Leadership Theory Application: A Case Study of Mikano International

This report presents an analysis of leadership practices at Mikano International Limited, based on an interview with a store manager. It explores the application of transformational and situational leadership theories within the organization. The report discusses the manager's views on decision-making, promotional techniques, employee consideration, and conflict resolution. It highlights the use of a democratic leadership model and examines the organization's strategies for motivating employees and fostering a long-term perspective. The report also touches upon the importance of effective communication and understanding employee needs, referencing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The findings suggest that while the company primarily follows one leadership style, its practices often align with situational leadership principles. The report concludes with recommendations for improvement, emphasizing the importance of employee involvement in decision-making, collaborative working, and fostering self-motivation.

TABLE OF CONTENT
COMPONENT-2.............................................................................................................................3
INTERVIEW SESSION WITH THE MANAGER OF MIKANO INTERNATIONAL
LIMITED (Located in Nigeria) IN CONTEXT OF LERADERSHIP THEORY
APPLICATION IN REAL LIFE PRACTICES UNDER ORGANIZATION............................3
RECCOMENDATIONS .............................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

COMPONENT-2
INTERVIEW SESSION WITH THE MANAGER OF MIKANO INTERNATIONAL
LIMITED (Located in Nigeria) IN CONTEXT OF LERADERSHIP THEORY
APPLICATION IN REAL LIFE PRACTICES UNDER ORGANIZATION
The manager of MIKANO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Ltd has been interviewed to
deeply know about their leadership practices. It is a store manager who is responsible to look
into the operations of the store at the same time also report to the higher administration of the
company. He is responsible for management of the staff of his own store (Brown, Brown and
Nandedkar, 2019)
Transformational theory of leadership which says that the leader or a manager must
play the role of a transformer in the organization. Its duty is to transform the behaviour of the
subordinates working under him. There are some characteristics related to the leadership such as
openness to new ideas, broadening the minds, making employees committed, keeping long term
perspectives, trust building, and placing examples, inspire by owns ability (Andersen, 2018) and
driving to take risk. The gist of the theory says that the leader must be taken as role model and
make employees work together to achieve the goals of the organization irrespective of their
recognition.
As the manager asked about decision-making process in the organization where the
manager said “there is no need to make the employees involved in administrative decision-
making”. The point of view is not much suitable since transformational leadership is all about
democracy where everyone must be listened.
The views of the leader on promotional techniques are very dynamic, it generally
promotes them by leading from front. But not giving much opportunity to the employees to show
their leadership skills may demoralize their ability in long run, whereas transformational
leadership pays attention to the long term objectives of the organization.

Various literatures (Singh, 2020) has shown their ideas that transformation leadership is
about individual consideration but when the manager asked about his views on the consideration
of the employees the reply was “ to certain extent it is practised but in out Mikano International
Limited Stores can not do in on mass level due to higher number of employees”. It shows that in
the organization the managers are having problem of leading wide staff which do not allow them
to show their full potential.
The data collected from authentic sources has shown that in Mikano International
Limited they are using Democratic model of leadership. So considering the data some questions
asked about the model of leadership as a whole. The reflections of the leader were as similar as it
was expected. The organization is having a good hierarchy to lead the employees, and they are
having well-designed leadership pattern so as per their suitability can directly communicate to
the authority.
In the interview for gaining deeper understanding of the organizational practice with respect to
their leadership some tricky questions were also asked the management such as how do they
resolve dispute among their employees and what is the legitimate process of doing so. Here the
reply was really satisfactory the leaders at all level are given this responsibility to look after their
employees and if such things are happening then they resolve it as per the constitution of the
company. The manager said “ Dialogue is the most prominent root to sort out conflicts”.
Transformational theory specifically believes in keeping long term perspective so with
this regard the views of the leader were inclining to the notion of the literature. As per the data
collected in the industry staff turn over is around 35%, on the other hand in Mikano International
Limited this rate is around 29.9% so it would be fair to say in the organization at all levels of
leadership and management better and long term policies are being practised.
The theory of transformational leadership explore deeply about inspiration of employees.
It keeps the conviction that for surging the performance of employees in an organization for a
leader it is essential to motivate the employees and drive them to achieve the goals of the
organization. The manager of the particular store replied about some aspects to motivate their
employees. Effective communication is another aspects of transformational leadership and the
ideas of the manager pertain to communication have been enormous, which also paves way to
reduce the possibilities of conflicts among employees.

Maslow's Hierarchy theory suggests that different people are standing on different
stations of their needs so considering these aspects as per their needs they should be motivated so
maximum results can be curbed (Islam, Furuoka and Idris, 2021) The reply of manager was
fulfilling the needs of literature. In the organization better facilities are being provided,
employees with higher performance are also being admired, some monetary privileges are also
there to help those for whom money is a motivation.
The leadership of the company is a bit difficult since such forms of motivations are not
part of transformational leadership model but as per requirements it has been used in the
company. The manager also discussed broadly about transformation process in the organization
for this sake the company is using different techniques. Such as presenting leader as benchmark,
the efficacy of leaders has been strongly ensured and all the employees are strongly guided to
follow the vision of the organization (Hansbrough and Schyns, 2018.)
The question for further improvement to the leader was the salient highlight of the interview
where he has presented a range of new ideas to improve the leadership structure of the
organization. Ideas such as giving concern to the views of employees their participation in
decision-making. This is key element of transformational leadership.
MIKANO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED is one of the leading firm in retail sector that is
concerned with the large number of employees in organization. However, in terms of managing
the staff in organization it is highly important that, manager in the organization must use
appropriate leadership concept in the organization. Therefore, MIKANO INTERNATIONAL
LIMITED has been selected in terms of analysing the real life practices of the manager in
relation of performing roles and responsibilities of leaders and what literature of theories says
about the leadership (Princes and Said, 2022). Situational theory of leadership states that, only
adopting one type of leadership style in organization cannot helps in managing the effectiveness
of the organization (Lord and et.al., 2020). As there are numerous situations that are different in
nature has been faced in organization. Therefore, it is important to adopt the leadership style on
the basis of that. Thus, in order to analyse about the saying of literature in context of situational
theory of leadership open\closed questions has been asked from the Manager of MIKANO
INTERNATIONAL LIMITED. The manager has been asked, whether in your organization more
than one type of leadership style has been adopted or not.

Over this question the interviewee assured respond by saying “No, we are following one
type of leadership style however, the changes have been made in the implementation of
practices”. Thus, the response of the manager clearly states that, MIKANO INTERNATIONAL
LIMITED has adopted one type of leadership. However, when, there is need to be made some
changes in the implementation of the leadership practices then, the changes have been made.
Here, the minor difference has been evaluated in the saying of literature and the original
practices that has been adopted by the manager in MIKANO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED.
The another question that has been asked to the manger was that, “What are your measures in
terms of assuring motivation to the employees”. Over this the manager has said that “Involving
employees in decision making has been adopted by the company”. This clearly depicts,
MIKANO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED has adopted the concept of involving staff in decision
making. Democratic leadership theory states that, employees must give the opportunity in terms
of communicating their opinion in relation of any decision (Thompson and Glasø, 2018). While
taking the interview, it has been analysed that, in real life the same concept has been applied in
context of involving employees in decision making. Thus, in this concept the saying of literature
and the actual practice of manager in MIKANO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED has been proven
same. It is clearly stating that, involving employees in decision making can lead to assure
motivation and creates a sense of belongingness in the employees.
Furthermore, it has been asked to manager that, Does the members are prepare in terms of
accepting the changes and working in a team. The interviewee over this said “Yes, the staff is
highly able in terms of adopting the changes and works in a team”. The situational leadership
theory states that, the leader or manager in organization must prepare the employees in such
manner that, they can cop-up with every situation (Walls, 2019). Thus, here the same thing has
been evaluated. However, at the starting the manager has often said that the company has not
adopted more than one type of leadership. But, the practices and answers of manager are clearly
stating that, the manager has adopted the situational theory as the member are motivated in terms
of adopting different situations and works in a team. Moreover, the another attribute that has
been known while conducting interview, the values of leader that is important to the manager of
MIKANO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED. The manager has said that, the most important values
of leaders according to their perception is associated with understanding the employees and their
issues that are working as a barrier in the growth and development of the employees. In similar

manner, situational theory of leadership states same. This theory states that, it is important to
analyse the different situation that is aligned with the employees and on the basis of that, the
action needs to be taken in the organization (Hilton, Arkorful and Martins, 2021). Thus, the
manager of MIKANO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED assures same response that has been found
from the various searches in context of situational leadership theory.
While asking about the monitoring techniques of the leaders in the organization the,
manager of MIKANO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED revealed that, the observation has been
made and in this manner, the monitoring of employees has been done. Also, the manager has
revealed that, many-times the situation becomes so hard that leads to disturb the productivity of
employees. In such situation, the monitoring of the employee has been done and the major
situation that is causing issues for employee has been analysed and on the basis of the outcomes
the actions has been taken. Thus, this is clearly depicting that, in MIKANO INTERNATIONAL
LIMITED the concept of understanding the situation has been adopted and on the basis that, the
decision has been taken. Thus, same has been said in context of situational leadership theory, that
in an organization, the focus needs to be made over the, situation that has been arrived and on the
basis of that, the action needs to be taken (ISAAC, 2019). Thus, in this context the real life
practices have proven same as the literature says. However, the organization has adopted single
leadership theory. But, their practices are concerned with adopting the leadership concept on the
basis of situation.
RECCOMENDATIONS
The leadership in such a big organization is not an easy task yet the performance the
managers is great but there are a few suggestions for better performance. For the organization it
is inevitable to keep the employees out, they must be part of decision-making. It would be better
to promote collaborative working so eliminate conflicts from their roots. To motivate the
employees, the company is recommended to go with some other strategies as well, but they
should abide with the principles of transformational leadership where it is better to guide them
for self-motivation not being motivated by outside forces. At the end the most prominent
recommendation is to keep the leadership multidimensional but keeping transformational
leadership testaments in centre so can thrive better.

Adopting one type of leadership style is not appropriate and the real life practice of the
manger of MIKANO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED is clearly stating that, the organization takes
decision within analysing the situations. The manger’s response evaluated that, the change has
often been made. However, this leads to create the complex situation in organization. Therefore,
it is important to adopt the leadership style on the basis of the situation that has been arrived in
organization. As in the situational leadership theory, the manager analyse the situation and on the
basis of that, the most appropriate leadership style will be adopted (Mango, 2018). As a result,
the employees in organization feels highly motivated. Thus, MIKANO INTERNATIONAL
LIMITED needs to adopt leadership style on the basis of situations.

REFERENCES
Andersen, J. A., 2018. Servant leadership and transformational leadership: From comparisons to
farewells. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.
Brown, M., Brown, R. S. and Nandedkar, A., 2019. Transformational leadership theory and
exploring the perceptions of diversity management in higher education. Journal of
Higher Education Theory & Practice. 19(7).
Crede, M., Jong, J. and Harms, P., 2019. The generalizability of transformational leadership
across cultures: a meta-analysis. Journal of Managerial Psychology.
Hansbrough, T. K. and Schyns, B., 2018. The appeal of transformational leadership. Journal of
Leadership Studies. 12(3). pp.19-32.
Hilton, S.K., Arkorful, H. and Martins, A., 2021. Democratic leadership and organizational
performance: the moderating effect of contingent reward. Management Research
Review.
ISAAC, M.L., 2019. SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE BOOK OF SAMUEL. Journal of
Biblical Perspectives in Leadership, 9(1), pp.168-177.
Islam, M. N., Furuoka, F. and Idris, A., 2021. Mapping the relationship between transformational
leadership, trust in leadership and employee championing behavior during
organizational change. Asia Pacific Management Review. 26(2). pp.95-102.
Lord and et.al., 2020. Implicit leadership theories, implicit followership theories, and dynamic
processing of leadership information. Annual Review of Organizational
Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 7, pp.49-74.
Lotayif, M.S., 2021. Leadership in a Diversified Culture: Qualitative Perspective. International
Journal of Business and Management, 16(1), pp.110-115.
Mango, E., 2018. Rethinking leadership theories. Open Journal of Leadership, 7(01), p.57.
Princes, E. and Said, A., 2022. The impacts of project complexity, trust in leader, performance
readiness and situational leadership on financial sustainability. International
Journal of Managing Projects in Business.
Singh, S. K., 2020. Green innovation and environmental performance: The role of green
transformational leadership and green human resource management. Technological
Forecasting and Social Change. 150. p.119762.

Thompson, G. and Glasø, L., 2018. Situational leadership theory: a test from a leader-follower
congruence approach. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.
Walls, E., 2019. The value of situational leadership. Community practitioner: the journal of the
Community Practitioners'& Health Visitors' Association, 92(2), pp.31-33.

Appendix
Interview Questions
Q1 What do you think about leadership and which model is perfect as per your thoughts?
 From my point of view leadership is very essential for an organization, it is deciding
factor of profitability and performance of an entity. I think models depend on
circumstances, so as per predicaments it should be decided.
Q2 Should the employees given access to authoritative decision-making or not?
 Yes they should be given but to a pre-decided extent, I believe the time of top
management is precious, so they should not be disturbed but on the other hands it is right
of employees to make active participation.
Q3 How the conflicts among employees are resolved in your company?
 in our company there is a strong mechanism is installed to sort out such conflicts. If it is
normal then by arbitration we eradicate and if it is taking vital texture then are having our
internal constitution to sort out conflicts.
Q4 Don't you think that transformational leadership model is malfunctioning?
 I believe that this is all about the users and how do they use the models.
Q5 What is communication channel in your company?
 We are having a flexible model of communication so can help our personnels.
Q6 How do you motivate your employees?
 The employees have been motivated within understanding their needs and taking them in
consideration.
Q7 Have you ever found anything wrong in transformational leadership model?
 No, I don’t found anything wrong in the transformational leadership model.
Q8 What are your views to go for further improvement in the leadership practices of your
company?
 Leader must take decision on the basis of the needs of the employees.
Q9 Does your organization has adopted more than one type of leadership style?
 Yes, my organization have adopted the more than one type of leadership.
Q10 How does you assure motivation in the context of performing leadership?
 In context of leadership the motivation has been assured to employees within including
them, in decision making.

Q11 Does the members in your organization are able in terms of adopting different situations and
works in a team?
 Yes, the members are able.
Q12 In your opinion what are the major values of leader?
 The major values of the leader are associated within understanding the employees and
motivating them.
Q13 How does you measure the performance of employees at the work?
 It has been measures within analysing the performance with the help of performance
evaluation.