2.1.1
Managers
What Managers Do
What Managers Do
Managers are responsible for ensuring tasks are completed in the day-to-day.
Small businesses
Small businesses
- In small businesses, leaders and managers are often the same people.
Larger businesses
Larger businesses
- As businesses grow, however, the role of leaders and managers can become distinct from one another.
- In a growing business, a focus on long-term vision and direction is often needed, and it is the role of a leader to provide this.
- Managers focus on ensuring tasks are completed, and deadlines are met, in such a way to support the long-term vision and direction of the leader.
The manager's role
The manager's role
- The manager’s role, as a decision maker, includes many different roles:
- A manager must set objectives so that success criteria are available to later establish whether or not a task has been completed successfully.
- A manager must review and analyse data so that adaptations to current processes can be made if required.
- A manager must select strategies and implement these to ensure processes are working efficiently and are supporting overall objectives.
- A manager must review the impact of their decisions and use this review to inform the setting of future objectives.
Types of Leadership
Types of Leadership
Businesses are diverse in their size, structure, and approach. One management or leadership approach might be successful in one type of business and unsuccessful in another type of business.
Factors which influence styles of management and leadership
Factors which influence styles of management and leadership
- The external environment can affect the type of management or leadership style which is appropriate for a business.
- The culture of a business can affect the type of management or leadership style which is best suited to the business’ needs.
- For example, in businesses with a very clear and well-defined culture, a change of leadership style may be difficult to introduce without resistance from the majority of employees.
Factors which influence styles of management and leadership
Factors which influence styles of management and leadership
- The skill level of the workforce can influence the type of management or leadership style used as managers may, or may not, want to involve employees in the decision making process.
- For example, managers and leaders often value the knowledge of skilled and qualified staff but less so when staff are unskilled or inexperienced.
Autocratic leadership
Autocratic leadership
- Autocratic leadership refers to an approach by leaders or managers to keep control of decision making and ensure that employees are closely supervised.
- If a business has a largely unskilled workforce, a manager or leader may wish to maintain decision making powers and therefore adopt an autocratic approach.
Democratic leadership
Democratic leadership
- Democratic leadership refers to an approach by leaders or managers to discuss and consult with employees, delegate decision making authority and empower employees through their involvement.
- For example, in businesses which employ highly skilled and highly qualified employees, such as universities, Google and Microsoft, a manager or leader may decide that the contributions of such staff could be highly valuable to the business; here, a democratic approach may be suitable so that employees can contribute their expertise to the decision making process.
1What is Business?
1.1Understanding the Nature of Business
1.2Understanding Different Business Forms
1.3External Environments
2Managers, Leadership & Decision Making
2.1Understanding Management
2.2Understanding Management Decision Making
2.3Understanding Stakeholders
3Decision Making to Improve Marketing Performance
3.1Decision Making to Improve Marketing Performance
3.2Understanding Markets & Customers
3.3Market Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
3.4Marketing Mix
3.4.1Marketing Mix
3.4.2Product Decisions
3.4.3Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming
3.4.4Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration
3.4.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Pricing & Competition
3.4.6Promotional Decisions
3.4.7Promotional Decisions 2
3.4.8Promotional Decisions 3
3.4.9Distribution Decisions
3.4.10Distribution Decisions 2
3.4.11Digital Marketing
3.4.12Evaluating Digital Marketing
3.4.13A-A* (AO3/4) - The Marketing Mix & Promotion
4Decision Making to Improve Operational Performance
4.1Setting Operational Objectives
4.2Analysing Operational Performance
4.3Increasing Efficiency & Productivity
4.4Improving Quality
4.5Managing Inventory & Supply Chains
5Decision Making to Improve Financial Performance
5.1Financial Objectives
5.2Analysing Financial Performance
5.3Sources of Finance
5.4Improving Cash Flow & Profit
6Improving Human Resource Performance
6.1Human Resource Objectives
6.2Analysing Human Resource Performance
6.3Improving Organisational Design
6.4Improving Motivation & Engagement
6.5Improving Employer-Employee Relations
7Analysing the Strategic Position of a Business
7.1Mission, Corporate Objectives, Strategy
7.2Financial Ratio Analysis
7.3Overall Performance
7.4Political & Legal Change
7.5Economic Change
7.6Social & Technological Environment
7.7Competitive Environment
7.8Investment Appraisal
8Choosing Strategic Direction
8.1Choosing Areas of Competition
8.2Choosing How to Compete
9How to Pursue Strategies
9.1Change in Scale
9.2Assessing Innovation
9.3Assessing Internationalisation
9.4Digital Technology
10Managing Strategic Change
10.1Managing Change
10.2Managing Organisational Culture
10.3Managing Strategic Implementation
10.4Problems with Strategy
Jump to other topics
1What is Business?
1.1Understanding the Nature of Business
1.2Understanding Different Business Forms
1.3External Environments
2Managers, Leadership & Decision Making
2.1Understanding Management
2.2Understanding Management Decision Making
2.3Understanding Stakeholders
3Decision Making to Improve Marketing Performance
3.1Decision Making to Improve Marketing Performance
3.2Understanding Markets & Customers
3.3Market Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
3.4Marketing Mix
3.4.1Marketing Mix
3.4.2Product Decisions
3.4.3Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming
3.4.4Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration
3.4.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Pricing & Competition
3.4.6Promotional Decisions
3.4.7Promotional Decisions 2
3.4.8Promotional Decisions 3
3.4.9Distribution Decisions
3.4.10Distribution Decisions 2
3.4.11Digital Marketing
3.4.12Evaluating Digital Marketing
3.4.13A-A* (AO3/4) - The Marketing Mix & Promotion
4Decision Making to Improve Operational Performance
4.1Setting Operational Objectives
4.2Analysing Operational Performance
4.3Increasing Efficiency & Productivity
4.4Improving Quality
4.5Managing Inventory & Supply Chains
5Decision Making to Improve Financial Performance
5.1Financial Objectives
5.2Analysing Financial Performance
5.3Sources of Finance
5.4Improving Cash Flow & Profit
6Improving Human Resource Performance
6.1Human Resource Objectives
6.2Analysing Human Resource Performance
6.3Improving Organisational Design
6.4Improving Motivation & Engagement
6.5Improving Employer-Employee Relations
7Analysing the Strategic Position of a Business
7.1Mission, Corporate Objectives, Strategy
7.2Financial Ratio Analysis
7.3Overall Performance
7.4Political & Legal Change
7.5Economic Change
7.6Social & Technological Environment
7.7Competitive Environment
7.8Investment Appraisal
8Choosing Strategic Direction
8.1Choosing Areas of Competition
8.2Choosing How to Compete
9How to Pursue Strategies
9.1Change in Scale
9.2Assessing Innovation
9.3Assessing Internationalisation
9.4Digital Technology
10Managing Strategic Change
10.1Managing Change
10.2Managing Organisational Culture
10.3Managing Strategic Implementation
10.4Problems with Strategy
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