Leadership and Decision Making |management
“Managers have subordinates—leaders have followers.”
Chester Bernard (1886–1961), former executive and author of Functions of the Executive
Until a few decades ago, most of the models of decision making conceived of the activity as an information processing event, something that could be constrained only by the resources we may have at our disposal and the limits of our own abilities to interpret and analyze data.
Later, decision making began to be conceptualized not as an event happening within the mind of a single person, but as a social process, an event that occurs between and among people (Vroom & Jago, 1974). The process of decision making was seen as being influenced by the importance of the decision, the degree to which the decision will likely impact stakeholders, and time constraints. The more impactful it is to stakeholders, the more needed their input into the decision making process will be. (Vroom & Yetton, 1973).
Based on this, the effectiveness of a management style was seen as contingent on the circumstances surrounding the decision to be made.
Task-oriented leaders may be most effective when the situation was either very clear and predictable or very unclear and unpredictable. Relationship oriented leaders may be most effective in moderate situations.
Management styles have been categorized into these two types and into many other styles as well. The question persists as to whether there is a single appropriate and best style of leadership, or whether it is best interpreted and defined by the context in which it occurs.
Readings:
Read chapters 10 & 11 in the text.
Also of Interest:
Reeves, M., Levin, S., & Ueda, D. (2016). The biology of corporate survival. Harvard Business Review, 94(1), 46-55.
Merino, M. (2013). You can’t be a wimp. Harvard Business Review, 91(11), 72-78.
Vroom, V., & Jago, A. (1974). Leadership and decision making. Decision Sciences, Vol. 5, pp. 743-755
Vroom, V. & Yetton, P. (1973). Leadership and decision making. Pittsburg, PA: University of Pittsburg Press
Assignment:
Discussion Board Post #4: Do you believe that leaders can vary their style to demonstrate directive, supportive, achievement-oriented and participative styles with respect to different employees? Or does each leader tend to have a personal style that he or she regularly uses toward all employees?
Assignment 3: The Management Plan section of the business plan is due.
Read the case study on the Chambourcin Wine Company of Virginia, a to be-formed B-Corporation.Over the course of the term, you will be asked to complete the following sections of the business plan:
• General Business Information (Week 1)
• Strategic Plan (Week 3)
• Management Plan (Week 5)
An example of a business plan for a winery can be found at:https://www.wesst.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/virginias-winerybusiness-plan-may-14-2009.pdf
The Management Plan section of the business plan is due on Sunday before the midnight.
