Impact of Leadership on Employee Performance: A Case Study of Woolworths Limited, UK

Running head: INDUSTRY RESEARCH
Impact of leadership on employee’s performance: A case study of Woolworths limited, UK
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Author Note

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INDUSTRY RESEARCH
Executive Summary
The report is based on the impact of leadership on the development of the performance of the
employees. The report focuses on Woolworths a popular supermarket located in Australia.
For the research, the store of Woolworths located in the UK is considered. The purpose of the
research is to identify ways by which leadership in Woolworths can help it maximise the
performance of the employees. For this, the research objectives and questions are stated that
help in guiding the work. The analysis of the literature review is based on understanding the
concept of leadership and the effectiveness of the leadership styles on the development of
capabilities of the employees. The research is done using mixed methodology, which takes
into account the application of interview as well as thematic analysis for the research. The
combined effort of the analysis as well as the evidence from the literature review has
provided an idea about the changes that need to take place in Woolworths so that it can
enhance the productivity of the employees.

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Table of Contents
Introduction and research problem.............................................................................................4
Introduction to the topic.........................................................................................................4
Industry partner......................................................................................................................4
Research field.........................................................................................................................4
Research problem...................................................................................................................5
Research aim..........................................................................................................................5
Research objective..................................................................................................................5
Research question...................................................................................................................6
Structure of the research.........................................................................................................6
Literature review........................................................................................................................7
Introduction............................................................................................................................7
Concept of leadership.............................................................................................................7
Effectiveness of the styles of leadership................................................................................9
Factors affecting leadership..................................................................................................11
Link of literature with the research questions......................................................................13
Gaps in the literature............................................................................................................13
Conceptual framework.........................................................................................................14
Summary...............................................................................................................................14
Methodology............................................................................................................................15
Overview of the research methodology................................................................................15

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Nature of research methods..................................................................................................16
Sampling method..................................................................................................................16
Data collection method.........................................................................................................17
Analysis of data....................................................................................................................17
Ethical considerations...........................................................................................................17
Findings....................................................................................................................................18
Discussions...............................................................................................................................22
Triangulating qualitative and quantitative findings..............................................................22
Comparing findings with literature review...........................................................................23
Linking with research questions...........................................................................................24
Recommendations....................................................................................................................26
Limitations and conclusion......................................................................................................27
Limitations of the research...................................................................................................27
Conclusion of the research...................................................................................................27
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................28

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Introduction and research problem
Introduction to the topic
Lo et al. (2015) is of the opinion that leadership is an important factor that helps in
building teams and at the same time provide an opportunity for the development of future
leaders in an organisation. However, the leadership styles need to be considered based on the
capability of the employees and thereby choice of leadership usually affects the performance
of the employees. The research analyses the effectiveness of leadership on the employees of
Woolworths and the manner in which it can be improved. The focus is on Woolworths stores
that are located in the UK.
Industry partner
Woolworths is a reputed supermarket that is headquartered in New South Wales,
Australia. It is one of the leading supermarkets in the country and provides intense
competition to other retail sectors in the country. The store has more than 995 stores across
the country and aims to expand more in other parts of the world (Woolworths group 2018).
The number of employees that the company possess is about 1115,000 across the stores and
distribution centres so that it can reach the target market and maintain the satisfaction of the
customers (Woolworths group 2018). At the same time Woolworths associates with the
producers and farmers of the country so that it can ensure that fresh products and services are
delivered to the customers on a regular basis (Woolworths group 2018).
Research field
The research field that is taken into consideration is the strategic management.
According to Iqbal, Anwar and Haider (2015), strategic management consists of identifying
the leadership strategies that are undertaken by organisations so that it can encourage the

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employees to reach the goal of the organisation. In this case, the strategic management in the
form of leadership adopted by the managers of Woolworths is undertaken so that
performance of the employees can be improved and the goals set by the organisation in the
markets of UK can be achieved.
Research problem
The issues that has been analysed in Woolworths is the decline in the productivity due
to the under performance of the employees. The employees are entirely depended on the
leaders and the guidance provided by the leaders. The research is conducted keeping in mind
the effectiveness of the leadership styles and its impact of the performance of the employees
in Woolworths. The leadership that is seen in Woolworths is the managerial practise that
affects the employees directly and is related to the chain of commands so that goals of the
organisation can be attained (Woolworths group 2018).
Research aim
The aim of the research is to identify the effectiveness of leadership strategies that are
adopted by Woolworths so that it can improve the performance of the employees. Leadership
and employee performance are important particularly in an area outside the host country. The
research takes into consideration the nature of employee productivity in the UK market of
Woolworths and the manner in which leadership can help in improving the market. Hence,
the objectives are based on the effectiveness of the strategic management that is undertaken
by the company.
Research objective
The research objective includes:
 To assess the meaning and concept of leadership

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 To identify the impact of different leadership style on the performance of the
employees working in Woolworths, UK
 To recommend strategies to improve the leadership in order to enhance the
performance of the employees
Research question
The research question includes:
 What is the meaning and concept of leadership?
 What are the impacts of different leadership style on the performance of the
employees working in Woolworths, UK?
 What recommended strategies can be provided to improve the leadership in order to
enhance the performance of the employees?
Structure of the research
The research set up an introduction, which helps in analysing the purpose as well as
the problems related to the topic. The aim, objective and research question related to
conducting the research are described so that the significance of the research can be
understood. The second part of the research is the literature review section, which helps in
identifying theories and models that are related to the research topic. Scholarly articles are
analysed in the section. The methodology section describes the methods used for conducting
the research and the research tools and techniques that are suitable for the research are
developed. Findings from the methods used are described so that a proper conclusion can be
reached which can help in accomplishing the purpose of the research. The limitations are
stated and recommendation to the researched company is provided.

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Literature review
Introduction
The section conducts an analysis of the works of reputed scholars that help in
understanding the topic of the research. The literature review can usually provide ideas about
the theoretical concepts that can be used for the successful completion of the research. In this
case the concepts related to leadership is analysed and the impact it has on the productivity of
the employees are identified. The literature review focuses to address the research questions
and analyse the gaps so that the research can be conducted in a proper manner and the
purpose of the research can be reached.
Concept of leadership
Bass and Bass (2009) stated that leadership is a method by which individuals provide
a sense of direction, implement plans and motivate people so that they can work effectively
as a team. The experience possessed by the leaders provides them with an opportunity to
impart a sense of teamwork and guide the individuals to maintain the goals stated by the
organisation. As stated by Cherry (2018) leadership helps to inspire workers so that higher
levels of teamwork can be formed and at the same time, ensue that continuous functioning of
the organisation takes place. Leadership is said to be an acquired trait and at that, people are
not born with the quality.
However, Dininni (2017) is of the opinion that leadership can be a natural thing as
well as some people are born with the charismatic style that helps in the development of
leadership. One of the characteristic of a good leader is the fact that they work continuously
for the betterment of the team and in the process gain experience so that they can be of
assistance to the team members. The leadership skills can improve by admiring the leadership