Different Types Of Leadership Styles Exist Management Essay

NTN Bearing-Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. is part of the South-East Asia sales network, headed by NTN Bearing-Singapore Pte. Ltd. Besides that, NTN Malaysia and NTN Singapore are both regional distribution centres for the ASEAN and OCEANIA region. The headquarters of NTN Corporation is located in Osaka, Japan which was founded in March 1918. The company has plants spread over its many prefectures, as well as globally across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The nature of business is product and services, where NTN Bearing Malaysia is responsible in marketing and distribution of NTN brand of ball and roller bearings, needle bearings, bearing units, precision bearings, automotive bearings, bearing parts & accessories, constant velocity joints and other related products within Peninsular Malaysia after the production had been done in Japan.

Introduction

In working environment, there are different types of leadership styles exist which each of them have different advantages and disadvantages. Leadership style which best fit the organization is determine by the culture and goals of the firm. Depending on the departmental needs and necessary tasks to be complete, sometimes, company will offer or uses several leadership styles within the organization. In brief, leadership style is the manner and approach of providing guidance or direction, implementing ideas, and motivating people (Leadership Styles, 2010); while on the other hand, job satisfaction is the extent to which a person’s hopes, desires, and expectations about the employment are fulfilled by the organization. (English Dictionary, 2012) But, job satisfactions of peoples vary from individual to individual as everyone is unique and have different demands and requirements.

There are many different leadership styles exist in the business world, but in this research, I will only be focusing on 2 leadership styles, which are autocratic leadership style and democratic leadership style.

Autocratic leadership style is one of the approaches used by some leaders or managers in organization. Autocratic leaders make decisions alone without the input of others as they possess total authority and impose their will on employees and no one is allowed to challenge or change the decision made by the leader. This style only benefits employees who require close supervision because employees who are creative and thrive in group function detest this type of leadership style. (Rose, J., n.d.)

Whereas for democratic leadership style approach, it is one of the common types of leadership style been use in organizations. In this leadership style, leaders will take the responsibility of making the final decision, but, at the same time, they also value the input of team members and peers. Employees’ morale is boost by this leadership style because employees make contributions to the decision-making process and they feel that their opinions are being value by the company. (Rose, J., n.d.)

It is obvious that we are likely to work to our fullest potential and take on extra responsibilities when we enjoy our job or work. Therefore, job satisfactions do have an impact on our career success. It is undeniable that happiness at work can make a huge difference to the overall happiness in life as we spend a high proportion of our waking hours at work. Employees will work less and concentrate more on the negative aspects of their job when they have low morale caused by low job satisfaction. Major problems may also occur in employees’ personal relationships. When they are not satisfy with their job or feel depressed, the depression will spread through to his friends and family and cause people around him or her to feel the frustration as well. (Saira, A., 2009)

Most of the time, subordinates work along with their immediate supervisor, leader, or manager, therefore, leadership style used or implemented by their superior is relatively an important element in their level of job satisfaction.

Literature Review

There are several journals and research paper that had been reviewed during this assignment to obtain more information and evidence to support the research and findings. First of all, the first journal that I had reviewed is a research that had been done by Somaye Gharibvand (2012) with the title of “The Relationship between Malaysian Organizational Culture, Participative Leadership Style, and Employee Job Satisfaction among Malaysian Employees from Semiconductor Industry” in Penang and Kuala Lumpur. The purpose of the research is to examine the relationship between two independent variables (Organizational Culture, Participative Leadership Style) and two moderating factors (Gender of Managers and Workplace Cities) and a dependent variable (Employee Job Satisfaction). The study had validated a significant positive relationship between Organizational Culture, Participative Leadership Style, and Employee Job Satisfaction.

The strength of this research paper is the research was done in Malaysia, where the culture is more similar to my study as my research is going to take place in Malaysia as well. Moreover, the elements studied in this paper, which is the relationship of Participative Leadership Style and Employees Job Satisfaction had shown a positive relationship, it shown that there is a linkage between leadership style and employees’ job satisfaction, thus, the results might be used as evidence in my research.

Another journal that I had reviewed is titled “The Impact of Autocratic and Democratic Leadership Style on Job Satisfaction” by Nadeem Bhatti, Ghulam Murtza Maitlo, Naveed Shaikh, Muhammad Aamir Hashmi, and Faiz. M. Shaikh (2011). The purpose of the paper was to investigate the impact of Autocratic and Democratic Leadership style on job satisfaction among the teaching staff comprising of both male and female in private and public school of Lohore and to find out the relationship between leadership style and job satisfaction was the main objective of the study. The results of this study indicate that leadership style has a positive impact on job satisfaction where people feel more comfortable working under democratic leaders where they can share and exchange their views freely.

The strength of this paper is a pilot study had been done prior to the data collection which validated the questionnaire to minimize any error or faulty that might affect the results or findings of the research. Furthermore, the element investigated in this paper which is the impact of autocratic and democratic leadership style on job satisfaction is similar to the elements in my research, which had improve my understanding on the topic and provide more information for my study.

Next, I had also reviewed a journal by Azman Ismail, Noor Fazzura Ain Zainuddin, and Zalina Ibrahim (2010) from Sarawak, Malaysia titled “Linking Participative and Consultative Leadership Styles to Organizational Commitment as An Antecedent of Job Satisfaction”. The aim of this study is to measure the effect of participative and consultative leadership styles and organizational commitment on job satisfaction. The finding of the research shows that the relationship between organizational commitment and relationship oriented leadership behaviour elements, which include participative and consultative leadership style, is positively and significantly correlated with job satisfaction. The result in the research had also verified that the ability of leaders to properly implement participative and consultative styles has encouraged followers to be devoted to their organization and this may lead to increased job satisfaction.

The strength of the research include, a pilot study had been carried out prior to the actual survey to ensure that the data are more accurate and less biased. The study had also provided more information on participative leadership style, which is similar to the element of democratic leadership style in my research. Furthermore, the study was also done in Malaysia, which is the same country as my research, therefore, information in the paper are more reliable and usable as compare to research been done in other country.

In year 2009, another research on “The Impact of Leadership Styles and Leaders’ Competencies on Employees’ Job Satisfaction” was done by Omar Mohammed Ali Ababneh in the Middle East. The research was aimed at investigating whether leadership style and leaders’ competencies influence employees’ job satisfaction. A 20-item Leadership Style Questionnaire developed by Northouse (2001) had been used to measure leadership style or behavior, Eight Universal Management and Leadership Competencies in 18 Skill Sets developed by the Profile Service Centre was used to measure leader’s competencies, and 5-item questionnaire developed by Brayfield and Rothe (1951) was used to measure job satisfaction. It was found that leadership style and leaders’ competencies were statistically and significantly related to overall job satisfaction.

The strength of the paper is, it provide some backdrop understanding of the issue of leadership style and job satisfaction which is similar as my research issue. In addition, the survey had also included variety of organizations which provide better understanding of the relationship of leadership style and job satisfaction in the view of respondents from different industry. The reliability and validity of various questionnaires used in this research had also been measured using Cronbach’s alpha to ensure they are bias-free, stable and consistent. Moreover, the questionnaire used in this research to measure leadership style and behavior, which is the Leadership Style Questionnaire developed by Northouse, will also be adopted and used in my research because the validity and reliability of Northouse’s questionnaire had been verify.

Next journal that had been reviewed is “Leadership Styles and Organizational Climate as Determinants of Job Involvement and Job Satisfaction of Workers in Tertiary Institutions” by Benjamin O. Omolayo and Christiana K. Ajila from Nigeria in year 2012. The main purpose of the research was to investigate the extent at which leadership styles will influence job involvement and job satisfaction of workers. It was found that Autocratic and democratic type of leadership and organizational climate jointly has an influence on job satisfaction. However, in contrast, the result had also shown that there was no significant relationship between job satisfaction and leadership styles (autocratic and democratic), and no significant difference between autocratic and democratic leadership styles and job satisfaction.

The strength of this research is that it study on the elements of autocratic leadership style, democratic leadership style and job satisfaction, which is the same elements as my research. Other than that, the study had also used a few tested reliability research instrument to collect data, where the result are more accurate and reliable. Although in this study, it had resulted that there were no significant relationship between job satisfaction and leadership styles (autocratic and democratic), and no significant difference between autocratic and democratic leadership styles and job satisfaction, but, the study had been done in Nigeria, where the people and culture are different from Malaysia; furthermore, the research had involved only participants from only three educational institutions, which is different from my research where the research will be done in Malaysia and involve participants from the business organization. Therefore, the result of this study will only be treated as a reference and will not influence my result.

Another journal with the author named Darwish A. Yousef from United Arab Emirates had also been reviewed. The title of the study is “Organizational commitment: a mediator of the relationships of leadership behavior with job satisfaction and performance in a non-western country” which had been accepted in year 1999. The aim of the research is to investigate in a non-western country where multiculturalism is a dominant feature of the workforce, what is the potential mediating role or organizational commitment in the relationships of leadership behavior with the work outcomes of job satisfaction and job performance. The study had resulted that in the support of many western studies, individual who are more committed to their organizations, more satisfied with their jobs, and their performance is higher are those who perceive their superiors as adopting consultative or participative leadership behavior. The research had also shown that the relationship of leadership behavior with job satisfaction is moderated by national culture.

The strength of the paper is that the study had been conducted in a non-western country where multiculturalism exist, and in Malaysia, we are also a non-western country where the dominant feature of the workforce is multiculturalism as well, thus, the result of the study will be useful for my research as it might be more reliable and accurate as compare to study done in western countries. Besides that, this study had also been done on organizations’ employees, which is similar to the participants in my study as I had also targeted my research on employees in an organization in Malaysia.

Other than that, I had also reviewed the journal with the title of “How Democratic Leaders Empower Teachers Job Satisfaction? The Malaysian Case” by Cheah Lee, Abdul Ghani Kanesan Abdullah, Aziah Ismail, and Naser Jamil Alizydeen from School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. The journal was submitted in the year 2011. The main purpose of the study is to study how democratic leaders work to empower teachers’ job satisfaction, and naturalistic qualitative and exploratory approach had been used in this follow-up study. The research had revealed that to obtain the result of successful empowerment of teachers in schools which bring about greater teachers’ job satisfaction and commitment, there are some common attributes of principals that contribute to that, which include amongst others, upholding collaborative and participatory management; established trusting relationship and relations-oriented. On top of that, attributes of transformational leadership, which include intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration and idealized influence, are also possess by these leaders.

The strength of the paper is the research had been carry out in Malaysia, which is the same country that my research is going to take place, therefore, the data or result from the study might be helpful and more precise to be used as reference for my research. Furthermore, the study had been carried out based on the elements which include democratic leadership style and characteristics which promote greater job satisfaction, thus, the elements of the study is similar to my research, and it had been adopted to be used as my research’s reference.

A journal with the title of “A study of relationship between managers’ leadership style and employees’ job satisfaction” had also been reviewed. The authors of the study are Ali Mohammad Mosadegh Rad and Mohammad Hossein Yarmohammadian, and the study had been carried out in year 2004. To explore the relationships between managers’ leadership styles and employees’ job satisfaction in Isfahan University Hospitals, Isfahan, Iran is the main purpose of this descriptive and cross-sectional study. The questionnaires used was Leadership survey questionnaire derives from Rensis Likert’s model of leadership styles, and a standard job satisfaction questionnaire by Spector in year 1997 which determine level of job satisfaction among employees according to nine sub-scales, which include factors such as co-workers, fringe benefits, communication, recognition, salaries, nature of the job, promotion, working conditions, and supervision. The finding of the paper had indicated significant correlation between employees’ job satisfaction and the leadership style of managers.

The strength of the paper is it studied on the elements of relationship between managers’ leadership style and employees’ job satisfaction, which is the main elements in my research, and the findings obtained from the study might be useful and provide more information for my research. Besides that, the study had also used Spector’s Job Satisfaction Survey questionnaire which determine employees’ job satisfaction more thoroughly through 9 sub-scales, therefore, I had adopted and used the Spector’s Job Satisfaction Survey questionnaire in my research as well, because the reliability of the questionnaire had been determined and verified in the paper.

Another journal that had been reviewed is “The Relationship of Leadership Styles of Selected West Virginia Deans and Department Chairs to Job Satisfaction of Departmental Faculty Members”. The authors of the research are Paul A. Leary, Michael E. Sullivan, and Debra Ray McCartney-Simon. The purpose of this research is to determine the leadership styles of West Virginia deans or department chairs and the consequence of those styles on the self-reported job satisfaction of departmental faculty members. The data analysis had indicated that there is a strong relationship between overall job satisfaction and both dimensions of leadership style, which is the Consideration Dimension (relationship oriented) and Initiating Structure Dimension (task oriented) of leadership behaviors. It was reported that a greater degree of extrinsic job satisfaction exist when the behaviors of the leader fell within the Consideration dimension.

The strength of the paper is that it studies on the relationship of leadership styles and employees’ job satisfaction, which is the same with my main topic. The result of the research had verified that there is a strong relationship between job satisfaction and leadership styles, which had provide evidence that leadership styles does play a role in employees’ job satisfaction. Furthermore, the participants in this research had took part in the study voluntarily, thus, the data collected will be more reliable and accurate.

A journal with the title “The influence of leadership styles on employees’ job satisfaction in public sector organizations in Malaysia” had been reviewed as well, and the authors consist of M.L. Voon, M.C. Lo, K.S. Ngui, and N.B. Ayob, which was done in year 2011. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between leadership styles and job satisfaction in the public sector. Through the research, it was found that transactional leadership style has a negative relationship with job satisfaction, and, on the other hand, transformational leadership style had shown a positive relationship with job satisfaction in government organizations in Malaysia.

The strength of the paper is the research was done in public sectors in Selangor, Malaysia, which is the same State and country of my study, although my study is going to carry out in a private sector, but, the results from this research still can be used as a reference in my study because the culture and demographic will be more similar as compare to research done in other country. Moreover, although the leadership styles been investigated in this research are only transactional and transformational leadership styles, but, the result still shown that leadership styles do had influence on employees’ job satisfactions. Besides that, the research was also been done in public sectors and focused only on two leadership styles, thus, my study can provide more information on the influence of leadership style on employees’ job satisfactions as my study is going to focus on the other type of leadership style, which are autocratic and democratic leadership styles and would be carry out in a private company.

Aims and Objectives

The aim of this assignment is to investigate and study on the relationship of autocratic leadership style and democratic leadership styles on employees’ job satisfaction: A case study in NTN Bearing-Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Whereas, the objectives are to study what are the types of leadership style been implemented in the company, to explore current level of job satisfaction in the company, to investigate on the impact of leadership style on employees’ job satisfaction, to examine the steps taken or benefits provided by the company to motivate or increase employees’ job satisfaction, to observe employees’ opinions and comments on the current manager’s or supervisor’s leadership style, and to understand what are the expectations and needs of employees’ on their superior and company.

Methodology

Subject

This research had been carried out in the main office of NTN Bearing-Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. which currently located at Shah Alam, Selangor Durul Ehsan. The research had targeted on 18 supervisors and 35 employees who were currently working as full time in the company.