The Effects of Leadership Styles on Organizational Performance: A Study on Farmers’ Cooperative Unions (FCUs) at Buno Beddelle Zone; Oromia Region, South- Western Ethiopia.

Abstract

Cooperative leadership serves as a catalyst and there is no meaningful human endeavor that has been achieved that is not as a result of leadership.Although the government plan to expand cooperatives by establishing at least one primary cooperative in each village and one union per district has further enhanced the development of cooperatives, Ethiopia is one of the African countries where co-operatives are again in the spotlight. The main objective of this study was to assess the ef ect of leadership styles on organizational performance of farmers’ cooperative unions (FCUs) at Buno Beddelle Zone; Oromia Region, South-Western Ethiopia. In this study, correlational research design was viably employed. Data was collected through major data collection instruments as Multifactor Leadership Questionnaires (MFQ) and Subjective Organizational Performance measurement questionnaires from 126 respondents selected by using random sampling method. Data analysis was carried out both by descriptive and inferential techniques, and Statistical Package for social science (SPSS) software version 20 aided the analysis. In this study, leadership styles (transformational, transactional, laissez-fair, autocratic and democratic) were treated as independent variables while organizational performance was treated as the dependent variable. The study finding indicated that four of the leadership styles (democratic, transformational, laissez-faire and autocratic) had significant ef ect on cooperative performance while the ef ect of transactional leadership style was found to be insignificant. The result demonstrated the pronounced significant ef ect of democratic leadership style over the others in cooperative unions of the study area. Further, 44.6% of the variation in the cooperative unions’ performance was explained by these leadership styles. Finally, it was recommended those leaders in order to enhance cooperative unions’ performance, should grant the use of and exhibit more democratic and transformational leadership styles and avoid/exhibit less of/ the autocratic and laissez-faire leadership styles while also consistent and continuous cooperative leadership capacity building programs should be organized and utilized by the concerned body