Leadership Styles and Employee Performance

This assignment examines the relationship between leadership styles and employee performance at Sainsbury's. It requires students to analyze various leadership theories, such as democratic, autocratic, transactional, and transformational, and assess how these styles influence employee motivation, productivity, and customer satisfaction within a retail setting. The analysis will involve using questionnaires to gather data from Sainsbury's employees and evaluating the effectiveness of different leadership approaches based on their responses.

“Evaluate the impact of leadership style on the organizational
effectiveness: Case study of Sainsbury”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am thankful to my mentors, friends and family who have provided me great support at
the time of carrying out the study. Especially my mentor who supported me in tough situations as
well as provided me right direction to carry out the entire course of study in the best possible
manner.

ABSTRACT
Leadership acts as a base for company which helps in attaining the goals in a manner in
which it is planned. However, due to dynamic business environment and diverse culture, leaders
face issue in managing the subordinates. Therefore, leaders need to incorporate different set of
styles in order to manage the workforce in a desired manner. In context to retail industry which is
considered as one of the most competitive industry in the world requires proper management and
execution of different approaches and resources so that position can be maintained or improved
within the target market.
Among the different theories of leadership and motivation linked with the organizational
effectiveness, the most prominent is transformational and transactional theory of leadership. It is
because, different authors stated that transactional leadership style is the approach through the
help of leader motivates employees or subordinates through a system of rewards and
punishments. However, different leadership styles are being employed by the store managers of
the Sainsbury so as to motivate or encourage their subordinates and influence them to carry out
the work in effective and efficient manner.
Further, it has been identified that most of managers prefers to change their leadership
style which is suitable as per the situation and assist them to lead people in right direction and
guide them to attain desired results and outcomes. Furthermore, operating in such a competitive
environment leadership approach assist the managers to implant dedication and loyalty within
the employees so that they can commence their work in more reliable manner.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................
1.1 Background of the Study.......................................................................................................1
1.2 Rationale of the Study............................................................................................................1
1.3 Research Aim and Objectives................................................................................................2
1.4 Research Questions................................................................................................................2
1.5 Framework and Analysis.......................................................................................................2
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW...............................................................................................
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................4
2.2 Leadership style and Performance.........................................................................................4
2.3 Organisational effectiveness..................................................................................................8
2.4 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................9
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................................
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................10
3.2 Research instruments...........................................................................................................10
Chapter 4: Data Analysis....................................................................................................................
4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................15
4.2 Analysis...............................................................................................................................15
4.3 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................22
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations...................................................................................
5.1 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................24
Recommendation.......................................................................................................................25
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................
Appendix............................................................................................................................................
Questionnaire.............................................................................................................................29

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Leadership is a key concern for the organization as it aids in developing path to lead
towards the shared goals and objectives. It supports in developing vision for business along with
strategy through which it can be attained. With the help of effectual leadership style, company
can able to retain skilled and competent employees who essentially help in boosting the
effectiveness. Also, it aids in attaining business objectives in desired time frame. It is required
that leader must inspire, influence and motivate employees so that coordination with
subordinates can be developed. It is evident from the study of Analoui, Doloriert, Sambrook,
(2013) that now a days, manager faces issue with regards to adopting standard leadership style
due to differences in the culture and beliefs of employees. Further, leader faces issue due to
differences in the personality of employees and this certainly affects the business operations.
Therefore, it is a serious requirement for assessing the impact of leadership style on the
organizational effectiveness and hence, present research is carried out.
With the help of this study, effectiveness of leadership has been assessed and its impact
on organizational effectiveness is evaluated. It has been found that different leadership style has
different role in the organization such as autocratic style helps in maintaining discipline,
democratic aids in developing coordination, laissez faire assists in delegating roles and
participative helps in working with equal participation from different employees. Therefore,
main focus of this study is to assess the effect of different leadership practices on company’s
operations.
To conduct this study, Sainsbury has been taken into account which is a giant retail
company that employs personnel from different culture and region. By conducting this research,
ideas have attained with respect to effectual leadership style in different contexts that company
can employ for boosting the organisational effectiveness. Through this, better strategy can be
developed with respect to leadership.
1.2 Rationale of the Study
Leadership acts as a base for company which helps in attaining the goals in a manner in
which it is planned. However, due to dynamic business environment and diverse culture, leaders
face issue in managing the subordinates. Therefore, leaders need to incorporate different set of
1

styles in order to manage the workforce in a desired manner. This present research has helped in
assessing whether applying different set of styles affects the business operation or not. Another
rationale of this study is to assess the link between leadership style and improving productivity
of the organization. In addition to it, present research supports in literature by defining the
unexplored part of leadership which can be used by other companies to boost its efficiency in the
marketplace.
1.3 Research Aim and Objectives
Main aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of leadership style on the organizational
effectiveness. In order to conduct this study, Sainsbury has been selected which is one of the
prominent names within the retail sector.
For attaining above stated aim, following are the objectives developed.
1. To understand the concept and meaning of organizational effectiveness.
2. To identify different types of leadership style used at Sainsbury.
3. To analyse the role of varied leadership style in attaining organizational effectiveness.
1.4 Research Questions
For this research, following questions have been taken into account:
 What are the different types of leadership styles used by managers to attain organisational
growth and sustainability?
 How leadership styles assist in improving productivity of the business?
 What is the significance of appropriate leadership style for organisational effectiveness?
1.5 Framework and Analysis
In order to conduct this study, interpretivism philosophy has been applied as it requires
interpreting the responses that have attained through interview. In this, responses have been
interpreted on the basis of past literature so that actual reasons behind any statement can be
attained. Further, exploratory design is incorporated in this research in order to gain new set of
information with respect to leadership and organizational effectiveness (Bryman,
2015).Moreover, data is collected from primary as well as secondary sources. In this regard,
primary data has been collected from the top level managers of Sainsbury. They have been
targeted because they are the one that can brief about leadership and organizational effectiveness
2

in an appropriate manner. Interview will be based on semi structured approach so that required
information can be attained. On the other hand, secondary data will be collected from sources
like books, magazines, online articles, blogs, journals, newspaper and other related.
Sample size for this research is determined as four managers which is being selected with
the help of convenient sampling. In order to analyse the data, qualitative measures have been
applied. In this regard, thematic method is used in which themes are developed based on the
interview questions. From this, appropriate result is attained by evaluating responses of the
managers of Sainsbury (Zikmund and et.al., 2012).
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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Literature review is one of the important section of the entire study which assist in
developing theoretical base for the researcher to make in-depth analysis on the chosen topic.
However, in this chapter varied sources are used to gather wide range of information on different
prospects of the study. Further, perception and thoughts of different authors and researchers are
taken into account which assist in developing suitable platform for the investigator to carry out
their entire course of study in effective and efficient manner. Herein, researcher focuses on
evaluating the organisational effectiveness on various leadership styles in retail sector.
Considering the nature of topic secondary research play a vital role in the analysis section
because it will help in justifying the responses of managers generated through different methods.
Further, to collect secondary data use of different secondary sources such as books, journals,
online articles, blogs etc. will be taken into consideration so that valuable and reliable
information can be generated for conducting the study on selected topic.
2.2 Leadership style and Performance
According to Adair, (2011) leadership refers to the ability of an individual to influence a
group towards the achievement of goals. In the study of Ehrich, and English, (2012), leadership
has been identified as the significant subject in the field of organizational performance. However,
according to the author, the ability of management of organizations to execute collaborated
efforts depends upon the leadership capabilities (Ehrich and English, 2012). Analoui, Doloriert,
Sambrook (2013) explained in their study that, excellent leader not only motivate or encourage
colleagues or subordinates to enhance the efficiency but also focuses on meeting their needs and
wants in the process of achieving organisational effectiveness. Bertocci, (2009) defining
leadership as the individual behaviour that guides group or a team to achieve desired common
target. Thus, managers in different organizations’ use varied types of leadership style to inspire
and enhance potential of employees regarding growth and development (Bertocci, 2009).
According to the Dugan, (2011), there are several reasons that clearly defines that there is a
correlation between leadership style and organisational performance. First of all, the current
intensive and dynamic markets features innovation based competition, price/performance rivalry,
decreasing returns, and destruction of existing competencies. In this context article of Ehrich and
English, (2012) states that, effective leadership approaches can assist the improvement of
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performance when organisations face these new challenges.
According to the study of Hay and Hodgkinson, (2006) there are several leadership styles
that are used by the managers to motivate and encourage the performance of employees so that
overall effectiveness of the firm can be improved. Further, author states that leadership styles not
only have significant effects on the small businesses but also on the world's largest corporations
(Hay and Hodgkinson, 2006). Different types of leadership styles are autocratic, democratic,
delegative and transactional etc. Furthermore, in the study of Analoui, Doloriert and Sambrook
(2013) researcher evaluated that, there are various organisations which seek efficient approaches
to enable themselves to outperform others mainly focuses on the effect of leadership. In such
companies, team leaders are believed to play vital role in shaping the collective norms within the
business to assist teams to cope with changing environment and generating desired results and
outcomes (Analoui, Doloriert and Sambrook, 2013).
As per the view of Bouton (2007), autocratic leadership style clearly defines the division
between leaders and workers. However, an autocratic leader takes decision with little or no
involvement from employees. This type of leaders is supremely confident and comfortable about
the judgment or task they are carrying out. In context to business effectiveness, autocratic
leadership styles display less creativity than the other contemporary style. The main purpose of a
leader is to get connected with the employees and motivate them or encourage to carry out the
work in the best possible manner so that overall productivity of can be enhanced (Bouton, 2007).
This leadership style does not focus on involving employees in decision making process that at
times can leads to create negative perception in the mind of individual. Contradicting to this,
Reigeluth (2013) states that, autocratic leadership style is effective in the case when company
require quick fire decisions so that it can overcome obstacles and issues. Similar to this, in the
situation of constant change autocratic leader is able to respond to the situation quickly and
prevents the business from falling behind (Reigeluth, 2013). Supporting to this study of
Heckhausen, and Heckhausen, (2008) revealed that, manager using such leadership style always
have close oversight on the activities of workers which assist in eliminating the waste and
enhance the efficiency in achieving desired results and outcomes.
Other than this, according to Adair, (2011) researcher evaluated that democratic
leadership style is considered as the most effective approach of leading the team in a company.
However, it is the exact opposite of the autocratic leadership style as it emphasizes on involving
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employees from each level to provide their views and thoughts about the current position of
business so that potential improvement can be implemented with the mutual concern of all the
people. Ehrich and English, (2012) states that, leaders possessing such leadership style have the
right to make decisions but before making any judgement always encourage the feedbacks, ideas,
and suggestions from the employees so that best possible can be made for the company. In the
book of Bertocci (2009) investigator evaluates that, democratic leadership style encourage better
contribution from group members and increased the group moral. Through the help of this
leadership approach, manager can lead to more creative and effective solution to the problems of
business enterprise because group members are encouraged to share their views and ideas.
Contradicting to this; Timothy and et. al, (2011) illustrates that, in the situations where roles are
unclear and limited time is available to carry out the work, democratic leader can lead to
communication failures and even uncompleted projects. Thus, it is important for the managers of
the companies to change their leadership approach as per the situation so that they can easily deal
with the conditions and enhance the organisational effectiveness.
In context to corporate environment, Mendez and et. al, (2013) defines laissez faire
leadership style as the least effective option. In this leadership style, manager gives all the
powers and authority of making decisions to the workers or team members. Furthermore, using
this approach manager does not provide any kind of direction to the team or group (Mendez, and
et. al, 2013). In this context study of Bouton (2007), assist in evaluating that, if a leader
withdraws too much from their followers it can sometimes result in a lack of productivity,
cohesiveness and satisfaction. However, this type of leadership style is only promoted in sectors
like construction, education etc. it is because; team members or workers in these sectors are
highly skilful, experienced and educated. Along with this, author highlight that, employees have
pride in their and drives to doe it’s successfully on their own which helps them personally as well
as to the organization as whole. Similar to this Denscombe (2012) states that, transactional
leadership concentrates on close monitoring of the activities to minimize errors and mistakes and
then take corrective action as quickly as possible to handle the situation appropriately
(Denscombe, 2012).
In the study of Ehrich and English, (2012) it has been identified that, among the different
theories of leadership and motivation linked with the organizational effectiveness, the most
prominent is transformational and transactional theory of leadership (Ehrich and English, 2012).
6

As explained in the research of Analoui, Doloriert, Sam brook, (2013) transactional leadership
style as the approach through the help of leader motivates employees or subordinates through a
system of rewards and punishments. However, this system is based on two factors such as
contingent reward and management by exception (Analoui, Doloriert, Sambrook, 2013).
Supporting to this; Heckhausen and Heckhausen, (2008) states that, contingent reward assist
managers to motivate employees in terms of enhancing their skills and abilities so that they can
achieve set benchmark and generate desired results for the firm. Further, author states that
transactional leaders display both constructive and corrective behaviors. However, both this
behaviors assist the company to enhance its effectiveness such as constructive behaviors entails
contingent reward while on the other hand corrective behavior imbibes management by
exception. This type of leaders encourages incentives and bonuses to motivate employees and
carry out best in them so that effectiveness of entire organization can be enhanced.
On the other hand of it, Hay and Hodgkinson (2006), states that transformational leaders
raise the level of consciousness within the followers regarding the significance and value of
designated outcomes and approaches of attaining the best possible outcomes (Hay and
Hodgkinson, 2006). In support to this fact Timothy and et.al, (2011), proposed that,
transformational leaders are the one who motivate followers to surpass their own expectation of
self-interest for the sake of achieving organizational goals and objectives. In terms of
organizational effectiveness, this type of leaders are able to gain trust, admiration, loyalty and
respect from the followers with the help of which employees are motivated to put more efforts as
compared to what originally expected from them. However, it has been identified that, the
transformational leaders motivates the individual by making them aware about the significance
of the outcomes and encouraging them to transcend their own self-interest in contributing
positively towards the smooth and successful functioning of business enterprise (Timothy and
et.al, 2011). In context to retail industry, leadership plays an important role just because of the
fact that level of competition faced by the firms is enhancing day by day which induce them to
provide quality of services to their customers for higher rate of retention and long term
sustainability. According to Mendez and et.al, (2013), transformational leadership style in retail
sector possess great assistance to both managers and employees as leader is able to coordinate
the working of employees effectively and create better working environment through his/her
motivating and encouraging thoughts so as to attain desired level of outcomes from the
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employees and enhance the effectiveness of the organization (Mendez and et.al, 2013).
2.3 Organisational effectiveness
Looking at the present competitive market it is important for the companies to enhance
their business operations at each level so that they can maintain the position in existing market
and achieve future sustainability. According to Ehrich and English (2012) defines the
effectiveness of an organisation as the ability to exploit the environment to acquire wide range of
resources and carrying out business operations effective and efficiently. In simple words, Bouton
(2007) illustrate that, organisational effectiveness is the concept of how effective company is in
achieving the organization intended goals and objectives. In this, leadership plays a crucial role
as managers are the one who are responsible for carrying out the operations through the help of
employees (Bouton, 2007). In this context, Timothy and et. al, (2011) states that, in order to
generate desired and intended outcomes it is important for the managers to make use of effective
leadership approach that suits the situation and positively commence the entire functioning of
business enterprise. In the present market, companies operating in distinctive sectors are facing
high level of competition. Thus, leadership is the major tool and technique through the means of
which managerial level people can develop strong base for the company and assist in achieving
competitive edge within the market (Timothy and et. al, 2011).
Through the study of Mendez and et. al, (2013) researcher identifies that, leadership style
can affect the communication and productivity of business. However, a bureaucratic leader
always tends to slow up the communication in order to check every part of the functioning. This
may lead to decrease in efficiency of business enterprise (Mendez and et. al, 2013).
Contradicting to this Bouton, (2007), defines that, managers has the responsibility to carry out
the functioning appropriately. Thus, it is important to undertake suitable leadership style
according to the situation so that best possible results and outcomes can be generated. Further
author illustrates that, measuring and analyzing the organisational leaning has become one of the
most important factor and play significant role in success of the organization (Bouton, 2007).
Generally, performance or effectiveness of the company is measured on the basis of qualitative
and quantitative factors i.e. profit, costs and client’s perception. However, it important for the
company to evaluate these indicators for analyzing the functioning as per the defined goals and
objectives of the company. However, considering the expectations of employees monetary
benefits are considered as the biggest encouragement factor for the individual which assist
8

him/her to improve performance to a great extent that surpass the expectations of employers.
While on the other hand secondary research helped in understanding that, transformational
leaders are the one who motivate followers to surpass their own expectation of self-interest for
the sake of achieving organizational goals and objectives (Collis and Hussey, 2013). By the
means of this, personal goals and objectives of individuals are encouraged and promoted with
which leader motivates them to align their functioning to achieve the goals and objectives of the
business.
2.4 Conclusion
In summary to the above literature review it has been observed that there are different
leadership style that makes varied impacts on the productivity and effectiveness of the business.
Various authors defines that, democratic leadership style is suitable because it helps in carrying
out the functioning of business through the means of team work which directly and indirectly
leads to increase the moral and motivational level of the employees. Nowadays, managers are
changing their approach as per the needs and wants of the situation so that desired results and
outcomes can be achieved. On the basis of above literature review it can be easily stated that,
leadership performance is identical with organisational performance. However, there are several
organization that focuses on success on the basis of leadership efficiency. Herein, to evaluate the
impact of leadership style on organisational effectiveness thoughts and perception of different
authors have been taken into account relating to varied leadership styles. All the leadership styles
have different approaches and it is the duty of individual or manager to make sure that they
select the best possible style according to the needs and wants of company so that employees can
be handled and managed in appropriate manner and overall functioning of business can be
enhanced. In context to retail industry which is considered as one of the most competitive
industry in the world requires proper management and execution of different approaches and
resources so that position can be maintained or improved within the target market (Adair, 2011).
Among the different theories of leadership and motivation linked with the organizational
effectiveness, the most prominent is transformational and transactional theory of leadership. It is
because, different authors stated that transactional leadership style is the approach through the
help of leader motivates employees or subordinates through a system of rewards and
punishments.
9

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
Research methodology can be regarded as the process of collecting data and information
for a particular investigation. It is concerned with the application of research tools and
instruments. The main objective of the methodology is to present the work plan of the study. It is
important to include the consideration of the concepts and theories which underlines the
following methods. It helps in addressing the research questions and hypothesis. The major aim
of this study is to measure the organizational effectiveness on leadership styles within the context
of Sainsbury organization.
3.2 Research instruments
Research philosophy
Research Philosophy can be regarded as a belief under which data about a particular
subject has to be collected, analysed and used. It is very useful in improving the quality of the
research. A conceptual amount of knowledge is offered in very meaningful manner by using the
research philosophy (Jackson, 2010). There are two kinds of philosophies which includes
interpretivism and positivism. For this study interpretivism approach has been applied because
this study demands collection of the primary data. On the basis of primary data collected, various
type of outcomes and conclusions have been framed. This has helped in deriving actual results
from which required conclusion has been developed (Kuada, 2012). However, secondary data
has also played an important role but the perception of manages of Sainsbury will be decisive in
terms of findings and results for presenting conclusion and recommendations.
Research design
It is regarded as the overall strategy which is used to achieve the integration between
different components of the study. It helps in taking the research into a coherent and logical
direction (Kuada, 2012). As a blueprint it will effectively address the issues and problems. There
are different types of designs which can be used by the researcher. These includes casual, case
study, experimental, prescriptive, exploratory etc.
For this study a combination of descriptive and exploratory design has been applied in
order to examine the organizational effectiveness on the leadership styles. Descriptive design has
been used because the research is related with a particular organization that is Sainsbury
(McBurney and White 2009). Here the researchers wants to gain some more information. It is
10

appropriate because it is context with a particular organization that is Sainsbury. Exploratory
design has been used because the researcher has identified an issue and is making efforts to add
some more information. This issue is the impact of leadership style on the effectiveness of the
organization (Merriam, 2009).
Research approach
It defines the framework under which the whole issue is to be investigated. It is more
useful in qualitative kind of investigation. There are two kind of approaches which includes
inductive and deductive. The inductive approach is applied with research questions and aims &
objectives. It includes the stages like observation/tests, pattern and theory (Collis and Hussey,
2013). Deductive approach is followed in case of acceptance and rejection of the hypothesis. It
include stages such as theory, hypothesis, observation and confirmation.
For this study deductive approach has been used by the researcher because the study does
not require development of any hypothesis. It is more concerned with making general
observations to the particular observations (Kumar, 2010).
Data Collection
In any research, it is required to collect certain amount of data so that brief information
about the research context can be attained. In this regard, data can be collected from primary as
well as from secondary source (Olsen, 2011). In present study, data has been attained from both
the sources so that research can be conduct as per the requirement. Primary data has been
obtained with the help of survey methodology in which semi-structured questionnaire has been
developed and distributed to the store managers of Sainsbury. This has been targeted because
they are the one that can brief about leadership and organizational effectiveness in appropriate
manner. The main purpose of using this approach is that it has assisted the researcher in
analyzing and evaluating different aspects of the selected topic in the best possible manner
(Punch, 2009). On the other hand, secondary data has been collected from sources like books,
magazines, online articles, blogs, journals, newspaper and other related. This approach has also
played a significant role as it helps in developing suitable and reliable theoretical base for the
researcher about different aspects of the selected topic so that in-depth analysis can be made in
effective and efficient manner (McBurney and White, 2009).
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Sampling
Sampling need to be employed so that data can be collected from confined participants.
For this, probabilistic and non-probabilistic are two types of techniques that can be engaged for
choosing sample. For present study, sample has been selected by applying non-probabilistic
technique. Here, convenient sampling has been practiced under which data is collected as per the
convenience of managers (Kuada, 2012). Considering the nature of topic selected for the current
study, the selected sampling technique has been appropriate because, managers of the company
are working with tight schedules, therefore their convenience must be considered. In this regard,
50 store managers of Sainsbury have been contacted and survey questionnaire has been
distributed to them so that on the basis of their convenience they can provide valuable and
reliable information and assist researcher in generating suitable findings for presenting reliable
conclusions and appropriate recommendations.
Data Analysis
In order to analyze the data, qualitative and quantitative are two sorts of techniques that
can be used by researcher. Since present research collects data from survey methodology with
the help of semi-structure questionnaire, therefore qualitative measures has been applied. In this
regard, thematic method has been used under which themes have been developed based on the
questions and findings are presented in graphical manner so that readers and learners can easily
understand the responses of managers (McBurney and White, 2009). From this, appropriate
results have been attained by evaluating responses of the managers of Sainsbury.
Ethical Considerations
While carrying out a study it is essential that researcher should maintain the ethical
framework. It is because of the fact there are several ethical issues and obstacles that may affect
the course of researcher while conducting the study. Following are the ethical considerations that
are to be followed by the researcher:
 All the secondary information has been collected from valid and reliable sources.
According to the current study it is highly important because of the qualitative nature of
the topic.
 There is no misrepresentation of facts and figures. To do so researcher is focused on
maintaining the confidentiality of data generated through Sainsbury store managers.
12

 The objective of the questionnaire have been communicated to the participants before
starting the questionnaire process (Punch, 2009). However a prior consent has been taken
from the participants.
 Along with the collection of primary data, researcher also entails his focus on collecting
secondary data thus, it is important for him to select only those sources which are
authentic in nature and does not possess any restricted entry. It is because of the fact that,
at time restricted access may hinder in gathering valuable and reliable information for the
study which directly impacts on the overall outcome of the dissertation.
 The respondents can express their views and opinions with complete freedom.
 Any kind of biasness has been avoided at the time of data collection (Punch, 2009).
 Identity of the respondents has been kept secretive and issues such as replication,
duplicity, subjectivity etc have been avoided.
 In the current study, secondary data has been focused on and collected through the
studies and researches of different authors and scholars. Thus, taking ethical
consideration into account it is important for the investigator to site the work of each
researcher properly.
 Act of plagiarism has not been encouraged. Any kind of information has not been
collected directly from any source. Researcher has made proper use of citation and
referencing (Zikmund and et.al, 2012).
Research Limitations
To complete a dissertation is not an easy task it requires proper concentration and
research to initiate, execute and generate desired results and outcomes. In this process, different
obstacles and problems that affects the course of researcher. Following are the certain limitations
that this study contains:
 Quality – Research is also performed on the basis of secondary sources. This kind of data
is required to be collected from valid and reliable sources. Lack of quality may not be
able to bring the desirable results (Denscombe, 2012). Further, it may leads to create
disinterest within the readers and learners.
 Sample size – Selection of an appropriate sample size is very crucial. Sample size has to
be selected according to the requirements.
13

 Lengthy process: Conducting a dissertation is a lengthy process because different
sections or chapters are required to be carried out in effective and efficient manner.
Especially to gather data from different sources. In the present study, both secondary and
primary methods have been employed to gather data on impact of leadership style on
organisational effectiveness thus, researcher requires adequate amount of time to acquire
the information (Olsen, 2011). But limited time is available for the researcher to carry out
the entire study which may hamper the quality of data collected.
 Lack of time – Time is the biggest constraint in the research process. The collection and
processing of data requires lot of time. Hence researcher is required to adopt appropriate
time management strategies (Punch, 2009).
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CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction
Once the data is collected through different sources it is important for the researcher to
analyze the data so that suitable findings and results can be generated. However, it is considered
as one of the most significant chapters of the study because it assist researcher to present his
findings on the basis of gathered data. In the current study, qualitative analysis has been focused
on in which thematic analysis is selected through the means of which different theme has been
plotted on the basis of questionnaire so that responses of respondents can easily be evaluated and
presented in attractive manner. Further, graphical presentation has been used to show case the
findings in order to enhance the convenience for readers and leaners.
4.2 Analysis
According to the methods employed in the present study, questionnaire has been
developed on impact of leadership style on the organisational effectiveness and distributed to 50
store managers of Sainsbury so that reliable and suitable information can be collected and
appropriate analysis can be made.
Theme 1: Store managers of Sainsbury changes their leadership style according to the
situations
Store managers of Sainsbury changes their leadership style
according to the situations Respondents Percentage
Democratic 10 20
Autocratic 8 16
Transactional 9 18
Transformational 11 22
According to the situation 12 24
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Democratic
Autocratic
Transactional
Transformational
According to the situation
10
8
9
11
12
Store managers of Sainsbury changes their
leadership style according to the situations
Findings:
From the above graphical presentation, mixed responses has been generated when asked
to the store managers of Sainsbury that which type of leadership style they prefer. However, 12
out of 50 respondents said that they changes there leadership approach according to the situation
while, 11 of the respondents prefers transformational. Further, 10 of the managers undertake
democratic as their leadership approach whereas, 8 and 9 respondents employ autocratic and
transactional leadership approach respectively.
Interpretation:
On the basis of above findings it has been evaluated that, there are various leadership
styles available and it is the trait and characteristics of the individual to select the particular.
However, most of the store managers changes their leadership style as per situations because it
assist them to handle the people and other resources in effective and efficient manner. On the
basis of secondary research it has been identified that, among the different theories of leadership
and motivation linked with the organizational effectiveness, the most prominent is
transformational and transactional theory of leadership. It is because transformational assist in
motivating the employees while transactional assist in developing trust, loyalty that encourages
subordinates to put extra efforts and generate desired results.
Theme 2: Leaders always encourages their subordinates to follow the set standards
Leaders always encourages their subordinates to follow the set
standards Respondents Percentage
16

Always 32 64
Rarely 12 24
Never 6 12
Always Rarely Never
32
12
6
Leaders always encourages their subordinates to follow
the set standards
Findings:
From the above findings it has identified that, around 64% of the store managers
motivates or encourages their subordinates to follow all the set standards or procedures. While
24 percent of respondents state they rarely encourage their employees to abide the defined
procedures. Whereas, only 12% of the store managers of Sainsbury never motivate their
employees to follow proper process.
Interpretation:
Looking at the functioning of retail industry there are different standards and procedures
that employees have to follow in order to carry out the functioning. Thus, it is the duty of store
managers of Sainsbury to make sure that they encourage or motivate their employees to follow
all the rules and regulations so that they can carry out operations effectively. Different types of
leadership styles or approaches are used by the managers to motivate and encourage the
performance of employees so that overall effectiveness of the firm can be improved.
Theme 3: At Sainsbury store, freedom is offered to the employees
At Sainsbury store, freedom is offered to the employees Respondents Percentage
Yes 46 92
17

No 4 8
46
4
At Sainsbury store, freedom is offered
to the Employees
Yes No
Findings:
According to the generated results, employees of Sainsbury are given better space and
freedom to carry out their operations so that they can satisfy the needs and wants of customers to
the utmost level. Expected results have been identified when managers of Sainsbury were asked
about whether they provide freedom to their employee at workplace. In this regard, 46 out of 50
store managers are happy to provide freedom to their employees whereas only 4 managers wants
their employees to work according to their strategies.
Interpretation:
Different leaders have different approaches towards their way of working. Similarly,
store managers of Sainsbury are also different from one another and prefers to work as per their
way. But when asked about freedom to employees, high percentage of managers were in favour
to this fact and provide freedom to their employees. According to the secondary research,
rationale behind providing freedom or space to employees at the stores is that they are
responsible for meeting expectations of customers and if top level management want to attain
higher customer satisfaction employees should be given authority to work accordingly because it
will assist workers in understanding the needs and wants of customers effectively and providing
them best level of services for higher satisfaction.
18

Theme 4: Employees perform well because of leadership style of manager
Employees perform well because of leadership style of manager Respondents Percentage
Strongly Agree 12 24
Agree 15 30
Neutral 10 20
Disagree 8 16
Strongly Disagree 5 10
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
Disagree
12
15
10
8
5
Employees perform well because of leadership
style of manager
Findings:
From the above bar graph it has been identified that, most of people agreed to the fact
that their way of leading the employees is helping their course of performing tasks and
operations effectively. 27 out of 50 respondents agreed to this fact while 10 out of 50 are neutral
about the fact and they support their leadership style to encourage and motivate employees to
perform well. Whereas, remaining 13 respondents disagree to this fact because they thinks that
not only the leadership style enhances the performance of employees.
Interpretation:
There are various organisations which seek efficient approaches to enable themselves to
outperform others mainly focuses on the effect of leadership. In such companies, team leaders
are believed to play vital role in shaping the collective norms within the business to assist teams
to cope with changing environment and generating desired results and outcomes. Therefore, to
19

enhance the performance of employees it is important for the store managers Sainsbury to lead
the people in effective and efficient manner. Along with this, he/she is highly responsible for
motivating or encouraging the individual to put valiant efforts and match the set standards so that
corporate goals can be achieved in the best possible manner. Manager should organize meeting
sessions at regular interval so that each employee should be given proper guidance regarding the
way of functioning so that he/she may be driven with confidence to execute their work
effectively which indeed leads to attain organisational effectiveness.
Theme 5: Leadership style used assist in encouraging employees to improve customer
satisfaction at the store
Leadership style used assist in encouraging employees to improve
customer satisfaction at the store Respondents Percentage
Strongly Agree 10 20
Agree 18 36
Neutral 8 16
Disagree 8 16
Strongly Disagree 6 12
10
188
8
6
Lea der ship styl e used a ssi st i n encour a g i ng
empl oyees to i mpr ove customer sa tisfaction a t
the stor e
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral
Disagree Strongly Disagree
Findings:
From the graphical presentation varied results have been evaluated when store managers
of Sainsbury were asked about the fact that is their leadership style helping the course of
20

employees in enhancing the level of customer satisfaction. In this regard, 10 out of 50
respondents strongly agree to this fact and states that adopting proper leadership style is
necessary to deal with employees in retail sector. Similarly, 18 of the remaining respondents
agreed to this fact and said that they make effective use of different leadership approaches to
manager and control the employees so that they can generate effective results in diverse
situations. While 8 out of 50 respondents were neutral to the fact as they cannot say whether it’s
their leadership style or dedication of employees helping in enhancing the level of customer
satisfaction. On the other hand, 14 of the remaining respondents disagree to this fact because
they thinks it is the duty and responsibility of employees to satisfy customers and they have to
enhance it despite of good or bad leadership.
Interpretation:
On the basis of above findings it has been evaluated that, operating in such a competitive
market it is important for the Sainsbury to satisfy the needs of its customers in order to retain
them for long periods and maintain the position within the competitive environment. However,
different authors illustrated that it is the responsibility of store manager in retail sector to ensure
that he/she uses appropriate leadership approach so that they can mould the functioning of
employees to according to the need of situation as well as encourage them to put in extra efforts
so that desired results can be achieved in the best possible manner. Further, leaders are
responsible to motivate followers to surpass their own expectation of self-interest for the sake of
achieving organizational goals and objectives. By the means of this, personal goals and
objectives of individuals are encouraged and promoted with which leader motivates them to
align their functioning to achieve the goals and objectives of the business.
Theme 6: At time employees outperforms the tasks and achieve desired results
At time employees outperforms the tasks and achieve desired
results Respondents Percentage
Yes 44 88
No 6 12
21

44
6
At time employees outperforms the tasks
and achiev e desired results
Yes No
Findings:
Expected outcomes has been generated when respondents were asked about the fact that
is their leadership style helping the employees to put in extra efforts to accomplish the tasks or
work in effective and efficient manner. However, 88% of the store manager were in favour to
this fact and stat that at times employees outperforms the tasks what was not even expected from
them. While only 12% of store managers were disagreeing to this fact.
Interpretation:
Leadership styles play significant role in enhancing the performance of the employer as
well as employees. Operating in retail industry it becomes essential for the store manager to
undertake better leadership approach as per the demand of situation so that the suitable and
reliable results can be generated. In context to retail industry which is considered as one of the
most competitive industry in the world requires proper management and execution of different
approaches and resources so that position can be maintained or improved within the target
market. Therefore, having effective leadership assist store manager in gaining the trust, loyalty of
the employees which encourages them to put in valiant efforts to achieve the objectives of the
business and positively contributes towards the success of the business enterprise in highly
competitive environment.
4.3 Conclusion
In conclusion to the above analysis it has been identified that, leadership styles play
significant role in enhancing the effectiveness of an organisation. However, different leadership
22

styles are being employed by the store managers of the Sainsbury so as to motivate or encourage
their subordinates and influence them to carry out the work in effective and efficient manner.
Further, it has been identified that most of managers prefers to change their leadership style
which is suitable as per the situation and assist them to lead people in right direction and guide
them to attain desired results and outcomes. Furthermore, operating in such a competitive
environment leadership approach assist the managers to implant dedication and loyalty within
the employees so that they can commence their work in more reliable manner. In addition to it,
analysis identifies that offering freedom and space to the employee at the store helps them to
carry out their work in more reliable and suitable manner which directly leads to enhance the
level of customer satisfaction and overall helps in improving the organisational effectiveness.
23

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
From the above study, it can be conclude that the leadership style which has been adopted
by a business enterprise has impact on its overall effectiveness. In simpler terms, leadership is
defined as the act of leading people and directing their efforts towards accomplishment of some
common objectives and goals. In the present scenario, motivation and performance of employees
is greatly affected by the kind of leadership which organization has adopted. It has been asserted
that there are different type of leadership styles such as democratic, autocratic, transactional and
transformational which are used to businesses to manage and maintain their workers. From the
above study it can be concluded that excellent leader are the one which not only motivate or
encourage their team member but also focuses on satisfying their needs in order to achieving
organisational effectiveness. It can be also stated that there is a kind of direct relationship
between performance of businesses enterprise and the kind of leadership it has adopted. Further,
every leader is required to seek for the ways through which employee performance can be
enhanced and organizations can be able to achieve their goals and objectives. After carrying out
the entire study, it can be expressed that Sainsbury is one the leading chain of supermarkets in
the country. Further, it has been observed by the researcher that rather than focusing on one
particular leadership style, the brand uses different types of leadership as per the situation. The
common style which Sainsbury has adopted includes transactional and transformational. This has
helped the organisation in creating satisfaction among its employee and enhance their
performance. Manager faces issue with regards to adopting standard leadership style due to
differences in the culture and beliefs of employees. Further, leader faces issue due to differences
in the personality of employees and this certainly affects the business operations. Therefore,
leaders need to incorporate different set of styles in order to manage the workforce in a desired
manner. This present research has helped in assessing whether applying different set of styles
affects the business operation or not.
After carrying out the above study it can be concluded communication and productivity
of business enterprise is affected by the leadership style it has adopted. For instance leaders such
as bureaucratic leader always look forwards to slow up the communication in order to examine
every part of the functioning. This directly results in lowering down the productivity and
efficiency of organizations. From the information collected by both primary and secondary
24

sources, it can be concluded that it is the leaders which always assists and guide employees to
follow the quality standards developed by Sainsbury. This directly helps the brand to enhance its
overall effectiveness and become more productive. In the present scenario, the competition
among businesses in retail supermarket industry has become so intense that it not easy for
businesses such as Sainsbury to attract customers and enhances its overall profitability. It has
become essential for the brand to focus on improving its overall effectiveness on regular
intervals. On the other side of this, it can be concluded that Sainsbury provides freedom to all its
staff members and it creates sense of satisfaction among them. From the primary and secondary
information collected it can be stated that employer are able to enhance overall performance of
employees by allowing them to present their views and opinions. In leadership styles such as
democratic style, workers are allowed to become part of decision making process and they are
also encouraged to present ideas which can be beneficial for organization. This creates healthy
environment at workplace and also enhance motivational level of employees. Furthermore, in
such situations staff members are also able to understand customer need effectively and satisfy
them in the best possible manner. This directly results in improving rate of customer satisfaction
and overall performance of an organization. From the information collected by various sources, it
can be also concluded that style of leadership directly affect motivational level and performance
of workers. On the other side of this, it can be concluded that different leadership style has its
own set of advantage and disadvantage which are required to taken care of. Along with this,
reviews should be encouraged from employees regarding which is the best leadership style
according to them.
Recommendation
On the basis of the above findings and conclusion study, it can be stated that leadership
style has a direct impact on overall effectiveness of organization. Suitable style creates
satisfaction among workers and enhance organizations performance. On the other side,
inappropriate leadership style results in lowering down the overall effectiveness of an
organization. Some recommendation provided to Sainsbury are mentioned below as:
 It can be recommended that the brand should always ensure the fact that it has adopted
for suitable leadership style. It can be stated that rather than using one particular approach
it should use styles on the basis of situations and circumstances. For instances in situation
of fast decision making is required, it can go for autocratic leadership style.
25

 The competition among businesses in retail sector is increasing at a very good pace and
therefore, it can be recommended that Sainsbury is required to constantly focus on
motivation of employees. It is required by the organization to use different theories of
motivation to boost the morale of workers.
 It can be also recommended that Sainsbury should use effective monetary reward system.
This means that it should provide its workers with different type of monetary and non-
monetary rewards. It can be argued that reward policy should be fair and transparent in
order to create sense of satisfaction among workers of the organization.
 On the basis of above study, it can be recommended that Sainsbury should focus on
training and development program for employees. Further, in order to enhance the
effectiveness of entire organization, it is required by Sainsbury to identify the areas where
employees are lacking. On the basis of this identification, effective training plans can be
developed.
 In order to sustain in marketplace and achieve higher sales, it can be recommended that
the organization should seeks for developing new products at regular intervals. This will
support in maintain in overall interest of customers. Along with this, the provided
recommendation will also help Sainsbury to attract new customers and retain old ones.
It can be stated that all the above mentioned recommendations will support the brand in
motivating employees and getting the best out of them. In addition to this, it will also assists in
getting competitive advantage over other market players.
26

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APPENDIX
Questionnaire
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Ques1: How long have you been working Sainsbury?
 Less than one year
 1 year or more
 2 years or more
 3-4 years
Ques2: Which type of leadership style do you prefer to employ?
 Democratic
 Autocratic
 Transactional
 Transformational
 According to the situation
Ques3: Do you encourage your subordinates to abide standard procedures?
 Always
 Rarely
 Never
Ques4: Do you provide freedom to your employees at Store?
 Yes
 No
Ques5: Do you agree, your leadership style motivates employee to perform well?
 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
Ques6: Does your leadership approach encourage you to involve subordinates in decision
29

making process?
 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
Ques7: Is your leadership style encourages employees to enhance customer satisfaction?
 Yes
 No
Ques8: Does your leadership style encourage employees to make extra effort in achieving
targets?
 Yes
 No
Ques9: Please specify, how your leadership style aids in boosting the performance of the
company?
______________________________________________________________________
30