AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTS OF LEADERSHIP STYLES ON ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION IN KENYA

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate on the effects of leadership styles on the organizational transformation with reference to Lake Nakuru National Park. The study was guided by the following research objectives: to investigate how strategic leadership style affects organizational transformation, to examine the influence of servant leadership style on organizational transformation, to determine how participative leadership style influence organizational transformation and to establish the role of ethical leadership style in organizational transformation. A case study research design was adopted in the study. The sample size consisted of senior management level (5), supervisory management level (14) and (48) operational staff. In total, the sample size for this study was sixty seven (n=67). Purposive and stratified simple random sampling procedure was used to arrive at the sample size respectively. The key data collection instruments that were used in this study included questionnaires for the operational staff and interview guide for the senior and supervisory management level. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, employing both quantitative and qualitative approach. Data from questionnaires were purely analyzed quantitatively and presented in frequencies and percentages while data from interview guide was analyzed qualitatively. The study used Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to aid in data analysis process. From the analysis the following key findings were made: adequate strategic planning to achieve corporate objective has improved the transformation of Lake Nakuru National Park, through the application of strategic thinking approach, transformation has been achieved at Lake Nakuru National Park. Slightly more than half of the respondents were positive by agreeing and strongly agreeing to the statement that the leaders at Lake Nakuru National park practice participatory management approach for successful organizational transformation. The study concluded that all the research questions were answered satisfactorily. The following recommendations were suggested: There is need for a continuous training on leadership and staff management skills. Management to embrace effective communication thus to avoid mistrust between management and employees. There should be performance management system in place to monitor and evaluate employee performances. Succession plan to be put in place for emerging young leaders.