Summary and Notes of Ch 7 Directing| Class 12th Business Studies
Definition of directing (According to Koontz and O’Donnell)
“Direction is the executive function of guiding and observing subordinates”.
Meaning of directing
It refers to instructing, guiding, communicating and inspiring people in the organisation.
Characteristics of directing
• Directing Initiates action: A manager has to perform this function along with planning, organising, staffing and controlling while discharging his duties in the organisation. While these functions prepare a setting for action, directing initiates action in the organisation.
• Directing takes place at every level of management: The top-managers direct their subordinates who are the middle-level managers and the middle-level managers direct their subordinate who are the supervisory-level managers and supervisory-level direct their subordinate and guide them. The directing takes place wherever superior-subordinate relations exist.
• Directing is a continuous process: Directing takes place throughout the life of the organisation because without direction the organisational activities cannot continue further.
• Directing flows from top to bottom: Directing starts from the top- level management and ends at the supervisory level of management.
Importance of directing
• Directing helps to initiate action by people in the organisation towards attainment of desired objectives.
• Directing integrates employee efforts in the organisation in such a way that every individual effort contributes to the organisational performance.
• The objectives of an organisation can only be achieved by motivated employees. Motivated employees work with full dedication and with a feel of belongingness.
• Often, the employees show resistance to change in their organisational structure. But with the changing demand of time, it needs to be implemented, enforced. Manager through the medium of direction shapes the mind-set of the employees in a manner that they wilfully accept changes.
• Effective directing helps to bring stability and balance in the organisation among employees and work activities.
Principles of Directing
• Maximum individual Contribution: According to this principle directing technique must help every individual in the organisation to contribute to his maximum potential for achievement of organisational objectives.
• Harmony of objectives: According to this principle, there must be full harmony between organisational objectives and individual objectives. Good directing may balance between both objectives.
Meaning of directing
It refers to instructing, guiding, communicating and inspiring people in the organisation.
Characteristics of directing
• Directing Initiates action: A manager has to perform this function along with planning, organising, staffing and controlling while discharging his duties in the organisation. While these functions prepare a setting for action, directing initiates action in the organisation.
• Directing takes place at every level of management: The top-managers direct their subordinates who are the middle-level managers and the middle-level managers direct their subordinate who are the supervisory-level managers and supervisory-level direct their subordinate and guide them. The directing takes place wherever superior-subordinate relations exist.
• Directing is a continuous process: Directing takes place throughout the life of the organisation because without direction the organisational activities cannot continue further.
• Directing flows from top to bottom: Directing starts from the top- level management and ends at the supervisory level of management.
Importance of directing
• Directing helps to initiate action by people in the organisation towards attainment of desired objectives.
• Directing integrates employee efforts in the organisation in such a way that every individual effort contributes to the organisational performance.
• The objectives of an organisation can only be achieved by motivated employees. Motivated employees work with full dedication and with a feel of belongingness.
• Often, the employees show resistance to change in their organisational structure. But with the changing demand of time, it needs to be implemented, enforced. Manager through the medium of direction shapes the mind-set of the employees in a manner that they wilfully accept changes.
• Effective directing helps to bring stability and balance in the organisation among employees and work activities.
Principles of Directing
• Maximum individual Contribution: According to this principle directing technique must help every individual in the organisation to contribute to his maximum potential for achievement of organisational objectives.
• Harmony of objectives: According to this principle, there must be full harmony between organisational objectives and individual objectives. Good directing may balance between both objectives.
• Unity of Command: According to this principle a person in the organisation should receive instructions from one superior only. If instructions are received from more than one, it creates confusion.
• Appropriateness of direction technique: According to this principle, appropriate motivational and leadership technique should be used while directing the people based on subordinate needs, attitude and situational variables.
• Managerial Communication: Effective managerial communication across all the levels in the organisation makes direction effective.
• Use of informal organisation: According to this principle, there must be a free flow of information between the seniors and the subordinates and success of direction depends upon effective exchange of information to a great extent.
• Leadership: According to this principle, while directing the subordinates, managers should exercise good leadership as it can influence the subordinates positively without causing dissatisfaction among them.
• Follow through: According to this principle, it must be monitored by management as to what extent the policies framed and issued directions have been enforced.
Elements of Direction
The process of directing involves guiding, Coaching, instructing, motivating, leading the people in an organisation to achieve organisational objectives.
Following function are included in the elements of direction
• Supervision: It refers to monitor the progress of routine work of one’s subordinates and guiding them properly.
Importance of Supervision
• Supervisor maintains day to day contact and maintains friendly relations with workers.
• Supervisor acts as a link between workers and management.
• Supervisor plays a key role in maintaining group unity among workers placed under his control.
• Supervisor provides good on- the –job training to the workers and employees.
• A good supervisor analyses the work performed and gives feedback to the workers.
Motivation
It refers to that process which excites people to work for the attainment of a desired objective.
Motive
Motive
A motive is an inner state that energises, activates or moves and directs behaviour towards goals.
Motivators
Motivators
It refers to that technique which is employed to motivate people, such as bonus, job security, etc.
Features of Motivation
• Motivation is an internal feeling.
• Motivation produces goal directed behaviour.
• Motivation can be either positive or negative.
• Motivation is a complex process as the individuals are heterogeneous in their expectations, perceptions and reactions.
Motivation process: Motivation process is based on human needs.
Features of Motivation
• Motivation is an internal feeling.
• Motivation produces goal directed behaviour.
• Motivation can be either positive or negative.
• Motivation is a complex process as the individuals are heterogeneous in their expectations, perceptions and reactions.
Motivation process: Motivation process is based on human needs.
Robbins and Coulter have presented the following Need-Satisfying Process:
| Unsatisfied Need ↓ Tension ↓ Drivers ↓ Search Behaviours ↓ Satisfied Need ↓ Reduction of Tension |
Importance of Motivation
• Improves Performance Level.
• Helps to change Negative or Indifferent Attitudes of Employees.
• Reduction in Employee Turnover.
• Helps to Reduce Absenteeism in the organisation.
• Reduction in Resistance to change.
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation
Maslow’s developed the theory of motivation on the basis of sequence of needs. According to him, a man has countless needs and they can be categorised on the basis of priority.
• Basic Physiological Needs: These include primary needs Example food, hunger, thirst, sleep. Basic salary helps to satisfy these needs.
• Safety or Security Needs: These needs provide security and protection from physical and emotional harm.
• Affiliation or social needs: These needs refer to affection, sense of belongingness, acceptance and friendship.
• Esteem Needs: These include factors such as self-respect, autonomy status, recognition and attention.
• Self- Actualisation Needs: These needs include growth, self-fulfilment and achievement.
Assumpion of Maslow’s Theory
• People’s behaviour, being affected by their needs.
• There are many needs of people and their order or priority can be made.
• Motivation ends with the satisfaction of needs.
• People move to next higher need only when the lower level needs are satisfied.
Financial and Non-Financial Incentive
• Incentive: Incentive means all measures which are used to motivate people to improve performance.
Incentive is classified in to Financial and non-Financial:
• Financial Incentive: Financial incentives are those incentives which are evaluated in terms of money example Pay and allowances, Productivity-linked wage incentive, Bonus, Profit sharing, co-partnership, Retirement Benefits, Perquisites.
• Non-Financial Incentive: Non- Financial incentives are not directly related with money. These incentives help in the satisfaction of top hierarchy needs like social, Esteem and self –actualisation examples status, organisational Climate, Career Advancement Opportunity, Job Enrichment, Employee Recognition Programmes, job security, Employee participation, employee Empowerment etc.
Leadership
According to George R. Terry, ‘’ leadership is the ability of influencing people to strive willingly for mutual objectives’’.
Features of leadership
• Leadership indicates ability of an individual to influence others.
• Leadership tries to bring change in the behaviour of others.
• Leadership indicates interpersonal relations between leaders and followers.
• Leadership is exercised to achieve common goals of the organisation.
• Leadership is a continuous process.
Importance of leadership
• Leadership influences the behaviour of people and makes them to positively contribute their energies for the benefit of the organisation.
• A leader maintains personal relations and helps followers in fulfilling their needs.
• A leader can solve every type of conflict effectively under the weight of his influence.
• Leader provides training to their subordinates.
• Leader plays a key role in introducing required changes in the organisation.
Qualities of Good Leader
• Physical features: Good physical features attract their followers immediately.
• Knowledge: A person having good knowledge can instruct subordinate correctly and easily influence them.
• Integrity: A leader should have integrity and honesty.
• Initiative: A leader should have courage and initiative.
• Communication skills: A leader should be a good communicator so, he easily explain his ideas and make people to understand his ideas.
• Motivation skills: A leader should be an effective motivator.
• Self Confidence: A leader should have high level of self- confidence.
• Decisiveness: Leader should be decisive in managing the work.
• Social skills: A leader should be sociable and friendly with his colleagues and followers.
Leadership Style
Depending on the use of authority, there are three basic styles of leadership:
Autocratic or Authoritarian leader
The leader keeps all the authority centred in his hands and the employees have to perform the work exactly as per his hands and the employees have to perform the work exactly as per his orders.
Characteristics of autocratic leader
• Centralised Authority
• Single -man Decision
• Wrong Belief regarding Employees
• Only Downward Communication
Democratic or Participative leader
It refers to that leadership style in which the leader consults with his subordinates before making any final decision.
Characteristics of Democratic leader
• Cooperative Relations
• Belief in Employees
• Open communication
Laissez faire or free-rein leader
It refers to that leadership style in which the leader gives his subordinate complete freedom to make decision.
Characteristics of laissez faire leader
• Full faith in subordinate.
• Independent Decision-making system.
• Decentralisation of Authority.
• Self-directed, Supervisory and Controlled.
Communication
It refers to an art of transferring facts, ideas, feelings, etc., from one person to another and making him understand them.
Elements of Communication process
Sender: sender means person who conveys his thoughts or ideas to the receiver.
Message: It is the content of ideas, feelings, suggestion, order etc., intended to be communicated.
Encoding: It refers to the process of converting the message in to communication symbols like word, picture, Symbols.
Media: Encoded message is transmitted to receiver.
Decoding: It is the process of converting encoded symbols of the sender.
Receiver: The person who receives communication of the sender.
Feedback: It includes all those actions of receiver indicating that he has received and understood message of sender.
Noise: Noise means some obstruction or hindrance to communication.
Importance of communication
• Communication acts as a basis of coordination.
• Communication makes possible for the smooth and unrestricted working of the enterprise.
• Communication provides needed information for decision making.
• Communication is essential for quick and effective performance of managerial functions.
• An efficient system of communication enables management to motivate, influence and satisfy the subordinate.
• Effective communication helps to influence subordinate.
Types of Communication
• Formal communication
• Informal communication
Formal communication
It refers to the communication within an organisation that is officially sanctioned. This communication may be take place between a superior and subordinate, a subordinate and superior or among cadre employees or managers. The communications may be oral or written but generally recorded and filed in the office.
Types of formal communication
• Vertical communication
• Horizontal communication
• Vertical communication: Vertical communication flows vertically example upwards and downwards.
→ Upwards communication: This flow from the subordinates to the superiors. It includes reactions, suggestions, reports, complaints, etc.
→ Downwards communication: The communication by top hierarchy with their subordinates is called downward communication. It includes orders, rules, information, policies, instructions, etc.
• Horizontal communication takes place between one division and another for example a production manager may contact marketing manager to discuss about schedule of product delivery, product design, quality etc.
The different forms of formal communication network are:
• Single chain: single chain refers to the communication between superior and subordinate. All the people in an organisation from top to bottom are linked with the help of scalar chain.
• Wheel communication: In this form of communication all the subordinates of a superior talk to one another through his medium.
• Circular: This communication takes place among the members of a group. Every member of group can communicate with the nearest two members. In this network communication flow is slow.
• Free flow: In this network each person can communicate with others freely. The communication flow is slow.
• Inverted ‘V’: In this form of communication a subordinate is permitted to communicate with the boss of his boss. In this form of communication the messages move at a rapid speed.
Informal communication
It refers to the communication within an organisation that is no officially sanctioned. This communication is based on informal relations like friendship, membership of the same club, etc.
Advantage of informal communication
• Fast and effective communication
• Free environment
• Satisfying the social needs of the workers.
• Easy solution of the difficult problems.
Limitations of informal communication
• It is difficult to detect the source of such communication.
• It also leads to generate rumours which are not authentic.
• People’s work may also affect due to informal discussion.
Grapevine Network
It refers to the various paths through which informal communication is passed through an organisation. The Following four forms of the grapevine network are:
• Single standard
• Gossip Chain
• Probability
• Cluster
Barriers to communication
• Semantic barriers
• Psychological or Emotional barriers
• Organisational barriers
• Personal barriers
Semantic barriers
Semantic barriers may arise due to encoding or decoding of the message into words or impressions. Some semantic barriers are
• Badly expressed message:This barrier is created because of the wrong choice of words, inadequate vocabulary, usage of wrong words, omission of needed words etc.
• Symbols of words with different meaning: A word may have several meanings. Receiver has to perceive one such meaning for the word used by communicator.
• Faulty Translations: A manager receives much information from his superiors and subordinates and he translates it for all the employees according to their level of understanding.
• Unclarified assumption: some communications may have certain assumptions which are subject to different interpretations.
• Technical jargon- It is usually found that specialists use technical jargon while explaining to persons who are not specialists in the concerned field.
• Body language and gesture decoding: when the communication is passed on with the help of body language and gestures, its misunderstanding hinders the proper understanding of the message.
Psychological barriers
The importance of communication depends on the mental condition of both the parties. The state of mind of both sender and receiver of communication reflects in the effective communication. Some of the psychological barriers are:
The importance of communication depends on the mental condition of both the parties. The state of mind of both sender and receiver of communication reflects in the effective communication. Some of the psychological barriers are:
• Premature evaluation: Sometimes the receiver of information tries to dig out meaning without much thinking at the time of receiving or even before receiving information, which can be wrong.
• Lack of attention: When the receiver is preoccupied with some important work he/she does not listen to the message attentively.
• Loss by transmission and poor retention: When communication passes through various levels, successive transmission of message results in loss of, or transmission of inaccurate information.
• Distrust: Distrust between communicator and communicate acts as a barrier.
Organisational barriers
The factors related to organisation structure, authority relationships, rules and regulations may, sometimes as barriers to effective communication.
Some organisational barriers are:
• Organisational policy: Some organisational policies which affect the organisational barriers are explicit or implicit, not support free flow communication and some organisation support only written form of communication etc.
• Rules and regulations: Rigid rules and cumbersome procedures may be a hurdle to communication.
• Status: sometimes status of superior may create barriers of communication.
• Complexity in organisation structure: The greater number of managerial levels in an organisation makes it more complex. It results in delay in communication.
• Organisational facilities: if organisational facilities are smooth and sufficient than communication will be clear. In the absence of these facilities communication becomes meaningless.
Personal barriers
The barriers which are directly connected with the sender and receiver some personal barriers are:
• Fear of challenge to authority: If a superior perceives that a particular communication may adversely affect his authority.
• Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates: If superiors do not have confidence on the competency of their subordinates, they may not seek their advice or opinions.
• Unwillingness to communicate: Sometimes, the subordinates do not want to send any information to their superiors. When the subordinate feel that the information is of negative nature and will adversely affect them, an effort is made to conceal that information.
• Lack of proper incentives: If there is no motivation or incentive for communication, subordinate may not take initiative to communicate.
Improving Communication Effectiveness
• Clarify the ideas before communication.
• Communicate according to the needs of receiver.
• Consult others before communicating.
• Be aware of languages, tone and content of message.
• Convey things of help and value to listeners.
• Ensure proper feedback.
• Communicate for present as well as future.
• Follow up communications.
• Be a good listener.