CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Some 2500 years ago it was seriously debated that leadership was situational because a leader had either technical Knowledge or professional knowledge which was needed for a specific situation thus it can’t be transferable.

It was also said that a good business leader will be a good military commander because they all processed generic leadership skills because they have the potential to choose the right persons to carry out a task with. Ongori, (2007)

Peoples understanding about leadership has grown over the years of research and they became leadership issues and it was assumed that some leadership characteristics will be useful in a certain situation might be useful for another or might not. Hence in spite of the regional differences researchers have tried to come up with principles that can be used to address certain situations on global bases.

In the past leadership was instituted in a very authoritarian manner in which the leader was considered as always being right .He stated what had to be done, how and when.

He was the only one entitled to decision making without no form of opposition from his subordinates .Over the years researcher have being able to prove that this form of leadership only yields fruits in the short run and it comes along with a lot of negative effects like high turnover, little initiative from employees, demotivation and others.

This discovery led to the introduction of other forms of leadership like the transformative and democratic. It made the subordinates to be more involved in the activities of the organization especially in the decision making process .

This brought great improvement in the performance and commitments of employees. Kanter, (1968). Leadership over the years has yielded a great understanding not just  as skills and attributes which a person possesses but it is an institutional issue, leadership always takes place when there is a situation.

In order for a situation to be handled effectively the leader needs to put strategies such as peer-to-peer learning, mentoring, coaching, access to knowledge and information, getting training and information from other countries such practices will make the organization strong to face challenges .

We probably all ponder about the differences in leadership around the world .we ask ourselves  why some countries  are not contented with the distribution of leadership power  while others seems contented with the hierarchical leadership of the monarchy or dictatorship.

If you travel around the world you would no doubt encounter different views of leadership specific to this ethnic and political culture. To summarize the meaning of leadership is complex and includes many dimensions. For some people leadership is a trait while others think it’s a skill. In reality leadership may be a combination of traits and skills. Mathieu &Zajac, (1990)

The world has been slowly drifting away from the old system of leadership and is embracing the modern form of leadership. During the early stages of this transition the developing countries were left out but presently they  are embracing the changes as well in order for them to meet up to their daily challenges and to satisfy the needs of the population .

There is a strong demand for effective leadership today the demand comes from all aspects of the economy both local and international. People also feel the need for leadership in all aspects of their lives:  in school, at home, even in their spiritual lives.

From the 20th century to present day researchers have focused their research on the characteristics of great leaders. The results of this study have produced a very long list of traits which contribute to the leadership process. Some of the traits they found were persistence, self-confidence, integrity, confidence, task knowledge, openness, motivation, consciousness ,integrity , sociability ,drive, tolerance  (Judge, Bono, Ilies,  and Gerhardt,2002).

To be a good leader also requires attributes such as honesty, justice, trust worthiness, communication skills, intelligence, decisiveness, dependence to name a few. After this research the question which was brought up was if there are many leadership traits and attributes and which ones need to be used by good leaders.

Leadership is about influence. It does not only involve what you intend to do but how you intend to go about it and knowing how to influence people to see thing from your point of view .In order to influence people there are certain values to put in place like integrity, nurturing the younger  generation , so that in your  absence work can go forward.

As a leader one should be able to have confidence in one’s followers and always give them a listening ear in order for them to feel wanted. That way they are motivated to follow. A leader should be able to navigate his followers in the face of trouble so that they can have confidence in him.

It is also said that in leadership the leader needs to know that threats and opportunities are external while strengths and weaknesses are internal and as such there is a need to work with subordinates to make out methods to handle the different situations. Mowday, Porter, & Steers, (1982).

A leader must have a very competitive mindset and encourage subordinates to develop the same mindset.

This helps the organization grow and withstand competition in order to survive. They should also be optimistic and confident in whatever they do because it serves as a source of encouragement to their subordinates. The adoption of a positive attitude about how to look at situations and attitude towards his subordinates and business.

It has being written by some authors that a good leader needs to set goals that are realistic, attainable, measurable, and timely. In addition to setting good goals he needs to ensure that his subordinates are involved in the goal setting process so that they can actually feel involved and more responsible in the goal attainment. The leader should also know how the goals set can be attained so they all can get busy.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Based on other research and on observations, it was noticed that the main problems managers face in small and medium sized enterprises is, they do not use the right leadership styles on the right persons. A manager should know the attitude of his employees; if it is a Type X or Y.

When an employee is type X which means they are lazy, he can use the authoritative approach; but when it is a Type Y employee, the democratic leadership style proofs better.

Hence, the main problem of this research is that managers do not use the correct leadership styles on their employees. Kehinde and Banjo (2014) laid emphasis on the importance of leaders in an organization.

“In today’s highly competitive environment, organizations tend to expand globally and they face a lot of challenges in meeting their objectives as well as in trying to go ahead of each other.

The main way this objective can be attained will be through the use of proper leadership styles and the fact that the manager does not use the right leadership styles has posed a problem.”

Small and medium-sized enterprises are prone to lots of challenges; some of which are job dissatisfaction, stress and long working hours which have led to high employee turnover.

As such the framework of this research will help senior management solve these problems by implementing the right leadership styles, understanding these problems and seeking methods to please their employees while meeting up with their objectives.

Based on Olalekan, Tolulope, Olanrewaj, in their thesis titled “Leadership Styles and Employee’s Performance and commitment”, they stated that it is the dream of every organization to achieve their objectives.

The problem most organizations face is figuring out which leadership approach best works for their employees. The impact of their leadership styles manifest on the employees’ commitment and in turn is manifested on the employees’ behavior towards the goods sold or the services being rendered.

Another problem I noticed is some leaders are actually very inflexible in their leadership styles because they fail to come to terms with the fact that a leadership style cannot be applied for all situations and on all employees because different situations and employees require different leadership styles. Salancik, 2004; p

The leadership approach being used in many small and medium sized enterprises in the Buea municipality led to a very high level of employee turnover. Management subdues workers to a lot of pressure in order to achieve objectives.

This is the Theory X approach which is usually used on employees who are not willing to work , but in the case of small and medium sized enterprises in the Buea municipality, this approach is used on all the employees; be they X or Y.

This demotivated a lot of employees and caused some of them to resign from their posts because they felt their efforts were not appreciated. After observations, this has become my greatest desire to be able to figure out the best leadership styles that will enable employees give out their best and stay committed to their roles and responsibilities.

1.3 Research Questions

This study will be out to answer the main research question,

What is the effect of leadership on employee commitment in Small and Medium Sized enterprises in the Buea municipality?

In line with the main research question, the following specific questions are developed,

1. What is the effect of Consultative leadership on employee commitment in Small and Medium Sized enterprises in the Buea municipality?
2. What is the effect of Authoritarian leadership on employee commitment in Small and Medium Sized enterprises in the Buea municipality?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to determine the effects of leadership on the employee commitment in Small and Medium Sized enterprises in the Buea municipality.

Specifically, the study sought:

1. To examine the effect of consultative leadership on employee commitment in Small and Medium sized enterprises in the Buea municipality
2. To assess the effect of Authoritarian leadership on employee commitment in Small and Medium sized enterprises in the Buea municipality.

1.5 Working Hypothesis

H1: Consultative Leadership has a significant effect on employee commitment in Small and Medium Sized enterprises in the Buea municipality.

H2: Authoritarian Leadership has a significant effect on employee commitment in Small and Medium Sized enterprises in the Buea municipality.

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