How does one categorise management? Theory, or science? "Most people would like to think that democratic management is a better method of management because it sounds more people-friendly than, say, autocratic management. Yet there are lots of examples of organisations that have been quite autocratically run and have also been very effective and successful," says Mr Michael McDonnell, director of the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development.
Still, there is a move towards democratic management. According to Mr Michael Kehoe, director of company specific programmes at the Irish Management Institute International, "today most managers would be inclined to be participative in their approach. There is less of a tendency for them to adopt old fashioned command/ control-style behaviours."
One organisation which adopts such a participative approach is Tesco Ireland. It aims for an open management style, which is pretty informal, where people seek to lead by influence as opposed to giving orders.
"We would manage performance through objective setting and in the right way, through coaching and feedback as opposed to using disciplinary and stuff like that. It's a lot more people-focused than a traditional management style would be," explains Ms Heather Butler, HR team leader, at Tesco Ireland head office.
Tesco has identified a wide range of attributes or skills which are essential to good management and seeks to foster them amongst its managers through a system of coaching.
"For instance if someone is not very good in influencing we would develop and coach them to become better influencers, so they are able to influence situations as opposed to using a power-base. We wouldn't want people to come and manage from a power-base. We'd want them to come from an influence base. It changes behaviour through coaching."
More progressive organisations have systems for communicating with staff - communications for giving feedback, performance management systems, appraisal systems, says Mr Kehoe.
In Tesco Ireland most of the senior management and directors recently went through a "360 degree" feedback process where they get feedback from the team that work for them and their peer group. This is also used by organisations such as AIB. "It is important to understand people's perception of what type of job you are doing and how you are managing them," says Ms Butler.
According to Ms Butler, Tesco uses a more democratic as opposed to autocratic style of management. "To me it's (autocratic management) an outdated form of management. What we should have is staff involvement and a democracy where people can challenge each other without any fear of being chastised. The more people that are involved, the more motivated they become, the more motivated they become, the better it is for everybody really."
However, this is not the perfect scenario in every company, occasionally, where there is a lack of consensus, Mr Kehoe believes there is a need for an autocratic style of management. "If you get into a participative process, but people cannot agree, someone has to call the shots. Then there are also occasions, when depending on the issue you are working on - if you are working on quality, safety, those type of issues tend not to be put up for democratic decisions. There is an organisational prerogative to call the shots on those things."
Autocratic management is in decline, though, says Mr McDonnell. This is due to a move from mass-production mechanical based organisational structure to a digital, electronic one. It worked best where there was a considerable amount of consistency and people did not deviate from the instructions they were given. "The assembly line operation is a classic example of that type of approach," he says. Rigidity allowed for management that was in a control mode to emerge. A lot of the work traditionally done by people is now done by technology.
"Increasingly what you are looking for people to do now is to provide higher added value. The Irish economy is a classic example of that, where you'd hear phrases like `we can no longer be seen as a low wage economy' and `we must encourage R & D'. All these types of things are manifestations of this new approach." People are now employed for their knowledge and will not follow rigid instruction that allows them no opportunity to express themselves.
"Therefore management styles have changed to reflect this, where individuals are given the power that managers had in the past," continues Mr McDonnell. The manager is now becoming as much as a teacher, coach or a mentor, as a controller, hence the emergence of a style of democratic type management. It just happens that democratic style of management betters suits the current economic climate than autocratic.
Some organisations may be democratic, others autocratic, however head of resources in AIB, Mr Mike Lewis, says he would describe AIB as a meritocracy.
