Leadership Flashcards
Define LEADERSHIP
Leadership is the ability to influence and direct people in order to achieve the goals of the organisation.
Define MANAGEMENT
Management is the day to day organisation of the business, involving managing staff, stock, resources and working capital.
Describe autocratic leadership.
Autocratic leadership is a leadership style that involves managers issuing instructions and enforcing them on subordinates. Communication is top down and one way, all decisions are made by the manager, there is very little opportunity for promotion, very little delegation.
Appropriate where: a task is time critical, subordinates cannot do the task alone due to low skill, when the consequences of mistakes are very high.
Describe democratic leadership.
Democratic leadership is a leadership style in which decisions are made by both the employees and the managers, through two way communication. Employees participate in decision making, there is a lot of delegation and consultation, flat organisational structure.
Appropriate where: workers are skilled and want to have a say in decisions, when the market is dynamic and a responsive approach is required.
Describe paternalistic leadership.
Paternalistic leadership is a leadership style in which managers treat subordinates in an almost fatherly way. The workplace is seen as a community and decisions made by the managers are made in the best interests of employees.
Appropriate where: the workers perceive the manager as the best places person to be in charge and make good decisions.
Describe laissez-faire leadership
Laissez- faire leadership is a leadership style in which the leader has little say in day-to-day decision making. There is a conscious decision to delegate power, with subordinates provided with the resources and tools required to help them do their job.
Appropriate where: staff are ready, willing and able to take responsibility for tasks, where the manager lacks experience and knowledge.
What influences the leadership style?
- Culture of the business
- Personality of the leader
- Skills and experiences of the workforce
- Organisational structure
- Nature of a specific task
- Nature of the product
What are the advantages of autocratic leadership?
- Offers high levels of control over the workforce for managers.
What are the disadvantages of autocratic leadership?
- Creativity may suffer
- Subordinates will need a lot of supervision
- Motivation likely to be poor
What are the advantages of democratic leadership?
- High levels of motivation
- Quality of decision making improves
- Helps to create leaders for the future.
What are the disadvantages of democratic leadership?
- Consultation may slow down the decision making process
- May lead to an inconsistent approach
What are the advantages of paternalistic leadership?
- High levels of motvation
What are the disadvantages of paternalistic leadership?
- Employees may become unable to make decisions independently.
- Some employees will not respond well to the sense of empowerment.
What are the advantages of laissez-faire leadership?
- Highly skilled employees will have high job satisfaction
- The leader is freed up to make high up decisions
What are the disadvantages of laissez-faire leadership?
- Productivity may decrease if the employees feel that the leader is disconnected from their work
- Lack of communication may make it difficult to achieve goals.
- May be difficult to get employees to collaborate if they are used to working independently.
