Chapter 8 Management Flashcards
What is a manager?
A manager is responsible for setting objectives, organising resources and motivating staff so that the organisation’s aims are met
what are managers responsible for?
1 Setting objectives and planning
2 Organising resources to meet the objectives
3 Directing and motivating staff
4 Coordinating activities
5 Controlling and measuring performance against targets
what did Henry Mintzberg identify?
identified ten roles common to the work of all managers
What are the 3 group that Henry Mintzberg identify?
Interpersonal roles
Informational roles
Decisional roles
what is Leadership?
Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people towards achieving a common objective
what are Leadership styles?
Leadership (or management) style refers to the way in which managers take decisions and communicate with their staff.
what are the 3 leadership styles?
1 Autocratic (or authoritarian)
2 Democratic
3 Laissez-faire
Autocratic leadership?
Autocratic leadership is a style of leadership that keeps all decision making at the centre of the organisation
Democratic leadership?
Democratic leadership is a leadership style that promotes the active participation of workers in taking decisions
Laissez-faire leadership?
Laissez-faire leadership is a leadership style that leaves much of the business decision making to the workforce – a ‘hands-off’ approach and the reverse of the autocratic style
Autocratic main features
1 leader takes all decisions
2 supervises workers closely
3 only one-way communication
Autocratic drawbacks
1 de-motivates staff who want to contribute and accept responsibility
2 decisions do not benefit from staff input
Autocratic possible applications
Where and when quick decisions are needed e.g. emergency situations
what falls under Interpersonal roles?
1 Figurehead
2 Leader
3 Liaison
what falls under Informational roles?
1 Monitor (receiver)
2 Disseminator
3 Spokesperson
what falls under Decisional roles?
1 Entrepreneur
2 Disturbance handler
3 Resource allocator
4 Negotiator
Leadership positions in business?
Directors Manager Supervisor Team leader Worker’s representative
Main features of Democratic?
1 worker participation encouraged
2 two-way communication used, which allows feedback from staff
Drawbacks of democratic?
1 consultation with staff can be time consuming
2 on occasions, quick decision making will be required
Possible applications of Democratic?
an experienced and flexible workforce will be likely to benefit most from this style
Main features of Laissez-faire
managers delegate virtually all authority and decision-making powers
Drawbacks of Laissez-faire
workers may not appreciate the lack of structure and direction in their work – this could lead to a loss of security
Possible applications of Laissez-faire
May be appropriate in creative industries where experts are likely to arrive at inventions and solutions
What is McGregor’s Theory?
According to Douglas McGregor (1950), one of the most important determinants of leadership style is the attitude of managers towards their workers
McGregor identified two distinct management approaches to the workforce and he called these,
Theory X
Theory Y
What did Theory X managers believe
workers:
1 dislike work
2 will avoid responsibility
3 are not creative
It was Autocratic leadership style
what did Theory Y managers believe?
workers:
1 enjoy their work
2 will accept responsibility
3 are creative
it was a Democratic leadership style
Emotional intelligence (EI)
Emotional intelligence is the ability of managers to understand their own emotions, and those of the people they work with, to achieve better business performance
what are the 4 competencies of Emotional intelligence?
Self-awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Social skills
Self-awareness?
knowing what we feel is important and using that to guide decision-making
Self-management?
being able to recover quickly from stress, being trustworthy and conscientious, showing initiative and self-control
Social awareness?
sensing what others are feeling, being able to take their views into account and being able to ‘get on’ with a wide range of people
Social skills?
handling emotions in relationships well and accurately understanding different social situations; using social skills to persuade, negotiate and lead
The ‘best’ leadership style?
Democratic leadership – involving participation and two-way communication – is increasingly common, for a number of reasons. Working people are better educated than ever before and have higher expectations of their experiences from work – they expect higher-level needs to be partly satisfied at work.
