Which Business Management Style to Use

The style of management of government in different countries can also be anywhere on the scale, from fully authoritarian (dictatorship) at one end of the scale to fully participative (policy decided by the people) at the other end.

This is a fundamental scale which cuts across artificial and ineffective political divides - dictatorship of the left is dictatorship just like that of the right. Dictatorship is dictatorship no matter whether the organization or political party is on the left or on the right of the political spectrum. Under participative government and democracy the government and leadership put into effect the wishes of the people, the policy decided by delegates directly appointed by and directly responsible and accountable to the people. Under authoritarian government or dictatorship the government and its 'experts' tell the people what the government or rulers decide the people have to follow.

Here 'directly' means selected by the people and voted for, each person having one vote. This is very different from delegates being selected by or being accountable through an establishment such as a political party's or a Board of Directors.

Real struggle is not between political left and right but is a struggle for democracy against dictatorship (authoritarian style of management) in all community organizations and at all levels. Authoritarian attitudes result in confrontation; leadership and co-operation result in economic success.

The way in which countries is managed, that is their style of management, of course, varies from country to country and changes as time passes. The left hand side of the horizontal scale corresponds to the fully authoritarian, while the right hand end corresponds to the fully participative way of managing. The two ends are called 'A' and 'B' respectively, for convenience.

We need to remember that we are not in any way concerned with opinions and feelings and beliefs about whether one country is better than another, whether one method of organization is better than another, whether one political system is an improvement on another. We are concerned here only with the situation as it is; we are concerned only with objective facts. Hence we assess the style of management by two factors only, namely on the one hand by the extent to which authority is centered at the top and on the other hand by the extent to which authority is centered at the bottom.

Our measure for the extent to which authority is centered on the bottom is the extent to which working people may withdraw their labour, that is the extent to which they are permitted to do so by the laws of the land and the extent to which they are actually able to withdraw their labour.

We assess the style of management by these factors only and while at the authoritarian end of the scale there is generally little doubt about the extent to which authority is centered at the top, this factor is more difficult to assess in democratic societies and here we find that the extent to which people are permitted to withdraw their labour and the extent to which they are doing so is a clearer and more definite way of assessing a country's style of management on the scale.

In the democratic countries a wide range of companies and organizations are found ranging from highly if not completely authoritarian to the almost completely participative. However, this does not invalidate the scale or its general validity, nor does it detract from the usefulness of the comparison. On the contrary, the existence of such widely differing systems makes it even more important.

These two styles of management both have their merits and demerits. As such, it is not possible to say which is more effective. However, each of these management styles has their proponents. The general nature and cultural framework of an organization will invariably determine what management policy the company pursues. It should also be mentioned that the country where a business operates would also affect the style of management it practices. This is because legislations and employment policies will determine what sort of management structure a company formulates. In any case, the aim of any management style is to motivate employees to produce their best work performance. A company’s chosen management style will either increase its employee’s productivity or diminish their overall work morale. This means that the management style that a company pursues will always affect its overall profitability.

Before pursuing a management style, a company would first of all have to ascertain its short term and strategic goals. Once this is done, the company will then need to study the behavioral profile of its employees. Taking these two important steps will help to ensure that the company pursues the most suitable management style. Regardless of what managerial style an organization executes, an effective flow of communication between all hierarchical levels of the organization is imperative. Without adequate communication, no managerial style can operate.

Proponents of the authoritative management style assume that by nature, people do not like to work. Or at least, they would prefer to engage in leisure activities rather than work. This further implies that without any coercion, people will generally not give an organization their best work performance. With this in mind, proponents of this management style suggest that the only way to get the best performance from employees is to force them to work through coercive management policies and guidelines. They believe that without such stringent managerial measures, the entire organization will suffer in terms of productivity and profitability. Furthermore, proponents of the authoritative style of management believe that employees should be given little scope to express their opinions or participate in any aspect of the decision-making mechanism of the organization. The reason for this is because they believe that the motives of employees will always conflict with that of the organization, and as a result, by allowing those to make contributions or express opinions will only lead to a dysfunction within the organization.

On the other hand, proponents of the democratic style of management believe that people bring out their best work performance when they are allowed to express themselves and to participate in the decision-making process of the organization. They believe that people need to be given incentives in order to raise their productivity levels. Under this style of management, any coercion or excessive restrictions within the workplace will lead to a fall in the morale of the employees. In order to increase productivity, a company must constantly stimulate the motivational levels of its employees. A freedom of communication between all levels of management is a key within a company that practices a democratic style of management.

The decision to use a particular business management style is perhaps one of the most important decisions that an organization could make. This is because a management style could either make or break an organization. As mentioned, both the democratic and authoritative business management styles have their advantages and disadvantages, but some might consider them to be two extremes of the traditional management style spectrum. Some experts have suggested that the most effective management styles are those that incorporate a mixture of both the authoritative and democratic management styles. Companies should not adhere to a particular traditional style of management, but rather, they should allow their management style to evolve with changes in the corporate cultural environment. Following one traditional style of management in a rigid manner may not benefit a company in a changing business environment.

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