The impact of the style of management on problem solving

Introduction

According to Uche and Timinepere, (2012), management style is constructed in a business organization as a method for managing the different processes within the organization and it is a specific approach followed by a manager for managing the different operations with people in the organization using specific authorities with the purpose of achieving the organizational goals. The current paper is discussing the impact of the style of management on problem solving and investigating the literature regarding that topic. The style of management can leave a great impact on business organization as that impact can be either positive or negative and leadership and management of business organizations can identify the proper management style that can be appropriate for specific organizational needs and different business situations. It is proved by many evidences in the research that management styles have different impacts on the organizational effectiveness as the total management process includes many processes such as controlling, planning, organizing, motivating and leading and all these processes have their roles in producing a level of effectiveness of the organization according to the way each process is made by the organization's management. Management styles can differ according to many different factors such as the country, the culture, religion or the environment of the business organization. 

Literature Review

Autocratic management style

Ghorbani and Heravi, (2011) discusses how management styles can affect problem solving processes in an organization as they discussed the autocratic management style and confirmed that this style is not very effective in problem solving. HELLRIEGEL and SLOCUM, (1975) discussed the personality theory and how it can affect the manager's character to follow certain management styles in problem solving as the manager's character can decide the preferred style for him but at the same time they referred to the organizational character and confirmed that it interferes in the way managers follow certain styles in problem solving; this view is well regarded by other authors such as Adizes, (2004) discussed the way managers identify their preferred management styles and how this affects the way they take decisions and solve problems. Weber, Mitchell and Brewer, (2002) referred to the autocratic managers and how they solve problems as he stated that the autocratic leader makes decisions unilaterally, and without much regard for subordinates. As a result, decisions will reflect the opinions and personality of the manager, which in turn can project an image of a confident, well-managed business but at the same time fails in problem solving effectively and deeply because this style neglects the human element, focuses on criticism more than reward and uses control and authority of the manager to solve problems and end them which may lead to unsolved problems as the manager who takes the decisions and suggests solutions without regard to the opinions of the subordinates which makes problems appear again and perhaps in a stronger way. 

Participative management style

It is suggested by many authors such as Thurman and Jamieson, (2014) that the participative management style is effective in problem solving in business organizations as when the participative managers face a problem, they ask all the work groups to attend a meeting where everything relevant to the problem is presented and deeply discussed through brainstorming techniques that enables employees to make the needed feedback from reports and mind as this makes differences in setting opinions and suggestions regarding the presented problems. This style raises the employees' value of themselves which encourages them provide more creative solutions for different problems and encourage them to feel self confident regarding any solutions they may have but hesitate to suggest. Amtmann, (2005)discussed the impact of following the participative management style on problem solving as he related it to positive results and innovative solutions for different problems; he referred to the usefulness of team work activities followed by the participative managers who focus mainly on engaging the employees in decision making and encouraging them to discuss the suggested solutions for different problems by employees in order to choose from the most creative and fastest solutions that don't exert too much effort. The participative style runs the risk of alienating employees whose ideas were not implemented and then discussing these opinions to give all employees the chances for having their opinions and solutions applied. This management style can give managers the chance to prove they are effective leaders who can be as models to inspire employees to suggest new solutions. 

Situational management styles

According to Philippe, (2014), the situational management style is effective in helping the organization solve its problems efficiently and in providing employees with opportunities for employees to provide new solutions and suggestions for the different problems in the organization. Lussier, (2000) reported that most managers prefer the situational management styles in solving organizational problems as these management styles are varied and can adapt to different organizational problems presenting new innovative solutions, managers can change their management style according to the needs of the problems and the organizational situations related to it as they can use the autocratic style moving to the participative style or other different styles according to the nature of the problem needing to be solved. Hersey, (1984) explained how the situational leader can suggest different policies and techniques for problem solving depending on the organizational situations as there is a high level of flexibility in the situational management styles and it can allow many agendas for being applied. The situational management styles yet have some disadvantages such as including big numbers of employees which increases the difficulty of achieving the process of decision making as the more people are involved in decision making processes, the harder it is to reach a proper decision or solution for the organizational problems. Philippe, (2014), reported that the new generations are more flexible in choosing many management styles that enable them to provide new innovative solutions as new managers have much more knowledge and information than old managers in spite of having less experience but that knowledge can enable them to be dare enough to try new management styles that can give more areas for problem solving; he explained the situational management styles are able to create effective cooperative work environments that bears a great amount of motivation for employees and this can make employees more able to suggest effective solutions for different business problems; he explained that the situational management styles are adaptive models that can allow the manager to adapt his style to the employees' skills and he referred to four situational management styles which are the directing style, the coaching style, the supporting style and the delegating style. The directing style depends mainly on the manager's role in explaining the different solutions for employees and giving them the needed instructions to solve the problems and it seeks for managers' advice to employees and it can be another image of the autocratic management style. The coaching style includes explanation tasks to be done by the manager but it doesn't focus on collective responsibilities to be mastered by the managers but it gives employees more space for discussion and asking questions about decisions and this style can easily be paternalistic. The supporting style is mainly depending on relational dimensions as it encourages exerting efforts and encourages employees share ideas together and have open discussions and it can lead to drifts in the way employees solve problems. The delegating style of management can be very effective in solving organizational problems as it bears high motivation levels and more opportunities for employees to suggest solutions for problems but at the same time it can depend on self sustained employees which can lead it to be rather free from control than needed.   

Conflict Management Styles

According to Graham, (2009), organizational management depends on power, authority and control as main elements for managing the relationship between power and subordinates as this relationship can result in many conflicts and difficulties that may reduce the effectiveness of work and lead to failure in achieving the organizational goals if management styles were not properly chosen and used. Graham, (2009) discussed conflict management styles in business organizations and confirmed that they can be used for raising employees' job satisfaction when they well applied as they referred to the way management styles can control conflicts and reduce them among the company's human resources such as the traditionalist, behavioralist, and interactionist management styles. The traditional approach in conflict management depends on resolving conflicts by managers or getting rid of these conflicts as this view depends on managers' abilities in ending conflicts in any way that ensures there are no conflicts in the organization even if the reasons behind the conflicts were not managed by managers. The second technique of conflict management is the behavioralist technique as it is a management style for dealing with different problems and conflicts in the organization depending on ending conflicts between employees by solving the conflict and looking for the reasons behind them and make deals with all parties of the conflict. The third management style for conflicts within an organization is the interactionist approach which is a style of management that looks differently into conflicts as it is based upon the concept of the continuous resolving for conflicts and problems by managers and the importance of having innovative units in the business organization with the help of managers who focus on proper communication between them and employees. It is proved that the interactionist style of management is effective in ending conflicts among employees with leaves a positive impact on the employees' performance as ending conflicts deeply with a full recognition for their reasons and ensuring continuous controlling for the reasons of conflicts by managers can raise employees' morale and helping them work cooperatively in a healthy work environment which raises their productivity and makes them feel more belonging for the organization and this can raise their retention and reduces employees' turnover resulting from conflicts and working in a stressful work environment. According to Vokic and Sontor, (2009), other conflict management styles can be effective with simple conflicts but they need continuous following for the conflicts as they may cause employees to withdraw when they are forced on ending conflicts without recognizing the reasons behind them and solving them. Verma, (1998) suggested an integrated style for conflict management in business organizations that depends on using managers' powers and authorities in a communicative way that can stop those who make the conflicts and recognize the reasons for the conflicts through investigating them by discussions and understanding as this can be effective in solving the problems related to those conflicts.   

   

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be stated that there is a great impact for the style of management on solving problems in the business organizations as this impact can be positive and lead to solving the problems when the management styles are well chosen and used by the managers and on the contrary, the impact can be negative and leads to more problems that are not solved if the managers are not able to choose the right management styles and focuses on traditional management styles that cannot provide effective solutions or that don't engage employees in solving problems and decision making as the current age needs creative solutions and new innovative techniques in discussing decisions and providing new solution for the different problems in business organizations. 

Recommendations

It is recommended that business organizations focus on the way the managers and leaders are leading employees, managing different problems and conflicts in the business environment as the management styles leaders and managers follow should be well chosen for the different situations and problems within the organization and each problem can be solved using a specific management style and the organization should make studies on the most effective management styles that were used in the organization and proved to be effective in problem solving.