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European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science ISSN: 2501 - 1235 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1235 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1116594 INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP AND REWARDS SYSTEM ON TEAM PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA PREMIER LEAGUE (NPL) R. A. Moronfolui, C. M. Adewunmi Dr., Department of Human Kinetics, Sports and Health & Health Education, Faculty of Education, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria Abstract: Leadership and rewards are two key management constructs that plays significant roles in organization’s effectiveness. Thus, this study investigated the impact of these two management variables on team performance in Nigerian Premier League (NPL). A total of 75 respondents comprising of 60 players and 15 coaches from 3 NPL teams were selected through a stratified random sampling technique and used in the study. The Club Structure-Performance Questionnaire (CSPQ) was the instrument used for data collection (r=0.88). A total of seventy five copies of the questionnaire were administered on selected respondents (Players=60; Coaches=15) and the data collected were analyzed using inferential statistics of t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at alpha < 0.05.The findings revealed that transformation leadership (mean=3.22) and direct financial reward (mean=3.44) recorded higher influences on team performance as compared with other variables in each group. In addition, a stronger correlation was recorded between rewards and performance as compared with leadership. Keywords: leadership, rewards, team, performance 1. Introduction The game of football no doubt is the fastest growing brand in the global sports industry. This can be buttressed by the media hype and attention that football presently enjoys as compared with any other brand in the sports industry. The present 2013/2014 football Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 341 R. A. Moronfolu, C. M. Adewunmi INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP AND REWARDS SYSTEM ON TEAM PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA PREMIER LEAGUE (NPL) season in England saw the television revenue value of the EPL totaling a whopping 5 billion pounds ($7.6 billion) (uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/ws/football-global-brand..,2013). This clearly corroborates the opinion of Moronfolu & Adeniyi (2012) that the game of football is a financially rewarding investment and also attests to the domineering power of the game in modern day business world. As the most celebrated sports world over, the game of football enjoys an overwhelming followership and this is an indicator that football is the most love sports. On global ranking, football stands amongst the five highest paid sports and contributes to the overall relevance of the sports industry as one of the highest income generating sectors in world economy (Kasap, 2010; Moronfolu & Ndaks, 2012). The rivalry and strive for stardom, glory and international recognition among committee of football nations which has climbed to a climax in the football circle has its roots in the elitist status the game presently enjoys. This has necessitated the need for improved sophistication of methods in the organization of the game and has made football the most competitive sport with significantly high impact on socio-political and economic development in many nations of the world (Drezner, 2006; Igbanugo, 2010). The demands of the modern game of football, evident by high cost of players transfer across clubs, construction of clubs stadia, travelling to honour away games, hosting and competing in international championships to mention but a few, calls for pragmatic approach to football development in our nation. Effectiveness in any organization, football clubs particularly, rests solely on the management practices adopted in the organization. This is because; management in organizations helps ensures the right mix of resources to achieve maximum results. One commonly significant concern of management teams in all organizations is how to motivate the work force towards desired output (Roberts & Corbett, 2009). Motivating the work force requires making effort to influence individuals and groups in an organization to willingly exert high level effort to achieve organizational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some individual needs. Effectively influencing individuals and groups to exert high level effort depends on two motivation constructs i.e. leadership and reward systems. Leadership as management and motivation construct in organizations is vital to success, as effective leadership can help promote and develop the right direction for achieving set goals and objectives without stress. This stems from the fact that leaders in any organization remain the major drivers of organizational resources (human, physical, material & financial) in the quest to achieve desired targets. Khurana (2002) maintained that leadership is essentially the "secret" to successfully fulfilling demanding roles in today's society and that effective leadership is a fundamental tool in European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 342 R. A. Moronfolu, C. M. Adewunmi INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP AND REWARDS SYSTEM ON TEAM PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA PREMIER LEAGUE (NPL) maximizing company performance. Moronfolu (2005); Corbett (2009); both described leaders as those who significantly influence the thoughts, behaviours and feelings of others. They are those who possess the ability to get others do what needs to be done to attain set targets. Thus, employee performance on the job is contingent upon how content he/she is under the leader. Employees who are content with their jobs as the result of an effective leadership on their managers' part are less likely to perform poorly (Corbett, 2009; Fasan, Moronfolu & Oyewunmi, 2011). Rewards on the other hand stand as an important tool that can be used in the process of motivating high performance in individuals. When rewards are properly administered on employees by leaders to ensure compatibility between efforts exerted and personal goals and desires, they are bound to achieve positive outcomes. Proper administration of rewards by managers lies in the use of the right reward, at the right time and at the right quantity. This is because; the potency of one reward varies from that of another (Chellandurai, 2004). Patrick and Connor (2004); Yalowku (2009), analyzing the expectancy theory maintained that the desire by employees to produce extraordinary effort for outstanding performance at a given time on the job is a function of the strength of believe that the attempted task is achievable and if achieved, will he or she be adequately rewarded. Adopting appropriate employee rewards programs motivate employees to achieve higher performance levels, especially when leaders use nonmonetary forms of employee recognition. The cyclical relationship among employee motivation, performance and reward results in a positive impact throughout the workforce (Fasan, Moronfolu and Oyewunmi, 2011). Consequent from the above, the need for sport managers to be more sensitive to the significant roles effective leadership and reward systems play in employee motivation in organizations, particularly in football club is becoming increasingly significant with the prevailing success driven targets in the world of football. The need to evolve a leadership-reward formula by football club managers and used as a recipe for drawing out the best from their players and teams based on the peculiarities of the players and club in question informed this study. Thus, the study therefore aimed at investigating: i. The impact of leadership behaviour on team performance in the NPL ii. The impact of differential reward systems on team performance in NPL iii. Relationship among leadership, rewards and team performance in NPL For viewing / downloading the full article, please access the following link: https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejep/article/view/1279 European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science - Volume 3 │ Issue 12 │ 2017 343