Page 289 - Introduction to Business

CHAPTER 7 Motivating and Leading Employees 263

Each conventional management style has its own strengths and weaknesses. Most
managers like to make the decision-making process short, so that they can imple-
ment their plans quickly to achieve corporate goals. The autocratic leadership style
offers speed in decision making at the expense of employee participation, and the
reverse is the case with the participative style of leadership. The drawback of the
free-rein leadership style is that the number of companies where it can be used may
not be large. Studies have shown that leadership style has to be flexible, since the
reaction to certain policies or incentives in one company may not deliver similar
results elsewhere, especially internationally.
For these reasons, the contingency approach to leadership is becoming contingency approach to leadership
increasingly popular. In this approach, managers study the environment in which An approach to management where
managers study the environment in
companies operate, both at the micro and macro level, to determine the appropri-
which their companies operate to
ate leadership style to adopt. At the micro level, the company will study its employ- determine the appropriate leadership
ees, especially in terms of their diversity and how they feel they are being treated by style to adopt
management and in comparison to how competitors treat their employees, to
determine what management style it should adopt to motivate them. At the macro
level, managers consider issues such as the current state of the economy, cultural
differences, especially in overseas operations, and international legal systems. For
example, in the United States and some Western countries, employees prefer inde-
pendence; hence the free-rein style of leadership may work well there. However, the
Russians appear to be more used to the autocratic style of management, and most
Russian employees tend to feel lost if they are not informed what, when, and how
to get things done. The Japanese and South Koreans are big on participative man-
agement, and they feel most comfortable working in groups, making suggestions
for improving performance to achieve corporate goals. As you can see, a single
company operating internationally may have to adopt different management styles
in different countries. The contingency approach to leadership accepts the fact that
companies cannot use a “one size fits all” approach to management given the com-
plex business environments in which they operate.

reality If you had your own company, what type of leadership style would
CH ECK you adopt? Why?

Careers in Motivation and Leadership

Careers in motivation and leadership are in the management function. However, if
you seek an analyst position that addresses employee motivation issues, one of the
best places to start would be with the human resources management or HR depart-
ments of organizations. It is within the HR departments that firms develop and
implement strategies for motivation, using the tools of compensation, benefits,
pension programs, incentives, and so on. Medium- and large-sized firms regularly
update, design, implement, and evaluate new motivational strategies to determine
what is best for the company given the changing business environment. Compa-
nies try out various motivation strategies to determine which approach maximizes
employee job satisfaction on the one hand and corporate cost effectiveness on the
other. Analyst positions within HR departments such as benefits or compensation
analyst offer interesting opportunities for business graduates. These positions
require analyzing policies followed by competitors and understanding industry
norms. National and international labor laws and environmental standards must
also be adhered to while designing corporate motivational strategies.

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