Abstract

This study was on the role of effective leadership in an organization with the regional delegation of Public Service and Administrative Reforms as the case study. It was divided into five chapters with each one covering a particular area.

The objectives of this study included; to find out the gains of effective leadership in the Regional Delegation of Public Service and Administrative Reforms, to examine the challenges faced by the Regional Delegation of Public Service and Administrative Reforms and to assess the measures taken to improve service delivery in the Regional Delegation of Public Service and Administrative Reforms.

The main theory was Public Service Motivation (PSM) Theory. Public service motivation can be defined as the predisposition of an individual to respond to motives grounded primarily or uniquely in public institutions and organizations. The main aspect is that the individual is doing well for others and shapes the well-being of society.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

An organization is a social setup, which has a boundary that separates it from its environment, pursues its own collective goals, and controls its own performance (Hicks and Gullet, 1975:63). In a formal organization, interactions are rationally coordinated and directed through time on a continuous basis. The person at the helm of affairs is usually the leader.

Kraines (2001:209) stressed that the word leadership has been used by most disciplines: political science, business executives, social workers and educationist. However, there is large disagreement as regards the exact meaning.

This view was also supported by Taffinder (2006:6), who gave different definitions to leadership: “a simple meaning: leadership is getting people to do things they have never thought of doing, do not believe are possible or that they do not want to do”. With reference to an organization, he defined leadership as “the action of committing employees to contribute their best to the purpose of the organization”.

While on a complex and more accurate view, he explains that you only know leadership by its consequences – from the fact that individuals or a group of people start to behave in a particular way as a result of the actions of someone else”.

It is important to distinguish between leadership as an organization function and as a personal quality. According to Bowery (2004:24) the later entails special combination of personal characteristics, which brings to light qualities and abilities of individuals. The former refers to the distribution of power through out an organization and it brings to focus the pattern of power and authority in the organization.

Defining leadership in it various reflections is very important. However, it is necessary to buttress what our focus is when any of its definition is referred to and under what condition.

Previous views about leadership show that it is seen as a personal ability. However, Messick and Kramer (2004:24) were of the opinion that the degree to which individuals’ exhibits leadership depends not only on his characteristics and personal abilities, but also on the characteristics of the situation and environment in which he finds himself.

Messick and Kramer (2004:24) further explained that since human beings could become members of an organization in order to achieve certain personal objectives, the extent to which they are active members depends on how they are convinced that their membership will enable them to achieve their predetermined objectives. Therefore an individual will support an organization if he believes that through it, his personal objectives and goals could be met, if not the person’s interest in the organization will decline.

Employees are an indispensable component in organizations, especially in order to fulfill organizational goals. Therefore, it is necessary that employees perform in a highly efficient and productive way.

The importance of people is often taken for granted but it is a necessity to be aware of the fact that organizations are made of people and it is people who provide leadership, stewardship and follower-ship.  They also constantly learn new and innovative things that help to support organizations to achieve great goals (Warigon, 2012:1). Employees are supposed to contribute to the goals of an organization and there is a high significance of understanding how employee’s behavior influences an organization.

It is a matter of fact that the performance of employees is generally influenced by their motivation and there are several reasons why motivation is such an important issue in public management. In general, managers have the task of achieving organizational goals by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of their employees (Re’em, 2011, : 8). In order to perform well, employees do not only have to be skilled for their job but they also have to understand what they are required to do (Re’em, 2011: 8).

That means that motivation is needed to make employees perform more effectively and efficiently because if the motivation of an employee is equal to zero, even the most talented worker will not be a supportive part of an organization.

Another meaningful aspect of motivation is that motivated employees are more committed to the organization they work for and they show less grievance and insubordination which is supportive for the atmosphere at the workplace but also important according to the contact between clients and the employees of an organization. Furthermore, energized and highly motivated workers can reach good performance even though there could be some knowledge gaps Thus, motivated employees are the greatest asset that an organization can have (Re’em, 2011: 9).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Every organization has a structure that begins from the top to the bottom. The organization is particularly concerned about its leadership style and potentials and the success or failure of an organization is usually linked to its leadership. In Cameroon, several organisations and government structures exist and their activities influence the general life of Cameroonians all across  the country.

The state for the past years has been looking for so many ways to improve its public service delivery so that Cameroonians feel comfortable and confident in using the public service. The public service in Cameroon even has a ministry of its own that manages other public service organs and ministries.

Over the course of the past several years, the ministry of Public Service which is supposed to coordinate other ministries has not lived up to expectation since the ministry itself is in crisis and output is so poor. From the foregoing, the following research questions were drawn on the Effective Leadership in an organization with the regional delegation of Public Service and Administrative Reforms being the case study.

The challenges faced by the Regional Delegation of Public Service and Administrative Reforms include lack of budget, corruption and non-adherence to work principles

1.3 Research Questions

1. What are the gains of effective leadership in the Regional Delegation of Public Service and Administrative Reforms?
2. What challenges are faced by the Regional Delegation of Public Service and Administrative Reforms?
3. What measures can be taken to improve service delivery in the Regional Delegation of Public Service and Administrative Reforms?

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