HRD- Top Management Styles

Importance of Top Management Styles

The OCTAPACE culture can be built only by an enlightened management. Top management refers to all those who are decision makers and event makers in the organization.

All heads in formal and informal organizations who have the capability to influence the course of action of the organization, its units, subsystems or functions can be considered as top level managers. These are the influential people who set the tone for creating an OCTAPACE culture.

They create the culture through the roles they perform or do not perform and the styles with which they perform these roles. Their style of functioning has a larger impact on the organization.

Top Management Styles

Benevolent or paternalistic style

  • Belief and behavior that treat all subordinates affectionately like a parent or father figure treats his children
  • Managers are highly relationship oriented, treats his subordinates with love and affection, take care of the needs, rewards and punishes employees on the basis of relationship, is protective and a giver of resources.
  • It is a belief that this style will make people to work.
  • Managers generate the loyalty and gets the work done.
  • Manager guides the employees constantly, decides more often what is good for them, corrects their mistakes and is always available in troubles, gives his judgement.
  • This style is relationship oriented and creates a feeling of dependency.
  • Absence of boss is felt strongly.
  • Personal loyalties govern the actions than organizational loyalties.
  • It promotes OCTAPACE to a limited extent.

Critical Style (A style based on theory X)

  • This is second most exhibiting style in the organizations.
  • There is a close supervision and close monitoring. They (manager) perceive employees as those who avoid work.
  • They want immediate results and are impatient.
  • They criticize, reprimand (disapprove) and provide directions more frequently, to control and influence employee behavior.
  • They have a very low tolerance for mistakes.
  • They tend to use punishment and fear more than reward and encouragement.
  • They are directive in their approach.
  • It creates moral problems and motivational issues.

The OCTAPACE culture gets least developed in units, departments and functions with such leaders.

Developmental Style

  • It is highly mature style and considered as real HRD style of management.
  • Managers believe in empowering the subordinates or the employees working with him to such an extent that they become fully autonomous and independent in working out their growth and competence.
  • Managers believe in making employees more competent.
  • They spend their time in competence, commitment and culture building.
  • These managers are system oriented and very professional.
  • They are guided by long-term interests of the organization.
  • They prefer that employees learn from their mistakes and resolve conflicts on their own.
  • They devote their time on empowerment.

Such a style creates an OCTAPACE culture to a great extent in an organization.

Auditing the Styles of Top Management

The effectiveness of various HRD systems depends on the style of top management. Their styles seemed to make a tremendous impact.

While the developmental style is more congruent with HRD philosophy, other styles are used occasionally depending on the situation, person and nature of the issue.

The audit should indicate the currently dominant styles used by most managers and their impact on people. If cost and feasibility affect the detailed study of the styles, the auditors can interview the employees about the styles of top-level managers.

The following method may be used for assessing the leadership styles:

Step 1: Determine and draw out a list of strategically important individuals who seem to influence its decision making, systems and various processes (specially values and culture). Such a list can be drawn in consultation with the top management or the HRD department.

Step 2: Administer the questionnaire to these individuals. Take their consent for 360-feedback on them to find out their styles.

Step 3: Collect the questionnaire for 360-degree feedback. Tabulate the data and draw conclusions about the congruence of their style with the HRD implementation in their units and functions. Have special focus on OCTAPACE culture and study what styles are facilitating it and which are blocking it.

Step 4: Make observations about the style of top management and its implications for creating the learning as well as HRD culture. Specially comment on

  • The general beliefs and attitudes of top-level managers with regard to people and the HRD function.
  • Their style of assigning tasks, monitoring performance, managing mistakes and conflicts as well as rewards and punishments, communicating the vision, sharing information and so on.

Step 5: Suggest mechanism to improve the HRD styles so that they facilitate the HR function and are congruent to the HR philosophy and outcomes.

要查看或添加评论,请登录

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了