Management styles Flashcards
Management style
is the particular way managers go about accomplishing particular objectives. It encompasses the way they make decisions, how they plan, communicate, organise work, and how they exercise authority with employees
Autocratic styles
An autocratic management style is a manager making decisions and directing employees without any input from them.
• The manager makes the decisions and tells employees what tasks to perform.
• Communication flows from the manager to the employees (one-way communication)
• The manager prefers to have full control of their area of responsibility, without any employee input into the task that needs to be performed
• The decision-making is centralised with decisions made without consultation of employees
When the autocratic style is best used
o Often best use in a time of business crisis with time being a significant factor.
o It is also an effective style when the employees lack skills and experience in doing the task.
Time: when time is lacking and decision need to be made quickly
Employee experience: when employees lack experience and knowledge
Nature of the task: Simple tasks
Advantages and disadvantages of autocratic style
Advantages
• Decisions are made quickly no need to consult
• Clear communication to employees
• Decisions are made by an experienced manager
• Manager has full control over decisions
• Employees have less responsibility and risk as they only have to follow the managers instructions
Disadvantages
• No opportunity for input from employees and low employee morale
• Small pool of ideas since employees are unable to make suggestions
• Assumption being the decision made is the correct one
• Employees may take more sick leave days and become more likely to live their job due to ongoing low motivation
Persuasive mamagement style
A persuasive management style is a manager making decisions and communicating the reasons for those decisions to employees without their input
• The manager makes the decisions and then explains to employees why the decision has been made
• Decision-making is centralised, with no employee input
• Communication is one way
When the persuasive management style is best used
o Effective style when the employees lack skills and experience in doing the task.
o When time is lacking a persuasive management style is still a fast way making a decision as it does not involve consultation
o When decisions need to be made quickly
Time: when time is of importance and decisions need to be made quickly
Employee experience: employees lack experience and knowledge
nature of the task: Simple tasks
Advantages and disadvantages of persuasive management style
Advantages
• Decisions are made quickly when time is an issue
• Clear communication to employees
• Decisions may be accepted more by employees as they are more informed
• Management has full control and may gain employees trust and support by explaining the reasons for decisions
Disadvanatages
• Small pool of ideas due to no consultation of employees
• Task focused with lack of room for employee creativity and innovation
• Employees may not support the reasons for the decision
• The manager has to take some time to explain business decisions to employees
Consultive management style
A consultative management style is a manager seeking input from employees on business decisions but making the final decision themselves
• It involves the manager seeking the opinions and feedback of employees on issues relating to making a decision.
• The consultative manager may establish employee meetings to listen to their views and opinions
• I consultative manager will still make the final decision on the issue
• This means decision-making is still centralised
• Employees are considered meaning there is two-way communication
When the consultative management style is best used
o It may be appropriate when the manager has to solve a complex issue and needs opinions from employees
o It can be useful when time is not urgent for a decision
o Is useful when the employees have a lot of experience
Time: when there is time available for gathering feedback
Employee experience: When employees have experience and knowledge that the manager can use to make a more informed decision
Nature of the task: More complex tasks or where problems need to be solved or something is changing.
Advantages and disadvantages of consultative management style
Advantages
• Larger pool of ideas to choose from as employees views made known
• Increase motivation as employees of views are listed
• Potential for increased sales and profit as the quality of decisions and outcomes may be improved from employee input
Disadvantages
• More time-consuming to make decisions
• The time taken to consult all the relevant employees can clow the entire process
• Some employees may feel undervalued if their ideas are overlooked by management
Participative management style
A participative management style is a manager communicating and discussing information with employees in order to make decisions together.
• Where the manager and employees join together to make decisions. Therefore it is a group decision
• This style is employee centred and the manager empowers employees to make decisions
• Decision-making is therefore decentralised since authority and power is moving more towards employees
• In this participative management style the use of two way communication is important with management greatly valuing employee feedback and involvement.
• It usually seeks consensus with employees before coming to a decision and everyone is supposed to take ownership in the final decision
When the participative management style is best used
o Often best used when there is an issue that directly impacts on the employees.
o When employees are highly skilled and experienced
o When change occurs this allows for employees to have ownership in decisions
Time: When there is sufficient time to discuss decisions
Employee experience: experienced and knowledgable employees
Nature of the task: When problem solving is required or more complex tasks. Often during times of change or when creativity is required.
Advantages and disadvantages of participative management style
Advantages
• Employees that can provide feedback and feel valued in a business will lead to higher morale and job satisfaction
• Participative management style empowers employees to use their creativity to develop more productive work processes and make the company more efficient
• Allowing employees to be active in business decision-making encourages these employees to stay with the business to see their input result in business success
• Can improve the relationship between management and employees due to sharing experiences and ideas
Disadvantages
• It can be time-consuming as meetings of employees are needed so all employees have a chance to contribute
• Conflict can arise between employees if there is disagreement between shared views and opinions
• Some employees may not want to be involved in decision-making and therefore do not seriously contribute
• Manager may lose some control as employees now have decision-making power as well
Laissez-faire management styles
A Laissez- faire management style is a manager communicating business objectives to employees and allowing them to make decisions independently.
• Where the manager allows the majority of the decision-making with employees
• The manager will provide broad guidelines and boundaries such as the main objective and timelines, then allows employees to plan and develop their own decision to achieve the objective
• After this the manager still has the responsibility of approving the decision
• This style is most decentralised with full employee decision-making and minimal input by management.
• Communication will be two- way between employees
When the Laissez- faire management style is best used
o Is often best used where a high level of creativity is important to the business and the employees are highly skilled and experienced
o Often appropriate when there is more time available and a urgent or quick decision is needed to solve a crisis within a business.
Time: can be appropriate in both time pressure situations and where time is not an issue
Employee experience: highly skilled employees that can be trusted to take control
Nature of the task: high creativity required.
