Understanding Management and Leadership Flashcards
Managers
Managers conduct a wide range of duties and have many different types of duties. These are:
- Setting objectives;
- Analysing data;
- Leading teams of staff;
- Making decisions; and Reviews
Difference Between Managers and Leaders
Managers - Day to day running of the business; Planning; and Organising.
Leaders - Strategic thinking; Visionary; and Risk seeking.
Types of Management and Leadership Styles
Authoritarian
Paternalistic
Democratic
Laissez-faire
Authoritarian
- Power, control, and making decisions are central to this style. This is done at the top of the hierarchy, with instructions and control filtering top down. This type of leadership can also be known as dictatorial or autocratic. Decisions are made by the leaders, they give the orders to their subordinates, and there are strict controls in place.
- focus of power is with the manager
- communication is top-down and one way
- formal system of command and control
- use of rewards and penalties
- very little delegation
- McGregor Theory X approach
Leaders adopt this style of management because they have little confidence in the ability of their staff, and they like to retain power and control. Decisions can be made quickly, which may be beneficial in certain circumstances. This style can cause frustration and disappointment as all decisions are made by one person it relies on them alone and no one else has a say.
Paternalistic
- With this style of leadership employees are seen as family members and they are consulted in decision making, but the final decision firmly remains at the top of the hierarchy. The leaders decide what is best for their workforce and if the decision is ‘sold’ to them. Staff are closely supervised; the leader tries hard to gain the respect and cooperation from their employees so that they accept the decisions that have been made. Staff see their leader as protecting their needs and as supportive. Delegation is unlikely.
- leader decides what is best for employees
- akin to a parent/child relationship
- still little delegation
- a softer form of a authoritarian leadership
Democratic
- This style involves two-way communication and a lot of delegation. The workforce has opportunities to be involved in the decision making; the majority decides the action that is taken forward. Democratic leaders delegate work, consult, and ask for the views of their staff. Decisions that are made are discussed, advised and explained to the workforce. This type of leadership style encourages better quality of decisions and improved morale and motivation in the workforce. Decisions that are made are usually better as the whole workforce has had a say in it. On the other hand, there could be an issue in where the leadership and power lie, and whether the management have full control over the business.
- focus of power is more with a group as a whole
- leadership functions are shared within the group
- employees have greater involvement in decision- making
- emphasis on delegation and consultation
Laissez-faire
the policy of leaving things to take their own course, without interfering.
- This is where a group of people (not management) make decisions in a business, and the leader has a ‘hands off’ approach. The leader had virtually no input into the decisions made and leave their employees to make them. This style is effective if the workforce is highly skilled and educated, as they take their work seriously and can make informed decisions well. This can breed creativity and initiative. However, some workers want a structured, well managed, decisive leader to work for and don’t work well under this style of management. This style of management can make workers feel insecure as they need feedback on their and how well they are doing.
- leader has little input into day to day decision- making
- conscious decision to delegate power
- managers/employees have freedom to do what they think is best
- effective when staff are ready and willing to take on responsibility
- not the same as abdication
Tannenbaum Schmidt Continuum
The Tannenbaum Schmidt continuum of leadership looks at the relationship between the level of freedom an employee has compared to the power held by the leader.
The Tannenbaum Schmidt LEVELS
Level One
This is the first level of continuum where the manager/leader makes the decisions and ‘tells’ the team what to do after the decision has been made. This style of leadership is used when the team is relatively new or inexperienced but would not necessarily be appropriate if the team is more experienced skilled. This level of management fosters the autocratic style of leadership
Level Two
At this level the manager makes the decisions and then ‘sells’ the decision to the team. The manager will explain the reasons for the decision, showing the team that they are important, and that management wants them to
understand.
Level Three
At this level is where the decision is made by the manager who presents the decision to the team and provides the overall ideas and presents the initial ideas that led to the final decision. This type lets the team ask questions and this makes them understand the reasons for the decision which is more motivating than the previous two levels. The manager is still
in control and makes decisions but checks it out first with the team. At this level, those staff who want more responsibility, and who ask questions, are likely to be provided with opportunities to talk about their ideas.
Level Four
The manager invites discussion with the team by ‘consulting’ them and then makes the decision. Here the team can influence the managers decision; the workers are seen as having something to contribute to the idea, and they are therefore considered before the decision is made. This provides more motivation than the previous levels.
Level Five
The manager presents the problem, consults the team for solutions and then makes a decision. At this level it is more common for the team to be more experienced than the manager, and therefore the team have high level involvement in the decision-making process. This level is more motivating than the previous levels as the team have more freedom in
the input to the decision. In this level the team own the problem and come up with the solution, presenting it to the manager who will make the final decisions.
Level Six
In this level the manager explains the problem, notes any limitations, and requests the team to come up the decision; therefore, the manager ‘shares’ the problem with the team. Here the manager has delegated the responsibility for the decision to the team but still maintains control for the process and risks. The decision-making freedom the team have is the most motivating of all the previous ones and means the team must be highly skilled and experienced. The final decision will be highly influenced by the team but will still be the managers final decision.
Level Seven
Here the team can identify the problem, develop options for the solution, and the manager ‘shares’ the problem with the team with limits set. This is the opposite end to the continuum level one and the team are doing what the manager did at the start of the spectrum. The manager will support what the team decide and help to put it into action. The manager
will have no more authority in the team than the others, they can be part of the process and have input but this isn’t necessary. This level is the most motivating of all but is also the riskiest; the team must be the most experienced, skilled at making decisions and reviewing the outcomes.
Which Style of Leadership to Use?
If the team is relatively new and inexperienced then a manager will use the leadership style closer to level one; as the team become more experienced and skilled then the manager will change their leadership style and move
across the continuum.
However the style will depend on;
- The level of confidence the manager has in the team in terms of experience and skills.
- Whether the organisation has a culture of delegation and a committed workforce – are the team used to being given orders to make decisions?
- The situation the decisions are made in for example is it an urgent or high-risk decision or is it a routine non urgent decision.
Blake/Mouton
Managers and leaders can be concerned with either production or people. There are managers that just want to get the job done so they are focused on production; but there are those managers that are more focused on their people or staff to ensure they are working effectively. Some managers can be a combination of both.
Robert Blake and Jane Mouton developed a managerial/leadership grid based on production and people:
- Concern for people – how a manager meets the needs of the staff.
- Concern for production – how a manager meets the needs for efficiency by focusing on productivity.
DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT STYLES ACCORDING TO Blake/Mouton
Impoverished leadership style – Low concern for production and low concern for people. This is an ineffective leader as staff are highly demotivated due to lack of direction and decision making. There is likely to be high labour turnover which increase costs for a business.
County club ( accommodating manager)– High concern for people and low concern for production. Here the manager/leader is more concerned with the staff and keeping them happy as they believe that if the staff are motivated they will work better, and productivity will be achieved. This style tends to have a very relaxed working environment, but due to the lack of direction and decision
making from the manager/leader the productivity is generally low.
Produce or perish – High concern for production and low concern for people. This leader is more autocratic as there will be strict work rules, procedures, decisions. There will be high levels of conflict in the team as punishment is seen as a way of increasing motivation. Workers will be dissatisfied and there will be conflict in the team which results in high labour turnover for the business. There will be a peak in performance for production, but it will be short lived.
Middle of the road (status quo) – Medium concern for staff and medium concern for production. This may sound like the perfect type of manager/leader; however, by not focusing on either one of the categories concerned the needs of production or people are never met therefore workers will be neither satisfied or dissatisfied and productivity will be average.
Team – High concern for production and high concern for people. This is said to be the best style for a manager/leader. The team understand the company’s purpose and the situation and they are looked after by management therefore they know the importance of production and meeting deadlines; therefore, the team are highly motivated who are trusted and respected. Labour turnover is low, and the company has highly skilled staff which result in efficiency and productivity.
INFLUENCES ON THE STYLES OF MANAGEMENT AND LEADERS
- Company structure;
- Particular situation;
- Organisation culture and traditions;
- Nature of tasks involved;
- Employees and their skills and abilities;
- Group size;
- Personalities and skills of the manager/leader; and
- Time frame
A stakeholder (INTERESARIUSZ)
A stakeholder is an individual, or a group of people, who has an interest or is affected by a
business and what they do. Different stakeholders want different things from the business.
Shareholders (udziałowcy)
- owners of a limited company.
- have a common objective of wanting long term sustained growth from the business and increasing dividends as a
return on their investment. - Shareholders of a Private Limited Company will be more long
term and want to see the business grow and develop - shareholders of Public Limited Companies display more short-termism and want a quick return on their
investment, they are therefore not focused fully on the long-term strategy of the business.
