Page 319 - Business Principles and Management

Unit 4

12.3 Leadership Styles

Goals Terms
• Describe three views of employees • leadership style • open leader
that affect the amount of manage- • autocratic leader • situational leader
ment supervision. • democratic leader
• Differentiate among three leader-
ship styles.

Management Views of Employees

All management jobs include the same basic functions, but the way individual
managers deal with employees may be very different. Managers’ attitudes about
people and work affect the way they do their jobs and treat the people they
supervise. Good managers adjust their management style to the characteristics
of the people they supervise and to the situation.

CLOSE MANAGEMENT
Some managers believe employees will not perform their work well unless they
are closely managed. This attitude results from a feeling that employees are not
very interested or motivated and work only because they get paid. With this atti-
tude, managers are likely to assume that employees will not work any harder
than necessary and will try to avoid responsibility. These managers expect that
they will have to find ways to force employees to put forth the effort necessary
for the organization to achieve its goals. They do not assume that employees
will take individual initiative or be concerned about the quality of their work.
Managers with these beliefs closely supervise and control employees and make
all important decisions. They are likely to use rewards and penalties regularly
to try to influence worker performance. They spend much of their time in close
supervision of employees rather than on other management responsibilities.

LIMITED MANAGEMENT

Managers who believe employees generally enjoy their work relate to people in a
very different way. These managers believe that the job meets many of the employ-
ees’ personal needs. Employees who enjoy their work are motivated to do a good
job. With this set of beliefs, managers assume that employees like personal respon-
sibility and will take the initiative to solve problems, help others, and perform
quality work. Employees with those characteristics do not need close supervi-
sion and control.
Managers with this set of beliefs ask people for their ideas on how to per-
form the work. They allow employees a great deal of control over their own
work and do not apply immediate punishments or rewards. These managers
spend more time on other management activities and less on close employee
supervision.

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