Plyusch J. О. , Burdakova O. L.

Donetsk National University of Economics and Trade after M. Tugan-Baranovsky

USING A RANGE OF MANAGEMENT STYLES TO LEAD A BUSINESS

The people who manage the business provide the direction. Taking responsibility for making decisions and running a business well is a skill. Businesses place considerable emphasis on getting the right people with the right skills into key posts. They need to ensure that these people have the opportunities to develop decision-making skills.

Rent-A-Car Enterprise employs more than 75,000 employees and operates a fleet of cars exceeding one million vehicles worldwide. Jack Taylor founded the company in St Louis in 1957. The owner had a simple belief: ‘Take care of your customers and employees first and profits will follow.’ This belief forms the foundation of Enterprise’s four key business objectives of: customer satisfaction, fleet growth, employee development, profitability. Management involves control and organisation to get something done. In the course of business, managers use many different skills. They: plan and organise people and resources, set and monitor budgets, control operations or services in order to meet customers’ needs. The ability to manage is essential at all levels in the organisation. A leader is able to influence others in meetings or when making decisions. This helps to achieve the goals of the organisation. Enterprise has leaders at all levels of its business, not just senior management.

There are many different management styles. These styles influence how leaders communicate with employees. For example, Enterprise operates an ‘open door’ policy. This enables everybody within the organisation to have direct contact with senior managers. Managers have their own preferred management style. Some prefer an autocratic style where they tell employees what to do and how to do it. Others prefer a democratic style where they help their team to discover solutions to problems for themselves. However, the management style must change to fit the circumstances. Some decisions must be made at the highest level. For example, a manager would need to give immediate instructions on a health and safety issue or in a fire. However, if changing an office layout, the manager could leave the team to investigate and decide on the solution for themselves. An autocratic style of leadership is when a leader makes a decision alone. The leader conveys the decision to staff and they have to work within the scope of that decision. For example, in order to deliver good customer service, managers instruct all staff to follow Enterprise’s guidelines for dealing with customers. Douglas McGregor in 1960 used the terms Theory X and Theory Y to identify two very different forms of management style: A Theory X manager tells employees what to do and supervises their work. This involves using strict controls within the business. This reflects an autocratic style. In contrast, a Theory Y manager believes employees want to do well. The manager provides individuals with the opportunity to take control of their work. They can contribute towards solving a problem or issue. This helps motivate them to do better. In contrast to the autocratic style, Enterprise uses democratic decision-taking in many parts of the business. Everyone has the opportunity to contribute ideas to the decision. There are two types of democratic decision-making: persuasive democratic management – here the leader makes the decision first and then persuades employees that he or she has made the right decision, consultative democratic management – this involves the group contributing to the decision-making process, with the leader making the final decision. Enterprise operates through an extensive network of local offices. Branch managers and their staff need to make decisions to meet the changing needs of custom. Branch managers and their staff need to make decisions to meet the changing needs of customers in a fiercely competitive market. Each office operates with a large degree of autonomy. This means that, in many areas of operation, local offices have the power to govern themselves and make changes without referring to senior management. They use different management styles with customers on different occasions.

Derived from the French meaning ‘leave alone’ is a loose leadership style. It allows employees to carry out activities freely within broad limits. It differs from the democratic style in that individuals are able to behave independently and make their own decisions, rather than coming together on an agreed course of action. Small entrepreneurial teams manage and lead local Enterprise offices. These teams are decentralised and make many decisions on their own. This shows a type of laissez-faire structure.

However, this management style has drawbacks. Some employees might not be able to motivate themselves or make the right decisions alone. Therefore individuals within Enterprise teams work to corporate guidelines for dealing with customers. Staff also receive regular training and feedback.

Management is about getting things done. Leadership is about achieving goals by creating a direction for a business and inspiring employees to take initiative and make the right decisions. Enterprise managers need the skills to motivate, lead and influence others.

This article illustrates that within a business, there are leaders at different levels within the hierarchy. Depending upon the circumstances, leaders will use different leadership styles. By developing leaders who are able to make decisions at a local level, an enterprise can respond more closely to customers needs within competitive service industry. Its high levels of customer service provide it with competitive advantage over its rivals.

Literature:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_styles

2. Мескон Майкл, Альберт Майкл, Хедоури Франклин «ОСНОВЫ

МЕНЕДЖМЕНТА», Перевод с английского, Москва: Издательство «Дело»,

1997.-704с.