Hcs 325 - Management Style Essay

Management Style Essay

Mehgan Matherne

HCS/325

August 17, 2015

Connie Woods

Management Style Essay

Management is the organization and coordination of the tasks and activities of an organization in order to achieve specified objectives and goals.  There are many different techniques used by management and managers to accomplish this which are known as management styles.  According to “training-course.org” (n.d.), there are six different management styles which include pacesetting, authoritative, affiliative, coaching, coercive, and democratic.  My personal management style is authoritative which has both good and bad qualities

Authoritative leaders are experts in their field of work, and individuals that are able to clearly articulate a vision and the path to success.  They mobilize the team toward a common vision and focuses on end goals, leaving the means up to each individual. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "Come with me." The authoritative style works best when the team needs a new vision because circumstances have changed, or when explicit guidance is not required. Authoritative leaders inspire an entrepreneurial spirit and vibrant enthusiasm for the mission.  It has been indicated that the authoritative leader generally has the most positive impact, compared to the other five management styles, on the overall working environment.  The style creates a very positive place to work.  It is best used in situations in which a company or organization seem to be drifting without direction.  However, there are some drawbacks to the authoritative management style as well ("Money-Zine.com", n.d.).

An authoritative manager is typically a good example of situational leadership in that it can be used as an approach that needs to adapt to each situation.  Someone may have been successful with the authoritative leadership style when they were the "resident expert."  But when someone's direct reports are now the experts, then a different style is needed to remain successful.  Even though authoritative leaders have the most positive affect on the work environment, it isn't necessarily the style that should be emulated all of the time.  In particular, if a new manager finds themselves placed into a workgroup of "experts," it may be difficult, if not impossible, for this new leader to enter the group and immediately express their vision of where the workgroup should go ("Money-Zine.com", n.d.).  This type of leadership style doesn’t change depending on their environment.