249 ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN DEVELOPMENT OF GROUP ENTERPRISE Anna Parzonko Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland E-mail: anna_parzonko@sggw.pl Summary: Agricultural producers groups are an example of group enterprise in rural areas. As a result of dramatic history of Poland, and specifically the political turmoil after World War II, it was as late as in the 1990s that the idea of group farming obtained a new meaning and became intensively accomplished by farmers. The leader’s role is very important in the process of establishment and functioning of agricultural producers groups. The paper emphasises the skills required of an effective leader of an agricultural producers group. The author undertakes an analysis of leadership styles and determines which ones are the most effective in case of group enterprise. Keywords: agricultural producers groups, enterprise, leadership, leadership styles 1. INTRODUCTION Success of any human activity depends on many simultaneous factors, with some of the factors dependent on the activity and some of them independent of it. The independent factors create the right conditions for undertaking activities; they include currency exchange rates, taxes, competition, legal regulations, costs of the means of production, etc. Among human- dependent factors, attention ought to be paid to applied operating strategies, distribution of duties, adopted incentive system which demonstrates considerable integrating impact, adopted organisation structure or the organisation and legal form, decisions related to selection of the leader and, consequently, the implemented leadership style. The paper is devoted to the role of leadership in development of group enterprise, with particular focus on group enterprise in agriculture, with agricultural producers groups as a representation of this phenomenon. The requirement for farmers to organise in business structures results from certain fundamental reasons, including 1) business globalisation and resulting threats, 2) specific features and characteristics of agriculture as a division of national economy, 3) style and philosophy of life and work of farmers. Producers groups constitute a counterweight, a positive response to structural transformations in agriculture taking place at the beginning of 1990ies, which reflect adaptation of the economy to operation pursuant to new market mechanisms. They maintain the local and national culture and tradition, care for preservation of natural environment and develop social relationships. Irrespective of farm size, a farmer – as a business entity – is a small unit. If farmers organise themselves in agricultural producers groups, they become able to better plan the production and adapt it to the customers’ needs, reduce the costs of production at the farm resulted by common purchases of the means of production, common utilisation of equipment, preparation of products for trade turnover and organisation of sales, as well as thanks to better access to information. Combination of access to capital and the aforementioned benefits causes growing interest of farmers in investments and implementation of innovative solutions at their farms. DOI: 10.17626/dBEM.ICoM.P01.2012.p033