Management Skills

1. Prior Knowledge

‘Leadership is a social process in which one individual influences the behaviour of others without the use of threat or violence’, Bryman Huczynski & Buchanan (1991).

Real leader should be self-confident. He should not be afraid to create something new, to take up fresh decisions, to inspire his team. In order to achieve success, a leader should possess certain attractiveness and charisma.

2.  Summary of Session

According to French & Raven, 1959, ‘A person has the potential for influencing five points of power over another’: legitimate power (based on the leader’s position in the organization), referent power (based on the leader’s traits of character), coercive power (based on the fear), expert power (based on the availability of specialist knowledge), reward power (gives increment, promotion).

3. Description of lecture and learning

Following are the leadership styles adopted in a particular situation: autocratic leadership (has complete command and holds over the employees. Employees cannot question the leader. As a result, they dislike the leader), democratic leadership (encourage the team members in the decision-making process – the leader guides the employees, while the employees communicate to the leader their suggestions), the laissez faire leadership (trusts his employees/team to perform the job themselves – a leader does not focus on the management aspect of his work).

Hersey & Blanchard established four basic leadership styles: telling (leaders instruct their followers about the tasks that need to be done), selling (leaders set a certain direction and the followers work towards the desired goals), participating (leaders establish task together with the followers), delegating (the leader monitors and reviews the process of reaching the goal).

Fiedler’s contingency theory – three factors that determine how favorable a situation is to a leader: leader-member relations (the degree of frankness between leaders and group members), task structure (clearness of the task given to the group members), position power (the ability of the leader to motivate and influence his team, to punish and reward them, if needed).

4. Tutorial

In my opinion, it is important to identify the origin of the problem. It is also good to interview the workers to find out their reasons not to be disciplined enough and complain. Management may revise the policy, give training, promotion, flexible working conditions would solve the problem. Once staff’s morale restored, productivity will increase, quality will be assured, customer satisfaction ensured and leaving no room for complaint.