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ENA16423254

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Module Title  DISSERTATION

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Word Count  /03/2020
Submitted

Title: The Impact of Management Styles on Employees Performance and Motivation at

"Costco"
Chapter 1: Introduction

Research background

Due to rapid globalisation and dynamic business environments, it has become significantly

challenging for the modern-day corporations to acquire and sustain an inimitable competitive

advantage. The customers' requirements are frequently changing, there are massive competitive

threats, and the internal corporate environments have also become diverse and dynamic

(Lauridsen, 2018). In these business dynamics, the best source of competitive advantage is

through having highly motivated HR willing to exhibit the excellent performance which

substantially depends upon which management style has been adopted by the management. An

organisation's management style tends to have any implications as the management style

provides the guidelines and principles to be followed by the leaders in treating the subordinates

and also influence how an organisation interpret the reality and how it responds to the situations,

and events (Jermias, Gani, and Juliana, 2018). Various management styles have been adopted in

the 21st-century business world such as authoritative management, pacesetting management,

democratic management, coercive management, coaching etc. (Jasper, 2018). All of these

management styles help in attaining one or another organisational goal, and which style is

appropriate for the given organisation depends upon the nature of the business, its goal and

objectives and the dynamics of the industry in which it operates (Lauridsen, 2018).

The core purpose of the underlying research is to comprehensively and critically evaluate the

impact of management styles adopted by Costco on its employees' performance and level of

motivation. Costco is a members-only warehouse in Wembley which is known for selling a large

variety of items such as bulk groceries, hardware, catering supplies, electronics and many more.
The company has a large network of operations as there are 24 warehouses of Costco in England,

there are three located in Scotland, and one is in Wales (COSTCO Wholesale, 2018). Costco has

28 properties in the UK alone, and out of those 28 properties, 22 are company-owned buildings

and lands and the remaining 6 are buildings and land on the lease (COSTCO Wholesale, 2018).

Currently, Costco is having a very strong position in the United Kingdom's retail sector as it has

maintained a comparatively high-profit margin than its competitors in the retail industry

(COSTCO Wholesale, 2018). It is dedicated to ensuring the provision of top-notch quality

products at the lowest prices possible and has also successfully maintained a diverse products

portfolio (COSTCO Wholesale, 2018). It's important to take under consideration that Costco's

desirable growth and financial success depends upon its management styles. The core focus of

the management styles is upon having highly satisfied and loyal employees dedicated to serving

the customers at their best (Jasper, 2018).

It is evident from the case study of Costco that currently, the company is engaged in applying the

two prominent management styles including the democratic management style and the coaching

management style in the UK (Ribeiro, and Menezes, 2019). The case study of Costco has also

revealed that the management styles of coaching and democratic leadership are the heart of how

Costco treats its employees (Noonan, Kelly, and Pelham, 2019). Under the democratic

management style, the employees are included in the decision-making process, and coaching

helps them to polish their skills and expertise which not only assist in performing the job but also

helps in career growth. The leaders at Costco are engaged in encouraging, motivating and

inspiring the employees, and that is helping the company in staying relevant and consistent

(Corbett, and Veenendaal, 2017). Another major revelation from the case study analysis is that
Costco has a most loyal and productive workforce in the retail industry of UK, and its employee

turnover rate is much lower than the average industrial turnover rate (Jasper, 2018). 

Under the democratic style of management, the leaders at Costco incorporates the opinion of the

subordinates throughout the decision-making process, which enables it to operate the

departments smoothly. As the employees actively participate in the creation and execution of the

departmental policies and processes, they tend to feel emotionally involved in successful

attainment of the goals and objectives (Iqbal N, 2015). Under democratic leadership, leaders are

engaged in regular consultation, increased participation and the use of discussion forums to

encourage the idea sharing and collaborative decision-making enables them to reach the most

desirable decisions along with the participation of the subordinates (Omolayo, 2007).

In addition to democratic management, the second management style adopted at Costco is

coaching that is aimed at improving employees' performance (Ribeiro, and Menezes, 2019). The

approach adopted to apply this management style is first to identify the skills each employee has

and which skills he/she lacks and then providing individualised training and coaching to

strengthen the skills employee has and offering opportunities to learn those he/she doesn't have

(Rapp-Ricciardi, Garcia, and Archer, 2018).  Time-intensive approach to management is not

adopted and to ensure that employees are effectively coached, the mangers support Costco's staff

are who are highly skilled and trained and are enthusiastic about gaining the trust of their

subordinates (Jasper, 2018). This approach is adopted to gain employees' willingness to be

coached as unless they are not willing to be coached, managers and leaders cannot successfully

attain the goals and objectives behind the coaching (Yuan, Wang, Huang, and Zhu, 2019).

Coaching management style supports the attainment of short-term goals and also facilitates the

employees in growing in their careers in the long run (Jasper, 2018).

 Due to the significant impact of the management styles on the employees' motivation and

performance, the underlying study is aimed at evaluating how well the two management styles of

democratic and coaching are impacting the motivation and performance of Costco's employee

working in the UK (COSTCO Wholesale, 2018).

Research Aim

To critically and comprehensively analyse the Impact of Management Styles on Employees

Performance and Motivation of "Costco."

Abstract

The underlying study is aimed at critically and comprehensively analysing the Impact of

Management Styles on Employees Performance and Motivation of "Costco." To achieve this

broader aim of the study, the research has incorporated the secondary data in eh form of the

critical review of literature, and the primary data has been collected through interviewing one

employee working in Costco UK. With comparative and critical analysis of primary and

secondary data, the research has evaluated the impact of democratic leadership on employee

motivation and performance at Costco, elaborated the implications of coaching style on

motivation and performance, has investigated whether the management styles at Costco have

positive impacts on the employees' performance and motivation or there are some negative

impacts as well and has proposed recommendations to improve management styles at Costco for

ensuring organisational success.

Research objectives
  To identify the impact of the leadership style on the employees motivation and
performance at Costco
 To analyze the Leadership Styles at Costco 
 To evaluate where the Management Style at Costco have a positive or negative
impact on the employees performance
 To investigate whether the management styles at Costco have an only positive
impact on the employees’ performance and motivation or there are some
negative impacts as well

Research questions

1. What are Costco's Managements Styles, and the expected impact on employee

motivation?

2. What are employee's perceptions of Costco's management styles adapted and how

does the implementation of the policy impact on employee performance?

3. Shall Costco continue adopting its existing management styles to maintain its

competitiveness in its industry?

4. What changes in management style can promise long term success for Costco?

Chapter 2: Literature review

The impact of democratic management style and caching management style has already been

studied by many scholarly studies which have shared alternative and some supporting ideas. In

this regard, this part of the dissertation is aimed at critically and comparatively evaluating those

ideas into to reach the dependable opinion.

A relevant study which has focused on examining the impact of democratic management style on

the employees' motivation and corporate performance has shared some important ideas.

According to this study, democratic manage, which involves gaining input from employees in
decision making, has several positive implications. The first and foremost positive impact is that

when employees feel recognised and perceive themselves as part of the organisational decision

making, their motivation to exhibit good performance increases. The second positive impact is

that motivation translates into improved corporate performance because today's firms rely

significantly on human resources. So, when HR is motivated, the company's strategic and

financial performance improves. So, on the whole, according to this study, the democratic

management which is based on including the employees' input before final decision making,

makes the employees feel recognised and valued, and that translate into higher motivation and

eventually desired performance outcomes (Fizz, Su, and Saqib, 2017).

As compared to the previous study, another study which has focused on examining the impact of

democratic leadership and management has proposed a very different and important perspective.

According to this study, when democratic management includes the employees in decision

making, the probability that the employees will successfully implement that decision increases.

The scholars have elaborated that employees become more enthusiastic to perform accordingly

to a decision when their input is involved in it. When their opinions and perspectives regarding a

problem are considered and valued during the decision making, the employees develop a positive

attitude and that positive attitude influence their performance quality (Choi, 2007).

Another study has claimed that democratic management which can also be attributed as

participative management directly improves the employees' motivation and improves the

organisational performance by enhancing its overall level of creativity and innovation. This

study has shared a somewhat different perspective as compared to the rest of the studies

discussed until now. This study has added that the 21st-century business dynamics are highly

challenging where the customers' expectations are increasing, competitive threats are increasing,
and it has become very challenging to remain relevant. In these circumstances, the organisational

performance depends upon how innovative ideas are generated and the generation of innovative

solutions depends upon what type managerial style has been adopted. It has been claimed that

democratic management style contributes greatly to employees' motivation level, and also lead to

innovative idea generation. When many employees participate in decision making, they

successfully generate alternative ideas out of which the manager chooses the optimal solution

which enhances the corporate creativity and translates into the improved corporate performance

which also contributes to the improved competitiveness (Fung, and Wright, 2001).

A very different perspective has been shared by another study which has also supported this idea

that the democratic management style increases the employee motivation and corporate

performance, but this study has explained different reasons behind this phenomenon. According

to this study, in globalise business era, the success of the corporations depends upon their level

of efficiency in responding to the industrial trends. When the democratic management style is

adopted, the corporations' ability to respond to the external challenges and opportunities

increases and that contributes to better competitiveness, innovation and growth. This study has

further elaborated that when employees are involved in the decision-making process, it leads to

the generation of multiple unique ideas and management becomes capable of quickly taking the

decisions. So, on the whole, this study has claimed that democratic management style enhances

the corporation's efficiency of taking decisions and contribute to improved performance

outcomes from both strategic and financial perspectives (Booth, and Rowlinson, 2006).

Another study has proposed that one of the biggest reasons for employees' declining motivation

is the lack of opportunities and lack of tools and abilities by which they can perform at their best.

As per this study, coaching provides opportunities to employees that they can use in their career
development. Coaching can help the workers to realise their goals as it gives them the education

they need and enables them to do and learn from the job better, which can establish higher-level

managerial skills in them (McDermott, Levenson, and Newton, 2007).

A unique aspect has also been proposed, which is valued and supported by many other

researchers. This unique study has stated that instead of proposing a vague statement that

coaching can improve motivation, it is better to evaluate and explain how exactly coaching can

improve motivation. In the later parts of this study, the author has mentioned some particular

types of training, and after analysing them, he has proposed that coaching can directly improve

the level of motivation. The reason for such a statement is also explained where the researcher

has shared that many young age employees are willing to learn more instead of doing the desk

job and getting paid well. Those highly talented employees are the biggest resource an

organisation could ever have so these employees must be allowed to get job rotation training.

This type of training can help them have hands of multiple tasks and a variety of expertise that

can make them feel growing and grasping experience which keeps them motivated and enables

the firm to get best possible performance from them (Joseph, 2015).

One more supportive study has shared that coaching is a managerial style which is a source of

sending a message to the employee about the corporations' willingness to value progress. When

employees start feeling valued and recognise, they tend to be more motivated to help the

management in attaining the corporate goals and objectives. This study has attributed the

coaching an investment made by the employers within the firm, which reflects that the firm

values its human capital which creates a sense of attachment, satisfaction, and loyalty in staff.

Such collaboration also enables the firm to get the maximum benefit out of this motivated
workforce and bring in the creative and innovation with the help of organising those motivated

staff members, not productive teams (Khan, Ahmad, & Naseer, 2015).

To put more light on this area of the underlying topic, another idea could also be taken under

consideration which states that coaching is a management style which helps the employee's

retention through keeping them motivated and helps in mitigating the biggest risk today's

organisation are facing which is the high rate of turnover. Due to the massive pressures on the

employees and number of opportunities in the market, employees are willing to switch the jobs

and avail more financially supporting jobs which are leaving the organisations unstable. The

increased turn over leaves the position empty and imposes significant pressure on the businesses

to conduct the hiring process, which is not only time but also cost consuming. To avoid all of

these financial pressures, waste of time and efforts the innovative training and development

strategies helps the firms in enhancing the level of employees' motivation (Mulang, 2015).

Instead of considering motivation as an ultimate result of the coaching another important aspect

into the same tope should also be considered. One study has shared its ideas that coaching leads

to improved organisational outcomes, and a subset of those elements is the motivation. On the

whole, the coaching focuses on increasing the employee' performance, and employees' outcomes

and these outcomes include performance, motivation and organisational commitment. This study

has also added that this practice of coaching and its impact on employees' outcomes is similar in

many countries and cultures and is a central human resource practice. On the whole, this study

has proposed that motivational level is not the ultimate achievement of coaching, but yes, it can

indirectly impact, and a positive correlation exist between two of the phenomena (Lu, Chieh Lu,

Gursoy, and Neale, 2016).

A unique perspective has been shared by another study which has explained that in any drastic

organisational change such as any collaboration, the global expansion or corporate restructuring,

the employees are likely to feel de-motivated and frustrated. In such scenarios getting the

employees back on track and removing their resistance to change could be facilitated by making

them willing to accept the change and grow along with the corporation. In these types of

circumstances, the businesses could utilise coaching management style. Coaching is not always

about how to have hands-on work, but at times coaching helps the employees in understanding

the corporate process and business practice also facilitates in removing the employees' confusion

and miss understandings about the work. By facilitating them to stay motivated with the help of

training activities, the firms not only smoothen the corporate operations but also ensures the

availability of loyal and highly motivated employee base (Dobre, 2013).

One more analyst has associated the coaching and motivation by incorporating the motivational

theory. The expectancy theory of motivation is used to explain that employees are expected to

exhibit behaviour according to the outcome they tend to receive from the employer in return of

their behaviours. In this regard, the employee might show the willingness to work for long hours

in case they expect a rise in the salary or expects to receive enough training that can facilitate

their future growth. Three basic elements of this Expectancy Theory include the belief that

employees' effort will help them in attaining the desired goal based on his/her experience, level

of self-confidence and perceived difficulty in attaining goals. Then comes the second element of

Instrumentality, which is based on the concept that employees are likely to receive desired

rewards on achieving performance expectations. And the third element is the value they place on

the reward. After explaining this theory of motivation, analysts have stated that employees tend

to have expectations from their employer to train them with all skills and expertise they require
to grow in the job so if their expectation will be met they will be likely to feel more motivated

and encouraged to perform (McCarthy, 2013).

Several studies have been included in the analysis, which has proposed alternative ideas. Some

supportive arguments have been analysed whereas, and some studies have shared completed

contradictory perspective. The critical review of literature as helped in gaining useful

information, but there are still some gaps in the literature which can only be filled by

incorporating the primary data. The research is not only based on a general theoretical concept,

but it is aimed at evaluating the impact of management styles on employees performance and

motivation at "Costco", hence, the findings of the literature will be compared and contrasted with

the primary data collected from employee working at Costco UK, so that gap into the literature

can be filled.

Chapter 3: Research methodology

Research Design

A research design is a combination of methodologies and strategies which are to be incorporated

for attaining the research aim and answering the research questions. Three types of research

designs are widely used including, descriptive, casual research and exploratory design. Each one

of the three types has its characteristics and unique features that make it preferable over the other

types depending on what is the nature of the research problem and what objectives have to be

attained. This underlying report has adopted the descriptive technique.

Research Onion
In 2011, a research Onion was introduced as a framework for conducting the research, and since

then, this research onion has been used widely by academic researchers. It is a framework which

guides regarding the step and procedures which are followed to complete the research. This

framework has gained substantial attention due to the graphical representation of the sequence

and reveals the different research steps and how the information will pass from each stage. The

research Onion presented in 2011 is mentioned below (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill, 2011)

Research Approach

It is a procedure and a plan which guides the detailed steps of the data collection, analysis and its

interpretation. The commonly implemented approaches for research include the inductive and
deductive research approaches. Both of these approaches are significantly different as the

inductive approach is incorporated for defining the new set of theories or new ideas, and it is

conducted on a broader scale. In contrast to inductive research, the deductive research approach

is used when the aim is to verify existing ideas shared in the literature (Kothari, 2004).

There is a significantly large theoretical background on the chosen topic, but there are still some

gaps in the literature. In this regard, the underlying study plans to incorporate existing relevant

studies so that ideas could be compared and synthesised. As the underlying study is not intended

to introduce new theories, the selected research approach is deductive research. So, the selected

approach is the deductive approach under which the ideas already shared by the existing studies

have been verified, compared, and tested, and no new theories have been discovered.

Research Strategy

A Research strategy is a set of activities, techniques methodologies and processes which are

incorporated for attaining the objectives of underlying research (Kothari, 2004). Selection of the

strategy is based on the problem statement and nature of the study. The widely used research

strategies include the case study analysis, survey technique, and comparative analysis of

literature, experimental research or the use of grounded theory approach (Kumar, 2005).

Out of these research strategies, interview method has been chosen (Mohajan, 2018). It was a

face to face interview in which I asked both open-ended and closed-ended questions from my

friend working at Costco (Holmes Jr, Hoskisson, Kim,  Wan, and Holcomb,2018). The results of

this survey have been examined concerning the review of the literature for effectively concluding

the study.
Research Philosophy

The philosophy of research is the framework which is used for collection and analysis of the

research material. The four types of research philosophy include positivism, realism, pragmatism

and interpretivism (Jha, 2008). Out of these research paradigms, the positivism has been selected

for investigating the impact of management styles of coaching and democratic management on

performance and employee motivation of Costco.

Research Choice

Research choice also holds substantial importance as it tends to have a drastic impact on the

outcomes; three different research approaches are having the pros and cons of their own. These

three types include qualitative research, quantitative research and mixed research. The qualitative

research provides the opportunity to conduct a detailed analysis of the information and to explore

more, but it is based on non-quantifiable data. In contrast to this, the quantitative research is

based on the statistical pieces of evidence which can help in making the sound decision based on

factual information, but it can compromise the comprehensiveness of outcomes (Ketchen and

Bergh, 2006).

As the study plans to investigate the analysis of the impact of the management styles at Costco's

performance and motivation the most appropriate choice is the use of mixed research as it has

allowed deep and factual analysis.

Time Horizon

Time horizon is a definite point for the research projects. This is called the time horizon and

planning horizon because beyond this definite point, the results of the research can become non-
reliable or non-applicable. Commonly, two types of time horizons are used, including the cross-

sectional and longitudinal time horizon. The cross-sectional horizon is based on the intervals,

which are short enough that beyond them, the results cannot remain valid. In contrast to this, the

longitudinal is the one horizon which reflects the long run applicability of results.

The use of longitudinal time horizon is not suitable as new trends are emerging and it is difficult

to predict the future impact of management styles on employees' performance and motivation of

"Costco" hence, cross-sectional time horizon has been adopted. Instead, the cross-sectional

approach is suitable for analysing the research topic (Kothari, 2004).

Data Collection

It is important to take into consideration that only the analysis of data does not lead to the desired

results. Instead, the technique used to collect the data also holds a substantial impact on the

creditability of the outcomes. The two data collection methods include primary data and

secondary data sources. The primary data is collected directly from the research respondents

through the questionnaire, interview, survey etc. All primary data has been collected from my

friend who is currently employed at Costco who has been chosen because of my easy access and

his ability to share the information about the management styles adopted at Costco and ability to

judge how those styles have influenced his level of motivation and performance (Kumar,

2019). The results obtained from primary data has been critically compared and contrasted

against the secondary data findings to find synthesis and revealing whether the primary and

secondary data findings are consistent or contradictory for reaching a dependable conclusion

(Jha, 2008).

Secondary sources of data collection

Due to the suitability with the topic under discussion only, secondary data sources have been

incorporated, which are also referred to as the second-hand data sources (Beri, 2013). For

gathering the already used data, only authentic and dependable sources have been used,

including the authentic websites, published journal articles, books etc. All of the secondary data

is gathered for answering the research questions and attaining the research objectives, and no

additional data is collected so that deviation from the core aim of the study could be prevented.

Data Analysis

The approach and techniques by which the data is analysed determine the creditability and

dependability of the data. To analyse the underlying problem, the research has used comparative

and critical analysis of the interview with the literature review.

Limitations

 There are some limitations to the research as well. First of all, the data is to be collected

from 1 employee of COSTCO, which is a very small sample to represent a large

population of all employees of Costco UK (Kumar, 2019).

 Secondly, the study has ignored the impact of the dynamic nature of this industry which

can impact the suitability of the management styles (Kothari, 2004).

 But these limitations do not outweigh the advantages proposed by this study and the

conri8bution it is expected to make in the field by reducing gap into the literature.

Ethical Considerations
  The underlying study has given substantial importance to the prevention of intellectual

property issues, and in this regard, all secondary data is referenced, and proper citations

are provided in the text.

 The research has used the information from various sources and opinions of the

researchers have been discussed, but no personal information of authors has been made

public.

 It has been ensured that all the information gathered for this research has been and will be

used for the underlying research, and it will not be abused.

 The personal information of my friend working at Costco such as name, address, contact

details etc. will be kept private (Ledford, and Gast, 2018). 

 The data gathered from the participant will only be used for the research to investigate

(Kumar, 2019)

 the impact of management styles on innovation and performance of Costco and data will

not be abused or reused (Mohajan, 2018).

 Before reaching the interviewee for gathering data through questionnaire, his prior

consent has been gained (Ledford, and Gast, 2018).

Chapter 4: Discussion of findings

This part of the dissertation is based on comparing and contrasting the primary and secondary

data to reveal the similarities and differences of opinion. The primary data has been collected

from an employee working at Costco UK, and the secondary data has been critically analysed in
the literature review. This chapter is based on an examination of the finding of each interview

question with the ideas proposed by scholars in the literature.

Question 1: Share one reason for each regarding how democratic management style

contribute to employees' motivation and how it improves organisational performance?

In response to this question, my friend, who was selected as the research participants to gain

primary data replied that one reason why democratic management style improves the employees'

motivation is that it recognises the employees. And the one reason why it contributes to

organisational performance is that when employees are made part of decision making, they

become more willing actually to work on that decision. This idea shared by the employee of

Costco that democratic management style recognises the employees and contribute to their

higher motivation is consistent with the study of Fizz, Su, and Saqib (2017). This study has also

shared the same idea that democratic managers gain input from employees in decision making

has several positive implications. The first and foremost positive impact is that when employees

feel recognised and perceive themselves as part of the organisational decision making, their

motivation to exhibit good performance increases. The second positive impact is that motivation

translates into improved corporate performance because today's firms rely significantly on

human resources. This motivated human resource improves the company's strategic and financial

performance. The participant and the scholars have shared the same idea that democratic

management incorporates employees input before final decision making, makes the employees

feel recognised and valued, and that translates into higher motivation and lead to the desired

performance by employees which lead to the attainment of corporate performance goals.

The second reason given by the participant that the involvement of the employees in decision

making increases their willingness to implement the decisions improves corporate performance

is also consistent with the literature. The study of Choi (2007) has shared that when democratic

management includes the employees in decision making, the probability that the employees will

successfully implement that decision increases. Employees become more enthusiastic to perform

accordingly to a decision when their input is involved in it. When their opinions and perspectives

regarding a problem are considered and valued during the decision making, the employees

develop positive attitude and that positive attitude influence quality of their performance and

eventually contribute to better strategic and financial results for their companies and hence, it is

evident that the answers gained from this question are consistent with the secondary data results.

Question 2: Do you agree that democratic management style is contributing to employees'

motivation at Costco and improving the innovativeness and creativity? If yes, how it is

contributing to corporate performance?

In response to this question, the participant answered that yes, the democratic style of

management adopted by Costco's management is directly contributing to corporate performance

because when employees are engaged in decision making, the company manage to generate

many alternative ideas, and out of those ideas the best one is selected. The more the idea

generates the more company becomes capable of choosing the innovative solution. This answer

of the participant is also in compliance with the secondary data as the study of Fung, and Wright

(2001) has also shared the same idea by explaining that business dynamics are highly

challenging where the customers' expectations are increasing, competitive threats are increasing,

and it has become very challenging to remain relevant. So, the organisational performance

depends upon how innovative ideas are generated and the generation of innovative solutions
depends upon what type of managerial style has been adopted. Scholars have also revealed that

the democratic management style contributes greatly to employees' motivation level, and also

lead to innovative idea generation. It is so because as many employees participate in decision

making, they successfully generate alternative ideas out of which the manager chooses the

optimal solution which enhances the corporate creativity and translates into improved corporate

performance and responsiveness which are at heart of sustaining the strong competitive position

in the industry.

Question 3: Have you witnessed that Costco is managing to stay highly efficient by using

democratic management style?

The research participant shared a response that yes, as per my experience at COSTCO, I have

witnessed that the company is very fast in taking decisions. He further explained that I think

democratic style is not only improving the motivation of employees but also raising the

company's level of efficiency because it has access to many ideas and many solutions for the

same problem. When many ideas are available, the managers easily select the most suitable one,

and decisions are quickly taken. This reply is also consistent with the secondary research data

discussed in the literature review. Here, the study of Booth, and Rowlinson (2006) can be

included in the analysis to clarify the similarity of opinion between the primary and secondary

data. This study has also shared that the success of the corporations depends upon their level of

efficiency in responding to industrial trends. When the democratic management style is adopted,

the corporations' ability to respond to the external challenges and opportunities increases and that

contributes to better competitiveness, innovation and growth. When employees are involved in

the decision-making process, it leads to the generation of multiple unique ideas and management

becomes capable of quickly taking the decisions. The primary and secondary data have shared
the same idea that democratic management style enhances the corporation's efficiency of taking

decisions and contribute to improved performance outcomes from both strategic and financial

success.

Question 4: Share three reasons why you think coaching management style is useful for

increasing employee motivation at COSTCO?

He shared that one reason is that coaching management style is not only beneficial for the

company, but it offers long term benefits to the employees by enabling them to learn the skills

which will help them in excelling in their careers. This idea can be backed by a relevant study by

McDermott, Levenson, and Newton (2007) discussed in the literature. This study has explained

that the main reason why motivation of employees decline, is the lack of opportunities and lack

of tools and abilities by which they can perform at their best. As per this study, coaching

provides opportunities to employees that they can use in their career development. The

management style of coaching helps the workers to realise their goals as it gives them the

education they need and enables them to do and learn from their jobs that can contribute to the

development of managerial skills.

The second reason he shared was that coaching management style is motivating employees by

providing them with the opportunity to learn and apply what has been learned in a safe

environment. This idea is also consistent with the literature as a study of Joseph (2015) has

explained that coaching can directly improve the level of motivation. The reason for such a

statement is also explained where the researcher has shared that many young age employees are

willing to learn more instead of doing the desk job and getting paid well. Talented HR is the

biggest resource an organisation could ever have so these employees must be allowed to get job
rotation training. Coaching provides hands-on experience with multiple tasks and a variety of

expertise that can make employees feel growing and grasping experience, which keeps them

motivated and that motivation translates into an exhibition of great performance.

He shared the third reason to be the recognition. He elaborated that at Costco, the environment is

full of healthy competition where all employees are eager to be recognised for their efforts. In

such an environment, the coaching management style is contributing to their motivation as it

makes them feel that they are valued and recognised. There is no inconsistency between the

primary and secondary results, as this idea is also similar to the one proposed in the study of

Khan, Ahmad, and Naseer (2015). This study has shared that coaching is a management style

which is a source of sending a message to the employee about the corporations' willingness to

value progress. When employees start feeling valued and recognise, they tend to be more

motivated to help the management in attaining the corporate goals and objectives. Coaching can

also be considered as an investment made by the employers within the firm, which reflects that

the firm values its human capital which creates a sense of attachment, satisfaction, and loyalty in

staff. Collaboration also enables the firm to get the maximum benefit out of this motivated

workforce and bring in the creative and innovative.

Question 5: Other than motivation, what are the other implications of coaching style which

contribute to better corporate performance?

Some interesting answers were generated in response to this question. He shared that a key

positive implication of coaching management style for Costco is that it is contributing to higher

employee retention as they are highly motivated and enthusiastic about having a career with

Costco. This idea can be backed by the study of Mulang (2015) which has also shared that
coaching is a management style which helps the employee's retention through keeping them

motivated and helps in mitigating the biggest risk today's organisation are facing which is the

high rate of turnover. There are many reasons why employee retention is declining such as

massive pressures on the employees and number of opportunities in the market, and employees

are willing to switch the jobs and avail more financially supporting jobs which are leaving the

organisations unstable. Such pressures increase turnover, and high turnover leaves the position

empty and imposes significant pressure on the businesses to conduct the hiring process, which is

not only time but also cost consuming. To avoid all of these financial pressures, waste of time

and efforts the innovative training and development strategies helps the firms in enhancing

employees' motivation.

The second positive implication he shared was effective change management. He elaborated that

Costco has gone through many changes, and in all those transition phases coaching management

has helped it in staying focused on the goals and coaching has always prevented employees'

resistance. This idea can be backed by the study of Dobre (2013) which any drastic

organisational change such as any collaboration, the global expansion or corporate restructuring,

the employees are likely to feel de-motivated and frustrated. Keeping the employees on track and

removing their resistance to change could be facilitated by making them willing to accept the

change and grow along with the corporation. In these types of circumstances, the businesses

could utilise coaching management style. Coaching is not always about how to have hands-on

work, but at times coaching helps the employees in understanding the corporate process and

business practice also facilitates in removing the employees' confusion and miss understandings

about the work. It keeps employees motivated, and with coaching style, firms not only smoothen

the corporate operations but also ensures the availability of loyal and highly motivated HR.
Question 6: Do you agree that combined use of democratic and coaching management

styles is favourable for Costco or some changes are required?

He shared that the combined use of democratic and coaching management style is helping

Costco in staying relevant, and these two methods are keeping the employees satisfied and

motivated, and that is eventually translating into greater performance outcomes. The company is

meeting the employees' expectations, and as a result, the employees are living up to the

company's expectations of quality performance. This idea can be supported by another study

discussed in the literature as this study has explained that employees are expected to exhibit

behaviour according to the outcome they tend to receive from the employer in return of their

behaviours. In this regard, the employee might show the willingness to work for long hours in

case they expect a rise in the salary or expects to receive enough training that can facilitate their

future growth. Three basic elements of this Expectancy Theory include the belief that employees'

effort will help them in attaining the desired goal based on his/her experience, level of self-

confidence and perceived difficulty in attaining goals. The second element is

Instrumentality which is based on the concept that employee is likely to receive desired rewards

on achieving performance expectations. The third element is the value they base on the reward.

After explaining this theory of motivation analysts has states that employees tend to have

expectations from their employer to train them with all skills and expertise, they require to grow

in the job so if their expectation will be met, they will be likely to feel more motivated and

encouraged to perform. There is clear consistency between the primary and secondary data

results. But he further added that there is no shortcoming in current management style, but for

keeping the pace with ever-changing industrial dynamics, management at Costco can also
consider the use of transformational management style as it may inspire the employees more and

may also contribute to their greater learning and development in the long run.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

The study has included both primary and secondary data and has comparatively examined it.

Now, this part of the dissertation is aimed at summarizing the whole study and its findings and

evaluating the extent to which the predetermined research objectives have been achieved or not.

Attainment of research objectives

The first research objective was to evaluate the impact of democratic leadership on employee

motivation and performance at Costco. After comparing and contrasting the literature and the

primary data, it has been revealed that democratic management style at Costco improves the

employees' motivation by recognising the employees, and this motivation translates into

improved corporate performance. The democratic management style at Costco is based on the

involvement of the employees in decision making increases their willingness to implement the

decisions improves corporate performance by developing positive attitude and that positive

attitude influence quality of their performance and eventually contribute to better strategic and

financial results for their companies. Moreover, the democratic style of management adopted by

Costco's management is directly contributing to corporate performance because when employees

are engaged in decision making, the company manage to generate many alternative ideas, and

out of those ideas, the best one is selected. It enhances corporate creativity and translates into

improved corporate performance and responsiveness, which are at the heart of sustaining the

strong competitive position in the industry. The democratic style is not only improving the

motivation of employees but also raising the company's level of efficiency because it has access
to many ideas and many solutions for the same problem. Moreover, the democratic management

style is enhancing the corporation's efficiency of taking decisions and contribute to improved

performance outcomes from both strategic and financial success.

The second research objective was to elaborate on the implications of coaching style on

motivation and performance. This objective has also been achieved as the study has revealed that

coaching management style is not only beneficial for the company, but it offers long term

benefits to the employees by enabling them to learn the skills which will help them in excelling

in their careers. Coaching provides opportunities to employees that they can use in their career

development and make them willing to grasp new experiences, which keeps them motivated and

that motivation translates into an exhibition of great performance. Moreover, coaching at Costco

is a source of sending a message to the employee about the corporations' willingness to value

progress. When employees start feeling valued and recognise, they tend to be more motivated to

help the management in attaining the corporate goals and objectives. Coaching is also enabling

Costco to over high turnover and also supporting effective change management.

The third objective was to investigate whether the management styles at Costco have positive

impacts on the employees' performance and motivation or there are some negative impacts as

well, and the data collected for this objective has revealed that there are no negative implications.

Only positive implications have been revealed as the literature, and its comparison with the

primary data collected through interview has revealed that at Costco, democratic management

style recognises the employees and contribute to their higher motivation and motivated human

resource improves the company's strategic and financial performance. Involvement of the

employees in decision making increases their willingness to implement the decisions improves

corporate performance and contribute to better strategic and financial results for their companies.
When employees are engaged in decision making, the company manage to generate many

alternative ideas, and out of those ideas, the best one is selected. The more the idea generates the

more company becomes capable of choosing the innovative solution. The democratic style is not

only improving the motivation of employees but also raising the company's level of efficiency

because it has access to many ideas and many solutions for the same problem and that

contributes to better competitiveness, innovation and growth.

On the other hand, coaching management style is not only beneficial for the company, but it

offers long term benefits to the employees by enabling them to learn the skills which will help

them in excelling in their careers. Coaching provides hands-on experience with multiple tasks

and a variety of expertise that can make employees feel growing and grasping experience, which

keeps them motivated and that motivation translates into an exhibition of great performance.

Moreover, coaching management style for Costco is that it is contributing to higher employee

retention as they are highly motivated and enthusiastic about having a career with Costco. And

another positive implication he shared was effective change management. It keeps employees

motivated, and with coaching style, firms not only smoothen the corporate operations but also

ensures the availability of loyal and highly motivated HR. The combined use of democratic and

coaching method The company is allowing Costco to meet the employees' expectations, and as a

result, the employees are living up to the company's expectations of quality performance.

The fourth objective was proposed recommendations to improve management styles at Costco

for ensuring organisational success. This objective has also been achieved, and it has been

revealed that there is no shortcoming in current management style, but for keeping the pace with

ever-changing industrial dynamics, management at Costco can also consider the use of
transformational management style as it may inspire the employees more and may also

contribute to their greater learning and development in the long run.

Research implications

Many scholars have to propose alternative ideas and perspectives regarding the most suitable

management styles and philosophies to enhance the competitiveness of multinational

corporations, and various studies have also concentrated on revealing most suitable management

styles in the wholesale, retail sector (Corbett, and Veenendaal, 2017).  Over the last decade, the

importance of democratic management has increased, and scholars have attributed it as one of

the most suitable management styles as it is claimed to increase employee motivation and loyalty

and eventually corporate performance. But there are still many gaps into the literature as there

are many contradictory perspectives, and secondly, very few studies have concentrated on

revealing most suitable leadership philosophies and their implications for the companies

operating in the wholesale industry in which Costco operates (Jasper, 2018). So as an underlying

study has incorporated both primary and secondary data, this study has eliminated the gap in the

literature and has provided industry-specific information which could not has not only enhanced

the dependability of research outcomes for academic researchers, but other retail chains can also

use it for decision making

Future research recommendations

 The underlying study is based on a very small sample to represent a large population of

all employees of Costco UK; hence, the future studies can incorporate large sample size

capable of representing a large population (Kumar, 2019).

  This study has ignored the impact of the dynamic nature of this industry which can

impact the suitability of the management styles, so the future studies can also focus on

the industry-specific dynamics and their impact as well (Kothari, 2004).

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Open-ended interview questions

Question 1: Share one reason for each regarding how democratic management style contribute

to employees' motivation and how it improves organisational performance?

Question 2: Do you agree that democratic management style is contributing to employees'

motivation at Costco and improving the innovativeness and creativity? If yes, how it is

contributing to corporate performance?

Question 3: Have you witnessed that Costco is managing to stay highly efficient by using

democratic management style?

Question 4: Share three reasons why you think coaching management style is useful for

increasing employee motivation at COSTCO?

Question 5: Other than motivation, what are the other implications of coaching style which

contribute to better corporate performance?

Question 6: Do you agree that combined use of democratic and coaching management styles is

favourable for Costco or some changes are required?