management style is totally depend on organization and social culture. both are cross related to each other.

Management style is a function of personality trait,knowledge,skill and attitude of an individual. It gradually develops over the years and finds manifestation in achievement of result through prudent use of organizational resources (human resource, financial resource and technological resource). Result orientated approach & team building are important criteria in organizational management.

I agree with Jaharkanti sir. Management styles are time bound and relates to percetion of human mind justified by the roles they play in a organisation but most importantly the power and postion they enjoy

El estilo de liderazgo mas efectivo es el que se adapta a las circunstancias, no existen estilos perfectos ni mucho menos únicos

Management style is - as others already mentioned - dependent on many contingencies. However, do you really talk about "one", "first-best" management style? To reach different goals with different stakeholder groups various management styles may provide most effective outcomes.

management style is totally depends upon organisational climate.The organisational climate consists of employee and employer relations, feel, responsibility , attitude ,perception , broad minded,, self confidence,work oriented worth oriented,thought procesess can be given the shape of effective management style.

Present organizations are much more complex than before. Both internal and external factors influence the organization continuously. I feel that there is not tablet that cure all types of illness of organization. there is no best approach, neither one-size-fits-all approach work in present environment. A successful management style could be one that makes best decisions within the given environmental conditions.

I did a research study exploring a similar question, comparing the relationship among employee perceptions of various managerial styles and the degree to which they were engaged in their work (presented at 2012 SIOP). The results were intuitive, yet counter to much of the popular literature on how managers need to behave with their employees. I look at 7 different managerial styles: coaching, consideration & initiating structure (from LBDQ), supportive, directive, participative, and initiating structure (from Path-Goal), predicting engagement (Schaufeli's UWES). Using SEM path modeling, convenient sample, cross industries, primarily under 40 years of age - aka the future of our industry.

Results: participative, achievement-oriented, and initiating structure were the only significant "managerial styles" that predicted employee engagement.

While organizational culture may play a role, in one's immediate relationship with one's immediate manager, this study suggested that the best managerial style is multifaceted; enlisting employees in decision making and participation, providing challenging assignments that encourage them to do their best, give them the structure and support they need to succeed, and try to stay out of their way.

The best approach is the one that works. Gives u efficiency and satisfaction to your client with minimum use of resources. The catch is until u apply it n get desired result u wont know which one is best. Secondly its not a necessary u ll end up with similar result all the time. So u need to be creative n innovate.

The best management style that suits the requirements and tackles the problems of the HR should be Participative style of management. Every organisation may have explicitly laid down rules and styles of their functioning and governing but one can not forget that the type of problems that employees face universally are almost common.Mnagement styles can be filtered accirding to the goals the organisations cherish

The best style of management is one that strikes a balance between the desires of workers and their social need

The most effective management style I have experienced in a team environment is a Transformational management style. A good transformational manager will lead his team and manage the processes. Working with his team a transformational manager will focus on value statements that have meaning to his subordinates. Coaching through one-on-one reviews will build trust between a superior and his subordinates and often allowed the individual to rise above their expectations, and as their performance increased so can team’s performance increase. This more communicative approach to leadership can be more effective (Shockley-Zalabak, 2012) than through another management style.

As individual members performance improves, a synthesis can take place that allows a previously struggling individual to be accepted by the team, fostering collaboration between internal parties and empowering everyone to rise above their job description (Kouzes, Posner, 2007). A transformational manage will be a motivating force, communicating his vision, which advances the vision of the organization, (Troupe, 2010) but instead of dictating policy like some other managers, he empowered the his workers to collaborate and use their combined skills to achieve their individual, team and organizational goals. This empowerment will continue to build trust and allow the team to perform better (Wang & Howell, 2010) in a shorter time than through other management styles.

The Transformational Manager who implements the team approach will free-up human potential and identify and develop new talent within the group. It could foster new meaningful relationships within the team. It could identify interests employees have beyond their their current department and create challenging new jobs. Additionally, the transformational leadership focuses more on long-term goals, not short-term wins. Everyone on the team will develop to and potentially beyond their potential and the organization will grow and succeed as well.

Management's prime responsibilities are decision making and control, for creating value, managing risk, building competitive advantage and fulfilling stakeholders' expectations. In the process of carrying out it's responsibility, management deals with people, process and technology for the best possible organizational performance. I feel, effective management style is one, that encourages the growth and development of people, process and technology by creating conducive organizational culture,

I see a lot of great comments. My perception though, is that people have read some good books and absorbed some sound theoretical concepts but still need some practice. The real test is to apply what has been learned and at the same time achieve success. In this proving ground you may find that your abilities don't fit for every situation. For me personally, I assess each situation based on the organizational needs, then I assess the skills of the people that will be needed to perform the work, and then decide on an approach. In the present day environment, working with groups rather than individuals seems to be the most effective. Two books come to mind: Situational Leadership by Hershey and Blanchard plus Learning Organizations. I believe this is a Xerox book.

BTW I am still learning.

Ia am agree with Edward Glessner, I assess each situation based on the organizational needs, then I assess the skills of the people that will be needed to perform the work, and then decide on an approach. Actually, working with groups rather than individuals seems to be the most effective. Two books come to mind: "Empowerment " by Ken Blanchard, John P. Carlos, W. Alan Randolph and "Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment: How to Improve Productivity, Quality, and Employee Satisfaction" by William Byhamand Jeff Cox.

Contingency approach  has provided us with a tool to answer on this question.

The answer to: What is the best management style? is: It depends...