Leadership and Management
Essay by review • October 31, 2010 • Essay • 552 Words (3 Pages) • 1,973 Views
The Functions of management
Henri Fayol - first person to come up with a list of functions or elements of management
* Planning - setting objectives and also strategies, policies, programmes and procedures for achieving them.
* Organising - managers set tasks which need to be preformed if the business wants to achieve its objectives.
* Commanding - this involves giving instructions to subordinates to carry out tasks. The manager has the authority to make decisions.
* Co-ordinating - this is the bringing together of the activities of people within the business.
* Controlling - managers measure and correct the activities of individuals and groups, to make sure that their performance fits in with plans.
The management process
Peter Drucker - grouped the operations of management into five categories
* Setting objectives for the organisation
* Job measurement - assessing whether the business has met its objectives
* Organising the work
* Motivating employees
* Developing people - the management should bring out the best in people
Four styles of management
Autocratic - orders come form the top, and no leeway is allowed
Democratic - less centralised, give space for initiative
Laissez faire - arises from over worked or lazy management, staff is left to their own devices
Paternalistic - decision making is still centralised but a noticeable attention and care for staff
McGregor's Theory X & Y
Douglas McGregor undertook a survey of managers in the USA and identified two styles of management, which he called Theory X and Theory Y.
Theory X managers tend to distrust their subordinates; they believe employees do not enjoy their work and that need to be controlled. Theory X is about the views managers have on their workforce.
Theory Y managers believe that employees do enjoy their work and they want to contribute ideas and effort. Theory Y manager is more likely to involve employees in decisions
Why do leader adopt different styles?
Fiedler - argued that 'it is easier to change someone's role or power,
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