No one thinks about how to manage an enterprise. For some reason, the choice of a management model and its improvement to the needs of an existing business is not considered an important issue. However, the manager’s management style is decisive in building proper communications with employees, their motivation, and the management’s ability to make relevant decisions and achieve goals.
What is a management style
Management style is a specific, established model of the behavior of the head, based on which personnel management is built, the identification of responsible persons, the distribution of powers, and the adoption of managerial decisions.
The choice of management style depends, first of all, on the personal characteristics of the leader, as well as on his goals. When a leader seeks to motivate employees to the maximum to achieve final goals and key indicators, he focuses on a democratic management style. On the other hand, suppose a situation arises in a company when a tough hand is needed, precise execution of an order, and the company’s functioning as a single mechanism. In that case, it is worth choosing an authoritarian style.
Each style has its advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, there is no ideal – the manager adjusts the built management model to the current situation in which the company finds itself in the market, its needs, and opportunities.
Classification of management styles by K. Levin
It should be noted that research in the field of leadership was carried out even earlier. So, the German psychologist Kurt Lewin 1939 conducts the following experiment. As part of the study, schoolchildren were divided into three groups, the leaders of which had to organize the team and personal work differently.
Authoritarian leadership type
When the leader gives clear instructions, sets goals as accurately as possible, and chooses the way to solve the problem and the timing of its implementation. Leadership is in the hands of one person. There is no delegation of authority. Therefore, the number of correctly completed tasks is maximum.
Democratic leadership type
This type of government was, according to the scientist, the most effective. The leader gives ideas to subordinates and listens to their opinion. People realize their potential to the maximum, while teamwork is at a high level. As a result, the quality of completed tasks has grown significantly, but execution speed has fallen.
Liberal (or permissive) leadership type
In other words, a complete lack of control. When employees make their own decisions and are responsible for them, tasks, deadlines for their implementation, and procedures – everything is organized directly by the performer.
Roles in management
There are such levels in company management:
- Lower-level managers (operational managers). The largest category. They exercise control over the fulfillment of production tasks over the use of resources (raw materials, equipment, personnel).
- Middle managers. They supervise the work of lower-level managers and pass the processed information to senior managers. Middle managers have a lot of responsibility.
- Top managers. The smallest category. They are responsible for developing and implementing the organization’s strategy and making decisions that are especially important for it. The work of a senior manager is very accountable since the scope of work is large, and the pace of activity is intense.
The management hierarchy is a tool for realizing the company’s goals and guaranteeing the preservation of the system. The higher the hierarchical level, the greater the volume and complexity of the functions performed, the responsibility, the share of strategic decisions, and access to information.