Abstract:
Wines of the World Ltd is a Kenyan owned firm that began its operations as a distributor of wines in 1992. Since its inception, the company has grown in terms of sales volume and market share, and its vision is 'to be the number one supplier of wines and a household name of wine in East Africa, as measured in terms of market share. The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which the leadership at Wines of the World Ltd was perceived to be effective in empowering and motivating its staff. The study sought to address the following three research questions: First, to what extent was the leadership at Wines of the World Ltd perceived to have the core competencies needed for successful strategic leadership. Second, to what extent was the leadership at Wines of the World perceived to provide Herzberg's hygiene factors, and, third, to what extent was the leadership at Wines of the World perceived to provide Herzberg's motivator factors. The research design used for this study was the survey design method. Employees of the Wines of the World Ltd Kenya comprised the population, and stratified systematic sampling technique was used during this study. The population was first stratified into two groups- management and employees. The two strata were then sampled using systematic sampling. The sample size comprised twenty three employees, of which eighteen employees were reached. Two separate questionnaires were used: one for the top management and the other for the employees as the information sought from the employees was different from the information sought from the top management. The questionnaires were distributed through the Human Resources Manager and returned to a drop box at the head office. The data obtained from the questionnaires was analyzed using measures of central tendency such as the mean and measures of dispersion such as the standard deviation. Graphs, charts and tables were used to show the results of the study. The research findings revealed, firstly, that the top management at Wines of the World Ltd possessed all the nine core competencies needed for successful strategic leadership. However, the ability of the leadership to instill confidence and commitment among staff and intellectually stimulate others was somewhat limited. Secondly, the study found that the following three of Herzberg's five hygiene factors were satisfactory at Wines of the World Ltd: company and administrative policies, supervisory styles and interpersonal relations. Therefore, in order to prevent dissatisfaction in the workplace, the leadership needed to improve working conditions and salary/remuneration, for all members of staff. Thirdly, the study revealed that three Herzberg's motivator factors (i.e. achievement, responsibility and the work itself) existed at Wines of the World Ltd. Thus in order for empowerment and motivation to take place, the leadership needed to provide the other two motivator factors that were not fully present at Wines of the World Ltd, i.e., recognition and opportunities for growth and advancement. In view of the above findings, the study recommended that the leadership at Wines of the World Ltd should undertake the following: instill confidence and commitment among staff, intellectually stimulate others, carry out a salary/remuneration review, encourage both informal and formal channels of giving recognition in timely and meaningful ways such as employee of the month award, improve working conditions for staff, reward staff for their loyalty and performance, and provide growth and advancement opportunities for employees.