Impact of leadership style on employee’s performance with reference to Woolworths limited

This research paper discusses the impact of leadership style on employee’s performance with reference to Woolworths limited. It covers the description of instruments to be used in data collection, suitability of survey through questionnaire, reliability and validity of selected instrument, and more.

Running head: IBRM
Assessment 5: Design and Validation of Instruments
Impact of leadership style on employee’s performance with reference to Woolworths limited

IBRM 2
Table of Contents
Description of instruments to be used in data collection.................................................................3
Suitability of Survey through questionnaire....................................................................................4
Reliability and validity of selected instrument................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................9

IBRM 3
Description of instruments to be used in data collection
The data gathering is a procedure for collecting as well as, measuring the data about specified
variables while the formation of the solid system that allows one person to provide the answers
to the feasible questions together with, evaluating results. In investigation, the researcher can use
different instruments for getting the exact information. These instruments are a questionnaire
method, interviews, focus group, document analysis, observation method, and many others
(Brace, 2018). The research will be conducted for evaluating impact of leadership style on
performance of employees in terms of Woolworths Company. For this research, the investigator
will use the Survey through questionnaire method of data collection. It is a type of data gathering
method which is used by the research to gather, evaluate as well as, interpreting different views
regarding the set of individuals from wide range of the population. The methodology of the
survey is instructed via principle of statistics and moment of developing a sample in order to
demonstrating population and obtaining survey results in targeted time (Ponto, 2015). While
conducting investigation, it is the basic principle of an investigator to select the appropriate
method of data collection that can help in getting accurate results.
The survey through questionnaire will be conducted by the research to assess influence of
leadership style on performance of employees. This survey will help the researcher to evaluate
that leadership style will have positive or negative impact on performance of employees of
Woolworths. The researcher will prepare the open-ended questions for the survey that will be
asked from the employees of Woolworths. The open-ended questions will be used by the
researcher because it will provide accurate and reliable information for analysing the result of the
research concern. At the time of interpretation of the outcomes of the survey, the investigator
will find it easy due to open-ended questions that include responses in statement provided by

IBRM 4
respondents (Terrell, 2012). The employees of Woolworths Company are free to present their
views and opinions about the leadership style of the company and its impact on the performance
of employees. In the open-ended question, participants are free to give their opinion in detail
without considering alternatives, hotspots, and keywords (Ponto, 2015). For example: the
question would be related to ‘what are the impact of leadership style on your performance in
Woolworths?’ and ‘which kinds of behaviour demonstrated by your leader at the workplace?’
The investigator will keep the questions simple and at the point so that the respondents can easily
understand the question and can share the information. The clear meaning of the words in the
questionnaire will help the research to get the actual answers from the respondents. Thus, the
employees of the Woolworths Company will easily understand the questions about the leadership
style and their impact on the performance of employees (Solinski & Petersen, 2016). The
researcher will also make use of the Likert scale, which is a scale, used to represent the attitudes
of the people about the topic. In the research, this is widely used while conducting a survey as it
helps in measuring the attitudes and opinions of the employees about the leadership style in
Woolworth and their impact on performance. The main benefit of the Likert scale for the
investigator is that they can use a universal method for collecting the data that remains easy to
understand (Nardi, 2018). Along with this, performing the work with quantitative information, it
becomes easy for the researcher to conclude results, reports as well as, graphs from responses
that they get from the respondents. Thus, it will be an effective way through which the researcher
will be able to conclude the overall views of the respondents that will be used by the company to
bring improvement in their processes. Woolworths will get to know the views of employees
through this survey with accuracy and reliability (Hair Jr, et. al., 2015).

IBRM 5
Suitability of Survey through questionnaire
In this research, a survey through questionnaire would be used by survey software as it is
affordable. It would be selected because there is no requirement for living survey-takers to call
participants through phones and stand at Woolworths for gathering responses through
employees. This survey would avoid postage that could be costly in the mail mode of surveys.
Another reason for selecting the survey is that collecting data is simpler as compared to other
kinds of surveys. Because, this survey tool is developed via online survey software, responses
could be assessed automatically (Raguseo, 2018).
Survey through questionnaire would be practical and enables Woolworths for gathering an
effective amount of data through a larger set of individuals. It is also addressed that timeliness is
a significant advantage of this kind of survey instruments (Zikmund, et. al., 2017). Since, survey
through questionnaire could be hosted online and sent electronically through email. Furthermore,
responses could be gathered, evaluated and tabulated more promptly. In contrast to this, there
would be commonly longer waiting time for receiving responses back on the paper survey
(Lahiri, 2016).
Survey through questionnaire can reduce the biases. Since, the researcher would not speak with
participants for imparting verbal and body language hence some component of bias is declined
via an online survey. There would be also no need for a middle man such as there could be in
other survey forms. Due to this, outcomes could be considered to become more objective and
hence it is a more scientific mode of research (Zhang, et. al., 2016). Survey through
questionnaire makes competent to the company for covering wider geographical areas as
compared to conventional face to face survey instruments.

IBRM 6
This instrument is suitable because, in this, participants would be familiar with the
questionnaires. Furthermore, at one time, everyone would be able to provide a questionnaire.
Hence, employees are more willing to contributing to such kind of research (Babin & Zikmund,
2015).
In the current survey software, it is easy for businesses in terms of crafting online survey
techniques that match the requirements and goals of the business. The survey could be
personalized with a company logo and develops a more intimate feeling for the survey. It is
identified that the survey offers a higher degree of competency to demonstrate higher population.
Due to larger number of individuals who answer a survey, collected data possess an effective
description regarding relative characteristics about the general population entailed in research.
As compared to another instrument of data collection, the survey would be selected for
extracting information that is near for exacting attributes about a larger population (Malhotra,
2015). In this research, the researcher would require a large sample for general populations hence
they can allot an incentive in terms of cash that can be as low as $2 per person. In contrast to
this, other data collection methods like personal interviews and focus groups would not be
selected by a researcher due to taking more time (Church &Waclawski, 2017).
In existing times, online survey method is highly practiced for collecting facts from participants
as these instruments help in this research for addressing the impact of leadership style on
employee’s performance with reference to Woolworths limited. Due to the convenience of data
collection, an investigator is competent for gathering information through individuals around the
world (Babin & Zikmund, 2015). Questionnaire would be developed from literature as it would
help to support the opinion of participants with different author’s view. As a result, it would aid
to increase the reliability and validity of research outcome.

IBRM 7
Reliability and validity of selected instrument
Reliability is demonstrated as the extent to which same answers could be created by using same
instruments in more than one time. When research is related to high extent of reliability then
other investigators should be competent for developing same outcomes using same research
techniques under similar circumstances (Bell, Bryman, & Harley, 2018).
In this research, inter-rater reliability technique would be used to measure the responses obtained
from survey through questionnaire. The main reason for selecting this method is subjectivity of
assessment. For example: Impact of leadership style on employee’s performance with reference
to Woolworths limited could be analysed using survey through questionnaire method by two
different assessors. In this way, inter-rater reliability is related to extent of differences between
two assessments (Kokolakis, 2017).
Following things would be considered in measuring reliability:
Have a totally visible and systematic strategy for data collection from sources.
Keep audit trail, documenting clearly flow as well as, processing of information.
Member checking for making sure approach is valid and researcher would draw information by
practicing specified strategy. Researcher would also depict the validity by having some type of
survey who can arrive at consensus when data is represented that was supposed to (Veal, 2017).
Validity of investigation could be illustrated as an extent where needs of scientific investigation
technique is implemented at the time of creating research findings. There are some kinds of
research validity that could be applied in research such as construct validity, external validity,
content validity, concurrent validity, internal validity, face validity, and criterion-related validity
(Terrell, 2012).

IBRM 8
In this research, construct validity would be applied for measuring the validity of research
outcome. This method would be selected for assessing the questionnaires that actually test
hypothesis they are measuring. For increasing the validity, researcher would emphasize on
feasible time scale for investigation. It would also consider suitable methodology and
considering characteristics of research (Solinski & Petersen, 2016).
It would also entail feasible sample technique for investigation. Furthermore, participants would
not be pressurized in any manner to choose particular selection among answer sets. It is
significant to note that threats of research validity and reliability could never be totally avoided
but researcher would make efforts for declining threats as much as possible (Raguseo, 2018).

IBRM 9
References
Babin, B. J., &Zikmund, W. G. (2015). Essentials of marketing research.Nelson Education.
Bell, E., Bryman, A., & Harley, B. (2018). Business research methods.Oxford university press.
Brace, I. (2018). Questionnaire design: How to plan, structure and write survey material for
effective market research. Kogan Page Publishers.
Church, A. H., &Waclawski, J. (2017). Designing and using organizational surveys. Routledge.
Hair Jr, J. F., Wolfinbarger, M., Money, A. H., Samouel, P., & Page, M. J. (2015). Essentials of
business research methods. Routledge.
Kokolakis, S. (2017). Privacy attitudes and privacy behavior: A review of current research on the
privacy paradox phenomenon. Computers &Security, 64, 122-134.
Lahiri, S. (2016). Does outsourcing really improve firm performance? Empirical evidence and
research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18(4), 464-497.
Malhotra, N. K. (2015). Essentials of marketing research: A hands-on orientation. Essex:
Pearson.
Nardi, P. M. (2018). Doing survey research: A guide to quantitative methods.Routledge.
Ponto, J. (2015). Understanding and evaluating survey research. Journal of the advanced
practitioner in oncology, 6(2), 168.
Raguseo, E. (2018). Big data technologies: An empirical investigation on their adoption,
benefits, and risks for companies. International Journal of Information
Management, 38(1), 187-195.
Solinski, A., & Petersen, K. (2016).Prioritizing agile benefits and limitations in relation to
practice usage. Software quality journal, 24(2), 447-482.

IBRM 10
Terrell, S. R. (2012). Mixed-methods research methodologies. The qualitative report, 17(1), 254-
280.
Veal, A. J. (2017). Research methods for leisure and tourism. Pearson UK.
Zhang, A., Luo, W., Shi, Y., Chia, S. T., &Sim, Z. H. X. (2016). Lean and Six Sigma in
logistics: A pilot survey study in Singapore. International Journal of Operations &
Production Management, 36(11), 1625-1643.
Zikmund, W. G., D'Alessandro, S., Winzar, H., Lowe, B., &Babin, B. (2017). Marketing
Research: Asia-Pacific Edition.Cengage AU.