Retail Managers: Laissez-Faire Leadership Is Synonymous With Unsuccessful Conflict Management Styles

doi:10.4236/ojl.2012.13003

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Open Journal of Leadership

2012. Vol.1, No.3, 13-16

Published Online September 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ojl) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojl.2012.13003

Retail Managers: Laissez-Faire Leadership Is Synonymous with

Unsuccessful Conflict Management Styles

Etta C. Gray1, James Arthur Williams2

1University of Phoenix, Phoenix, USA

2James Madison Unive rsity, Harrisonburg, USA

Email: [email protected], will22 [email protected]

Received July 9th, 2012; revised August 12th, 2012; accepted August 21st, 2012

Retail managers were examined to determine their leadership styles and any potential correlations to con-

flict management styles. Research findings suggest that successful retail managers exhibit transforma-

tional leadership styles, and those that exhibit laissez-faire leadership is strongly correlated with avoid-

ance conflict management style. The Conflict Management Style (CMS) and Multi Leadership Question-

naire (MLQ) instruments were used to survey participants in this study. A MLQ scoring manual was used

to identify leadership styles, and a CMS scoring manual was used to determine conflict management

styles. Pearson correlation (SPSS, version 17.0) was used to correlate between MLQ and CMS findings.

Keywords: Transformational Leadership; Conflict Management; Retail Managers; MLQ; Avoidance

Conflict Management

Introduction

Conflict has a profound effect on leaders attempting to lead

within complex and convoluted work environments, but suc-

cessful leaders embrace conflict to create inspirational leader-

ship styles in these challenging situations (Runde & Flanagan,

2008). Some conflicts that might occur in the retail work envi-

ronment can stem from opposing management perspectives,

turnover, and fractured work relationships. Leaders in the retail

industry may change the conflict culture of their organizations

through recognizing behavioral patterns of employees. Accord-

ing to Runde and Flanagan (2008), managers can change con-

flict culture by aligning constructive conflict responses to the

organization’s vision, policies, and performance measures.

Effective leadership styles are essential to the success of intri-

cate organizations (Latham & Vinyard, 2004).

Improperly or poorly, managing conflicts in retail work en-

vironments can create financial losses that impede the progres-

sion of productive retail entities (Kanchier, 2005). According to

Katz (2006), unresolved conflict has become an unrecognizing

cost factor in many organizations. Multiple conflicts shift the

strategic planning from production and employee performance

to combating potential contingencies among internal relation-

ships (Sherman, 2009). Korkmaz (2007) indicated that manag-

ers could resolve internal conflict when those managers under-

stood the concerns of their employees. An examination of lead-

ership styles and how to resolve conflict in small retail busi-

nesses is pertinent to improving work environments because

leaders must know when and how to take action (Danley, 2006).

Managing conflict is an opportunity for organizations to expand

the contextual aspects of conflict while decreasing the conse-

quences (Bruk-Lee, 2007).

Conflict is characterized as a difference among two or more

individuals, involving no bonding to create tension, disagree-

ment, emotion, or polarization (Korkmaz, 2007). Assessing

numerous research studies pertaining to managing conflict,

there are a few research studies that focus on correlation be-

tween leadership styles and conflict management styles in the

retail environment. This research study aims to investigate re-

tail managers’ effective leadership styles and any correlations

to effectual conflict management styles. The results can present

patterns of leadership behaviors needed to combat present and

future issues that might impede the progression of complex

retail work environments.

Literature Review

Leadership is essential to the development and maturation of

diversified workforce populations (Latham & Vinyard, 2004).

Effective leadership is in demand for retail organizations in a

competitive, fast-moving environment (Sheard & Kakabadse,

2002). To be effective, leaders must display consistent core

beliefs and behaviors; yet at the same time simultaneously

adopt his or her style to mesh with the culture of their organiza-

tion (Sheard & Kakabadse, 2002). Effective leadership is used

to manage organization’s goals and objectives (Tubbs & Schulz,

2006). Successful leaders used a transformational leadership

style to motivate and inspire constituents to align their behav-

iors and actions to accomplish organizational goals and objec-

tives (Ackoff, 1999).

Transformational leadership sets the standard level of human

interaction between the leader and follower. This can be ac-

complished by the relationship the leader develops with fol-

lowers wanting to exceed to the next level; therefore creating a

new era of leaders (Banerji & Krishnan, 2000). Transforma-

tional leadership is the ability of a leader to build trust, loyalty,

and admiration in followers, and express his or her individual

interests to the entire group (Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, &

Van Engen, 2003). Managing conflict may come easy to trans-

formational leaders, the leadership style is a behavior process

comprised charisma, intellectual stimulation, and individualized

consideration (Bass & Avolio, 2004). Conflict not effectively

E. C. GRAY, J. A. WILLIAMS

managed and resolved, reflects a leader’s lack ability to build

strong relationships with followers that affect team morale and

satisfaction (Newman & Grigg, 2008).

Compromise conflict management is used to generate will-

ingness between both parties to relinquish some control or

power for the benefit of the organization (Bruk-Lee, 2007). The

retail industry presents new conflicts in the form of diversified

cultures and ethnic groups, poorly trained workforce, and a

fluctuating economy that impacts retail sales (Reynolds, How-

ard, Cuthbertson, & Hristov, 2007; Hinckley, 2009). Compro-

mise conflict resolution strategies are necessary to turn a com-

pany around or to resolve issues about an employee’s role

(Goyal, Maruping, & Robert, 2008; Hinckley, 2009). Trans-

formational leaders have the charisma and interpersonal skills

needed to incite followers to compromise on conflict resolution

tactics (Bass & Avolio, 2004; Bruk-Lee, 2007).

Laissez-Faire leadership is considered as an ineffective style

when applied to conflict management situations (Bass &

Avolio, 2004; Bruk-Lee, 2007). Managers used an avoidance

conflict management style to evade challenging issues within

their retail work environment (Newman & Grigg, 2008). Some

researchers might view laissez-faire leaders to display leader-

ship skills that attract an avoidance conflict management style.

Today’s retail leaders are expected to use effective leadership

strategies to mediate and facilitate conflicts that impact the

internal work environment (Newman & Grigg, 2008). When

retail organizations choose a conflict resolution strategy, such

as compromise conflict management, leaders must make sure

that the right strategies are chosen and beneficial to all vested

parties (Goyal, Maruping, & Robert, 2008). The present study

addresses the following research questions:

 Do successful retail managers exhibit a leadership style that

promotes collaborative work efforts?

 Does the advantageous leadership style correlate with a

collaborative conflict management style?

 Does poor leadership correlate with ineffective conflict

management styles?

Methodology

The instruments used for this study were MLQ and CMS;

MLQ was used to test retail managers’ leadership styles, and

CMS was used to test their conflict management resolution

style. Researcher obtained permission to use both instruments

for the sole purpose of this research study. MLQ is one of the

most validated and reliable instruments used to test managers’

leadership styles (Bass & Avoilo, 2004). The MLQ is a com-

prehensive survey that is composed of 45-items, and uses a

Likert-type scale to determine the transformational, transac-

tional, and laissez-faire leadership styles (Bass & Avolio, 2004).

There are 12 leadership style scales: idealized influence (attrib-

uted), idealized influence (behavior), inspirational motivation,

intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration; contin-

gent reward, management-by-exception (active), management-

by-exception (passive), laissez-faire leadership, extra effort,

effectiveness, and satisfaction.

The CMS instrument provided information about an indi-

vidual’s approach to managing conflict. The survey data as-

sisted individuals with an understanding of behaviors in con-

flicting situations. Conflicts that occur in interpersonal, group,

and intergroup settings were addressed in the grid format, pro-

viding a five-fold conflict management profile. An effective

tool to identify outcomes of conflict is the CMS (Teleometrics,

2007). Retail companies in the Louisville, Kentucky demo-

graphic area were randomly selected. Participants who partici-

pated in this study consisted of retail managers and employees

in Louisville, Kentucky. Respondents were asked to assess the

leadership styles (MLQ) and conflict management styles (CMS)

of successful retail managers in their organizati on.

For this study purpose, results from the two instruments can

be used to determine leadership styles and conflict management

styles used among successful retail managers. Respondents

volunteered and signed a consent form to participate in this

research study. Data were collected and analyzed by the re-

searcher and with the assistance of SPSS (17.0). Descriptive

and a Pearson Correlation analysis were used to present the

research findings.

Data Collection

The CMS and MLQ survey instruments were paper-and-pencil

self-administered surveys that were mailed to participating

organizations in Louisville, KY. Within each packet were in-

structions for the executive manager to distribute the sealed

survey envelopes that were labeled manager and employee, to

the participating managers and employees. The packets con-

tained the researchers contact information, demographic ques-

tionnaire, instructions for completing and returning the surveys,

and a stamped envelope with the researchers mailing address to

return the completed surveys. Two follow-up phone calls were

made to the participating retail establishments within two-week

intervals: two weeks after acknowledgement of receiving the

packets and a final call was made two weeks later.

Results

The profile of respondents provides an insight into the poten-

tial benefit of transformational leadership combined with com-

promise conflict management. There was a small paucity of

respondents (32) used for this research compared to the targeted

number of respondents (100), to indicate a 32% response rate.

Only usable surveys were statistically analyzed, and surveys

were deemed unusable from incompleteness or failure to mail

back to the researcher. According to Creswell (2002), mailed

surveys have a low-response rate, and it may have impacted the

response rate of this research study. The sample population

consisted of 56.3% male and 43.8% female, so the sample

population was fairly balanced for this study in Table 1. The

most common age categories were 22 to 25 (21.9%) and 31 to

40 (21.9%), and only 9.4% of the respondents were over 50

years of age at the time of this study.

The results also indicated that respondents were most likely

to have a high school diploma or GED (31.3%) followed by

some college (28.1%). Respondents were not likely to have an

advanced degree with only two people (6.3%) having a mas-

ter’s degree; both were managers. Table 1 indicated that re-

spondents were most likely to be Caucasian (46.9%) followed

by African American (43.8%). Only two participants were

Hispanic (6.3%), none were Asian or Native American, and one

person identified himself as other (3.1%). The findings indi-

cated 37.5% of the sample identified themselves as managers

while 62.5% of the sample identified themselves as sales asso-

ciates.

Table 2 provides the descriptive statistics for the three lead-

E. C. GRAY, J. A. WILLIAMS

ership sub-scales leadership within MLQ. The conflict man-

agement raw scores were converted to T scores as instructed in

the CMS manual. The range of possible T scores and the me-

dian score for each of the five subscales are based on what was

found in the current sample and what the normative sample for

this instrument is scored. The results are presented in Table 3.

The results indicate that on average, the managers were rated

slightly above the median T score for collaboration (43.00),

below the median T score for compromise (45.31), above the

median T score for accommodation (56.25), above the median

T score for authoritarian controlling (53.81), and above the

median T score for avoidance (57.59). The minimums, maxi-

mums and the standard deviations indicated there was a rela-

tively large amount of variability in the scores. The findings

appear to be skewed due to the large standard deviations and

outliers that are impacting the scores mean. The Pearson corre-

lation results provided in Table 4 indicated that collaboration

conflict management scores were negatively and statistically

significantly correlated with transactional leadership scores, r =

–0.368(31), p < 0.05, in higher transactional leadership scores

are moderately associated with lower collaboration conflict

management scores.

Table 1.

Respondents characteristics table.

Gender Frequency Percent

Male 18 56.3

Female 14 43.8

Age Frequency Percent

18 - 21 6 18.8

22 - 25 7 21.9

26 - 30 4 12.5

31 - 40 7 21.9

41 - 50 5 15.6

51 - 60 2 6.3

61 plus 1 3.1

Education Frequency Percent

Less than high school 2 6.3

High school diploma (GE) 10 31.3

Some college 9 28.1

Associate s degree 4 12.5

Bachel o r’s d egree 5 15.6

Master’s degree 2 6.3

Doctoral de gree 0 0.0

Professional degree 0 0.0

Race Frequency Percent

Caucasian 15 46.9

African American 14 43.8

Hispanic 2 6.3

Asian 0 0.0

Native American 0 0.0

Other 1 3.1

Job title Frequency Percent

Manager 12 37.5

Sales assoc i ate 20 62.5

Table 2.

Means and standard deviations for the leadership subscale scores.

Source Minimum Maximum MeanSD

Transformational leadership1.10 4.00 3.02 0.74

Transactional leadership 1.13 4.00 2.83 0.70

Laissez faire leadership 0.00 4.00 1.38 1.34

Table 3.

Means and standard deviations for the conflict management subscale T

scores.

Source Minimum Maximum MeanSD

Collaboration 27 75 43.0010.85

Compromise 30 67 45.319.09

Accommodation 39 67 56.257.37

Authoritarian controlling 44 70 53.817. 1 4

Avoidance 30 71 57.5910.30

Table 4.

Pearson correlation results: leade rship and conflict management.

Source Transformational Transactional Laissez faire

Collaboration –0.192 –0.368* –0.591**

Compromise –0.123 –0.201 –0.217

Accommodation –0.134 –0.153 0.038

Authoritarian

controlling 0.139 0.223 0.201

Avoidance –0.078 0.165 0.453**

*p < .05. **p < .01.

Discussion and Conclusion

Effective leadership qualities are beneficial in today’s com-

plex and diverse retail organizations because today’s retail or-

ganizations are facing conflicts that arise from personnel, cus-

tomers, and competing retail entities (Assegid, 2009). Trans-

formational leadership has proven to be an effective leadership

style among retail managers and employees surveyed for this

study. However, transformational leadership was not shown to

correlate with effective conflict management styles among

respondents, but a larger sample pool could yield more statisti-

cal sound findings that correlate with successful conflict man-

agement resolutions. There was a significant positive relation-

ship of retail managers’ laissez faire leadership style and

avoidance conflict management style. The data from the Pear-

son correlation analysis revealed that the laissez-faire leader-

ship style had a strong influence on employees for avoiding

conflict.

Laissez-faire and avoidance conflict management appears to

be the trend among retail managers, and this leadership and

conflict management style combination can prove detrimental

to retail organizations. Avoidance can create a culture that is

resistant to change, and resistance to change can impede the

decision-making tactics and strategic plans ineffective in a

complex retail organizations (Graham, 2006). According to the

research study correlational results, majority of the retail man-

agers choose a laissez-faire style when resolving conflict inter-

E. C. GRAY, J. A. WILLIAMS

nal and external conflicts. However, retail human resource

managers are seeking managers who provide guidance, en-

courage employees to take ownership of issues and solve prob-

lems, and to think critically before resolving solutions

(McGrane, Wilson, & Cammock, 2005).

When leaders fail to act proactively to resolve conflicts, it

can create a work atmosphere that is reluctant to change and

fosters internal conflicts (Hinckley, 2009). Based on the con-

tinuous research of leadership, transformational seems to be the

most effective leadership style when resolving conflict. In the

retail industry, leaders must equip themselves with skills and

knowledge to manage conflict effectively (Bennett, 2009). The

current findings suggest that most successful retail leaders ex-

hibit transformational leadership traits, but they fail to incorpo-

rate those skills when attempting to manage conflicts. The cur-

rent findings presented failed to fully support previous research

findings, and it could be due to the small sample size; a larger

sample size should be used to build on these research results.

The results can be applied in retailing industry by imple-

menting training programs that inspire retail managers to de-

velop and use transformational leadership skills when manag-

ing turnover or conflicts among co-workers. This approach can

be used to improve the high turnover in the retail industry and

conflict deriving from low-morale in this complex industry.

Training programs that teach managers to be proactive can help

to dispel a laissez-faire leadership style among retail managers.

Academia can use the results by emphasizing the importance of

proactively addressing issues rather than relying on avoidance

techniques. Academia can implement group assignments and

projects that force students to proactively resolve daily issues in

the retail industry. Case studies can also be used in senior-level

courses to promote effective leadership styles and successful

conflict management styles.

Future studies can be used to explore why transformational

leaders regress to an avoidance conflict management style when

attempting to resolve conflicts. Another future recommendation

is to examine male managers versus female managers and the

differences of leadership styles when managing conflict. A

larger sample size should be used to strengthen the research

findings of this study. Future studies can also be used to exam-

ine the leadership and conflict management traits among spe-

cific age groups. For example, more and more young managers

are entering the career field, and those individuals are expected

to manage potential contingencies on a daily basis.

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