Introduction
The composition of scholarly papers requires a careful selection of literature, facts, and knowledge about the principles of research. However, if the objectives and goals of the study are determined wrongly, as well as the research methods, the scientist can get incorrect results, even if the original idea was brilliant. Therefore, students should familiarize themselves with the rules and principles of writing scholarly paper before starting work on their own research.
It is especially crucial in this case to understand the main points and learn the correct algorithms for formulating the goals of the study and the selection of methods for researching in practice. In addition, an important aspect is the study of the topic that relates to the student’s specialty because this choice facilitates an understanding of the works, and also deepens the knowledge necessary for mastering the course. For this reason, ten scientific papers on leadership styles will be compared and contrasted in this paper to study and understand in practice the basic principles of writing scientific research.
Summary of the Articles
All articles studied in this work address leadership styles from different points of view and for a different purpose, but they have on a shared topic. The authors of these works compare leadership styles, determine their dependence and influence, and also give a new direction and perspectives for researching this topic. In addition, the results of all works have practical and theoretical applications because of their novelty and relevance.
The authors of the article “Reviewing leadership styles” take as their goal the study of new types of leadership and their main differences to discover the ways in which these styles overlap. The primary method of analysis is the study of the literature. As a result, Anderson and Sun (2017) conclude that many styles overlap; therefore, it is necessary to research and create a new “full range” model with unique styles for progress in this area of leadership styles and management.
The authors of “The relationship between the leadership styles of school managers and organizational cynicism” intended to identify the correlation between leadership styles and organizational cynics. The main research methods were questionnaires and regression analysis. The authors found that the influence of the transformational leader aspects of organizational cynicism is significant. The results of the study can be applied to the choice of management method in educational institutions and further research on the topic.
The article “Impact of leadership styles on employees’ attitude” explores the influence of leadership style on the performance of subordinates and their perceptions of a leader by using theoretical and practical research. The main empirical research method was a questionnaire for Pakistani bank employees (Asrar-Ul-Haq & Kuchinke, 2016). Findings showed the connection between leadership style and productivity and determined that the best style for Pakistan is transformational. The results can be applied to top managers and human resource managers to increase labor productivity in the organization.
The authors of the article “Perception of transformational leadership” set the goal of exploring the effectiveness of transformational leadership in virtual workgroups (VWT). Review and analysis of the literature was the main way of research. As a result, Medina and Macías (2016) establish the strengths and weaknesses of transformational leadership for VWT. Findings will help optimize and improve the work of virtual teams and overcome the difficulties of distance and time by using this type of leadership.
The main objective of the study “Organizational conspiracy beliefs” is to find the influence of leadership styles on conspiracy beliefs among employees, as well as their effect on staff turnover and productivity. The study was conducted by using a questionnaire for a random sample of employees of different companies. As a result, Prooijen and Vries (2016) found that despotic, laissez-faire, and participative leadership styles predict conspiracy, and the first two styles having a negative effect on a company, increasing employee turnover and reducing employee commitments. The results are the rationale for checking organizational culture and can be used to change leadership styles in companies that suffer from conspiracies.
The authors of the article “Women organization commitment” devote their research to such two problems as the difficulties of a second career for women, as well as the dependence of leadership style on gender. For this purpose, P. Rawat, S. Rawat, Sheikh, and Kotwal (2019) conduct two separate studies using questionnaires and assessment scales. The results showed that the leadership style does not depend on gender, and the company’s assistance in building a second career for a woman causes her loyalty to the company. The results can be used to debunk gender myths and take advantage of women in companies.
The research “Assessing public leadership styles for innovation” aims to study leadership qualities and their importance in the public sector for three different cities. Ricard, Klijn, Lewis, and Ysa (2016) used a literature review as well as questionnaires for representatives of the public sector from Copenhagen, Rotterdam, and Barcelona to identify essential leadership qualities. The selected traits were most suited to the transformational leadership style. These results will be used to deepen this topic and conduct new research on related issues.
The aim of the work “Impact of top management leadership” is to identify the relationship between leadership style, organizational culture, and the adoption of Enterprise Resourcing Planning (ERP) systems. Questionnaires and static analysis tools were used for data collection and analysis. Shao, Feng, and Hu (2017) concluded that transformation leadership has a strong but mediated effect on organizational learning, and transactional style has a weak but direct influence. Findings are useful for developing a new strategy for assimilation ERP systems and improving company performance.
The study “Leadership styles, leader’s effectiveness and well-being” aims to examine the relationship between leadership styles, the effectiveness of a leader, and well-being through determining the effectiveness of his or her subordinates. Questionnaires, different grading scales, and statistical tools were used for analysis. The results showed that the transactional leadership style more influenced the collective effectiveness and well-being of the leader (Sudha, Shahnawaz, & Farhat, 2016). The findings have expanded the scientific base on the topic of leadership and can be used for further research.
The purpose of the study “Ethics and morality” is to compare ethical leadership with such species as with a servant, authentic, and transformational in terms of ethics and morality. Yasir and Mohamad (2016) used a literature review to compare these topics. The main finding is the fact that a servant, authentic, and transformational leadership style, often does not influence ethical behavior. The application of this article may be useful for company management to improve the organizational culture and work environment for employees using ethical and moral standards.
Therefore, all ten articles study different aspects of leadership styles and their relationship with other aspects of society. This topic is relevant, since skillful leaders are necessary for any field of activity, and it is common for people to draw up a clear hierarchy and demonstrate their leadership qualities. In addition, this topic is interesting for anyone interested in promoting a career ladder, opening a public business, or even building family relationships.
Comparison of the Researches
The authors of all these studies chose the issue of leadership styles for their work, since it is relevant for many people. However, even though the authors explore the same topic, the works have many common and distinctive characteristics that divided them into groups, make them different and the same simultaneously. The main common features are the application of the results and the general purpose of the work, while the distinguishing features are the area of the studied questions and research methods.
A common feature of all research work is the search for useful conclusions and knowledge that will help the work of people or the functioning of related fields. The main goal of all the studies is to consider leadership styles and explain or identify their patterns. Consequently, all authors achieved the same purpose, but in different ways of implementation and from different points of view, since they contributed to the development of the theory of leadership styles.
All works also have the same objects, namely human behavior and their reaction to different kinds of interpersonal communication, since leadership styles differ in these specific parameters. The results of all studies to a greater or lesser extent also can be applied in theory and practice. From a theoretical perspective, they can be used to deepen the issue or conduct other studies directly or indirectly related to them. Besides, the results, analysis models, or information from a literature review can be used in practice by managers of companies of any size and different countries. Therefore, these characteristics are common to all considered scientific papers.
The first difference between the studies that form them into the groups is the methods of collecting and analyzing information. Mostly, the authors used practical methods of analysis based on questionnaires, rating scales, and comparisons. For example, Prooijen and Vries (2016) used an online survey and hierarchical regression analysis, while Sudha, Shahnawaz, and Farha (2016) also conducted advanced studies and used various statistical analysis tools. However, in some works, research has focused on analyzing the literature; for example, Anderson and Sun (2017), Medina and Macías (2018), and Yasir and Mohamad (2016). This fact is the manifestation of using qualitative and quantities methods of analysis.
Moreover, it can be noted by returning to quantitative research methods that most authors who used the questionnaires also used standard assessment models, precisely the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire. They also added their own scales, respectively, with the question that they studied. This feature can be noted in the works of Demirçelik and Korkmaz (2017), Asrar-ul-Haq and Kuchinke (2016), and Shao, Feng, and Hu (2017).
However, such authors as P. Rawat, S. Rawat, Sheikh, and Kotwal (2019), as well as Ricard, Klijn, Lewis, and Ysa (2016), used scales and questions developed by themselves. Also, all questionnaires included demographic data such as age and gender of participants, but only for P. Rawat, S. Rawat, Sheikh, and Kotwal (2019), these data had fundamental importance. Thus, it can be noted that there are many effective ways to conduct research.
Another difference is the specific issues that the authors have studied, or rather the scope of their application. Successful leaders and the right kind of management are a necessity for all professions and fields of activity; therefore, the variety of articles on this subject is wide. Most of the materials are about leadership styles in the business sector; however, Ricard, Klijn, Lewis, and Ysa (2016) focused on public sector leadership, and Demirçelik and Korkmaz (2017), explored the field of the school education, were distinctive.
Nevertheless, from a different perspective, these topics are also part of the business as the leader’s interaction with employees is based on almost the same principles as in commercial companies. Another distinctive feature is the prospect of studying issues because some authors considered only some leadership styles, while others studied their full range in interaction with other factors.
Therefore, despite the variety of methods, causes, and objects of research, studied articles are not unique. If one work has a distinctive feature from others, then in other characteristics, it is similar to other materials, or, on the contrary, the difference of the research is only its topic. This fact exists due to the general principles of writing research, as well as the most convenient and common methods for studying leadership styles.
Conclusion
Analysis of ten different scientific studies on the same topic is an excellent way to study different approaches, methods, and goals of research and understand their differences. This assignment gave me the opportunity to learn research methods that can be used for scientific work, the correct structure of the paper, and the determination of goals, objectives, and hypotheses. In the process of studying articles, I saw the logic in choosing research methods according to the primary purpose and limited resources, since the same plan is not always suitable for all questions. In addition, during the analysis process, I gained a lot of new knowledge about leadership styles and their application in organizations of different types.
References
Anderson, M. H., & Sun, P. Y. T. (2015). Reviewing leadership styles: Overlaps and the need for a new ‘Full-Range’ theory. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 76–96.
Asrar-Ul-Haq, M., & Kuchinke, K. P. (2016). Impact of leadership styles on employees’ attitude towards their leader and performance: Empirical evidence from Pakistani banks. Future Business Journal, 2(1), 54–64.
Demirçelik, E.. & Korkmaz, M. (2017). The relationship between the leadership styles of school managers and organizational cynicism according to the perceptions of secondary school teachers. OPUS – International Journal of Society Researches, 7(12), 33-53.
Medina N., & Macías, C. (2018). Perception of transformational leadership style and its effectiveness on virtual work-teams (VWT). A literature review in the organizational context. Revista Espaciaous, 39(48). Web.
Prooijen, J.-W. V., & Vries, R. E. D. (2016). Organizational conspiracy beliefs: Implications for leadership styles and employee outcomes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 31(4), 479–491.
Rawat, P. S., Rawat, S. K., Sheikh, A., & Kotwal, A. (2019). Women organization commitment: Role of the second career & their leadership styles. The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 54(3), 458-470.
Ricard, L. M., Klijn, E. H., Lewis, J. M., & Ysa, T. (2016). Assessing public leadership styles for innovation: A comparison of Copenhagen, Rotterdam and Barcelona. Public Management Review, 19(2), 134–156.
Shao, Z., Feng, Y. Q., & Hu, Q. (2017) Impact of top management leadership styles on ERP assimilation and the role of organizational learning. Information & Management, 54(7), 902-919.
Sudha, K. S., Shahnawaz, M. G., & Farhat, A. (2016). Leadership styles, leader’s effectiveness and well-being: Exploring collective efficacy as a mediator. Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective, 20(2), 111–120.
Yasir, M., & Mohamad, N. (2016). Ethics and morality: Comparing ethical leadership with servant, authentic and transformational leadership styles. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6(4), 310-316.