MOTIVATION,

LEADERSHIP, AND
COMMUNICATION
IN AN
ORGANIZATION
Week 5
There is a saying that a “manager is not
necessarily a leader.” Many managers find
themselves in their positions because of
exemplary performance in “follower”
positions, or even due to tenure ship and
loyalty to their job. Whether this is true or not,
the managers in leadership positions have
ample opportunity to build their leadership
characteristic traits. 
 MANAGERS VS LEADERS
MANAGERS LEADERS

 Focus on things  Focus on People

 Do things right  Do the Right Things

 Plan  Inspire

 Organize  Influence

 Direct  Motivate

 Control  Build

 Follow Rules  Shape entitles

Successful leading must begin by focusing on the
psychological capital of both the employer/leader and
the employee/subordinate. Looking for what is right
with people rather than for what is wrong is suggested
to prevent mental and behavioral problems which are
barriers to achieving both organizational and
individual goals. 
Personality pertains to the unique combination of physical and mental
characteristics that affect how individuals react to situations and interact with others,
and if unhealthy or not fully functioning could cause conflicts or problems among
individuals. 

 A person is an aid to possess a healthy personality if he or she is fully functioning in

mind, body, and spirit; he or she is an optimal person functioning at the highest
level. Ideally, individual human resources of organizations must have a healthy
personality because when one is functioning at the highest level, one, inevitably,
becomes efficient in his or her work, cooperative with managers and coworkers,
therefore, could easily be influenced by organization leaders to work toward the
achievement of a common organizational goal. Leading individuals in the
organization become effortless for the manager and leader, especially, if he or
she has a healthy and fully functioning personality. 
According to Robbins and Coulter (2009), “Research has shown that
five basic personality dimensions underlie all others and encompass
most of the significant variation in human personality.” 

The Five Personality Traits In The Big Five Model 

1. Extraversion- the degree to which someone is sociable,

talkative, and assertive 
2. Agreeableness- the degree to which someone is good-
natured, cooperative, and trusting 
3. Conscientiousness- the degree to which someone is
responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement-
oriented 

4. Emotional Stability- the degree to which someone is

calm, enthusiastic, and secure (positive), or tense, nervous,
depressed, and insecure (negative) 

5. Openness to Experience- the degree to which someone

is imaginative, artistically sensitive, and intellectual
 BLAKE AND MOUTON’S
LEADERSHIP GRID 
Blake and Mouton’s Leadership Grid, a well-known
leadership training model developed to help managers
rate their performance or maintenance orientation in the
workplace. Performance orientation or concern for
production is plotted in the x-axis or horizontal line, while
maintenance orientation, or concern for people, is plotted
in the y-axis or vertical line. 
The grid explains five management or leadership
orientations, as follows:

1. Impoverished Management (1,1), ranking low

concern for people and low concern for production
or results

2. Country Club Management (1,9), rating low

concern for production and high concern for people

3. Middle of the Road Management (5,5), showing

balanced concern for management and people

4. Team Management (9,9), ranking high concern

for production and people

5. Produce or Perish Management (9,1), rating low

concern for people, and high concern for
production. 
MOTIVATION
Motivation encourages individuals to work enthusiastically, often performing
more work than what is required. What could managers do to ensure such
motivated and enthusiastic performance among their subordinates? What
could be done to inspire employees whose work performance is limited to the
minimum need? Understanding individual human needs, perceptions,
thoughts, and beliefs may provide good answers to such questions that are
often asked in different work settings. 

According to Kreitner and Kinicki (2013), early Theories of Motivation revolved

around the idea that motivation is brought about by the employee’s desire to
fulfill their need, their work habits, and their job satisfaction. Among these
are: 
MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
The theory indicates that people satisfy their needs in a specific
order, from bottom to top, as follows: 

1. Physiological needs- food, water, and shelter 

2. Safety and security protection against threat and
deprivation 
3. Social needs- friendship, affection, belonging, and love 
4. Ego or Esteem- independence, achievement, freedom,
status, recognition, and self-esteem 
5. Self-actualization- realizing one’s full potential, becoming
everything, one is capable of being 
MCCLELLAND’S
ACQUIRED NEEDS
THEORY 

The key needs for managers,

according to McClelland, are
achievement, affiliation, and
power needs. Achievement
means an orientation toward
success and goal realization.
Affiliation reflects a strong wish
to be liked while power refers to
the need to persuade or be in
command of other people. 
ALDERFER’S
ERG THEORY 
It was developed by Clayton Alderfer in
the 1960s. For Alderfer, a set of core
needs explains the behavior. E stands
for existence needs, R refers to
relatedness needs, and G pertains to
growth needs. The needs or desire for
physiological and materialistic well-
being, to have meaningful relationships
with others, and to grow as a human
being are similar to the needs presented
in Maslow’s Theory. 
MODERN THEORIES OF MOTIVATION 
These are process theories that focus not on the notion that motivation is a
function of employees’ perceptions, thoughts, and beliefs. Among these are: 
1. Goal-Setting Theory
          A theory states that specific goals motivate performance and that
more difficult goals, when accepted by employees result in greater
motivation to perform well as compared to easy goals. Managers are
advised to set goals for their subordinates as this is a major source of job
motivation. Doing well also helps increase their motivation. 
2. Reinforcement Theory
          A theory which states that behavior is a function of its consequences. If
the result or consequences that immediately follow a behavior is good, then there
is a probability that the individual will be more motivated to repeat the behavior.
Using this theory, managers can motivate an employee’s positive behavior by
using positive reinforcement for actions that help the company achieve its goal. 
MODERN THEORIES OF MOTIVATION 

3. Job Design Theory

          A theory states that employees are motivated to work well by combining
tasks to form complete jobs. Managers are advised to design jobs that will meet
the requirements of the ever-changing environment, the form’s technology, and
the workers' skills, abilities, and preferences. In doing so, employees are
motivated to perform well. Examples are:
a. Job enlargement- the horizontal expansion of a job by increasing job scope
b. Job enrichment- the increasing of job depth by empowering employees to
assume some tasks usually done by their managers.
c. Job characteristics model- where employees are motivated to perform well
because the task assigned to them have the five core job dimensions that serve
as motivators. 
MODERN THEORIES OF MOTIVATION 
4. Equity Theory
          A theory developed by J. Stacey Adams states that employees assess job
outcomes about what they put into it and then compare these with their co-
workers. If the employee perceives that his job is equitable in comparison to
those of his coworkers, there is no problem. However, if the opposite is true, this
will become a de-motivator to his or her job performance. Mangers must see to it
that they exercise fairness or equity in their company. 
5. Expectancy Theory
          A theory that sets an individual tends to act in a certain way, based on the
expectation that the act will be followed by an outcome that may be attractive or
unattractive to him or her. Mangers are advised to understand an employee’s
goal so that he or she would be able to link the rewards or outcomes to be
offered with the said goals. 
COMMUNICATIO
N
Communication applies to all
management functions and its general
purpose is for the organization to bring
positive changes that influence activities
leading to the firm’s welfare. The
communication process starts with the
sender who has an idea or a message,
which is then transmitted through a
selected channel to the received, who in
turn has to be ready for the reception of
the message so that it could be decoded
into thoughts. Accurate communication
occurs when the sender and the receiver
understand one another. 
Types of Communication 
Communication may be classified into the following: 
A. Verbal- through the use of oral and written words
B. Non-Verbal - through body movements, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and
by touching
C. Formal- if communication takes place within prescribed, routine organizational work
arrangements
D. Informal- if communication is not defined by an organization’s hierarchical structure. 
Communication flows in different directions within an organization. It could
either be: 
A. Vertical- involves communication flow between people belonging to
different organizational levels. 

B. Upward- the flow of information from an employee who belongs to a lower

hierarchical level to the boss/manager who belongs to a higher hierarchical
level. Employees or subordinates may communicate upward regarding their
problems, requests that they would like the boss to approve, issues with
coworkers and others. 
C. Downward- is the flow of information from the manager, who belongs to a
higher hierarchical level, to the subordinates/employees, who along to the
lower hierarchical levels. Examples are when the boss gives orders to
subordinates to finish certain tasks, communicates organizational policies and
practices, and comments about work performance month others. 
D. Horizontal/Lateral- takes place among employees who belong to the same
hierarchical level. Members of cross-functional teams who belong to different
units/departments but occupy the same organizational level make use of this
type of communication to save time and facilitate coordination. 

E. Diagonal- entails communicating with someone or others who belong to

different departments/units and different hierarchical levels. For example, an
employee belonging to the company’s financial management department
communicates directly with the head of the human resource department about
his complaint against a marketing department employee. Take note of the
different departments and different organizational levels of the persons
communicating with each other. Diagonal communication is said to be
beneficial because of its efficiency and speed; however, it may also cause
some confusion. 
 The Basic Elements of the Communication Process 

The Sender
The communication process begins with the sender, who is also called the
communicator or source. The sender has some kind of information — a
command, request, question, or idea — that he or she wants to present to
others. For that message to be received, the sender must first encode the
message in a form that can be understood, such as by the use of a common
language or industry jargon, and then transmit it. 

The Receiver
The person to whom a message is directed is called the receiver or the
interpreter. To comprehend the information from the sender, the receiver must
first be able to receive the sender's information and then decode or interpret it. 
 The Basic Elements of the Communication Process 

The Message
The message or content is the information that the sender wants to relay to the
receiver. Additional subtext can be conveyed through body language and tone of
voice. Put all three elements together — sender, receiver, and message — and
you have the communication process at its most basic. 

The Medium
Also called the channel, the medium is how a message is transmitted. Text
messages, for example, are transmitted through the medium of cell phones. 
 The Basic Elements of the Communication Process 

Feedback
The communication process reaches its final point when the message has been
successfully transmitted, received, and understood. The receiver, in turn,
responds to the sender, indicating comprehension. Feedback may be direct,
such as a written or verbal response, or it may take the form of an act or deed in
response (indirect). 

Other Factors
The communication process isn't always so simple or smooth, of course. These
elements can affect how information is transmitted, received, and interpreted: 
 The Basic Elements of the Communication Process 

Noise: This can be any sort of interference that affects the message being sent,
received, or understood. It can be as literal as static over a phone line or radio
or as esoteric as misinterpreting a local custom. 

Context: This is the setting and situation in which communication takes place.
Like noise, context can have an impact on the successful exchange of
information. It may have a physical, social, or cultural aspect to it. In a private
conversation with a trusted friend, you would share more personal information
or details about your weekend or vacation, for example, than in a conversation
with a work colleague or in a meeting. 
 COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
IN ORGANIZATIONS
Communication networks are varied patterns of combined horizontal and
vertical flows of organizational communication. Types of communication
networks include the following:

a. Chain of the network- where communication flows according to the

usual formal chain of command, downward and upward.

b. Wheel network- where communication flows freely among all

members of their group/team.

c. All-channel network- where communication flows freely among all

members of a team 
 COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
IN ORGANIZATIONS
d. Grapevine network- is informal communication. An example of this is
gossip/rumor which could quickly disseminate information. Managers
must stay aware of the grapevine’s flow and the patterns and could use it
to transmit important information. They, however, should also be
conscious of the negative effects of gossip as these may cause conflicts
in their company. Negative effects of rumors may be minimized by
practicing transparency and communication openly with employees.

e. Computer network- Information technology has made it possible for

managers to communicate with each other and with subordinates and for
employees to communicate with each other anytime, regardless of
distance. Examples of computer communication applications are e-mail,
blogging, teleconferencing, and intranet. 
 BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
Organization members encounter various types of barriers that can alter the
meaning of communications that they receive. These barriers included: 

1. Filtering- the shaping of information communicated to make it look good

or advantageous to the received.  

2. Emotions- the interpretation of communications which may be

influenced by extreme emotions felt by the received.

3. Information overload- another barrier to good communication since

there are too many pieces of information received by an individual that may
harm a person’s processing capacity.  
 BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

4. Defensiveness- the act of self-protection when people are threatened by

something or someone. Due to this feeling, people may resort to
communicating lies to protect themselves or to interpret communications
differently to defend their interests, thus, reducing mutual understanding. 

5. Language- could also hamper good communications because words

used may have different meanings to different people belonging to a
different age, educational background, or cultural group. The diversity of
background of organization members may influence the language or the
words that they use. 
 BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

6. National culture- just like languages, the prevailing national culture may
also cause problems in communication among members of an organization,
especially if it's a multinational company. Certain office practices, like
sending formal memoranda to employees, may be negatively interpreted by
employees coming from another country with a different culture that values
face-to-face interpersonal communication. Such negative interpretation may,
in turn, cause employee dissatisfaction and less motivation to perform their
work well. 
OVERCOMING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
To avoid conflicts resulting from communication problems, managers try to
overcome communication barriers through the following means: 
a. Using feedback- This is usually done by asking questions about a
memo sent to subordinates or by asking them to give their comments or
suggestions. In doing so, they can determine whether the communication
they sent out was understood the way they originally intended. 
b. Using simple language- This is done by avoiding uncommon terms and
flowery words that may just cause misinterpretation. The language used
must fit the level of understanding of the intended recipients of the
communication. Effective communication is achieved when the message is
understood by those who received it. 
OVERCOMING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
c. Active listening- This means listening well to grasp the full meaning of
the communication. Hearing without giving full attention to what others seek
to communicate usually results in misinterpretation and communication
distortions. 

d. Controlling emotions- This is another method of overcoming

communication misinterpretation . When the recipient is affected by
extreme anger, his interpretation of a message received may not be
accurate. On the other hand, when the sender is affected by extreme
emotions, he or she may also send or transmit inaccurate information.
Therefore, it is important to practice emotional restraint.
OVERCOMING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
e. Observing body language- This also influences how communication is
interpreted. Actions of the message received, like throwing away a letter
delivered to him, betrays his negative feelings regarding its message, even
if he says yes or no to what is requested. Nonverbal cues must always be
watched because, as the saying goes, action speaks louder than words.