makes the most human competences, but also how it encourages commitment to an organization.

Organizational commitment has an important place in the study of organizational behavior. This is in part due to the vast number of works that have found relationships between organizational commitment and attitudes and behaviors in the workplace. Visionary leaders create a strategic vision of some future state, communicate that vision through framing and use of metaphor, model the vision by acting consistently, and build commitment towards the vision (Avolio, 1999; McShane and Von Glinow, 2000). Some scholars like Zhu et al. (2005), suggest that visionary leadership will result in high levels of cohesion, commitment, trust, motivation, and hence performance in the new organizational environments.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Effects of Leadership Styles and Employee Commitment on Organizational Performance in Nigeria.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Poor leadership style in an organization results in effective employee performance. The oil sector, which should be the main driver of the economy, makes minimal contribution to country gross domestic product, has turned to be disastrous effect on the nation, many of participants blame the poor leadership in the oil sector.

Organizational researchers from all around the world consider the job involvement as an important factor which influence both employees’ as well as organizational outcomes (Lawler, 1986). Employees with high levels of job involvement make the job a central part of their personal character and focus most of their attention on their jobs (Hackett, Lapierre, & Hausdorf, 2001). They are likely to exhibit less unexcused lateness and unexcused absences than employees with lower levels of job involvement.

Therefore, due to problems of bad leadership in the organization, the organization as suffered both internally and externally. Internally, on the employee's performance. Externally, on the country's economy. However, the impact of using unstable leadership style in a situation can be grievous.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to investigate the Effects of Leadership Styles and Employee Commitment on Organizational Performance in Nigeria. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the impact of leadership style of employee's Commitment on Organizational performance.
2. To identify the appropriate leadership style to use in different situation in the organization.
3. To evaluate effective leadership as the determinant factor of achieving organizational goals.
4. To measure good leadership and its influence on the employee's Commitment on Organizational performance.
5. To examine the impact of motivation as the tool for improving employee's Commitment on Organizational performance.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Is there an impact of leadership style of employee's Commitment on Organizational performance?
• Is leadership an effective determinant factor of achieving organizational goals?
• What is the appropriate leadership style to use in different situation in the organization?
• Does good leadership positively impact employee's Commitment on Organizational performance?
• What is the impact of motivation as the tool for improving employee's Commitment on Organizational performance?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is no positive relationship between employee’s commitment and organizational performance
• H1: There is positive relationship between employee’s commitment and organizational performance

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no positive relationship between employee’s motivation and organizational performance
• H1: There is positive relationship between employee’s motivation and organizational performance

Hypothesis Three

• H0: There is no relationship between leadership styles and organizational performance
• H1: There is relationship between leadership styles and organizational performance

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1.7 Significance of Study

The human factor as noted in management is a simple most important resource. This study ensures to help as well as tackle the leadership problems challenging oil companies in River state and attainable remedies to these problems. Those in other parts of the country will therefore achieve from this study the private and public sectors firms also are not exempted from these achievements and will find this study relevant since they experience nearly similar type of environment.

The study will also assist potential business investors on the basic issues of how to effectively and efficiently utilize the human resources in their organizations.

Scholars and researchers with ensure interest on this area of study will as well as find this work relevant. However, leadership subsumed under management effort is substantial and cannot be criticized.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Effects of Leadership Styles and Employee Commitment on Organizational Performance in Nigeria using Agip Oil Company in Port Harcourt as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Operational Definition of Terms

Leadership Style: As use in this study, implies the way which influence process is exercised. It is the characteristics ways in which the leadership relates to his subordinates or employees.

Effectiveness: This implies the ability of an organization in achieving its objective. It is doing the right thing.

Efficiency: This is the optimum level o9f a given resources which the organization may fully utilize to produce a given unit of output/ waste. However, it is act of doing things right.

Employee Performance: This is the employee's behavior directed towards the requirement of the job as well as productivity and profitability of the organization. It involves the employee utilized potentials towards attainment of the organizational goal.

Goal Congruence: This is as used in this work refers to the agreement of employer and employee towards the achieving the goal of the organization. It is harmonious activities between the organizational policy and the employee so as to obtain the required targets.

Organization: This is the coalescing of sub-system so as to achieve specified objectives. It is a system of critically co-ordinate activities of two or units.

Situational Leader: As used in this study mean leadership styles depending on the circumstances that arise at particular time in a given organization so as to attain the organizational target.