Two basic management styles are popular in companies. These are known as top-down management and bottom of management. The meaning can be deciphered from the name themselves. Top-down management is when the employees are assigned tasks according to their position at the company. It is considered beneficial because the employees are supposed to report accomplishments to their superiors. This helps in creating a work environment where responsibilities are met well within time.
But, cons are quite inevitable with pros. With positive outcomes come negative aspects. A similar case can be applied to top-down management.
Missing out on ideas.
The level of awareness in top-down management increases with an individual’s position. This means that an employee in a lower position may know about fewer things than his superiors. Only the bosses are usually aware of everything going on in the company. This leads to a lack of communication between different employees that in turn generates lesser ideas.
This approach does not encourage the participation of different members involved in teams. It is more focused on getting tasks done at different levels. Usually, the senior teams tell the juniors what they are supposed to do.
Lesser engagement.
Top-down management can significantly affect employee engagement and reduce it with time. The more an employee is encouraged, the more they are engaged in developing better ideas. This makes them focus more on getting paid for their accomplishments rather than learning and upgrading their skills. Challenges at jobs help employees in striving to be better and coming up with your needed idea pitches. But, being constantly guided by superiors, they seem to lack individuality and innovation in their work.
Planning becomes a challenging process.
A company is run by planning projects and dividing the work between different departments. In a top-down management style, the work is usually divided among the leaders, which are then explained to their teams by them. Consider a situation where a leader is not able to guide the employees. All planning can go in vain in such scenarios because no one knows what they need to do. The team members rely too much on their leaders, and chaotic confusion is created in their absence.
Employees find it difficult to make decisions.
Employees are not able to prioritize tasks on their own as they are distributed to them by team leaders. They have to comply with the leaders’ decisions, even if they may not be suitable for their work approach. For instance, consider a client who misbehaved with an employee.
The employee may report this issue to their leaders, but what if the leaders are not satisfied. What if the leaders tell the employees to deal with the client’s behaviour. This is one of the biggest problems associated with top-down management. Even after being close to the situation, the members are not able to make their own decisions.
How to have a better management style?
It is often said that original practices need to be modified from time to time. A similar approach needs to be applied to top-down management. It is not necessary to get rid of the overall style. Alternatively, simple modifications can be done to improve communication between different employees at a company.
Close work relationships need to be built between different departments. The employees can be given some independence in taking their decisions and providing their inputs in the form of ideas. This way, they can function better, understand dynamics, and work together to devise solutions for different problems. This not only ensures workplace harmony but also ensures better team building and leadership skills. These are the ultimate skills required in a working individual. Let us know your thoughts on Top-Down Management in the comment section below.