Leaders within South African organisations and corporations are faced with
challenges such as over-management and under-leadership. While management is
about coping with complexity, leadership is about coping with change. In the actual
business environment, foremost changes are progressively necessary for business
survival and effective competition. In fact, the effective leadership is measured by
organisational effectiveness. However, by displaying an effective leadership,
leaders are called not only to influence subordinates but also enable them to
achieve the organisational goals. Therefore, the effective leadership will not be
focused on supremacy but on the organisational achievement. This requires an
important and permanent participation and consultation of all team members.
The present research study is focused on the analysis of the role of situational
leadership in the context of small business management. The main purpose of this
research is to examine and to critically evaluate the use of different situational
leadership styles in the management of small businesses. This study has sought to
review leader obligations and the evolution of these leadership styles in small
business management. The study has intended to provide the fundamental
empirical evaluation of the role played by situational leadership in small business
management.
The sample for the present research has been identified from within the
Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business (PCB). A random sample has been drawn
from the SMEs within the membership, using standard sampling techniques and
methodologies. The population was consisting of small businesses that are
members of the PCB.
The findings of this research have shown the positive impact that a situational
leadership model has in small business management. In fact, small business
owners and leaders will be inspired to understand the managerial role of the
appropriateness behavioural style in the contextual business situations. Also, the
study recommended that owners and leaders of small business should ameliorate leader sovereignty and follower skills, as these often interact in predicting poor
follower performance and attitudinal responses. In addition, the present study has
provided the tools necessary for small business owners, to guide the improvement
and effectiveness of personal leadership. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/10465 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Bamata, Nkombe Herman. |
| Contributors | Smorfitt, Robert William. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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