CHAPTER ONE

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

1.0   INTRODUCTION

Leadership is a means of directing a group to attain its objectives. Leadership is the ability of management to induce subordinates to work towards group goals with confidence and keenness. Leadership also implies that the leader accepts responsibility for the achievement of the group objectives and it is therefore essential for trust and cooperation of both sides to be in evidence all the time.

It must be noted that leadership is not synonymous to administrative ability and that numerous attempt have been made to analyse the nature of leadership one is to contrast authoritarian and democratic leadership.

Leadership, many opine is the problem facing the Nigeria economy, especially the public (government) sector. It is not that the nation lacks trained and competent leaders and administrators. The bulk of the problem is in the attitude of the leaders and administrator when schedule with the responsibility of managing public (government) enterprise for benefit of the taxpayers and the nation generally.

The skill and ability to manage properly and profitably may be there, but intrinsic interests and commitment to the success and survival of outfit or project is often not adequately demonstrated by the public office holders. This is why so many government enterprises are wound up and public companies like banks, declared bankrupt and have distressed. It is of course a common knowledge that when these enterprises are properly privatized they spring up and start functioning effectively.

Leadership on the otherhand is a tool for management, also a technique for influencing the people in an organization. Effective leaders are not necessarily effective managers. A successful leader influences others. An effective leader sometimes can be hindrance to the organization for instance when a powerful informal leader gets the work group to resort its output or produce quality goods.

An example of an extremely effective leader who eventually proved to be a poor manager was Adolf Hiltor, while he managed to convince million to follow him, he did not manage well enough to attain his organizational objectives of world supremacy for Germany.

Finally, the managerial human resources planning, organizing and human resources less in the absence of effective management.

1.1   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Akwa Ibom State civil service, like those of most other states in the federation, is bloated. While unemployment is still a major problem in the state, many of those in service are grossly under utilized. 

A visit to the offices reveals that many civil servant especially the newly recruited, do not have seats, talkless of schedules of duty. Those with duty schedules are not properly supervised in some departments. Everybody is crazy for money at the expense of service. Yet the service is supposed to be result oriented. The researcher does not believe that all the civil servants in the state employed cannot be effectively utilized. The problem as observed, is that of poor leadership given by the directors and administrators in the civil service.

They are more concerned with personal gains than with the effective management of the human and material resources of the service.

The problem of poor leadership and ineffectiveness of the civil service is what motivates the research into an investigation of the leadership between the leadership styles of administration and the work attitude of their subordinates.

1.2   PURPOSE OF STUDY

This study is aimed at determining the leadership styles and its effects in organizational performance.

1. To analyse how leadership styles adopted by particular organization impacts on organization effectiveness.
2. To identify from the selected parastatal (Organisation) in Akwa Ibom State, if ineffectiveness was based on their leadership styles.
3. To verify how the level of education affects leadership style in organization.
4. To identify the problem emitting from the various leadership styles and make recommendations for their solutions.

1.3   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The researcher is aimed at providing an accurate information on orgnaisaitonal behaviour in respect to the effect of leadership styles in the organizations. It will enable manager’s (Directors) as well as supervisors to be aware of the role expected of them as leaders in shaping and tailoring the organization to achieve its goals. It will also assist the management of the organization in providing a basis for selected and training its staff for various leadership positions.

It will expose the problems management may encounters in the course of leadership and possible solutions to overcome this problems for them to the effective leaders.

Finally, it will serve as a benchmark for further research material for students policy makers and other scholars and also serve as a reference and materials for further studies.

1.4   RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions was formulated to guide the study.

1. Do levels of education have effect on leadership styles in an organizational effectiveness and performance?
2. Would any style of leadership adopted by a company have effect on the organizational objectives?
3. Is the effectiveness and performance of organisaiton based on their leadership styles?

HO: There is no positive and significant relationship between levels of education and leadership styles on organizational effectiveness.

HI: There is positive and insignificant relationship between the level of education and leadership styles on organization effectiveness.

HO: There is no positive and significant relationship between effectiveness of organization and leadership styles.

HI: There is positive and significant relationship between effectiveness of organization and leadership styles.

• LIMITATION OF THE STYLE

Some difficulties were encountered by the researcher while working on this research, it was not very easy to track down all the respondents in order to administer and get back the questionnaire from them. Repeated call had to be made several times in order to overcome the obstacle. Besides, time was not friendly and finance also posed some constraint in the process of this work. However, the researcher had to work extra hard in order to overcome these constraints. They did not in anyway jeopardize the validity of the researcher results.

1.6   HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF AKWA IBOM STATE WATER COMPANY LIMITED

Akwa Ibom State Water Company Limited (AKWL) Uyo was incorporated as a limited liability company in February 2001, with the principal objective of producing, storing, distributing and marketing water to all categories of water consumers in every part of the state.

The State government wholly owns the company after being exercised from the former Akwa Ibom State water corporation. Its origin date back from the board in the South eastern state Ministry of works or public works or public work department (PWD) in the early 1970’s which was inherited and renamed Cross River State Water Board.

Upon the 1987 State creation exercise, which gave birth to Akwa Ibom State the Company became an establishment of this state. With the state edict No.9 of 1st May 1988, the company has all the rights as a limited liability company with a managing director (CEO) at the helm of its affairs, reporting to the board of directors appointed by the state government.