Abstract:
The objective of the study was to assess the effect of leadership styles on the
performance of employees at the National Board for Small Scale Industries, (now
Ghana Enterprise Agency). The main objective was to ascertain the effect of
leadership styles on the performance of the organization. The specific objectives that
guided the study were: to establish the existing leadership style, the relationship
between the leadership style and job performance, and to examine the effect of the
leadership styles on employee performance at the Ghana Enterprise Agency. The
study adopted a cross-section descriptive survey design where self-administered
questionnaires were used to collect primary data through an internet-mediated
questionnaire. The study used descriptive statistics and deductive approach in its
interpretation of the findings. The study showed that all three (3) leadership styles
(autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire) exist in the administration of the Ghana
Enterprise Agency. However, the study showed that democratic or transformational
leadership is the most common style at the agency, followed by transactional or
autocratic leadership style and, laissez-faire leadership style. Overall scores showed
that democratic leadership style has a strong effect on the performance of employees.
The results suggest that superiors in organizations need to practice more of
transformational leadership style in their dealings and adopt autocratic style where
the need arises, as different situations require different leadership styles. Supervisors
are encouraged to know when to apply a specific leadership style in a given situation.
Description:
A dissertation in the Department of Management Sciences,
School of Business, submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies, in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for award of the degree of
Master of Business Administration
(Human Resource Management)
in the University of Education, Winneba
