Management Skills multiple choice

Study Notes

Management involves leading, directing, and delegating tasks to employees for achieving organizational goals.

Leadership is the ability to influence staff towards fulfilling the company's aims through strategic direction and delegation.

Delegation involves assigning a task to a subordinate while retaining overall responsibility for its completion.
Benefits of delegation include:
- Frees up time for managers to focus on priorities.
- Builds trust in employees.
- Enhances employee experience and skill development.
- Increases motivation among staff.
Implications of failing to delegate:
- Leads to manager overworking and increased stress.
- Employees miss development opportunities and feel untrusted.
- Can result in low morale and higher employee turnover.

Autocratic:
- Maintains strict control and does not consult employees; often relies on threats or monetary incentives.
- Suitable for crisis situations needing quick decisions or when employees show low job attachment.
Democratic:
- Engages employees for feedback and consultation; promotes teamwork through delegation.
- Effective in most business environments, enhancing inclusivity and collaboration.
Laissez-Faire:
- Minimal supervision granted to skilled employees who are capable of making decisions independently.
- Best used with highly competent and engaged professionals.

Motivation involves energizing and inspiring employees to work towards common goals.

Theory X:
- Assumes employees dislike work and need external motivation, primarily monetary.
- Believes workers lack ambition and initiative.
Theory Y:
- Posits that employees find enjoyment in work, are ambitious, and seek challenges and responsibility.
Limitations of McGregor's Theory:
- Workers may not strictly fit into either Theory X or Y; they may express attributes of both.

Motivation is structured according to a hierarchy: individuals must satisfy lower-level needs (like physiological and safety needs) before higher-level needs (like esteem and self-actualization) can motivate them.