Page 102 - Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies

Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies Section 2 People in business

The three main styles of leadership are shown in Figure 7.9.

Autocratic
leadership

Styles of
Leadership

Laissez‐faire Democratic
leadership leadership

Figure 7.9 Leadership styles

KEY TERM Autocratic leadership style
An autocratic leader will make all of the decisions without any discussion with
Autocratic leadership:

a leadership style where the others. They decide the objectives and how these will be achieved. Instructions
leader makes all the decisions. are passed down to workers and the leader will check to make sure that these
have been carried out and that tasks have been completed. An autocratic leader is
more interested in the completion of the task than they are about the welfare and
motivation of workers. It is likely that worker motivation will be low and that they
100
will require close supervision.

This style of leadership makes for faster decision-making and this could be well-
suited to situations that require an immediate response, for example in the event of
a serious health and safety issue at work.

KEY TERM Democratic leadership style
The opposite of an autocratic leader is the democratic leader. This type of leader

Democratic leadership:

a leadership style where workers will discuss with workers before taking any decision. This should improve the

take part in decision-making. quality of the final decision, especially where individual workers have more
experience of a work situation than the leader. Communication will be two-way,
with workers having the opportunity to start the discussion as well as provide
feedback to any suggestions made by the leader.
A democratic leader is more likely to delegate authority for some decision-

making to subordinates. This style of leadership is likely to motivate workers as
they are trusted and their opinions are respected. Workers will complete tasks
without close supervision.

This style of leadership is suited to a wide variety of business situations, but is
especially useful where staff are skilled, experienced and keen to be involved in

decision-making.
KEY TERM Laissez-faire leadership style
Laissez-faire means ‘let them do it’. It is a style of leadership which allows workers
Laissez-faire leadership:
to make decisions and carry out tasks with very little or no input from the leader.
a leadership style where most

of the decisions are left to the The leader will provide a coordinating and supporting role for the team members.

workers. This leadership style could be effective for workers involved in creative tasks,
for example those working in the research and development of new products or
designing a new advertisement.