The Influence of Leadership Styles on the Efficiency of Higher Educational Institutions in Himachal Pradesh
 
Ashish Thakur1*, Dr. Anupam Sharma2, Dr. Sulochna Syal3
1 PhD Scholar, Bahra University, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
Email ID: Ashishthakur1559@gmail.com
2 Assistant Professor, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
3 HOD Management, Professor, Bahra University, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
Abstract- The primary objective of this current study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the ways in which various leadership styles influence the overall organisational effectiveness of higher education institutions. Furthermore, the goal of the research is to determine whether demographic variables have an impact on the evaluation of organisational efficacy and the perceptions of leadership of individuals within these institutions. Data were meticulously collected from a sample of 215 teachers in Himachal Pradesh, India, who held a variety of positions at both private and public higher educational institutions. This was done in order to attain these objectives. The results of this study provide compelling insights: Initially, it is clear that demographic variables, at least to a certain extent, influence perceptions of organisational efficacy and leadership within higher education institutions. These variables include, but are not limited to, age, gender, educational background, and years of experience. Secondly, the research emphasizes a substantial correlation between the organisational efficacy of these institutions and the transactional style of leadership. In the context of higher education in Himachal Pradesh, transactional leadership is a significant influence on organisational efficacy, as it is defined by a focus on structured rewards and explicit communication of expectations. These results enhance comprehension of the manner in which demographic factors and leadership dynamics interact to influence the operational efficiency of educational institutions in this region.
Keywords: Leadership, Efficiency, Educational Institutions, Himachal Pradesh.
INTRODUCTION
India has the third-largest higher education system after the US and China. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (2016) reports a significant expansion in universities and colleges since independence. MHRD records show that the country had 677 institutions in 2014, up from 20 in 1950. Central Universities, State Universities, Private Universities, Deemed-to-be-Universities, and University-level Institutions are the main types of universities in India (Ali and Ali 2011). As of March 31, 2017, the sector is home to 47 Central Universities. University Grants Commission lists 246 private universities. In recent times, this figure has risen to 249, as indicated by the most recent updates provided on the official website of the University Grants Commission (Grants Commission, 2016). India's higher education system has grown in numbers, but quality has been criticised, making it the sector's biggest concern (Andersen, 2010). Indiscipline, corruption, violence, disorder, and failure to implement effective governance are additional obstacles that the sector faces. Some of the factors that contribute to the failure of universities as service organisations, including the following: (i) the intangibility of objectives and results, (ii) the absence of efficacy and efficiency, and (iii) the absence of effective management and strong leadership. The university system's crisis to the Vice-Chancellors' inadequate management, vision, and leadership qualities. In the same way as any other organisation, institutions of higher learning are considered effective when they are able to satiate and deliver to their stakeholders while simultaneously accomplishing a variety of objective and goals (Erkutlu, 2008).
Effective leadership facilitates the attainment of effectiveness by establishing the appropriate vision, ethos, and motivation that propel organisations to success. The higher education sector of the nation is of significant social significance due to its role in the development of the nation's personnel. Consequently, the efficacy of higher educational institutions is of the utmost importance in the dissemination of quality education to the vast youthful population of the country, ensuring that they acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to be employable. Thus, higher education institutions must examine leadership and discover leadership types that can greatly affect their efficacy (Gill, 2009).
Conceptual Framework of Leadership
Numerous studies have been conducted on the factors, principles, attributes, characteristics, behaviours, competencies, and qualities that may contribute to effective leadership, as leadership is a concept that is both extensively debated and of paramount importance in organisational behaviour. The majority of organisational theorists concur that the success of organisations is significantly influenced by effective leadership (Hansen and Villadsen, 2010). Numerous hypotheses and schools of thought have emerged as a result of the extensive debate surrounding the concept of leadership. The current practice is significantly influenced by both traditional and contemporary leadership theories, which also provide a valuable framework for the selection and development of leaders (Kunze et al., 2013). Leaders' behaviours have been used to identify numerous leadership styles, which are classified as "Leadership Styles." The way a leader gives orders, motivates people, and executes plans is called their leadership style. They cover leaders' explicit and tacit acts. Transactional and transformational leadership styles are two of the many leadership styles that have emerged over time and are highly relevant in the modern world. Many credit Burns' 1978 political leadership research with creating transactional leadership theory. He showed that leaders gained followers' cooperation by offering concrete rewards for meeting performance standards (Nahavandi et al., 2013).
Conceptual Framework for Organisational Effectiveness
In order to endure in this rapidly evolving, ever-evolving market that is constantly characterised by competition and obstacles, it is imperative that all organisations effectively achieve their objectives and goals. While it is widely recognised that the primary objective of every business organisation is to maintain profitability for an extended period, there are an abundance of additional and frequently conflicting objectives that organisations pursue that directly or indirectly affect their profitability and sustainability. Therefore, the efficacy of an organisation is contingent upon its ability to achieve all of these objectives at the organisational level. However, conceptualising organisational efficacy is a challenging endeavour. Organisational effectiveness is one of the most problematic concepts, and its meaning is often disputed (Nayak, 2011).
The term "effectiveness" remains uncertain, which has led to ambiguities in the interpretation of the results of researchers' work. Consequently, the conceptual nature of organisational efficacy remains a mystery to researchers, despite its significance as the ultimate dependent variable. Due to the lack of a single effectiveness criteria, the goal approach, systems resource approach, strategic constituencies approach, and conflicting values approach have evolved. 30 organisational effectiveness factors were found in a comprehensive literature study. He subsequently concluded that the construct is incapable of being operationally defined due to the fact that the effectiveness of an organisation is contingent upon numerous factors that may be either relatively dependent or independent of one another (Northouse, 2021). 
LITERATURE REVIEW
Eagley and Johnson (1990) discovered that women exhibited a more participative leadership style, while males exhibited a more orderly and controlling style. It has been discovered that women employ the transformational leadership style more frequently than males. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the leadership style of the manager is significantly influenced by gender. Nevertheless, there are also studies that have demonstrated that gender differences do not determine differences in leadership styles. Research has demonstrated that the leadership style of individuals is influenced by their age.
Oshagbemi (2003) there is a significant difference in the manner in which younger employees and older employees approach leadership decisions. Age has a significant impact on the manner in which senior managers exercise leadership. A number of previous research investigations, have discovered significant positive connections between the degree of educational qualification and leadership style. The private organisations are more likely to experience the emergence of transformative leadership than publicly traded companies. Hierarchical differences have been found to have an impact on leadership style.
Shakir (2013) discovered that age significantly influences organisational efficacy. Age diversity does not directly influence the company's performance. Research has demonstrated that the perception of organisational efficacy varies significantly based on gender.
Parhizgari and Gilbert (2004) compared the internal architecture and procedures of effective private and governmental organisations. The study found substantial differences in private and public effectiveness metrics. The designation of the respondents has been found to influence the perception of certain dimensions of organisational effectiveness.
Joyce (2009) conducted an investigation into the critical role of leadership in the advancement of organisational effectiveness in educational institutions. The results indicated that the values and ethos of the leaders significantly influenced the institution's organisational effectiveness. Research studies indicate that the success of institutes of higher learning is significantly influenced by the leadership styles and behaviours of their leaders.
Bryman and Lilley (2009) determined that leadership is the primary factor contributing to the efficacy of higher educational institutions.
Martin et al. (2003) transformational leadership and high-quality student learning in higher education were linked in a research. The favourable influence of transformative leadership by higher education principles and department heads, on staff and departmental functioning has been found to indirectly influence students.
Scott et al. (2008) study showed that effective leadership in educational institutions promoted the following outcomes: increased student happiness, retention, and accomplishment; better learning and teaching quality.
Marzano et al. (2005) created rules and practices that impact teaching efficacy by reviewing 69 leadership research.
Williams (2006) concluded that a leader is essential to an educational institution's ability to achieve its objectives and propel its vision. He contends that a leader's style of leadership which might be transformative or transactional determines the success of their leadership. The majority of the principals in the study, according to the findings, had transformational leadership styles. The survey also showed that while more women than men preferred transformational leadership, there was no difference in the preferences of men and women for approaches based on cognitive complexity.
NEED FOR STUDY
In higher education, organisational effectiveness is crucial because it results in the provision of high-quality instruction and skill development. Previous research has identified a number of factors that contribute to a higher education institution's overall success, with the leadership construct frequently turning out to be one of the most significant. There is a significant correlation between the demographic factors of Himachal Pradesh colleges and organisational success. The study also demonstrated that there is a significant correlation between different leadership decision-making philosophies and organisational efficacy, and that these relationships may be used to predict organisational efficacy in Himachal Pradesh institutions. A significant correlation between leadership styles and organisational efficiency in Himachal Pradesh's higher education institutions. It is necessary to ascertain whether effective leadership can benefit the higher education institutions in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, since there aren't many studies that assess the relationship and influence that leadership practices have on organisational effectiveness of these institutions. The study makes the significant influence that leadership styles have on organisational effectiveness on the basis of the studied literature.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
HYPOTHESIS
H1: There are significant differences in leadership styles across the respondents' various demographic groupings.
H1a: The respondents' gender significantly influences the differences in their leadership philosophies.
H1b: The respondents' leadership philosophies vary significantly depending on the kind of organisation they work for.
H1c: The age of the respondents significantly affects the leadership philosophies of the respondents.
H1d: The respondents' designations significantly affect their leadership philosophies.
H1e: Responses' educational backgrounds significantly influence their leadership philosophies.
H2: The respondents' perceptions of organisational effectiveness vary significantly depending on their demographic group.
H2a: Respondents' perceptions of the organisational efficiency aspects vary significantly based on their gender.
H2b: Respondents' perceptions of the organisational effectiveness factors vary significantly depending on the type of organisation they work for.
H2c: The respondents' ages significantly affect how the elements of organisational efficiency are seen.
H2d: The respondents' designations significantly affect how the measures of organisational efficiency are seen.
H2e: The respondents' perceived levels of organisational efficiency vary significantly based on their educational backgrounds.
H3: The efficacy of companies is greatly influenced by the leadership styles utilised.
H3a: An organisation's effectiveness is greatly influenced by the use of a transactional leadership style.
H3b: An organization's effectiveness is significantly impacted by a transformational leadership style.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study set out to evaluate the influence of leadership styles on organisational performance at Himachal Pradesh's higher education institutions located in the districts of Solan, Kangra, and Shimla. Universities and colleges, both public and private, were taken into consideration for the study.
Data Collection
The districts were first determined, and then a sample of respondents was drawn from the higher education institutions using a multistage sampling technique. Out of the 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh, the districts of Solan, Shimla, and Kangra were selected for the study due to their abundance of private and public higher education institutions. Using simple random selection, colleges from the designated districts were picked; as a consequence, each public and private university had an equal opportunity to be selected and recognised as a community representative. Both the total number of educational institutions and the specific educational institutions that made up the samples from the study's chosen districts are displayed in Table 1.
Table 1: A Sample Profile of Public and Private Colleges
Districts
Total Private colleges
Sampled Private colleges
Total Public colleges
Sampled Public colleges
Solan
19
4
11
5
Kangra
20
5
26
3
Shimla
32
3
35
5
Total
71
12
72
13
 
Table 2: Total public and private college/university responders
Districts
Private college respondents
Public colleges Respondents
Total
Solan
15
14
29
Kangra
16
17
33
Shimla
20
22
42
Total
51
53
104
 
Data Sources
The empirical character of the study allows for the consideration of both primary and secondary sources of data. Questionnaires and interviews with public and private higher education faculty provided primary data. Higher education-related research journals, publications, magazines, books, and websites provided secondary data.
Instruments
In order to evaluate organisational effectiveness and leadership approaches, two instruments have been implemented. The questionnaire began with demographic questions on the respondent's age, gender, designation, educational credentials, and current employer (public or private). This was succeeded by two subsequent sections that assessed organisational efficacy and leadership.
RESULTS
The demographic variables selected for the study. The hypotheses that were devised to determine whether there were significant differences in leadership styles and organisational effectiveness among various demographic groups are as follows.
H1: The leadership styles of the respondents exhibit a significant difference across a variety of demographic variables.
H2: The respondents' perceptions of organisational efficacy vary significantly across various demographic groups.
The significance of differences was determined by an independent sample t-test. in leadership styles and organisational efficacy between males and females, as well as based on the type of organisation. Male and female perceptions of transactional, transformational, and overall leadership styles are not statistically significant (H1a is rejected). The table also shows that males and females see organisational efficacy and effectiveness similarly (H2a is rejected).
Table 3: Organisational Effectiveness and Leadership Styles—Gender Independent Samples T Test
 
Private
Public
Variable
M
SD
M
SD
Transformational
36.45
5.56
35.46
3.56
Transactional
35.56
5.79
37.78
4.68
Overall leadership
70.46
7.57
76.79
6.79
Educational Satisfaction
15.57
3.68
16.89
2.78
Career development
17.57
2.57
25.57
4.67
 
Table 4 demonstrates that the perceptions of overall leadership and transactional leadership style Private and public college replies varied greatly. However, they view transformative leadership similarly. The chart also shows that public higher education institutions have more transactional and general leadership (H1b is partially accepted).
The table shows a statistically significant variation in perception of all characteristics of organisational effectiveness and total effectiveness by type of organisation. In public institutes of higher learning, all dimensions of organisational efficacy are significantly higher. Consequently, public higher educational institutions exhibit a higher level of organisational efficacy.
Table 4: Leadership Styles and Organisational Effectiveness Independent Samples T Test | Type of Organisation
 
Private
Public
Variable
M
SD
M
SD
Transformational
35.56
5.79
37.78
4.68
Transactional
36.45
5.56
35.46
3.56
Overall leadership
15.57
3.68
79.45
2.78
Educational Satisfaction
70.46
7.57
15.56
6.79
Career development
18.59
3.56
25.78
5.78

Significant correlations were observed between organisational efficacy and leadership approaches. Nevertheless, the transactional leadership style was the sole significant predictor of organisational effectiveness. Organisational effectiveness was not significantly affected by transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is linked to motivation, performance, and effectiveness in several research. However, other research found that transformative leadership did not directly affect organisational effectiveness. Shiva and Suar (2012) found that transformative leadership does not affect NGO effectiveness.
CONCLUSION
The study studied how demographics affect leadership styles and perceptions of organisational success, as well as how transactional and transformational leadership styles affect higher education institutions' organisational performance. The study found that demographics affect organisational success and leadership styles. The data also show that while both transactional and transformational leadership styles positively connect with organisational success, only the transactional style has a substantial influence. Contrary to numerous previous investigations, which have consistently demonstrated that transformational leadership has a positive impact on the effectiveness of institutions, this result is unexpected. There are a multitude of potential explanations for this unique result. Instructors at institutions of higher education in Himachal Pradesh may favour transactional leadership over transformational leadership, which could explain why the former has a more significant influence on organisational effectiveness than the latter. Effective leadership is essential in educational institutions, since teachers use various techniques to get better results for their students. This study provides preliminary insights on the link between leadership styles and organisational success, and how demographic variables affect both dimensions in higher education institutions. This study highlights the significance of leadership in higher education institutions, providing opportunities for further research on leadership and organisational performance.
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