← Internal operations of a large business

Leadership, policies and procedures (recurring)

Identify the style or the policy, give an advantage, a disadvantage, then justify with two reasons.

Leadership style	Advantage	Disadvantage	Fits when
Autocratic	Fast, clear, decisive	No buy-in; staff learn nothing; resentment	Crisis, safety-critical, inexperienced staff
Democratic	Better ideas, buy-in, develops leaders	Slow; can stall without a decision	Change management, developing future leaders
Laissez-faire	Autonomy motivates experts; frees the leader	No guidance or feedback; standards drift	Highly skilled, self-directed specialists

The 2025 paper asked to justify a style "referring to brand reputation and maintaining standards" — both criteria must be addressed, with two reasons.

The three-step ladder, applied to leadership

• Achieved: identify the style, give ONE advantage.
• Merit: give the DISADVANTAGE, and its impact on employee motivation or performance.
• Excellence: justify against two NAMED criteria (e.g. brand reputation, maintaining standards), comparing to a different named style.

Exam-style A health and safety policy and a matching procedure Explain ONE policy and ONE procedure the business has. POLICY (the intent): "All hazards will be identified and controlled so that no employee is harmed at work." PROCEDURE (the steps): "Any employee who identifies a hazard records it in the hazard register, notifies their supervisor within 24 hours, and the supervisor assesses and controls it within five working days." WHY IT MATTERS: it meets the duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act, and gives every site the same standard — so an injury cannot be blamed on nobody knowing what to do. ✓ Policy states WHAT and WHY; procedure states WHO does WHAT, in what order, by when. A procedure with no timeframe or owner is really just a policy again.

Practice for this standard covers the whole topic — flashcards and quiz.