There are three main types of management styles. These are autocratic, consultative and democratic.

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Management styles

There are three main types of management styles. These are autocratic, consultative and democratic.

Autocratic

The autocratic management style is one where the manager is used to give instructions. They tell people what to do instead of asking for their opinion on the matter in hand. The manager is the only person contributing to the decision making process in the business.

Consultative

The consultative management style is where managers consult other people before making a decision. This management style is the opposite to autocratic. This type of management style wants to collect more sources of information and opinions before any final decision is made. To do this successfully the business will have good communication channels so that the employees are able to give their opinions easily. The consultative manager will have to have listening skills and also the ability to create the right sorts of channels to consult other people. Things such as newsletters team briefings or suggestion boxes could be introduced to gather employee’s ideas and opinions.

Democratic

The democratic management style involves empowerment. Individual employees and teams are given the responsibility to make their own decisions. The individuals or team is then held responsible for the decisions that it chooses to make. The manager will have to feel comfortable with their employees and have a good understanding of them and decisions that they are making so that he/she doesn’t fall behind on what the business is doing. They will need continual feedback to the manager on their results. Also a lot of trust to be had by the managers for this to work effectively.

Sainsburys Management Styles

From our interview with Emma Davis manager at the kingswood branch I found that sainsburys operate in a democratic style as team meetings are arranged so ideas and problems can be put forward and dealt with as a team. These meeting are mostly informal. Although Emma believed that the company operated in a democratic style I talked to employees lower down in the company and asked them what they thought. I got a different reaction from them, they thought that sainsburys operated in more of an autocratic management style, whereby managers tell people what to do instead of asking for their opinions. This is interesting to look at, the managers believe that employees are responsible to make their own decisions and employees believe that mangers order them to do things. I also think that in some situation sainsburys use other styles. For example if an employee is underachieving and not contributing as much s he or she should, it is not other employees who have to make the decision on if the guilty employee is worth keeping in the business or not. That decision will be down to the manager.  

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There are several managers spreading up the hierarchy. This means that every manager (expect the chairman) has some decisions made for him or her and other decisions they have to make. Also these decisions are made for them so are going to involve them or are going to be straightforward decisions that they have no say in. So this shows that management styles are similar throughout the business, from chairman to managing director and head of the department to employee. Sainsburys mainly use a democratic style but depending on the decisions that has to be made other management styles are ...

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