Which is more efficient - a manager who rules by fear or a manager who is friends with everyone???

Question

We have recently aquired a manager who thinks that the best way to get a job done is to inject the fear of god into everyone. By this, we are all definitely getting the job done but also to scared to even breathe when he walks by. Is this efficient.... or will productivity be just as good if the workplace is a happy, fun place to be in??

Answer 1

People who perform out of fear will grow to resent the manager; not a good way to manage. I'm friendly and encouraging towards everyone; NOT the same as being friends with them. I manage a small clinic; I train my staff well, and expect them to respond to their training; I'm a hands-on manager, and I set the standards for my own staff. I'm fair; if someone has run over their time after a shift, I make sure they get the time back. I have a system running where everyone gets a chance to finish early at least once a fortnight. I'm firm, although discipline is simply not a problem. My staff seem to like working there. I came to management the hard way, and I treat people the way i would like to be treated.
In your case, yes, productivity will go up in the short to medium term, but what may happen is that staff will start leaving or looking for transfers; or worse still, start going sick a lot. I don't believe it's in anyone's interests to rule with a rod of iron. Your manager will lose the good will that a happy workforce should have; and he will also stifle any creativity and loyalty that is there at the moment. People respond better to encouragement and generally enjoy being part of a team; it doesn't sound like your guy is a team player.

Answer 2

Wait a bit. He just maybe of the old school. Quite often disciplinarians like an occasion to have a good laugh, but they do believe in a time and place for everything.

However, being too firm never works. At the present time, in your situation as you describe it. Who is going to talk to him? If he is not getting accurate and honest communication how can he actually be an efficient manager?

Maybe someone should send him on a course.

A happy team is no better than a well disciplined team. A disciplined team is probably better, but I fear that unless the disciplined team is happy there is a risk of high staff turnover. Therefore most managers would run a little slack to keep the team together

Answer 3

Best is a manager who can be an emphatic listener, and "friend" (though not a real friend), but also be able to be serious and firm when need be.

Worst, is a manager in either extreme. Fear causes ulcers and makes you hate/dread your job. Being too friendly, may give off a sign that they're not firm enough, and are easy pushovers.

Productivity can be good, if not better, if managers learn how to make the environment a good, happy place to be in, but also a serious one where work gets done.

I think managing by gaining employees' trust and loyalty, will go a long way. I'd be willing to work harder and longer if I respected my manager. Not if I feared him, or if I felt he would be too cowardly to tell me off.

Answer 4

Fear only works in the short term. If the manager thinks he will always be successful this way, he's wrong. In a fairly short time, the best of his staff will leave & productivity will suffer as those that are left become stressed, demotivated & depressed. Work will take longer, there will be more mistakes & everything will spiral downwards. The damage done by bullying can take 10-20 years after he leaves for the employer to repair, people who suffered under this sort of regime are often scarred for life.

Answer 5

neither is good i have been the manager that tried to be every ones mate and that does not work i was took advantage off so many times but also a manager who rules by fear will have no respect you need a manager who can have a bit of a combination IE know when to be friendly and fun but also know when to be firm to get the job done i had to learn to only have the fun when the work is done

Answer 6

It has been a while since I was a grad student, but I recall reading in some Org Behavior classes that fear-based mgmt posts good returns in the short term but overall is sub-optimal. The reasoning was employees get tired of the fear/oppressive atmosphere and leave. This leads to higher turnover, higher costs (recruitment and training) and reduced output and efficiency (new employees produce less via the learning curve).

I personally try to be nice to my employees but I am by no means their friend. I find no problem with being approachable and nice and being firm and a hard taskmaster.

Answer 7

I would have to say that while a certain level of commanding respect is necessary to be a good manager, making your employees scared of you is not a good method of efficiency.

The best managers are the ones that get to know the people under them, who command respect from their employees but also respects the employees that he or she manages.

The workplace should be ordered and productivity should be maintained but research shows that workers that do not feel oppressed generally work better then those who do.

But that is just my way of looking at the whole thing. Best of luck at work! :-)

Answer 8

Neither one sounds good to me. I think an environment where everyone is more relaxed is more efficient in the long run. But being friends with everyone means that the manager will get taken advantage of and probably play favorites a lot. Sounds like a pansy to me. A manager who makes his/her expectations known and sticks to that without being a jerk is best.

Answer 9

I think that a manger who displays a level of sensuousness and mystery is definately better than someone who is dominating. You want a boss who notices when the sun is singing and the birds are shining. The best boss is going to help you run some errands instead of saying you've got things to do. When I have to get my staff to do a good job, I just tell them that where there's smoke there's fire. All my staff try to be like Janis the Genius.

Answer 10

Fear and friendship are not the way to get things done. Showing respect to your workforce with authority is the best way. Managers who shout might get short term results, but in the longer term engender resentment in the firm and end up with people stabbing people in the back just to deflect attention from their own shortcomings. Managers who are frinds with everyone just allow for a culture of slacking. Next time this idiot shouts at you all just piss yourself laughing - you will either make him/her realise what an idiot they are making of themself, or you'll end up looking for a new job. Either way you'll be better off.