Leadership Styles, Networks & Employee Performance at John Lewis

This report investigates the impact of leadership styles and inter-organizational networks on employee performance, focusing on a case study of John Lewis. It begins with an introduction outlining the background, rationale, and problem identification related to leadership styles in the retail sector. The literature review explores concepts of leadership styles and inter-organizational networks, examining different leadership methods and their association with employee performance. The research methodology employs a qualitative approach using questionnaires for data collection, with considerations for research philosophy, type, approach, data analysis, sampling, reliability, validity, and ethical considerations. The results and discussions sections present findings from the survey, analyzing the effectiveness of different leadership styles and the role of organizational networks. The report concludes with recommendations for John Lewis and limitations of the study, highlighting the importance of selecting appropriate leadership styles to improve employee performance and foster healthy organizational networks. Desklib provides access to this report and many other solved assignments.

RESEARCH METHODS/ THE IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP
STYLES AND INTER - ORGANISATIONAL NETWORKS
ON EMPLOYEE’S PERFORMANCE: A CASE OF JOHN
LEWIS.

Abstract
This dissertation has discussed about leadership style and it influence employee performance.
Report has discussed literature review of research topic in order to get proper knowledge of
research topic. Research is conducted through qualitative technique. Questionnaire method is
used in order to conduct primary research and 30 participants are selected randomly for the
purpose of survey.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Background..................................................................................................................................3
Rationale......................................................................................................................................4
Problem identification..................................................................................................................4
Literature review..............................................................................................................................5
Concept of leadership style and inter organizational network.....................................................5
Methods of leadership style ........................................................................................................7
Association between leadership styles and inter - organisational networks with employee
performance.................................................................................................................................9
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................11
Research philosophy..................................................................................................................11
Research type.............................................................................................................................12
Research Approach....................................................................................................................12
Data collection...........................................................................................................................13
Data analysis..............................................................................................................................14
Sampling....................................................................................................................................14
Reliability and validity...............................................................................................................15
Ethical considerations................................................................................................................16
Results............................................................................................................................................16
Discussions....................................................................................................................................32
CONCLUSION AND LIMITATION ...........................................................................................36
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................41

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background
Retail sector is one of the most growing sector in worldwide. As it includes those
products and items which are necessary for survival (Adnan and Valliappan, 2019). It includes
products like clothing, footwear, accessories, bags, perfumes, grocery etc. this sector is highly
contributing in the economic development of UK. John Lewis is the multinational company
which manufacture products for men, women, and children. Company have stores across the
globe. They are famous for its innovative and good quality of products. They have wide product
portfolio and deals with fashion, electricals, furniture and many more. They have high end
departmental store which is located at different parts of the world. This research has discussed
about the problem which is identified while doing the research along with research aims and
objectives. Further it has shed light on literature review so that topic can be understand clearly.
It has evaluated methods through which the research will get conducted and will also discuss
results and discussion.
Rationale
The main issue is as there are many leadership styles so which style should be
implemented is the biggest issue (Megheirkouni, 2017). It has become issue now because
organisation want to retain its top performer employees so it is essential that they select such
leadership style which will retain employees and also help company in getting good employee
performance. This research will help organisation to know that which leadership style they
should select which suits their employees. As every organisation cannot select same leadership
style. Leadership style is selected by the organisation according to its workforce and also it
depends on the task which has to be accomplished. Through this report company can able to
improve employee performance and also help them to build organisational network within the
workforce. Organisational network is very important. As healthy networks or connections
between workforce will help organisation to attain success even fast. When employees will have
healthy relations then they will coordinate or help each other and it also does not arise conflicts
within the organisation between employees.

This research will give benefit to the scholar who will in the future conduct research on the same
topic. Researcher can review this research and can take idea before conducting their original
research. It will also benefit retail industry in order to manager their employee performance. By
reviewing this research industry will get idea about various leadership style and which leadership
style should be implemented. They will also get information about inter organisational networks.
As organisation should understand the importance of inter networks within the company. If
employee will coordinate with each other they company will grow rapidly.
Problem identification
The topic is chosen for the research because it has observed that many organisation in
today's world is facing leadership style related issues. As there are many leadership styles and
leaders are often confuse that they have to choose which leadership style so that the performance
of the employees can be improved. Good employee performance defines growth and success of
company. It is found that inter organisation networks also helps in improving employee
performance. This research will guide organisation about leadership style and also how inter
organisation networks are helpful in achieving expected employee performance. Leadership style
is itself complex procedure (Mwesigwa, Tusiime and Ssekiziyivu, 2020). Company cannot opt
same leadership style in achieving every task. Leaders have to choose leadership style as per the
situation and to understand which leadership style has to choose is not an easy task. It is very
important that formal and informal communication between employees or team members are
essential. Employee performance have become major problem for organisation. The good
performance delivered by employees are majorly dependent on their leaders and managers so
that is why it is important that leaders should adopt best leadership style.
Aim
The aim of the current study is to ascertain the impact of leadership styles and inter -
organisational networks on employee’s performance.
Objectives
 To understand the concept of leadership styles and inter - organisational networks.
 To identify methods of leadership styles in the company.
 To analyse association between leadership styles and inter - organisational networks with
employee performance.

 To recommend effectual strategies of leadership styles and inter - organisational networks
to John Lewis.
Research questions
 what is the concept of leadership styles and inter - organisational networks?
 What are the methods of leadership styles in the company?\
 what are the association between leadership styles and inter - organisational networks
with employee performance?
 What are the strategies of leadership styles and inter - organisational networks to John
Lewis?

Chapter 2: Literature review
Literature review refers to the comprehensive summary of old research on a selected topic. The
Literature review surveys done by the researches and scholars so that they may get the critical
review on the selected topic. This review summarizes the selected topic and brings in depth
information to the researcher. The key purpose of Literature review is to achieve an
understanding on the existing topic and get data for the same. Establishing Literature review will
also help in building knowledge about the topic.
1. Concept of leadership style and inter organizational networkAccording to Aunger and et.al
(2021). leadership style defines the characteristics of a leader and their behaviour when they
direct, motivate and guide the group of people. It has been seen that great leaders always inspire
and motivate people at the workplace and help them to attain their individual goal along with the
goal of the company. Besides this, leader can also have made different changes in the
organisation and behaviour of employees as well. If the organisation does not have great leaders,
then it becomes difficult for employees to perform innovative and creative work. In addition to
this Gentili (2021) states that inter organisation network refers to the relationship between
employees. It can be formal and informal in nature. It is very important for the employees to
build a good network and connections with each other so that they can share all the valuable
resources and information to each other and determine their priorities so the organisation can
achieve all the pre – determined goals. Inter organisational network is helpful in creating
coordination among channels. Besides this, it also reduces the situation of employee recruitment
and turnover. So an effective leadership styles help the employee of the organisation to set a
good relation with all so that in future if they need to work in a team then they can easily
corporate to each other and make the project successful. As per Wind and et.al (2020) Leadership
style is helpful in managing healthy competition among employees and competition will help the
employees to increase their skills and knowledge while working in a team so that they can help
the company to gain good growth and build a connection between every employee. So the
organizational leaders help the employees to set strategic goal for every employee and also they
motivate others to perform extra – ordinary in the organization. Besides this, leadership will help
the management to make their strategies successful so that organization can easily reach to their
goal. Leader4ship refers to the action thorough which they can lead the employees and people in
the organization so that they can attain goals. Leaders can influence the behaviour of employees

in different manner and this will help the management of the company to built inter
organisational network as well. In arguing with this Cepiku and et.al (2021) said that it is not
necessary that if the company has good leadership then only they can build inter – organization
relation. There are many organisation available which are working well and generating good
return in the absence of leadership because in such organisation employees are well versed with
their job and responsibilities. When the employees know their work then they can put their all
efforts so that they can attain their individual and company's goal. But Alberti and et.al (2021 )
argued that in the absence of leadership employees will not get proper guidance and there is high
chances that they may commit errors and mistakes at the work place. As it is the main objective
of leaders that they must show right path to their employees and help them in each and every
step. One of the major role of leader in the organization is that they provide clear direction to the
employee and let them know the value of discipline, standards and rules. Kinder and et.al
(2021) states that It is the responsibility of the leader that they must provide an effective strategy
to the employees so that all employees and team member can understand how they have to share
valuable information to each other so that inter organisational network can take place in the
organization. As the end goal of each and every organization is to increase their market share and
make good reputation in the market.
Kinder and et.al (2021) states that leader can only become successful when they have
followers, if the leader do not have any follower and people are not ready to follow the guidance
and rules of the leader then it becomes difficult for the leader to make employees understand
about the importance of strategies and leadership. It is the responsibility of leader that they must
celebrate the progress of company along with their employee. Besides this, leader has to follow
appropriate style so that they can take suggestions of the employees as well to generate good
goal of the company. Along with this, leader provides proper resources to the employees and
give them all the training so that they do not commit mistakes and errors. Apart from this, leader
is responsibility of the leader to create structure and also job role so that employees can produce
quality work. Leader should not follow servant leadership style in their organization. Leader
must collect review and feedback from each and every employee so that they may share their
review and point of view. Broadhurst and et.al (2021) also states that leader must follow
command and control in the organization. They also have to build trust among employees so that
employees can also share their feelings and thoughts with the leaders so that they can reduce the

situation of conflict and dispute at the workplace. This will help the company to increase the
skills and accountability of the company. It is the obligation of the company to maker sure that
everyone in the company must have some skills and knowledge so that organization can use
their skills to achieve their own goal. Along with this, leader must trust their employees and
commit good intention to them. Broadhurst and et.al (2021) states another major role of leader
in the organization is to encourage employees for their better performance and also improve their
skills and roles to get effective inter organizational network.
Methods of leadership style
As per the views of Kazemi, (2021)there are many leadership style is present, which can be
followed by the leaders of the organization as per the requirement. There are numerous leaders
available in the organization which uses different styles some leaders want that their employee
must follow their instruction without arguing and sharing their opinions such leaders are known
as autocratic leader. They always follow command and control approach and states that they
always focus on the instruction given by leader. Besides this some leader follows Authoritative
leadership style in which employees follow their leaders only but in this case leader should be
confident and must meet the expectation of the employees. This leadership style is also
appropriate in some uncertain situation where employees don't know what they have to do. This
type of leader always take time to make employees understand their role and responsibility and
leader also have to explain them so that they can perform their job role effectively. Apart from
this Tareque, (2021) said that there is Democratic leadership available, such leader always give
priorities to the thoughts and opinions of employees. They welcome the suggestions and views of
their employees before taking any decisions. Organization must get benefit of this leadership
style because, employees can easily share their views and what they think about the management
and other colleagues . This leadership will also help the company to reduce the situation of
conflict and dispute. This will help the organization to win the trust of their employees and it
will promote positive spirit among employees at the work place. When the organization follows
this leadership style it will increase corporation from employees because when leader understand
their situation then employees also follow instruction and command of their employees and try to
generate accurate results in the favour of the company. Besides, this it has also been seen that

good leadership style help the company to achieve their all goals, in the absence of leadership
employees will not get any proper direction and this will make their entire work delayed. In
addition to this Imansach and et.al (2021) said that leader may follow Pacesetting leadership
style This approach is good for all those works in which employee have to work under pressure,
and they can easily complete the work in a given deadline. Along with this, one of them most
effective leadership style is also present their which is popularly known as coaching in which ,
leader observe their employees and as per the requirement they give them appropriate coaching
and training so that they can improve their weak areas and use their skills for the overall
development of employees so that they can perform effectively in the organization. Those
leaders who uses this leadership styles keep their hands and hearts open for others, and they
always remain ready to teach new things to others and especially to their employees so that them
do not have to face any difficulties in performing their job role and responsibilities. Such leader
believes that every individual have some power and skills which makes them unique. Badillo-
and et.al (2021) also says that leadership is an management function which assist to direct the
entire organisation. It also improve the overall efficiency of their resources and attain the
objective of organisation. The main objective of leader is to bring creativity in the purpose of the
organisation and also guide the employees in realizing the mission of the company and how they
can contribute their part in the company. Sindy,(2021) said that in today's era organisation cant
enjoy luxury as the market can change any time and the preferences of customer can get
changed,so in such situation it becomes compulsory for the organisation to meet the market need
and remain stable in the market. But this can only possible when organisation follows good
leadership style so that leader can guide employees towards the market need and help them to
use new techniques of the organisation so that their company can give tough competition to other
companies. Leaders are one of the important factor who can make the entire organization
successful. Leadership is an art through which leaders can assign work and responsibilities to
employees and encourage them to attain all goals. Antonopoulou and et.al (2021)said that in the
absence of leadership, manager alone can't achieve effective and quality work from them. By
having good leadership the entire culture of organization can get improved. Thebo and et.al
(2021) bring aboutThe concept of leadership is important for the organization because it provides
a clear vision to the organisation and also employees can share their problems and issues with
their leader This will help the organization to decrease the absenteeism and employee turnover

in the organization. Besides this, leadership is also responsible for setting objectives for the
organization and for the employees as well. After setting objective, leader also form strategic
vision and direction so that the goals can easily attain by the employees. Thebo and et.al (2021)
believes that strategic vision and objective can help the organization to increase competitive edge
in the market. But the main goal of leader is to get success for company and make company a
tough competitor for other companies. Leader always try to provide high performance to and by
implementing effective leadership style, leaders can easily provide quality work to company.
Leadership concept believes in group m efforts and team work. Remarkable leadership style
focuses on building such an environment in which each and every employee develop something
new in them and this will benefit the organization.
Theories of leadership style:
Pacesetting leadership style in which they increase the morale of their employees and follow
keep up approach and utilize the pacesetting style. Those leaders who follow this approach they
always push their team to do better work and run hard and fast so that they can attain all the set
targets and reach to the finish line.
Autocratic leadership style. In this style leaders does not involve their employees in the decision
making process. Subordinates have to follow instructions of their leaders and are not allowed to
share their views and opinions.
Association between leadership styles and inter - organisational networks with employee
performance.
As per Isa and et.al (2021) relationship between leadership style and inter – organizational
network can improve the performance of employees. As the main motive of using leadership
style in the organization is to guide employees so that they work on their performance and the
weak areas so that in the future, employees do not have to face any issues. Inter – organization is
totally concerned with the relation of employees to each other so that they can easily work in a
team, and they can get a chance to learn from each other. This will help employees to enhance
their performance. As inter-organisational network is the procedure of reaching out to the
colleagues and connecting to them and it doesn't matter that it is the part of job, but it is
beneficial for the employee when they connect with their colleagues because they will get many
new things to learn from them. Hence, the relationship between leadership style and inter-

organisational network will definitely help employees to learn something new. Besides this,
Muhdor and et.al (2021)said that employee also put some efforts so that they can have a talk
with their employees, and they can use office messaging system so that they can easily connect
with their colleagues and share their problems with them. This kind of system can help the new
employees to ask some fellow questions with other employee and it will save their valuable time,
and they will easily learn new skills. Here leadership can help them because by using effective
leadership style, leader of the company will also guide employees whenever they work in a team
because leader knows the skill and level of knowledge of each and every employee, so they will
build only such team in which all the employees share similar interest. Leaders can conduct some
events so that employee can get a chance to interact with each other. Nasab and et.al
(2021)emphasis on it because such small events create a network among employees and it is not
necessary to host big events but a small get together can establish healthy relation among
employees. This kind of get together will help the organization to decrease the situation of
conflict at the workplace. But leadership also impacts employee performance because when the
leader is corporative then it will help their employee to sort out their every problem and on the
other hand if the leaders are not cooperative, and they impose their opinions and rules then it
becomes difficult for employee to establish good relation with their colleagues. Trust is a critical
factor which helps the employee ton achieve all the goals and objective of the company. It takes
time to build trust over time. But it is in the hands of leader to win the trust of their employees.
It is essential for the business to reach at their goal and for that they need to maintain
good reaction with their employees. It has been seen that many leaders faces difficulties in
maintaining good relation with each other, because some times' leader may select such
leadership style in which they do not give importance to the opinions and suggestion of
employee and this creates hurdles in forming good relation with employees. Leaders can help
employees in improving their short term and long term performance by using different leadership
style. But it has been seen that democratic approach is effective in both whether it is short term
goal of employee or long term. It is the responsibility of leaders that they must share feedback
with their employees so that they may know where they are going wrong and how many efforts
they have to put more so that they can improve their performance in the future. On the other hand
Donkor and et.al ( 2021 )believes that participative leadership style is less effective for short
duration as it is useful for long term perspective. It also put positive impact on the performance