Management Styles

Question 1

What are the factors that influence management styles (situational variables)?

Answer 1

Nature of Task
Time
Experience of employees
Manager preference

Question 2

What are the 3 management styles?

Answer 2

Autocratic (Tell)
Consultative (Ask)
Laissez Faire (Let)

Question 3

What are the advantages and disadvantages of an autoctatic management style?

Answer 3

Advantage: Hight level of clarity, Employees’ roles and expectations set out plainly, Decisions made quickly.

Disadvantages: Doesn’t allow the manager to access staff knowledge/ideas, Employees=no power->High staff tunover, an “us and them” mentality=no collaboration or teamwork.

Question 4

When might an autocratic style be appropriate to use?

Answer 4

Nature of task: High risk/crisis stuation, large no. of employees working on a task simple in nature.

Time: Limited

Experience of employees: Lack the skills and experience to complete the task

Manager preference: Perfers to maintain control, lack faith in staff.

Question 5

When might a consultative style be appropriate to use?

Answer 5

Nature of task: more complex/creative, have elements where employee have more knowledge than the manager, when there are a wide variety of considerations to be taken into account.

Time: low time pressure

Experience: high experience and skills

Manager preference: likes to include employee and values input

Question 6

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a consultative management style?

Answer 6

Advantages: Greater variety of ideas, employees have some ownership, employee development

Disadvantages: Slow, some employee may not want to be consulted, conflict because some ideas have to be ignored, sensitive information can be spread before decision

Question 7

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Laissez Faire management style?

Answer 7

Advantages: employees feel a sense of ownership, continual encouragement for creativity, delegation enables management to focus on other element or organisation, emploees able to respond quicklyt to issue with empowerment.

Disadvantages: complete loss of control, potential for misuse of resources, potential internal conflict and no direction with no leader.

Question 8

When might a laissez faire style be appropiate to use?

Answer 8

Nature: simple with no requirement fo uniformity, complex

Time: extended time period

Experience of employees: high level of expertise

Manager preference: no reposibility