Describe the management styles and cultures present within the business Essay

The four management styles. Autocratic management this is where they the manager will issue instructions and give the staff orders, this gives the staff little chance to give their own opinion and ask the manager questions or even discuss things with him or her. The manager doesn’t know his staff very well and wont make many attempts to get to know them. Because of this the staff don’t see them selves as team members. Democratic management this is where that he or she is the leader of the team but they are also a team member and has to do the same work as everyone else. The team members liked to be involved in group discussions and decision making. The team leader will encourage his team to participate and help each team member to reach his or her potential goal. Consultative management’s where the manger often appears to be more democratic than he is or she really is. The manger will inform the staff what is going on and what will happen that day. He will encourage his or her staff to express their opinions but in the end he will still choose the way he wants things done around the business. Laissez faire is where the manager doesn’t really care about his staff; the manager will have a non-care less attitude. The manager will not act his or she ‘s responsibility and just leave the staff to make the decisions and to sort out their own work. A manager or team leaders will not just have one management style they normally will adapt their style to the situation which they are in, but they will go back to their normal style of management. The management style that is used in an organisation can depend on type of structure, objectives and culture that the business has. Most of the time there is an autocratic style of management in a tall structure. But sometimes in a tall structure the style of management will tend to change because there are a lot of managers and this means that there are more decisions to make. This is because it comes down the chain of command. In a flat structure there is more teamwork so the type of management style that is used is democratic. Management styles used at Tesco There are at least four types of management structures used at Tesco. The head office will set the objectives and targets for the stores and they dont have much say in it so head office will bean autocratic style of management. Terry Leahy is the managing director and is very lenient. He will visit the stores and talk to all the staff. His style of management is Democratic as he recognises that he is the leader but likes to be involved with the rest of the staff as he is interested with the team and like’s to see how the staff are doing. Andy thought this was unusual as the other managing directors in the past were very autocratic and often the visits were treated as Royal visits. The recruitment of staff is a mixture of both democratic and autocratic. Head office autocratically set how much can be spent on the staff and also the hours of pay, but they allow each stores personnel manager and store manager how they would like to spend it. This can be full-time and part-time staff. Because they tell the people applying for the job what they want from a worker and they also don’t know the people. The RAT system is a democratic style of management this is because they work together so they can solve problems that occur in the business. When a problem occurs employees of the company are asked if they would like to join the RAT team to try and solve the problem. If they do join they will meet regularly and discuss ways in which they can solve the problem. It can be any rank of staff that joins the RAT team, as they are all equal members. Andy told us that as food-training manager is responsible for his area of the shop he could choose how he manages his staff and his area. He says that he likes to have a democratic management style because he likes to be treated as a team member not just a manger, he likes to think he listens to the staff and allows them to offer their opinion. Andy told us that he uses list management. He explained this and it is used for staff who are fairly new and need help, they will receive a short but detailed list of jobs that they have to complete, and then they come back for another list. Where as other more experienced staff have a less detailed list and maybe able to work on their own and use their initiative. Culture Culture is the set of values, beliefs and attitude of both the employees and management, which will help with the decision making. All organisations have a culture. A business culture will determine how the business is run. There are 12 types of business culture. Customer driven culture is where the business is dedicated at all levels to satisfy their customers. They will try and improve all aspects of the production service down to the last detail to help the customers. This type of culture is at Tesco. Tesco number one objective is the customers and try to satisfy them with their every need. They will try giving the customers the best product’s possible. Technological culture, this will emphasise and focus on the development of technological excellence. All the ideas from any member of the business will be positively encouraged. This type of culture is at Tesco because they will try and have all the new technology available to them, for example they have all the new tills, price guns tannoys and internet shopping. Person culture is where the managers and staff will support each other’s progress threw the business and their development. This type of management is at Tesac’s because they have team five and take ten, they like to know how the staff are improving with their skills and if they are learning any new skills so they become multi- skilled. Tesco also like to know if their staff are feeling O.K and that their general life style is OK Role culture, This is where someone will