Page 323 - Business Principles and Management

Unit 4
Technology tip
Employee activities that used all people like to participate in decisions. Some prefer to just do the work for
to require close supervision which they were hired. Also, planning and discussing problems is time consum-
can now be monitored with
technology. Managers can use ing in decision making. Employees will certainly be upset if managers ask them
computers to access reports
on each employee’s work,
including the time spent on
various tasks and the amount employees are committed to their jobs and want more responsibility. It is also effec-
and quality of production.
310
who see that managers have confidence in them are often highly motivated and,
as a result, need not be as closely supervised.
As good as the democratic style may sound, however, it has limitations. Not
ing. Furthermore, many jobs are fairly routine, with little opportunity for shar-
to help make only unimportant decisions or if they don’t see management care-
fully considering their ideas.
The democratic leadership style is effective in many situations, especially when
tive with experienced, well-trained workers. When special problems arise and the
manager wants as many helpful ideas as possible, the democratic style is effective.
OPEN LEADERSHIP
The open leader gives little or no direction to employees. Employees are expected
to understand the work that needs to be done, and methods, details, and decisions
are left to individual employees or teams. Employees are generally allowed to do
their work with little management overview or involvement. Only when problems
occur or major changes are implemented will the manager take a leadership role.
Generally, employees concentrate on specific tasks and are not involved in the
tasks of others.
The open style works best with experienced workers and in businesses where
few major changes occur. If people have their own specialized jobs and are experts
at them, the manager might use this style of leadership. If people work in many
different locations, such as salespeople or home-based employees, the open style
may work well. Managers will not be able to closely control employees’ work
because of their location, and getting together to make decisions may not be
feasible.
Managers should be careful when using the open style of leadership with inex-
perienced employees or employees who are not used to making their own deci-
sions. When employees are not confident in their abilities or do not trust that
managers will let them make their own decisions, they are likely to be ineffective
with the open style. When effective teamwork is required without training in team
responsibilities, the open style can lead to confusion and lack of direction. Open
leadership should be used very carefully and only after ensuring that employees
are prepared for it and comfortable with the individual responsibility.
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
We have seen in our discussion that effective management is very difficult. It
requires understanding of the four management functions, development of
leadership characteristics, and skill in selecting and using the most appropriate
management style. The most effective managers use situational leadership. A
situational leader understands employees and job requirements and matches
his or her actions and decisions to the circumstances. For example, if a situa-
tional leader forms a team of experienced employees to work on a task, the
leader will use an open style. If the team were composed of new employees,
the leader might be more involved and provide greater direction, using a more
democratic or even autocratic style.
Employees have different expectations of managers and want to work for an
effective manager who understands them and their needs. Figure 12-3 lists the
qualities most employees would like to see in their managers.