Leadership Styles: Paternalistic vs. Participative Management Essay

This essay analyzes and compares two distinct leadership styles: paternalistic and participative leadership. The essay examines the application of paternalistic leadership, often employed by CEOs in multinational firms, highlighting its emphasis on authority, loyalty, and employee well-being. It contrasts this with participative leadership, suitable for supervisors in construction sites, where collaboration, employee input, and shared decision-making are emphasized. The essay explores the advantages and disadvantages of each style, considering their impact on employee morale, productivity, and organizational success. It underscores the importance of adapting leadership approaches to suit specific organizational contexts and roles, recognizing that both styles have unique strengths and weaknesses. The essay also references several academic sources to support its arguments.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
The essay helps in the overall analysis of the various styles of leadership which is
followed in the different fields of the work life. The two different leaders who have been
selected in the respective essay are The CEO of the Multinational Firm and Supervisor in
the Construction Site. The respective essay will be describing the different kinds of the role
which provides an appropriate position in managing the subordinates in the different areas of
the work which is performed by them. The two types of leadership which have been adopted
in the essay includes the paternalistic and participative leadership styles that play a significant
role in the two distinct areas of work.
CEO of the Multinational Firm
In the respective aspect, the paternalistic kind of leadership is the most appropriate
style and approach which can be followed by the different CEOs in the different
multinational companies. As commented by Aycan, (2015), the paternalistic leadership
approach is the managerial approach which is inclusive of the dominant authority figure who
acts as the matriarch or patriarch and the employees in the organizations are treated as the
subordinates. Moreover, the leaders expect loyalty and trust from the different employees
along with obedience which will be beneficial in improving the morale of the employees in
an effective manner (Cheng & Wang, 2015).
For instance- Henry Ford is one such example who followed the paternalistic
approach of leadership while he was serving as the leader in the organization. Due to the
application of the paternalistic style of leadership, there was a high level of loyalty among the
employees, and the employees felt they were being heard and their needs were met as well.

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From the respective example, it was being seen and analyzed that the different CEOs
who adopted the paternalistic approach of leadership, the food behaviour is rewarded by the
person by the person at the top often with food and goods. Besides, due to the inclusion of the
paternalistic approach, the absenteeism rates along with the turnover among the staffs can be
reduced to a great extent (Eva et al., 2019). To become a CEO of the organization, different
employees are working under them, and it is the core responsibility of the CEOs and
managers of the organization to take care of the diverse needs of the employees and improve
their morale which will lead to the overall positive kind of productivity.
As commented by Hiller et al. (2018), the paternalistic approach is one type of
dictatorial attitude of leadership; however there is no such inclusion of autocratic leadership
approach. In the respective kind of leadership, the CEOs of the firms try to welcome the
different feedback from the employees which improves the morale along with the decisions
which are taken by the employees are considered as they play a significant role in developing
the overall efficiency of the organisation and it increases the morale of the employees.
Besides, as commented by Hou et al. (2019), the different employees are rewarded with the
various financial and non-financial incentives when they achieve the goals, and the
productivity of the organization is increased as well.
As opined by Jackson (2015), the CEOs of the different organizations are treated as
the role model of the various employees, and it increases the trust related factor among
employees. In the paternalistic kind of leadership, the main focus is on the meeting the
different social needs which improve their morale in performing the various activities, and it
helps the organizations in performing well. Furthermore, as opined by Humphreys et al.
(2019), the managers are involved in the personal space of the employees working in the
organizations as it makes the employees feel more connected towards the work, and they
achieve the goals appropriately.

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The primary motive of the chief executive officer of the company is that they want all the
employees to succeed in the different tasks which are performed by them, and there is
existence of the open line of communication between the various managers and employees
that assists in keeping the employees feel more satisfied and essential in performing the
different activities (Lam, Huang & Chan, 2015). These are the various aspects which keep the
employees motivated and satisfied which is showcased in the productivity of the
organization. The two-way conversation is welcomed, and it ensures that the various
employees and organizational needs are met and it increased the overall loyalty among
employees. Lastly, the paternalistic approach of leadership considers the real people and
these kinds of CEOs do not encourage robot workers which proves to be one of the most
successful strategies of making the employees feel that they are the assets (Li, Liu & Luo,
2018).
Supervisor on Construction Site
As the supervisor on the construction site, the leadership style which can be adopted
is a participative leadership style which helps in managing the subordinates who are working
under the supervisor. As commented by Rawat and Lyndon, (2016), the participative
leadership style is the managerial style which helps in inviting the different inputs from the
different subordinates or the engineers working in the construction site on the various
decisions which are taken for the overall success of the tasks.
Furthermore, as commented by Tian and Sanchez (2017), the different staffs are ready
to accept the different policies along with decisions which were reached by the consensus. It
helps in cutting down the resistance among the different employees as they feel their choices
are being valued and they are involved in the process of proper creation and approving the

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respective policies which help the company to adjust to the different changes in the policy in
a rapid manner.
As the supervisor, Tuan (2018), has commented that the primary job role and
responsibility is to access the different hazards, determination of the various risks, conducting
the general and regular inspections along with maintaining safety programme. The supervisor
who has been posted in the site will work typically with site foreman and is responsible for
the organizing of the construction works on site and report the same to the project manager.
In conducting the different activities in the construction site by the supervisor, it is essential
for them to analyse the various activities which will help improve the morale of the
employees and there will be an increase in the overall productivity of the company
appropriately.
Moreover, Li, Liu and Luo (2018), have opined that planning, organizing along with
controlling the different activities related to the project will be done by the supervisor who
will be beneficial in gaining competitive advantage in the market. During the work in the
construction sites, it is the essential duty of the supervisor to analyse the different opinions of
the employees or the subordinates who are working under them which will be helpful in the
entire process of decision-making. Besides, as to improve the growth of the organization, it is
the role of the supervisor to analyse and adopt the different opinions of the engineers as the
opinions will be diverse, and it will be making the overall aspect more competitive.
As opined by Tian and Sanchez (2017), the proper and appropriate kind of leadership
is the essential aspect which should be followed to gain a competitive advantage. The proper
understanding regarding the different tasks which are performed by the supervisor should be
considered necessary as it is one of the essential contextual factors that play a significant role
in managing the entire process. Rawat and Lyndon (2016), have commented that with the

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inclusion of the participative leadership style, the quality of the work which is being
performed will be improved as feedbacks and inputs are being generated from the diverse
backgrounds of people who are the critical process in the lowest or execution level.
Furthermore, as commented by Aycan (2015), the quality control began and ensured
at the lowest level as even the minute details are being taken care of and there is no such
loophole which goes unreported. Moreover, with the adoption of the participative leadership
style, there is the reduction in the cost as there will be no such requirement of supervision and
more emphasis is being provided on widening the skills and the costs are controlled
efficiently. Lastly, the participative style of leadership has been able to improve the process
of decision-making capabilities of the employees which will be providing employees with a
sense of purpose, meaning and belonging.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that both participative and paternalistic leadership
styles are essential approaches of leadership which play a vital role in improving the different
business operations. Both supervisors of the construction site and the CEO of the
multinational company are having different roles, and the approach of leadership should be
different as it will be beneficial inappropriately commencing the different tasks. Both the
approaches of leadership are essential, and they have various advantages in managing the two
different types of functions in different fields. On the other hand, the two methods of
leadership have various loopholes or disadvantages which includes that in the participative
leadership style, there is slow down in the process of decision making aspects along with the
security issues are involved in it. Lastly, in the paternalistic approach, the managers or CEOs
behave like parents, and there is the inclusion of discipline in the traditional manner.

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References
Aycan, Z. (2015). Paternalistic leadership. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-2.
Cheng, M. Y., & Wang, L. (2015). The mediating effect of ethical climate on the relationship
between paternalistic leadership and team identification: A team-level analysis in the
Chinese context. Journal of business ethics, 129(3), 639-654.
Eva, N., Newman, A., Miao, Q., Cooper, B., & Herbert, K. (2019). Chief executive officer
participative leadership and the performance of new venture teams. International
Small Business Journal, 37(1), 69-88.
Hiller, N. J., Sin, H. P., Ponnapalli, A. R., & Ozgen, S. (2018). Benevolence and authority as
WEIRDly unfamiliar: A multi-language meta-analysis of paternalistic leadership
behaviours from 152 studies. The Leadership Quarterly.
Hou, B., Hong, J., Zhu, K., & Zhou, Y. (2019). Paternalistic leadership and innovation: the
moderating effect of environmental dynamism. European Journal of Innovation
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Humphreys, J. H., Randolph-Seng, B., Pane Haden, S. S., & Novicevic, M. M. (2015).
Integrating libertarian paternalism into paternalistic leadership: the choice architecture
of HJ Heinz. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 22(2), 187-201.
Jackson, T. (2015). Is Paternalistic Leadership Bad? A View from the Other Side of the
Fence. Cross-cultural Management Studies.
Lam, C. K., Huang, X., & Chan, S. C. (2015). The threshold effect of participative leadership
and the role of leader information sharing. Academy of Management Journal, 58(3),
836-855.

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Li, G., Liu, H., & Luo, Y. (2018). Directive versus participative leadership: Dispositional
antecedents and team consequences. Journal of Occupational and Organizational
Psychology, 91(3), 645-664.
Rawat, P. S., & Lyndon, S. (2016). Effect of paternalistic leadership style on subordinate’s
trust: an Indian study. Journal of Indian Business Research, 8(4), 264-277.
Tian, Q., & Sanchez, J. I. (2017). Does paternalistic leadership promote innovative
behaviour? The interaction between authoritarianism and benevolence. Journal of
Applied Social Psychology, 47(5), 235-246.
Tuan, L. T. (2018). Driving employees to serve customers beyond their roles in the
Vietnamese hospitality industry: The positions of paternalistic leadership and
discretionary HR practices. Tourism Management, 69, 132-144.