2.3 Leadership and management

Question 1

Key functions of management

Answer 1

Planning

Commanding

Controlling

Coordinating

Organizing

Question 2

Planning A02

Answer 2

Managers are responsible for setting the course of action to achieve organizational objectives. They are involved in setting both tactical plans (short-term plans) and strategic plans (long-term plans).

Question 3

Commanding A02

Answer 3

Managers give instructions and orders to their teams and subordinates in order to achieve business objectives. They should enforce discipline in the workplace to prevent slack and to prevent non-compliance.

Question 4

Coordinating A02

Answer 4

Managers have the responsibility for ensuring that all departments strive to achieve the goals of the organization.

Question 5

Organizing A02

Answer 5

Managers organize resources in order to achieve corporate objectives. This might include delegating or allocating tasks to workers to ensure that deadlines are met.

Question 6

Management versus leadership A02

Answer 6

A leader is someone who influences and inspires others to get things done. A leader fosters motivation, respect, trust and loyalty from the workforce.

Leadership is the process of influencing and inspiring others to achieve organizational goals. Leaders tend to focus on achieving broader goals or visions with no definite time frame in mind.

Managers tend to focus on achieving specific goals within a definite time frame.

Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933) famously defined management as “the art of gettingthingsdone through people”. It is essentiallyabout problem-solving and decision-making, so involves a process of planning, organising and coordinating human and capital resources to achieve organizational objectives.

Question 7

The following leadership styles: AO3 5

Answer 7

1 autocratic 2 paternalistic 3 democratic 4 laissez-faire 5 situational

Question 8

autocratic A03

Answer 8

Autocratic leadership refers to leaders who adopt an authoritarian approach by making all the decisions rather than delegating any authority to their subordinates. Instead, the autocrat simply tells others what to do.

One drawback is that communication is top-down, so any opinions or suggestions of the workers are ignored. This can cause resentment amongst employees as they have little opportunity to make a real contribution. Hence, authoritarians can alienate and demotivate the workforce which can cause high levels of absenteeism and labour turnover.

Question 9

paternalistic A03

Answer 9

Paternalistic leaders treat their employees as if they were family members, guiding them through a consultation process and acting in the perceived best interest of their subordinates. The leader makes decisions onbehalfofthe team, building trust and loyalty in the process

• A negative paternalistic style occurs when the leader perceives the workers as less than capable, so leads by guidance and control.
• A positive paternalistic style occurs when the leader t perceives the workers as highly capable, so nurtures and develops the workers.

Question 10

democratic A03

Answer 10

Democratic leadership refers to leaders who take into account the views of others when making decisions. This participative leadership style means that decision-making is decentralised.

However, the main limitation of this approach is that it can delaydecision-makingbecausemore peopleare involved in the process. Furthermore, such a style is not suitablewhen dealing with a very large workforce (since communication would be severely affected) or when there is a high dependence on clear leadership, such as dealing with trade union strike action or a public relations crisis.

Question 11

laissez-faire A03

Answer 11

Laissez-faire leadership is based on having minimal direct input in the work ofemployees. Instead, they allow subordinates to make their owndecisions and to complete tasks in theirown way.

A key limitation is that coordination and decision-making can be time-consuming since there is a lack of direct supervision or support. Hence, execution of business strategy can be prolonged, so this style can be unsuitable for businesses or situations that require quick decision-making. It also relies heavily on teamwork and the goodwill of employees to achieve the organization’s goals. Laissez-faire leadership might also encourage slack, i.e. people are less proactiveas they know they are not being directly monitored by senior management.

Question 12

situational A03

Answer 12

Situational leadership refers to the belief that there is no single leadership style that suits all situations. The ‘best’ style depends on situational factors, such as the attitudes, behaviour and competencies of managers and workers.

CLOTS

• Culture What type of culture exists within the organization and what are the group norms?
• Leader How much trust do leaders have in their employees,how experienced are they as leaders and what is their preferred (or natural) leadership style?
• Organizational structure Are hierarchical structures tall or flat? How large is the span of control?
• Task To what extent are the tasks difficult, urgent and important? Are the tasks routine and low skilled or highly complex?
• Subordinates What are the level of skills, motivation and unity of the employees? How many employees are there?

Question 13

How ethical considerations and cultural differences may influence leadership and management styles In an organization A03

Answer 13

Mahatma Gandhi (I869-I948) said,
"I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people".

The Chinese proverb “Talk does not cook rice” suggests that managers and leaders, irrespective of the
organizational culture, must set an example by their actions, rather than through talk or positions alone.

Albert Einstein said,

“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another; it is the only means.”

Question 14

Charles Handy’s 3 key roles of managers

Answer 14

1 Managers as general practitioners 2 Managers as confronters of dilemmas 3 Managers as balancers of cultural mixes

Question 15

Managers as general practitioners Handy roles of managers

Answer 15

Handy compared personal health problems with the well being of a firm,such as the level of staff turnover, productivity and customer satisfaction. If there are health problems in the business, then managers must deal with these. For example, if low productivity is a concern, then managers might hire more people, retrain staff and/or dismiss unproductive workers. Alternatively, low productivity could be a result of poor morale so financial incentives might be used to resolve this.

Question 16

Managers as confronters of dilemmas Handy roles of managers

Answer 16

Handy suggested that managers are relatively well paid because they have to deal with a constant flow of dilemmas (problems). For example, managers are required to let go of some authority when delegating work to their teams, but they must also retain responsibility for the assigned tasks. Other dilemmas include the management of stakeholders (see Unit 1.4) and organizational conflict (see Unit 2.6).

Question 17

Managers as balancers of cultural mixes Handy roles of managers

Answer 17

Handy argued that it is the managers role to balance the cultural mix in an organization to get the best out of each individual. Whilst Fayol would have suggested a hierarchical and formal structure to shape and embrace the culture of an organization, Handy argued that organizations should become flatter to improve communications and enhance decision-making.

Question 18

Peter Drucker, managers’ five basic functions:

Answer 18

Setting organizational objectives Managers are involved in setting and communicating organizational objectives (see Unit 1.3). Organizing tasks and people Managers establish systems (such as an appropriate organizational structure) to ensure the different functional areas of the business are integrated to achieve its objectives. Communicating with and motivating people For the workforce to be efficient and productive, managers must build teams that are motivated to achieve the organizations objectives. Measuring performance Drucker suggested that job performance should be measured by the extent to which each employee meets performance objectives. Developing people Managers are responsible for bringing out the best in people. This might be done through giving workers opportunities to take on extra responsibilities.