Business Research Proposal: Leadership and Organizational Success

This research proposal investigates the critical need for effective leadership within organizations. It begins with an introduction outlining the research's purpose, followed by a comprehensive literature review that explores various leadership styles and their impact on employee management and performance, drawing on the works of scholars like Vloeberghs and Berghman, and Komives and Wagner. The proposal then defines specific research questions and objectives aimed at evaluating the need for leadership in organizational productivity, identifying the impact of leadership on employee performance, and ascertaining the relationship between leadership and employee motivation. The methodology section details the inductive research approach and the exploratory research design chosen for data collection, emphasizing the use of both primary and secondary data sources. The proposal highlights the significance of leadership in fostering employee motivation, improving organizational performance, and adapting to rapid changes in the business environment. This research aims to provide valuable insights into the importance of leadership in achieving organizational success and sustainability.

BUSINESS RESEARCH
(RESEARCH PROPOSAL)

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review............................................................................................................................3
Research questions...........................................................................................................................6
Aim and Objectives.....................................................................................................................6
Access and Ethics............................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Research Proposal is a concise and coherent summary of a proposed research which
includes several tools and techniques to reach towards the aims and objectives. Research
proposal sets out the central issues or questions that is intended to be addressed in the research
study. It also outlines the general area of study within which the research falls and it also refers
to the current state of knowledge which clearly depicts the relevancy of subject matter (King and
Nesbit, 2015). The present research study has been made on need of leadership in the
organization. Thus, in this respect, researcher has utilized several sources to complete different
sections and all the sources have been critically accessed in the research study. Along with that,
researcher has also discussed use of different tools and methods to reach towards the defined
research objectives. Moreover, discussion has been stated regarding the validity and feasibility of
the research methods.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Vloeberghs and Berghman, (2003) states that in the past years, leadership has emerged as
a new effective approach for employee management and this is typically employed in large
business organizations. The traditional concept of personnel management has gradually replaced
with the human resource management; hence it gives importance to the strategic integration of
new leadership styles into effective management of employees. This also has a direct impact on
employee performance. Different leadership styles are used as per the situations and which also
aids in avoiding all sorts of issues prevailing in the organization. Thus, in this respect Vloeberghs
and Berghman (2003) argued that the need to develop better leadership styles is becoming
increasingly important to all the organizations. The significance of leadership style increases in
the services sector; hence this is the core reason it is applied chiefly in all the organizations
because it has direct impact on economic development. Therefore, the development and growth
in services sector ensures the overall growth of national economy, especially in a developing
country. This is another dimension for which business entities are greatly focusing on prominent
leadership (Komives and Wagner, 2012).
In contemporary world, it is essential for all the organizations to emphasize towards
competitive advantage and thus to accomplish the same, firms are using organizational resources

in appropriate manner. Regarding this, the role of human resource management needs to be
stated critically. Leadership is an important aspect that plays crucial role in managing the interest
of employees and this is also another important dimension through which long term
sustainability and competitive advantage can be accomplished. Moreover, it is also essential for
the leaders to change the style of leading so that employees can give their consent to follow the
directions given by the leaders. Leadership is an art of influencing people in which leader has to
develop such personality through which aims and objectives of the organization can be met
(Moran, Harris and Moran, 2011).
Employees work under the direction of leaders; hence leaders have to be more
intellectual and capable so that they can meet up the requirements of employees. The importance
of leadership in an organization cannot be overemphasized because leadership is a major element
that sets successful and unsuccessful aspects of the organization. Karp, (2013) said that
behavioural changes are observed in employees especially at the time when leader is supportive
and non-supportive. In this respect it can be said that leader has to show the concern towards
employee development and welfare. This is highly important for the purpose of managing and
retaining employees in the organization. Davies, (2008) here contended that employee
performance is all about job related actions; therefore considering the same, employer expects
better performance from the workforce. According to Cardno, (2005), organization evaluates the
performance of employees through accessing all their actions; however in most of the cases,
leader is entitled to give responses regarding employee performance.
Thus, viewing this most of the time employees feel positive when leader supports them;
however on the other hand getting negative comments leads to dissatisfaction. Certain times,
employees do not consider the areas of improvement and as a result, this creates differences
between leader and employees (Cardno, 2005). Thus, it is critical for the leader to show all the
aspects in appropriate manner so that employee interest can be retained. Leader works as a
source through which he can direct the employees to meet all the organizational aims and
objectives. Other than this, Moran, Harris and Moran, (2011) has stated that there are some
factors that impacts the employee performance and that are directly related to the concept of
leadership. Similarly, Komives and Wagner, (2012) has also concluded that employee's

performance can also be influenced due to changes in managerial standards as it directly relates
with the organisational practice.
The concept of leadership is important for the organization because it helps in
maintaining all the standards that are vital for the organization. It has been observed that in
modern era, organizations are emphasizing on rapid changes and transformations; hence for this
purpose, new approaches are being adopted by the business entities. Leadership is one such
dimension through which employee interest can be maintained and this can also assist in
enhancing the success facets of the organization. In this area, King and Nesbit, (2015) contended
that team management is an important aspect that needs to be managed; hence for that the
concept of leadership is required to be applied. At the same time, leader is entirely responsible to
manage the interest of team members. Leader needs to be motivated and encouraging personality
so that he can manage employee interest in positive manner (Davies, 2008).
Most of the time, employees gets discouraged and as a result they leave the organization.
This not only affects organizational productivity and performance; but also generates many
questions on performance of leaders. Leaders have to ensure that they are motivating and
encouraging the employees so that they can contribute in organizational growth and development
facets. In today’s ever changing environment, leadership is vital to delegate the roles and
responsibilities and this also aids in avoiding work constraints. With the help of leadership,
challenges and issues prevailing among the employees can be reduced on higher extent.
However, Jogulu, (2010) said that leadership can introduce new aspects in the organization;
hence for such purpose more importance should be given towards this dimension. It is also
observed that leadership is vital for getting the work done; hence this is the chief reason for
which organizations emphasize on this approach. Hence, it can simply be defined as a process of
influencing the activities of an individual or group towards the attainment of set goals (Karp,
2013).
Leadership is also important because it has a direct impact on organizational performance
and productivity aspects. Leadership has a direct impact on employee motivation and
encouragement aspects; hence it aids the workforce to perform all their roles and responsibilities
in effective manner. Apparently, leadership plays crucial role in influencing the behaviour of
employees and motivated employee always produces the best results for the organization

(Cravens, 2014). Thus, in this realm it is essential for the leader to ensure that employee interest
is being considered on higher extent. Leaders are also entitled to resolve all the issues in the
organization; therefore with their efforts proper environment can be developed in the business
entity. Further, considering the leading style, it can be said that leaders should change it
frequently as per the situation so that employee encouragement and motivation aspects can be
concerned in effective manner.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Aim and Objectives
The main purpose of proposed research is to understand the need of leadership in the
organization. In order to meet the aim of this investigation, several articles and journals have
been considered into account. Moreover, to fulfil the structured aim it is necessary for researcher
to consider some objectives which are classified as follows:
 To evaluate the need of leadership for organizational productivity.
 To identify the impact of leadership on employee performance.
 To ascertain the relationship of leadership and employee motivation.
These objectives have been prepared so as to segregate the study in different parts. At the
same time with the help of specific objectives, research topic can be segregated into diverse parts
and along with that, the process of data collection can be made easier. This is also crucial for
amending feasibility and reliability of the research work. Moreover, research questions are
important because that helps in specifying how the research work is going to be completed.
Apart from this, there were several topics that were considered at the time of selecting the
subject matter (Vloeberghs and Berghman, 2003). However, in this regard, researcher took this
topic because of the availability of data collection sources and also due to scope of success of the
study. These are the core reasons for which data has been selected for the current research work.
Moving on to the research problem, researcher has highlighted the concept of leadership and its
importance for the organization. At the same time, focus has been laid on role of leadership in
managing employee performance and productivity aspects.
The present research study is significant for the readers since it assists in identifying not
only the importance of leadership; but also the role it plays in organizational development.
Stating about this, focus has been laid on unexplored areas that helps the researcher to identify

the gap among all the considered literatures. Hence, it can be said that the section has made the
research work more feasible and authentic and it also aids in comprehending the plan of
implementation. The subject matter is highly crucial because that aids in specifying the role of
leadership in contemporary business management. Along with this, focus has been laid on
relationship between employee motivation and leadership. It is clear that leader needs to develop
his personality in such a manner so that he or she can become a source of encouragement for
others. At the same time, this has direct impact on organizational performance and productivity.
Therefore, the value of leadership should be strengthened on higher extent for optimum growth
and development (Cardno, 2005).
RESEARCH METHODS
Research is a common parlance that refers to searching of data to develop a specific
research study and it also includes several methodologies to reach towards the defined aims and
objectives (Green, 2004). This part needs to be directly related to aims and objectives of the
research work.
Research approach: Research approach is an imperative dimension of research study that
aids the investigator to collect data in an appropriate manner and this also gives directions to the
researcher as well. The types of research approach are inductive and deductive and in the present
research study, inductive approach will be selected (Hakim, 2012). Researcher will be selecting
the same because it is based on probability of conclusion; hence according to that information
related to new and generalized aspects will be included in the research work. Further, it will also
be selected because it gives scientific reasoning and also argues strong as well as weak, both the
points.
Research design: It holds more importance in the research study because it allows the
researcher to evaluate the data in appropriate manner. Similarly, research design also ensures that
data that is collected is feasible and authentic for the present work. The categories are case
studies, descriptive and exploratory. In the present study, exploratory design will be selected
because it is always applied for a particular situation in which data needs to be collected through
wide range of sources for the present subject matter (Green, 2004).

Data collection: This is the most important aspect that plays crucial role in the research
work. Under this section, researcher emphasizes on diverse sources so as to collect relevant data
and information about the subject matter. The techniques of data collection are primary and
secondary and in the present study, both will be considered. Under primary sources, employees
will be selected and interview will be conducted. Questions related to the need of leadership in
the organization will be asked consequently. However, on the other hand, under secondary
source, articles, books and journals will be reviewed so that researcher can complete a valid and
suitable research work (Gomez and Jones, 2010).
Rationale of the study: The present research study is beneficial for the readers and
researchers both because it contains data regarding contemporary topics. Thus, researchers
working in the same area of concern can consider the study.
Sampling: Sampling is the technique through which researcher can segregate the entire
population in a single area and after that a specific group can be selected for the present research
work. There are two techniques of sampling such as probabilistic sampling and non-probabilistic
sampling and in the present study, random sampling technique will be selected. Sample size for
the present research study is 30 employees (Goddard and Melville, 2004).
Research philosophy: It is an important way of conducting the research work in which
philosophical aspects are required to be considered. The categories are Positivism and
Interpretivism and in the present study Interpretivism philosophy will be considered. The
paradigm will be selected because it comprises several factors that aids in developing valid
arguments about the subject matter (Gobo, 2004). Researcher has also used it because it is
referred as a source of social constructionism and it will also allow the researcher to make
modifications in the research study. This can also increase familiarity of the researcher with the
study.
ACCESS AND ETHICS
While conducting the research study, researcher will ensure that only appropriate and
relevant material will be considered. Though, researcher had several constraints regarding time
and financial resources; however even after that the research will be made with suitable sources
and methods. Researcher will access only those sources which are copyright and whose data can

be considered for different purposes (Gavino, 2012). Apart from this, under ethical terms,
researcher will ensure not to disclose the identity of participants because that might create issues
among researcher and participants. Along with this, investigator will also take care of the issue
of plagiarism; hence data will not be copied from any of the web pages. Apart from this, prior
involving the participants in the research study, investigator will get consent from them. The
study will be protected in the secured database so that only authorized people can access it.
Alongside, time and money both the sources will be utilized in optimum manner (Hakim, 2012).

REFERENCES
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Cravens, X. C., 2014. The cross-cultural validity of the Learning-Centered Leadership
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Davies, S., 2008. Development through self managed learning. Development and Learning in
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Gobo, G., 2004. Sampling, representativeness and generalizability. London: Sage.
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Routledge.
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Komives, S. R. and Wagner, W., 2012. Leadership for a Better World: understanding the social
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