Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Styles of management - Coggle Diagram
Styles of management
-
Autocratic
-
Consultative - managers seek employee input as part of the decision making process but still make the decisions themselves
Persuasive -managers make the decisions but endeavour to persuade employees that these are the best options
Permissive
Democratic / Participative - employees are included in the decision making processes with the ultimate decisions being decided by the majoirty
Laissez-faire - Employees make the decisions seeking guidance from the manager only when necessary and managers merely monitor progress without becoming involved
Managers have many roles to perform in an organisation and how they handle various situations and their team will depend on their style of management
Management styles are characteristic ways of making decisions, organising work and exercising authority when relating to subordinates
They can be categorised in a number of ways but are often divided into two main contrasting approaches
-
Permissive: Where the manager permits subordinates to take part in decision making and also gives them a considerable degree of autonomy in completing routine work activities
The preferred management style may be determined by the situation and prevailing organisational culture and values and beliefs of the individual manager
Considerable attention has been paid to management styles over the years with some proponents advocating that managers should adopt different styles based on the circumstances and others suggesting that managers will find it difficult to change styles and that managers should be selected based on their default style matching the organisation context
Along the autocratic-permissive approach scale, as much as 25 style classifications have been proposed based on the extent to which the employee is involved in the decision making process and the degree of autonomy they are given
Different styles will have varying degrees of success when applied in different contexts, consider a crisis where a delay in action could result in an environmental disaster. If there is a clear course of action that needs to be taken, a manager will do well to quickly allocate the tasks to those they know to be best equipped to solve the problem rather than calling a brainstorming session and trying to reach a general consensus. In this case, the manager will be co-ordinating all the resources at hand to avert more serious consequences as quickly as possible
Another case where a more autocratic approach will be appropriate is working with inexperienced employees. They need to learn the business processes and procedures that have been put in place to ensure the smooth running of the organisation as well as to comply with any appropriate regulations. To soften the approach and engender trust, the manager could highlight the benefits to the employee of acquiring new skills and knowledge as well as explaining the importance of the tastk to them
In stressful situations, such as where an urgent deadline needs to be met, less experienced staff often welcome being told what to do and when as it removes their uncertainty as to whether they are doing the right thing
The disadvantages of continuous use of autocratic styles of management are that employees can become disengaged and resentful. The employees creativity and skills are ignored, resulting in low levels of innovation
In general however contemporary management tends to favour the more permissive styles of management. These styles involve staff in how work is assigned and executed. They range from purely involving staff in a consultation process through to full collaboration where employees form part of the decision making process. These styles value the skills and experience of team members and foster creativity, innovation and engagement. A disadvantage of this approach is that the time taken to make decisions is longer and the resulting decisions made may not be in the best interests of the organisation
-
There is an extreme on the permissive scale where employees are left almost entirely to their own devices. This may work in industries such as legal services or the medical profession where tasks are highly dependent on the employee skill-sets and the practice manager merely co-ordinates activities at a higher level. A surgeon will perform operations based on their skills and specialism according to professional standard. They do not need a manager to tell them where and how to make an incision. However a manager will co-ordinate the attendance rota and ensure hospital policies are adhered to. Some other industries requiring a high degree of creativity can also benefit form such a style, but in other industries, such a style tends to leave employees with little guidance resulting in chaos and reduced productivity