Chapter 46- functions of management and leadership Flashcards
Purpose of managers
- communicating
- controlling
- co-ordinating
- decision making
- evaluating progress
- leading
- motivating
- planning
What is important?
- that the resources of the business (finance, employees and time) need to be managed with the aim of using them as effectively as possible in order to reach the businesses objectives
Constraints which impinge upon any leader/ manager
- skills of the leaders ability to lead/ motivate
- abiIlity to make decisions
- strength of the leader and therefore ability to delegate
- other departments/ managers within the organisation
- structure of the organisation, whether centralised or decentralised
- nature of the market in which the business operates
- state of the economy
- objectives of the business
- level of unionisation
- amount of competition within the market
- budget of the business
How may success be measured against?
- prescribed targets that may be stated within the annual report of the business
- individual targets set within an appraisal method
- level of profit the business achieves
- level of labour turnover within the managers departments
Lewins style of leadership
- he identified three styles of leadership decision making
1. Autocratic
2. Democratic
3. Laissez faire
Autocratic
- sets the work and expects it to be performed precisely as directed
- does not involve employees in decision making
- very strict
- does not believe in employee autonomy
- believes in ‘top down’ communication and does not encourage employees to contribute
- believes in close supervision
- thinks that employees are solely motivated by money
Democratic
- encourages employee input into decision making
- believes in employee autonomy
- encourages two way communication
- allows employees to use their initiative
- believes that the motivation of employees is not simply financial
Laissez faire
- is remote from employees
- provides very little direction for employees
- adopts a ‘let them get on with it’ approach
- often requires employees to set their own tasks and objectives
Paternalistic
- another style of leadership (not lewins)
- wanting the workforce to feel involved in decision making
- consulting employees
- persuading employees to accept their view regardless of employees own interests
Differences between management styles
- autocrats tend to be stern and abrupt
- democrats can be friendlier willing to listen
- those who are Laissez faire may appear distant or dismissive which is not very helpful
- paternalistic leaders persuade employees to thunk negatively about their own views
- autocratic managers are often found in businesses that are highly centralised
- democratic managers are more likely to be found in a decentralised business
- a good manager will vary the style according to circumstance and will not remain permanently in one particular mode
- democratic approach is more inclusive and should lead to better decisions being taken
- but it means that the process will take more time which isn’t always available
- once a particular project is under way Laissez faire style may be chosen
- this style can work well if employees are well motivated and enjoy responsibility
Centralisation
The amount of control exercised by senior executives over decision making
The business is highly centralised when middle managers and employees have little autonomy
Mcgregors theory X and Y
- Theory of how managers view employees
- view adopted will affect how the manager believes employees should be treated and motivated
- theory states that there are two broad sets of assumptions about employees
- these are known as theory x and theory y
Theory x
- a theory x manager views employees as
- inherently lazy, disliking work and responsibility
- lacking the will and ability to work unsupervised
- lacking initiative
- largely motivated by money
(Likely to manage in a autocratic manner)
Theory y
- a theory y manager regards employees as
- enjoying their work (‘natural’ if right conditions are created)
- willing to accept responsibility and challenges
- creative and willing to contribute
- able to exercise self discipline
- not just motivated by money
- they will see employees as valuable assets rather than a cost to be minimised
- style will be democratic (employees encouraged to set their own goals and exercise self control
Behavioural theory (Blake and Moultons managerial grid)
- another way of considering how managers manage is to consider task and people needs
- a manager who has an over riding desire to ‘get the job done’ will be task orienatated’
- a manager whose principle aim is to make employees contented and keep them in high spirits will be ‘people orientated’
- Blake and moultons managerial grid along the horizontal axis are task needs and people needs are plotted on the vertical axis
- grid concentrated on the trade off between task and people needs which would influence the likely style of leadership
1. Country club leadership
2. Authoritarian leadership
3. Impoverished leadership
4. Team leadership
5. Middle of the road leadership
People needs
The needs of employees
A manager who concentrates on people needs will try to make employees contented and keep them in high spirits
May be at the expense of getting the work done
Task needs
The opposite of people needs
A manager who has an overriding desire to ‘get the job done’ will be orientated towards the task rather than employees needs
Country club leadership
- manager is concerned about the well being and feelings of their team of people rather than completing the required tasks
- while morale may be higher some employees may take advantage and and if deadlines are missed there may be repercussions on other areas of the business which depend on the completion of a task by a certain date
Authoritarian leadership
- an authoritarian manager will be concerned with the task rather than the employees
- manager believes that the needs of the employee must always take second place to completing the task
- leadership will be authoritarian and motivation very much a secondary consideration
- lack of attention to employees needs can lead to resentment, a lack of commitment and other human resource problems
Impoverished leadership
- this manager will have a lack of concern for either task or people needs
- this sort of leader is very ineffective at everything
- morale and productivity are both low
Team leadership
- this manager will have a strong and equal regard for both employee and task needs
- what a manager should aim for
- high levels of motivation will be accompanied by high productivity
Middle of the road leadership
- comprises between the two sets of needs
- implies that neither set of needs is truly met
- such leaders may be indecisive and timid
Blakes grid
A method of identifying the actions, priorities and therefore leadership style of a manager
This is undertaken through an analysis of task and people needs
Trait theory (Carlyle and Galton)
- trait theory concentrates on the traits exhibited by successful leaders (characteristics required of a leader)
- original thoughts suggested that the characteristics of a good leader were attributes that such leaders has; they were not learnt
Key characteristics of an effective leader were highlighted
- motivational
- integrity: showing an ethical approach
- self confidence
- creative
- intelligent
Contingency theory (lewin, tannenbaum and Schmidt)
- tannenbaum and Schmidt concentrate on the style of leadership and suggest that the style of leadership highlighted the degree of trade-off between the control exerted by the leader and how this affected the interaction between the leader and the employees
- sometimes known as the ‘contingency’ approach
- this continuum uses four styles
1. Tell
2. Sell
3. Consult
4. Participate
Tell
- one in which the leader/ manager just informs the employees of their decision
- can be seen as an autocratic approach as the focus is on the leader
- employees will be expected to comply
- approach doesn’t give the employees an opportunity to be involved in the decision making process
Sell
- when a leader/ manager makes a decision but attempts to ‘sell’ the decision to the employees
- style suggests that there is some consideration of the employees rather than just ‘telling’ them
- a degree of persuasion is taking place
- also the opportunity for feedback
Consult
- this style goes a step further than ‘sell’ as the leader will present their ideas to the employees and invite discussion and therefore offers a more collaborative approach
- leader will listen to the ideas of the employees
- two way communication
Participate
- shows that the focus is now on the employees and not the leader
- leader/ manager will ask the employees to make a decision
- emphasis is on the employees and is similar to a more democratic style of leadership
Functional (adairs three circles)
- adairs action centred leadership highlights the 3 elements for all leadership situations
1. Achievement of the task
2. Team or group involved in the task
3. Individual members of the team or group involved in the task - Adair suggested that the leader has to try and balance the needs of all 3 elements
- a failure to consider all 3 elements is more likely to lead to failure
- there is an acknowledgment that the 3 elements can conflict with eachother
- ensuring that the task is the key focus may be at the expense of the individuals who are involved with the task
- too much time spent on considering the welfare of the group/ individuals may be to the detriment of completing the required task
Senior managers
- top of an organisation
- usually led by a chief executive officer (CEO) who will work closely with the board of directors
- more concerned with long-term planning and strategy than day-to-day implementation of policy
- particularly important function of senior managers is to ensure that their departments communicate with each other so the business runs smoothly from day to day
Middle managers
- they will have more operational control than senior executives and are responsible to them for implementing their strategy
Junior managers
- can refer to either to management trainees and those in supervisory positions who have a degree of authority
Line managers (in terms of function)
- they manage employees who have direct input in to or are responsible for the delivery of products or services
- they have the authority and power to order subordinates in their department to perform appropriate tasks
Staff managers (in terms of function)
- they exist to provide advice and support to the line managers
- they have no line of authority over those whom they support
Differences between a manager and a leader
Managers manage via their organisational skills
Leaders are more inspirational
- managers are obeyed by subordinates but leaders are followed by subordinates
- manager minimises risk but a leader is a risk taker
- manager prefers steady state but leader embraces change
- managers set an example
- leaders are creative
- managers tell employees to follow procedure but leader inspires others to behave in a certain way/ encourages new ways of thinking
- manager is not very outgoing
- leader is chasmatic
Management of specialist departments within a businesss
- a large business will have a number of different departments that perform specialist functions
- departments are production, marketing, personnel, and finance
Production management
- involves more than just making the products
- it is concerned with a variety of issues including production scheduling, purchasing, stock control, quality control and maintenance
Marketing management
- their position involves issues such as market research, development of pricing policies, promotional campaigns and ensuring that the distribution of the product reaches the customers when they want it
Personnel management
- concerned with organising people
- encompasses issues such as recruitment, training, performance appraisal, offering advice on motivation, dismissal
Financial management
- concerned with the housekeeping of the business accounts
- also concerned with raising finance and the analysis of costs
Production
Quality control
Stock control
Purchasing
Scheduling
Maintenance
Finance
House keeping
Setting and monitoring budgets
Raising funds
Cost analysis
Cashflow
Marketing
The product
Market research
Distribution
Promotion
Pricing
Personnel
Employee records
Training
Appraisal
Manpower planning
Motivation
