What are the Management Styles?

Organizational culture is a strong influence on the type of management styles that can be used on projects. The local culture, customs, and social dynamics also influence the management style; along with the nature of the project, the nature of the team, and the personality and skills of the project managers. There are four distinct organizational management styles (developed by Kurt Lewin) that have a strong influence on how projects are managed:

· Autocratic
· Paternalistic
· Democratic
· Laissez-faire

Autocratic or authoritarian, the manager makes all the decisions, keeping the information, and decision-making among the senior management. Objectives and tasks are set, and the workforce is expected to do exactly as required. The communication involved with this method is mainly downward, from the leader to the subordinate; this method can lead to a decrease in motivation from the employee’s point of view. The main advantage of this style is that the direction of the organization will remain constant, and the decisions will all be similar, this in turn can project an image of a confident, well-managed organization. On the other hand, team members may become highly dependent upon the project manager’s and supervision may be needed.

The Paternalistic style is where the manager makes decisions in the best interests of the employees rather than the organization. The manager explains most decisions to the team members and ensures that their social and leisure needs are always met. This can help balance out the lack of staff motivation caused by an autocratic management style. Feedback is again generally downward; however, feedback to the management will occur in order for the employees to be kept happy. This style can be highly advantageous and can engender loyalty from the employees, leading to lower staff turnover, thanks to the emphasis on social needs. It shares similar disadvantages to an authoritarian style; employees becoming highly dependent on the leader, and if the wrong decisions are made, then employees may become dissatisfied with the leader.

The Democratic style is one where the manager allows the employees to take part in decision-making, where everything is agreed by the majority. This style can be particularly useful when complex decisions need to be made that require a range of specialist skills. From the overall organization’s point of view, job satisfaction and quality of work will improve. However, the decision-making process is severely slowed down, and the need for a consensus may avoid taking the best decision for the project.

The Laissez-faire style, the manager’s role is marginal, and the employees manage their own areas within the project; the manager evades the duties of management and uncoordinated delegation occurs. The communication in this style is horizontal, meaning that it is equal in both directions, however, very little communication occurs in comparison with other styles. The style brings out the best in highly professional and creative groups of employees, however, in many cases it is not deliberate and is simply a result of poor management. This leads to a lack of staff focus and sense of direction, which in turn leads to much dissatisfaction, and a poor organization image.