Leadership Styles Approach in Prison - Essay Example

As described by Moskovich in ‘‘International Journal of leadership style’’ authoritarian leadership is the style by which leaders dictates and control all decision within the group, organization, or surrounding. This kind of leadership style is also referred to as Autocratic leadership. Prison needs to be controlled, organized, and disciplined, and to attain this some skills are required to be employed no matter how harsh or difficult it appears to be. This kind of style is a task-centered approach to leadership, where the leader is authoritarian and assumes responsibilities for all aspects of the work process making communication to be on one way.

It is really important to consider the fact that in a correctional facility such as this one, we are dealing with criminals who don’t have reasoning power and all they can do is act in manners that suit them. The authoritarian style of leadership is associated with the classical theory of motivation (Beerel, 2009). Authoritative leaders make choices typically based on their ideas and judgments and rarely do they accept advice from followers. The prison rioters cannot give decisions on what is to be done since they are convicted and they are to be ruled. The relationship in this case is good since we have made a team, the task is highly structured, and the leader has substantial power and authority.

Democratic style

In leadership, one has to be democratic, but this only depends on the nature of the environment. The problem being handled in the prison does not involve democrats but rather it involves convicts. Democrat style is that kind of leadership that means, nothing less than the power of the people, or dominion of the many, where by both parties are allowed to participate in power directly or representatively. The situation that has happened in this prison will depend on a lot of factual evidence to be tabled before giving it consideration to employ the democratic way of leadership. Allowing a prisoner to air out his view based on the operation of the facility will be like giving him that opportunity to dictate how he should be living in the correctional facility.

This is a person-centred approach to leadership, where leaders are concerned with team harmony and group cohesion. Seeking the opinion of the prisoners is like giving them the power to rule, judge, or dictate whatever state they should be in while in prison. Democratic leadership is associated with the human relation theory of motivation. Democracy has appeared to be an unstable social system that has degenerated into tyranny that has made it feel like it lacked order and responsibility. The reason why prisoners need to be controlled is because they are seen as less active, less knowledgeable, and less willing to take responsibility for themselves, therefore allowing them to reason on what they want is like subjecting the prison system to an irresponsible and less knowledgeable facility.

Laissez-Faire style

Correctional facilities can face a lot of challenges, especially from the inmates, but it all depends on the method or style of leadership that is employed. Therefore it calls upon us the leaders to work on a proper leadership style to employ. Laissez-Faire describes a kind of leadership where employees or people are led to act on their thought, creative freedom, and ideas to the system. It normally happens naturally when managers and leaders have lost control of their leadership over the people and work. Prisoners are gut-centered people and being controlled by their guts they don’t reason on what is more appropriate for their environment, therefore allowing them to act on their thought and letting them take control of the situation is like putting the cooks, guards, and the medical staff at great risk. This method leaves a great responsibility in the hands of the prisoners, and this makes it so important to get the best team together to handle the situation before it gets out of hand.

Conclusion

Leadership style is more important if leaders and managers monitor performance and conduct, and give feedback to team members regularly (Rotemberg & Saloner, 1993).  The situation at the prisoner is more risky if the management and the team have not found the best approach to take before the situation gets out of hand. Leadership is more likely to be effective when individual team members are experienced, skilled, self-starters, and can produce the best work without relying on other ways. The group has suggested that the use of the democratic approach and the Laissez-Faire style is not applicable and therefore they will employ the style of the authoritarian approach. The team could have used the Laissez-Faire style in case the prisoners were responsible or they could have had a democratic talk if the prisoners didn’t riot at all.