Management styles have come a long way from Thompson’s “one best way” theory that dominated management practice for many years. Today there are two basic perspectives for viewing and categorizing management styles.
The work of Tannebaum and Schmidt (1958, 1973) divides management into five styles that cover a range of situations:
- Autocratic managers are unilateral decision-makers that reflect their view of how things should be done. While this style creates an image of confidence and control, employees may become too dependent on this style to get directions rather than becoming creative and innovative.
- Democratic manager involves employees in decision making and creates good two way communications. This style is most effective in complex decision-making situations requiring a range of specialized skills. The only disadvantage is the give and take required can slow decision-making down.
- Laissez-faire managers manage from the fringe and leave decision-making to their employees. This style is short on communication and lacks coordinated delegation of work. Employees’ lack of direction and focus often results in low employee morale and dissatisfaction.
- Paternalistic managers are benevolent dictators. While there is an element of lateral decision-making, most communication flows down rather than laterally.
- Manage ByWalking About (MBWA) is a style where managers literally manage their operations by walking and talking to others. The type of manager is a proactive listener who gather information in real time by talking to others to identify situations before they become problems and functions more as a coach and counselor rather than as a boss.
