The types of management styles in business play a very important part in conflict resolution at the workplace...
"If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings - and put compensation as a carrier behind it - you almost don't have to manage them." - Jack Welch
It is a proven fact that if the management of a company is strong and effective, the productivity of employees naturally turns out to be high. Those working in the corporate sector should have an idea that there are different management styles.
A management style is referred to as the pattern of management which the leadership adopts regarding treating employees, involving them in decision-making process, providing certain benefits, and similar other aspects.
Every style has its own characteristics, strong points, shortcomings, and even ways of getting the work done. If the management of an organization adopts a management style which employees favor, the employee output tends to be acceptable.
Types of Management Styles in Business
There are four primary types of leadership styles, further classified as per specific methods of management. They are autocratic, democratic, participative, and laissez-faire.
Democratic
In this business leadership style, the manager delegates power to his subordinates for carrying out the decision-making process.
One essential point here is that those who are being handed over the decision-making process should be efficient to execute the task as expected by the management. This style is most effective in a situation where the manager wants to teach his workforce as to how decisions are made.
Autocratic
When it comes to autocratic leadership style, the manager is completely responsible for making decisions all by himself. Here, there is no participation of employees in the decision-making process.
The good side of this style is that it is suitable in situations where a prompt decision is to be taken and the delivery time is strict. However, this corporate leadership style can demotivate employees, hampering their productivity.
Participative
The participative leadership style is believed to be one of the best methods of providing motivation to employees to work harder.
As the name indicates, the manager allows his subordinates and staff to get involved in decision-making process. This in turn creates a feeling among the employees that their suggestions are being valued by the management, resulting in they showing real interest in work. Though there is a collective decision, the final decision rests on the manager himself.
Laissez-faire
This is somewhat similar to the democratic style. In laissez-faire management, the leader gets the tasks done completely by his staff, without involving much in the work. This act can be misunderstood to be a matter of irresponsibility.
This is one of the best conflict management styles, as the leader would not want to seem to be partial on one particular side. The laissez-faire style is one wherein there is very less communication between the management and staff.
These are just the basic types of styles used in today's corporate world. There are many others listed here:
Charismatic Management
Situational Management
Transformational Management
Bureaucratic Management
Task-oriented Management
Transactional Management
Relation-oriented Management
The best leadership style preferred by employees is 'situational management' wherein the leader changes roles, rules, and concepts of management depending on the situation to get the job done appropriately.
The leader thinkably needs to adopt a specific style depending upon the work to be done, and according to the skills and the mindset of employees.