Introduction and Feature & Importance of Directing

CONCEPT & MEANING:

Meaning:- Process of instructing, guiding, counseling, motivating and leading people in the organization to achieve its organization objectives

FEATURE & IMPORTANCE:

Characteristics of Directing

  1. Initiate’s action: While other functions like planning, organizing, staffing prepare a setting for action, directing start action in the organization.
  2. Continuous process: It takes place throughout the life of the organization due to changes in the organization's needs and objectives.
  3. Essential at every level of management: Every manager, from the top executive to supervisor performs the function of directing. (pervasive function)
  4. Starts from top to bottom: directing function required and recognized at all levels of management hierarchy. At the Lower level, it is the most, at the middle level less and at the top levels the least.

Importance of Directing

  1. Facilitates change: all organization operates in a changing environment. Direction facilitates organizational adjustment to cope with the changing condition through better communication and leadership.
  2. Initiate action: Supervisor through proper guidance and clarifying workers' doubts can help the worker to complete their work properly
  3. Leads  employees: Good leader tries to identify the hidden qualities of his employees and motivate them to work up to their full potential
  4. Means of motivation: Directing helps in motivating employees to work willingly to contribute their maximum efforts towards the achievement of organizational goals.
  5. Stability and balance: Managerial direction involves interpersonal communication, effective leadership and motivation, which help to maintain stability in the organization.

Principles of Directing

  1. Required communication: Managers should give clear instructions through various channels, and sure that subordinate understands their instructions clearly.
  2. Unity of Command: person should receive instructions from one superior only to avoid confusion
  3. Suitable direction technique: motivational methods should be used while directing the people based on subordinate needs, levels and attitudes
  4. Harmony of objectives: directing should convince the employee that  rewards and hard work  are complementary to each other by keeping in mind the objective of the organization
  5. Follow-through: Managers should follow instructions continuously so that their orders are being implemented accordingly.
  6. Offers Leadership: managers should act as a leader to influence their subordinates positively without disappointing them to work willingly
  7. Apply of informal organization: a manager should often use informal organizations for the fast decision making
  8. Maximum individual contribution: Directing methods must help every individual in the organization to contribute to his maximum for the organizational goals

Elements of Directing

ELEMENTS OF DIRECTION

Elements:

  1. Supervision
  2. Motivation
  3. Leadership
  4. Communication

Supervision and Motivation

SUPERVISION:

Overseeing and observing the subordinates at work to check that work is according to the plan and policies. Foreman, Overseer, and Superintendent.

MOTIVATION:-Process of influencing human behavior to work willingly for achieving organizational goals by satisfying their needs through various monetary and non-monetary incentives.

Features of Motivation:

  1. Internal feeling:  Motivation is a desire of human being, which are internal and influence human behavior.
  2. Goal-directed behavior helps employees to improve performance and get their dreams fulfilled like promotion, high salary,
  3. Positive or negative:
    1. Positive motivations Provide positive rewards like an increase in pay, promotion, recognition, etc.
    2. Negative motivations use negative means like punishment, stopping increments, threatening, etc.
  4. Complex processes: Motivation methods depends from person to person and may have different effects on different persons

Importance of Motivation

  1. Brings peace and harmony: By fulfilling social needs tension and industrial disputes are reduced. Healthy and peaceful atmosphere brings harmony and teamwork to workplace
  2. Improves employee’s performance: Through monetary rewards, promotion, and recognition of work, management can get the cooperation of subordinates to contribute their best efforts towards the goals of the organization.
  3. Helps in organizational changes: In the fast-changing business environment, management convinces the employee to update their knowledge and skill to meet the challenges and employees are also ready to accept the changes.
  4. Alter negative attitudes of employees to positive attitudes: With suitable rewards, work recognition and positive organizational climate workers work with a positive attitude and forgot personal bitterness and disputes
  5. Reduce employee turnover: By getting incentives like bonuses,  employee stock options and perquisite employee work with the organization for a longer period and has reduced employee turnover

Process of motivation

  1. Unsatisfied need: - the starting point of motivation. For example, a person wants to earn a salary of Rs 60000 p.m. from the present salary of Rs 40000.
  2. Tension: - need is recognized tension will be created on how to increase the salary.
  3. Drive: -tensions force him to act to fulfill his need.
  4. Search behavior: - find different ways to satisfy needs.
    1.  Option 1st Remain in the firm work hard and get a promotion.
    2. Option 2nd Shift or join another organization offering a higher salary.
  5. Satisfied needs: - person chooses to shift to another firm and check that need has been satisfied or not.
  6. Reduction of tension: - when successfully satisfied needs he feels motivated and tension is reduced.

Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory

MASLOW’S NEED HIERARCHY THEORY

His theory was based on human needs. He felt that within every human being, there exists a hierarchy of five needs. These are:

  1. Basic Physiological Needs: for survival in the hierarchy and include Hunger, Thirst, Shelter, and Sleep.
  2. Safety/Security Needs: includes
  • Physical security: includes protection against fire, accidents, disease, crime, etc.
  • Economical security: includes having a permanent job and money to fulfill basic needs permanently.
  • Social security: includes the need for security in old age, illness, disability, etc.
  1. Affiliation/Belonging Needs: Refer to affection, a sense of belongingness; acceptance and friendship can be achieved through teamwork and social interaction.
  2. Esteem Needs: desires of having self-respect and positive self-image and recognition, respect from others, etc. Can be achieved through good job titles, more challenging jobs, granting more authority
  3. Self Actualization Needs: desire to be being everything one is capable of being can be achieved through giving challenging jobs, risky decisions, encouraging creativity

Assumptions:

  1. People’s behavior is based on their needs. Satisfaction with such needs influences their behavior.
  2. People’s needs are in hierarchical order, starting from basic needs to other higher-level needs.
  3. A satisfied need can no longer be motivated a person; only the next higher level need can motivate him.
  4. A person moves to the next higher level of the hierarchy only when the lower need is satisfied.

Financial Vs Non-Financial Incentives

FINANCIAL VS NON-FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

Incentives: - They are the rewards or remuneration that employees received in consideration of the work and help in motivating them. Includes monetary and non-monetary incentives

Financial Incentives: They are monetary benefits paid in cash or kind or both. .It is generally used to motivate workers and non-managerial employees. Types

  1. Pay and allowances:
    • Salary is the major  monetary incentive
    • Includes basic pay, dearness allowance and also an annual increment in basic salary
  2. Productivity linked wage incentives:
    • Salary/wages are based on the performance to increase productivity at the individual or group level. Example.
      • 10% commission on sales of above Rs 5000000
      • 15% commission on sales above 1000000                 
  3. Bonus:
    • Incentives are offered in addition to the wages/salary of the employees.
    • May be paid in cash or kind.
    • Like Diwali gifts, holiday tours, cash reward
  4. Profit-Sharing:
    • Employees are responsible for higher profits
    • Companies provide some shares in the profits.
    • Motivates them for higher profits and contributes to an increase in profits.
  5. Co-partnership/ Stock option:
    • Offered company shares at a price that is lower than the market price.
    • Creates a feeling of ownership and encourages them for the growth of the organization.
  6. Retirement Benefits:
    • Employees are worried about life after retirement will there will be a source of income
    • Provident funds, pensions, and gratuity provide financial security to employees after their retirement.
  7. Perquisites (extra advantage.):
    • Gets free from employees and reduces employee turnover which
    • Includes allowances such as car allowance, housing, medical aid, and education for the children.

Non-Financial Incentives

  • They do not involve cash but satisfy ego and self-esteem.
  • They are generally used to motivate higher levels of management

Some of the important non-financial incentives are discussed below:

  1. Status:
  • Ranking of positions, good job title, separate cabin.
  • Fulfill Psychological, social and esteem needs.
  1. Career Advancement Opportunity:
    • Provide opportunities to employees to improve their skills and be promoted to higher-level jobs.
    • More on to a higher level.
  2. Job security:
    • Employees want their job to be secure.
    • Job security gives mental relief and reduces future worries
  3. Job Enrichment:
    • Job should include a greater variety of work content, require a higher level of knowledge and skill
    • Provide the opportunity for personal growth and work experience.
  4. Employee Recognition Programmers.

Means praise for good work by superiors to perform for future performance. Example

  • Congratulations on a good performance.
  • Displaying name on the notice board.
  • Certificate for best performance, mementos,
  1. Employee participation:
    • Employees should be encouraged to participate in management decisions.
    • If Good suggestions come from employees it should be accepted and implemented.
  2. Employee Empowerment:
    • More autonomy and powers to subordinates.
    • Managers feel proud and self-confident.
    • Managers learn to takes risky decisions within their powers.
  3. Organizational Climate:
    • Organization climate Distinguish the best organization from the normal organization.
    • Like better working conditions like green environment , canteen facilities, gym , crèche for children, consideration to employees

leadership

LEADERSHIP

The ability of an individual to maintain good interpersonal relations with followers and motivate them to contribute to achieving organizational objectives.

Importance of Leadership

  1. Creates confidence: creates confidence among individuals to recognize their qualities and capabilities.
  2. Assigns tasks and provides psychological support: Assigns tasks and provides psychological support to his subordinates by ensuring that people have proper material support to accomplish their jobs.
  3. Necessary guiding and inspiring employees:  creates needs in the employees to perform high and helps in the attainment of organizational goals.
  4. Developing team spirit: People in organizations are involved in different activities. Leadership mixes individual goals with group goals.
  5. Link between management and workers: Explains the goals of the organization to the workers and recommends their cases for reward, promotion, etc.
  6. Ensures required changes in the organization: Overcomes the problem of resistance to change and introduces it with minimum dissatisfaction. He persuades, clarifies and inspires people to accept changes wholeheartedly.

Type of leadership style

Autocratic Leadership Style:

  • Manager keeps maximum power and decisions.
  • Does not consult staff nor allowed to give any suggestions
  • Staff obeys orders without receiving any explanations.

Required When:

  • New untrained staff.
  • Limited time to make a decision

Not used

  • When staff becomes tense and fearful.
  • Staff expect their opinions heard
  • Low staff morale, high turnover and absenteeism.

Democratic Leadership Style/ participative style

  • Encourages staff to be a part of the decision-making.
  • Keeps staff informed about everything and shares decision making

Required When

  • To keep staff informed about matters that affect them.
  • Wants to provide opportunities for staff to develop a high sense and job satisfaction.
  • Staff want to encourage team building and participation

Should not be used

  • When not enough time to get everyone’s input easier.
  • Manager feels threatened by this type of leadership.

Delegative/Free Rein Leadership / Laissez Faire

  1. Leader gives complete freedom to the subordinates and Avoids the use of power.
  2. Depends largely upon the group to establish its own goals and work out its problems.

Required When

  • Employees are highly skilled, experienced, educated, trustworthy and experienced
  • Employees have confidence in their work and can complete ​​​​​​​

Should not be used

  • If the manager cannot provide regular feedback to let employees know how well subordinates are doing.
  • When manager escapes responsibility and is hopes the employees do the task

communication

COMMUNICATION:

Meaning: - Means exchange of ideas, opinions, facts, information, instructions messages between two or more persons may be conveyed in words, pictures, and actions or gestures

Communication process

  1. Sender: person who conveys his thoughts or ideas to the receiver.
  2. Message: content of ideas, feelings, suggestions, order to be communicated.
  3. Encoding: the process of converting the message into communication symbols such as words, pictures, and gestures.
  4. Media: It is the path through which encoded message is transmitted to the receiver. The channel may be in written form, face-to-face, phone call, internet, etc.
  5. Decoding: the process of converting encoded symbols of the sender.
  6. Receiver: The person who receives communication from the sender.
  7. Feedback: It includes all those actions of the receiver indicating that he has received and understood the message
  8. Noise:  some barrier or hindrance to communication caused to sender, message, or receiver. Some examples of noise are:
  • Unclear symbols lead to faulty encoding.
  • A poor telephone connection.
  • An inattentive receiver.
  • Faulty decoding (attaching wrong meanings to message).

Importance of Communication

  1. Systematic motivationBoth formal and informal communication help the workers boost the morale of employees
    1. Informal help to fulfill the social part of work.
    2. Formal communication helps in a greater participative and democratic model of management.
  2. Promotes cooperation and industrial peace: Effective communication helps management in maintaining good relations with workers, customers, suppliers, shareholders, government and the community at large.
  3. Increases managerial efficiency: It is only through communication that management conveys its goals and desires, issues instructions and orders, allocates jobs and responsibilities, and evaluates the performance of subordinates.
  4. Decision making: Proper and timely information helps managers to take decisions in important areas like
    1. Getting timely sales reports to fix targets
    2. Performance appraisal to fix salary
  5. Establishes effective leadership: leader with effective  communication skills can only influence subordinates to work for the organization's goal
  6. Root of coordination: through accurate explanation of organizational goals, the manner of their achievement and inter relationships between different individuals and department  communication improves coordination

Formal and Informal Communication

FORMAL COMMUNICATION

Formal Communication

  • Flows through official channels designed in the organization chart.
  • Take place between a superior and subordinate or among same level employees or managers.
  • Two types: - Vertical and Horizontal.

Vertical and Horizontal

  • Vertical communication
  • Flows vertically i.e. upwards or downwards through normal channels.
  • Upward communications refer to the flow of communication from subordinate to superior including application for grant of leave, submission of progress report, request for grants, etc.
  • Downward communications refer to the flow of communication from a superior to a subordinate. Sending notice to employees to attend a meeting, ordering subordinates to complete assigned work, passing on guidelines framed by top management to the subordinates, etc.
  • Horizontal or lateral communication takes place between one division and another. For example, a production manager may contact the marketing manager to discuss the schedule of product delivery, product design, quality, etc.

INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

Informal Communication/grapevine

  • Communication that takes place without following the formal lines of communication
  • Arises out of the needs of employees to exchange their views, which cannot be done through normal channels.

Barriers to Communication

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Communication barriers: - Barriers are the factors that obstruct the effectiveness of   communication and can occur at any stage of the communication process

Semantic barriers:-concerned with problems in the process of encoding and decoding messages into words or impressions.

  1. Symbols with Differ meanings: A word may have several meanings. Receiver fails to identify the meaning of the word used by the communicator. Right, write. 
  2. Unqualified/unprofessional assumptions: Some messages may have certain assumptions which are subject to a different understanding.
  3. Body language and gesture decode: If  no match between what is said and what is expressed in body movements, communications may be wrongly understood (laughing in anger)
  4. Language translation: If the translator  fails to translate the exact meaning of  one language to another may cause different meanings (English to Hindi)
  5. Badly expressed message: due to insufficient vocabulary, usage of wrong words, omission of needed words, etc.
  6. Technical language: If the sender uses technical/difficult words, the receiver may not understand the actual meaning of such words. notwithstanding

Psychological barriers: Arises on account of the emotional and psychological status of both sender and receiver of the message. Includes

  1. Loss by transmission and poor retention:  in the case of oral communication  when information  passes through various levels message results in loss of, or transmission of inaccurate information
  2. Inattention: For example an employee explains his problems to the boss who is pre-occupied with an important file before him
  1. Mistrust between communicator and communicate: if the parties do not believe each other, they cannot understand each other’s message in its original sense.
  2. Early estimation: Sometimes people evaluate the meaning of a message before the sender completes his message.

Organizational barriers: when communication passes through various levels certain factors like organizational structure, authority relationships, rules and regulations may act as barriers to effective communication. Includes

  1. Status: A person in a high position  also may not allow his subordinates to express their feelings freely
  2. Hurdle in organization struc­ture: In a large organization due to a large number of managerial levels, communication gets de­layed and unclear.
  3. Absence of Organizational facilities: Facilities like frequent meetings, suggestion boxes, poor telephone and internet facilities, the social and cultural gatherings may discourage the free flow of communication
  4. Rules and regulations: Rigid rules and procedures may result in delays. Example:- Written application for minor things
  5. Policy of Organizational: Highly centralized organization does not support a free flow of communication. People may not be encouraged to have free communication.

Personal barriers The personal reasons of both sender and receiver may act as a barrier to the communication. Includes

  1. Fear of challenges to authority: If a superior sees that a par­ticular communication may badly affect his authority, he or she may do not communicate.
  1. Unwillingness to communicate: subordinates may not communicate with their superiors, if they affect that it may adversely affect their interests
  2. Lack of confidence of superior in his subordinates: If superiors do not have confidence in the com­petency of their subordinates, they may not take their advice or opinions.
  3. Lack of proper incentives: If there is no motivation or incentive for communication, subordinates may not take initiative to communicate.

Improving Communication Effectiveness

  1. Clarify the ideas before com­munication: The message communicated to others should be clear, studied in detail and can be understood by the subordinates. (oral, written, gestural )
  2. Opinions of other participants: While making policies subordinates may be mixed up to get their approval and cooperation. (like fixing the working hours )
  3. Convey things of help to listeners: Interests and needs of listeners should be kept in mind before delivering the message. (age factor can be considered)
  4. According to the needs of the receiver: The sender should communicate according to the education and understanding levels of subordinates. (Use of Local language)
  5. Communications follow up: There should be regular follow up and review of the instructions given to subordinates to remove the weakness in any due to organizational policy, status differences, or language barriers
  6. Offering feedback: Check whether the receiver has understood the message or not, especially in the case of written communication
  7. Listening skills: The manager should be a good listener to listen to the problem of other people patiently.
  8. Aware of languages, tone, and content of a message: The language used should be understandable to the receiver and should not upset the sentiments of listeners. (using wrong words  against certain community)

Related Chapter Name