Literature Review: Leadership and Change in Organizations

This report is a comprehensive literature review that investigates the critical role of leadership in navigating organizational change and its subsequent impact on organizational culture and effectiveness. The review synthesizes findings from various research articles, examining leadership styles, change management processes, and the influence of leadership on organizational culture. The study aims to understand the different leadership roles and changes within organizations, assess the relationship between leadership and organizational change, and suggest recommended actions for leaders to facilitate modifications in organizational performance. The methodology involves analyzing secondary research, including journal articles and academic publications, with a focus on articles published within the last four years. The findings highlight the importance of strong leadership in successfully managing change, emphasizing the need for leaders to adapt smoothly to organizational changes. The report also addresses the factors influencing the success of change management, such as employee commitment and the expertise of managers. The literature review provides valuable insights into how leadership can drive organizational success in a globalized and competitive business environment.

1
Running head: APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
The Role of leadership and Change in Organisations
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note:

2
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
Table of Contents
Purpose:......................................................................................................................................3
Design/Approach and Methodology:.........................................................................................3
Findings:.....................................................................................................................................4
Originality/Value:......................................................................................................................4
Main Words:...............................................................................................................................4
Type of the paper:......................................................................................................................4
Introduction................................................................................................................................5
Methods......................................................................................................................................8
Literature Review.....................................................................................................................10
Introduction..........................................................................................................................10
Leadership role and changes....................................................................................................10
Change Management Processes...........................................................................................13
Impact of Leadership and changes...........................................................................................15
Relationship in between Leadership and Organizational Change............................................17
Recommended actions for the leaders to bring in organizational changes..............................19
Findings and Conclusions........................................................................................................21
Limitations...............................................................................................................................22
References................................................................................................................................23

3
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
Purpose:
The purpose of the following essay is to determine the role of leadership and
its impact on the organizational culture. In the globalized business environment, the
rapid change is highly necessary to the sustainability of the business organization.
The different kinds of the concepts involving leadership, managerial changes,
organizational changes and the changes in culture of the business organization are
the major points of business attraction. In other words it can be said that the
practitioners and the different types of the business professionals have to adapt to
the changing styles and ensue business success in a proper and sustainable
manner. According to, the study prepared here is the literature review in order to
understand the different kinds of the approaches to leadership and change
management. The analysis and the formulation of the business organization in a
proper and effective manner is essential for the success of the business (Holten and
Brenner, 2015). Furthermore, the following also provides a review on the role of the
leadership in the management of the changes. The following review has been able to
answer the different kinds of the organizational needs in a proper and effective
manner.
Design/Approach and Methodology:
The analysis of the literature has been completed by the analysis of a number
of secondary research articles that has been the basis of the study. The major focus
of the study has been on the leadership, change management and the different kinds
of the organizational demands of the business that are addressed during the
analysis of the change management process of the organization. According to, ,
(2015) the articles that has been selected are all based on the different kinds of the
leadership changes, the impact of leadership and the different kinds of the changes

4
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
that are implemented in the business organization. One of the most important
characteristic of this particular study is the selection of the relevant and genuine
articles which has increased the reliability and the validity of the organization
accordingly.
Findings:
The findings form the following research has provided the importance of
leadership and the different perspectives that ensure leadership as a key factor in
the success of the business organization. The essence and importance of leadership
cannot be undeterred in the business organization and therefore the organization
has to ensure the presence of a strong and able leadership that can be ready to take
up new challenges and ensure maximum success to the business organization. The
changes that occur in the organization has to be adapted in a smooth manner by the
leaders in order to convince the business organization in a proper and effective
manner.
Originality/Value:
As mentioned earlier, the research has considered the most reliable, genuine
the most related articles for the completion of the study article. The completion of the
study has thus provided a great source of information and thus has led to the
increase in the value of the projects. The selection of the genuine and reliable
articles has also increased the scope of the project as it will serve as a great source
of information for any sort of work related to the same subject in the future.
Main Words:
Leadership, Organizational Change, Change Management, Leadership role and
change management, Impact of change, Culture of the business enterprise
Type of the paper:
Literature Review Paper

5
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
Introduction
Globalization has transformed the world into a small global village. The village
where there is a high level of contentions and competitions in between the different
kinds of the organizations. The most effective and beneficial transformation for any
organization has been the creation of the different kinds of the innovative ways that
helps to conduct the operations of the business organization. The report that has
been provided here has dealt with the role of leadership and change management in
different kinds of the business organizations (Ghasabeh, Soosay and Reaiche, 2015).
The implementation of the rapid technological advancements, high level of
expectations of the customers of the business, change in the conditions of the
market and many other different kinds of internal as well as external business
conditions have helped the business organizations to ensure the success of the
market in a proper and advanced manner (Betancourt et al. 2017). The adoption and
implementation of the business models and the organizational change are too
common in the modern days.
It is important for the organization to implement the business plans in a proper
and effective manner. The demand of the organizations changes day to day as the
change in the demands of the customers. The management of the organizations
must have a clear and proper update about the demands of the customers and also
the changes in the demands in a regular manner (Ghasabeh, Soosay and Reaiche,
2015). Different kinds of the research shows that almost 70% of the organizational
changes generally fails to meet the goals of these change management processes.
The leadership role of the business acts centrally in the evaluation and the cultivating
an organization, the process of organizational change demands a high level of
effective and competent leadership that is highly capable to perceive the most

6
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
preferable shape of an organization and address the issues of the organizational
changes in the most appropriate manner.
Change management considers different kinds of the business factors that are
needed to manage the people and the different kinds of the resources by
implementing a systematic approach. The effective change management generally
contains the coordination and control of the different kinds of the change
management processes that are generally capable of facilitating the people to easily
adapt to the different changes (Kuipers et al. 2014). The people referred to in the
organization are the people who work as the employees of the organization. The
proper adaption, controlling, and coordinating the different business processes can
be termed as the main role of the leader in the business organization (Betancourt et al.
2017). Change is a process that cannot be avoided by any means. The change
management process is one of the most important in terms of the sustainability and
success of the business organization. Therefore it can be suggested that change
management has to be implemented in different kinds of the business organizations.
Therefore, the employees of the business organizations must be open to changes
and must adapt themselves to the different kinds of the changes.
As mentioned earlier, the lack of a proper leader in a business organization
often leads to the failure of the change processes in the business organizations. It
has been mentioned earlier that almost 70% of the business organizations fails to
gain positive results from the changes implemented within the organizational
processes. Different studies have mentioned that the failure to implement the
changes successfully in the business organization is highly dependent on the
expertise levels of the managers of the business organizations (Kuipers et al. 2014).
The high level of business expertise is therefore important for the success of the

7
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
business organization. The major changes of the business organizations and the use
of the existing theories and models of the business organization is highly important
for the success of the business organization (Van der Voet, 2014). The existing
models and theories based on the changes in the business organizations and the
role of the leaders in such changes are all based on a linear approach.
The management of a change event is effective in the presence of a change
agent and the presence of a proper and positive organizational culture. The
commitment of the different employees and the stakeholders of the business
organizations also has a serious impact on the success of the business organization
in a proper and effective manner (Deschamps et al. 2016)
. The leadership of an organization is highly capable of providing different
kinds of the change processes that is not suitable in any way and may act in a
negative manner if implemented in the organization. The articles that has been
chosen in this particular report has described the role of the leadership processes in
change management and the influence of the process on the culture of the business
organization. The objectives of the study are as follows;
 To understand the different leadership roles and changes in organizations
To examine the impact of leadership and change on organisations ((Deschamps et al.
2016)
 To assess the relation between Leadership and organizational change
 To suggest recommended actions to the leaders for bringing forth
modifications in the organizational performance
The chapter which will be followed after this particular part will be describing
the research methodology that will be used for the review of the study. The different
kinds of the subsections has included the different kinds of the literature review in a
detailed and effective manner.

8
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
Methods
The methods chapter forms an important part of the study as because the
methods section is the particular section where the methods that has been used to
formulate the report has been used in a proper and effective manner. The report is
totally based on the analysis of the secondary research methodology and have
selected a number of research articles, journals that has been formulated by different
kinds of the researchers. The selection of the different kinds of the research articles
and the selection of the different types of the journals and the articles have been
effective in the success of the business organization in a proper and effective
manner. The research has found out a large number of articles that is based on the
role of leadership and its impact on the change management process of the
business organizations (Deschamps et al. 2016). The search for the perfect strategy
has included the comprehensive basis for the analysis of the research in a proper
and effective manner. The structure of the research is based on the orientation of the
different leadership styles, change management processes, leadership changes,
changes in the organizational culture, impact of leadership process in the business
and many more as such. The results of the search has considered a number of
different articles that has included a number of different articles like that of Emerald
insight journals, AIMI journals, different PDF journals, Open access journals
considering the change management process, Academic journals and some online
research sources that has helped the report to gain the best data regarding the topic
of the report. The inclusion criterion for the secondary research sources are as
follows;

9
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
INCLUSION CRITERION
 Published within the last 4 years (not before 2013)
 Original research papers
 Literature reviews and systematic reviews must be included
 Availability of full text
 English Publication
 Linked directly to the research topic
All the different publications that has been used were thoroughly reviewed
and was based on the title of the research. The publications that were selected for
the research also contained the full research text including the abstract, introduction,
body of the report, successful and effective business reviews, and proper findings
along with a solid and compact conclusion for the topic. The presence of all these
elements and perspective of the topic within the research has been instrumental to
construct the report on the leadership role in the change management of the
business organizations. The literature review has been updated mainly by the use of
the different kinds of the secondary research papers. The research papers that has
been considered for the research has all been formulated after the year 2013. Most
of the reports have been able to present a detailed and effective discussion on the
significance and impact of the leadership styles and leadership respectively in order
to ensure the success of the business research (Van der Voet, Kuipers, and
Groeneveld, 2016). The articles selected for the preparation of the report are all based
on the qualitative methods. However some of the articles selected in the process
have also the elements of quantitative analysis methods. There are also different
kinds of papers that has used the mixed methods of both qualitative and quantitative
processes.

10
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
Literature Review
Introduction
The literature review chapter is one of the most important chapter in a report
or a particular research. The review chapter of the research or report helps t gain a
solid understanding of the research topic. The review chapter generally consists of
the discussion of the topic and the perspectives of the topic in a proper and efficient
manner. The presence of the different kinds of the review chapter along with the
different types of the organizational perspectives have been a major source of study
for the different kinds of the researches. The following literature review has provided
a proper and simple analysis of the leadership roles and the different perspectives
that must be considered accordingly. The major sources of the literature review and
the considerations of these sources have been import in the study of the following
report.
Leadership role and changes
The most important skills of leader is to manage and accelerate business
changes. According to, Aarons et al. (2015) the most fascinating topic in the change
management process is the reasons behind the failure and success of the process.
A large percentage of the new business leaders generally fails to understand and
adapt to the new changes that are generally undertaken by the business
organization. The mastering of the art of change is a challenge to the leaders of the
organization and thus it is important for organization to gain success. The study of
changes for the changes in an organization for the last couple of decades has
revealed the key take ways and the different kinds of learnings (Agote, Aramburu &
Lines, 2016). On the other hand, according to, (Moriano et al. 2014) the proper follow
up of the change management process has identified a number of different kind’s
processes or the roles of the different kinds of the change leaders. The leaders of

11
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
the organization are generally unaware of their leadership capabilities and thus they
tend to ask the employees of the organization about their quality of the leadership
abilities (Vakola 2014). The leadership abilities and the quality of the business
management is best judged by the employees of the business in a proper and
efficient manner. The challenges of managing the business leads the managers to
face different kinds of unique challenges that are used to make the organization
much more efficient and capable enough. There are different kinds of the changes
and leadership roles that have a focus on the business. This includes the likes of
FOCUS rule, ALIGN rule and many more as such.
The role of the leadership is probably the hardest and takes the most time, opens up
the organization for pushback and has the most potential if it is generally done
efficiently (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015). Apart from these leadership styles another
major style that is applied by the leaders in the business organization includes the
ENGAGE role. The leaders generally put extra effort, a lot of money into the
diagnosis and design of the new kinds of the organizational solutions (Vakola 2014).
The engagement of the leaders in a positive manner is important for the key to open
the minds, hearts and hands of the employees and involve them in the change
management process and make them capable to adapt them in a new solution and
reality. The literature on the transformational process discusses on whether the
gender or the organization includes the different trends of the business
organizations. The management of the behaviour influences the wellbeing of the
followers that has an influence on the organizational change management
processes. The literature concerning the leadership styles is superfluous. There are
generally different kinds of the leadership styles that are distinguished by many of
the different authors. Some of the major leadership style classifications are best

12
APPLIED BUSINESS RESEARCH
known in the literature (Long et al. 2014). A comprehensive distinction that comes
back in the literature quite often can be termed between different kind of the styles
that includes the likes of the transformational, transactional and laissez faire
leadership styles (Appelbaum et al. 2015).
Transactional leadership style can be said to be based on the setting of the
clear objectives and the goal for the followers of the business as well as the use of
either different kinds of business punishments or the rewards in order to support the
compliance of the management with the goals of the organization. The
transformational leadership on the other hand is the particular kind of the leadership
change where the leaders are able to identify the different kinds of the changes and
then it creates a vision that helps in the guidance of the different kinds change
through inspiration, and is also able to execute the change with the commitment of
the different members in a group (Long et al. 2014). The Laissez Faire leaders
generally provides different kinds of guidance to the subordinates. The providence of
the help and support to the subordinates helps the business organizations to ensure
the control of the subordinates and achieve control by means of less obvious means.
It is essential for the business organization to consider the situational application of
the leadership styles to evaluate the probability for the successful evaluation of the
different kinds of the changes. The different kinds of the literature trends view the
leadership styles as the natural process for the change management (Betancourt et al.
2017). However, it is essential to consider the leadership styles in a proper and
effective manner to ensure success of the organization. In addition to moderating the
outcome of change implementation processes, leadership style, resistance to
change and employee commitment also interact to ultimately impact organizational
effectiveness.