Study on autocratic leadership style management essay

Autocratic leadership is an extreme form of transactional leadership, where leaders have absolute power over their workers or team. Staff and team members have little opportunity to make suggestions, even if these would be in the team’s or the organization’s best interest. It also can be said to be synonymous to dictatorship where only one person has the authority over the followers or workers. Their decision has to be taken as the golden rule and should never be questioned.Most people tend to resent being treated like this. Therefore, autocratic leadership usually leads to high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover. For some routine and unskilled jobs, the style can remain effective because the advantages of control may outweigh the disadvantages.Autocratic leadership is a classical leadership style with the following characteristics:Manager seeks to make as many decisions as possibleManager seeks to have the most authority and control in decision makingManager seeks to retain responsibility rather than utilize complete delegationConsultation with other colleagues in minimal and decision making becomes a solitary processFaster decision makingA more productive group while the leader is watchingShort term projects with a highly technical, complex or risky element.Autocratic leadership works positively during emergency and stressful situationsHersey and Blanchard leadership style: Hersey and Blanchard characterized leadership style in terms of the amount of Task Behavior and Relationship Behavior that the leader provides to their followers. They categorized all leadership styles into four behavior types.Figure: Hersey’s and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership modelDirecting (Telling) style: Directing style is characterized by one way communication in which the leader defines the roles of the individual or group and provides the what, how, when, and where to do the task. When the follower cannot do the job and is unwilling or afraid to try, then the leader takes a highly directive role, telling them what to do but without a great deal of concern for the relationship. The leader may also provide a working structure, both for the job and in terms of how the person is controlled.Follower: Low competence, they are both Unable and unwilling or insecure to take responsibility for doing something.Leader: High task focus, low relationship focus.Selling (Coaching) style: The leader provides both directive and supportive behavior. The leader thus spends time listening and advising and, where appropriate, helping the follower to gain necessary skills through coaching methods.Follower: Some competence, they are unable but willing or motivated to do the necessary job tasks.Leader: High task focus, high relationship focus.Participating (Supporting) style: The leader and follower share in decision-making; the main role of the leader is facilitating and communicating. When the follower can do the job, but is refusing to do it or otherwise showing insufficient commitment, the leader need not worry about showing them what to do, and instead is concerned with finding out why the person is refusing and thence persuading them to cooperate.Follower: High competence, they are able but unwilling or insecure to do what the leader wants.Leader: Low task focus, high relationship focusDelegation (Observing) style: The leader provides little direction or support. And effective leaders need to be flexible, and must adapt themselves according to the situation. When the follower can do the job and is motivated to do it, then the leader can basically leave them to it, largely trusting them to get on with the job although they also may need to keep a relatively distant eye on things to ensure everything is going to plan.Follower: High competence, there are both able and willing or motivated to do what is asked of them.Leader: Low task focus, low relationship focus.Supfit should implement Hersey and Blanchard leadership style because:All decision is taken by leader in autocratic leadership style but in the Hersey and Blanchard leadership employees’ involvement also allow to making decision.As the employees are directly involved with the job they have to done so when the decision taken from them, the decision will be more appropriate.At the autocratic leadership style, an autocratic leader naturally works at their full capacity, which can lead to long term stress and health problems and could damage working relationships with colleagues.The Hersey and Blanchard leadership style, as experienced employees involved in decision making process, so employee satisfaction can possible.

Task-2

What is appraised

Appraisal theory is the idea that emotions are extracted from our evaluations of events that cause specific reactions in different people. Essentially, our appraisal of a situation causes an emotional, or affective, response that is going to be based on that appraisal. An example of this is going on a first interview for a job. If the interview is perceived as positive, one might feel happiness, joy, excitement because they have appraised this event as one that could have positive long term effects, that is starting a new job, good salary, or even promotion. On the other hand, if the interview is perceived negatively, then emotions, as a result, might include dejection, sadness or emptiness.Performance appraisal is the business equivalent to a compass for checking position and direction. It is designed to ensure that we are on course and have not strayed into dangerous territory. Without an effective route finder, you may not reach your intended destination or, even worse, get completely lost.Effective appraisal involves taking a number of steps:Deciding what it is that you are appraising.Deciding how often you will appraise.Choosing the best information source for appraisal – who should appraise.Deciding on a structure for the appraisal.Being aware of the problems.Carrying out the appraisal.Performance appraisal also may be defined as a structured formal interaction between a subordinate and supervisor, that usually takes the form of a periodic interview annual or semi-annual, in which the work performance of the subordinate is examined and discussed, with a view to identifying weaknesses and strengths as well as opportunities for improvement and skills development.The history of appraisal, certainly in large organizations, has suggested a rather bureaucratic procedure in which subordinates are told how they are doing by superiors who expect them to passively accept their judgments. Fortunately, much has changed, and as the role of the manager moves away from command and control and heads towards lead and coach, the nature of appraisal has been similarly transformed. It is now recognized as:A piece of two-way rather than one-way communication.A process rather than an event.A tool more for development than abstractly rating performance.

Why have an appraisal system

There are basically three purposes to which performance appraisal can be put. First, it can be used as a basis for reward allocations. Decisions as to who gets salary increases, promotions and other rewards are determined by their performance evaluation. Second, these appraisals can be used for identifying areas where development efforts are needed. Finally, the performance appraisal can be used as a criterion against which selection devices and development programs are validated.Many managers adopt appraisal systems just because other organizations have them or perhaps because it is seen as the right thing to do. This can mean that a business operates an appraisal system that does not fit its needs. Also, people are often unclear about what it is that appraisal actually does. For most people with experience of appraisal, it is inevitably linked with problematic issues such as pay awards or difficulties with performance. Perhaps this contributes to the confusion. Very few managers are naturally good in appraisal.Appraisal can be used for a number of purposes and with a number of intended consequences:Evaluation: This is designed to give some idea of individual performance and share out pay and benefits according to the differences in performance.Audit: This is designed to discover the work potential of individuals and groups working in the organization.Training needs analysis: This is designed to identify individual and group training needs. Appraisal and development are inextricably linked, in that identifying a shortcoming in performance will mean offering a development solution.Motivation: Appraisal can be used to give information and praise to motivate and reward staff for good performance.Development: This is an intended consequence of good appraisal. Reward can be used in a number of ways, one of which is to allow people to develop their own autonomy.Planning: Effective appraisal will give an accurate picture of staff capacity.  It will also give you an idea of whether you will need to take on more employees or can manage tasks with existing staff.Control: This is, of course, the underlying reason for all work systems. Without control, there are unlikely to be satisfying outcomes from work.There are some benefits of appraisal. Having said that the appraisal as job holder is the person who should primarily benefit, which is certainly true, a well-applied appraisal process can have a wide range of other benefits. These benefits can be usefully thought through under three headings:

Benefit to the organization:

A consistent process for recognizing and managing staff performance.A source of information for planning and decision making.A way of analyzing and responding to development needs.Improved communication and staff motivation.

Benefits to the line manager:

A framework for sharing feedback, discussing performance and fixing problems.A structure for reviewing and aligning the contributions of team members.Planning future performance through the use of work-based or learning objectives.Feedback on own management style and approach.

Benefits to the job holder:

Constructive feedback, including praise and criticism.A chance to focus on developing their individual performance.Having a voice in the team’s planning.Having an opportunity to raise problems, barriers and obstacles.As will have noted, many of the above ideas intersect all three areas, potentially resulting in a dynamic combination of benefits. And all of this essentially gained from the simple but skilful sharing of feedback.

Task-3

Honey and Mumford’s learning style:

Learning styles were developed by Peter Honey and Alan Mumford, based upon the work of Kolb, and they identified four distinct learning styles. The categories are activist, reflector, theorist and pragmatist.The four categories of Honey and Mumford identified below.Activist: Activist like to be involved in new experiences, tend to be open minded and enthusiastic about new ideas but get bored with actual implementation. They do, however, enjoy getting their sleeves rolled up and doing things. They can be impulsive, tending to act first and consider the consequences afterwards.Activists learn most when:Involved in new experiences, problems and opportunitiesWorking with others in business games, team tasks, role playingChairing meetings, leading discussionsActivists learn least when:Simply listening to lectures or long explanationsReading, writing or thinking by themselvesAbsorbing and understanding dataReflector: Reflector likes to stand back and look at a situation from different perspectives. They like to collect data and think about it carefully before coming to any conclusions.Reflectors learn most when:Observing individuals or groups at workThey have the opportunity to review what has happened and thing about what they have learnedProducing reports and analyses, performing tasks without tight deadlinesReflectors learn least when:Acting as leader or role-playing in front of othersDoing things with no time to prepareBeing thrown in at the deep endTheorist: Theorist likes to adapt and integrate observations into complex and logically sound theories, thinking problems through with a precise step by step methodology.Theorists learn most when:They are put in complex situations where they have to use their skills and knowledgeIn structured situations with a clear purposeThey have the opportunity to question and probe ideas behind thingsTheorists learn least when:They have to participate in situations that emphasis emotion and feelingsAn activity is unstructured or the briefing is poorly executedThey have to carry out tasks without knowing the principles or concepts involvedPragmatist: Pragmatists are keen to try things out. They want concepts that can be applied to their job.Pragmatists learn most when:There is an obvious link between the topic and jobThey have the opportunity to try out techniques with feedbackThey are shown techniques with obvious advantagesPragmatists learn least when:There is no obvious or immediate benefit that they can recognizeThere is no practice or guidelines on how to do itThere is no apparent pay back to the learningKolb learning style: David kolb learning styles are combinations of the individual’s preferred approaches. These learning styles are diverging, assimilating, converging and accommodator.Figure: Kolb learning cycleHere are brief descriptions of the four Kolb learning styles:Diverging (feeling and watching): These people are able to look at things from different perspectives. They are sensitive. They prefer to watch rather than do, tending to gather information and use imagination to solve problems.Assimilating (watching and thinking): The Assimilating learning preference is for a concise, logical approach. Ideas and concepts are more important than people. These people require good clear explanation rather than practical opportunity.Converging (doing and thinking): People with a Converging learning style can solve problems and will use their learning to find solutions to practical issues. They prefer technical tasks, and are less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects. People with a Converging learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories.Accommodating (doing and feeling): The Accommodating learning style is hands on, and relies on intuition rather than logic. These people use other people’s analysis, and prefer to take a practical, experiential approach. They are attracted to new challenges and experiences, and to carrying out plans.Supfit should implement Kolb learning style because this learning style would be most appropriate for this current situation of the company.

Task- 4

Flexible time:

Flexible time is a system whereby employees contract to work a specific number of hours a week but are free to vary the hours of work within certain limits. Essentially, it allows employees, on an individual or collective basis, to determine or be involved in determining the start and end times of their working day. This can allow them to meet family or personal commitments or emergencies during the day or to reduce their commuting time by starting and ending work before or after the rush hour.Under flexi time, employees assume responsibility for completing a specific job and that increase their feeling of self worth. It is consistent with the view that people are paid for producing work, not for being at their job stations for a set period of hours, hence it is motivational aspects.Common types of flexible working are:Part time: Working less than the normal hours, perhaps by working fewer days per week.Home working: Working from home.Job sharing: Sharing a job designed for one person with someone else.Flexi-time: Choosing when to work.Compressed hours: Working your agreed hours over fewer days.Annualized hours: Your hours are worked out over a year.

Atkinson’s model

Atkinson in 1984 divided this move towards flexibility into four main components within his model of the Flexible firm, these components being numerical, functional, financial, and distance flexibility. There is four components discuss below.Numerical flexibility: Numerical flexibility is where the management can adjust levels of labour in line with demand.Functional flexibility: Functional flexibility is the ability to train and deploy labour over a range of tasks.Financial flexibility: Financial flexibility is the extent of the pay structure as within the roll of the flexible firm.Distance flexibility: Distance flexibility is the replacing of permanent employment contracts by measures of commercial substitution, such as the use of self employment, sub-contracting and agency workers both temporary and part time.According to Atkinson the workers are split up into two groups these being core and peripheral. The core group has being permanent displaying functional flexibility characteristics. The peripheral workers on the other hand are exploited in the form of numerical flexibility and distance flexibility being used and discarded, as required by demand.Supfit should split their employees to core and peripheral group.Core employee: Supfit core employees are those who displaying the functional flexibility. They are the permanent employee for supfit. The employees are work their own task and sometimes they do some borrowing task that supfit may get from other company.Peripheral employee: Peripheral employee are those, supfit take them as temporary basis when they appointed. The employees get numerical and distance flexibility. The employee taken for temporary basis and for develops the company’s performance level. And the peripheral employees can take from other companies which are providing well trained employees. That helps to increase the company performance level.

Task-5

On the job training is one of the best training methods because it is planned, organized, and conducted at the employee’s worksite. There are several approaches to learning on the job. The most common methods of on the job training are: coaching, mentoring, peer relation, action learning, and self development.Coaching: Coaching is the most intensive method of training, which involves close working relationship between an experienced employee and the trainee. Supfit can apply these activities to improve their staff’s skill. There are two types of coaching method, formal coaching method and informal coaching method.Formal coaching usually takes place during scheduled appointments, so that time is set aside specifically for coaching work.Informal coaching does not take place in scheduled appointments but in everyday workplace conversations.Mentoring for employees: Mentoring is the process of sharing knowledge and experience with an employee. Which employees help them perform better, improves morale, and can help to success in business. Mentoring can be informal or formal. Informal mentoring takes place spontaneously between senior and more junior employee. But formal mentoring occurs through a program with an established structure. There is some role of the employee in a mentoring relationship.Follow through on any commitments madeHelp develop a mentoring contractPromote honest, confidential sharingGuide, counsel, support, coach, encourageSelf development: Self Development is taking personal responsibility for one’s own learning and development through a process of assessment, reflection, and taking action. It is a one kind of personal development plan that identifies your learning needs and goals.Some benefit of self development approach:Estimate recognitions for achieving personal goals and objectivesEasier for meeting new challengesEmployees having the knowledge and skills for doing their jobs wellPeer-relation: In the peer relation, manager do not need education or more experience, it prefers on the ability to solve problems in the organization, it can be learning from collogue or peer related friends in the organization, who help to learn the capacity, how to complete or accomplish the task by getting help of other staffs in the same organization. So Relationships with others in organizations, especially with peers, are important to organizational members for a variety of reasons.These learning approaches are most important for the supfit. There are some advantages on the job learning approach. These are given below.Training an employee in their own working environment, with equipment they are familiar with and people they know can help they gain direct experience to a standard approved by the employerOn the job training is also productive, as the employee is still working as they are learningAs training progresses and the employee begins to feel more confident, this confidence would allow them to work at a higher standard and ultimately be more productiveEmployees may find that they have more confidence if they are supervised and guided as they feel they are doing the job right

Task- 6

There are several approaches or categories of management style in employee relations such as, traditional, consultative, paternalist and opportunistic approach. Four approaches are discussed below.Traditional approach: Most of the time it is also called fire fighting approach because management can hire and fire the employees as they wish. Management is always hostile to the trade union. They think if there exist trade union employees are always see their benefits and a little pay to the organization benefits.Advantages: Employees have feared to loss their job. So they always try giving their best output.Disadvantages: As it hostile to the trade union so employees are dissatisfy because they cannot submit their prospectus for their opportunities. So they do not attention on their job.Consultative approach: It is an informal approach and in this approach trade union is highly recognized. Management is very much problem solving in their behavior. Employees are allowed to consult with their problem with management. Sometimes experienced employees can make decision when need on the operation.Advantages: Employee satisfactions are possible through trade union. So employees are always paying much attention on their job.Disadvantages: As there is no formal ways to inform about their problem so sometimes there may makes noises or distraction among employees and management.Paternalist approach: Management thinks that they always work for the benefits of their employees. So there is no need to make trade union. Employees are highly paid in paternalist approach.Advantages: As employees are paid high salary so employee motivation are highly possible.Disadvantages: As it is paternalist style so employees are benefited who is prefer by the management so suitable may be rejected.Opportunistic approach: It is an approach of win- win. Employees are paid on their performance level. Management motivated their employees by give the opportunity how much they will perform they will pay same level.Supfit should implement this approach because:Management offers to share profit among the employees. So employees try to give their high performance.Management also allows trade union.Organization goal achieved very quickly.

Reference and bibliography

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