THE ROLE OF MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP IN

CORPORATE GOAL ATTAINMENT

(A CASE STUDY OF DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC.)

BY

EZE CHARLES
PG/MBA/11/60598

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT
FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
ENUGU CAMPUS

AUGUST, 2012
 i
TITLE

The Role of Managerial Leadership in

Corporate Goal Attainment
(A Case Study of Dangote Flour Mills)

By

Eze Charles
PG/MBA/11/60598

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for

the Award of Masters in Business Management (MBA)
Department of Management
Faculty of Business Administration
University of Nigeria
Enugu Campus

Supervisor: Dr. E.K. Agbaeze

August, 2012
 ii

APPROVAL
This thesis has been approved for the Department of
Management, Faculty of Business Administration, University of
Nigeria, Enugu Campus.

________________
_________________
Dr. E.K. Agbaeze Dr. C.A. Ezigbo
Project Supervisor Head of Department

____________________
___________________
Date Date

__________________
External Examiner

-----------------
Date
 iii

CERTIFICATION
I, EZE CHARLES, a Postgraduate student in the
Department of Management, Faculty of Business
Administration, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus with
Registration Number PG/MBA/11/60598 certify that the work
contained therein is original and has not been submitted in part
of full for any other Diploma or Degree in this or any other
institution.

_________________
Eze Charles
PG/MBA/11/60598
 iv

DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to the Almighty God for His mercies
and loving kindness and goodness towards
me.
 v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My ability to pursue a higher degree to completion inspite
of the numerous odds is a great testimony of the love of the
Almighty God. To Him I give all the glory.
To my Supervisor Dr. E.K. Agbaeze, I remain eternally
grateful, knowing you is a blessing to me. I appreciate you for
all the useful corrections that were done without delay and most
especially your encouragement. May God bless you forever.
I quite appreciate the effort of Head of Department of
Management, Dr. C.A. Ezigbo, ensuring this work is properly
done.
I am grateful to the Dean of Faculty of Business
Administration, Prof. U.J.F. Ewurum, for his encouragement and
moral support which enhanced the successful completion of this
study, Dr. J.J. Onwumere, Mrs. N. Modebe, Mr. S.N. Kodjo, Dr.
V.A. Onudugo, Dr. O. Ugbam, Dr. B.I. Chukwu, other lecturers
in the Department of Management and Faculty of Business
Administration in University of Nigeria Enugu Campus whose
untiredly effort made my academic pursuit a success.
 vi

My unalloyed appreciation goes to Bar. Uti for his

encouragement which gave me a lot of inspiration and
enthusiasm to pursue the programme with determination.
I also wish to express my profound gratitude to my
colleagues Mr. Maxwell Duru and Engr. Nwankwo Ndubuisi I.
and Mr. Onyema. you are a friend indeed, and my beloved sister
Mrs. Edna Nwobodo more grease to your elbow remain blessed.
My profound gratitude to my precious wife, a virtuous
woman Mrs. Bridget O. Eze and my lovely son Master Philemon
Enuoma Eze who prayed and had to contend with my continued
stay away from home in the course of my academic pursuit.
To everybody acknowledged I pray, may God grant you
your heart desires in Jesus Name, Amen.
Once again, I thank God Almighty for mercy, strength and
wisdom to surmount all odds to acquire a higher degree.
Eze
Charles
 vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE........................................................................................... i
APPROVAL ................................................................................ii
CERTIFICATION ...................................................................... iii
DEDICATION ............................................................................iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................ v
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................ vii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................. xiv

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study .................................................. 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem ................................................ 4
1.3 Objective of the Study ...................................................... 5
1.4 Research Question .......................................................... 6
1.5 Operational Hypotheses .................................................. 8
1.6 Significance of the Study ................................................. 9
1.7 Scope and De-limitation of the Study ............................. 10
1.8 Organization of the Study .............................................. 10
1.9 Definition of Terms ......................................................... 11
 viii

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1Approaches to the Study of and
Understanding Leadership Theories .............................. .18
2.1.1 The Trait Approach ............................................... 18
2.1.2 The Behavioural Approach ................................... 21
2.1.3 The Contingency (Or Situational) Approach ......... 24
2.2 Forces that Influence the Choice of Leadership ............ 42
2.3 The Role of Vision in Effective Leadership .................... 45
2.4 Distinction between Leadership and Management ........ 46
2.5 Contemporary Perspectives on Leadership ................... 49
2.5.1 Substitute for Leadership ...................................... 50
2.5.2 Empowerment ...................................................... 51
2.5.3 Transformational Leadership ................................ 52
2.6 Leadership as a Communication Process ..................... 53
2.7 Leadership as a Problem-Solving Process .................... 55
2.8 Leadership as a Multinational Process .......................... 56
2.9 Women in Leadership Positions .................................... 58
 ix

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design ........................................................... 61
3.2 Scope of the Research Area .......................................... 62
3.3 Sources of Method of Data Collection ............................ 62
3.4Population of the Study ...................................................... 64
3.5 Sample Size ................................................................... 66
3.6 Mode of Specification ..................................................... 68

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF
FINDINGS
4.1 General Description of Data ........................................... 70
4.2 Analysis of Personal Characteristics
of Respondents .............................................................. 71
4.3 Analysis of Hypotheses .................................................. 77
4.3.1 Test of Hypothesis One ........................................ 81
4.3.2 Test of Hypothesis Two ........................................ 87
4.3.3 Test of Hypothesis Three ...................................... 93
4.4 Discussion of Findings ................................................... 98
 x

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary of Major Findings .......................................... 102
5.2 Conclusion ................................................................... 103
5.3 Recommendations ....................................................... 105
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................... 107
APPENDIX ................................................................... 101
 xi

LIST OF TABLES
Table
1.Number of Questionnaire Administered and
Returned ........................................................................ 72
2.Respondents' Literacy Level ................................................ 73
3.Age Distribution of Respondents .......................................... 75
4.Sex Distribution of Respondents .......................................... 76
5.Responses as per Attainment of Goals
between 2011 and 2012 ................................................ 76
6.Responses as per whether there were jobs
that could be performed with little or no
Supervision by Managers ............................................... 78
7.Responses as to whether the Management of the Company
should be blamed in the event of non Attainment of Goals.
........................................................................................ 79
8.Responses per the Relationship between
Managerial Leadership and Corproate
Goal Attainment ............................................................. 82
9.Computation of the Correlation
Coefficient between Managerial
Leadership and Goal Attainment ................................... 83
 xii

10.Responses as per the Relationship between

Leadership Styles of Managers and the
Productivity of Employees .............................................. 88
11.Computation of Correlation Coefficient
between Leadership Styles of Managers
and the Productivity of Employees ................................. 89
12.Responses as per the Relationship
between Employee Motivation and
Attainment of Corporate Goal ........................................ 93
13.Computation of Correlation of Coefficient
between Employee Motivation and
Attainment of Corproate Goal ........................................ 94
 xiii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1:The Managerial Grid................................................... 26
 xiv
ABSTRACT

This study investigates the role of managerial leadership in

corproate goal attainment, using Dangote Flour Mills Plc.
Calabar as the case study. A sample size of 106 staff of the
Company was used for the study. The data for this study was
generated from well structured questionnaires, which were
administered on the respondents. Three hypotheses were
tested using the Pearson's Correlation Coefficient Technique.
The result of the analysis revealed that there was a strong
relationship between role of managerial leadership and
company goal attainment; there was a significant between the
leadership styles of managers and the productivity of
employees; there was a strong relationship between motivation
and the company's goal attainment. In view of the above
findings, it was recommended that management should
periodically interact with technical and professional job holders
to ensure that they perform their task as in line with the common
goal of the company. There should be a general education on
the concept of "Collective responsibility' so that every staff
knows that he equally has responsibility for the attainment of
organizational goal as well as for failure to achieve such goals.
 1

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Leadership in any form and at any level is vital to the
survival of any establishment. "An organization without
leadership is like a car moving without a driver". Leadership is
very crucial to the smooth running of the family, private or public
organizations, religious organizations, it is often said can not
grow above or below its leadership. That is to say that the
success or failure of any organization hinges on the quality of
the organization's leadership, since all institutions or
organizations need able and dynamic leadership for effective
performance. It was in recognition of this fact that Bennis and
Nanus as quoted by Higgins (1991) observed that "a business
short of capital can borrow money, they one with poor location
can move, but a business short of leadership has little chance of
survival".
Omolayole (1993) argued that in any given society or
community, leadership is always present at any point in time,
either formal or informal, conferred or assumed, because as he
puts it, "nature abhors vacuum". Therefore, he observed, "if
 2

there is a formal leader and he refuses to lead, somehow a

person will emerge unofficially to fill the role". The formal or the
unofficial leader may be ineffective, but a vacuum most not be
allowed to exist.
When one ponders over the subject of leadership, many
ideas come to mind. One might relate leadership to power,
authority or influence. In fact, the concept of leadership always
evolves a multitude of thoughts, which make the subject of
leadership an exciting one.
Higgins (1991) agreed with popular opinion that leadership
is essential and a pivotal force for organizational success. He
supported the position that leadership involves influencing
others and that a leader is a person who has followers. People,
he believed follow their leaders because they (leaders) take
certain actions and behave in certain ways. Arising from his
understanding of what leadership entails and who a leader is,
Higgins (1991) defined leadership as "the process making
choices about how to treat people in order to influence them and
then translating those choices into actions". He submits that
those choices and actions are design to influence others to
follow the leader.
 3

But is leader necessary, or even desired in all situations?

Must there always be someone who shows the way for others to
follow in all work situations? The answers to these questions
and more are not always in affirmative because of the nature of
some jobs and the calibre of people performing them as well as
the condition(s) under which they work.
Supporting this line of argument, Certo (1992), Bateman
and Zeithaml (1993) maintained that "leadership is not always
necessary in all situations" they argued that sometimes leaders
do not have to lead, or they simply cannot lead. They posits that
the situation may be on which makes leadership have very little
or no impact at all. "Situational substitute" they argued,
sometimes have as much influence on employees just as any
leader would. Situational substitute, according to them can arise
due to a number of reasons, including factors that are beyond
the leaders control. Because so many factors affects a
situation, they observed, some people argues that "leadership is
actually irrelevant in many organizational settings".
These opposing views on the relevance or otherwise of
leadership to organizational success have actually aroused the
 4

interest of management schools and practitioners. This study

attempts to investigate whether or not managerial leadership
contributed to the attainment of corproate goals in Dangote
Flour Mills Plc., Calabar.

1.2STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Managerial leadership refers to the kind of direction which
management at any level gives to the organization in order to
achieve the objectives and/or goals of the enterprise. But there
is no Universally accepted approach, the approaches to and
styles of leadership differ from organization to organization.
Even as an individual to individual even within the same
organization. Even an individual manager should not (and must
not) use one approach or style of leadership all the time for
obvious reasons. But it is widely believed that leadership in
whatever form or style impacts either positively or negatively on
organizational performance. The question is "what type of
leadership?" because the corproate goal attainment of the
company depends to a very large extent on its leadership. This
study sets out to ensure the question: To
 5

what extent does managerial leadership of Dangote Flour Mills

Plc, Calabar influence the attainment of the company's
objectives.

1.3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this study are categorized into two:
i. General Objectives
ii.Specific Objectives
i. General Objectives of the Study
The general objective of this study is to determine whether there
is a relationship between managerial leadership and goal
attainment in an organization.
ii. Specific Objectives
The specific objectives of this study include the following
i.To determine the effect of managerial leadership on corproate
goal attainment in Dangote Flour Mills Plc., Calabar.
ii.To identify the factors that encourages or discourages
effective managerial leadership in the company
being studied.
 6

iii.To investigate to what extent the employees of the

company appreciate the leadership style of their
managers'
iv.To find out whether the attainment or otherwise of these
goals was due to effective or efficient managerial
leadership.
v.To establish whether the goals of the company were
achieved during the period under study.
vi.To establish whether there could be tasks, the
performance of which require very little or no
managerial leadership.
vii.To identify any other factor(s) which may have
contributed to the attainment of goals during this
period.
viiiTo make recommendations based on the findings of the
study.

1.4RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the
following research questions are raised to aid the research
effort:
 7

i.Is there any relationship between managerial leadership style

and the attainment of corporate goals in Dangote Flour
Mills, Plc., Calabar.
ii.Do employees of Dangote Flour Mills Plc., Calabar appreciate
the leadership style of their managers/supervisors?
iii.To what extent does the management of the company enjoy
the cooperation of their workers?
iv.What were the goals of Dangote Flour Mills Plc., Calabar
between 2011 and 2012?
v.Have the goals of the company been achieved during the
period under study?
vi.Was the attainment or otherwise of these goals due, in the
main, to the quality of managerial leadership of the
company during the period?
vii.What are the factors that enhance or inhibit managerial
leadership in Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar?
viiiAre the employees of Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar
adequately motivated to enhance productivity?
 8

ix.Are there tasks, which could be successfully performed

without the guidance and direction of the leadership or
management of the company?

1.5OPERATIONAL HYPOTHESES
The following hypotheses have been formulated for this
study:
1.Ho:There is no significant relationship between managerial
leadership and corproate goal attainment.
H1:There is a significant relationship between managerial
leadership and corproate goal attainment.
2.Ho:There is no significant relationship between the Leadership
Styles of the Managers and the Productivity of
Employees.
H1:There is a significant relationship between the Leadership
Styles of the Managers and the Productivity of
Employees.
 9

3.Ho:There is no significant relationship between employee

motivation and attainment of corproate goal.
H1:There is a significant relationship between employee
motivation and attainment of corproate goal.

1.6SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of any research study lies in the
application of its findings for operational purposes. The
significance of this is to prove or disprove whether managerial
leadership is necessary for the attainment of corproate goals in
Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar. The study highlights the
significance of managerial leadership to employees'
performance so that the management of the company would be
guided in her strategic decisions.
Furthermore, the study will provide more knowledge in the
study of organizational leadership and its effects on
organizational outcomes.
 10

1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This research study is limited to Dangote Flour Mills Plc.,
Calabar, locate at the Calabar Free Trade Zone, Calabar with
particular reference to its activities between 2000 and 2005.
The study attempts to establish the impact of managerial
leadership on the corporate goal attainment of the company.
Because of the distance of the company's location from
the researcher, the study will be constrained by increased
financial outlay and time. Lack of research materials will limit the
scope of this study.

1.8 ORGANIZATIONAL OF THE STUDY

This study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one
introduces the subject matter of leadership and highlights a
general overview of the study. Chapter two reviews related
literature covering what various authors have written concerning
the topic. Chapter three dwells on research methodology. This
specifies various methods used in conducting the research. In
chapter four, presentations, analysis and discussion of data are
done. In this chapter,
 11

hypotheses are tested and findings discussed. Chapter five

presents the summary of findings, conclusions and
recommendations of the study.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

The operational definitions of the terms used in this study
are as follows:
! Goal Attainment
Accomplishing a mission to achieve an objective> this is what
justifies the very existence of any organization.
! Leadership
A process of guiding and directing people, and influencing their
behaviours positively for the benefits of the group to which
they belong. In this study, it is used interchangeably with
management.
! Management
The term "management" is considered as a group of people a
the helm of affairs in an organization. It is used here to
mean the same thing as leadership.
 12

! Managerial Leadership
This means leadership by the management or supervisory cadre
of the organization.
! Managerial Performance
The degree of how well or badly the management of the
organization has carried out her functions.
! Organization
A social and/or economic entity with some set goals, the
attainment of which all members? efforts are geared
towards.
! Organizational Goals
Means the specific, quantifiable or measurable objective of an
organization.
! Situation Substitutes
Situations or factors which naturally make employees to act in
particular ways without recourse to the leadership of the
organization.
 13

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Management scholars and theorists defines leadership in
different ways. While some argue that leadership is a process of
influencing people towards the attainment of group goals, others
see it as a process of directing the behaviour of others towards
the accomplishment of some objectives.
Hodgetts (1990) defines leadership as the directing of
immediate subordinates, the ability to influence other people
towards the attainment of goals, an influence process directed
at shaping the bahaviour of others, and the process of
influencing individual or group activities towards the
achievement of enterprise objectives. He saw leadership as part
of the management process.
On this part, Mullins (1998) see leadership as a dynamic
process, which is related to motivation and the process of
communication. He maintained that it is difficult to generalize
about leadership, but essentially that it is a relationship through
which one person influences the behaviour of other people. In
Mullin's view, a more specific distinction that
 14

draws attention to the relationship between leadership and

communication sees leadership as "interpersonal influence that
exercise in a situation and directed through the communication
process towards the attainment of a specific goal". Inyang
(2001) defines leadership as the "process of influencing group
activities towards goal setting and goal attainment, an act or
process of influencing people so that they strive willingly and
enthusiastically towards the realization of group goal".
The terms "leader' and "leadership" appear to be two
inseparable concept, and perhaps an understanding of who a
leader is, would enhance our understanding of the concept of
leadership. In order to broaden our understanding of the two
related concepts, leader and leadership. Gbadamosi and
Adebakin (1996) maintained that a leader is one who inspires
others to work willingly towards the achievement of a goal
through maximum application of his personal capabilities and
qualities. In other words, people are said to be leaders only to
the extent that they succeed in their attempt to influence others
to work towards the ultimate achievement of the goals
 15

the leader and the others believe in. In doing so, the leader is
expected to have some basic attributes such as skills,
intelligence, determination, imagination, endurance and
courage. Accordingly, they defined leadership as the "process
of influencing and directing the activities of an organized group
towards the achievement of the group or organizational set
objectives".
In his contribution, Etuk (1995: p.120) observes that "a
leader is a person who influences others in the direction of his
goals". In an organizational or group context, he further
observes, the leader's goal would be an identical with those of
the group. Thus, he defines leadership as "the managerial
function of motivating an organization's personnel towards the
attainment of organizational goal".
In his contribution, Ihejiamaizu (2003) opines that
"leadership involves sharing power and influence, but the leader
is one who is able to unite people in pursuit of organizational
goals". He went further to stress that "leadership is the matter
of degree, the strength of influence depends on the personal
qualities of the leader as related to
 16

the qualities of those that he attempts to influence and the

situation in which the group finds itself, and that is every,
organization, there are four kinds of people; those who watch
things happen, those who do not know what is happening and
those who make things happen. The leader is the one who
make things happen through other people, and his greatest
quality is the capacity to coordinate and motivate others to
achieve desired ends.
In his contribution Kreitner (1995) defines leadership as a
social influence process in which the leader seeks the voluntary
participation of subordinate in an effort to reach organizational
objectives. To encourage voluntary participation, he believes
leaders have to supplement any authority or power they posses
with their person attributes and social skill observing that "a
good leader is some one who can send you to hell and make
you look forward to the trip.'' Distinguishing between managers
and leaders, Neckel (1999) maintained that while man brace
and manage change. The defined leadership as" creating a
vision for others to follow, establishing corporate values and
entries and transforming the
 17

way the organization does business in order to improve its

effectiveness and efficiency " (Ncckel 1999:p.376).
Bateman and Snell (1999:409) distinction between supervisory
leadership and strategics leadership. According to therein
"support and correctives, while "strategic leadership is
behaviours that gives purpose and meaning to organizations".
They posited that, in modern business environment, strategic
leadership need to be actively performed by people throughout
the organization, not just a few people at the top.
From the forgoing, we can conclude that managerial
leadership is a social and dynamic process through which
managers shape the behaviours and activities of their
subordinates without the use of corrective influence, eliciting the
subordinate voluntary participation in an organized effort to
attain organizational goal(s). Managers attempt to encourage
their subordinates to think and acts strategically and behave like
complete business people. It is the leadership that create vision
for the organization and causes other to bring the visions to
fruition.
 18

Because managers are always appointed not assumed, it is

always formal and not informal.

2.1APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF AND

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP THEORIES
According to Grffin (1990) there are basically three
approaches or models to the study of, understanding leadership
theories. these approaches or models are;
1. the trait approach.
2. the behavioural approaches and
3. the situational (or contingency) Approach.

2.1.1 The Trait Approach

According to Bateman and Snell (1999), the Trait
approach is a leadership perspective that focus on individual
leaders and attempt to determine the personal characteristics
that great leaders share.
They maintain that the trait approach assumes the
existence of leaders are born, and not made.
 19

Supporting this opinion, Griffin (1990: p. 406) opined that,

the underling assumption of the tract model is that "there exist
some basic trait or set of traits that differentiate leaders from
non-leaders". Therefore of those traits could be defined, it is
believed, potential leaders could be identified. Leadership traits,
it was thought, included among others, intelligence,
assertiveness, good physical appearance, good vocabulary, self
confidence and similar attributes. But research into leadership
characteristics proved the assumption of the trait theory wrong,
that there was no common traits shared by leaders and that
great leaders were not necessary born, they could be made.
Griffin (1990: p.180) submits that "rather than those traits
being the cause of leadership, however, it might be that
successful leaders begin to display those traits after they have
achieved leadership position".
Since the results of the studies on the trait theory were
disappointing and frustrating, many researchers gave up trying
to identify traits as predictors of leadership ability.
 20

One of such researchers was McGregor (1960) who, in his

famous theory X and Y postulated that the leader's assumption
about people override any peculiar trait(s) of the leader in his
leadership ability. The theory X leader or manager by
McGregor's estimation has negative assumptions about people,
that on the average, people dislike work and would avoid it if it
were possible, that because of this inherent dislike for work,
tight control, direction and coercion are necessary, and that the
people prefer to be directed, wish to avoid responsibility, have
relatively little ambition, and above all, want security. A leader
or manager who has these assumptions about people will tend
to be authoritative in his leadership behaviour.
On the other hand, the theory Y manager or leader has
positive assumptions about people, that the expenditure of
physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest,
that external control is necessary if people are made to be
committed to agreed goals, that commitment to objective is a
function of reward associated with their achievement, and that
the average human being under normal conditions, learns not
only to accept responsibility.
 21

McGregor's theories paved the way to the study of

leadership from different perspectives such as the behavioural
and situational perspectives. As Higgion (1999) pointed out,
McGregor's contribution was the first and perhaps the only
theory that linked assumption to actions.

2.1.2 The Behavioural Approaches

After unsuccessful attempt through the trait approach to
discover common traits that could predict leadership success,
researchers started to investigate other variables, especially the
behaviours or actions of leaders. Thus attention shifted from
what leaders were like to what leaders actually did. The new
hypothesis was that, the "behaviour' of effective leaders. Hence,
the goal was to develop a fuller understanding of leadership
behaviours, and a set of theories that attempted to explain these
behaviours came to be known as "behavioural theorists".
Robbins, Coulter (2000: p. 74) defined behavioural
theories as "theories identifying behaviours that differentiate
effective leaders from ineffective leaders". Among the
behavioural approach studies undertaken were:
 22

a)Ohio State University (OSU) Studies

b)The Michigan State University Studies
c) The Managerial Grid
d)The Autocratic-Democratic Continuum
a) The Ohio State University (OSU) Studies
Researchers in the Ohio State University, USA undertook
comprehensive studies about leadership behaviours in the
1940s. These studies sought to identify independent
dimensions of leadership behaviours. Beginning with over
1,000 dimensions, they eventually narrowed the list to just
categories that accounted for most of the leadership
behaviours described by subordinates, and called these
two dimensions, "initiating structure" and considerations".
Initiating structure behaviour according to Griffin (1990) involves
defining the leader-subordinate role so that everyone
knows what is expected of him/her, establishing formal
lines of communication, and determining tasks to be
performed. While consideration behaviour involves
showing concern for subordinates
 23

and attempting to establish a warm, friendly and supportive

climate.
b)The Michigan State University
At about the same time the OSU research was being
conducted, a similar research was being carried out at the
University of Michigan, U.S.A. This study also identifies
two lead-job related behaviours which were termed "job-
centered" and "employee-centered" behaviours.
Higgins (1991) maintained that, the job-centered is one who
stress on the production and technical aspects of the job,
with employees viewed as the means of getting the job
done. The employees-centered leader in Higgins' view is
one who is concerned with the human relations aspect of
the job, considering employees as human beings of
intrinsic importance with individual, personal needs.
The conclusion of the Michigan Studies strongly favoured
employee-centered behaviour. According to the
researcher, employee-centered leaders were
 24

associated with high group productivity and higher job

satisfaction.
c) The Managerial (or Leadership) Grid Theory
Robert Blake and Jane Hougton as quoted by Kreitner (1995)
developed a two-dimensional view of leadership behaviour
based on what they called a leader's "concern for people"
and "concern for production or task".
This was presented on the two axis - the vertical axis depicting
"concern for production" (See p. 1)
According to Kreitner (1995), concern for production involves a
desire to achieve greater output, cost effectiveness and
profits in profit-seeking organization. Concern for people
on the other hand involves promoting friendship, helping
co-workers get this job done, and attending to things that
matter to people such as pay and working conditions. By
scaling each axis from 1 - 9, the Grid is highlighted by five
major leadership styles or behaviours thus:
 25

1,1 Style:Primary concern is for both production and

people.
1,9 Style:Primary concern is for people. Concern for
production is secondary.
5,5 Styles:Moderate concern for both production and
people to maintain the status quo.
9,1 Styles:Primary concern for production, concern for
people is secondary.
9,9 Style:High concern for both production and people
evidenced by personal commitment, mutual
trust and team work.
 26

Although the authorize stress that managers or leaders need to

be versatile enough to select courses of action appropriate
to the situation, they nevertheless contend that a 9,9
behaviour correlates, positively with better results, better
mental and physical health and effective conflict
resolution. They did not believe the conclusion that there
is no best leadership style, rather they were of the opinion
that a true 9,9 style has never been adequately tested by
any leader in any situation.
 27

d)The Autocratic-Democratic Continuum

This is one of the leadership behaviours studies done by
researchers at the University of Lowa, U.S.A. In their
studies, the researchers explored three leadership
behaviours: autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire.
Robbins and Coutler (2000) described the three
leadership behaviours as follows: Autocratic style describes a
leader who typically tends to centralize authority, dictate work
methods, makes unilateral decisions and limits subordinates'
participation in decision making.
The democratic style of leadership describes a leader who
tends to involve subordinates in decision making, delegates
authority, encourages participation in decision making, work
methods, goals and uses feedback as an opportunity for
coaching subordinates.
The Laissez-faire style is typical of a leader who generally
gives group complete freedom to make decisions and complete
the work in whatever way it sees fit. The behaviours a Laissez-
faire leader might exhibit might include providing necessary
materials or answering questions.
 28

In order to ascertain which of these was most effective,

researchers trained people to use each of these styles in
leading groups of young boys from the local boys' club. They
discovered that Laissez-faire style was ineffective on every
performance criteria when compared to autocratic and
democratic styles. And that quantity of work done was equal in
groups with autocratic and democratic styles, but quality of work
and group satisfactions were higher in the democratic groups.
The result seems to indicate that democratic leadership
behaviour could contribute to both quantity of work. But the
autocratic-democratic continuum studies could not provide
answer to which leadership behaviour was most appropriate, as
later studies of autocratic and democratic styles showed mixed
results.
However, Inyang (2001) identifies two additional
leadership styles; participative and supportive leadership styles.
According to him, the participative leader consults with
subordinates, solicits, suggestions and advice in decision
making. On the other hand, the supportive leader shows
 29

concern for the status, well-being and personal use of

subordinates, focuses on developing statistifactory interpersonal
relations among group members, and seeks to create a friendly
and pleasant social climate.
Nickels, McHugh and Mcttugh (1999) observed that
individual leaders rarely fit into just one of these categories, but
operate on a continuum with varying amount of employee
participation ranging from purely boss-centred leadership to
subordinate -centred leadership. They maintained that no one
style is best, but that successful leadership depends largely on
who is being led and in what situation(s).
when it became clear that no one best style of leadership
existed, management scholars advocated the contingency or
situation thinking. Kreitner (1995) maintained that, seven though
many situational leadership theories have been developed, all of
them share one fundamental assumption, that is, "successful
leadership occurs when the leader's style matches the situation"
(Kreitner, 1995, p. 475), situational leadership theories thus
stress the need for flexibility in leadership behaviours. They
reject the notion of universally applicable style.
 30

We will now examine same of these theories concerning

situational leadership.
a)Fiedler's Contingency Theory
In this model, Fiedler (1976) postulates that, "group
performance is a result interaction of two factors. These
factors are: Leadership style and situational
favourableness". In Fiedler's model, leadership
effectiveness is the result of interaction between the style
of the leader and the characteristics of the environment in
which the leader works.
The first major factor in this theory is the leadership style. This is
the consistent system of interaction that takes place
between a leader and work group. According to Fielder,
and Individual's leadership style depends upon his/her
personality and is, thus, fixed. In order to classify
leadership styles, Fiedler developed an index called the
least-preferred co-worker (LPC) scale.
The LPC scale requires a leader to think of all the persons with
whom he/she has ever worked, and then to describe the
one person with whom he/she worked
 31

least well. This person can be someone from the past or

someone he/she is currently working with. From a scale of
1 to 8, the leader is required to described this person on a
series of bipolar scales such as those shown below:

Unfriendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Friendly

Hostile 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Supportive

Uncooperative 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cooperative

Unguarded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Guarded

The responses to these scales are summed and

averaged. A high LPC score suggests that the leader has a
human relations orientation, Fiedlers logic is that, individuals
who rate their least-preferred co-worker in relatively favourable
light on these scales device satisfaction out of interpersonal
relationship. Those who rate the co-worker in a relatively
unfavourable light get satisfaction out of successful task
performance.
 32

The second major factor in Fiedler's theory is the

situational favourableness or environmental variables. This is
basically defined as the degree to which a situation enables a
leader to exert influence over a group. Fiedler then extends his
analysis by focusing on three key situation factors, which are,
leader-member relationship task structure and position power.
Each of these factors is defined as follows:
i.Leader-Member Relationship
This refers to the degree to which the employees accept the
leaders. It implies the nature of interpersonal relationship
between the leader and the followers, expressed in terms
of good or bad.
ii. Task Structure
This refers to the degree to which the subordinates, jobs are
described in details. It refers to the nature of the
subordinates' tasks described as `structured' or
`unstructured", associated with the amount of creative
freedom allowed the subordinate to accomplish task, and
how the task is defined.
 33

iii. Position Power

This refers to the formal authority the leader possesses by virtue
of his/her position in the organization. It is the degree to
which the position itself enables the leader to get group
members to comply with and accept his/her direction and
leadership.
According to this theory, if a leader has a good report with
members and, the task is structured, and his position power is
strong, he should use a distinctive (or task-oriented) style
because that style would work best under those conditions.
Simply put, when things are going your way, you can be task-
oridnated, but when there are not, people orientation is
necessary.
Out of Fielder's conclusions was that, the manager should
attempt to change his style to match with the situation.
b)Tannenbaum-Schmidt's Model
Roberts Tannenbaum and Warren Schmidt as quoted by
Higgins (1991) presented their ideas of leadership
behaviour on a continuum, ranging from boss-centered
 34

to subordinate-centered behaviours. In their model, they

presented several alternatives ways for managers to
approach decision making depending on how much
participation they want to allow the subordinates in
decision-making process.
According to the authors, the manager's choices depend
on three basic factors, namely:
i.Forces in the Manager
His value system, confidence in subordinates, leadership
inclinations and feeling of security in uncertain situation,
ii. Forces in the Subordinates
His expectations, needs for independence, readiness to assume
responsibility, tolerance for ambiguity in task definition,
interest in the problem ability to understand and identity
with the organization goals, and knowledge and
experience to deal with the problem.
iii.Forces in the Situation
Types of organization, group effectiveness/cohesiveness, the
problem or task itself and the pressure of time.
 35

According to Higgin (1991), this model was extremely important

because it was the first to frame leadership in terms of the
specific behaviour choices that managers have.
c)The Path-Goal Theory
Another situation leadership model is the path-goal theory put
forward by Robert House and Terrence Mitchell as quoted
by Bateman and Snell (19990. Closely related to the
expectancy theory of motivation, path-goal theory derives
its name from the assumption that effective leaders can
enhance subordinates' motivation by:
i.Classifying the subordinates' perception of work goals.
ii.Linking meaningful rewards can be achieved.
Bateman and Snell (1999) explained that the path-goal theory is
a theory that concerns how leaders influence
subordinates' perception of their work goals and the paths
they follow toward the attainment of these goals.
 36

On his part, Kreitner (1995) was of the opinion that leaders

should motivate their followers by providing clear goals
and meaningful incentives for reaching the goals.
The path-goal theorists argue that leader's job is to influence
behaviour toward performance, and the way to do this is
obvious from the instrumentality of expectancy theory.
The rewards must be the clarified and made easier to
follow.
d) Vroom/Yetton/Jago Decision-Making Model
Victor Vroom, Philip Yetton and Arthur Jago as quoted by
Kreitner (1995) proposed a model that portrays leadership
as a decision-making process.
The model qualifies as a situational leadership theory because it
prescribes different decision styles for varying situations
managers typically encounter.
The V-Y-J models as it is normally formed, recognizes five
distinct decisions making styles, each of which requires a
different degree of subordinate participation.
 37

The style are:

i.Two autocratic styles, christened Al and All.
ii.Two consultative styles, termed C1 and CII
iii.Group-directed style, referred to as G11.
According to Kreitner (1995), an Al style is characterized by the
leader being autocratic, that is, he makes the decisions
himself using available information at the time. In the All
style, the leader obtains the needed information from
subordinates and uses that to make decisions. he may or
may not tell the subordinates what the problems are. The
role of the subordinates is simply to provide information.
They are not to generated or evaluated alternative
solutions. Hence, the all leader is characterized by low
subordinate participation.
The CI and C11 are typical of a consultative leader. In the CI
style, the leader consults the subordinates individually
without bringing them together as a group. He then makes
decisions that may or may not reflect the subordinates'
suggestions. On the contrary, the C11
 38

leader shares problems with subordinates as a group,

collectively obtaining their ideas, and then makes decision
that may or may not reflect the subordinates' influences.
He allows moderate subordinates' participation.
In the G11 style, the leader is group directed and he allows full
subordinate participation in decision-making. Here, the
leader share problem with subordinates as a group.
Together, they generate and evaluate alternatives and
attempt to reach a consensus on the problem. The leader
does not try to influence the group to adopt his solution
and is willing to accept and implement any solution that
has the support of the entire group.
e)Hersey-Blanchard Contingency Theory
Paul hersey and Ken Blanchard as quoted by Mullins (1998)
proposed a theory that is also based on task and
relationship behaviour. The underlying assumption is that
the most important factor in determining appropriate
leadership behaviours is the subordinates perceived level
of development. The theorists believe that the manager
should match his style to this level of development.
 39

This model rests on two fundamental concepts: Leadership

style, and development level.
i. Leadership Style
The authors characterized leadership in terms of the amount of
direction and support that the leader provides for
his/her followers. They categorized all leadership
styles into four behaviour types, which they name SI
to S4.
S1:Directing leaders - they define the roles and task of
followers and supervise them closely. Decisions are
made by the leader and announced, so
communication is one-way.
S2:Coaching leaders - they still define roles and tasks, but
seek ideas and suggestions from the followers.
Decision remain the leader's prerogative, but
communication is two-way.
S3:Supporting leaders - they pass day-to-day decisions
such as task allocation and processes, to the
followers. The leader facilitates and takes part in
decisions, but control is with he followers.
 40

S4:Delegating Leaders - they are still involved in decision

and problem solving, but control is with the
followers. The followers decide when and how the
loader will be involved.
ii. Development Levels
Development according to them is categorized into a continuum
of four levels, which they named D1 to D4.
D1:Low competence, high commitment - they generally
lack the specific skills required for the job in land,
however, they are eager to learn and willing to take
direction.
D2:Some competence, low commitment - they may have
some relevant skills, but would not be able to do the
job without help. The task or situation may be new
to them.
D3:High competence, variable commitment. They are
experienced and capable, but may lack the
confidence to go it alone, or the motivation to do it
well or quickly.
 41

D4:High competence, high commitment - they are

experienced at the job, and comfortable with their
own ability to do it well.
Mullins (1998) maintained that the leadership style (S1 - S4) of
the leader must correspond to the development level (D1 -
D4) of the followers. Furthermore, it is the leader that
adapt, not the follower. A leader should be trained in how
to operate effectively in various leadership styles, and how
to determine the development level of others and watch
than appropriately.
Mulling further maintained that for each of the four levels of
development, the appropriate style of leadership is a
combination of task behaviour and relationship behaviour.
According to him, task behaviour is the extent to which the
leader provides direction for the followers, set goals for
them, and defines their roles and how to undertake them.
Relationship behaviour, he said, is the extent to which the
leader engages in a two-way communication with
followers, listen to them and provide support and
encouragement.
 42

f) The Muizyk-Reimann Model

Jan Muizyk and Bernard Reimann as quoted by Mullins (1998)
in their contribution to the situation literature identified four
leadership style, which combine high and low level's of
participation and direction as follows:
i.The directive autocrat who makes decisions unilaterally
and closely supervises the activities of subordinates.
ii.The permissive democrat who also makes decisions
unilaterally but allows suboridnates a great deal of
latitude in execution.
iii.The directive democrat who wants subordinates' full
participation but closely supervise their activities.
iv.The permissive democrat who allows high participation
in decision making and execution.

2.2FORCES THAT INFLUENCE THE CHOICE OF

LEADERSHIP STYLE
It is argued generally that there are three key elements or
forces that influence the choice of a leadership style by a
 43

particular manager or leader, and these are:

i.Forces in the leader
ii. Forces in the subordinate and
iii Forces in the situation
i)Forces in the Manager or Leader
The manager's behaviour will be influenced by his or her own
personality, background, knowledge and experience.
These internal factors include:
!The manager (or leader's) value system
!His/her confidence in subordinates
!Leadership inclination and
!Feeling of security in an uncertain situation.
ii) Forces in the Subordinates
Characteristics of the subordinates will also exert an influence
on the leadership style options. Such subordinates'
characteristics are:
!the strength of the needs for independence.
!the readiness to assume responsibility for decision-
making
 44

!The degree of tolerance for ambiguity

!Interest in the problem and feelings as to it's importance
!Knowledge and experience to deal with the problem
!The extent of learning to expect to share in decision-
making.
Millins believed that the greater the freedom of action to be
allowed by the manager.
iii) Forces in the situation
The manager's choice will also be influenced by the general
situation and environmental pressure. These may include:
!Nature of the problem and
!Pressure of the problem and
!pressure of time.
Millins maintained that successful leaders are able to
respond appropriately in terms of their understanding of
themselves, the individuals and the group, the organization and
environmental influences. Such leaders are both perceptive
flexible.
 45

2.3 THE ROLE OF VISION IN EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (1998:
p. 1227) defines vision as the "power of imagination and
expression, wisdom in understanding the true meaning of facts
especially with regards to the future".
What then is vision in an organizational context?
According to Bateman and Snell (1999:p.406), "vision is a
mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the
organization. It expresses the leader's ambitions for the
organization". In today's competitive and dynamic business
world, vision is inarguably the most outstanding factor that
distinguishes effective from ineffective leaders.
Supporting this argument, Bateman and Snell (1999),
emphasis that 'outstanding leaders have vision. They may win
war, or otherwise change the course of events. They are
strategists who seize opportunities others overlook, but they are
also passionately concerned with details, - all the small,
fundamental realities that can make or mar the greatest of
plans".
For leadership to be worth its salt, it must be able to
create a vision for the organization that goes beyond the
 46

ordinary and beyond what others may have though possible.

Supporting this thinking, Nickels, Mcttugh and Mcttugh (1999:
21) believed that "leadership is about creating a vision for others
to follow establishing corproate values and ethics, and
transforming the way an organization does business in order to
improve its effectiveness and efficiency".
Therefore, a leadership that ever hopes to be effective
must be visionary, that is, it must be forward looking and should
clarify the direction in which it wants the organization to move.

2.4DISTINCTION BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND

MANAGEMENT
The distinction between leadership and management has
always been a subject of academic debate. While many writers
argue that effective managers are not necessary true leaders,
others are of the opinion that no manager can be effective
without being a good teacher. Because of these diverse views,
it became necessary to attempt to distinguish between the two
concepts leadership and management.
 47

Omolayole (1993) argue that many administrations,

supervisors, and even top executives, execute their
responsibilities without being great leaders but maintain that
these positions afford them opportunity to exhibit their
leadership potentials. The ability to lead effectively will
distinguish the excellent manager from the average ones.
While distinguishing between leading and managing,
Bateman and Snell (1999) view "managing requires planning
and budgeting routine, whereas "leading involves setting the
direction for the firm". Management requires structuring the
organization, staffing it with capable people and monitoring
activities, while leadership goes beyond these functions by
inspiring people to attain a vision.
On their ownpart, Robbins and Coulter (2000: p. 572)
observed that the difference lies in the fact that "managers are
appointed and their ability to influence is based on the formula
authority inherent in their positions, while leaders may either be
appointed or emerge from within the group. Leaders therefore
influence others to perform beyond the actions dictated by their
formal authority".
 48

Another striking difference between management and

leadership is that the formal is identified with skills, and the later
with style. John Kotler as quoted by Pearce and Robbinson, Jr.
(2000) explained the distinction thus; management is about
coping with complexities. Its practice and procedures are largely
a response to one of the significant development of the 20th
century, the emergency of large organizations. Without good
management, complex enterprises tend to become chaotic in
ways that threatens their very existence. Good management
brings a degree of order and consistency to key dimensions like
quality and profitability of products.
Leadership by contrast, is about coping with change. Part
of the reason it has become so important in recent years is that
the business world has become competitive and more volatile.
The net result is the doing what was done yesterday, or doing it
five percent better, is no longer a formular for success. Major
changes are more necessary to survival and compete effectively
in this new environment. More changes always demand more
leadership.
 49

In his view, Mullins (1998: p. 421) said, "management is

regarded as relating to people working within an structured
organization and with prescribed roles. Leadership does not
necessarily take place within the hierarchical structure of the
organization. Many people operate as leaders without their role
even being clearly established or defined. Leadership can be
seen primarily as an inspirational process".
In a nutshell, leadership involves creating a vision and
initiating positive changes that chart a new course for the
organization, while management involves the carrying out of the
leadership vision and changes.

2.5 CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON LEADERSHIP

In the recent past, leadership literature has gone beyond
the traditional perspectives to include a number of new
developments. These new developments, according to Bateman
and Zeithalml (1993) include among others: substitute for
leadership empowerment, transformational leadership, strategic
and supervisory leadership.
 50

2.5.1 Substitute for Leadership

Substitute for leadership have been defined by Griffin
(1990: p. 494) as "factors in the situation that neutralize or
replace leader behaviour, including the characteristics of
subordinates, the task and the organization". But Bateman and
Snell (1999) saw them as factors in the work place that can
exert the same influence on employees that leaders would
provide.
In his argument, Certo (1994) maintained that there are
times when leaders do not have to lead or, for one reason or the
other, cannot lead. That "situational substitute" can sometimes
have as much influence on an employee as any leader would.
He submitted that because so many factors can affects
situation, some people argue that leadership is actually
irrelevant to many organizational outcomes.
Scholars seems to agree on a common set of factors that
can account for situational substitutes. For example Bateman
and Snell (1999), Bateman and Zeithaml (1993, Certor (1994)
and Griffin (1990) agree that factors such as strong
subordinates knowledge of and experience in the task,
 51

organizational characteristics etc. can be very potent

substitutes for leadership.

2.5.2 Empowerment
The term empowerment is so commonly used that we are
at a fix about the true import of the concept. We hear political,
economic, social empowerment, etc. But what does the concept
mean as far as leadership is concerned?
According to Bateman and Zeithaml (1993: p. 428)
"empowerment is the process of sharing power with employees,
thereby enhancing their confidence in their ability to perform
their jobs and the belief that they are influential contributors to
the organization "(P.428).
In this sense, empowerment is neither political nor
economic, neither is it social. For leaders and/or manager to
empower people, it means allowing them take part in decision
making, expressing confidence in their ability to perform,
designing their jobs, having been given greater freedom, setting
meaningful and challenging goals, applauding their outstanding
performances, and encouraging them to take personal
responsibility for their work.
 52

2.5.3 Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership is defined by Griffin (1990: p.
495) as "a leadership that goes beyond ordinary expectations by
transmitting a sense of mission, stimulating learning
experiences and inspiring new ways of thinking". In other words,
transformational leaders create vision and ensure that the vision
is translated into reality. Such leaders are increasingly becoming
vital to the success of business organizations.
Contributing to the discussions on transformational
leadership, Bateman and Zeithaml (1993) identifies three
primary ways through which transformational leaders generate
excitement. First they are charismatic, they are dominant and
self-confident and have a strong conviction in the moral
righteousness of their beliefs. Second, they give their followers
individualized attention having realized the existence of
individual difference. Third, they arouse in their followers, an
awareness of problems and potential solutions. They articulate
their organization's opportunity threats, strengths and
weaknesses, and stir imagination and generate insights.
 53

With such individuals at the helm of affairs, problems are

recognized and high quality solutions are identified and
implemented with full participation and commitment of followers.

2.6 LEADERSHIP AS A COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Realistically speaking leadership is an influence exerting
relationship between the leader and his followers or the
manager and his subordinates. In this relationship, the manager
or leader plays a significant role, exerting or trying to exert an
influence strong enough in order to move the subordinates in
the direction of his goals. This aim of the leader moving others
in the direction of his goals, cannot be achieved without proper
and effective communication. The leader must communicate his
thoughts, ideas, aspirations, desires and programmes of action
as well as his vision to his followers. People must be accurately
informed of what is expected of them. and there must be a
feedback from the people to the leader about their response.
This is communication, a social process through which
information
 54

and understanding are transferred from one person to another

person.
Supporting this line of reasoning, Higgins (1995)
maintained that there is need for leaders to use appropriate
communication styles to carry out appropriately their choice of
leadership styles. He stressed that the use of inappropriate
communication styles will impede the leader's effectiveness.
According to him, if a leader chooses to be supportive, but
has a very aggressive communication style, this type of
communication style, he believed, would render the leader's
supportive behaviour ineffective. On the other hand, he
observed that a leader may choose to be very directive but has
a passive communication style, which makes the leadership
style ineffective. The author submitted that an assertive and
multi-dimensional approach to communication is probably best
in all leadership styles. Therefore, it is reasonable that in any
leadership situation, there should exist free flow of information
from top down and from bottom up in order that the
organizational goals are easily achieved.
 55

2.7 LEADERSHIP AS A PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS

Every leader or manager is constantly faced with
problems, which he/she must solve, and invariably, leadership is
a problem-solving process. The problems are many and varied,
ranging from the problems of changing environment;
competition and economic pressure to socio-political problems.
The leader must develop problem-solving skills if his leadership
must be meaningful, because as Landy (1989: p. 30) observed,
the "leader's ability in problem-solving makes a hallmark of
leadership effectiveness. A good leader should be able to
anticipate a problem and evolve the most appropriate method of
solving the problem when it emerges" (p.30).
For leader to be able to handle problems effectively, his
personality and character should be such that positively
influence the followers in the direction of the leader's goals and
aspirations. Consequently, Higgins (1991) maintained that
leader's personality, need and characteristics would affect all
stages of problem-solving process right from identification of the
problems to implementation and control of decisions employed
to solve the problems.
 56

Therefore, for a leader to be effective, he has to contend

with daily leadership problems and find ways of solving them in
order for him to realize the objectives to which he is committed.

2.8 LEADERSHIP AS A MOTIVATION PROCESS

Leadership has earlier been defined as a process of
influencing people towards the attainment of group goal(s). As a
process, one of its major elements is motivation, the process of
causing people to behave in certain ways so as to achieve a
pre-determined objective.
Good leaders study their subordinates to know what can
motivate them, and work hard enough to cause them to be
motivated for increased job performance. This is not an easy
task.
Accordingly, Higgins (1991: p. 423), observed that "one of
the manager's most important jobs is to influence the motivation
of others in the direction of achieving organization objectives in
an effective and efficient manner". To be able to do this, the
manager utilize his or her knowledge of individual
 57

motivation to turn the subordinates efforts to satisfy personal

needs into enhancing organizational performance. But to lead
and influence motivation. The manager must understand what
motivation really is what then is motivation?
Most of the definitions of motivation relate the concept to
behavioural change. For example, Kreitner (1995: p. 398),
defines motivation as "a psychological process, which gives
behaviour purpose and direction". They went on to state that all
behaviours except involuntary reflexes like eye blinks are
motivated and submitted that a highly motivated employee will
work hard toward achieving performance goals. Also, Higgins
(1991: p. 423) saw motivation as "the internal drive to satisfy an
unsatisfied need" and stated that while motivation is internal to
the individuals, its strength and direction may be influenced by
forces outsides the individual.
Due to the importance that social researchers attach to
human motivation, they have come out with several theories of
motivation. Some of these theories are Maslow's hierarchy of
needs theory whose central idea is that people can be motivated
by their urge to satisfy certain categories of needs
 58

ranging from basic physiological need to the ultimate need of

self-actualization. McGregors theory X and Y which are
premised on certain negative and positive assumption about
man, and Herzberg's motivation - hygiene theory which is based
on two sets of factors which can lead to satisfaction (motivators)
and dissatisfaction (hygiene factors).
The motivators were factors such as achievements,
recognition, work itself, responsibility and advancement, and
according to Herzberg, these were intimately related to content
of the work. The hygiene factors were those related to the work
context like policy, supervision, salary, work conditions,
relationship with peers, supervisors and subordinates, status,
security etc.
It is our belief that the proper understanding and
application of these theories will enhance management
effectiveness and employee productivity toward goal attainment.

2.9 WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

Traditionally, man have dominated the
leadership/managerial roles for ages. Although women have
 59

been a dominant force in the labour market for many years, yet
only recently have greater strides been made to place them in
management positions in business and other professions.
Because of this age-long dominance of men in these roles,
women who aspires for such roles usually have to over come
certain problems before they can succeed. Conscious of the fact
that women have to overcome certain problems before they can
assume and maintain leadership positions, Landy (1989)
observes that men who want to be managers must be trained to
developed administrative skills, b ut women often most
overcome issues related to gender discrimination". He
maintained that "many of the problems facing women in
management are the attitudinal, that is, attitudes women hold
about themselves and attitudes about women held by others.
These problems are related to role stereotypes, feelings of low
self-esteem and negative assessment of women's competence".
He submitted that these are very strong factors, which are
barriers for women in industries and other professions.
Gbadomosi and Adebakin (1996) observes that "in the
past, few women leaders have molded their leadership styles
 60

after successful male managers". They further observed that

women often describe their leadership styles as
transformational, that is getting subordinates to transform their
self-interest into group goal, and that men are more likely to
characterize their leadership styles as transactional since they
see their jobs as involving a series of transactions between
themselves and their subordinates.
For women to compete favourably well with men in any
leadership role, they have to change their opinions about
themselves and encourage others to change any negative
attitude about them. Some Nigerian women such as Prof. Dora
Akunyili, Mrs. Nnadi Usman, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and a
host of others have distinguished themselves with their very
remarkable exploits in leadership positions.
 61

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter focuses on the methods that were adopted in
carrying out the study. Data sources, data collection methods
and the blue print for the conduct of the study are presented in
this chapter.

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

Every research study requires a conceptual framework
within which an investigation is conducted. This study adopted
descriptive and exploratory research designs.
The study adopted descriptive research design because
the researcher intends to establish and describe the existence
of a problem in this area and proffer possible solution. Also,
exploratory design was adopted, because the researcher
attempted to obtain information about this particular subject
(managerial leadership) in order to increase his understanding
of the nature of the problem. The researcher also gathered
information through experience survey (from knowledgeable)
persons by asking questions.
 62

3.2 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH AREA

This study is limited to Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar
Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Calabar. It is an indigenous company
engaged in the production of flour products. The indigenous
company engaged in the production of flour products. The
indigenous ownership of the firm makes the study interesting, as
it typifies the Nigeria experienced of managerial leadership
styles.
The study covered all the staff of the company including
management/supervisory staff and the junior staff.

3.3 SOURCES AND METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

Data collection involves a search for relevant information
that will proffer solutions to specific problems. Data could be
sourced and obtained from both primary and secondary
sources.
Data for this study were gathered from both primary and
secondary sources.
a)Primary Data
According to Osuala (2001), data expressly collected for a
specific purpose are known as primary data. But
 63

Omotosho (1991) maintained that data is primary when it is

used for the purpose for which it was collected.
Primary data for this work were collected from personal
interviews, observations and the use of well-structured
questionnaires to elicit information from staff of Dangote
Plc, Calabar.
b)Secondary Data
Data is called secondary when it is used for a purpose other
than that for which it is collected. Such data are those
which were obtained by some other people for their
purpose, but which the researcher finds useful for his
purpose.
Secondary data for this study were obtained from both external
and internal sources. Externally, the researcher sourced
for secondary from textbooks, magazines and journals.
Internally, such data were gathered from annual reports
and sales records of the company.
c)Questionnaires
The questionnaires administered were divided into two
categories directed at the senior staff and the directed
 64

at the junior staff. Each of the questionnaires was divided into

two sections (1 and 2). Section one is further subdivided
into two sections 1A and 1B. Section 1A has the personal
data of the respondents while section 1B carries series of
question designed to elicit specific information from the
respondents. Section 2 comprise of a number of questions
and statements to which respondents would answers by
grading each statement or question on the five point likert
scale.
d)Interview
The research had a personal interview with the personal
manager of the company, who was able to explain some
points, which were not well covered by the questionnaires.

3.4 POPULATION OF THE STUDY

The population of the study covered all the staff of
Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar, Comprising of thirty (30) senior
staff and one hundred and forty-two (142) junior staff. This gives
a total of one hundred and seventy-two (172) staff.
 65

3.4.1 Sample
To determine the sample size of the study, since the
actual population is known, the researcher opted for the
following formular identified by Anyanwu (1994), and it is
presented thus:-

n = N
1 + (Ne2)

Where
n = Sample Size
N = Actual population = 172
e = Tolerable error = 5%

n = 172
1 + [172 x (0.05)2]

= 172
1 + (0.43)

= 172
1.43

n = 120
According to Omotosho (1991), the stratified random
(probability) sampling method is diserable if the sample is
 66

drawn from a population with varying social and economic

standing. Hence, the stratified random sampling method was
employed in this study.
In the selection process, the names of the 142 junior staff
were written on each piece of paper and in a box, while the
names of all the 30 senior staff were written and put in a
separate box. Out of the sample size of 120 respondents, the
researcher apportioned 100 to the junior staff, and 20 to the
senior staff. The contents of each of the boxes were properly
mixed, and a simple random sampling was carried out on each
of them. The selection was done by drawing one name at a time
from each box. Each drawn was not replaced. The selection
was completed as soon as 100 names were drawn from the
junior staff stratum and 20 names from the senior stratum.

3.5 MODEL SPECIFICATION

This study sets out to establish the role between
managerial leadership in corporate goal attainment in Dangote
Flour Mills Plc, Calabar.
 67

According to Levin (1981), correlation is used as a

statistical tool to determine the nature or strength of relationship
between two variables. For this reason, the appropriate
correlation analysis tool to be used would be the Pearson's
product moment correlation coefficient denoted by "r". True
value of "r" could be calculated using the formula below:-

r = nΣXY - ΣXΣY
[nΣX2 - (ΣX)2] [nΣY2 - (ΣY)2]

Where:
n =The number of all observations or perceptions of staff of
Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar, rated on the five
points Likert scale as (i) strongly agree (ii) agree (iii)
uncertain (iv) disagree (v) strongly disagree.
X =The totals of each of the options rated strongly agree,
agree, uncertain, disagree and strongly disagree.
Y =Respondents rating of the relationship between the
variables under consideration.
 68

The relationships between the variables as contained in

the research hypothesis were rated by the respondents and
scored as follows:-
i)Strongly agree - 5 points
ii)Agree - 4 points
iii)Uncertain - 3 points
iv)Disagree - 2 points
v)Strongly disagree - 1 point
These points; 5,4,3,2, and 1 were used throughout the
analysis to represent `Y' in the correlation calculations.

3.6 ESTIMATION OF VALIDITY

The researcher adopted a pre-test approach for the
validation of instruments used, by preparing few copies of
questionnaires and distributing them randomly to some staff of
Dangote Mills Plc, Calabar for completion. At the end of the
exercise, observations and criticisms made were corrected
before preparing the final questionnaires that were
administered. The information elicited with the use of the
questionnaires was accurate and this ensured the validity of
 69

the instrument used. The information generated during the final

survey was very consistent with those generated during the pilot
(pre-test) survey, thereby ensuring reliability.
 70

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF
FINDINGS
In this chapter, data collected from the field were
presented and statistical analysis carried out on the data. Tables
were used to present, classify and interpret the raw data in order
to make them meaningful. Statistical techniques were used to
analyse the data so as to facilitate comparison and determine
the relationship among variables.
The Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient
was used to determine the degree of relationship between
research variables. The researcher also used the t-test
distribution to test the significance of the various hypothesis.
The research findings are discussed in this chapter.

4.1GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF DATA

The data generated for this study were derived from the
responses given to the questions in the questionnaires
distributed to both the junior and management staff of Dangote
Flour Mills Plc, Calabar. The data were classified and
 71

tabulated to make them meaningful and amendable to statistical

operations.

4.2ANALYSIS OF PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF

RESPONDENTS
Percentage method was used in analyzing and computing
the frequency of responses and personal characteristics of
respondents.
Out of the 120 copies of the questionnaires distributed to
both junior and management staff of Dangote Mills Plc, Calabar,
106 representing 88 percent were responded to and returned.
Based on the statistics from table 1, a total of 106 of the
120 workers randomly selected from each department to
constitute the sample size were able to complete and return the
questionnaires. This represents 88 percent of the sample size,
and could be said to be representative of the population of the
study.
From table 2, 26 respondents, representing 24.5 percent
of the total respondents were holders of the first school
 72

leaving certificate, 49 respondents representing 46.2 percent

were holders of WASCE while 16(15.1 percent) and seven (6.6
percent) of the respondents were holders of OND/NCE and
HND respectively. University graduates were eight in number,
representing 7.6 percent of the respondents.
Table 1:Number of questionnaires administered and
returned
Department No. of Questionnaire No of Questionnaires Respon
Administered Returned se (%)

Senior Junior Total Senior Junior Total

Staff Staff Staff Staff

Production 6 37 43 5 34 39 36.8

Engineering 4 19 23 4 17 21 19.8

Accounts 5 10 15 4 8 12 11.3

Admin. 4 21 25 4 18 22 20.8

Security 0 10 10 0 8 8 7.5

Total 20 100 120 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

 73

Table 2:Respondents' literacy level

Qualification Respondents Percentage
(%)
Senior Junior Total
Staff Staff

FSLC 0 26 26 24.5

WASC 0 49 49 46.2

OND/NCE 3 13 16 15.1

HND 7 0 7 6.6

B.Sc 8 0 8 7.6

Others 0 0 0 0

Total 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

From the above analysis, it could be inferred that the
questionnaires were administered on knowledgeable staff of the
various departments who could read and understand it's
contents. Therefore, the responses could be said to be valid.
From table 3, 16 respondents, representing 15.1 percent
of the respondents were under 20 years of age, 26 respondents
representing 24.5 percent were within the
 74

bracket of 21 to 30 years, 39 and 15 respondents fell within the

age bracket of 31 to 40 and 41 to 50 years and representing
36.8 percent of the sample size.
From table 4, it can be seen that, 69 respondents
representing 65.1 percent were male while 37 respondents
representing 34.9 percent were female.
From table 5, 69 respondents representing 65.1 percent
strongly agree that the goals of the company between the year
2010 - 2011 were attained. 32 respondents representing 30.2
percent as to whether the goals of company were attained, while
three respondents representing 2.8 percent disagreed.
 75

Table 3:Age distribution of respondents

Age Respondents Percentag
e (%)
Senior Junior Total
Staff Staff

Under 20 0 16 16 15.1

21 - 30 4 22 26 24.5

31 - 40 7 32 39 36.8

41 - 50 4 11 15 14.2

51 and 3 7 10 9.4
above

Total 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

 76

Table 4:Sex distribution of respondents

Sex Respondents Percentage
(%)

Senior Staff Junior Staff Total

Male 12 57 69 65.1
Female 6 21 37 34.9
Total 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

Table 5:Responses as per attainment of goals between
2000 and 2005.
Rating Respondents Percentage
(%)
Senior Junior Total
Staff Staff
Strongly 15 54 69 65.1
agree

Agree 3 29 32 30.2
Uncertain 0 2 2 1.9
Disagree 0 3 3 2.8
Strongly 0 0 0 0
disagree
Total 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

 77

From table 6, 66 respondents strongly agree that there are

jobs that require little or no supervision by managers. This
represents 62.2 percent of the respondent. 36 respondents
agree, representing 34 percent. One respondents disagree and
one strongly disagree, representing 1.8 percent and one percent
respectively.
From table 7, it can be seen that 53 respondents
representing 50 percent strongly agree that the management of
the company should be blamed if the company fails. 30
respondents representing 4.7 were uncertain. 11 and seven
respondents disagree and strongly agree that management
should blamed in the event of failure. This represents 10.4
percent and 6.6 percent respectively.

4.3 ANALYSIS OF HYPOTHESIS

This section is concerned with examining the relationship
that exists between the data collected/analysed and hypothesis
earlier stated in chapter one.
 78

Table 6:Responses as per whether there were jobs that

could be performed with little or no supervision
by managers.
Rating Respondents Percentag
e (%)
Senior Junior Total
Staff Staff
Strongly 9 57 66 62.2
agree

Agree 6 30 36 34.0
Uncertain 1 0 1 1.0
Disagree 1 1 2 1.8
Strongly 1 0 1 1.0
disagree
Total 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

 79

Table 7:Responses as to whether the management of the

company should be blamed in the event of non-
attainment of goal.
Rating Respondents Percentage
(%)
Senior Junior Total
Staff Staff
Strongly 10 43 53 50.0
agree

Agree 7 23 30 28.3
Uncertain 0 5 5 4.7
Disagree 1 10 11 10.4
Strongly 0 7 7 6.6
disagree

Total 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

Decision Rule
In testing the hypothesis, the Whittaker (1982) rule was
applied as follows:-
a)If the value of the correlation coefficient (r) is greater than zero
(i.e. positive) it means that the variables correlates, then
accept Hi and reject Ho.
 80

b)If the value of the correlation coefficient (r) is less than zero
(i.e. negative) or equal to zero, it means that the variables
are uncorrelated, hence, accept Ho and reject Hi.
The data generated from the survey were classified and
presented in tables for easy handling and interpretation.
As earlier stated, the Pearson Product Moment
Correlation Coefficient (r) was used for the analysis to determine
the degree of relationship between managerial leadership and
corporate goal attainment in Dangote Mills Plc, Calabar.
The value of the correlation coefficient (r) is given by the
following formular:

r = nΣXY - ΣXΣY
[nΣX2 - (ΣX)2] [nΣY2 - (ΣY)2]

Where:
n =The number of all observations or perceptions of staff of
Dangote Mills Plc, Calabar, rate as;
i) Strongly (5)
ii) Agree (4)
iii) Uncertain (3)
 81

iv) Disagree (2)

v) Strongly disagree (1)
X =The totals of each of the options rated strongly agree,
agree, uncertain, disagree and strongly disagree.
Y =Respondents rating of the relationship between the
variables under consideration.

4.3.1 Test of Hypothesis

Ho:There is no significant relationship between managerial
leadership and corporate goal attainment.
Hi:There is a significant relationship between managerial
leadership and corporate goal attainment.
Test Data
The data to validate or disprove the above hypothesis are
presented in Tables 8 and 9 above:-
 82

Table 8:Responses as per the relationship between

managerial leadership and corporate goal
attainment.
Rating Respondents Percentage
(%)
Senior Junior Total
Staff Staff
Strongly 11 50 61 57.5
agree
Agree 4 14 18 17.0
Certain 1 3 4 3.8
Disagree 1 11 12 11.3
Strongly 1 10 11 10.4
disagree

Total 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

 83

Table 9:Computation of the correlation coefficient between

managerial leadership and goal attainment

X Y X2 Y2 XY

61 5 3721 25 305

18 4 324 16 72

4 3 16 9 12

12 2 144 4 24

11 1 121 1 11

106 15 4,326 55 424

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

Using the Pearson's product moment correlation
coefficient formula:
r = nΣXY - ΣXΣY
[nΣX2 - (ΣX)2] [nΣY2 - (ΣY)2]

= 5(424) - (106) (15)

[5(4326) - (106)2] [5(55) - (15)2]

= 2120 - 1590
{21630 - 11236} {275 - 225}
 84

= 530
{10394} {50}

= 530
519700

= 530
720.9

= 0.74

Interpretation
Following the available statistics draw from table 8, out of
106 responses to the question at to whether any relationship
exist between managerial leadership and corporate goal
attainment, 61 respondents representing 57.5 percent strongly
agree that a significant relationship exist between the variables.
Four of the respondents were uncertain as to whether any
relationship exists, this represents 3.8 percent of the responses.
12 and 11 respondents disagree and strongly disagree,
representing 11.3 percent and 10.4 percent respectively, that
any significant relationship exist between managerial leadership
and corporate goal attainment in Dangote Flour Mills Plc,
Calabar.
 85

From table 9, the computed value of the correlation

coefficient showed a positive relationship (0.74) between the two
variables. It implies that, there is 74 percent degree of
correlation between the variables.
Going by the Whittaker (1982) decision rule, the null
hypothesis (Ho) was rejected, while the alternative hypothesis
(Hi), which states that, "there is a significant relationship
between managerial leadership and corporate goal attainment in
Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar" was accepted.
Test of significance of hypothesis one, using the t-test
distribution with N.2 degree of freedom at 0.05 level of
significance.
But:
r = 0.74, N = 106

t = r N-2
1 - r2

0.74 = 106 - 2
1 - (0.74)2

0.74 = 104
1 - 0.5476
 86

0.74 = 104
0.4524

0.74 = 229.88

0.74 x 15.16
t = 11.2
tcal = 11.2, ttab = 180
tcab at 0.05 significant level is = 1.80

Decision Rule
a)Accept Ho and reject Hi if;
tcal < ttab
b)Reject Ho and accept Hi if;
tcal > ttab
From our data in the analysis:
tcal = 11.20
ttab = 1.80
Showing that tcal > ttab, this implies that we reject Ho and
accept Hi.
We therefore affirm the alternative hypothesis one which
states that "there is a significant relationship between
 87

managerial leadership and goal attainment in Dangote Flour

Mills Plc, Calabar".

4.3.2 Test of Hypothesis Two

Ho:There is no significant relationship between the styles of the
managers and the productivity of employees.
Hi:There is a significant relationship between the leadership
styles of the managers and the productivity of employees.

Test Data
The data to prove or disprove the above hypothesis are
present in tables 10 and 11.
 88

Table 10:Responses as per the relationship between

leadership style of managers and the
productivity of employees.
Rating Respondents Percentage
(%)
Senior Junior Total
Staff Staff
Strongly 9 41 50 47.2
agree

Agree 5 9 14 13.2

Certain 2 7 9 8.5

Disagree 1 16 17 16.0
Strongly 1 15 16 15.1
disagree

Total 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

 89

Table 11:Computation of correlation coefficient between

leadership styles of managers and the
productivity of employees.

X Y X2 Y2 XY

50 5 2,500 25 250

14 4 196 16 56

9 3 81 9 27

17 2 289 4 34

16 1 256 1 16

106 15 3,322 55 384

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

Using the coefficient (r)
r = nΣXY - ΣXΣY
[nΣX2 - (ΣX)2] [nΣY2 - (ΣY)2]

= 5(383) - (106) (15)

[5(3,3222) - (106)2] [5(55) - (15)2]

= 1915 - 1590
{16610 - 11236} {275 - 225}

= 325
{5374} {50}
 90

= 325
268700

= 325
518.36

= 0.6269
= 0.63
Interpretation
From the information contained in table 10, out of the total
of 106 responses to the question as to whether any relationship
exist between the leadership style of managers and the
productivity of employees, 50 respondents representing 47.2
percent strongly agree, 14 respondents, representing 13.2
percent agree, nine respondents (i.e. 8.5 percent) were
uncertain as to whether any relationship exist between the
variables. 17 and 16 respondents representing 16 percent and
15.1 percent disagree and strongly disagree respectively that
any significant relationship exist between leadership styles of
managers and the productivity of employees of Dangote Flour
Mills Plc, Calabar.
From table 11, the computed value of the correlation
coefficient (r) showed a positive relationship (0.63) between
 91

the variables, meaning that the degree of correlation between

the variables is 63 percent.

Decision
Observing the Whittaver decision rule, the null hypothesis
(Ho) was rejected and the alternative hypothesis (Hi) which
states that "there is a significant relationship between the
leadership styles of managers and the productivity of employees
of Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar was accepted.
Test of significant of hypothesis two, using the t-test
distribution with N - 2 degree of freedom at 0.05 significance
level.
Interpretation
But:
r = 0.63, N = 106

t = r N-2
1 - r2

0.63 = 106 - 2
1 - (0.63)2

0.63 = 104
1 - 0.3969
 92

0.63 = 104
0.603

0.63 = 172.42

0.63 x 13.13
t = 8.2731
ttab at 0.05 significant level

Decision Rule
a)Accept Ho and reject Hi if;
tcal < ttab
b)Reject Ho and accept Hi if;
tcal > ttab
From our data in the analysis:
tcal = 8.27
ttab = 1.86
Showing that tcal > ttab which means that we reject Ho and
accept Hi.
We therefore affirm the alternative hypothesis two, which
states that "there is a significant relationship between leadership
styles managers and the productivity of employees of Dangote
Flour Mills Plc, Calabar".
 93

4.3.3 Test of Hypothesis Three

Ho:There is no significance relation between employee
motivation and attainment of corporate goal.
Hi:There is a significant relationship between employee
motivation and attainment of corporate goal.
Test Data
The data to validate or disprove the above hypothesis are
presented in tables 12 and 13.
Table 12:Responses aspen the relationship between
employee motivation and attainment of
corporate goal.
Rating Respondents Percentage
(%)
Senior Junior Total
Staff Staff
Strongly 9 44 53 50.0
agree

Agree 5 19 24 22.3
Uncertain 1 3 4 3.8
Disagree 2 16 18 17.0
Strongly 1 6 7 6.6
disagree

Total 18 88 106 100.0

Source: Field Survey, 2012.
 94

Table 13:Computation of correlation coefficient between

leadership styles of managers and the
productivity of employees.

X Y X2 Y2 XY

53 5 2,809 25 265

24 4 576 16 96

4 3 16 9 12

18 2 324 4 36

7 1 49 1 7

106 15 3,774 55 416

Source: Field Survey, 2012.

Using the coefficient (r)
r = nΣXY - ΣXΣY
[nΣX2 - (ΣX)2] [nΣY2 - (ΣY)2]

= 5(416) - (106) (15)

[5(3,774) - (106)2] [5(55) - (15)2]

= 2080 - 1590
{18870 - 11236} {275 - 225}
 95

= 490
{7634} {50}

= 490
268700

= 490
381700

= 490
617.81

= 0.7931

= 0.79
Interpretation
From the data presented in table 12 of the 106 responses
to the question as to whether there is a significant relationship
between employee motivation and attainment of corporate goal,
53 respondents representing 3.8 percent were uncertain as to
whether any relationship exists between the variables. 18 and
seven respondents representing 17 percent and six percent
disagree and strongly disagree respectively that any significant
relationship exist between employee motivation and attainment
of corporate goal in Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar.
 96

From table 13, the computed value of the correlation

coefficient (r) showed a positive relationship (0.79) between the
variables, suggesting that there is 79 percent agree. Four
respondents, representing 3.8 percent were uncertain as to
whether any relationship exists between the variables. 18 and
seven respondents representing 17 percent and six percent
disagree and strongly disagree respectively that any significant
relationship exist between employee motivation and attainment
of corporate goal in Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar.
From table 13, the computed value of the correlation
coefficient (r) showed a positive relationship (0.79) between the
variables, suggesting that there is 79 percent of correlation
between the variables.

Decision
From our decision rule, the null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected
and the alternative hypothesis (Hi), which states that "there is a
significant relationship between employee motivation and the
attainment of corporate goal in Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar"
was accepted.
 97

Test of significance of hypothesis three using the t-test

distribution with N - 2 degree of freedom 0.05 significance level.
But:
r = 0.79, N = 106
t = r N-2
1 - r2

0.79 = 106 - 2
1 - (0.79)2

0.79 = 104
1 - 0.6241

0.79 = 104
0.3759

0.79 = 276.66

0.79 x 16.63
t = 13.13
ttab = 1.77 at 0.05 significant level.
 98

Decision Rule
a)Accept Ho and reject Hi if;
tcal < ttab
b)Reject Ho and accept Hi if;
tcal > ttab
From the analysis:
tcal = 13.13
ttab = 1.77
Obviously, tcal > ttab. It means that we reject Ho and
accept Hi. The study there affirms the alternative hypothesis
three, which states that "there is a significant relationship
between employee motivation and attainment of corporate goal
in Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar".

4.4 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

The main objective of this study was to ascertain whether
managerial leadership has any significant influence on the
attainment of corporate goal of Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar.
The findings of this study are concerned with the specific
opinions of the respondents. Based on this, it was
 99

discovered that leadership plays a vital role in the goal

attainment of an organization, since it is leadership that
coordinate and brings into a coherent while and harmony, all
resources at the disposal of the organization.
Specifically, the study revealed that there was a significant
relationship between managerial leadership and the attainment
of corporate goal in Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar.
The study equally revealed that a significant relationship
exist between the leadership styles of managers and the
productivity of employees. It is apparent that, the achievements
of the over all goals of a company can only be achieved through
the collective efforts of both the managers and the subordinates.
There is a need therefore,, for managers to always adopt
appropriate leadership styles that will enhance the productivity
of the employees and by extension, profitability of the
organization.
It was discovered that a significant relationship exists
between employee motivation and the attainment of the
corporate goal of Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar. A well-
 100

motivated employee will surely put in his/her best towards the

realization of the goal of the organization. The study revealed
the need for the management of the company to strive towards
adequately motivating the employees inorder to realize the
corporate goal of the company.
 101

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
This chapter contains the summary of findings, conclusion
and the recommendations of the study.
The study was undertaken among others to:
i)Determine the role of managerial leadership in corporate goal
attainment in Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar.
ii)Determine the relationship between the leadership styles of
managers and the productivity of employees.
iii)Determine the relationship between employee motivation and
goal attainment in the company under study.
iv)Identify factors that encourage or discourage effective
managerial leadership in the company under study.
v)Establish whether there could be tasks, the performance of
which requires little or no managerial leadership.
vi)Identify and other factor(s) which may have contributed to the
attainment of or non-attainment of goals during this period.
vii)Make recommendations based on the findings of the study.
 102

5.1 SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS

Based on the objectives of this study, three hypothesis
were formulated for the study - these hypothesis were all tested
and accepted. The findings are summarized as follows:-
i)That managerial leadership has tremendous influence on the
goal attainment efforts of Dangote Mills Plc,
Calabar. ii)That the productivity of the employees is
greatly influenced by the leadership styles of the
managers of the company.
iii)That we motivated employees (staff) contributed immensely to
the attainment of overall corporate goal of the company.
iv)That the achievement of goals was due, principally to the
quality of leadership of the company.
v)That a good number of staff appreciated the leadership style
of their superior officers as they said they were satisfied
with the way they and their co-workers were treated by
their immediate bosses.
 103

vi)That there was free flow of information and adequate

feedback between management and workers of the
company during the period.
vii)That technical and professional jobholders did not need close
supervision to accomplishing their tasks, but management
still needed to define their goals and set work standards.
viii)That there was a general conviction that management should
be held responsible if the goals of the company were not
achieved.
ix)That the main goal of the company was profit maximization
and that, this goal was achieved.

5.3 CONCLUSION
In the light of the researcher's findings, it is obvious that
managerial leadership was the single most important factor that
accounted for this attainment of corporate goal in Dangote Flour
Mills Plc, Calabar between the years 2011 and 2012.
It can be seen that profit maximization was the main
objective of the company and management was able to
 104

achieve this goal because of good management practices such

as effective communication and staff motivation, which were
adopted by the management to elicit the co-operation and
support of staff in the pursuance of the goals of the company.
There was still room for improvement in such areas as
management staff relationship and staff motivation as some
percentage of the respondents were not fully satisfied with the
way they were treated by their superiors.
Even though some job situations did not require close
supervision, managerial leadership should not be undermined,
as technical and professional jobholders still needed to know
standard and broad guidelines with in which they were expected
to operate.
Conclusively, the general opinion of respondents in the
company was that, management should be held responsible in
the event of failure, or take credit for success of the company.
 105

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings of this study, the following
recommendations are made:-
i)Efforts must be made to maintain and improve upon the
present level of management's commitment towards the
realization of the company's goal.
ii)The management of Dangote Mills Plc, Calabar should always
be conscious of the onerous tasks she has, as the
attainment or non-attainment of the company's goal rest
squarely on her shoulders.
iii)Effective communication and feedback on performance
standards should continue to occupy the minds of
management since these factors were seen to be effective
management tools for goal accomplishment.
iv)Management should be interacting with the technical and
professional workers from time to time in order to ensure
that the execution of their jobs is in line with the common
goals of the company.
v)Motivation of all categories of staff should be re-engineered
and new motivational approaches such as
 106

job enlargement and job enrichment be introduced to yield

expected results.
vi)There should be general education on the concept of
"collective responsibility" so that the belief that only
management should be blamed or praised in the event of
failure or success could be erased from the minds of the
workers. Every member of staff should be made to believe
that he/she is equally responsible for the attainment and
non-attainment of the company's goal.
vii)There is a need to carry out further study of the reward
system as a motivational factor for increased productivity
among the rank and file of the company.
viii)Management of the company should improve on her human
relations skills by instituting periodic training in the area of
management labour relations so that they are better
equipped to effectively manage the volatile and often
diverse human behaviour of staff of the company.
ix)Training in management and leadership styles should be
carried out from time to time in order to educate
management/senior staff of the company on how they
could respond to today's dynamic work environment.
 107

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bateman, T.S. and Zeitham, I.C. (1993), Management:

Function and Strategy. Boston: Richard D. Irwin.

Bateman, T.S. and Snell, S.A. (1999), Management: Building

Competitive Advantage (4th Ed.) New York: McGraw - Hill.

Certo, S.C. (1994), Management: Diversity, Ethics and Global

Environment (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Etuk, E.J. (1995), Foundations of Modern Business

Management. Calabar: University of Calabar Press.

Fieldler, F.E. (1976), Improving Leadership Effectiveness: The

Leader Match Concept. New York: John Wiley.

Francis, A. (1998), Business Mathematics and Statistics (2nd

ed.) London: The Guernsey Press.

Griffin, R.W. (1990), Management (3rd ed.) Bosto: Houghton

Mifflin.

Gbadamosi, G. and Adebakin, M.A. (1996), Organizational

Behaviour: A Basic Introduction. Lagos: Pumac Press.

Jodgetts, R.M. (1990), Management: Theory, Process and

Practice. (5th ed.) New York: Harcourt Branch Jovanovich
Publishers.
 108

Higgins, J.M. (1991), The Management Challenge: An

Introduction to Management. New York: Macmillan.

Ihejiamaizu, E.C. (2003), Formal Organizations Theory,

Structure and Dynamics (2nd ed.) Calabar: Clear Lines
Publishers.

Inyang, B.J. (2001), Management Theory: Principles and

Practice Calabar: Merb Publishers.

Jankowiez, A.D. (1994), Business Research Projects for

Students. London: Chapman and Hall.

Kreitner, R. (1995), Management (6th ed.) Boston: Houghton

Mifflin.

Landy, F.J. (1989), Psychology of Work Behaviour (4th ed.).

California: Brooks/Cole Publishers.

Levin, R.I. (1981), Statistics for Management (4th ed.) New

Delhi: Prentice Hall.

McGregor, D. (1960), The Human Side of Enterprise. New

York: McGraw Hill.

Mullins, L.J. (1998), Management and Organizational

Behaviour. (2nd ed.) New Delhi: Wheel and Company.

Nickels, W.G. (1999), Understanding Business (5th ed.)

Boston: McGraw Hill.
 109

Ndiyo, N.A. (2005), Fundamentals of Research in Behavioural

Science and Humanities. Calabar: Wusen Publishers.

Omolayole, M. (1993), Effective Managerial Leadership: A

Challenge to Business and Government. Management in
Nigeria 19(4), 10 - 23.

Osuala, E.C. (2001), Introduction to Research Methodology

(3rd ed.) Lagos: Africa - Feb Publishers.

Pearce, J.A. and Robinson, R.B. (2000), Strategic

Management: Formulation, Implementation and Control (7th ed.)
Boston: McGraw Hill Publishers.

Robins, R. and Coutler, M. (2000), Management. (5th ed.)

New Delhi: Prentice Hall.

Seltiz, C. (1976), Research Methods in Social Relations (3rd

ed.) New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
 110

APPENDIX

Department of Management
Faculty of Business Administration
University of Nigeria,
Enugu Campus.

Dear Respondent,

I am a postgraduate student of the above department in

the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. As a pre-requisite for
the award of Masters in Business Administration (MBA), I am
carrying out a research study on "The Role of Managerial
Leadership in Corporate Goal Attainment, A Case Study of
Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Calabar".
I will be appreciate if you can provide answers to the
following questions. Any information provided will be used
mainly for academic purpose and will be treated confidentially.
Please supply the necessary information or tick () as
appropriate.

Yours faithfully,

Eze Charles
 111

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR JUNIOR STAFF OF DANGOTE

FLOUR MILLS

SECTION A: PERSONAL DATA

1.Sex

a) Male [ ]
b) Female []

2.Age range (years):

a) Under 20 []
b)21 - 30 []
c) 31 - 40 []
d) 41 - 50 []
e) 51 and above []

3.Educational qualification

a)FLSC []
b) WASC []
c) OND/NCE []
d) HND []
e) B.Sc []

f) Other qualifications please specify _________

 112

SECTION B

1.Are you a permanent staff?

a) Yes [ ]
b) No [ ]

2.Do you understand what is meant by leadership?

a) Yes [ ]
b) No [ ]

3.Do you like the way your manager or supervisor or foreman

treats you and your co-workers?

a) Yes []
b) No []
c) Not really []

4.Do you understand what is meant by corporate goal?

a) Yes [ ]
b) No [ ]

5.Have you been informed officially what the goals of the

company are from time to time?

a) Yes [ ]
b) No [ ]

6.If you answer to question (5) is yes have you been

encouraged well enough to work towards the realization of
such goals?

a) Yes []
b) No []
c) Yes, but not enough []
 113

7.Have you been informed at appropriate time whether or not

the goals of the company have been achieved?

a) Yes [ ]
b) No [ ]

8.If you know that goal are achieved, will that make you happy
and work harder?

a) Yes, I will be happy and work harder []

b) No, I will not be happy and will not
work harder []
c) No, I will be unhappy but work harder []

9.What really motivate you, financial incentives or the leadership

styles of your managers/supervisors?

a) Financial incentives []
b) Leadership styles of managers/supervisors []
c) A combination of both []

10.Are you satisfied with the leadership styles of managers and

supervisors?

a) Yes []
b) No []
c) Not quite []

11.If the company's goals are achieved, do you think that would
benefit you in any way?

a) Yes []
b) No []
c) I don't know []
 114

12.In your opinion, which of these factors contributed most to

the attainment of the goals of the company?

a) Management efficiency []
b) Good working conditions []
c) Friendly atmosphere between
management and workers []
d) Good pay []
e) Fear of punishment []

13.In your own opinion, what other factors contributed to the

attainment of the company's goal within the period?
Please list them in order to importance.

a) ______________________________

b) ______________________________
 115

SECTION 2

Please read each of the following statements or

questions carefully, and then tick [] the number that best
represent your reaction to the statements according to the
following scale:

5 - Strongly agree
4 - Agree
3 - Uncertain
2 - Disagree
1 - Strongly disagree
S/N Statements/Questions 5 4 3 2 1
1. The goals of Dangote Flour Mills
Plc, Calabar have always been
achieved between 2010 and 2011
2. The attainment or non-attainment
of the goals of the company within
the period could be attributed to
the quality of the company's
managerial leadership.
3. If the goals were not achieved, do
you agree that management
should be solely held responsible?
4. There are certain jobs in this
company which can be performed
without the directive of supervisors
or managers.
5. Do the management styles of
managers influence the
productivity of employees?
6. Do you think that the attainment of
corporate goals is enhanced by
appropriate motivation of the
company's employees?