Running head: MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSON

Major Project: Sir Alex Ferguson Nor El Houda Sabbar Al AKHAWAYN University

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS Major Project: Sir Alex Fergusons management style Analysis Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the most effective leaders of football. He has been described as the foundation of Manchester United as he has joined it since 1986. The boss of the reds, as named by some, began his career as a football player in a Scottish club to end up by managing the Reds. He came to this club to find a mess; there was less discipline among players and a very weak structure and strategies. However, though these long years, Sir Ferguson is still insisting to bring more victory to Manchester United. Some have accredited this success to Alex Ferguson and argue that he was the reason for developing this well known club from weakness to greatness. As a proof of success, he has lead Manchester united to win many championships and trophies and become at a certain time the most famous club in history. It was not by coincidence that this man became a success by himself; his management and coaching style have been debated and analyzed by many researchers. They have linked his achievement to many factors such as his working class ability and tunnel vision which is the fact that he did not get distracted by something rather than concentrating exclusively on football. However, these two factors were not sufficient to ensure his accomplishment; some other criteria should be taken into consideration of which his simulation to the best leadership theories and adaptation of flourishing managerial styles. In this paper, I will focus on analyzing the theories followed by Sir Alex Ferguson to manage and lead Manchester United as well as looking at the various leadership theories that could improve Fergusons performance. Leadership theories are many, but successful managers are selecting or mixing the best ones that suit their teams conditions. From earlier, leadership has been assigned to people who were thought to be born with specific characteristics that is the Great Man theory; this theory was deduced to include members of royalty and army officers. Later on, trait theory was developed to suggest that people traits can make them effectual leaders. It has been

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS developed to give chances to normal people who are not descendents of royal or noble families to become leaders. However, these two theories were not sufficient to ensure accomplishment in sportive, organizational, or industrial domains. Behavioral theory appeared to sets that leadership is not something you are born with but something to acquire through learning and experiencing. It focuses on what successful leaders mainly do and how they act to manage and build up effective and efficient teams. Some other theories come up to develop the behavioral theory such as the contingency theory, transformational theory, and transactional theory. The contingency theory recommends assigning the right style to the convenient situation for it. Transactional and transformational models are developed to increase the employee orientation within a team (Yukl, 2002, p.268). Furthermore, Alex Ferguson was smart enough to make a combination of some of these theories to better master the performance of work. Even with limited resources, this successful manager turned Manchester united into a glorious team where cohesiveness, discipline and strong goals are shared among players. That is the reason for why many eyes get caught by his stature as manager. As a proof, many clubs became interested in recruiting him, but he preferred to be loyal to the Reds.

Great leaders like Ferguson indemnify power by exercising the most successful leadership models. One of his basic theories is the behavioral theory. He did assemble all the principles of this theory to follow specifically two managerial styles including autocratic and democratic styles. Alex Ferguson is most of the time said to be an autocratic because he was seen as the boss and a legitimate father of the team, and also his personality traits are described as a tough ones. Ferguson is controlling and forceful by nature and expects loyalty at all times. He is very much seen as the father figure at Old Trafford. His management style is very autocratic and he prefers a high level of power over his team (Harry Redknapp and daughter Louise, 2008, para.12). So this quote confirms the first style adapted by Alex

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS Ferguson. The theory X is almost defending a similar key assumption. It says most people have to be controlled, directed and forced to do to achieve organizational goals (Bolden, Gosling, Marturano, and Dennison, p. 7). In addition, Ferguson strongly believes in his way of managing; he says in an interview My control is the most important thing; the most important person in Manchester United is the manager (Sportsmail reporter, 2010, para. 7). Alex Ferguson is following exactly what an autocratic style comes up with. Ferguson limits the participation of players in decision making and dictating work. Even though Ferguson is said most of the time to be an autocratic leader, he turned sometimes to be a democratic. Success can never be promoted by a style of leadership. However, what it can ensure is to help that process and force it into being a success. Autocracy in leadership is less applicable nowadays because managers tend to involve subordinates to increase motivation, but we cannot deny the domains that are still adopting them. Moreover, even though Ferguson is most of the time said to be an autocratic, he turned sometimes to be a democratic leader. Democracy in leadership is a means to maintaining players motivation which considered as the essence of the team productivity. Ferguson motivates his team by listening to their needs and is ready to provide for them. He sees them as his sons and calls everyone of his players son. He sees them as the greatest asset of his team and is ready to solve their personal problems as a manager (Oyedele, 2011, para. 46). Now, there is a clear participation and consideration given to players to share everything with their manager as they can even be personal problems. This involvement is giving more motivation to players as they feel very close and important for the team and also for their manager. These two analyzed styles and used by Ferguson are considered as behavioral theories because they deal with the leader behaviors and actions towards his players. Ferguson, as a result, uses two opposite styles which make him a unique and a great manager. Another theory recognized by Alex Ferguson is the Charismatic leadership theory. This kind of leadership theories requires leading through

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS encouragement and enthusiasm. The leader imposes authority and influence around him. Charismatic leaders exert authority on their teams and make the team success always depends on them. They direct great influence among the members of the team. So does Alex Ferguson who gained a significant influence on his players. It is this fluency in the machinations of ego and super ego that permits Fergie to knock on a troubled door at just the right time (Garside, 2009, para 6). Alex also succeeded in changing players minds anytime he needed to even when it comes to their personal life. As an example, Ronaldo had made up his mind to join Real Madrid, the club who fill the hearts of children doing keepie-uppies before breakfast in Madeira. Ronaldo has an emotional attachment to the idea of Madrid beyond the reach of reason. That Fergie persuaded him to come back to Manchester one more time demonstrates the charismatic influence that he has on those around him (Garside, 2009, para. 5). So what arguments did he present to convince this talented player? Usually, it seems that charismatic leaders work well when there are problems in the team, the leader derives an essential idea that offers solutions to the problems, then players believe in this idea and experience a success that emerge it achievable and distinguish the leader as an amazing person. His charisma is seen through the parental relationship with his players as well; Gerard Piqu, current player for FC Barcelona, made his debut for Manchester United said that Alex Ferguson was and still is like a second father to him. It is noticeable that players respect and love this famous manager, and he was responsible for being in such situation. Ferguson does not allow inter team rivalry and has a good system of conflict resolution. All his team members, sees him as a father and not only as a team manager. Sir Alex Ferguson is an Influential leader, approachable and humorous (Michael, 2011, para.19). It is Alex Ferguson that imposes his love on players either by autocracy, democracy or his charisma. The last theory is the contingency theory which can summarizes what has already been discussed above. By analyzing Fergusons styles we can say that he is also following the contingency theory.

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS Contingency theory recommends matching a leaders style to the right situation, which involves matching to the team of people and goals. (Yukl, 2002, p. 209). As a result of mixing the styles cited before, a leader can be said to follow the contingency theory. Alex Ferguson is adapting each style in the convenient situation for it. When it comes to be autocratic, he does not give any consideration to democracy, but when it involves democracy, he gave the right to everyone and even to subordinates. To sum up, the secret behind Alexs success is the adaptation of different styles according to the different situations the team go through.

Ferguson made for Manchester United an unbeaten empire where strong goals, discipline and strategies are set. Alex Ferguson has already been successful in making use of a combination of the best management styles and theories that fit his teams abilities, resources, and conditions. However, there are some other flourishing theories that Ferguson could have used to lead Manchester United. One theory is the managerial grid theory. This theory focuses both on task orientation and players (employees) orientation. It is said to be the most effective type of leadership models as it combines the major components of a team which are people or players and tasks. Therefore, Alex Ferguson could have followed this theory to increase the teams performance. As Sir Alex does care about his players condition as well as achievement of goals, the managerial grid theory could suit his request of success. It could specifically perform well if he used the team management style or the (9,9) scale. This level involves effort from loyal players in order to achieve a relationship of trust and respect. Manchester United team has all the potential to adapt this strategy and bring more triumph through. Another one could be the transactional theory. The key assumption is that transactional leadership requires that the leader and the player agree on some rules. The player is responsible for following orders and make efforts so that he can receive rewards. This theory lays on the assumption that people complete work only when they are motivated by

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS external rewards, but this is not always the case; many people or players achieve goals because of their own internal motivation. He is intolerant of failure, of those who dont come up to the mark and of those who oppose him (Garside, 2009, para. 10). Because Alex Ferguson does not tolerate failure and mistakes and wants players to follow orders and do what he asked them to do, Transactional theory could be another good one to follow. Alex Ferguson infuses his team with his hate of losing and desire of winning personality (Gumi, 2008, para 6). This quote illustrates the basics for this theory. It is better for Ferguson to adapt this theory as it is effective in avoiding loss and encouraging victory. In addition, the transformational theory is another theory that Ferguson may have adapted to increase his teams performance. Transformational leadership is a process in which the leader engages others, builds trust and creates a connection that increases the motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower. (Northouse, 2001, p.207). A transformational leader concentrates on players needs in order to help them attain their potential. Transformational leadership looks at the leaders ability to create a vision related to the goals desired by both the leader and the player. The boss of the Reds could have aid players to feel trust, admiration and loyalty toward him, and push them to do more than they expect themselves to do. To compare these suggested theories, I would say that the best one is the managerial grid theory which focuses mainly on task and people (players) orientations. Studies have shown that it is the most effective theory as soon as it is well implemented in a team, it will increase its performance. Concerning the two last, it seems that the transformational theory is more effective since the transactional theory rely on rewarding achievement which sometimes can be harmful for the team because it can ignore responsibility, loyalty and respect. Furthermore, the transformational theory can build strong relationships among players and their manager. However, successful leaders make a combination of the two to better achieve both the teams goals and personal goals. On the

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS other hand, Alex Ferguson could have created his own theory which better suit his own and teams beliefs and conditions. This theory should include some technological aspects because of the advance in technology nowadays. It will facilitate work and training efforts for Ferguson and decrease the rigidity of all these described theories for players. If Ferguson hears of something that might add a point or two to United's total at the end of the season-some new training method, some sports-science wisdom or a new technology that can measure a player's performance--he's on it (Michael, 2011, para. 16). Ferguson has already the ability to spend money to increase his players conditions, so I would suggest that he creates a special theory that would recognize the whole team satisfaction.

As it has been argued, Alex Ferguson used three management styles including the autocratic style, the democratic style and the charismatic style. The first argument I would give for adapting the autocratic style is that he wanted to ensure and spread discipline among players. Sir Alex Ferguson saw the significance of instilling modesty in his players. He never accepted a player to move up the club (Michael, 2011, para.2). He preferred to exert power over his young and rich players because he thought that control will promote respect and obedience. If I lose control of these multi-millionaires in the Manchester United dressing room then I'm dead. So I never lose control. If anyone steps out of my control, that's them dead (sportsmail reporter, 2010, para. 4). So he was able to do anything in order to keep his contemplation regarding players. Also, he had no trust on players so he preferred to do everything by him without even relying on the other stuff; 'I was doing everything - ordering the pies, looking after the programmes. It was getting me nowhere (sportsmail reporter, 2010, para 5). Concerning the democratic style, Ferguson makes use of it to hide the dictatorship used in the autocratic style. As he was very though and limited concerning the work on the interests of Manchester united; he had to turn this style into a democratic one when he feels it necessary. Moreover, Ferguson wanted to gain friendship and loyalty, as well

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS as increasing motivation without losing the hierarchy structure that allows him to remain at the top. The democratic style was like softness from Ferguson to affectionate the players and hides his rudeness. However, the reason behind using the charismatic style was his desire to influence players and to have a diplomatic authority on them. Ferguson had not the power to impose things on players when it comes to their own choices, but he used the charismatic tactic to lead them to act the way he wanted discreetly. Ferguson showed a great intelligence in leading this famous club. He was very smart in, first, combining the strategies and the models that suit his requirements and, second, in making these models successful in achieving his desires. To conclude, it is not the selection of theories that makes of people good managers, but the way the leader deal with these theories and the way he adapts it to every different individual in his team that makes him successful.

Some can say that the autocratic style is no longer successful because the time of slavery is over, but autocracy does not mean slavery and it has been able to ensure performance and do a good job in managing teams and it still exists in many domains. Alex Ferguson as said earlier made a super combination of the best theories that match his team requirements. But we cannot deny that he could have used many other theories and as well develop his team through these theories. Moreover, Ferguson could have used technology to insert a kind of uniqueness and development into his style and make of Manchester united the first technological team in football history. Maybe Ferguson has thought about this, but the cost of technology is still too much. Alex Ferguson has been said to be one of the best earths managers, and adapting his style does not mean that its the most perfect one. Ferguson has to develop his leadership styles as they are described as old ones and are not that effective anymore. Alex Ferguson should remodel his behavior role and give a general and total participation to his players in every small detail concerning the team and its performance. In addition, Ferguson could have improved his teams performance by asking his players

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS whether they are satisfied with his current style or not. Also, he may modify the way he is dealing with problems and try to be more open on failure and mistake and try to correct it by strengthen the point of weakness and keep the point of strengths. Furthermore, Ferguson has to give more freedom to his players too and try to not force them to do things because this will diminish loyalty toward him and players wont be comfortable while playing for the club. Also, he has to deal with the way he influences them; he should keep influence on them in things that improve their performance and not things that are related to their personal issues. Finally, Alex Fergusons style is becoming more criticized and said to be rigid and limits the performance of players (sportsmail reporter, 2010, para 19). To gain his success again he should think about a new style that matches the players current conditions and try to abolish all the weaknesses and obstacle they face the teams performance. On the other hand, he should be able to keep his strengths along his managerial career.

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To conclude, Ferguson leadership has been described as a legend since it lasts two decades. His combination of leadership styles was said to be intelligence and a success by itself. However, it is not the selecting of the best styles that improves the teams performance; Ferguson was successful in implementing these styles depending on his players abilities. Fergusons style has charge him appreciation. He is remaining of the last dynasty managers, as said to be men who directed every portion of a club from the penalty spot to the broom cupboard. He will be recognized as long as Manchester united exists and his family tree will always remember that he spend half of his life building up this club. Alex Ferguson style is becoming to be simulated by start-up managers and even existing managers as it has been successful in maintain greatness and victory for long years.

MAJOR PROJECT: SIR ALEX FERGUSONS MANAGEMENT STYLE ANALYSIS Refrences:

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Elliott, M. (2011). More than Manchester. Time International (Atlantic Edition), 117(22), 38-42.

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Yukl, Gary (2002). Leadership in organizations. The United States: Prentice-Hall, Inc. p. 1_56

sportasmail reporter, (22 january 2010). Sir Alex Ferguson warns Manchester United stars: cross me and you'll die Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1245228/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-warns-Manchester-United-stars-Crossyoull-die.html#ixzz1gJERnWTf .MailOnline , 5(2), 3. Retrived from

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1245228/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-warns-Manchester-United-stars-Cross-youlldie.html

Redknapp, Harry (2 march 2011). CEOs are bottom of the league. Edge, p. 2. Retrived from

http://www.i-l-m.com/edge/9527.aspx

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Gumi , Antony (15 june 2008). Alex Ferguson Manager of Manchester United 1986-2008. retrieved 10 december 2011, from My essay on Alex Ferguson Web Site: http://kerjaannyagumi.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-essay-on-alex-ferguson.html