Directing Chapter 7 PDF

Summary

This document provides a detailed explanation of directing in management. Topics covered include initiating actions, establishing relationships between superiors and subordinates, creating continuous processes, overseeing motivation and coordination, and facilitating changes in the organization. The document emphasizes the principles of directing for maximum efficiency and to ease conflict between employee and organization objectives.

Full Transcript

Chapter – 7 DIRECTING Meaning: Directing is the process of activating human resources to achieve the objectives of the business. The word directing literally means moving into action. According to Earnest Dale, “Directing is telling people what to do and se...

Chapter – 7 DIRECTING Meaning: Directing is the process of activating human resources to achieve the objectives of the business. The word directing literally means moving into action. According to Earnest Dale, “Directing is telling people what to do and seeing that they do it to the best of their ability.” Characteristics of Directing 1. Initiates action – Directing gives a starting for all actions in the management. 2. Pervasive – This function takes place wherever superior – subordinate relationship exists, i.e., in all the levels of management. 3. Continuous process – It carried out through the life of the organization. 4. Flows from top to bottom – It implies that managers can direct the subordinates. Importance of Directing 1. Directing initiates action – Through direction management conveys and motivates individuals to perform in the desired way to achieve goals. 2. Integrates employees’ efforts – It is very necessary to coordinate and integrate the activities of all the people in the organization. If their efforts are not integrated properly, the business cannot achieve its objectives successfully. 3. Means of motivation – In order to get the best result from business, it is necessary to motivate the workers to contribute their best and it is possible through proper motivation. 4. Provides stability and balance in the organization – Direction coordinates and integrates the individual goals and organizational goals so as to achieve maximum results. Effective leadership, supervision, motivation and communication provide stability and balance in the organization. 5. Facilitates changes in the organization – Business environment is highly flexible and changing, most of the employees prefer to remain indifferent to new ideas and techniques and unwilling to implement changes. Only through effective direction and motivation they will be induced to accept changes and challenges of their job pleasantly. Principles of Directing There are certain principles of directing process which are of great help to managers, which are as follows: 1. Maximum individual contribution – Directing helps every individual to contribute their maximum efficiency as there is an element of motivation. 2. Harmony of objectives – It helps to remove the conflict between employee’s objectives and organization’s objectives. For instance, employee expects more salary while organization expects more efficiency, the gap between these two may be reduced with the help of directing. CHAPTER-7 Page 1 3. Unity of command – While giving direction to the subordinates all the superiors must follow this principle of unity of command. 4. Appropriateness – This principle states that, appropriate technique should be adopted by the superiors based on the needs and wants of the employees. For example, some are seeking for monetary benefits but some others for promotion. 5. Managerial communication – Effective managerial communication throughout the organization at all levels makes direction effective. It will ensure the free flow of ideas, information, suggestions, feedback, complaints and grievances. 6. Use of informal organizations – In every organization, there exists informal group or organizations within the formal organization, the managers should make use of them for effective directing. 7. Leadership – Managers should exercise effective leadership while directing. This will influence subordinates positively. 8. Follow up – Proper follow up should be there in the organization to ensure that the instructions are strictly followed and the work is being performed as expected. Elements of Direction SUPERVISION MOTIVATION LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION A. Supervision – The term “supervision” is derived from two Latin words – “Super” and “Vision”. Super means over and above and vision means to see. Thus supervision means “Overseeing the activity”. In management, supervision means overseeing the subordinates at work. It refers to direct and immediate guidance and control of subordinates in performing their tasks in accordance with the plans and policies of the enterprise. The person who supervises the subordinates is called “Supervisor”. He is also known as Foreman, Overseer, Superintendent, Section officer etc. Importance / Role / Functions of Supervision / Supervisor 1. Maintain day to day contact with the workers and he acts as a guide, friend and philosopher. 2. Acts as a link between management and employees. 3. Maintains group unity by ensuring harmony among the workers in his group. 4. Ensures performance of work by motivating the workers. 5. Provides on the job training thereby he can make a good team of workers. 6. Influences workers through effective supervision. 7. Provides feedback – this will lead to better performance and developing work skills. B. Motivation – “Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplished goals.” Features of Motivation 1. Internal feeling – Desire to have a car, recognition in the society etc. are the internal feeling of an individual which lead him to be motivated. CHAPTER-7 Page 2 2. Produces goal – directed behavior – If an employee is interested in promotion he will try to improve his performance, hence motivation produces goal-directed behavior. 3. Motivation can be either positive or negative – Better pay, promotion, recognition, assigning important jobs with more responsibilities etc. are positive motivations, whereas punishment, cutting increments, scolding etc. are negative means of motivation. 4. Motivation is a complex process – Because of individual differences among the employees, a uniform type of motivation may not satisfy all people in the organization. Motivation process Unsatisfied need  Tension  Drives  Search behavior  Satisfied need  Reduction of tension 1. Unsatisfied need of an individual is the first stage in motivation. 2. Tension – Unsatisfied need creates a tension. 3. Drives – Tension stimulates his drives. 4. Search behavior – Drives put him into a state of search behavior to satisfy his need. 5. Satisfied need – Search behavior ends in satisfied need. 6. Reduction of tension – Once the need is satisfied, he is relieved of tension. Importance of Motivation 1. Motivation improves efficiency and performance level – Motivation bridges the gap between ability and willingness to work. 2. Helps to create positive attitude – If the organization rewards properly and supervisor gives proper encouragement, the worker may slowly develop a positive approach towards the work. 3. Motivation reduces employee turnover and absenteeism – Motivation creates confidence and morale in the workforce and workers will be loyal to the organization, which will result in lower employee turnover and absenteeism. 4. Motivation ensures accomplishment of organizational goals – Management through motivation creates willingness to work, which will lead to best results and thereby achieve the organizational goal. 5. Motivation helps to accept changes - Business environment is always changing, so that the business has to adopt these changes in time, motivation among the employees will help to adopt these changes without any hesitation. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation Motivation is based on human needs. To motivate means to satisfy human needs. However, needs take a hierarchy as given by Maslow’s theory on need hierarchy. To motivate the employees, the manager has to understand the needs and wants of the employees. The behavior of an individual at a particular moment is usually determined by his strongest need. Famous Psychologist Abraham H Maslow developed a conceptual framework for understanding the nature and strength of human needs. Abraham Maslow – U. S. Psychologist – Father of Management Psychology - Developed the theory of motivation based on the hierarchy of needs. CHAPTER-7 Page 3 Maslow suggests two major things about human needs: a. Each person’s need depends on what he already has. SELF ACTUALISATION NEEDS Only those needs not yet ESTEEM NEEDS satisfied can influence behavior. A fully satisfied SOCIAL NEEDS need cannot influence behavior. SAFETY AND SECURITY NEEDS b. Needs can be arranged in a PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS hierarchy of importance. Unless a lower order need is Maslow’s Need Hierarchy met, a higher order need will not arise. 1. Basic Physiological Needs – These are the basic needs of an individual like food, clothing and shelter. Unless these needs are met, a higher level need will not arise, the majority of a person’s activities will probably be directed towards satisfying them. 2. Safety and Security Needs – These are the needs for safety and protection against hazards and dangers. People in the organization want job security, personal bodily security, security of source of income, provision for old age, insurance against risks etc. 3. Affiliation / Belonging needs (Social Needs) – These are the needs for love and affection, friendship, a sense of belonging etc. On meeting safety and security needs, social needs come in. Since man is a social being, he has a need to belong and to be accepted by various groups. 4. Esteem Needs – These needs are the desire for status, prestige, dignity, self-respect, independence, respect from others etc. The organizations can satisfy these needs by recognizing and appreciating good performance, promotions etc. 5. Self Actualization Needs – Self actualization is the need to maximize one’s potential, whatever it may be. In other words it is an urge to use one’s potentialities for the achievement of life ambition. As a means of motivation, this theory must be seen as a measure to identify where an individual is in terms of his needs. This will help in deciding what must be provided as a motivator and what is its need satisfying capacity is. CHAPTER-7 Page 4 Incentives In order to satisfy the needs and to motivate the employees, managers offer various incentives. Incentive means all measures which are taken to motivate employees to improve their performance. Financial and Non-Financial Incentives Management tries to govern the behavior of employees by satisfying their needs. For this purpose, various financial and non-financial incentives are provided. An incentive is something which stimulates a person to do certain activity. Individual’s needs are varied in nature. Some of them can be satisfied by money while others are not. On this basis, incentives can be classified into two: Financial Incentives Non-financial Incentives  Pay and allowances  Status  Productivity linked wage  Organizational climate incentives  Career advancement  Bonus  Job enrichment  Profit sharing  Employee recognition  Co-partnership / stock option  Job security  Retirement benefits  Employee participation  Perquisites  Employee empowerment I. Financial Incentives – Incentives directly or indirectly associated with monetary benefits are called monetary or financial incentives. These benefits are expressed in terms of money. Monetary benefits not only fulfill the physiological needs but also the need for social status and power. Financial incentives usually offered by organizations are given below: 1. Pay and allowances – For any employee salary is the basic incentive. By salary, we mean basic pay, dearness allowance and such other perquisites. 2. Productivity linked wage incentives – Piece rate system. 3. Bonus – It is an incentive offered to the employees over and above the salary or wages based on the profitability of the organization. 4. Profit sharing – Employees are giving opportunity to share the profit of the organization is a financial incentive, which will highly motivate the employees for better performance. 5. Co-partnership / Stock option – Under this system some of the employees are offered to subscribe the shares of the company at a discounted rate than the market price. By this they are becoming the part of owners which will highly motivate such employees. Wipro, Infosys, TCS etc. are following this system. 6. Retirement benefits – Financial incentives in the form of Provident fund, pension, gratuity etc. to employees on retirement is a means of motivation while they are in service. CHAPTER-7 Page 5 7. Perquisites – Many organizations are giving perquisites and fringe benefits to employees such as housing facilities, medical and vehicle allowances, education to children etc. These benefits help to provide motivation to employees and managers. II. Non-Financial Incentives – All human needs cannot be satisfied by money alone. There are certain needs which are psychological, social or emotional in nature. To satisfy them some other motivation methods are required. Non-financial incentives mainly focus on these needs. Incentives which cannot be measured in terms of money are called non- monetary incentives. Some of them are given below: 1. Status – Status means ranking of positions. The authority, recognition, pay and perquisites, rewards etc. indicate the status of a person in the organization. Status fulfills psychological, social and esteem needs of an individual. 2. Organizational climate – Individual autonomy, consideration to employees, rewards etc. help to develop a favorable climate in the organization. 3. Career advancement opportunity – Appropriate skill development programs and sound promotion policy encourage employees to improve their performance. 4. Job enrichment – it means re-designing the jobs to include many new aspects to make interesting to employees. Inclusion of variety in work requires higher level knowledge and skill, giving workers more autonomy and responsibility, providing opportunities for growth etc., by which the job itself becomes a source of motivation to employees. 5. Employee recognition programmes – Acknowledgement and appreciation of good performance is called recognition. It inspires to improve their performance. E.g. congratulating an employee for his good work, Wall of fame, Cash awards, Mementos or certificates etc. 6. Job security – Job security ensures stability of income and relieves them of worry. It will make the employees more confident and they will become highly motivated to their work. 7. Employees Participation – Employees participation in management refers to involving employees in the process of decision making is means of motivation. 8. Employee empowerment – It means giving more autonomy, powers and responsibilities to subordinates, so that they feel that they contribute towards the organization through their job is important. C. Leadership “Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce subordinates to work with confidence and zeal” – Koontz and O’Donnell. (Zeal means passion or enthusiasm). In a business organization, leadership may be defined as the process influencing the behavior of employees at work towards the accomplishment of organizational objectives. Features of Leadership 1. Influence others – Leadership is the ability of an individual to influence others. 2. Change in the behavior of others – Leadership tries to bring changes in the behavior of others. 3. Interpersonal relations – Leadership makes possible good interpersonal relationship between leaders and followers. CHAPTER-7 Page 6 4. Achievement of common goal – Leadership implies achievement of common goal of the organization. 5. Continuous process – It is a continuous process of influencing behavior of followers. Importance of Leadership 1. Influences the behavior of people – so that there will be positive contribution from the side of employees. 2. Personal relations – by this a leader can maintain good work environment 3. Introduces changes in the organization – leadership overrides the problem of resistance to change. 4. Handles conflicts effectively – a good leader can handle the conflicts in the organization without any adverse effect. 5. Provides training to subordinates – a good leader builds up his successor by providing adequate training. Leadership Styles Depending on the use of authority, there are three basic styles of leadership: (i) Autocratic (ii) Democratic, and (iii) Laissez-faire (i) An autocratic / authoritarian leader gives orders and expects his subordinates to obey those orders. This leadership style is effective in many situations like in a factory where the supervisor is responsible for production on time and has to ensure labour productivity. (ii) A democratic / participative leader will develop action plans and makes decisions in consultation with his subordinates. He will encourage them to participate in decision making. This kind of leadership style is more common now-a-days. (iii) Laissez faire or Free-rein leader does not believe in the use of power unless it is absolutely essential. The followers are given a high degree of freedom to formulate their own objectives and ways to achieve them. Depending upon the situation a leader may choose to exercise a combination of these styles when required. For instance, while doing a work, a democratic leader may have to take his own decision in an emergency situation. D. Communication The term communication has been derived from the Latin word “Communis”, which means “Common”. Communication may be defined as an exchange of ideas, facts, opinions and emotions from one person to another to create mutual understanding. Communication process CHAPTER-7 Page 7 Elements of Communication Process 1. Sender – is the person who sends a message. He initiates the process of communication. 2. Message – is the subject matter of communication consists of words, facts, ideas etc. 3. Encoding – In order to transmit an idea, the sender translates the idea into meaningful languages like words, actions, pictures, diagrams, gestures etc. 4. Media/Channel – It is the medium through which the message is passed. Eg: face to face talk, telephone, letter, radio, television etc. 5. Decoding – Receiver converts the symbols received from the sender to give him the meaning of the message. 6. Receiver – is the person or a group who is supposed to receive the message. Eg: Listener, reader, observer etc. 7. Feedback – It means the reaction, replay, response which the receiver sends to acknowledge his understanding. Noise in Communication Process – It means some obstruction or hindrance in communication. This may be caused to the sender, message or the receiver. Reasons are as follows: a) Ambiguous symbols leading to faulty d) Faulty decoding encoding e) Prejudices b) Poor telephone connection f) Wrong gestures and postures c) Inattentive receiver Importance of Communication 1. A basis for coordination – Coordination among different departments in the organization is possible only through proper communication. 2. Smooth working of the enterprise – When there is a communication gap, all organized activities come to a standstill. 3. Basis for decision making – Communication provides the required data for decision making. Also the management decisions are conveyed to subordinates for execution through communication. 4. Increases managerial efficiency – Conveying the goals, issuing instructions, allocating jobs, evaluating performance etc are done through communication, which will improve the efficiency of management. 5. Promotes cooperation and industrial peace – Two way communications promotes cooperation and mutual trust between management and workers which will result in industrial peace. 6. Establishes effective leadership – In order to influence the subordinates the leader should possess good communication skills. 7. Boosts morale and provides motivation – Good communication improves human relations in industry, this will boost up the morale of employees and managers and they will be motivated. Types of Communication 1. Oral Communication – Exchange of information with the help of spoken words is called oral communication. E.g. Face to face interaction, telephone, mechanical devices like signals, intercom, mobile phone etc. CHAPTER-7 Page 8 2. Written Communication – Exchange of information through written words in the form of letters, memos, circulars, reports, instruction cards, manuals, magazines, books etc. It moves generally downward and acts as record for future reference. Communication taking place in an organization may be classified as follows: Communication Formal Communication Informal Communication Vertical Horizontal Diagonal Upward Downward Formal Communication – Communication through the official chain of command is called formal communication. Thus, formal communication flows through the scalar chain of authority. Generally it may takes place in the form of written communication such as notes, memos, letters, reports etc. 1. Vertical Communication – Communication flows vertically, i.e., upward or downward. a) Upward Communication – It refers to flow of communication from lower level to higher level. It consists of information relating to subordinates’ work performance, opinion, suggestions, complaints etc. b) Downward Communication - It refers to flow of communication from higher level to lower level. There are many ways in which a superior can communicate with his subordinates like Notices, Circulars, Memos, Reports, Meetings etc. 2. Horizontal Communication – Transmission of information among the persons of the same level and status is known as horizontal communication. Flow of information from the Purchase Manager to the Production manager is an example for horizontal communication. 3. Diagonal Communication – Communication between people in different departments, one holding a higher position than the other. If a sales executive requests the production manager to improve the quality of the product, it forms a diagonal communication. Though it violates the principal of unity of command, it will help to save time and to speed up action. Informal Communication Informal communication is based on informal relationship among the members of an organization at same or different level. This is free from all formalities of formal communication. It is usually oral and is conveyed by gestures, a glance, smile etc. It may involve work related or other matters of mutual interest. Informal communication often supplements formal communication. Grapevine Network (Grapevine Communication) The network or pathway of informal communication is called grapevine. The origin and direction of flow of information cannot be easily traced. Grapevine is structure less and it grows towards all direction. CHAPTER-7 Page 9 Differences between Formal and Informal Communication Formal Communication Informal Communication 1. Passes through official chain of 1. It is independent from official chain of command command. 2. It is slow 2. It is very fast 3. It is mostly in written form 3. It is verbal communication 4. Mainly consists of work related matters 4. Both work related matters and social 5. Easy to fix responsibility communication 6. Orderly and systematic 5. Not possible to fix responsibility 7. It serves organization needs 6. Unsystematic 8. Impersonal in nature 7. Serves organizational and social needs of individuals 9. Chances of distortion of information are 8. Highly personal in nature very low 9. Chances of distortion of information are very high Formal Communication Network – It refers to the pattern through which members of a work group communicate. The different pattern of communication (networks) as follows: Inverted V Single Chain Y Pattern Wheel Pattern Free flow Circle Inverted V 1. Single Chain – In this pattern, the persons at the two extremes interact with one person and all other members communicate with two each, i.e., from superior to subordinates. 2. “Y” Pattern – This pattern is slightly centralized. Some persons are closer to the centre of the network. E.g., A, B and D and are closer to C than E. 3. Wheel Pattern – here communication flows from one central person, who is generally the group leader. In this case, communication initiates from A and all other members can communicate through “A” alone. Communication between B to C, C to D etc. is not possible. 4. Free flow (All Channel Pattern) – This pattern permits all the members to communicate with each other in the group. This is the most decentralized form of communication network. 5. Circle Pattern – This pattern permits each person in the group to communicate with two in the group. 6. Inverted V Pattern – Here a subordinate is allowed to communicate with his immediate superior as well as his superior’s superior. CHAPTER-7 Page 10 Informal Communication Network 1. Single strand – Single line – each person communicates to the other by keeping a strict sequence. 2. Gossip – each person communicates with all others on non-selective basis. 3. Probability – individual communicates with other individual on a random basis. 4. Cluster – here the individual passes information to only those persons in whom he has trust. Barriers to Effective Communication – Any type of hurdle, block or bottleneck in the path of communication is called barriers to effective communication. They are as follows: 1. Semantic Barrier – The term semantic is used to describe things that deal with the meanings of words and sentences. Words and symbols used to communicate may mean different things to different persons. People interpret the same message in different ways depending upon their attitude, experience, education etc. For example, profits may mean one thing to a manager while it is interpreted differently by the workers. The Words buy, by and bye, they have same pronunciation, but different meaning and spellings. To overcome this barrier, the message must be simple, clear and precise. Reasons for semantic barriers: a. Badly expressed message – due to wrong words or inappropriate words. b. Symbols with different meaning – a word or a symbol are having different meaning. c. Faulty translation – from one language to another. d. Un-clarified assumptions – For instance, a boss asks the subordinate to take care of guest. To boss, it means the subordinate should take care of conveyance, accommodation, food and all other necessary things until he leaves the company, but the subordinate may interpret that the guest should be taken to hotel with care. Here the guest suffers because of these unclarified assumptions. e. Body language and gesture decoding – If what is said and what is expressed through body movements and gestures differ, communication may be wrongly perceived. 2. Psychological Barriers – Emotional or psychological factors which act as barriers to communicators are called psychological barriers. Angry mood, troubled mind etc. are the examples. Some of them are as follows: a. Premature evaluation – Here the receiver comes to conclusion without fully going through the message. b. Lack of attention – Suppose an employee explains his problem to a manager while he is very busy with the preparation of a report for his superior, he will be less attentive and does not grasp the message, and the employee get disappointed. CHAPTER-7 Page 11 c. Loss by transmission and poor retention – When a communication is passed through various levels, there is a possibility of loss in communication. Similarly people cannot retain all that is received as information for a long time if they are inattentive or not interested. d. Distrust – If the sender and receiver don’t believe each other, they cannot understand each other’s message in true sense. 3. Organizational Barriers – The complex organizational structure with scalar chain restricts free and frequent communication. Too many levels may cause delay and distortion in message. To overcome this barrier management may permit horizontal and diagonal communication. Some of the organizational barriers are given below: a. Organizational policy – If an organization is highly centralized, it is not supportive to free flow of communication. b. Rules and regulations – Communication strictly through the chain of command may cause delays. c. Status - Some superiors may not be ready to talk freely with the subordinates. Similarly subordinates also not feel confident to talk freely with superiors. They pass information what superiors would like to hear and hold back unpleasant facts. d. Complexity in organizational structure – Too many levels in the management may cause delay and distortion. e. Organizational facilities – if proper facilities are not provided such as intercom, public addressing system, complaint box, suggestions box etc. the communication may not flow freely. 4. Personal Barriers – These are the personal factors of both the sender and the receiver. a. Fear of challenge to authority – If a superior feels that a particular communication may adversely affect his authority, he will hold it or suppress it. b. Lack of confidence – Some superior will never take into confidence the subordinates. c. Unwillingness to communicate – Subordinates may also be unwilling to communicate with their superiors on the fear that it will adversely affect their interest. d. Lack of proper incentives – If there is no reward or appreciation for the suggestions of subordinates; they will not ready to communicate. Improving Communication Effectiveness 1. Clarify the ideas before communication - it is the duty of the communicator to clarify the message clearly before he is going to communicate the same. 2. Communicate according to the needs of receiver – The sender must understand the capacity of the receiver and he must know what type of information the receiver needs and in what form. 3. Consult others before communicating – It is better to consult with others in developing a plan for communication. 4. Beware of languages, tone and content of message – The language and tone used by the sender should be stimulating to evoke response from the listeners. CHAPTER-7 Page 12 5. Convey things of help and value to listeners – It is better to know the interest and needs of receivers while communicating a message. If the message is related to their interest there will be positive response, else they become passive listeners. 6. Ensure proper feedback – The sender should take efforts to have feedback from the listeners time to time. 7. Communicate for present and future – The communication should aim at present and future goals of the organization. 8. Follow up communication – Proper follow up and review of instructions given to subordinates will help to remove hurdles if any. 9. Be a good listener - Careful listening is a prerequisite for effective communication. Patient listening solves half the problem. ************** CHAPTER-7 Page 13

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