Autocratic I (AI). The leader will use information that is immediately available to them to resolve issues (Bartol, Tein, Matthews, Sharma and Scott-Ladd, 2011, pg 326). The leader resolves the issue or makes the decision without input from group members. With regard results, the issue would likely be resolved quickly given that no consultation is required, but without such input the leader’s decision may not necessarily be the most appropriate and there would be little or no “buy-in” from the group whose endorsement may help ensure the solution is properly implemented. I suggest this style is best preserved for those perhaps emergency occasions when lack of time precludes effective group input and/or when the leader considerably doubts …show more content…
The leader will use information given by other group members to assist in making their decision. This information is gathered only in response to a question or request (Bartol, Tein, Matthews, Sharma and Scott-Ladd, 2011, pg 326). The leader will discuss the issue with the group and solicit their opinions, which he will carefully consider and take into account before making his or her decision. The decision should not be made before group input is obtained, although the final decision may not necessarily be that favoured by the group given that the leader may be privy to other possibly more strategic factors. This approach will most likely be more time-consuming than the Autocratic I (AI) approach, but better recognise that the group may have some very useful input that could influence the leader’s decision. Due to consultation there would likely be a greater level of group “buy-in” or commitment to the decision than for Autocratic I (AI). Perhaps a decision about the contents and frequency of group member’s individual project progress reports to the leader might benefit from this approach, which must ultimately be the leader’s decision given the leader best knows what information is needed and how often it is needed for the preparation of his or her own …show more content…
Group members will be consulted individually. The final decision is made by the leader, and won’t necessarily reflect group member input (Bartol, Tein, Matthews, Sharma and Scott-Ladd, 2011, pg 326). Individual consultation will be time-consuming, but group members will have the opportunity to express their personal opinions without the positive or negative influence of other group members and thus help avoid the problems of “groupthink”. However, the opportunity for group scrutiny and discussion about individual input is missed, and the relative merits of individual input is the leader’s decision, which might be influenced by the leader’s personal biases and perceived quality of individual’s previous input on such occasions – the “halo effect” or “reverse-halo effect” may apply. Also, such an approach may create some disharmony among group members; each being unaware of what others may have input and some frustration that they have not been able to support or challenge the input from others. There may be some personal and sensitive issues that warrant this individual