Leadership Dysfunction and its Effect on Organizational Culture/Wellbeing
Doctor of Business Administration Prospectus–Project Management
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
ofOf
Doctor of Business Administration
Colorado University
Prospectus
Leadership Dysfunction and its Effect on Organizational Culture/Wellbeing
Problem Statement
Failure to lead an organization effectively may signal a lack of trust in the workforce
and may jeopardize the employee’s behavior towards work and the ability to perform. This
may lead to inefficient working relations which might eventually catapult into the failure of
the business (Petty et al., 2012). Creswell(2014) estimates that about 544,000 new businesses
formations crop up each year; however, the number of the busineses which fail are more
tham=n those that are formed per year. Between 2012 and 2015, small businesses accounted
for almost 98% of all the U.S. firms, their contribution to the gross demestic product (GDP)
was nearly 37.8%, and they contributed about 54.9% of all the employees to the labor force
(Silverman, 2013). T
Thehe general business problem is that the effect of dysfunctional leadership to
organizational culture continues to affect the progress and effectiveness of businesses
(Dandira, 2012). The specific business problem is that small business firms lack strategies for
ensuring functional leadership to affect progress and effectiveness of businesses
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this qualitative descriptve case study was to determine the
entrepreneurial strategies that small retail busines leaders need to utilize to succeed in
business beyond five years. Thereserch participants consisted of five companies or
organization leaders located in the Baltimore, Maryland, with fewer than 50 workers that
were profitable for at least five years. As of 2014, about 92% of the 209,103 small firms in
Maryland had fewer than 50 employees, and 86% of the 209,103 establishments were located
in Baltimore (Yin, 2012). Moreover, at least 15,497 of the 209,103small businesses were in
operation for five years or more (Creswell, 2014). The region’s population contained over
100 study participants which made it be a suitable region for this research.
Prospectus
Methodology
Qualitative methodology refers to the broadest sense to research that produces
descriptive data – people’s own written or spoken words and observable behavior (Taylor,
DeVault, & Bogdan, 2015).
The main goal of this qualitative exploratory case study is to determine the
significance of dysfunctional leadership to organizational culture.
Design
Research designs are kinds of inquiry in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
approaches that offer complete and precise direction for procedures in a research design
(Creswell, 2013). This research will use a qualitative designs using a case study.
Targeted Population
The targeted population consists of five companies or organization leaders located in
the Maryland.
Geographical Location
The focus of this research will be in Baltimore, Maryland. It will be conducted in
companies located in the City.
Qualitative hypothetical example (case study).
Case studies are the design of inquiry found in numerous fields, particularly
evaluation, in which the researcher develops an in-depth study and analysis of a case, often a
program, activity, event, process or one or more persons. However, a case study is bounded
by time and activity, and the researchers need to collect detailed data and information using a
variety of data collection techniques over a sustained period of time (Yin, 2012).
Nature of Study
Prospectus
The qualitative studies, the usual designs are ethnography, grounded theory,
phenomenology, and case study (Petty, Thomson, & Stew, 2012). Also, Myers (2013) stated
that qualitative research method broadly explains the context, either social or cultural, within
which people live. Moreover, qualitative research does not engage in statistical procedures;
but, attempts to broaden and deepen the understanding of the causes or underlying reasons,
opinions, and motivations (Creswell, 2014; Silverman, 2013).
According to Baškarada (2009), a qualitative case study is used for an in-depth
investigation of a complex case which is gained by an extensive description of the analysis of
the case. It is also considered as a whole and its context. Moreover, the advantageous stance
of a case study in this research, allows the researcher to gain a deep holistic view of research
problem than other approach used in qualitative research such as phenomenology or
ethnography (Yin, 2014). Therefore, using a qualitative case study in this research will
integrate, describe, understand and explain the situation that causes employees turnovers of
several companies in Baltimore, Maryland, related to leadership dysfunction and its effect on
organizational cultural/wellbeing.
Research Question
According to Petty (2012), using the word how or what, as the first word in a research
question helped indicate that the design was a descriptive case study. The study had an
overarching central research inquiry. The question proposed for this study was: The main
research question is: What are the underlying factors of dysfunctional leadership in
organizational culture?
Theoretical or Conceptual Framework
This study adopts the following framework to conduct research about the effect of
dysfunctional leadership to organizational culture. Alemu (2016) identified four key
Prospectus
underlying four variables namely: decision-making, modeling, organizational goal
achievement, and meeting ethical expectations as are vital leadership characteristics that
differentiate leaders of functional organizations/companies from those leading dysfunctional
organizations/companies.
Figure 1. A graphical model of dysfunctional leadership as it applies to examining
organization’s culture/wellbeing.
Significance of the Study
The result of this study will redound to the advantage of the society especially in the
business sector as excellent leadership is very valuable in any company or business endeavor.
Thus, companies which apply the suggested approach derived from the result of this study
will enable the companies to practice good leadership in an excellent manner. Managers and
business owners will be guided on what they should be given more emphasized in relations to
leadership and dealing with their employees to improve their business operations.
For the researcher, this will help him to uncover critical areas of the leadership of an
organization or companies where some researchers were not able to explore. Thus, there
could be new insights that can be provided after this research is done.
Prospectus
Dysfunctional dispositions may have produced significant behaviors in leaders that
influence an employee’s aptitude and ability to function in an organization and endanger the
success of the organization (Leary et al., 2013). Therefore, this study is conducted to assess
how business owners able to control the risk of business failures due to dysfunctional
leadership within the organization.
Prospectus
References
Baškarada, S. (2009). Information Quality Management Capability Maturity Model.
Wiesbaden: Vieweg+Teubner Verlag / GWV Fachverlage, Wiesbaden.
Creswell, J. (2013). Research Design. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. (2014). Research design (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage Publications.
Dandira, M. (2012). Dysfunctional leadership: organizational cancer. Business Strategy
Series, 13(4), 187-192.
Leary, T., Green, R., Denson, K., Schoenfeld, G., Henley, T., & Langford, H. (2013). The
relationship among dysfunctional leadership dispositions, employee engagement, job
satisfaction, and burnout. The Psychologist-Manager Journal.
Myers, M. (2013). Qualitative research in business and management (2nd ed.). Los Angeles,
CA: SAGE.
Petty, N., Thomson, O., & Stew, G. (2012). Ready for a paradigm shift? Part 2: Introducing
qualitative research methodologies and methods. Manual Therapy, 17(5), 378-384.
Silverman, D. (2013). Doing qualitative research. London, England: SAGE Publications.
S. Alemu, D. (2016). Dysfunctional Organization: The Leadership Factor. Open Journal of
Leadership, 05(01), 1-7.
Taylor, S., DeVault, M., & Bogdan, R. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods,
4th ed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Yin, R. (2012). Applications of case study research. Los Angeles: Sage.
Prospectus
References
Baškarada, S. (2009). Information Quality Management Capability Maturity Model.
Wiesbaden: Vieweg+Teubner Verlag / GWV Fachverlage, Wiesbaden.
Creswell, J. (2013). Research Design. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. (2014). Research design (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage Publications.
Dandira, M. (2012). Dysfunctional leadership: organizational cancer. Business Strategy
Series, 13(4), 187-192.
Leary, T., Green, R., Denson, K., Schoenfeld, G., Henley, T., & Langford, H. (2013). The
relationship among dysfunctional leadership dispositions, employee engagement, job
Prospectus
satisfaction, and burnout. The Psychologist-Manager Journal.
Myers, M. (2013). Qualitative research in business and management (2nd ed.). Los Angeles,
CA: SAGE.
Petty, N., Thomson, O., & Stew, G. (2012). Ready for a paradigm shift? Part 2: Introducing
qualitative research methodologies and methods. Manual Therapy, 17(5), 378-384.
Silverman, D. (2013). Doing qualitative research. London, England: SAGE Publications.
S. Alemu, D. (2016). Dysfunctional Organization: The Leadership Factor. Open Journal of
Leadership, 05(01), 1-7.
Taylor, S., DeVault, M., & Bogdan, R. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods,
4th ed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Yin, R. (2012). Applications of case study research. Los Angeles: Sage.
