Leadership Management Report: Countdown Leadership Styles Analysis

This report provides an overview of Countdown Supermarket, its nature, and cultural context. It describes the individual cultural context of the author, highlighting experiences and influences. The report then discusses two contrasting leadership styles: democratic and autocratic. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of each style, providing a detailed comparison. The author evaluates these styles in relation to personal and organizational goal achievement, concluding that the democratic leadership style is the most appropriate for fostering employee engagement, motivation, and effective decision-making within Countdown. The report emphasizes the importance of participation and engagement in achieving organizational success.

Running head: LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT
Task 1
Overview of Countdown
Countdown is one of the New Zealand full service supermarket chain along with the
subsidiary of Woolworths New Zealand. Countdown stores are larger than average
supermarkets in New Zealand and the company was founded in the year 1981 and the
respective chain expanded their presence in more than 180 stores as of the year 2018
(Countdown.com.nz, 2019). The number of employees who are employed in Countdown
Supermarket includes 18000+ and it falls under the retail industry which is profitable in
nature. The key people involved in the foundation of the company include Natalie Davis who
is the managing director of the company.
Overview of Nature and Cultural Context of Countdown
The nature of the Countdown Supermarket is retail business and the culture of New
Zealand as a whole is Western Culture which is influenced by the unique business
environment along with various waves of multi-ethnic migration which is termed as dynamic
environment. The cultural context of Countdown supermarket is such that there is
relationship of trust while working with partners through collaboration and fairness
(Countdown.com.nz, 2019).
Moreover, the Countdown Supermarket has hard working competitive culture and the
employees are helpful and friendly. Furthermore, the company is committed towards building
strong and long-term relationships with the suppliers through equitable and fair dealings. The
mission is to add quality to life to the customers and people and vision is to become one of
the most responsible retailers in the market.
Description of Individual Cultural Context

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In accordance to the individual cultural context, ethnicity is the main factor which
helped me in working with diverse range of individuals during my internship phase. I have
various work experiences wherein in worked as an intern in different organizations and it
helped me in gaining knowledge on the appropriate leadership traits which will be
appropriate for managing the different tasks in an accurate manner.
I have pursued Mechanical Diploma for Bachelor of Arts from New Zealand and
Dr. Abdul Kalam is one of the role models I look up to as to understand the leadership traits
which will be beneficial in future in leading teams effectively. Dr. Abdul Kalam has been a
great inspiration for me as he was the most effective leaders who tried to understand the point
of view of individuals and supported their opinions. From his personality, I learned that
transparency and caring attitude are the most essential approaches which should be
maintained by me in order to achieve the organizational goals. As my main goal is to become
business man, therefore, I need to look for the innovative solutions to the different problems
with the innovative mindset. According to me, I feel that the organizational or team goals
play vital role in comparison to personal goals and it assisted me in gaining trust and faith of
the other team mates. In LG, my supervisors used to motivate the employees as they tried to
understand the basic needs which will be appropriate for improving the performance. With
the help of Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory, it can be identified that there are different general
needs of the employees which should be met by the supervisors as it will improve their
morale in performing the tasks. In my case, my personal goal is to become successful
business man in the future, therefore as a business person, I need to have proper leadership
skills along with taking different risks with competitive spirit as it will be beneficial in
improving the tasks which are performed by me and accomplishing them in a positive
manner. I feel when I will be working for my own company, I need to motivate the
employees as it will create high morale and there will be increase in productivity.

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While I worked with LG Company, I preferred to use the democratic leadership style
as it helped me in managing activities and include opinions of the different team members to
make them feel their decisions are being considered. With the help of democratic style of
leadership, I would be able to manage in Countdown supermarket as it will provide me in
dealing with my team members appropriately and the involved engagement will improve my
morale and performance.
Discussion of Two Contrasting Styles of Leadership that can be used
1. Democratic Leadership Style
The democratic style of leadership is one of the most effective kinds of leadership
which will allow me in working with the different team mates along with creating the job
satisfaction among the employees as well. While working with Countdown supermarket, the
democratic style of leadership is the appropriate style that can be adopted by me as it will
help me in managing the decisions in a positive manner. As Countdown Supermarket follows
the multi-ethnic approach, therefore it can be analysed that democratic approach is the most
appropriate style which will create positive working environment. As per the democratic
style of leadership, it will be assisting me in designing innovative solutions along with
creating solutions to the different organizational problems and issues (Western, 2019). It is
known as the participative leadership approach wherein the group members take a
participative role and it will be helpful for improving the morale of the employees and gain
competitive advantage. Through the democratic leadership style, the decision-making
approach can be effective as it will be including the team members in the process and their
ideas will be taken into consideration as well (Tight, 2019).
Advantages of Democratic Leadership Style

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As a democratic leader, there will be option for delegating the responsibility among
the members which will be facilitating the participation of the members in the organization or
the team (Solaja&Ogunola, 2016). Moreover, the empowerment of the team members is the
other approach which can be built in the democratic leadership style as it is the incumbent on
the different leaders to empower the different members in the team as it will make the leaders
equipped in a proper manner to accomplish the different goals appropriately.
By becoming the democratic leader, it will be helpful for me in providing solutions to
complex problems as they are the excellent ones in solving issues. There is inclusion of
greater participation from the different team members which encourages and fosters
participation of employees in organization (Slemp et al., 2018). The democratic leaders foster
the participation of group members as to generate creative solutions along with greater
innovation which will be helpful in addressing different problems and serve the company in a
better manner.
Disadvantages of Democratic Leadership Style
On the other hand, there are different kinds of disadvantages of the democratic style
of leadership as there is lot of uncertainty in the process as the democratic leaders can
become indecisive in certain kind of situations in business such as during crisis and in such
situations, the democratic leaders do not work in the authoritarian style (Khan et al., 2015). In
addition, the democratic style of leadership is time consuming process as the process of
consultation takes time and when the company have issue or project which is required to be
completed on time, the democratic leaders cannot work to the required timescales which
affects the overall effectiveness of the working environment negatively.
Furthermore, there can be different situations wherein the situation can be regretful as
there can be situations wherein the most appropriate benefit of the company can become the

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cons of the respective style of leadership (Iqbal, Anwar& Haider, 2015). In the respective
kind of approach, all the employees want that their ideas should be valued, and when the
same thing cannot be incorporated, it will include the regretful situation in the organization
and it will be affecting overall growth of the company negatively.
2. Autocratic Leadership Style
On the contrary, it is the other approach of leadership which can be adopted by them
in the future endeavours of the Countdown Supermarket. The authoritarian leadership style is
examined when the leaders will be dictating the different roles and goals which can be
achieved along with controlling the different activities in the organization (Fiaz,Su& Saqib,
2017). In Countdown, it can be used at certain positions as when the organization will be
facing difficulties, the talented top officials can take autocratic decisions which will be
helpful in saving the profitability of company. When the leader is most knowledgeable
individual in group, the autocratic leaders can take the different decisions which are effective
and fast in nature. In the different situations which are tough, the proper decision-making
capability is one of the easiest approaches which can be adopted by the leader to improve and
handle the situations appropriately. However, there is no such inclusion of creativity from
team members and the main emphasize is on following the different roles effectively.
Advantages of Autocratic Leadership Style
The first and foremost benefit of the autocratic style of leadership is that the decisions
which are made are done in a faster pace and there is no such dealing required for the
multiple levels of leaderships. There is no such pressure on the different employees that is
helpful in managing the overall effectiveness of the company (Carli, 2015). The level of
productivity is increased in the respective style as it influences the team members in
following the decisions made by leaders and it leads to success. Lastly, the autocratic

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leadership helps in reducing the number of mistakes that can occur and the main reason is
that the different team members have the instructions which are pre-determined and it is
helpful in managing the overall effectiveness.
Disadvantages of Autocratic Leadership Style
On the other hand, there are different disadvantages of the autocratic style of
leadership in which it can be identified that it can creates insecurity within the approach of
leadership as the team members do not have any chance to showcase their opinions and it
affects their morale in performing the different activities. Moreover, the autocratic style of
leadership creates slack of feedback as the leaders do not encourage any kind of feedback and
there is no scope of further improvement (Amanchukwu, Stanley&Ololube, 2015). In
addition, there is reduction or elimination of innovation in the process of the leadership which
affects the overall productivity of the company negatively. There is encouragement of the
high churn rate that affects the overall efficiency of the autocratic leadership. When the
individuals feel that there is no scope of the opportunities, they try to look for other options.
Evaluation and Conclusion of One Leadership Style for Leading Personal and
Organizational Goal Achievement
From the above comparison and analysis, it can be identified that the most appropriate
style of leadership which can be helpful for leading the personal and organizational goal
achievement as it will be helpful in managing the tasks appropriately. The Democratic
Leadership Concept is one of the most appropriate aspects which help in managing the
different tasks in an effective manner. With the implementation of the democratic leadership,
it will be helpful in enhancing the productivity of the different staffs and it will improve their
morale in performing the different activities appropriately.

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The democratic leadership approach encourages the involvement of the team,
participation among the employees and engagement of the team members appropriately. It is
known as the participative style of leadership as it depends on participation of employees and
their viewpoints are considered accurately which will be beneficial in improving the morale
of employees which is beneficial in improving the performance of the individuals. It will
increase the level of motivation among employees as they will feel that they are motivated
and it improves the overall satisfaction among employees.
Through the implementation of the democratic leadership style at Countdown, it will
help in fostering the sense of participation in the organization appropriately. The greater
participation among the different employees will be applicable in participation in the process
of decision-making and it will be providing the creative solutions to problems that will serve
the organization in a better manner. In the Countdown Supermarket, the democratic
leadership will be working best in the situations wherein the group members are skilled and
they are eager in sharing knowledge appropriately as well. In addition, it helps in building the
team-based relationships wherein the people work as the leaders which tends to form closer
relationships with the ones in change.
As per the democratic leadership style, the organizational members will be focusing
to achieve the organizational as well as personal goals wherein my personal goal is to become
successful business man. I feel that as a successful business person, I require understanding
the different concerns of the employees which will be motivating them and it will be
increasing productivity of the company as well. The employees are motivated as to deliver
their best which will be helpful for the company in achieving the goals in a positive attitude.
As per me, in the different workplaces, the team morale is the most effective aspects which
should be maintained as it will encourage the employees in delivering their best and it will
improve the overall productivity of the organization appropriately as well.

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With the help of the Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory, he argued that the people motivate
themselves as they are able to satisfy their desired needs. It can be identified that the different
general needs of employees are required to be maintained by higher officials of the company
which will be appropriate in managing the morale of employees appropriately. As a leader, I
need to understand the different kinds of preferences of the employees which will be
beneficial in becoming effective team leader. As a business person, I would require to
understand the needs of employees which will be beneficial for generating high productivity.

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References
Amanchukwu, R. N., Stanley, G. J., &Ololube, N. P. (2015). A review of leadership theories,
principles and styles and their relevance to educational
management. Management, 5(1), 6-14.
Carli, L. L. (2015). 18. Women and leadership. Handbook of Gendered Careers in
Management: Getting In, Getting On, Getting Out, 290.
Countdown.com.nz (2019) Online Supermarket: Online Grocery Shopping & Free ... –
Countdown (online) Retrieved from https://shop.countdown.co.nz/ [Accessed on 11th
May 2019]
De Hoogh, A. H., Greer, L. L., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2015). Diabolical dictators or capable
commanders? An investigation of the differential effects of autocratic leadership on
team performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(5), 687-701.
Fiaz, M., Su, Q., & Saqib, A. (2017). Leadership styles and employees' motivation:
perspective from an emerging economy. The Journal of Developing Areas, 51(4),
143-156.
Iqbal, N., Anwar, S., & Haider, N. (2015). Effect of leadership style on employee
performance. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 5(5), 1-6.
Khan, M. S., Khan, I., Qureshi, Q. A., Ismail, H. M., Rauf, H., Latif, A., & Tahir, M. (2015).
The styles of leadership: A critical review. Public Policy and Administration
Research, 5(3), 87-92.
Slemp, G. R., Kern, M. L., Patrick, K. J., & Ryan, R. M. (2018). Leader autonomy support in
the workplace: A meta-analytic review. Motivation and emotion, 42(5), 706-724.

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Solaja, O. M., &Ogunola, A. A. (2016). Leadership style and multigenerational workforce: A
call for workplace agility in Nigerian public organizations. Leadership, 21, 46-56.
Tight, M. (2019). Mass intellectuality and democratic leadership in higher education.
Western, S. (2019). Leadership: A critical text. SAGE Publications Limited.

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Task 2- Factors Influencing Leadership
Ethics
The ethics is defined as the moral principles which help in governing the behaviour of
the individuals or the conducting of activity appropriately. As commented by Xie et al.
(2018), the ethical leadership is defined as the aspect which is directed by the respect for the
different ethical beliefs along with values and right of others. The ethical leadership is related
to the different concepts such as honesty, consideration, charisma as well as fairness that
plays major role in managing the different activities accurately. As opined by Vargas (2015),
the ethical leaders work in order to create open conversation along with working practice
which encourages the sharing of the ideas, vision along with knowledge wherein the benefit
of the overall learning is being shared appropriately.
The ethical leaders are the ones who embodies purpose as well as the values of the
organization or the team in which they are performing the different activities. The leaders are
driven to perform to the best of their ability and they compels the employees or the team
members to do the same (van der Voet, 2016). In such scenario, the maintenance of ethics
plays a vital role in personal and professional capacity as it marks the ethical leader as the
one who can stand out in the crowd in comparison to the others. In order to become the
ethical leader, there should be inclusion of honesty and they should be open in all the
situations and with all types of individuals present in the group.
In accordance to Shao, Feng and Hu (2016), the proper understanding of the integrity
approach is the other fundamental aspect to define the role of ethical leader. Within the
organization, the ethical leader can influence and lead others when they are able to maintain
consistent type of energy which remains determined, forthright along with morally focused.
The ethical leaders influence as well as direct from the profound kind of place of analysing

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the principles, need and value for clear acceptance of the role which is played by them in
enabling the others to grow in the professional career as well as gain self-worth knowledge.
In order to become the ethical leader, the individuals must be willing to examine the different
beliefs along with goals and proper understanding of personal weaknesses and strengths are
required to be analyzed which will affect the other individuals (Rodrigues & Ferreira, 2015).
The ethical leadership provides power for creating workplace community wherein the
different employees are trusted to perform their tasks and there is no inclusion of
micromanagement.
Moreover, the ethical leaders need to display the reflect the good image of the
business which will be helpful for them in attracting and retaining the talents. The ethical
leadership is one of the appropriate aspects as it creates huge impact on the behaviour of
followers’ attitudes along with behaviors to raise the culture of the organization in an
appropriate manner (Nguyen et al., 2017). When the leaders align themselves with
organizations, there are different set of norms which makes the organizational culture and the
leaders need to be fair and just and they should be committed towards development of sense
of community and team spirit. Lastly, the welfare of the other employees is the primary
concern which should be maintained by them as it will be improving the overall effectiveness
of the firm.
Social Responsibility
In the complex business environment, it can be identified that the corporate social
responsibility plays a vital role in the leadership related activities. As commented by Iqbal,
Anwar and Haider (2015), the culture of the social responsibility and the ethical leadership
plays a major role in setting tone for productivity and it helps the business to engage with the
different concerns of the employees, stakeholders along with the customers of the company.