1.6 appropriateness of management styles

4 criteria to determine which management style is most appropriate

nature of the taskavailable timeexperience of employeesmanager preference

nature of the task

the appropriate management style to use in these situations will depend on what the answer is to these questions. is it complex or relatively simple? \n high or low cost? \n high or low risk?

Alistair

\________ is the communications manager responsible for producing the company annual report every six months.

Highly experienced

consultative through laissez-faire Why

Inexperienced

autocratic and persuasive Why

for highly complex, high risk and/or high cost tasks…

it could be argued the autocratic management style is bestwith these types of tasks, strict instructions may need to be followed to ensure the best outcome is achieved.

for relatively simple tasks that are low cost and low risk…

the \==participative \==or even laissez-faire management styles could be used, knowing that if mistakes are made the consequences will not be catastrophic for the business.

nature of the task - examples

For example, when a business undergoes change, the manager may need to make decisions quickly and so may adopt an autocratic style. Alternatively, if there are experienced employees, a manager might be more consultative as the experience of employees may be able to assist in navigating change

available time

when time is of the essence (think deadlines or emergency situations) and decisions need to be made quickly…

the autocratic and persuasive . management styles are best. This will enable the business to get things done quickly.

when more time is available, anything from...

the consultative?. through to the laissez-faire management styles can be used, allowing for greater interaction with employees to occur which is a feature of these management styles.

experience of employees

highly experienced employees

the consultative through laissez-faire management styles

less experienced employees

autocratic and persuasive management styles

manager preference

each manager will have their own personality, characteristics, values and beliefs. Dependent on what these are, will determine what management style comes more naturally to them.

those managers who approach work from an individual perspective and limit the time getting to know employees would be more inclined to adopt the

autocratic or persuasive management styles

good delegators and those who value building relationships \n at work would be suited to the

consultative and participative management styles

when is the autocratic management style appropriate

for highly complex, high risk, or high cost tasksfor very inexperienced employeeswhen there is a tight deadline or little time

when is the persuasive management style appropriate

when there is a tight deadline on a projectmanagers who prefer to take an individual perspective approach and limit the time getting to know employeeswhen there are less experienced employees

when is the consultative management style appropriate

sometimes if there are experienced employees a manager might be consultative in order to get their assistancewhen more time is availablemanagers who are good delegators and those who value building relationships at workwith highly experienced employees

when is the participative management style appropriate

simple, low risk, or low cost taskshighly experienced employeesgood delegators and those who value building relationships at workwhen more time is available

when is the laissez-faire management appropriate

simple, low cost or low risk taskswhen more time is availablewith highly experienced employee