DIRECTING

11.1 MEANING OF DIRECTING

Directing is that part of the management process which is concerned with
instructing, guiding, supervising and inspiring employees to achieve
predetermined objectives.
11.2 IMPORTANCE OF DIRECTING
Directing may be considered as the heart of the management process.
Without direction, other managerial functions such as planning, organising
and staffing remain ineffective.
1. Initiates Action: The purpose of direction is to activate employees to
work towards the achievement of predetermined goals of the
organisation.
2. Improves efficiency: Every member of a work group has some
potential Managers utilise this potential through motivation and
leadership which are parts of directing. A manager persuades his
subordinates to work to the best of their abilities and contribute their
maximum efforts towards the achievement of organisational
objectives.
3. Ensures Coordination:Directing helps in creating mutual
understanding and teamwork among the members of an organisation.
Directing helps to reconcile personal interests of employees with the
organisational goals. It ensures balance in the organisation.
4. Facilitates Change: Through information sharing and persuasive
leadership, directing facilitates adjustment in the organisation to cope
with the changes in the environment.
5. Balance in the Organisation: Managers bring out balance between
individual interests of employees and organisational interests through
directing function.
6. Helps Stability and Growth: An enterprise can expand and grow
when the right direction is provided, through effective leadership,
motivation and interpersonal communication.
11.3 ELEMENTS OF DIRECTING
a) Supervision
b) Motivation
c) Leadership
d) Communication
11.4 MEANING OF SUPERVISION
Supervision refers to the direct and immediate guidance and control of
subordinates in the performance of their tasks.
11.5 FUNCTIONS OF SUPERVISION
1. Scheduling the Work: The objective of scheduling is to ensure that
each activity is performed or completed at the right time.
2. Issuing Orders and Instructions: The purpose of an order is to
initiate, modify, or halt any action on the part of the subordinates.
Instructions tell workers how the work is to be done.
3. Guiding Subordinates: He explains the plans and policies of
management to workers. He also solves their problems relating to
technical aspects of work, working conditions, materials and tools and
interpersonal relations.
4. Motivating Workers: The supervisor creates enthusiasm and team
spirit among them through proper financial and non-financial
incentives, such as appreciation and recognition of work done.
5. Maintaining Discipline: The supervisor enforces the rules and
regulations among his subordinates. He ensures that workers follow
the prescribed rules and work procedures while doing their jobs.
6. Handling Grievances: The supervisor listens to the grievances and
complaints of workers and takes all possible steps to remove them. He
communicates the grievances and suggestions of workers to higher
authorities.
7. Monitoring Performance: Continuous monitoring is done to ensure
that plans and time schedules are adhered to . The superior ensures
performance according to the targets.
8. Ensuring Safety: The supervisor ensures that workers use safety
devices. He goes on regular inspection to ensure that all machines
and equipment are in proper condition.
9. Reporting/Feedback: The supervisor prepares and submits reports
to the higher authorities.
10. Serving as a Linking Pin: The supervisor acts as a link between
management and workers. On the one hand, he communicates the
policies and decisions of management of workers. On the other hand,
he conveys the suggestions, grievances and complaints of workers to
management.
11.7 MEANING OF MOTIVATION
Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish
desired goals of the organisation.
11.10 MASLOW’S THEORY
1. Physiological Needs: These include the needs for air, water, food,
sleep, sex, etc. Therefore physiological needs are also known as
survival needs.
2. Safety or Security Needs: An employer can satisfy safety needs of his
employees by offering job security, pension, gratuity, group insurance,
housing, etc.
3. Social or Affiliation Needs: Man is social in nature. He needs love,
affection, a sense of belonging, association, friendship with others.
Organisations can satisfy these needs by encouraging team building
and providing good job titles.
4. Ego or Esteem Needs: Organisations can satisfy these needs by by
offering challenging jobs, recognising good performance, providing
good job title, etc.
5. Self-actualisation Needs: This implies the desire to become what one
is capable of becoming. Self-actualisation needs refer to need to grow
and self-fulfilment. A manager may provide opportunities for
continuous learning, encourage creativity, grant independence and
allow risk taking to help employees satisfy their self - actualisation
needs.
11.11 MEANING OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership is the activity of influencing people to strive willingly for mutual
objectives.
11.12 QUALITIES OF A GOOD LEADER
1. Sound Physique:A good leader must have good health and physical
fitness. He requires tremendous stamina and vigour for hard work.
2. Intelligence: A leader should be intelligent enough to examine
problems in the right perspective. He should have the ability to assess
the pros and cons of his actions in a particular situation.
3. Initiative: Rather he should grab the opportunity and use it for the
benefit of the organisation.
4. Integrity: A leader should be honest and sincere. He should be a role
model to others in teams of ethics and values. He should have
empathy.
5. Decisiveness: The leader should be decisive and firm in his opinion.
He should have an objective outlook, free from bias and prejudice.
6. Emotional Stability: The leader should have a cool temperament and
emotional balance. He should not be unduly moved by sentiments and
emotions.
 7. Self-Confidence: A good leader should have confidence in his own
ability to lead others. He also requires the will power to meet the
needs of every situation.
8. Communication Skills: The skill to listen patiently and with empathy
is also necessary. Communication skills enable the leader to
understand the followers and motivate them.
11.13 MEANING OF COMMUNICATION
Communication is the exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two
or more persons.
11.14 STEPS IN THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Sender: Sender or communicator in the person who sends a message
or an idea. He is the source and initiates the process of
communication.
2. Message: Messenger is what is conveyed by the sender. It consists of
words, facts, ideas, opinions, etc. It is the subject matter of
communications.
3. Encoding: It is the use of appropriate verbal or non-verbal language
for transmitting the idea, the sender translates the idea into a
language known to both the parties.
4. Channel:It is a medium or route through which the message is passed
from the sender to the receiver. It may be face-to-face talk, telephone,
letter, radio, tv, etc.
5. Receiver: Receiver or communicate is the person or group who is
supposed to receive the message.
6. Decoding: It means translating the message into words for the
purpose of understanding. The receiver interprets the message to
derive its meaning.
7. Feedback: It is the response or reaction by the receiver. It represents
the return flow of communications. With the help of feedback, the
reader can judge the effectiveness of his message. Without it the
process of communication remains incomplete.
11.15 OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNICATION
1. To Educate and Train people: They issue orders and instructions to
employees so that they may perform their jobs efficiently.
2. To motivate employees: Good communication can mould employees’
behaviour and create cordial industrial relations.
3. To promote managerial: Managers provide guidance to employees
through communication.
 4. To implement decisions quickly: Subordinates understand
managerial decisions and take steps to implement them through
communication.
5. To facilitate leadership: The effectiveness of leaders depends upon
their communication skills. Personal communication helps managers
in maintaining man-to-man relationships.
6. To carry out change: Free flow of ideas and information reduces
workers’ resistance to new technology and other changes. It makes
new ideas acceptable to people and they adapt more quickly to the
changing circumstances.
11.16 BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
Several obstructions, bottlenecks, hurdles or blockades hinder the process
of communication. These are called barriers to communication.
1. Physical Barriers: Distance between the sender and the receiver of
the message is an important barrier. Noise and environmental
disturbances are other physical barriers to communication.
2. Personal or Psychological Barriers: Personal factors like judgement,
emotions and social values create a psychological distance between
the sender and the receiver of messages. Credibility gap, i.e.,
inconsistency between what one says and what o Prejudices,
inferiority/superiority complex, attitude, time pressure affect,
interpretation between sender and receiver of the message,
communication is not effective due t does may create
misunderstanding. When there is lack of mutual trust and confidence
between sender and receiver of the message, communication is not
effective due to differences in comprehension of reality.
3. Semantic or language Barriers: The same words may convey
different meanings to different people. When the sender and the
receiver interpret the message differently, the receiver may not
understand language used by the sender.
4. Status Barriers: Superior-subordinate relationship in the formal
organisation structure may obstruct free flow of information. A
manager may convey only selected information to his subordinates so
as to maintain status difference. He may feel that if he communicates
problems or results which reflect his ability and judgement his
position as a superior would be undermined. Similarly, subordinates
tend to convey only those things which the superior would appreciate.
Thus status creates filtering and distorts downward and upward
communications.
5. Organisational Barriers: When the organisation structure is complex
comprising several layers of management, breakdown or distortion in
 communication may arise. Due to long lines of communication, flow
of information gets delayed and distorted.
6. Inattention: Inadequate attention to the message is likely to create
misunderstanding. Inattention may arise due to busyness or because
the message is contrary to the expectations and beliefs of the receiver.
7. Premature Evaluation: Some people are in the habit of forming a
judgement before reading/listening to the entire message.
8. Other Barriers: Lack of time, pressure of work, unclarified
assumptions, badly expressed message.
11.17 OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
1. Well-drafted message: The message to be transmitted must be clear
and concise. It is very essential to know the audience for whom the
message is meant.
2. Proper Language: The words and symbols used to convey the
message should match the reference and understanding of the
receiver.
3. Two way communication: It should be a two-way traffic involving
both telling and listening. Sharing of information helps to improve
understanding.
4. Sound organisational structure: The chain of command should be
short as to speed up flow of information.
5. Consistency: There should be no contradiction between words and
actions.
6. Empathetic Listening: One should be a good listener to
communicate effectively. Superiors should develop the habit of patient
listening.
7. Motivation: The message should be so designed as to motivate the
receiver to take the desired action.
8. Gestures and Tone: Words in the message must be reinforced
through gestures or facial expressions.
9. Grapevine: Informal channels of communication should be used
intelligently to supplement formal communication.
10. Feedback: Communication is complete when the response or
reaction of the receiver becomes known to the sender.
11. Open door policy: Managers should keep their doors open to
encourage employees to communicate.