Directing Class 12 Notes Business Studies Chapter 7 - CBSE

Chapter: 7

What Are Directing ?

Directing refers to the process of instructing, guiding, counseling, motivating and leading people in the organisation to achieve its objectives.

Elements of Directing

  • Supervision
  • Leadership
  • Motivation
  • Communication

Characteristics of Directing

  • Initiates action
  • Takes place at every level of Management
  • Continuous Process
  • Flows from top to bottom

Importance of Directing

  • Initiate Action
  • Integrates employees efforts in the organisation
  • Guides employees to fully realise their potential and capabilities
  • Facilitates introduction of needed changes
  • Helps in maintaining stability and balance in the organisation

Principles of Directing

  • Maximum individual contribution
  • Harmony of objectives
  • Unity of Command
  • Appropriateness of direction technique
  • Managerial communication
  • Use of informal organisation
  • Follow Through

Supervision

Supervision is the process of instructing, guiding and monitoring the subordinates so that subordinates perform their jobs according to the plans and instructions.

Importance

  • Maintains day-to-day contact and maintains friendly relations with workers
  • Link between workers and management
  • Maintains group unity
  • Ensures performance of work according to the targets set.
  • Provides good on the-job training
  • Influences the workers
  • Analyzes the work performed and provides feedback to the workers

Motivation

Motivation can be defined as stimulating, inspiring and inducing the employees to perform to  their best capacity.

Features

  • Internal Feeling
  • Produces goal directed behaviour
  • Either positive or negative
  • Complex Process

Importance

  • Improve performance levels
  • Changes negative or indifferent attitudes
  • Reduces Employee Turnover
  • Reduces Absenteeism
  • Helps managers to introduce changes smoothly

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

  • Basic Physiological Needs: These needs are most basic in the hierarchy like Hunger, thirst, shelter and sleep etc.
  • Safety/Security Needs: These needs provide security and protection from physical and emotional harm.
  • Affiliation/Belonging Needs: These needs refer to affection, sense of belongingness, acceptance and friendship.
  • Esteem Needs: These needs include self-respect, autonomy status, recognition and attention.
  • Self -Actualisation Needs: It refers to the drive to become what one is capable of becoming. It includes growth, self-fulfillment and achievement of goals.

Financial Incentives

These are those incentives which can be measured in monetary terms. It includes bonus, Pay and allowances, Productivity linked wage incentives, profit-sharing, co-partnership, retirement benefits, perquisites

Non-financial Incentives

These are those incentives which does not include money but satisfy psychological, social and emotional factors. It includes status, organisational climate, Career Advancement Opportunity, Job Enrichment, Employee Recognition Programs, Employee Participation and Employee Empowerment.

Leadership

It is the process of influencing the behavior of other people so that they work willingly for the attainment of goals in a given situation.

Features

  • Indicates ability of an individual to influence others
  • Bring change in the behavior
  • Indicates interpersonal relation between leaders and followers.
  • Achieve common goals of the organisation
  • Continuous Process

Importance

  • Influences the behavior of people positively
  • Maintains personal relations
  • Introduces required changes in the organisation
  • Handles Conflicts Effectively
  • Provides training to subordinates

Qualities of a Good Leader

  • Physical Features
  • Knowledge
  • Integrity
  • Initiative
  • Communication Skills
  • Motivation Skills
  • Self-Confidence
  • Decisiveness
  • Social Skills

Leadership Style

  • Autocratic or Authoritarian Leader: An autocratic leader gives orders to his subordinates and expects that his subordinates to obey those orders.
  • Democratic or Participative leader: A democratic leader will makes decisions in consultation with his subordinates.
  • Laissez faire or Free-rein leader: Such a leader does not use his power unless it is absolutely essential. The followers are given a high degree of independence to formulate their own objectives and ways to achieve them.

Communication

Communication is the process of exchange of ideas, views, facts and feelings etc. between two and more persons.

Elements of Communication Process

  • Sender
  • Message
  • Encoding
  • Media
  • Decoding
  • Receiver
  • Feedback
  • Noise

Importance of Communication

  • Acts as basis of coordination among departments, people and activities
  • Helps in smooth working of an Organisation
  • Acts as basis of decision making for managers
  • Increases Managerial Efficiency
  • Promotes cooperation and industrial peace
  • Establishes effective leadership
  • Boosts Morale of employees

Formal And Informal Communication

Formal Communication flows through official channels designed in the organisation chart.

  • Single chain: The communication flows from every superior to his subordinate through single chain.
  • Wheel: All subordinates under one superior communicate through superiors only as he acts as a hub of the wheel.
  • Circular: Each person can communicate with his adjoining two persons.
  • Free flow: Each person can communicate with others freely.
  • Inverted V: A subordinate is allowed to communicate with his immediate superior as well as his superiors superior.

Informal Communication flows in every direction without following the official channels.

Grapevine Network

  • Single Strand Network: Each person communicates with other person in sequence. Gossip network: Each person communicates with other person on non-selective basis.
  • Probability Network: The individual communicates randomly with other individual. Cluster: the individual communicates with only those people whom he trusts.

Barriers To Communication

Semantic Barriers

These barriers are related to the meaning of words and sentences. Such barriers are:

  • Faulty translation of message
  • Badly Expressed Message
  • Symbol with different meaning
  • Unclarified assumption
  • Technical Jargon
  • Body language and gesture decoding

Psychological Barrier

  • Premature evaluation
  • Lack of attention
  • Loss by transmission and poor retention
  • Distrust

Organisational Barrier

The factors related to organisational structure, authority relationships, rules and regulations may, sometimes, act.

  • Organisational Policy
  • Rules and Regulations
  • Status
  • Complexity
  • Organisational Facilities

Personal Barriers

These barriers are related to the personal factors of both sender and receiver. The barriers can be:

  • Fear of challenge to authority
  • Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates
  • Unwillingness to communicate
  • Lack of proper incentives

Improving Communication Effectiveness

Organisations keen on developing effective communication should adopt suitable measures to overcome the barriers and improve communication effectiveness.

Measures of 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