Leadership impact on organizational productivity: a study of Eskom, Newcastle Zone: KwaZulu-Natal.

Abstract

Abstract Leadership forms part of the imperative issues in organizations and it is a fundamental aspect of transformation. It is therefore a critical aspect of management, which aid leaders in promoting productivity and to realise the goals of an organisation. Almost every human activity has an element of leadership in it. Investors acknowledge the importance of effective leadership when they say that a leader can make a success of an irresolute business plan. Lack of leadership has a great negative effect on any organization. Without leadership companies stagnate, lose vision and fail to meet their set goals. Therefore the leadership style employed in the organization will either enhance or hinder transformation and productivity. The aim of this research work was to examine the impact that leadership and styles have on organizational productivity in Eskom KwaZulu-Natal: Newcastle Zone. The objectives of this study were to examine impact of Transformational, Transactional, and Laissez-faire leadership styles on productivity. The human resource database of 295 employees served as the sample frame for the research with a probability sample of 123 employees. A questionnaire instrument was utilised to elicit valuable information from the respondents. The questionnaire consisted of 28 and 5 quantitative and qualitative questions respectively. The study was administered through a link to online survey (Question Pro) emailed to all participants. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse data. The findings revealed that a stronger relationship exists between leadership and employee productivity in that the style employed by the organization can either improve productivity or hinders productivity. The leadership behaviours employed by transformational and transactional leadership showed positive influence in productivity than those of laissez-faire. The key recommendations for the study were introduction of employee engagement in order to maintain a certain level of relationship between management and workforce in order for the organization to appreciate higher levels of productivity. Also organizations need to employ different leadership styles whereby, one or a combination of leadership style may be employed because of the positive impact they have on productivity.