BSc (Hons) Business Management (Top-up)

BMP6001 DISSERTATION

Assessment 2 – Research Project (Dissertation)

Dissertation Title: Leadership styles and

employee engagement in Amazon

Submitted by:
Name:
ID:

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Abstract
Multiple academics have studied the effect of leadership styles on employee
engagement throughout the years. Amazon's shifting economic circumstances and market
situations are a major source of worry. This has resulted in employment instability among
workers working in Amazon's engineering consultancies, which has harmed employee
engagement. As a result, it has become essential for executives to guarantee that workers are
successfully engaged in order to sustain the organization's effectiveness.
In the present state of Amazon, this dissertation investigates the effect of different leadership
on employee engagement. This thesis aims to understand employee viewpoints on their group
leader or owner's behaviour or how it impacts their engagement as well as work-related
factors, as well as determine the leadership style that is best suited for such business, as per
the employees, using the quantitative data collection and data analysis procedures.
Transactional leadership is indeed the strongest leadership style for successfully engaging
Amazon workers, according to the results of this research. This study also looks at how
leadership styles like autocratic, democratic, laisse fair, contextual, transactional, and
transformative influence work-related variables including employees ’ performance,
efficiency, motivation, as well as retention.

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Acknowledgement

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Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................ii

Acknowledgement....................................................................................................................iii

Contents....................................................................................................................................iv

Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................1

1.1 Background to Research Topic........................................................................................1

1.2 Background to Research Organisation.............................................................................1

1.3 Research Rationale...........................................................................................................2

1.4 Research Questions..........................................................................................................2

1.5 Research Aims and Objectives.........................................................................................3

1.5.1 Research Aim:...............................................................................................................3

1.5.2 Research Objectives:.....................................................................................................3

1.6 Research Structure...........................................................................................................4

Chapter 2: Literature Review.....................................................................................................5

2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................5

2.2 Leadership........................................................................................................................5

2.2.1 Kurt Lewin’s Theory of Leadership..........................................................................5

2.2.2 Situational Leadership Model...................................................................................6

2.2.3 Transactional Leadership..........................................................................................7

2.2.4 Transformational Leadership....................................................................................8

2.3 Employee Engagement.....................................................................................................8

2.4 Challenges of Employee Engagement.............................................................................9

2.5 Leadership Styles and Employee Engagement................................................................9

2.6 Conceptual Framework..................................................................................................11

Chapter 3: Research Methodology...........................................................................................12

3.1 Research Philosophy......................................................................................................12

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 3.2 Research Approach:.......................................................................................................12

3.3 Research Strategy:..........................................................................................................13

3.4 Research Method:...........................................................................................................13

3.7 Data Collection and Analysis.........................................................................................14

3.8 Timescale.......................................................................................................................14

3.9 Resources.......................................................................................................................14

3.10 Ethical Consideration...................................................................................................15

Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion.........................................................................................16

4.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................16

4.2 Findings and Analysis....................................................................................................16

4.2.1 Demographics.........................................................................................................16

4.2.2 Primary Data Analysis............................................................................................16

4.3 Discussion of the Findings.............................................................................................21

Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations........................................................................25

5.1 Conclusion......................................................................................................................25

5.2 Recommendations..........................................................................................................25

5.3 Further Studies...............................................................................................................26

References................................................................................................................................28

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background to Research Topic
Employee engagement is the participation of a company organisation and its management
team with its workers, with the goal of increasing employee happiness and passion for work
via the development of relationships. There is evidence that an engaged workforce is more
emotionally attached to the business organisation and loyal to the firm, which helps to
improve employee happiness (Dr C. SWARNALATHA and T.S. PRASANNA, 2012).
Different leadership styles show various behaviours and supportive management that are
linked to employee management and also assist to promote employee engagement with the
company. The degree of employee engagement is influenced by the leadership style. The
primary advantages of leadership styles include listening to workers, properly dividing work
and duties, engaging with people, and preparing staff for success. According to Thu's (2017)
study, organisations need talent management motivation and workers wish to get involved
with the company, and the ship style may be of great assistance in this respect.
Employee engagement relates to an employee's personal connection with their job and their
favourable attitude toward their bosses, as well as a high degree of perceived workplace
empowerment (Nieberding, 2014). Many reasons contribute to this failure to engage,
although leadership is a critical element in motivating workers to be engaged and productive
(Anand, 2017). Employee engagement relates to their good attitude about their jobs (Huertas-
Valdivia, et. al, 2018). Employee disengagement leads to high absenteeism, high turnover,
and employee disputes, all of which have a detrimental impact on organisational performance
(Popli & Rizvi, 2015). In this research, I wanted to look at the methods that successful
company leaders have utilised to solve or minimise the problems of disengaged workers and
to promote employee engagement. Understanding this problem may have a beneficial impact
on a company, industry, or economy.

1.2 Background to Research Organisation

Amazon is a global technology corporation headquartered in the United States that was
established in 2014. Jeff Bezos created it, and it sells a variety of goods via e-commerce,
digital streaming, and cloud computing. It sells consumer goods as well as technology. It
employs about 1,298,000 people, emphasising the significance of employee involvement.

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1.3 Research Rationale
Employee engagement is difficult to create for corporate organisations since various methods
and styles must be utilised to improve employee engagement levels. Because leaders have a
direct effect on workers and followers, different leadership styles may play a part in this
(Khuong and Dung, 2015). However, transactional and conventional leadership styles may
restrict employee engagement by attempting to control workers via a reward-based best-
behaviour framework in order to achieve better performance. Is there a short-term impact of
transitional style? On the other hand, transformational leadership has the ability to alter
followers in a collective manner by boosting the group's values and objectives. Employee
engagement may be improved in a variety of ways thanks to ten distinct leadership styles. As
a result, it's critical to comprehend how various leadership styles affect employee engagement
at Amazon.
According to the results of a Gallup employee engagement poll performed in 2014, more than
half of the 147.6 million working U.S. employees felt disengaged from their jobs, resulting in
an annual loss of more than $300 billion due to poor production (Radda, Majidadi, &
Akanno, 2015). Disengaged workers lead to poor productivity and organisational
performance, which is a common corporate issue. The particular business issue is that some
company leaders lack effective methods for overcoming or mitigating the difficulties of
disengaged workers, as well as for encouraging employee engagement. The goal of this
research was to look at effective methods used by company leaders to solve or minimise the
difficulties of disengaged workers and to promote employee engagement. There were six
leaders in the group, all of whom worked in Amazon's senior leadership. These executives
were effective in implementing staff engagement methods. The results may help to bring
about social change by giving company leaders ideas for enhancing organisational
performance and retention, creating local employment possibilities, and contribute to local
economic growth stability.

1.4 Research Questions

The questions are given below-

 What are the different types of leadership styles that affect the performance of Amazon?

 What is the role of different leadership styles that influence employee engagement levels
in Amazon?

 What are the factors related to employee engagement in Amazon?

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 How can the leadership style enhance the employee engagement of Amazon?

1.5 Research Aims and Objectives

1.5.1 Research Aim:
The aim of the research is to understand how different leadership styles influence employee
engagement based on Amazon company.

1.5.2 Research Objectives:

Research objectives are given below-

 To understand different types of leadership styles and their influences

 To investigate the role of leadership styles on the employee engagement level

 To analyse the factors related to employee engagement in amazon

 To understand how leadership style directly or indirectly can enhance employee

engagement in amazon

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1.6 Research Structure

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
This chapter will present and critically analyse the major leadership theories, including
several leadership styles developed by a number of academics. This section will also look at
some of the most important theories regarding employee engagement as well as assess
employee engagement methods. The relationship between leadership styles and leader
behaviour regarding employee engagement and work-related factors such as employee
performance, efficiency, and attrition will be investigated and critically evaluated to create a
strong basis for this dissertation.

2.2 Leadership
Multiple scholars have created complex leadership theories throughout time, and so there is
no single definition of leadership, as per Bass (2010). Lewis (2014) described a leader as
someone who takes the initiative in a group, while Bogardus (2004) described leadership as a
mix of factors that make leadership both a personality trait and a group situation. House and
Dressler (2014) proposed the path-goal theory of leadership, which identified four leadership
styles: supportive leadership, directive leadership, achievement leadership, as well as
participatory leadership.
However, many of the most prominent and important leadership ideas are addressed in this
dissertation.
2.2.1 Kurt Lewin’s Theory of Leadership
According to several studies by Lewin et al. (2003), there are essentially three types of
leadership: autocratic leadership, democratic leadership, as well as laissez-faire leadership.
While authoritarian leaders guaranteed that they had a dominating grip over their
organization and closely monitored its members while retaining decision-making power in
their own hands, democratic leaders maintained that all members in the group participated
and reached a conclusion that was acceptable by the majority. These democratic leaders
would not have complete authority over the group, but they did guarantee that they fulfilled
the aims and objectives of the duties they were assigned. The laissez-faire leaders' groups had
relatively little activity, and the group members made the majority of the choices on their
own.
While authoritarian and laissez-faire styles of leadership are regarded as harmful, democrat
leaders are considered beneficial, according to Prooijen and Vries (2016).
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Employees that work under an autocratic boss, as per Kiazad et al. (2010), feel dominated
and controlled and believe that their leader was insensitive and that his or her monitoring is
harsh. This kind of leader gives their workers no flexibility at all, and as a result, they are less
popular among engineers, who need some degree of independence in order to create
innovatively. Some workers, on the other hand, like these kinds of bosses since they tend to
reward hard work (Yao et al., 2017).
According to DeRue et al. (2011), laissez-faire leadership has a negative effect on employee
behaviour because it promotes an unpredictable work environment. Laissez-faire CEOs are
known for providing their employees more freedom since they prefer to let them make
decisions (Yao et al., 2017). As a consequence, this leadership style may be beneficial to
employees in terms of fostering creativity and innovation, which are both necessary for
employee engagement. On the other side, this kind of leadership may lead to mismanagement
among expatriates working in environments where engineering design processes must be
followed and objectives must be reached on time.
According to Bavelas and Lewin (2010), Democratic leaders are often appreciated and
preferred by all groups since they do not force their views on group members but know how
to lead. Because democratic leaders are participatory and respect all team members' views,
they are well-liked in the engineering sector, where it is a popular adage that engineering is
not really a one-man job that requires multi-disciplinary contributions from all team
members.
2.2.2 Situational Leadership Model
The contextual leadership theory was created by Hersey and Blanchard (2019), which says
that a leader's behaviour is dependent on the circumstances in the company. The situational
theory argues that an authoritarian or task-oriented leader may transform into a democratic
leader if the circumstance requires it, according to Peretomode (2012). Based on the
leadership behaviour of introducing structure and deliberation, Hersey and Blanchard (2019)
developed four leadership styles. Telling, selling, participating, and delegating were the four
styles. The workers' emotional maturity in terms of their capacity to manage and execute in
the job was the other group. Employee maturity, according to Bass (2010), is determined by
their training and educational experience instead of their age. If the employee's maturity level
is poor, the leader should use the telling method. If the employee's maturity level is modest,
the boss should use a sales strategy. If the employee's maturity level is high or really great,
the leader could use either the participatory or delegating method. Situational leadership, as

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per Tortorella and Fogliatto (2017), may be used to combine various leadership styles
including laissez-faire to encourage creativity, transactional leadership to reward and
recognise workers, as well as transformational leadership to instil employee commitment. In
engineering consultancies, because that kind of leadership seems difficult to execute since
most workers follow a methodical process for their day-to-day tasks, thus the leader only
encounters a limited range of circumstances.
2.2.3 Transactional Leadership
Transactional leadership is discovered by Burns (2018), who said that transactional leaders
perceive themselves to become the manager of service transactions between workers and the
company. If an employee fulfils the company's expectations and the leader's goals and
objectives, the person is rewarded and compensated as agreed. If, on the other hand, the
employee fails to achieve the goals and performs below the leader's expectations, the
leadership does not compensate him or her and instead assumes responsibility for resolving
the issue (Taylor, 2012).
Transactional leadership is defined by several leadership behaviours, according to Bass
(2010), including “contingent compensation, administration by exceptions (passive and
active), as well as laissez-faire” (Bass, 2010). The primary incentive for workers is contingent
remuneration, which would be based just on the exchange of goods and services between the
leader with his or her subordinates as requested by the leader. Whenever the leader assumes
control or steps into it to take charge of the situation as well as address the issues when the
employee is unable to do it himself, this is known as management by exception. Whenever
the leader just takes command when the situation is serious, management by exception may
be deemed passive. Laissez-faire leadership is related to Lewin's idea, in which the leader is
unconcerned and avoids taking on any responsibility (Taylor, 2012). Transactional leaders, as
per Afsar et al. (2017), trade the result of employee performance with both the expectations
of workers and so both are rewarded. This kind of leadership could have a beneficial impact
on the sales and marketing sector, where workers are compensated based on their ability to
meet goals. While this style of leadership is valued in engineering consultancies owing to a
strong focus on staff efficiency and time limitations, it prevents employees from being
inventive and creative, which is critical for employee engagement but also suggested having a
good engineering design.

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2.2.4 Transformational Leadership
Burns (2018) defined transformational leadership and said that transformational leaders
ensuring that workers have a deep connection with their job and are committed to their own
long-term goals as well as the company's objectives. Employees that work for a
transformative leader believe that their efforts benefit the company. A transformative leader,
according to Bass (2018), inspires workers by ensuring that they grasp the organization's
vision, purpose, and goals. Intellectual stimulation, personalised consideration, inspiring
motivation, and idealised influence are four leadership behaviours described by Bass (2018)
as elements of the transformational leadership style. Mental stimulation refers to a leader's
behaviour in which he or she intellectually pushes employees in order to promote innovation,
creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking. Individualized consideration refers to a leader's
actions in which he or she examines his or her employees' talents and interests and educates
as well as teaches them appropriately by giving them personalised attention. The behaviour of
a leader who is able to communicate the company's purpose and vision with workers and
inspire them to accomplish shared objectives that benefit both the employees and the
organisation is referred to as inspirational motivation. The capacity of a leader to gain staff
loyalty via ethical and successful working relationships is the emphasis of idealised influence
(Rothfelder et al., 2013). As per Sahu et al. (2017), a transformational leader has a vision and
therefore motivates employees to effectively engage in the process by demonstrating
integrity, devotion, and vigour towards their job, which are all essential to this process for
employee engagement, even though they are highlighted in the following sub-section, but
instead directly affect job performance and retention. This could be one of the finest styles of
leadership for the engineering industry since it promotes a good balance of employee
creativity and uniqueness, as well as employee performance.

2.3 Employee Engagement

Staff engagement is critical for every company, as per Bakker et al. (2003) since it is linked
to employees performance, job security and happiness, employee retention, motivation, and
loyalty. Employee engagement is described by Schaufeli and Bakker (2004) as "a pleasant,
satisfying, work-related state of mind marked by energy, commitment, and immersion."
According to Schalkwyk et al. (2010), an employee should have a strong mental fortitude and
be ready to put his or her efforts into the work in order to own vigour. Employee dedication is
generated from the employee becoming pleased and passionate about his or her job, and
immersion is to voluntarily immerse oneself in one's work.  Rice et al. (2012) created a model
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with 5 employee engagement consisting of 4 quadrants only with axes of person,
organisation, and success in accordance with the values, objectives, and strategy. High-high,
high-low, low-high, and low-low are the four quadrants. The elevated quadrant is further split
into two categories: high contribution and high satisfaction.

2.4 Challenges of Employee Engagement

Employees that are emotionally, cognitively, and enthusiastically attached to their job are
said to be engaged, as per Bakker and Sanz-Vergel (2013). These workers are more likely to
advance in their careers and reach their full potential. As per LePine et al. (2005), there seem
to be two kinds of work demands that may influence employee engagement: challenge
requirements and impediment demands. While challenge expectations are seen as obstacles
that workers must overcome in order to accomplish their objectives, hindrance requirements
are often thought to have a negative effect on employee engagement. According to
Brotheridge and Grandey (2002), the emotional demands of the work are difficult for
employees to meet and maybe a barrier demand for some. Workplace pressure, according to
McVicar (2003), is a significant barrier requirement for most workers as well as a key stress
element. The study discovered that the greater the job pressure, the lower the individual's
competency and the larger the employee turnover.
According to Seijts and Crim (2006), the majority of workers in a company are disengaged
and just go through the motions, devoting time but not enthusiasm in their job. It was also
shown that disengaged workers often express their dissatisfaction with the company and
undercut the accomplishments of engaged employees.
Employee disengagement is caused by negative feelings about one‘s ability to use resources
efficiently, an unsupportive or feedback from peers or leaders, a lack of control at work, and
a lack of many other personal funds including such optimism, self-esteem, vitality, and
adaptability, according to Baker and Demerouti (2008). As per Keeble-Ramsay and Armitage
(2014), disruptive leadership has a negative impact on employee engagement because it
destroys trust between both the employee and the leader, resulting in the employee's poor
mental well-being.

2.5 Leadership Styles and Employee Engagement

As per Khan and Yadav (2016), leadership may influence the organization's performance via
their subordinates. While transformational leaders are restricted to using incentives and
recognitions to motivate workers, transformational leaders promote the growth of employee
engagement by shifting employees' focus from their own personal interests to the group's
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overall interests. Transformational leaders have the ability to motivate and inspire workers to
concentrate on the organization's goals and objectives. Transformational leaders, according to
numerous studies including Bakker and Demerouti (2008) as well as Batista-Taran et al.
(2009), have a direct effect on employee engagement by boosting their commitment to the
business and work happiness. According to Cartwright and Holmes (2006), leaders who
cultivate positive, trusting connections with their workers may boost employee engagement.
Researchers have performed many studies, and employee engagement is currently defined as
a "heightened emotional attachment which an employee has for his or her company that
encourages him or her to devote more effort to his or her job" when combined with
leadership styles (Padmanathan, 2010).
According to Padmanathan (2010), honesty and transparency, to have a direct connection
between organisation productivity and employee achievement, mental challenge, career
opportunities for employees, the leader-employee relationship, pride in the business brand,
and team collectivistic are the important components of current leader that affect employee
engagement.
Employee engagement, in turn, impacts the service orientation of workers in service-based
sectors, according to Popli and Rizvi (2015). This implies that employees who view their
leaders as transformative are more engaged and service-oriented.
According to Bass (2010), transformational leaders inspire their workers by transforming
their attitudes and beliefs into a shared vision for the company. Employee engagement is
enhanced when transformative leaders ensure that the workers are confident, that their
personal needs are fulfilled, that they are intellectually challenged, and that they are engaged
in addressing organisational issues via creative solutions (Hansen et al., 2014).

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2.6 Conceptual Framework

Democrati
c
Leadership
Laissez-
Autocratic
Faire
Leadership
Leadership

Employee
Egagement

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework (Source: Self)

According to the conceptual framework, authoritarian leaders are likely to get great
efficiency from their workers, but the employees are dissatisfied with their jobs. Employee
morale is poor, and the company has a high turnover rate, due to job stress and a lack of
decision-making authority (Goethals et al., 2004). Democratic leaders, but on the other hand,
allow employees to participate in decision-making, increasing their sense of accountability
and responsibility. Employees who work for a democratically chosen boss are motivated to
succeed effectively (Bhatti et al., 2012). Employees who work under Laissez-Faire leaders
are disinterested, unmotivated, and have a negative impression of the leader and the business
as a whole, which all contribute to poor productivity (Van Eeden et al., 2008).

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Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.1 Research Philosophy
Research philosophy refers to the researcher's goal of inferring findings based on which of
their preferences and opinions, including the study's subjectivity and objectivity (Bell, 2005).
On the basis of this viewpoint and preference, many research philosophies including
positivism philosophy, realist epistemology, interpretative paradigm, etc may be created
(Black, 2012). Research work philosophy refers to the method through which a researcher
develops certain assumptions and their faith in the research activity's outcomes (Bryman and
Cramer, 2012). This dissertation adheres to a positivist research philosophy, which
emphasises the use of mixed methodologies data analysis to address the research question by
considering various perspectives and views (Saunders et al., 2009).

3.2 Research Approach:

The research approach is a method of performing research processes and activities that are
based on the creation of a research hypothesis, as well as the data collecting and analysis
procedures. Inductive and deductive research approaches are two different kinds of research
methods (Brannen, 2015). The goal of inductive research is to create a hypothesis by
analysing the gathered facts and information, finding distinct patterns, and using various
analytical techniques. Another, deductive research method makes use of existing ideas on the
study subject, attempting to interact with them and gather evidence-based on them. The
researcher will employ a deductive research method in this study since it tests the current
hypothesis by doing an analytical research procedure and analysing facts to either accept or
reject it (Creswell and Creswell, 2016). In this research article, it is more justifiable to utilise
a deductive research method since it will aid in the development of a theory-driven
hypothesis, which will guide data collection and analysis.
This dissertation takes a deductive or inductive approach, concentrating on testing the
numerous different theories of leadership style and employee performance, as well as the
relationship between them, as identified in the Literature Review, as well as investigating the
effect of leadership style through the collection of primary data through the survey questions
and discovering how the best style of leadership helps promote employee engagement.

3.3 Research Strategy:

The research strategy is the overarching plan for the research process that guides the
researcher in planning and executing all recent tasks as well as successfully monitoring the
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research results after adoption. The primary emphasis of the research strategy is on how data
will be gathered and categorised, as well as how it will be analysed (Creswell and
Guetterman, 2021). Amazon survey research method will be utilised to investigate the effect
of leadership style on employee engagement. Despite the fact that there are a variety of
research strategies available, such as case studies, grounded theory, focus group discussions,
and others, this study will use a survey research method (Gorard, 2008). The usage of a
survey in this research paper is highly warranted since various sets of questions are used to
gather certain kinds of data from a specific group of individuals who are knowledgeable
about the study subject. It is simple to contact a survey research approach, and it takes less
time, money, and effort.

3.4 Research Method:

Research methodology is indeed the science of determining how various techniques and
theories will be used to conduct research. On the other hand, a research method is equipment
or methodology that allows you to choose from a variety of research methods to gather and
analyse data. Quantitative and qualitative research methods are the two kinds of research
methods available (Hoy and Adams, 2014). The qualitative research technique is primarily
concerned with human behaviour as well as focuses on the data's qualities and characteristics
by presuming a dynamic and contested reality. Qualitative data is mostly gathered via
questionnaires, observation, and data processing based on various topics. By gathering
quantifiable information and numerical data, the dada hands qualitative research technique is
focused on finding various social phenomena and actual quantifiable reality (Vogt, 2012).
The quantitative research technique will be used in this study since the data may be analysed
using numerical comparisons and statistical measures, resulting in efficient data gathering.
3.5 Research Tools
This study will use a questionnaire to gather data from those who will be taking part in the
survey. A questionnaire is a method of gathering information from individuals or a group of
individuals by posing specified questions. To further assess the effect of styles of leadership
on Amazon employee engagement, a questionnaire with a variety of questions will be
created. 50 Amazon workers will be selected at random using a random sample technique,
and each participant will get a questionnaire with a range of questions (O'Dwyer and
Bernauer, 2017). The questionnaire will be sent to participants through email, and they will
also get the completed questionnaire via email.
3.6 Sampling:
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In this research study, a random selection technique will be utilised to create a sample of 50
Amazon workers who are knowledgeable about the effect of leadership styles on employee
engagement. A random selection technique will be used to choose 50 workers from among
Amazon employees in the United Kingdom. The random sample technique is a way of
selecting participants solely by chance, with each participant having an equal chance of being
chosen for the study (Vogt, 2007). The use of random sampling is warranted since it lowers
the amount of time we spend as researchers and ensures the sample's efficiency.

3.7 Data Collection and Analysis

For this study, the researcher has collected data from the participants using a questionnaire
where the researcher has used 10 sample questions and some demographic questions. Data
has been collected from the employees of Amazon by getting the employee list of the
organisation and emailing the employees to participate in the survey. Here, the researcher has
collected the data numerically and analysed them by showing the frequencies of the
responses of the participants. Here, the collected data has been presented in different graphs
and charts for understanding.

3.8 Timescale

3.9 Resources
To gather research and hypotheses on the research subject, different books from the UoB
digital library, publications from EBSCO eBooks, and Emerald are utilised. Aside from that,
journal access, Based on the Amazon business, books from the local library and the British
library are also utilised to study the impact of leadership styles on employee engagement. In
addition, a computer is utilised to write reports, and a SMART phone is used to communicate
with participants. For quantitative data analysis, Microsoft Office Excel is utilised.

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3.10 Ethical Consideration
Employees' participation in this study is entirely voluntary, and they have the freedom to
withdraw from the study at any time. The participant information page and the participation
permission form notify them of this. Consent is obtained throughout the elaborative surveys
as well. The data gathering and analysis are done in an ethical and non-manipulative way. All
information collected from workers is kept in a secure environment.

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Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion
4.1 Introduction
In this section of the study, the researcher has shown the collected data by analysing them
and finally, the discussion of the finding has been made in this section of the study.

4.2 Findings and Analysis

4.2.1 Demographics

Gender

Female
44%

Male
56%

Figure 2: Gender

Age
Above 50

41 to 50

31 to 40

18 to 30
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Figure 3: Age Group

4.2.2 Primary Data Analysis

Here, the researcher has analysed the primary data and shown the data in some graphs.

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As per the findings of the study, it is clear from the analysis of the data that the employees of
Amazon think that Leadership is one of the most effective needed business functions for
Amazon. Here, most of the participants seem to be agreed or strongly agrees with the
question.

The second statement was related to employee engagement where the participants were also
showing some positive attitude to the statement. Employee engagement, in turn, impacts the

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service orientation of workers in service-based sectors and it seems to be clear as most of the
participants were agreed and strongly agreed to the statement.

The third question was related to the transnormal leaders where it was looking like the
respondents were also positive about these leaders and here most of them were strongly
agreed or agreed that Transformational leaders have the ability to motivate and inspire
workers to concentrate on the organization's goals and objectives.

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In the fourth statement of the study, the researcher has the intention to know about the
relation regarding the employee engagement and transformative leadership and found that
most of the employees are strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that Employee
engagement is enhanced when transformative leaders ensure that the workers are confident.

The fifth statement that leadership may influence the organization's performance via their
subordinates has got some positive results from the participants where 50% of the
participants were agreed to the statement. A good number of participants were strongly
agreed with the statement.

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The sixth statement was related to the authoritarian leaders where most of the employees of
Amazon were strongly agreed and a major number of participants were agreed to the
statement that authoritarian leaders are likely to get great efficiency from their workers, but
the employees are dissatisfied with their jobs.

In the 7th statement, 26% of the participants were agreed where 15% were strongly agreed
that leaders who cultivate positive, trusting connections with their workers may boost

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employee engagement. It is indicating the positiveness of the Amazon employees to the
leadership function.

The eight states of the study were related to the democratic leaders where the number of
people who agreed and strongly agreed is in the top position in the graph. It means
participants were positive that Democratic leaders, enable workers to participate in decision-
making, making them feel more accountable and responsible for their actions.

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The second last statement was related to the Laissez-Faire leaders where the researcher has
got positive responses from the participants and it was also a good part of the study. Laissez-
Faire leaders are indifferent, have poor motivation, and have a bad perception of the leader
and the company as a whole, all of which contribute to low performance and the researcher
has found the number of participants who agreed to the statement.

The final and very important statement of the study is showing that 38% of the participants
strongly agreed, and 34% agreed that the leadership model of Amazon is influencing the
engagement of the employees. Hence, it is clear that employee engagement and leadership
are related in the context of Amazon.

4.3 Discussion of the Findings

With the assistance of secondary data gathered from available literature and research papers,
the main concepts and ideas of styles of leadership are explored in depth in the Review Of the
literature. The concepts of important leadership researchers have been discussed, as well as
some of the significant leadership styles, including such Democratic Leadership, Autocratic
Leadership, Laissez-Faire Leadership, Situational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, as
well as Transformational Leadership. Employee engagement frameworks like the Five
Engagement levels (Rice et al., 2012), as well as Ten Cs of Engaging (Seijts and Crim, 2006),
also were addressed in-depth with a critical assessment of their significance, as stated by
important academics including such Schaufeli and Bakker (2004).

22
In today's companies, there are many obstacles to adopting styles of leadership including
engaging the overall workforce. Multiple scholars reviewed existing literature including
research articles to examine the difficulties encountered by the leaders. The discordance
factor between both the perception and preferred styles of leadership was discovered to be
among the main barriers to implementing leadership styles (Savery, 2009), which has been
specifically addressed throughout this research project as it concentrated on how well the
employee interpreted the best-fit style of leadership elevated employee engagement as well as
could be further encouraged as desired by employees. When respondents in the surveys were
asked how the team leaders might further increase employee engagement, they mentioned
some of the difficulties encountered by leaders in adopting the leadership styles described in
the literature study. One of the greatest issues for leaders in attempting to implement
employee engagement is a lack of understanding or connection with employees' emotional
levels and establishing a relationship with people, as demonstrated by multiple interviews
who asserted that their leaders simply weren't compassionate enough, hampered their
engagement. Some of the survey respondents also stated that disclosure as well as fairness in
decision-making are important to them and have an impact on their engagement and is one of
the obstacles in employee engagement discussed in this study because it is often not possible
due to corporate policies.
To assess the effect of various leadership styles on work-related variables of employee
engagement, the main data obtained via the surveys were analysed as shown.  Employees get
appropriate training and growth. A sufficient number of employees in the company,
Employees' ingenuity and innovation. The organization's ability to sustain a high level of
personnel retention. Democratic leadership, as anticipated, has a favourable effect on all
work-related variables of employee engagement, which is also consistent with current
theories. Staff motivation is negatively impacted by laissez-faire leadership, while employee
work performance is unaffected. It does, however, have a little beneficial effect on other
work-related aspects of employee engagement, such as employee commitment and loyalty,
creativeness, and so on. Because of the unpredictability and variation, the situational leader
seems to have a beneficial effect on all work-related aspects of employee engagement.
Apart from training and education, transaction leadership has a significant positive effect on
all work-related aspects of employee engagement, particularly performance and productivity.
Several surveys stated their leaders need to concentrate on the workers' training requirements
during the surveys. Except for appropriate staffing in the company, where workers believe

23
transformational leader seems to have no effect, transformational leadership has a favourable
influence on work-related variables of employee engagement.
According to the findings of this study, there is a statistically significant and apparent link
between transformative leadership and total employee engagement dimensions. All three
engagement characteristics examined in this study: energy, commitment, and absorption are
positively predicted by transformational leadership. Employees have a stronger feeling of
meaning in their work when they understand the purpose of their employment and the role
they play in moving the company ahead. This encourages others to participate. When
transformative leaders use idealised influence, they speak with zeal and optimism, certain that
their objectives will be met. These leaders can offer clarity in perplexing circumstances and
take calculated risks to overcome hurdles. As a consequence, followers of transformative
leaders want to be just like them and wish to follow in their footsteps (Walumbwa et al.,
2004).
When transformational leaders pay attention to each person, they understand that every
employee has different needs, objectives, and abilities. As a consequence, they will spend
time teaching, continuously developing, and motivating their employees in order to improve
their performance, thus increasing employee identity and engagement inadvertently
(Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). Lastly, transformational leaders will excite their employees'
minds by encouraging them to think of fresh and creative solutions to problems rather than
depending on tried-and-true methods that don't always work. Employees of transformative
leadership are energised and have a greater amount of positive feelings and energy because
they have the opportunity to contribute to the organization's growth.
All of these characteristics of transformational leadership, as per Schaufeli and Bakker
(2004), have a positive impact on employee engagement. A study by Tims, Bakker, and
Xanthopoulou (2011) on how transformational leaders increase employee engagement backs
up the findings of this study. The research comprised a total of 42 employees from two
different consulting companies in the Netherlands. Eighty-four percent of those surveyed
worked for an employment agency as consultants, and sixteen percent for an industry
consulting company. During five consecutive workdays, data was collected using a general
question and a diary survey. Since transformational leaders can inspire, motivate, and pay
close attention to their employees' needs, the study's results indicate how transformational
leadership style has a positive on employee engagement. By displaying these character traits,
they may have a positive effect on employee level of enthusiasm and mental resilience.

24
Workers are more driven to go the additional distance and work harder to achieve their goals,
which either are a direct or indirect link to the company's performance, as a result of this
leadership style.
Employees who get encouragement, inspiration, and good leadership from the supervisors are
much more likely to find work to be more difficult, engaging, and rewarding, resulting in
high levels of employee engagement. Likewise, transformational leaders who offer work
resources including supervisory assistance, coaching, and chances for growth, according to
Schaufeli and Bakker (2004), have a favourable impact on employee health, motivation, and
engagement.
Transformative managers' openness in expressing the link between the two has a positive
impact on employee engagement. In contrast to the findings of this research, Zhang (2010)
claims that individuals with a strong desire for accomplishment and clarity shun ambiguity
and favour transactional leaders' precisely defined duties. Because transformational leaders
are much more personable as well as likely to persuade employees to put in extra effort at
work and go above and beyond what is needed without clearly stating these guidelines, this
could cause stress and anxiety for employees who do not work well under these conditions,
leading to disengagement. Collins (2001) thinks that transformational leadership isn't
necessarily synonymous with great leadership and that effective leaders shouldn't have to be
transformative all of the time. According to the study, this opens the door for alternative
leadership styles, such as transactional leadership, which has been shown to favourably
impact dimensions like employee engagement, job satisfaction, productivity, and
commitment levels.

25
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusion
Employees who work for Amazon in today's market must be more engaged in their positions
than ever before in order to retain their jobs and help the company maintain a competitive
advantage. The leadership of team leaders or managers has a significant impact on employee
engagement, and these leaders have the power to change employee engagement for the good
or for the worse.
On the study subject, a comprehensive literature review was performed, which looked at
various theories of leadership style and employee performance, as well as existing studies and
literature that showed a strong connection between leadership style and employee
performance. The thesis used a deductive approach to research, analysing existing concepts
and collecting primary data from employees to better understand their perspectives.
The goal of this research was to look at effective methods used by company leaders to solve
or minimise the difficulties of disengaged workers and to promote employee engagement.
Executive leaders with expertise implementing effective employee engagement initiatives in
their companies provided answers from the survey questionnaire. In contrast to the survey, I
looked through different business papers and archive material to round out the data and
confirm data source themes.
One of the most important factors in developing, maintaining, and growing successful,
productive, and engaged workers is leadership. The well-known and contemporary leadership
styles of transactional and transformational leadership have a significant impact on employee
engagement. The author attempted to examine the degree of connection between leadership
and employee engagement in this book. The author attempted to link transactional and
transformational styles to dependent variable engagement as a conceptual model.

5.2 Recommendations
According to the findings of the study, while transactional leadership is regarded as the
"Best-Fit" leadership style for promoting employee engagement throughout Amazon, leaders
can also concentrate on certain possible improvements that will assist them further encourage
employee engagement throughout their organisation and overcome the challenges they face
on a daily basis.
Paying Attention to Training Requirements: Workers' training requirements should be
prioritised by team leaders, who should guarantee that employees were able to grow and use
26
their talents for personal as well as organisational gain. Employees that have been properly
educated will be more interested and engaged in their job, which will help to maximize the
quality of the project.
And although transactional leaders were renowned for rewarding and recognising their
workers, they are also known for being harsh with non-performing staff, which may have a
negative impact on their morale. Verbal encouragement from team leaders helps workers
improve their enthusiasm and be passionately involved in their job, which leads to higher
performance in these situations.
Establishing Strong Working Connections with Workers: Team leaders should concentrate on
building solid working relationships between employees built on trust in order to further
increase employee engagement. Team leaders should be aware of the difficulties that workers
face in their everyday operations and assist them in overcoming these obstacles. Team leaders
would've been able to create a positive working atmosphere for their workers as a result,
which would lead directly to a more engaged workforce. Team leaders may enhance their
organization's working relationships by organising team building events that emphasise
active involvement from all workers and teamwork.
Making Decisions in a Transparent and Fair Way: Employees gain respect and trust for their
leaders when they are honest and make morally sound choices, which gives them the
motivation to work better for the betterment of the team and thus promotes engagement.
Systematic Assessments: Team leaders should make sure that staff appraisals and evaluations
are performed in a systematic manner and at regular intervals so that they serve as a
continuous motivator for workers and help them increase their productivity.
Employee Ownership Should Be a Priority: The team leader encourages employee
engagement and job responsibility so that workers feel fully responsible for their work. When
workers own their job, they will be more focused on being productive and avoiding frequent
errors, which will increase work quality and decrease team disputes, which will all contribute
to a more engaged workforce.

5.3 Further Studies

Every study contains limits that must be recognised by the researcher, and these limitations
serve as the foundation for future research. This study on the effect of styles of leadership
upon Amazon employee engagement has several drawbacks, which are addressed below.

27
One of the major drawbacks of this study is that, due to the limited sample size, it can only be
regarded as a snapshot and may not even be completely typical. Future studies on the same
topic may use a bigger sample as well as a broader population.
Another drawback of this study is that it only looks at some of Amazon's main infrastructure
and ignores the smaller companies. Future studies may include compiling a database of other
organisations throughout the nation and performing similar studies.
The goal of this research was to look at effective methods used by company leaders to solve
or minimise the difficulties of disengaged workers and to promote employee engagement.
The results of the study were restricted to a single business in a particular geographic
location. Numerous case studies may help you grasp the topic better. Employee engagement
methods across different geographic areas and businesses in the same sector should be the
subject of future study. In addition, only leaders were included in the research. Subordinates
should be interviewed by future studies to learn which methods they believe are successful.
Employee perceptions may vary from leaders' perceptions, which may offer extra value to
this topic.
Quantitative researchers should look at the link among employee engagement as well as other
factors including leadership styles, pay, and development programmes. Examining the
connection between factors may offer executives fresh insights into how to combat employee
disengagement and promote engagement, which could enhance the organization's
performance. As a result, I suggest that future researchers undertake mixed-method research,
that would enable quantitative interpretations to be backed up by analysis generally of
employee engagement methods.

28
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Appendix
Data Table
N Question Stron Disag Neut Agr Stron
o gly ree ral ee gly
Disag Agree
ree
1 As per me, Leadership is one of the most effective 3 4 3 25 15
needed business functions for Amazon.
2 According to my opinion, Employee engagement, in 6 2 1 21 20
turn, impacts the service orientation of workers in
service-based sectors.
3 I think Transformational leaders have the ability to 2 3 0 20 25
motivate and inspire workers to concentrate on the
organization's goals and objectives.
4 Employee engagement is enhanced when 7 1 3 23 16
transformative leaders ensure that the workers are
confident.
5 I think leadership may influence the organization's 4 4 2 25 15
performance via their subordinates.
6 I think authoritarian leaders are likely to get great 3 5 4 17 21
efficiency from their workers, but the employees are
dissatisfied with their jobs.
7 According to my opinion, leaders who cultivate 3 4 2 26 15
positive, trusting connections with their workers may
boost employee engagement.
8 Democratic leaders, enable workers to participate in 5 2 1 21 21
decision-making, making them feel more accountable
and responsible for their actions.
9 I think Laissez-Faire leaders are indifferent, have poor 4 3 5 23 15
motivation, and have a bad perception of the leader and
the company as a whole, all of which contribute to low
performance.
1 As per my opinion, the leadership model of Amazon is 1 5 8 19 17
0 influencing the engagement of the employees.

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Research Ethics Form

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