Directing

Directing is the heart of management function. All other functions of management

such as planning, organizing, and staffing have no importance without
directing. Leadership, motivation, supervision, communication are various aspects of
directing. Let us study the importance and principles of directing.

Directing refers to a process or technique of instructing, guiding, inspiring,

counselling, overseeing and leading people towards the accomplishment of
organizational goals. It is a continuous managerial process that goes on throughout
the life of the organization. Main characteristics of Directing are as follows:

1. Initiates Action
A directing function is performed by the managers along with planning, staffing,
organizing and controlling in order to discharge their duties in the organization.
While other functions prepare a platform for action, directing initiates action.

2. Pervasive Function
Directing takes place at every level of the organization. Wherever there is a superior-
subordinate relationship, directing exists as every manager provides guidance and
inspiration to his subordinates.

3.Continuous Activity
It is a continuous function as it continues throughout the life of organization
irrespective of the changes in the managers or employees.

4.Descending Order of Hierarchy

Directing flows from a top level of management to the bottom level. Every manager
exercises this function on his immediate subordinate.

5. Human Factor
Since all employees are different and behave differently in different situations, it
becomes important for the managers to tackle the situations appropriately. Thus,
directing is a significant function that gets the work done by the employees and
increases the growth of the organization.
Principles of Directing

1. Maximum Individual Contribution

One of the main principles of directing is the contribution of
individuals. Management should adopt such directing policies that motivate the
employees to contribute their maximum potential for the attainment of organizational
goals.

2. Harmony of Objectives
Sometimes there is a conflict between the organizational objectives and individual
objectives. For example, the organization wants profits to increase and to retain its
major share, whereas, the employees may perceive that they should get a major share
as a bonus as they have worked really hard for it.

Here, directing has an important role to play in establishing harmony and

coordination between the objectives of both the parties.

3. Unity of Command
This principle states that a subordinate should receive instructions from only one
superior at a time. If he receives instructions from more than one superiors at the
same time, it will create confusion, conflict, and disorder in the organization and also
he will not be able to prioritize his work.

4. Managerial Communication
According to this principle, it should be seen that the instructions are clearly
conveyed to the employees and it should be ensured that they have understood the
same meaning as was intended to be communicated.

5. Follow Through
As per this principle, managers are required to monitor the extent to which the
policies, procedures, and instructions are followed by the subordinates. If there is any
problem in implementation, then the suitable modifications can be made.
Leadership

Leadership is a process by which an executive can direct, guide and influence the behavior and work
of others towards accomplishment of specific goals in a given situation. Leadership is the ability of a
manager to induce the subordinates to work with confidence and zeal.

Leadership is the potential to influence behaviour of others. It is also defined as the capacity to
influence a group towards the realization of a goal. Leaders are required to develop future visions,
and to motivate the organizational members to want to achieve the visions.

Characteristics of Leadership

1. It is a inter-personal process in which a manager is into influencing and guiding workers

towards attainment of goals.
2. It denotes a few qualities to be present in a person which includes intelligence, maturity and
personality.
3. It is a group process. It involves two or more people interacting with each other.
4. A leader is involved in shaping and moulding the behaviour of the group towards
accomplishment of organizational goals.
5. Leadership is situation bound. There is no best style of leadership. It all depends upon
tackling with the situations.

Importance of Leadership
Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and to
achieve organizational goals. The following points justify the importance of leadership in a concern.

1. Initiates action- Leader is a person who starts the work by communicating the policies and
plans to the subordinates from where the work actually starts.
2. Motivation- A leader proves to be playing an incentive role in the concern’s working. He
motivates the employees with economic and non-economic rewards and thereby gets the
work from the subordinates.
3. Providing guidance- A leader has to not only supervise but also play a guiding role for the
subordinates. Guidance here means instructing the subordinates the way they have to
perform their work effectively and efficiently.
4. Creating confidence- Confidence is an important factor which can be achieved through
expressing the work efforts to the subordinates, explaining them clearly their role and giving
them guidelines to achieve the goals effectively. It is also important to hear the employees
with regards to their complaints and problems.
5. Building morale- Morale denotes willing co-operation of the employees towards their work
and getting them into confidence and winning their trust. A leader can be a morale booster
by achieving full co-operation so that they perform with best of their abilities as they work to
achieve goals.
6. Builds work environment- Management is getting things done from people. An efficient
work environment helps in sound and stable growth. Therefore, human relations should be
kept into mind by a leader. He should have personal contacts with employees and should
listen to their problems and solve them. He should treat employees on humanitarian terms.
7. Co-ordination- Co-ordination can be achieved through reconciling personal interests with
organizational goals. This synchronization can be achieved through proper and effective co-
ordination which should be primary motive of a leader.
Functions of a Supervisor
Supervisor, being the manager in a direct contact with the operatives, has got multifarious function
to perform. The objective behind performance of these functions is to bring stability and soundness
in the organization which can be secured through increase in profits which is an end result of higher
productivity. Therefore, a supervisor should be concerned with performing the following functions -

1. Planning and Organizing - Supervisor’s basic role is to plan the daily work schedule of the
workers by guiding them the nature of their work and also dividing the work amongst the
workers according to their interests, aptitudes, skills and interests.
2. Provision of working conditions - A supervisor plays an important role in the physical
setting of the factory and in arranging the physical resources at right place. This involves
providing proper sitting place, ventilation, lighting, water facilities etc. to workers. His main
responsibility is here to provide healthy and hygienic condition to the workers.
3. Leadership and Guidance - A supervisor is the leader of workers under him. He leads the
workers and influences them to work their best. He also guides the workers by fixing
production targets and by providing them instruction and guidelines to achieve those
targets.
4. Motivation - A supervisor plays an important role by providing different incentives to
workers to perform better. There are different monetary and non-monetary incentives
which can inspire the workers to work better.
5. Controlling - Controlling is an important function performed by supervisor. This will involve
1. Recording the actual performance against the time schedule.
2. Checking of progress of work.
3. Finding out deviations if any and making solutions
4. If not independently solved, reporting it to top management.
6. Grievance Handling - The supervisor can handle the grievances of the workers effectively
for this he has to do the following things :-
1. He can be in direct touch with workers.
2. By winning the confidence of the workers by solving their problems.
3. By taking worker problems on humanitarian grounds.
4. If he cannot tackle it independently, he can take the help and advice of management
to solve it.
7. Reporting - A supervisor has got an important role to report about the cost, quality and any
such output which can be responsible for increasing productivity. Factors like cost, output,
performance, quality, etc can be reported continually to the management.
8. Introducing new work methods - The supervisor here has to be conscious about the
environment of market and competition present. Therefore he can innovate the techniques
of production. He can shift the workers into fresh schedules whenever possible. He can also
try this best to keep on changing and improving to the physical environment around the
workers. This will result in
1. Higher productivity,
2. High Morale of Workers,
3. Satisfying working condition,
4. Improving human relations,
5. Higher Profits, and
6. High Stability

9. Enforcing Discipline - A supervisor can undertake many steps to maintain discipline in the
concern by regulating checks and measures, strictness in orders and instructions, keeping an
account of general discipline of factory, implementing penalties and punishments for the
indiscipline workers. All these above steps help in improving the overall discipline of the
factory.
Coordination
Coordination is the function of management which ensures that different departments and
groups work in sync. Therefore, there is unity of action among the employees, groups, and
departments.
It also brings harmony in carrying out the different tasks and activities to achieve the
organization’s objectives efficiently. Coordination is an important aspect of any group
effort. When an individual is working, there is no need for coordination.
Therefore, we can say that the coordination function is an orderly arrangement of efforts
providing unity of action in pursuance of a common goal. In an organization, all the
departments must operate a part of a cohesive unit to optimize performance.
Coordination implies synchronization of various efforts of different departments to reduce
conflict. Multiple departments usually perform the work for which an organization exists.
Therefore, synchronization between them is essential. Lacking coordination, departments
might work in different directions or at different timings, creating chaos.

Importance of Coordination
Unity of Direction

An organization needs to integrate the efforts and skills of different employees in

order to achieve common objectives. Coordination also eliminates duplication of
work leading to cost-efficient operations.

Functional Differentiation

An organization has many departments or sections performing different functions.

All these functions are important for achieving the overall goals of the organization.
If all departments work in isolation from the others, then they might not work in
tandem. Therefore, coordination is essential for integrating the functions.

Lesser disputes

Many departments play an important role in helping the organization achieve its
goals. They are also capable of assessing the nature and scope of work they perform.
However, they are usually unaware of the importance of other department’s roles
leading to disputes. Coordination can help solve such disputes.
Reconciliation of goals

All individuals have their own goals which are more important to them than the
organization’s goals. Coordination helps to reconcile the employee’s goals with the
departmental and organizational goals.

Optimum Utilization of Resources

Primarily, coordination ensures that employees do not engage in cross-purpose work

since it brings together the human and material resources of the organization.
Therefore, there is less wastage of resources which helps the organization utilize
them optimally.

Encouragement of team spirit

In an organization, there exist many conflicts between employees, departments, etc.

Coordination encourages people and departments to work as one big team and
achieve the common objectives of the organization. Therefore, it encourages team
spirit.

Limitations of Coordination in Management

Now, that you understand the importance of coordination in management, you
also need to note that in practice, coordination faces some problems. Here are
the limitations of coordination in management:

• Lack of Administrative Talent – While hiring employees, it is possible that

some inefficient candidates get selected who do not understand the
administrative procedures properly. This can result in ineffective
coordination.
• Misunderstanding – In a large organization, hundreds of employees work
together and interact on a daily basis. Ideally, they must have a mutual
understanding and work as a team. However, in many cases,
misunderstandings creep in between employees which creates a problem in
coordination.
 Motivation
Motivation is derived from the word ‘motive’ which means need, drive, or want of an
individual. Motivating employees means stimulating the employee to accomplish
his/her goals along with the company goals. Talk about goals, some psychological
factors that stimulate people at work are the desire for money, success, recognition,
job satisfaction, etc. Motivating employees is an important function of
the management which can help create willingness among the employees for
optimum performance.

Process of Motivation
1. Unsatisfied need. Motivation process begins when there is an unsatisfied need in a
human being.
2. Tension. The presence of unsatisfied need gives him tension.
3. Drive. This tension creates an urge of drive in the human being and he starts looking
for various alternatives to satisfy the drive.
4. Search Behavior. After searching for alternatives the human being starts behaving
according to chosen option.
5. Satisfied need. After behaving in a particular manner for a long time then he
evaluates that whether the need is satisfied or not.
6. Reduction of tension. After fulfilling the need the human being gets satisfied and
his tension gets reduced.

Types of Motivation
1. Achievement Motivation: It is the drive to pursue and attain goals. An individual
with achievement motivation wishes to achieve objectives and advance up on the
ladder of success. Here, accomplishment is important for its own shake and not for
the rewards that accompany it. It is similar to ‘Kaizen’ approach of Japanese
Management.
2. Affiliation Motivation: It is a drive to relate to people on a social basis. Persons
with affiliation motivation perform work better when they are complimented for their
favorable attitudes and co-operation.
3. Competence Motivation: It is the drive to be good at something, allowing the
individual to perform high quality work. Competence motivated people seek job
mastery, take pride in developing and using their problem-solving skills and strive to
be creative when confronted with obstacles. They learn from their experience.
4. Power Motivation: It is the drive to influence people and change situations. Power
motivated people wish to create an impact on their organization and are willing to
take risks to do so.
5. Attitude Motivation: Attitude motivation is how people think and feel. It is their self
confidence, their belief in themselves, their attitude to life. It is how they feel about
the future and how they react to the past.
6. Incentive Motivation: It is where a person or a team reaps a reward from an
activity. It is “You do this and you get that”, attitude. It is the types of awards and
prizes that drive people to work a little harder.
7. Fear Motivation: Fear motivation coercion’s a person to act against will. It is
instantaneous and gets the job done quickly. It is helpful in the short run.

Features of Motivation
1. Motivation is a psychological phenomenon. Motivation is an internal feeling
which means it cannot be forced on employees. The internal feelings such as need,
desire, aspirations etc. influence human behavior to behave in a particular manner.
For example, desire to have a new house, respect and recognition etc.
2. Motivation produces goal directed behavior. Motivation induces people to
behave in such a manner so that they can achieve their goal. Motivated person need
no supervision or direction. He will always work in desired manner. For example of a
person has a motive to get promotion so he will work efficiently to get promotion.
3. Motivators can be positive as well as negative. To motivate employees managers
use various motivators. Some motivators are positive and some are negative few
examples of positive motivators are promotion, increment, bonus, respect,
recognition etc. if employee does not improve his performance with positive
motivators then manager uses negative motivators such as warning, issue o memo,
demotion, stopping increments etc. sometimes fear of negative motivators also
induces person to behave in a desired manner.
4. Motivation is a complex process. Motivation is a complex and difficult task. In
order to motivate people a manager must understand various types of human need.
Human needs are mental feelings which can be measured accurately. If manager
measures them accurately then also every person uses different approaches to
satisfy his need. Some get satisfied with monetary incentives, some with non-
monetary, some with positive and some with negative motivators. So it is not
possible to make generalization in motivation.
5. Motivation is a dynamic and continuous process. Human beings are ever-
changing. Human needs are unlimited and go on changing continuously. Satisfaction
of one need gives rise to another so managers have to continuously perform the
function of motivation.
 Importance of Motivation
1. Motivation helps to change from negative attitude to positive attitude. Without
motivation the employees try to perform minimum activities in the organization. But
the motivation fills in the desire to perform to their maximum level. All the resources
of the organization are of no use unless and until the employees use these
resources. The motivated employees make best use of the resources.
2. Motivation improves performance level of employees. The motivation improves
the efficiency level of employees which means the employees start performing the
job to the best of their ability with minimum wastage of time and resources because
motivated employees always go for best utilization of resources. The motivation
bridges the gap between the ability to work and willingness always improves
efficiency.
3. Help in achieving the organizational goals. The motivated employees always try
to achieve the organizational goal and contribute their best efforts for the realization
of organizational goal as they know with the achievement of organizational goal
only they can achieve their personal goal. All the employees contribute their efforts
in one direction of accomplishment of goal.
4. Motivation creates supportive work environment. In motivation the relations
between superior and subordinates are always improved. When the employees get
their need satisfied or get the recognition and respect in the organization then they
always offer a supportive hand to superiors. There is more co-operation and co-
ordination in the organization and all the employees work with the team spirit.
5. Motivation helps the managers to introduce changes. The motivated employees
show less resistance in accepting the changes according to changes in the business
environment because they know if the changes are not implements in the
organization, not only the organization will lose by this but the employees also will
find it difficult to get their needs fulfilled. Motivated employees are always
supportive and co-operative in accepting changes in the organization.

Advantages of Motivation

Advantages to Management or Organization:

• Increase in the efficiency and productivity of employees. Motivation ensures a high
level performance of employees.
• Better co-operation from employees and cordial labor-management relations.
• Reduction in the rate of labor absenteeism and turnover.
• Reduction in the wastage’s and industrial accidents.
• Improvement in the morale of employees.
• Quick achievement of business/corporate objectives and favorable corporate image.
 Advantages to Employees or Workers:
• Employees get various monetary and non-monetary facilities/benefits which provide
better life and welfare to them.
• Security of employment and other benefits due to cordial relations with the
management.
• Job attraction and job satisfaction.
• Higher status and opportunities of participation in management.
• Positive approach and outlook of employees towards company, management and
superiors.
• Reduction in the rate of labour turnover which is harmful to employees and
management.
• Better scope for improvement in knowledge and skills of employees.

Communication
Communications is fundamental to the existence and survival of humans
as well as to an organization. It is a process of creating and sharing ideas,
information, views, facts, feelings, etc. among the people to reach a
common understanding. Communication is the key to the
Directing function of management.

A manager may be highly qualified and skilled but if he does not possess
good communication skills, all his ability becomes irrelevant. A manager
must communicate his directions effectively to the subordinates to get the
work done from them properly.

Communications Process

Communications is a continuous process which mainly involves three elements

viz. sender, message, and receiver. The elements involved in the
communication process are explained below in detail:

1. Sender

The sender or the communicator generates the message and conveys it to the
receiver. He is the source and the one who starts the communication
2. Message

It is the idea, information, view, fact, feeling, etc. that is generated by the
sender and is then intended to be communicated further.

3. Encoding

The message generated by the sender is encoded symbolically such as in the

form of words, pictures, gestures, etc. before it is being conveyed.

4. Media

It is the manner in which the encoded message is transmitted. The message

may be transmitted orally or in writing. The medium of communication
includes telephone, internet, post, fax, e-mail, etc. The choice of medium is
decided by the sender.

5. Decoding

It is the process of converting the symbols encoded by the sender. After

decoding the message is received by the receiver.

6. Receiver

He is the person who is last in the chain and for whom the message was sent by
the sender. Once the receiver receives the message and understands it in proper
perspective and acts according to the message, only then the purpose of
communication is successful.

7. Feedback

Once the receiver confirms to the sender that he has received the message and
understood it, the process of communication is complete.

8. Noise

It refers to any obstruction that is caused by the sender, message or receiver

during the process of communication. For example, bad telephone connection,
faulty encoding, faulty decoding, inattentive receiver, poor understanding of
message due to prejudice or inappropriate gestures, etc.
Importance of Communication

1. The Basis of Co-ordination

The manager explains to the employees the organizational goals, modes of their
achievement and also the interpersonal relationships amongst them. This
provides coordination between various employees and also departments. Thus,
communications act as a basis for coordination in the organization.

2. Fluent Working

A manager coordinates the human and physical elements of an organization to

run it smoothly and efficiently. This coordination is not possible without proper
communication.

3. The Basis of Decision Making

Proper communication provides information to the manager that is useful

for decision making. No decisions could be taken in the absence of
information. Thus, communication is the basis for taking the right decisions.

4. Increases Managerial Efficiency

The manager conveys the targets and issues instructions and allocates jobs to
the subordinates. All of these aspects involve communication. Thus,
communication is essential for the quick and effective performance of the
managers and the entire organization.
5. Increases Cooperation and Organizational Peace

The two-way communication process promotes co-operation and mutual

understanding amongst the workers and also between them and
the management. This leads to less friction and thus leads to industrial peace in
the factory and efficient operations.

6. Boosts Morale of the Employees

Good communication helps the workers to adjust to the physical and social
aspect of work. It also improves good human relations in the industry. An
efficient system of communication enables the management to motivate,
influence and satisfy the subordinates which in turn boosts their morale and
keeps them motivated.

Types of Communication

1. Formal Communication

Formal communications are the one which flows through the official channels
designed in the organizational chart. It may take place between a superior and a
subordinate, a subordinate and a superior or among the same cadre employees
or managers. These communications can be oral or in writing and are generally
recorded and filed in the office.

2. Informal Communication

Any communication that takes place without following the formal channels of
communication is said to be informal communication. The Informal
communication is often referred to as the ‘grapevine’ as it spreads throughout
the organization and in all directions without any regard to the levels of
authority.

The informal communication spreads rapidly, often gets distorted and it is very
difficult to detect the source of such communication. It also leads to rumors
which are not true. People’s behavior is often affected by the rumors and
informal discussions which sometimes may hamper the work environment.

However, sometimes these channels may be helpful as they carry information

rapidly and, therefore, may be useful to the manager at times. Informal
channels are also used by the managers to transmit information in order to
know the reactions of his/her subordinates.
Barriers to Communication

The communication barriers may prevent communication or carry incorrect

meaning due to which misunderstandings may be created. Therefore, it is
essential for a manager to identify such barriers and take appropriate measures
to overcome them. The barriers to communication in organizations can be
broadly grouped as follows:

1. Semantic Barriers

These are concerned with the problems and obstructions in the process of
encoding and decoding of a message into words or impressions. Normally,
such barriers result due to use of wrong words, faulty translations, different
interpretations, etc.

For example, a manager has to communicate with workers who have no

knowledge of the English language and on the other side, he is not well
conversant with the Hindi language. Here, language is a barrier to
communication as the manager may not be able to communicate properly with
the workers.

2. Psychological Barriers

Emotional or psychological factors also act as barriers to communication. The

state of mind of both sender and receiver of communication reflects in effective
communication. A worried person cannot communicate properly and an angry
recipient cannot understand the message properly.

Thus, at the time of communication, both the sender and the receiver need to be
psychologically sound. Also, they should trust each other. If they do not believe
each other, they cannot understand each other’s message in its original sense.

3. Organizational Barriers

The factors related to organizational structure, rules and regulations authority

relationships, etc. may sometimes act as barriers to effective communication. In
an organization with a highly centralized pattern, people may not be
encouraged to have free communication. Also, rigid rules and regulations and
cumbersome procedures may also become a hurdle to communication.
4. Personal Barriers

The personal factors of both sender and receiver may act as a barrier
to effective communication. If a superior thinks that a particular
communication may adversely affect his authority, he may suppress such
communication.

Also, if the superiors do not have confidence in the competency of their

subordinates, they may not ask for their advice. The subordinates may not be
willing to offer useful suggestions in the absence of any reward or appreciation
for a good suggestion.