Two Different Management Styles of Employee Motivation - Coursework Example

Management style is viewed as the innate quality possessed by every person, which comes into use while managing business, directing employees, and achieving the organizational objectives. Researchers have identified and defined various management styles and their features. This paper identifies Likert’s model explaining four management styles, autocratic, paternalistic, democratic and laissez-faire. It further compares two management styles, autocratic and democratic, in terms of the qualities and effects they produce on employees’ motivation. “Compare and contrast two different management styles and assess how they can affect employee motivation” Management style, usually an extension of personal style, is unique for every manager. As identified by Prucell (1987), cited in Blyton and Tumbull (1992; 256), ‘management style is an extra dimension linked to wider business policy, and at the least, related to guiding principles which infuse management behaviour in dealing with employees.’ Management style is also decided by the organizational culture, local culture, customs, and social dynamics. Based on different traits and behavioural aspects possessed by the business owners, four distinct management styles have been identified by Dr. Rensis Likert: autocratic, paternalistic, democratic and laissez-faire management style (Calvert, Coles & Bailey, 1995). Autocratic management style is considered as one of the oldest styles, with business owners or managers keeping most of the authority to themselves. Their decision making does not involve their staff. These managers are habitual of giving orders and take charge of work and get it done with authority. They are extremely quick in decision making whenever required. Paternalistic management style, usually seen in organizations promoting the familial control and management, share many of the size and ownership characteristics of autocratic type, but they tend to have much more positive attitude towards their employees. Employee consultation is a high priority, and more preference is given to staff retention and reward systems (Gennard & Judge 2005). Democratic management style adopts the employee-participation aspect in most of the management decisions. Though employees are encouraged to actively participate in decision making, the final right to approval still rests with the business owner. This style is best suited in organizations or teams with highly skilled workers that require minimal supervision. The positive aspects of this management style are feelings of belonging, pride, and high commitment. This approach can spew out employees’ ideas, resourcefulness and prospective for the growth of the company. This style encourages innovation and creativity. However, this method is time consuming because of which strength of the decisions made may become diluted by the time they are implemented (Boleman & Deal, 2003). The laissez-faire management style, also known as the free-rein management, gives complete authority to the employees. Business owners with this style hire highly skilled and talented individuals; they make the employees completely responsible for all important decisions to be taken and delegate all work to the employees, thus using a hands-off approach. The business owner is only involved in setting goals and objectives for the business and leaves the responsibility of delivering the results completely to the employees (Kishel, 2005). Employee motivation in all these management styles differs with distinct situations. Understanding employee motivation from the perspective of two of these management styles can provide significant proof of the distinct employee motivations. The two management styles studied in greater detail are the autocratic and democratic styles. As explained earlier, in autocratic management style, business owners do not delegate responsibilities and decision making due to lack of trust. They tend to make all decisions on their own. They have very little or no consideration of staff input or feedback. In this style of management, tasks are accomplished with the use of authority and power, and tend to foster reliance on others. This management style is best suitable for fast-paced, volatile industries where time is the most important deciding factor of growth and profits. This management style also works very effectively with inexperienced workers, who are low in commitment and motivation (Calvert, Coles & Bailey, 1995). Autocratic management style tends to create bitterness and frustration among workers who feel that their input is being ignored. In addition to this, limiting the decision making to one person can block business potential by failing to develop the employee management talent needed to run a larger operation (Kishel, 2005). On the contrary, democratic management style works with strong staff participation. The main features of democratic management are initiation of staff participation, delegation of responsibilities, increasing staff participation in decision making, involving staff in goal-setting activities, giving authority to control, and providing frequent positive feedback. Communication method is mainly top-down. Ambiguity in goals and objectives does not exist, and all employees are at same level of understanding. The best example of this form of management style is the military command structure (Statt, 2004). In democratic style of management, leadership role is by superiors who have complete trust in their subordinates. Staff members are motivated by rewards based upon goals agreed in participation. Ownership of responsibilities is prevalent at all levels along with high commitment. Communication between employees across all levels is effective. High team spirit and a feeling of belongingness are maintained (Statt, 2004). Democratic management involves people in problem solving and decision making processes. Employees are encouraged to participate in thinking and planning. Democratic manager also shares control with the group so that together they become an autonomous body (Calvert, Coles & Bailey, 1995). Democratic management style is highly suitable for profit-oriented and people-oriented organizations. In this style of management, group consensus is highly valued. Intergroup cohesion is required for plans to be actioned. The challenges of this style include getting people with different professional backgrounds, personal biases, and psychological needs together to focus on achieving the desired results. Change implementation requires more time in this style of management. Most of the contemporary manufacturing and service-oriented organizations follow democratic management styles to a great extent. Kishel (2005; 158) points, ‘the main weakness of this style is that by letting employees set their own agendas, workers can end up pursuing their own interests rather than the ones most beneficial to the business.’ Any one style of management cannot be certified as the best. Each style has its advantages and disadvantages. Autocratic management confers courage, single-mindedness and strong personality (Calvert, Coles & Bailey, 1995). Here, planning is instant, informal, dynamic and flexible, and has a highly personalized control over staff and work. As the decision making is centralized, with the authority, time required is far too less. Whereas, in democratic management style, formal authority associated with their position is highly significant in giving the authority and responsibility to employees. All actions are taken with employees’ consent involvement and consent. Here, employees are encouraged for open communication and entails to cultivate an environment that prompts employees to express their views and suggest improvements. Delegation of authority to make decisions to employees is given high importance. Autocratic management style uses formal authority associated with their position to accomplish their goals and objectives. Business owners tend to demand obedience from employees because of their position. Their style of working involves ‘ordering’ the employees and expect employees to realize that obeying the ‘orders’ is their job. On the contrary, democratic management style entails equal opportunities to its employees in decision making and handling responsibilities, based upon their skill set and experience. Democratic managers recognize the importance of employee involvement and actively seek input from their team members on a regular basis. They spend a significant amount of time communicating with their employees, explaining necessary tasks and helping them understand the ‘whys and whats’ of their job. Employees are aware of how their work would impact the customers and the company. Instead of demanding that employees blindly obey orders owing to the hierarchy, democratic managers try to ensure employees understand and come to a consensus with the decisions made. The business owners’ focus is also directed toward earning the respect of their team members and to create an environment of team work and commitment. While, autocratic management style grants low empowerment and sense of responsibility to its employees, democratic management style entails high responsibilities and empowerment to make critical decisions. The former style only believes in delegation of tasks, and no responsibilities, while the latter does both. Every management style has its own advantages and disadvantages. Autocratic management is very quick in making decisions and implementing the same, whereas democratic management style requires more time for decisions to be made and implemented due to involvement of more number of people and getting their consent. As implementation requires time, achievement of results is also slower. Autocratic management style instills fear among its employees as they are forced to obey the orders from their superiors. Management infuses the fear of reprimanding or dismissing the employees from their jobs in case of any non compliance. Thus, this negative motivation of fear drives performance in these organizations. Another aspect of satisfaction and performance in autocratic management is the absence of responsibilities on employees due to lack of decision making authority (Statt, 2000). Evidences revealed that employees in an autocratic management tend to perform better than those in democratic management. The autocratic business leader rigorously mobilizes the employees towards the vision. This is extremely helpful during the time of change and in directing new employees. In these employees, it creates enthusiasm, though low on commitment. However, employees of democratic management have a more positive approach towards work and coworkers compared to those in autocratic management (Swezey, Meltzer & Salas, 1994). Collaboration and communication are the major factors driving performance among these employees. Business owners lead the employees towards satisfaction of work by directing them to achieve goals and objectives of the organization. Showing employees the vision of the future state of the organization that is appealing and inspiring creates inspirational motivation. Hence, both autocratic and democratic management styles provide the inspirational motivation required to perform (Moe, Pappas & Murray, 2007) Motivational levels of employees, not only depend upon the type of management, but also upon their own internal qualities and beliefs. For instance, research has proven that some employees are extremely happy with no burden of responsibilities on their shoulders. When the management changed, i.e., turned to a democratic approach, these employees felt overburdened and insecure as their performance determined their pay (Mittler, 2002). In employees who are proactive in nature and tend to take up challenges, autocratic management style can ruin their self confidence and enthusiasm, leading to low commitment levels. These people tend to work best in democratic setup. Many researchers noted that democratic management style produces more positive climate and instills high morale among employees. Higher consideration for employees is generally associated with lower turnover, fewer grievances, and less absenteeism Research by Likert (1961), cited in Bolman and Deal (2003), has proven that employee-centered managers are more effective than task-centered managers. In conclusion, every management style is advantageous based upon the situation. Autocratic management style uses power and authority, does not delegate responsibilities, and is quick in action, while democratic management style rests decision making authority with its employees, encourages employee participation and recognizes employee contribution but requires greater time to implement decisions. Hence, managers need to identify the style that best suits the situation and act accordingly. Like, empowered and committed employees, who are treated with respect are highly motivated and more productive than that of employees working for supervisors who depend more on intimidation and fear to get the job done. During crisis situation, when decisions have to be made and implemented quickly, autocratic management style works best. References Bolman, L.G and Deal, T.E. (2003). Reframing organizations: artistry, choice, and leadership. Edition 3. Published by John Wiley and Sons. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=tsFj7wgczvYC&pg=PA170&dq=democratic+management+style&lr=#v=onepage&q=democratic%20management%20style&f=false Blyton, P and Tumbull, P.J. (1992). Reassessing human resource management. Published by SAGE. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=MFeAa95AVawC&pg=PA256&dq=HRM+management+style&lr=#v=onepage&q=HRM%20management%20style&f=false Calvert, R.E, Coles, C.H and Baile, G.J. (1995). Introduction to building management. Edition 6. Published by Gulf Professional Publishing. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Kfv3lNNkL5EC&pg=PA69&dq=diplomatic+democratic+style+of+management#v=onepage&q=diplomatic%20democratic%20style%20of%20management&f=false Gennard, J & Judge, G. (2005). 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Vol: 3:11. pp. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=2206017&blobtype=pdf&tool=pmcentrez Statt, D.A. (2000). Using psychology in management training: the psychological foundations of management skills. Published by Routledge. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=dAjQBezMjFUC&pg=PA119&dq=motivation+in+autocratic+management&lr=#v=onepage&q=motivation%20in%20autocratic%20management&f=false Swezey, R, Meltzer, A and Salas, E. (1994). Some issues involved in motivating teams. In O’Neil, H and Drillings, M’s Motivation: theory and research. Published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates http://books.google.co.in/books?id=CVnobqWjiMIC&pg=PA152&dq=motivation+factors+autocratic&lr=#v=snippet&q=motivation%20autocratic&f=false Read More