Management styles and skills

1. Management styles and skills Chapter 3

2. Management Styles • Management: a group of activities including POLC which aim to effectively and efficiently control company resources in order to meet objectives. • Traditionally, there are five ways you can do this... • All People Can Play Lacrosse

3. Autocratic Management Style • Strictly top-down, hierarchical. • Authoritarian. Communication is one-way. • Boss maintains all control and makes all decisions then tells staff what to do. • Employees given information on a “need to know” basis. • “You are paid for what you do here, surely that is enough!” • Do things by the book and expect the same from employees.

4. Autocratic Management Style • Advantages: • Decisions are made quickly. • No confusion over who is in charge. • Direction is clear • Disadvantages: • Causes poor morale and low motivation • Shows lack of trust • Low job satisfaction for staff.

5. Autocratic Management Style • Can you think of situations when this style would be suitable ???

6. Persuasive Management style • Similar to autocratic, except that managers attempt to persuade or “sell” to employees the decisions they have made. • Decision making is still centralised. • “From now on you all have to start at 8am. Just think of all the peak hour traffic you will miss by starting that little bit earlier.” • One –way communication. • Managers seek to gain trust from employees by attempting to assure them all decisions are made with their best interests in mind.

7. Persuasive Management style • Advantages: • Decisions are made quickly. • No confusion over who is in charge. • Direction is clear • Employees may feel valued if the “selling” is done effectively. • Disadvantages: • Still could cause poor morale and low motivation • Shows lack of trust • Low job satisfaction for staff.

8. Consultative Management Style • Managers are willing to consult with subordinates and understand the importance of positive relationships with employees. • Flatter management structure. • Two-way communication but at the end of the day, management still make the final decision.

9. Consultative Management Style • Advantages: • Employees feel valued. • Employees have opportunity to have their opinions heard – they could be good ideas that benefit the business. • Good morale and motivation levels. • Disadvantages: • Time consuming. • Not all ideas can be implemented. Could cause tension • Might not be able to consult every time. Inconsistent.

10. Participative Management Style • Allows employees to be part of the decision-making process. • Similar to consultative. • Flatter management structure. • High level of trust placed in employees. • Staff’s skill, knowledge and technical expertise recognised.

11. Participative Management Style • Advantages: • Motivation and morale are generally high amongst staff. • Generally, managers give staff more praise. • Managers provide guidance to staff re: KPI’s etc. • Disadvantages: • Time consuming. • Staff may be unclear about their role. Eg. One minute they are allowed to make decisions, the next they are not. • More people involved – greater risk of losing control.

12. Laissez-faire Management style • “Leave well alone.” • Employees are given control for setting direction, tasks and decision making. Managers take a step back. • Employees given little or no guidance. • Can you think of a situation where this would be a good style??

13. Laissez-faire Management style • Advantages: • Can promote creativity. • Staff may be feel empowered. • Disadvantages: • More people involved – greater risk of losing control. • Staff may feel unguided and lack motivation.

14. Contingency Management • A contingency is something that is undecided but depends on the situation. • Manager uses whatever style fits the situation in order to be more effective. • Factors that would affect the style would be: • The organisation – goals, culture, etc. • Themselves as a manager – personality, etc. • Employees – skilled/unskilled? Personality etc • Task – difficulty, skills required, etc. • Other constraints – time, budget etc.

15. Management Skills • In order to Plan, Organise, Lead and Control effectively, a manager requires certain skills. • They are communication, negotiation, time management, delegation, leadership, stress management, emotional intelligence and decision making.

16. Communication • The transmission of information to one or more persons, in a way that ensures the recipient’s understanding is a close as possible to the meaning the sender intended. • If you only learn one thing from me this year, it should be “Communication is the most important skill for a manager to have.” • What ways do we communicate with each other??

17. Types of Communication • Formal: Official. Directly related to organisational activities. Eg. Meetings, conferences, appraisals, interviews, emails etc. • Informal: not official but may still be related to the organisation. Eg. Gossip, networking, the “grapevine”, emails etc.

18. Communication • Verbal (oral): can be formal - meetings, conferences, interviews, phone conversations etc. • or informal- gossip etc. • Written: email, memos, meeting minutes etc. Can result in errors, or TONE OF THE WRITING BEING MISREAD. • Non-verbal: Body language, tone of voice (not what you are saying but how you are saying it), image of communicator, setting of meeting.

19. Communication • Would you take orders from this guy? • Crossing your arms is non-verbal communication Would a business meeting in a pub be • taken seriously??

20. Communication • Dont get confused! • Communication is not always just one of these types, it is usually a combination: • Formal/Verbal • Formal/written • Informal/non-verbal • Informal/verbal • Informal/written. • Can you think of an example for each of these?

21. Barriers to effective communication • Physical distractions • Ineffective technology (ie. Email crashes) • The words used – words can mean different things to different people • Cultural differences • How credible is the person sending the message. Ie. Would you believe an email saying school had been cancelled that was sent by a student??

22. Improving communication • Allowing two-way communication • Listening as well as speaking • Being clear and concise – dont waffle on! (Just like in your Outcomes.) • Being aware of non-verbal cues being sent. • Understanding that there is a time and place for everything. • Managing by wandering around (not just sitting your office all day.)

23. Negotiation • The process of reaching an agreement through discussion and compromise. • Aiming for a “win/win” situation. • Stages for a successful negotiation: • Setting goals • Setting limits for compromise • Establishing positive working atmosphere • Recording information and confirming understanding

24. Negotiation • Knowing when to compromise • Sealing the deal • Confirmation of details. Negotiation Activity

25. Time Management • The recognition by a manager that time is a finite resource and an acknowledgement that there is a need to plan time effectively. • Something that you should be champions at by the end of this year.

26. Effective Time Management 1. Setting out the tasks to be done – making lists etc. 2. Delegating tasks - being able to hand tasks and responsibilities to employees but maintaining accountability 3. Establishing priorities -based on difficulty of task and deadline – don’t leave the hardest things until last!! 4. Allocating time to particular tasks. 5. Adding in deadlines 6. Review in case of changing priorities, events, etc.

27. Delegation • The handing over of tasks, responsibility and authority to employees by managers who in turn maintain accountability for the tasks’ completion. • Benefits: manager’s time is freed up for other tasks. • Stress is reduced • Organisation runs more smoothly when boss is away. • Employees feel trusted and valued. • Increased motivation and promotion prospects. • Better training.

28. Delegation • Problems: if manager is not organised, they may not want to delegate as they dont know what is going on themselves. • Managers might fear being “shown up.” • Managers might not have the time or inclination to train staff. • Managers might have an autocratic/persuasive style that does not really welcome delegation.

29. Team Leadership skills • Those skills that the manager must employ to ensure the team is managed effectively including coaching, encouraging, conflict management etc. • The ability to work as a member of a team is one of the most important skills employers look for. • Leading a team includes: • Clearly defining roles of members and goals of group • Ability to encourage and recognise team effort. • Ability to resolve conflict • Managing team relationships

30. Stress Management • Think of all the tasks a manager might be expected to do in a single day and you will understand how they could experience STRESS. • Think of some things that make you stressed and how you react when stressed.

31. What influences Stress? • Demands of the job • Level of skill (theirs and employees) • Physical demands • Poor interpersonal skills/relationships with employees Signs of stress: • Increased absenteeism • Illness • Decreased performance, motivation, morale.

32. Avoiding Stress (think of these this year!!!!) • Improving time management • Keeping well informed (no nasty surprises) • Saying “No” • Redesigning tasks of office space • Keeping fit and healthy • Asking for HELP!!! Less of this - More of this -

33. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) • The awareness of not only one’s own emotions, but also the emotions of others. • Self-manage/control impulses • Be socially aware • A leader who recognises that employees emotions play an important role in the workplace will be able to motivate staff and increase productivity.

34. Decision Making • The process of making choices from available alternatives. • SADIM (from Polc) • Important not only to make decision, but also follow up and review results of decision. • Effective communication of decisions and reasons for decisions important.