Management and Leadership

Question 1

What is management/manager

Answer 1

Control and direct the workforce to follow the principles or values that have been established by the leaders.

Question 2

What are the roles of managers

Answer 2

act on behalf of the owners

Decide objectives for the organisation

Provide expertise & set standards

Draw on all expertise within the organisation when making decisions

Determine structure/shape the culture of the business

Question 3

What are the function of managers

Answer 3

Planning – settings objectives/ policies and procedures

Organising – organise tasks to achieve goals

Commanding – Giving instructions to subordinates

Co-ordinating Bringing together the activities of people within the business.

Controlling – Correct activities of other to achieve goals

Question 4

What is meant by management by objectives

Answer 4

Objectives are defined within an organisation so that the management and workers agree to the objectives understand what they need to do to achieve.

Question 5

What is the advantages of management by objectives

Answer 5

Improved management control of the organisation, managers know who is doing what and what they are achieving

Improved financial control, part of setting up objectives is monitoring expenditure and revenue.

It allows managers to be aware of their responsibilities

The work of departments and managers are coordinated.

Question 6

Disadvantages of management by objectives

Answer 6

Management time is spent on the process of setting objectives rather than managing the organisation

The ever-changing business environment which may make certain goals unobtainable

Demotivation and breakdown of working relationships

Question 7

Explain Theory X managers

Answer 7

Theory X managers – believe with several negative assumptions about employees

Workers must be supervised otherwise quality and quantity of output will fall

Workers only respect the type of manager that tells them what to do

Money is the only motivator and workers have little ambition

Workers do not want to be involved in decision makers

Question 8

Explain Theory Y managers

Answer 8

Theory Y managers - believe with several positive assumptions about employees

Workers cannot be motivated by money alone

Workers are ambitious, willing to train and contribute to improve their chances of promotion

Workers will be more efficient if left to their own devices

Workers want to contribute to improving efficiency – they want to be seen, noticed and rewarded.

Question 9

Explain the consequences of theory x management

Answer 9

Consequences of Theory X management

Strict control of formal methods of communication

Tasks must be designed so they are simple to follow

Responsibilities must be clear

Supervisors must maintain quality

High level of dependence in high senior management

Question 10

Consequences of Theory Y management

Answer 10

Consequences of Theory Y management

Requirement for training

Restructuring of production and service methods

Setting up of formal communication

Promotion structures

Flexible working practices

Question 11

What are characteristics of effective managers

Answer 11

Empathetic

Self-aware

Inspirational

Hard-working

Enthusiastic

Question 12

Define leadership

Answer 12

Leadership is inspiring staff to achieve demanding goals and leading the team/firm to success, and leaders must plan, motivate and control

Question 13

Explain autocratic leadership

Answer 13

An autocratic leadership style is one where the manager sets objectives, allocates
tasks and insists on obedience.

• Employees are not involved in decision making.
• High levels of supervision characterise this leadership style.
• Often linked to poor levels of motivation amongst employees.
• Most suitable in a crisis situation.

Question 14

Explain paternalistic leadership

Answer 14

Paternalistic – Similar to autocratic leadership where they make all the decisions and there is no employee involvement, however these leaders try to persuade every decision are made in the best interest of all concerned.

Question 15

Explain Democratic leadership

Answer 15

Democratic leadership – This type of leader consults (seek information or advice) with subordinates in the decision-making process, Democratic leaders will need to communicate effectively with employees in order to consult, persuade and receive feedback. This leadership style results in a motivated workforce and committed to the organisation and can also promote creativity and better quality decisions.

Question 16

Explain Laissez faire leadership

Answer 16

Laissez faire leadership – This leadership style has minimal input and subordinates are largely left to get on with their jobs, minimum guidance is offered and workers are given a great deal of scope to demonstrate their capabilities but the danger with this is if the workforce is demotivated or not motivated their productivity will be low.

Question 17

Explain Bureaucratic leadership

Answer 17

Controls with tight limits on decision-making and has many guidelines and restrictions.
Used when leadership skills cannot be developed in subordinates, subordinates
need to be closely controlled, a high labour turnover is not too much of a disadvantage and when it is important to back up every decision with relevant paperwork.

Employee participation is not actively encouraged.

Question 18

Explain the Fiedler leadership theory

Answer 18

He used two factors to determine what type of leader you are, The first factor is personality of the leaders which determine their leadership style, The second factor is the amount of control and influence which the situation provides over their groups behaviour, the task and the outcome, this factor is called ‘situational control’

Fiedler would give a questionnaire to fill in about the person they would least to work with this questionnaire was called the ‘The least preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale’

Question 19

How did the Fiedler leadership theory questionnaire work

Answer 19

This questionnaire would work as if the final score was above 64 it would indicate that person is a high LPC person, such person is called relationship motivated. A score of 57 and below indicated a low LPC person, this type of individual is called task motivated, an in-between score makes it hard to identify.

Question 20

What is the characteristic of a high & low LPC leader

Answer 20

A high LPC leader sees other people as relatively pleasant , industrious and sincere even if they find it difficult to work with them. The low LPC person, who sees their co-workers in negative terms is determined to get the job done and believes that a poor co-worker is bad in almost every possible aspect.

High LPC leaders are most effective in less extreme circumstances so nor favourable or unfavourable.

Low LPC leaders are most effective when facing a situation that is either extremely favourable or extremely unfavourable.

Question 21

Explain the Wright and Taylor theory

Answer 21

They identified two gaps into existing approaches to the study of leadership, Firstly not enough emphasis on what leaders actually do when they interact with their subordinates. Secondly, the element of skill is largely ignored so Wright and Taylor made a checklist for improving work performance.

The skills that they need to learn are verbal and non-verbal and also they need to improve their ability to diagnose what needs to be done in any working situation.

Wright and Taylor both believed that motivation and ability are key factors to an individuals performance, so if an employee is not working well the leader needs to ask why they are not motivated etc and help instead of punishing them.

Question 22

Benefits of autocratic leadership

Answer 22

Good leadership If the workforce is not performing as it should if there is a crisis.

Some employees respond well to autocratic leadership and do not want to take on any extra responsibility or may not be capable of doing so.

Question 23

Drawbacks of autocratic leadership

Answer 23

Those managed in such a way are often dissatisfied with the leader – this would seem to be the case here as many employees are leaving to work elsewhere.

Two-way communication does not occur and good ideas that may help the business may well be ignored

Question 24

Benefits of Democratic leadership

Answer 24

Employees involved with the decision making process are likely to be more highly motivated and are more likely to accept the decisions that are made.

Motivated employees are likely to be more productive, have lower absenteeism and be more committed to their work.

Employees appear to trust democratic leaders and are more willing to volunteer new and creative ideas

Question 25

Drawbacks of Democratic leadership

Answer 25

Democratic decision making may take a lot longer to make.

Democratic leadership styles can lead to confusion the greater the size of the group, as communication can be more difficult.

Question 26

Benefits of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Answer 26

relaxed atmosphere

employees are allowed to make their own
decisions, within limits

employees are encouraged to be creative
and imaginative.

Question 27

Drawbacks of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Answer 27

Communication tends to be less structured and the benefits of good communication between employees may be lost.

Some employees can be demotivated if they dislike the unstructured manner