3.2.1 Understanding management, leadership and decision making

?

What managers do - Academic study

Fayol - key book, 'General and Industrial Management (1916) - 'to manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to co-ordinate and to control'.

Mintzerg identified 6 characteristics of the managerial role:
 - Managers process large, open-ended workloads under tight time pressure
 - Managerial activities are short in duration, varied + fragmented + often self-initiated
 - Managers prefer action-driven activities + hate letters, (emails) + paperwork
 - They prefer verbal comunications through meetings + phone calls
 - They maintain relationships mainly w/ subordinates + external parties - least w/ their superiors
 - Their involvement in the execution of the work is limited, though they initiate many of the decisions

Drucker - what managers should do:
 - Set clear objectives for all staff to believe in
 - Find right team for meeting objectives
 - Help ensure all staff are motivated
 - Prepare staff for change in general, + specifically help staff learn to learn -thereby being able to adapt to changing job prospects in the future

1 of 13

What managers do - Setting objectives

Managres need clear idea of what they want to achieve, depending on corporate objectives. 

Need to be set clearly + specifically, and put into a language all staff can understand.

Especially in modern world where half staff may be temp/part time, vital to boil objectives down into easily-remembered phrase

2 of 13

What managers do - Analysing

Three aspects of this that matter:
 - Analysing the underlying conditions the business faces
 - Analysing the performance of different staff
 - Analysing how effectively objectives are being met

3 of 13

What managers do - Leading

Inspiring staff commitment to achieving goals in whatever way works for individual eg by charisma or inspiring personal achievements or commitment.

4 of 13

What managers do - Making decisions

More appropriately, getting decisions made, as manager will delegate task to junior staff. 

With decision making, key to understand that some have to be made by specific deadlines - even though this may be too early to have all the facts available. Successful managers will have confidence that no one will expect them to get every decision right.

5 of 13

What managers do - reviewing

Hard to do when outcome from a decision has been poor, therefore excellent business practice to insist every decision be reviewed - perhaps by small team that should include soemone who was not involved in the original decision.

In the long run, businesses that succeed will be the ones that learn most from their mistakes - and their success

6 of 13

Management + leadership styles - Autocratic

Authoritarian: tell employees what to do and do not listen much to what workers themselves have to say. 

Tend to use one-way, top-down communication. Give orders to workers + do not want feedback

7 of 13

Management + leadership styles - Democratic

Like to involve their workers in decisions. Tend to listen to employees' ideas + ensure people contribute to discussion. Two-way communication.

Delegation of authority approached in 2 different ways:
 - management by objectives - leader agrees clear goals w/ staff, provides necessary resources + allows day-to-day decisions to be made by junior staff. Goals all be SMART, and junior staff know their efforts will be monitered against specific targets.
 - laissez-faire - 'let it be', when leaders are so busy/lazy, they do not take time to ensure junior staff know what they're doing + how to do it. Some may respond well to freedom, others may struggle. 

8 of 13

Management + leadership styles - Paternalistic

Thinks + acts like a father. Tries to do what is best for their staff. 

May be consultation to find out views of employees, but final decisions made by head of the company.

This type of boss believes employees need direction but thinks it is important that they are supported + cared for properly.

Paternalists are interested in the security + social needs of staff.

9 of 13

Management + leadership styles - Blake's Grid

9,9 - Team management/teamwork: interest + trust in staff, full belief in synergy of teamwork. Determination to succeed make it difficult for any team member who wasn't contributing effectively.

9,1 - Authority/obedience - Fanatical drive to succed, but on leader's own terms. Staff 'human resources', used/cast aside. Strong link to authoritarian leadership style. Likely to succeed in short term only - long term, good staff will leave

5,5 - Middle of the road - decent attempt at best of both worlds, not struggling to suceed either. Too willing to trade being nice for being successful

1,9 - Country club - Nice boss, but staff can take advantage of situation. Lack of urgency to get things done - probably poor productivity. Can only survive if monopoly power keeping competition away.

1,1 - Impoverished management - No concern for staff or perfomance. Some relate to laissez-faire, but can be seen as harsh on laissez-faire

10 of 13

Management + leadership styles - T-S continuum

Tannenbaum Scmidt Continuum - presents leadership characteristics more dynamicaly than Blake Mouton Grid. 

Suggests people-centred leadership skills could be learned + developed. Attractive for HR - opportunity to devise useful training courses.

Scale relating to degree which staff involved in decision making. Left purely autocratic, middle manager presents decision with degree of consultation, right consultation develops to delegation.

Blake's Grid more impact upon managers as found it easier to apply.

11 of 13

Management + leadership styles - Leaders + Manager

Drucker - 'Managers do things right; leaders do the right thing'

Effective manager can put idea/policy into action + get details right

Effective leader good at identifying key issues facing business, setting new objectives, then deciding what should be done. Leaders inspire staff - charismatic leadership.

12 of 13

Effectiveness of leadership styles

Depends greatly on circumstances. At time of crisis, autocratic + strong paternalistic approaches can work (eg Churchill during war - voted out after war as his leadership style not needed for peace) - speedy decision making when staff want it. Pushed aside after crisis as need more democratic, cohesive leader for good times.

Whether different leadership styles needed in different parts of world controversial. If so, is explanation cultural or due to differences in standards of living + development?

13 of 13

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Business Studies resources:

See all Business Studies resources »See all Managers, leadership and decision making resources »