PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT PART 3

Chapter- 7 : committee organization
1. Introduction
The available evidence on the practices in the corporate sector shows that the use of committees sin all types of organizations is on the increase. As the emphasis on the group decision-making and participation increases, so also the use of committees in the company’s affairs

2. Objectives
After studying this lesson, you should be able to
• Familiarize with various aspects related to the committee form of organization.

3. Content
The available evidence on the practices in the corporate sector shows that the use of committees sin all types of organizations is on the increase. As the emphasis on the group decision-making and participation increases, so also the use of committees in the company’s affairs. If adequate care is exercised in respect of the following factors, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.
i. Authority and scope must be specified: The terms of reference to the committee and the authority of it have to be clearly defined. That is, whether the committee has the authority to make decisions, or its job is just to make recommendations. If the scope and authority of the committee are not clearly defined, quite often, members may end up in deliberating issues that are not referred to the committee at all.
ii. Size of the committee: Though there is no exact number regarding the size of the committee, the complexity of interrelationships naturally increases with the size of the group. If the group is too large, it may be difficult for the members to communicate effectively, on the other hand, if it is too small, the purpose behind the use of committee may be lost. As a general rule, a committee should be large enough to promote deliberations and to provide an opportunity for the consolidation of wisdom and expertise of many members; Research indicates that the ideal committee size is five, when all the five members possess adequate skills and knowledge to goal with the subject assigned to the committee.
However, if the committee is to have all interested groups participate in its deliberations, the number may be large. If all the interested groups are not represented, the committee’s work may be criticized. In such a situation where the need for representation of the interested parties, makes the committee too large, one option could be to constitute sub-committees by breaking down the problems to be studied.
iii. Selection of Members: For the committee to be successful, the members on the committee must be good at understanding the problems and analysing them. They must also be good at performing well in a group. Every member must have the right temperament, verbal and analytical ability and capacity for working with others. Selection of members requires judgement about the personal characteristics of members, their functional background and level in the organisation. The basic objective is decisions. Committees are likely to function better if members are friendly, known to each other and respect each other. Committees which include members drawn from different levels are unlikely to function effectively because there from the lower levels may not very actively participate in discussions because of the variances in this formal positions in the organizations. For example, workers representatives, and the boards of management of many organizations and the teachers representatives on the various administrative bodies of universities are found to be not very effective purely because of this factor.
iv. Nature of the subject matter: Careful selection of the subject matter to be entrusted to the committee is equally important. Certain subjects can be handled effectively by a committee while others can be handled better by individuals. For instance, research and development which depend on the individual creativity cannot be entrusted to a committee. On the other hand, for the establishment of major objectives and formulation of policies and review and coordination of work, committee may be preferred.
v. Effectiveness of Chair person: The chairperson in fact, is the leader of the committee. Therefore, the effectiveness of the committee depends on the chairperson’s skills and motivation. His basic functions include planning for the meetings, preparing the agenda, supplying some preliminary information to the members and conducting the meetings effectively. The chairman must not act in a prejudicial way and yield to the pressure of a few members. He has to monitor and coordinate the proceedings such that effective decisions are taken by the committee. He has to see that the minutes of the meetings are recorded properly, circulated to all the members. Modifications suggested and action taken on recommendations should also be communicated.
4. Revision points
Committees
5. Intext question s
What are committees?
6. Summary
In the second half of the lesson committee form of organisation and the major issues related to committee such as types of committees, reasons for the use of committees, disadvantages of committees and the measures for making committees more effective, have been dealt with.




Unit – II
Chapter – 1. Staffing and directing function – Leadership

1. Introduction

INTRODUCTION
While planning, organizing and staffing can be considered as preparatory managerial functions, controlling is intended for checking the things in a way as we desire. The connecting link between these functions is directing. It is the live link that establishes meaningful interaction among superiors and subordinates through proper directions and guidelines. It is ‘Directing’ which initiates organized action with the purpose of fulfilling the Corporate objectives. It thus creates appropriate work environment that facilitates efficient discharge of duties by the human beings. Thus it has become one of the important functions of Management to achieve organizational goals through proper instructions and guidelines.
In order to clearly understand the direction function of Management, the following definitions are helpful:
Urwick and Brech have defined this concept as “guidance, inspiration, the leadership of the work force that constitute the real core of the responsibilities of Management”.
Theo Haimann defines that “directing consists of processes and techniques useful in issuing instructions and making certain that operations are carried out as originally planned”.
One of the latest definition is given by Knootz and O’Donnell. They defined that ‘Direction’ means “the interpersonal aspect of managing by which subordinates are led to understand, contribute effectively and efficiently to the attainment of enterprises objectives”.
A review of the above definitions reveal that the direction function consists of issuing instructions, exercising supervision, providing leadership and securing motivation from the workers. Some of the important features of Direction function, to sum up, have been listed below:
1. It indicates scalar chain. It means that the top management directs the middle management which in turn influences the operations people.
2. It encourages the Supervisors to act as a guide, interpreter, teacher and co-coordinator.
3. The direction function is not a static function but it is a living function. In other words, it deals with guiding, training and motivating the subordinate in a desired manner.
4. The most important characteristic of direction function is that it deals with the human factor.
5. Direction function mainly deals with use and development of human factors.
Failing to understand the role of the human factor in the realization or organizational goals, leads to inefficiency and closure of the organisation. Hence, Direction function makes the executives to think in terms of 9a) issuing instructions (b) proper supervision (c) motivation (d) leadership and (e) communication. It is a well known fact that without paying proper attention to the above points, no manager can succeed in obtaining the goals.
2. Objectives

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• To discuss the meaning and nature of direction function.
• The define the concept of leadership so as to enable the student to understand the functions of leadership
To discuss the various theories of leadership

3. Content
PRINCIPLES OF DIRECTION
1. There must be harmony among several objectives of the corporation.
2. Conflicting attitudes must be reconciled.
3. Inefficient workers should be removed.
4. Appropriate policies and guidelines should be framed from time to time in order to secure efficient operations through the co-ordination of all the efforts.
TECHNIQUES OF DIRECTION
Usually three kinds of techniques are used for carrying out the direction function, such as;
a. delegation of authority
b. communication and
c. leadership
‘Leadership’ is one of the most important functions of the ‘Direction function’. It encourages efficient use of all resources in an optimum manner for the benefit of the organization. The following pages centre on the significance of the various facets of the Direction function.
LEADERSHIP
Management and Leadership are often confused as the same. No doubt, leading is an essential function of management. But, that does not mean that management is just leading. It involves many things like planning, organizing, staffing and controlling people. All these managerial functions become stale if managers do not know how to lead people. Particularly in modern organisation, somebody should show the way to others for attaining the goals. This characteristics feature is termed as leadership. It is neither mere direction nor motivation. It is a live wire between plan and action. Ability to lead effectively is one of the keys for successful management. The leader must basically and clearly understand the attitudes, the values the flow of authority and the purpose of organisation. It means that the essence of leadership is followership. Without followers there can not be a leader.
The concept of leadership has been defined by many authors in different ways. Koontz and O’Donnell have defined this concept as “the art of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group’s goals”. It emphasizes the fact that the leaders help the groups in understanding the objectives of the organization. Thus leadership is an endless process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group goals.
FUNCTIONS OF LEADERSHIP
1. Every leader, as a superior, has to delegate a part of his authority to the subordinates.
2. Once authority is delegated, the leader must try to motivate the people to better levels of performance.
3. The leader must try to create good climate for achieving maximum operational efficiency.
4. Promoting and protecting new novel areas.
5. A leader must always try to develop his own people from within.
Hence leadership is not bossing. The functions of a leader includes, apart from ordering, “teaching, inspiring, guiding, interacting, initiating and solving problems”. It is an endless personal process. This personal ability to lead effectively is one of the keys to become a successful manager. In other words, people have to follow the manager in order to make him a leader. Hence, the essence of leadership is followership. Motivation and leadership are closely related with each other as the leader tries to understand the reasons for why people act as they do.
INGREDIENTS OF LEADERSHIP

(i) Power : A leader must know the nature and source power besides its effective use in a responsible way.
(ii) Understanding people : A leader must have the ability to comprehend the needs, feelings, beliefs, values of subordinates and different motivational forces.
(iii) Inspiring followers : It is a rare ability. A leader must always try to induce and inspire his subordinates. He may have all personal qualities like charm and appeal that may encourage the people to do what the leader wants.
(iv) Style of leadership : The manner in which the leader adopts his capabilities to suit the situation conducive to goal realization

Leadership is an important aspect of managing. This ability varies from individual to individual that all depends upon the leader’s explicit and implicit pattern of behaviour of influencing his subordinates. Considerable amount of research has been done on this aspect. It is difficult to summarize whole quantum of theory in this chapter. However a brief attempt is made to identify some major theories which form the base for different leadership styles.
TRAIT THEORY
This theory derives this belief from the philosophy of ancient Greeks and Romans that leaders are born and not made. But the acknowledged leaders like Napoleon, Hitler, Lincoln, Caesar, Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King have no uniform intellectual, social, physical and psychological characteristics. To prove the concept of trait theory as valid, one has to identify specific characteristics that all leaders possess. To sum up, Stogdil has identified some of the important traits as follows:
a. Physical traits (appearance, energy, height etc.)
b. Intelligence traits (understanding, comprehending, decision making etc.)
c. Personality traits (adjustability, aggressiveness, enthusiasm, will power, self confidence etc.)
d. Task related traits (initiative, perseverance, achievement, etc.)
e. Social traits (co-operation, Interpersonal relationship, group cohesion etc.)
In addition to the above traits some more characteristics like ambition, honesty, creativity and charisma have been identified as key traits. It is true that all leaders need not possess all the traits. And sometimes even non-leaders may possess either most or all of them. The trait approach to leadership has been blessed with the following limitations.
1. It neglects the needs of the followers.
2. It fails to recognize the relative importance of various trait under changing conditions.
3. It does not separate the cause and the effect (whether leader invariably possess self-confidence or success makes the leaders to build confidence).
Different authors have propounded different theories explaining the leadership behaviour and styles. The following section details the various styles of leadership.
STYLES OF LEADERSHIP
For the purpose of easy understanding, leadership styles may be conveniently studied as follows:
a. Styles based on the use of authority
b. Styles based on behaviour
c. Other miscellaneous styles
Each of these styles is explained below:
(A) Styles based on the use of authority
Depending upon how a leader uses his authority one can identify three basic styles. (i) autocratic, (ii) democratic / participative, and (iii) free-rein type.
(i) Autocratic leader believes in power. He passes orders unilaterally and expects ready compliance. He believes that he is able to control people through rewards and punishment.
(ii) Democratic leader believes in sharing ideas and opinions. He consults subordinates in the process of decision making. He encourages two-way communication and participation of subordinates in all types of decisions.
(iii) Free-rein leadership is no leadership at all. The leader uses no or little power. He gives complete freedom to subordinates. People are encouraged to set their goals and means of achieving them. They are given high degree of independence in manning their operations.
Real time situations vary from company to company and from manager to manager. There is no single uniform style of managing people in organizations. A manager may be autocratic at one instance (enforcing the rule regarding safety devices) and democratic at the other (consulting the followers regarding change of time at work schedule).
(B) Styles based on behaviour
Circumstances change constantly creating new situations and challenges. The behaviour of the leader is mould by the changing patterns of group attitudes and experiences. Different dimensions of a leader’s behaviour have been thoroughly probed through Ohio studies. According to these studies a leader’s behaviour is influenced by two aspects – initiating structure and consideration.
(i) Initiating structure and consideration
Initiating structure refers to the extent to which a leader defines and organizes his own role as well as the roles of his subordinates. It spells out the task behaviour of a leader. On the other hand, consideration refers to the degree by which the leader’s behaviour is characterized by mutual trust, respect for subordinates and regard for their feeling. It indicates relationship behaviour. As initiating structure and consideration are two distinct features, existence of one does not mean the absence of the other. Actual behaviour of a leader in a given situation may consist of combination of these two aspects. The following diagram (IV. 1. a) gives the gist of the findings of the Ohio state studies on leadership:
The above four quadrants have been representing various combination of task and relationship behaviour that a leader can exhibit at a particular point of time. Actual behaviour varies among these four alternative combinations depending upon the situation.
(ii) Managerial Grid
Robert R. Black and James S. Mouton have developed five different styles of leadership through this concept of Managerial Grid. This concept has been exclusively used for training the managers through enabling them by identifying the various skills of leadership styles. This concept has been mainly based upon two important factors (a) concern for production (Task orientation) and (b) concern for people (Relationship orientation). The essence of this theory is presented in the following diagram No. (IV. 1. b).
In the above diagram, concern for production is shown on the horizontal axis and concern for people is identified on the vertical axis. The scale recorded varies from 1-9. It indicates that the concern for production/people becomes more important to the leader as his ranking advances from 1-9 gradually. The five styles of leadership are briefly explained in the following lines.
(a) Impoverished (1-1):
As the rating indicates, this styles involves little concern for both people and production. Leaders under this style have minimum involvement in their jobs and mostly act as messengers, passing information from supervisor to subordinates.
(b) Country-club (1-9):
A sort of informal environment is created wherein everyone can coordinate the effort and accomplish the objectives in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere which is putting emphasis more on the needs of the people, bothering little about production.
DIAGRAM: IV 1 A
OHIO STUDIES: LEADERSHIP


















DIAGRAM: IV I B
MANAGERIAL GRID














(c) Task
It is another extreme style of leadership commonly referred to as Autocratic style. Here leaders are concerned only with developing efficient operations by arranging a tight structure and conditions of work. They have title or no concern for people.
(d) Team
It is also an extreme style of leadership. Here, the leaders display a rare quality or ability inter-woven with the production needs of the enterprise with the needs of the individuals. In other words, these leaders believe that the highest concern for production as well as people alone can accomplish the organizational objectives.
(e) Middle of the Road (5-5)
In reality, a leader may fall under any one of the above four styles. Sometimes, he may have a typical style which can be placed somewhere on the grid. Some leaders may have maximum concern for productions as well as for people. They set the objectives at moderate levels considering the feelings of the people. Adequate level of production and satisfaction can be reaped through this style.
The Managerial Grid is a useful tool for identifying different leadership styles. The answer to the question what kind of leader he is depends upon the personality, characteristics, enterprising ability, environment and other situations.
(iii) Tri-dimensional leadership style
While the managerial grid and Ohio State studies have based upon two factors – Task oriented and relationship oriented for explaining the styles of leadership, Prof. W.J. Reddin has suggested effectiveness as the third factor in deciding the style of
leadership. The term ‘effectiveness’ refers to how the leader’s personality interrelated with the situation to which is he subjected to operate his activities. In this Tri-dimensional leadership style theory, how effective or ineffective are the leaders in a given situation can be understood very easily. When one’s style is appropriate to a given situation, he is termed as effective and vice-versa.
The basic styles are integrated with the concept of effectiveness and / or summarized below:
a. High task and low relationship behaviour is termed as “dedicated” style.
b. High task and high relationship is viewed as “integrated” style.
c. Low task and high relationship behaviour is considered as related style; and
d. Low task and low relationship behaviour is known as “separated style”.
Depending upon the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the leader in a given situation, 3-D style identifies the following real time challenging situations.
Basic Effective styles Ineffective styles
a.
b.
c.
d. Dedicated
Integrated
Related
Separated Benevolent Autocrat
Executive
Developer
Bureaucrat Autocrat
Compromiser
Missionary
Deserter

(C) Other styles
None can succeed in explaining the best style of leadership because it depends upon various factors. No leader can be rigid or free all the time. He has to adopt different behaviour in different situations. Since all the existing theories have been proved to be inadequate, the situation is set for the development of contingency theories.
Some of the important contingency theories have been explained in the following paragraphs.
1. Fielder’s Contingency Model
Fred E. Fielder and his associates of the University of Illinois have suggested a contingency approach to leadership. According to this approach, people become leaders not only by virtue of their personality attributes put also by virtue of various situational factors including leader’s ability to interact with group members. This theory holds that three major situational factors determine the success or otherwise of a given leader. They are:
a) Position power
This indicates the degree of power of a position which permits a leader to secure group members compliance with his direction. In other words, a leader with clear position in power can obtain goods followership more easily.
b) Task-structure
Here, the leader’s success depends upon how clearly he spells and sells assigned task through his people so that subordinates are made more responsible and accountable for their performance.
c) Leader-members relationship
This is the most important dimension. While the power of position and task structure are largely under the control of an organization, developing effective relationships depends upon the liking and willingness on the part of subordinates to a given leader.
To sum up, a particular situation appears to be most favourable to the leader when he is liked by his followers, when he gives clear-cut direction about the job, and when he is blessed with appropriate position.
On the other hand, the situation becomes unfavourable to the leader when he is disliked, faces vague and unstructured jobs and has little power. Fielder’s research has proved that task oriented leaders would be more effective under “unfavourable” or “favourable” situations. In contrast, relationships oriented leaders tend to exhibit better performance under situations that are moderately suitable to leaders.
(2) Path-Goal theory of leadership
This theory is based upon the findings of various motivational as well as leadership theories already proposed by various authors. Robert House, who suggested the “path Goal Theory”, believes that the main function of a leader is to (a) clarify and set goals; (b) help subordinates find the best way for achieving the set-goals; and (c) remove obstacles, if any.
This theory is not suggesting any particular style. On the other hand, it is only suggesting the applicability of a relevant leadership style under different situations. The success of a leader depends upon how well he can set the goals for his subordinates and help them in attaining the same with minimum difficulty. Well established Path-Goal relationship leads to high rate of success through greater satisfaction among subordinates. When jobs are unclear and difficult to achieve, subordinates are frustrated. They look forward for directions from the leader. The key to this approach is that the leader can influence the paths via behaviour in goals.
(3) Leadership Continuum
Real time leadership styles vary between the two extreme varieties – Authoritarian and Democratic. Evolving different styles suitable to different situations has been well explained by Robert Tannenbaum and Warren H. Schmidt through “Leadership Continuum Model”. This model suggests a range of styles that can be adopted to different situations. According to this theory, leadership effectiveness is the function of the leader, the follower and the situational variables. As per this theory, the following are the most important elements that may influence a leader’s style.
a) Forces operating in the leader’s personality such as confidence, judgement, value systems, feeling of security, preference to a particular style etc.,
b) Forces operating in subordinates including their knowledge, experience, tolerance, willingness to accept responsibility etc.
c) Forces of a given situation: The work situation is made up of a number of forces like team spirit, pressure of time, behaviour of workers during emergency situations. They exert lot of pressures on leaders.
d) Forces of the organisational environment: Elements like planning; organizing, directing and controlling have a definite influence on the organisational environment. They also influence the subordinate’s motives, expectations, rewards and relationships.
e) Influence of the social environment via Labour Unions, Government Regulations. Consumer Courts and other outside parties may significantly affect the leader’s behaviour.
Functions of Leadership style
Whatever might be the style, every leader has to perform some functions. Since leadership is the process of influencing people, it has to perform multi-dimensional functions in obtaining the willing contributions of the subordinates. Some of the significant functions of leadership are briefly explained below:
(1) Planning and organizing the organisational activities in a desired manner.
(2) Influencing the subordinates to accomplish the goals through reward and punishment.
(3) Motivating and directing the subordinates to better levels of performance through proper guidance from time to time.
(4) Understanding the subordinates expectations and aspirations and obtaining their willing cooperation in the realization of organisational goals.
(5) Remove ambiguities and issue clarifications in order to make them more responsible on the job.
(6) Creating a favourable organisational climate so as to retain and develop human resource.
(7) Understanding the macro economic influence over the organisation and steer the Company on the path of success.


4. REVISION POINTS

5. INTEXT QUESTIONS

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
1. What is Direction? Explain the scope and role of the direction function in modern organisation?
6. Summary
Summary: There is no one best way of leading the people. Various theories propounded by eminent authors have only suggested the varieties of ways that are available for leaders in different situations. One has to grasp the knowledge to understand the total theory on the subject. Every leader has to adopt his own style depending upon the situation. How the leader influences the people is not important. What is important is how a leader helps subordinates in accomplishing organisational as well as personal goals.
7. Terminal exercises
Comment on the five main leadership positions depicted in ‘managerial grid’. Which one would you advocate?
8. Supplementary material
REFERENCE BOOKS
1) Essentials of Management - Harold Koontz.
2) Management Structures - Arthus Elkins
functions & practices
- James A.F. Stoner Charles Wankel.
3) Management

9. Assignments
Define the concept of leadership. Mention some of the important qualities of a good leader.
10. Suggested reading s
 ) Essentials of Management - Harold Koontz.
 2) Management Structures - Arthus Elkins
 functions & practices
 - James A.F. Stoner Charles Wankel.
 3) Management
11. 11. Learning activities
12. 12. Key words.
Chapter – 2. Motivation
1. Introduction

Organisations are successful when all the members contribute their performance in an optimum manner in a desired way. This performance of a group directly depends upon the ability and willingness of its members together with the technology used. The term ‘ability’ refers to the individual’s capability of handling the job at a certain time in a given way. While willingness depends upon the level of motivation, technology is influenced by the level of research. Thus, symbolically,
Performance = Ability x Motivation x Technology
Modern Organisations are recruiting hundreds of people. Some of them may be good doers and some of them may be bad/poor performers. The Management cannot take the chance of removing poor performers. The only alternative left before it is to encourage and stimulate the poor doers in such a way that they are persuaded to contribute to the organisational objectives. Hence, the problem before the Management is how to motivate people.
The concept ‘Motivation’ though looks simple, connotes different meanings in different situations. For the purpose of our study, it always indicates work motivation.
Several theories have been propounded by eminent personalities explaining the reasons and process of motivation. Understanding these theories acts as a foundation for understanding the work behaviour of the people. Some of the significant theories have been explained in the following paragraphs.

2. Objectives
 To define the concept ‘Motivation’ and enable the student to understand the process of motivation;
 To identify the primary and secondary motives;
 To discuss the theories of motivation propounded by Mc Gregor & Maslow, Vroom, Aalderfer and Mc Celland;
 To explain the importance of financial and no-financial incentives.

3. Content
The word “motivation” has been derived from the Latin word “movere”. It means “to move with”. The task of the Manager is to guide the people’s action in a desired way. Motivation is a general term. It includes drives, desires, needs, wants, wishes and similar forces.
The motive is an inner desire. It activates the individual towards a particular goal. Desires, needs and wishes are inborn impulses which stimulates the action of the individual. Motivation is the art of understanding these motives and energizing and directing the behaviour towards a particular goal.
According to Scot, motivation means “a process of stimulating people to action and to accomplish desired goals”. Koontz and O “Donnel define the concept of
‘motivation’ as the act of inducing the subordinates to act in a desired manner”. In the words of Encyclopedia of Management, the term’ motivation refers to “the degree of readiness of an employee to pursue some organisational goals”. Thus, motivation is the act of stimulating the subordinates to a desired course of action.
A review of the above definitions throws necessary light on the understanding of this concept. All workers have got one or the other type of energies. Motivation is the art of energizing the human skills in a desired way. The energisation process is a complex one since it involves understanding the needs and drives of the people. Hence, it is termed as a psychological process. Not only that, it is a continuous activity. Even while the organisation is going good, the Manager has to practice motivation to keep the going still better since motivation varies from individual to individual. Different techniques may be used by the manager to motivate the people from time to time.
4. DIAGRAM NO. IV. 2.A
PROCESS OF MOTIATION



Motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency which is called a need. Needs are created whenever there is an imbalance. They activate the human behaviour in a desired way for the fulfillment of the needs. They are action-oriented. They provide necessary encouragements to reach a particular goal. That is why they are at the heart of the motivational process.
Diagram (IV.2.A) exhibits the need – want – satisfaction chain that plays a prominent role in the motivational process. Feeling of an unsatisfied need gives rise to wants. Fulfillment of human wants necessitates action which in turn, creates tensions. Actions of the individual, if properly directed, result in satisfaction. The point to remember is that a fulfilled need ceases to act as a motivator. If one need is satisfied, a higher order need may emerge in the mind of the individual which further necessitates a higher order level of effort for fulfilling the same. Some people may get confused with the relationship between motivation and satisfaction. Motivation refers to the drive and effort to satisfy a given want. Satisfaction refers to the contentment and feeling experienced by the individual when his want is satisfied. While ‘motivation’ implies the drive force for an outcome, satisfaction refers to the outcome itself. Motivation is important to Management due to many reasons.
(a) Higher Performance
A good motivational system brings out the latent and potent abilities of the employees for the accomplishment of organisational goals. It encourages them to
contribute enthusiastically for better performance. Poorly motivated people may hinder the goals.
(b) Low absenteeism Turnover
Motivated employees are highly committed and loyal to the organisation. They come punctually and stay longer hours because they are satisfied individuals. It reduces labour unrest, absenteeism and turnover.
(c) Facilitates change
Motivated employees are receptive and co-operative. Hence, motivation helps in eliminating the negative attitude of employees in overcoming the resistance.
(d) Team Spirit
A high level of motivation results in harmonious relations between Management and Workers. It encourages high level of morale and discipline.
(e) Image of the Enterprise
A Company that provides satisfaction through motivation can project better image in the eyes of the public. It enables the Company either in retaining or attracting talented work force. It fulfils the creative desires of the people. That is why Rensis Likert has commented that motivation is the core of Management.
TYPES OF MOTIVES
A motivate is a personal and internal feeling. It is concerned with the intrinsic forces operating within an individual which impel him to act or not to act in a given way. Motives are different types. They are grouped into three categories for the purpose of understanding in an easy way.
i) Primary motives
They are also termed as biological, physiological and unlearned motives. Primary motives always take precedence over the secondary motives. Primary motives include hunger, thirst, sleep, avoidance of pain etc., Since all people are human and their biological system is common, the make up of the primary needs is essentially the same among all the individuals. That is why they are called as “biological and unlearned motives”.
ii) As the society has been transforming, human needs have become complex. Primary motives are playing less prominent role and learned behaviour is playing a crucial role in motivating the people. A motive must be learned in order to be placed in the list of secondary classification. Some of the important secondary motives are power, achievement, affiliation etc., power motive implies the need to manipulate others or dominate others. In modern organizations, a person’s life style is more characterized by the need for competence which can be well met by the innate drive for power. It explains the desire to perform in an excellent manner under competitive situations. The feeling of belongingness is accepted as an important parameter in determining the positive human behaviour. Similarly, status and security may also stimulate positive or negative human behaviour in work situations.
THEORY ‘X’ AND THEORY ‘Y’
Douglas McGregor proposed two different theories namely Theory ‘X’ and Theory ‘Y’ in 1960. Basically, these two theories explain about the human nature. While theory ‘X’ deals with the negative aspect, theory ‘Y’ dealing with positive aspect of the human behaviour. Theory
‘X’ involves traditional approach and based upon the following four assumptions held by the managers about the workers.
a) Workers dislike work and are lazy.
b) Since workers dislike work, they must be controlled with punishment to achieve the goals.
c) They don’t want to take up responsibilities for themselves and seek formal direction from the boss whenever possible.
d) Workers place security of their job above all other factors associated with work and display little ambition.
As against these negative views about the human behaviour and its nature. McGregor listed out four different assumptions under theory ‘Y’ They are:
a) Workers can view the work as natural as rest or play; b) Workers can exercise self-direction and self-control, given the proper environment;
b) An average worker can accept responsibility and learn to grow;
c) Workers are creative, imaginative and resourceful;
Frankly speaking, the above two theories have nothing to do with motivation. They explain about the nature of human behaviour under two sets of different assumptions.
The assumption under theory ‘X’ that workers must be coerced and regulated for accomplishing objectives is akin to the characteristic policy which has become obsolete method in managing people. However, these theories enable us to understand how the manager should mould his behaviour under two sets of situations for getting things done.
NEED HIERARCHY THEORY:
The most well known theory of motivation is Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He proposed that in every human being there exists a hierarchy of five needs. They are:

i) Physiological or basic needs (e.g. food, water, clothing, shelter etc.):
ii) Safety and Security needs (e.g. security of job, protection from harm etc.):
iii) Love needs (e.g., affection, friendship, belongingness, etc.):
iv) Esteem needs (e.g. self respect, status, recognition, achievement etc,):
v) Self actualization needs (e.g. growth, fulfillment of ambition, bringing out the real potential etc,).

The above needs can be depicted in the following Diagram No. (IV.2.B):
DIAGRAM NO. (IV. 2. B)
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
















According to Maslow, if lower need is satisfied, the person moves up the ladder to the next higher order need. It means that if basic needs are satisfied, workers can be motivated by fulfilling the next higher order needs fulfilling unsatisfied needs rather than by satisfied need. Maslow separated the five needs into low (basic and safety needs) and higher (love, status and satisfied externally, higher order needs are satisfied internally. This theory has received wide recognition among the practicing managers because of its logical link. This does not mean that this theory is free from criticism. The first criticism is that this theory has not specifically mentioned about work related needs.
Secondly, the strength of each need varies from individual to individual. Hence, strict ordering of human needs in the above hierarchy could not be proved empirically. Thirdly it is criticized that it only deals with the content of motivation rather than the process of motivation.
Two-Factor Theory
Frederik Herzberg and has associates conducted a research study and have identified two sets of factors. According to this study, motivation depends upon satisfaction. The two sets of factors affect satisfaction or dissatisfaction of workers. The first set of factors are termed as maintenance factors. They are salary, job security, working conditions, quality of supervision, interpersonal a relationships, company’s policy and administration. These factors are related to job environment. Presence of these factors is necessary to avoid dissatisfaction among workers. These factors ought to be maintained as a matter of compulsion in every work situation.
The second set of factors are related to the content of the job. They include growth, advancement, recognition, achievement, accepting increased responsibility etc. According to Herzberg, these factors are motivational factors which stimulate the worker to better levels of families. Hence, these factors are termed as satisfiers. To sum up, while the first set of factors have to be maintained as a matter of compulsion in order to remove dissatisfaction the second set of factors alone are responsible for motivating people.
This theory is also not free from criticism. Firstly, there is too much botheration about satisfaction, dissatisfaction and the point of no satisfaction. There is no guarantee that satisfaction leads to productivity in all cases. Secondly, the concept of satisfaction is influenced by a good number of the job and on the job factors. Thirdly, the impact of situational variables have been ignored in this theory. Fourthly, like Need hierarchy theory, it is also concerned with the content of motivation and not with the process of motivation.
Vroom’s Expectancy theory: Victor Vroom proposed this theory as an alternative to the content models explained in the earlier paragraphs. It is the most widely known theory of motivation for the purpose of understanding the process of motivation. According to this theory, a person’s desire to work at any time can be conditioned by two factors.
a) existence of one or more personal goals on the part of the employee; and
b) his expectation as to the relative worth of his performance for the attainment of such goals. When the worker believes that his performance will lead to the fulfillment of personal goals, he tends to become a high producing worker and vice-versa.
It has been stated by Vroom as given below;
Force (Motivation) = Valence x Expectancy
Here the term ‘Valence’ stands for the strength of an individual’s preference for an outcome and expectancy to the probability that a particular action will lead to a desired outcome. This theory establishes four important links in the process of motivation.
Efforts – Performance – Rewards/Awards – Goals.
This theory has three important implications to managers. Firstly, it is necessary to provide appropriate rewards to satisfy the individual needs. Secondly, managers are required to establish a close link between efforts and performance between performance and rewards and finally between rewards and personal goals. Thirdly, this theory recognizes the fact that there is no universally acceptable method for motivating people because of the influence of contingency factors from time to time.
Achievement Theory
David Mc Clelland has identified three basic motivating needs such as need for power, need for affiliation, and need for achievement. Though all these three needs are important to management in understanding the process of motivation, to Mc Clelland need for achievement is of paramount importance. It is concerned with predicting the behaviour of workers who have either high or low needs for achievement.
Need for power has a great concern for exercising control and influence. People with this need tend to be forceful, outspoken and demanding in obtaining the work. People with need for affiliation are likely to be concerned with maintaining pleasant relationships People with a high need for achievement have a strong desire for success. They love challenges.
Achievement motivated people are blessed with some special characteristics. They are not gamblers and they dislike succeeding by chance. They like job situations. They like moderately challenging goals. They can influence their efforts through continuous feedback of their performance. They tend to become task-oriented people since they are vitally concerned with their personal achievements.
The findings of this theory proved that achievement motivated people mainly come from middle-class families. This study further reveals that the need for achievement would be stimulated through class-room instructions and training programmes. This theory urges people to act on the basis of internally driven stimulus to improve their performance. This theory has received wide recognition.
E R G THEORY
It is an improved model over Maslow’s and Herzberg’s theory on motivation. Clayton Aalderfer identified three groups of basic needs – Existence, Relatedness and Growth. The existence needs are concerned with physical well being and survival (food, clothing, shelter, good working environment etc) The relatedness needs emphasise the importance of interpersonal and group relationships. The growth needs are concerned does not see the needs as a hierarchy as stated by Maslow. It does not contend that a lower-level need has to be fulfilled before satisfying a higher level need. Under this theory, a person’s background may dictate that the relatedness needs will take precedence over unfulfilled existence needs. It further assumes that the more the growth needs are satisfied, the more they will increase their intensity. In other words, this theory suggests that one class of needs might remain strong irrespective of the fact whether the other class of needs has been satisfied or not.
Having discussed some of the important theories of motivation, a brief attempt is made to discuss the Management techniques that can be tried to increase motivation in work situations. Management generally uses financial and non-financial techniques to motivate employees.
Financial Motivators
The commonly accepted belief is that Motivation is directly or indirectly connected with money. It is true that money acts as a vehicle through which most of the higher order needs can be fulfilled. This is the reason why most of the organizations use money incentive as a means of offering satisfaction among staff. Productivity linked wages, bonus, profit-sharing, leave with pay, medical reimbursement, leave travel concession are included under this type of motivation. Experience proved that money is a most reliable motivator. Money as a reward for accomplishment is now accepted as a base for designing compensation methods.
Besides money, there are some other motivators which deal either with personal development or with the environment of the employees. Dale Yoder has identified that workers who set their own goals are capable of dynamic. Understanding all these theories is important for effective management of human resource. It is the primary responsibility of every manager to create favourable climate either by offering financial or non-financial incentives for motivating the work force in a desired way.
5. Revision points
o motivation
o theories of motivation
 6. Summary
 Motivation is the motive strength to meet (or) satisfy felt needs. Motives are reasons for behaviour. They direct us towards goals. Economic approach tries to offer need satisfaction on the job. Managerial approach attempt to secure coincidence of people’s with the needs of the organisation.
 7. Terminal exercises
 “The desire to satisfy needs is the basic motivation for human behaviour. Need satisfaction stimulates productive behaviour and psychological growth. The failure to satisfy need results in frustration, and it is negatively affects our ability to perform a job well”. Comment on the statement and give detailed explanation.
8. supplementary material
1) Principles of Personnel Management - Edwin Flippo.
2) Human Behaviour at work - Keth Davis
9. Assignments s
1) How could one theory of motivation be applied to solving a practical problem in motivation in an organisation? What problems in applying the theory would you expect to encounter?
10. Suggested readings
 4) Personnel Management - C.B. Memoria
 5) Management - Koontz & Weihrich.

7. Learning activities
8. What do you mean by motivation? Explain the simple process of motivation.

Chapter- 3. Communication
LEARING OBJECTIVES
After reading this lesson, you should be able to:
• Understand the meaning & role of communication function in an organization:
• Describe the basic communication process;
• Identify different communication networks;
• Explain the reasons for barriers in communication; and
• Offer suggestions to maintain effective communication in an organisation.
INTRODUCTION
The word communication has been derived from the Latin word “Communis” which implies common. Therefore, the term ‘Communication’ refers to the process of transferring information from sender to receiver with the sole purpose of creating common understanding among the parties concerned. It is only the means by which one person can influence another. That is why it deals primarily with people. It is a basic need of the modern Management. The desire for communication is as strong as the desire for food. It touches every facet of the managerial activity. Some people view it as a life line of the modern organization. It includes telling, advising, directing, ordering and commanding.
It presupposes shared environment. One needs not over emphasis its pervasiveness, imagine the world without words. It is just like a jungle. The present rate of economic development in any nation is possible only because of interaction among people. Hence, we can not visualize the world without communication.
Meaning and Definition
Peter little has defined this concept as “a process by which information is passed between individuals and organizations by means of previously agreed symbols”. Newman viewed it as “an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons”. Communication does not simply mean only transmission of information but also includes perpetration and understanding of the message. It is an exchange of thoughts and information to create mutual understanding and confidence.
To conclude, Louis. A Allen opines that “Communication is the sum total of all the things that one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. That is why Chester I. Barnard said, “the first executive function of any leader is to develop and maintain a good system of communication”. Because good communication serves as a linking process by which all parts of an organizational system are tied up closely.

DIAGRAM IV III A
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION











Process of Communication (Diagram IV. 3. A)
The above diagram depicts the process of communication. It involves the Sender, the Message, the Receiver, and the purpose of communication. Every communication begins with the sender. The information to be transmitted by the sender is known as the Message. It may be oral or written. What kind of mode of message is the best depends upon the situation. The message should reach the receiver in a proper way and that too in proper time. The receiver should also think in equal wave length for the purpose of understanding the real meaning of the message. Communication is not complete unless it creates understanding among the parties concerned. People with closed minds, weak channels (or, channels with loopholes) and technical barriers will create problems in communication. Effective steps must be taken from time to time to remove the bottlenecks that come in the way of creating understanding among people. For which purpose, proper feed back is a must. It refers to the response given by the receiver for the purpose of facilitating further communication and greater clarity in understanding. Good feedback enables the sender to know whether or not the message has been properly received and interpreted.
Types of communication
Depending upon the channel, communication may be broadly studied under two types - - formal communication and informal communication. The diagram (IV. 3. B) below represents the flow of information and the types of such flows:

DIAGRAM (IV. 3. B)
TYPES AND FLOW OF COMMUNICATION










(A) FORMAL COMMUNICATION
It refers to the flow of information in the official lines of hierarchy. It strictly adheres to the chain of command. It is a deliberate effort to inform all the issues to appropriate officers. It is mainly connected with work-related matters. By virtue of this, it is more authentic, systematic and dynamic. But at the same time, it is inflexible and slow in effectiveness. Formal communication flows in three different directions; i) Downward; (ii) Upward; and (iii) Horizontal. The decision relating to these three types of communication is presented in the following paragraphs.
i. Downward Communication
It refers to the flow of information from superiors to the subordinates. Here, information flows from top to the bottom. It is most commonly found in formal settings. It is mainly used for directing and controlling people in getting things done. Downward communication includes instructions, policy statements, orders etc.
ii. Upward Communication
It involves transmission of information from subordinates to superiors. It serves as a feedback. It enables the management in knowing how far the commands of the superiors have been carried out. It encourages open door policy of exchanging ideas between superiors and subordinates. Since the flow of information from bottom to top is non-directive, it is usually found in participative and democratic organizations. It gives a chance to the subordinates to release emotions by raising their complaints or grievances. But upward communication gives better results only when the officer is open minded and receptive.
iii. Horizontal Communication
It refers to the flow of the information among people working at the same level of authority. That is why it is termed as lateral communication. Since message flows among the same cadre people, status barriers don’t exist. This kind of arrangement encourages greater coordination among different departments. It may take in one or more of the following forms:
- meetings,
- conferences,
- letters,
- office memos etc.,
Sometimes, even horizontal communication is hampered because of specialist approaches adopted by different officers over a single issue. Modern organizations have been using all these types of communication in one way or the other. No one is substitute to the other. Each one is having its own relative merits and demerits. The management has to use the appropriate type in a judicious manner for obtaining good results.
(B) INFORMAL COMMUNICATION
The term ‘informal communication’ refers to the flow of messages, opinions, and expectations among people through informal contacts. It grows out of social contacts between people who work together. It is not bound by any rule or regulation. It is purely unofficial and unplanned communication. Information circulates like a grapevine ignoring the lines of authority. The managers can obtain lot of useful information about the real opinions of the subordinates through this method. Things that can not be done through formal communication can be accomplished through grapevine. Since it is flexible, it can take in any direction without bothering ego or status by the people. It motivates the people and helps in building team work. But, grapevine communication is handicapped by the circulation of rumors and half-truths. Another disadvantages associated with it is lack of complete information and authenticity. Despite these weaknesses, the role of grapevine communication can not be ignored. It is an integral part of any organization. Both formal and informal types of communication must be tried in a balancing way.
FORMS / METHODS OF COMMUNICATION
There are many methods at man’s command regarding communications. The world is bombarded by information. The offices of the modern organisation are highly revolutionized through the use of intercom, telephone, telex, teleprinter and fax machines. Information is made available on figure tips. In this world of technological advancement, man remains to be a talking machine. The management has to select one or more of the available methods for effective communication purpose. The following diagram (IV. 3. C) illustrates different methods of communication.

DIAGRAM (IV. 3. C)
METHODS OF COMMUNICATION












Basically, there are two forms of communication – verbal and non-verbal. Verbal communication may take the form of oral or written communication. In oral communication, parties exchange their ideas through spoken words. That is why it is also referred to as face-to-face communication. It takes less time and the feedback is quick. It gives ample scope for adjustment and correction of the original message. But, its effectiveness is nullified due to lack of documentary evidence regarding such conversation.
A written communication is always put in the form of written words. All official letters, circulars, memos, statements and reports are the best examples of written communication. It provides a permanent record for future reference. It is suitable for lengthy messages. It offers more authentic information. Despite these advantages, it is time consuming, and less flexible. Quite often, it is proved to be expensive and tedious.
Non-verbal communication does not use words. It is a language beyond verbal communication. Transmitting the message through charts, graphs, maps, sign boards etc., is now increasingly tried by the organizations. By seeing these visual – aids, information can be easily grasped or understood. One need not explain now the bar diagram gives clear clues regarding the performance of an organisation. Meaning can be quickly received through the visual-aids. Non-verbal communication includes body language. It helps in understanding the warmth of feelings and emotions. It may take the form of gestures, facial expressions, feeling of touch etc. The following gestures exhibit the real feelings as stated opposite to them.
Gesture Feeling
1. Shrugging of shoulders - Fear, anxiety
2. Raising legs - Enthusiasm
3. Shake-hand - Friendliness
4. Patting - Warmth and affection
5. Shaking-head - Rejection of an idea
6. Raising eye-brows - Surprise

DIAGRAM: IV: III: D
COMMON COMMUNICATION NETWORK














Each of these methods of communication has to play an important role at one time or the other. In fact, all these forms of communication are in use in making communication more effective. While choosing a particular method, the knowledge of the sender, the importance of the message and the situation must be duly considered.
NET WORK MODELS
Communication networks are usually compared with the nervous system of the human beings because they also perform the same functions. Both carry signals from one position to the other. Communication networks are not usually that much effective, as a nervous system in their functioning because of inbuilt impediments. Communication becomes effective when it is fully understood, believes and accepted by the receiver. Every communication network must satisfy the above acid test.
The term network implies the link through which information is flowing from one end to the other in an organisation. Every organisation can develop its own pattern of flow of information. A network indicates the path over which communication is transmitted from one person to other. In other words, it indicates the route through which information flow for decision-making. The most commonly used network has been illustrated in the diagram (IV. 3. D):
The above diagram exhibits different from of networks like chain, wheel, circle and “Y”. The diagram depicts five level hierarchies. The chain network represents a give-level structure where communication takes place from either top to the bottom or from bottom to the top. Under this form, there is no scope for horizontal communication. Here, communication flows directly down the authority line. For example, the clerk prepares the bills, the supervisors certify the same and report the same to the Accountant, who in turn reports the same to Accounts Officer and he reports the matter to the Manager. This indicates chain network.
A wheel network indicates two levels of authority only. It indicates a typical example wherein supervisor establishes direct link with four subordinates. It is clear that there is no interaction among subordinates. It is best suitable to situations where quick action is needed. In contrast to this, a circle network allows all members to interact with adjoining members. It is best suitable to three level positions viz. officer, supervisor and subordinate. This network is widely used since it produces higher level of satisfaction among subordinates. The “Y” network integrates the advantages of wheel network at the top and chain network at the bottom. In this diagram, we can see two subordinates (D and E) reporting to the supervisor (C) who in turn reports to two officers (A and B). As against this, all-channel network allows the subordinate to communicate freely with the other four. There are no restrictions. All members have equal number of channels and an opportunity to share equal amount of information. A typical example for this is “Committee” where all members are treated on par with each other in sharing views.
Each one of the above networks has its own merits and demerits. There is no single network that can yield desired results in all situations. The effectiveness of a given network depends upon the speed, accuracy, need, cost and time factors. Best results can be obtained by using all these forms of networks, at one time or the other, depending upon the situation.
Barriers to Effective Communication
Effective Communication is essential for the success of any organisation. One of the most common problems faced by the modern manager is communication break-downs. Several obstacles will come in the way of creating perfect understanding. Successful executives should develop the skills of communicating effectively. It needs minimization of misunderstanding and creation of understanding among the parties concerned. Since modern executives spend 90 percent of their time on telling, listening, reading and writing; a part of their communication may be misunderstood or misinterpreted or distorted. Executive needs to understand the reasons for poor communication so as to become effective in communication. Barriers of communication can exist in the sender, in the message, in the receiver, in the feedback or in the organisational structure. Some of the important communication barriers are briefly discussed in the following paragraphs.
(A) LANGUAGE & SEMANTIC BARRIERS
1. Absence of Common Language
A single word may give different meanings to different people. The meanings of the words are not in the words but with the people. In companies, workers usually come from drivers backgrounds. Language problem bound to exist between a Hindi speaking worker and an English speaking boss. For effective communication, they need to develop a common language. The term “Fat-mouthing” is used by the black people (US) to represent the meaning of “talking too much”. In contrast, the literal meaning is different.
(ii) Semantic Barriers
In addition to language barriers, semantic barriers also present a problem in making communication effective. Words like light and cheap give sometimes positive and sometimes negative meanings. It is because of the fact that the intended meaning is wrongly interpreted by the receiver. To illustrate this, read the following sentence.
“Shoes are required to eat here”. This sentence is written at the entrance of a Cafeteria of a University. A student wrongly interpreting the message has written with a piece of chalk like this: “Socks may be eaten outside the Cafeteria”.
The above example illustrates how the intended meaning is misinterpreted through semantic barrier.
(iii) Poor Vocabulary
Poor vocabulary on the part of the manager does not allow him either to write or speak effectively. Similarly, poor vocabulary does not allow the receiver to understand the message clearly and completely.
(B) ORGANISATINOAL BARRIERS
(i) Hierarchical Barriers
Modern organizations are characterized by the existence of people belonging to various levels of hierarchy. For e.g.: Workers, Supervisors, and Shop Floor Managers etc. It is quite common that equal status people talk to each other without inhibitions. A lower level employee may find it difficult to communicate freely about his problems with his superior. Similarly, subordinates are afraid of unpleasant and critical comments from their superiors. A gap in understanding always exists because of the differences in their respective positions held in the same organisation.
(ii) Too much specialization at work spot
Technological advancement leads to highly specialized jobs at work place. Every worker is doing his specialized task without bothering about the nature of other person’s work. The phase of the work is so tight that it hardly allows the
worker to come out of his compartment and communicate freely with fellow workers. This kind of work situation separates people and thus creates problems in communication.
(iii) Wrong choice of medium
The success of any communication directly depends upon the medium through which it is sent. A particular type of medium may be best suitable to a given situation. To illustration this point, consider the following examples.
Situation Right Medium Wrong Medium
1. Smuggler Flashing torch Oral instruction
2. Traffic Policemen Hand gestures Oral instruction
3. Business Executive Telephone Oral instruction
On confidential work

Choosing a wrong medium may create problems in communication. Selecting the most appropriate medium is the primary step in effective communication.
(C) PHYSICAL
(i) Noise
Poor telephone connections, loud noise and unexpected interruptions may create difficulty either in listening or in understanding the real content of the message. If the message is written, sometimes, either bad hand writing or smudged type script may hamper the effective flow of communication.
(ii) Time
Timing of communication is also important in creating proper understanding. If an employees does not communicate with his boss for undue long time means it creates misunderstanding. A guest who arrives at mid-night will not be able to be a good communicator. Similarly, the phone call at mid-night might irritate the receiver and dampens his communication.
(iii) Distance
Distance can be a strong barrier of communication. Long chain of command or existence of several layers of supervisor may impede the real message of communication. Long communication networks and distance between superior and subordinate may create difficulties in communication. The functioning of mechanical devices like telephones and telex might be affected by the distance in transmitting the messages. Communication problems are bound to be there in between wife and husband if they stay away long time.
(iv) Age
Factors like age, maturity educational background will certainly influence communication process. Generation gap creates gap in style of speech, standards of values and judgment. There is some positive relationship between chronological age and maturity of thought and understanding.

(v) Sex
Usually, men are considered to be more aggressive, self-confident, assertive and acquisitive than women. By virtue of this fact, they turned to be good communications. In contrast to this, women are brought up under the philosophy that the quality of assertiveness is unfeminine. Women with feminine ideas and closed brought up try to avoid eye-to-eye contact with superiors and speak inaudible. Hence, they turned to be poor communications.
(D) PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
More than fifty percent of the communication problems are attributable to psychological barriers. Psychological aspects like attitudes, perception, interest, belief, prejudices etc., may come in the way of proper understanding of a message between the sender and the receiver.
(i) Attitudes and Values
Our thinking is influenced by our attitudes and values. They tend to be different from one person to the other. Hence, they create barriers. A message which runs contrary to the beliefs is not easily acceptable. Emotional attitudes are so strong that they distort understanding among the people.
(ii) Perceptions
Communication barrier arises as a result of different perception of the same message / object by two people. There is nothing wrong if two friends express different opinions about a given movie. Similarly, a fifty paisa coin appears to be a big money to a poor man and a small one to a rich man. That all depends upon how one perceives the idea. Differences in judgments inhibit communication.
(iii) Lack of Interest
Interest creates understanding. Effective Communication requires proper interest among the parties concerned. It enables them to pay adequate attention to the message. Lack of interest leads to mistrust which hampers effective communication. There may be many talkers but few listeners. Lack of interest leads to poor listening. Hence, effective communication demands interest among the parties concerned.
(iv) Poor Retention
One of the weaknesses of the human being is his inability to retain total quantum of information received. Poor retention acts as a barrier in effective communication. At each level from top to the bottom if some information in retained, then, communication becomes ineffective.
(v) Filtering
Filtering refers to the process of manipulation of information by the sender so that it will reach the receiver either in a favourable or unfavourable way. A superior may withhold information thinking that subordinates do not need it. Filtering of information increases with the levels of hierarchy. If a supervisor comments that “your work can be improved”, the subordinate may filter the meaning and receives the message that “your work is no good”.

(iv) Fear
The feeling of fear undermines communication. People with fear, whether real or imagine disort information. Fear is a psychological inhibition that prevents them from exchange of ideas freely and kills the initiation. Fears are of different types.
a. Fear of misinterpretation: A worker who would like to enquire about his possibility of getting promotion may not do so because the Boss might think that the worker is not happy with the existing job.
b. Fear of exposing to criticism: Information is held back deliberately by the worker when he knows very little. Individuals retain information due to fear of being criticized when they cannot offer explanation.
c. Fear of reprisal: Employees are usually refrained by frank talk or criticism that is unpleasant to their superiors since they may take action against workers.
Having discussed some of the important barriers to effective communications, an attempt is made to discuss the ways and means available to us for removing the same. Either misunderstanding or no understanding it mars the real meaning of the massage. To make the communication effective, the following suggestions have been offered.
1. Clarity in message
The sender must be very clear as to the real content of the message. It should be expressed in simple language so that the receiver can understand it easily and quickly. Technical vocabulary must be avoided.
2. Completeness of message
Incomplete message delays action spoils relations and increases costs. The message should contain all important details. In other words, it must be complete timely and adequate.
3. Understand the needs of the receiver
The sender of the message must be aware of the needs, feelings, perceptions and level of understanding of the receiver. The message should be designed from the receiver’s point of view.
4. Use appropriate channels
Channels of communication are different types. Each type best fits into a given situation. A judicious combination of formal and informal, oral and written media will help to improve the effectiveness of communication.
5. Consistency
The message should be consistent with the policies and programmes of the organisation. No two messages should be mutually conflicting, for it leads to confusion.
6. Feedback
Communication is essentially a two way process. Feedback indicates the return flow of communication. The sender should know whether the receiver understood the message or not. Continuous feedback improves future communication.
7. Mutual trust and Confidence
Communication is an interpersonal process. Encouraging mutual trust and confidence among the employees is a must for making people more personal and intimate. This type of organisational climate is good for effective communication.
8. Repetition
It calls for repeating an idea or message over and over through different methods. It will ensure proper understanding and action. This removes doubts, suspicion and confusion. Repetition, thus, leads to greater clarity and effectiveness.
ESSENTIALS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Effective communication plays a prominent role either in expanding or diversifying the activities of an organisation. It is a key to success. If the manager has to survive in these days of stiff competition, he has to develop sound communication skills. The essentials of effective communication are briefed up and given below:
i. Positive and pleasant approach by the parties concerned.
ii. Good tone with accurate modulation helps in creating proper understanding.
iii. Clarity of purpose and objective behind communication should be known to the parties.
iv. Adequate knowledge of the problem helps in developing proper understanding about the message.
v. Greater emphasis to “you attitude greatly facilitates the flow of information without interruption.
vi. Follow appropriate courtesy while communicating with different levels of people.
SUMMARY
Organisation does not exist in vacuum. They are in the midst of people. Problems are more with, people than the world of things. Communication which is a dynamic and interpersonal process is bound to have some problems. These problems should be removed in order to minimize bottlenecks and maximize the effectiveness of communication process.
INTEXT QUESTIONS
1. What are the reasons for Mr. Ramana’s disappointment?
2. In your opinion, what is the real problem?
What are your suggestions for improving communication is the Company?

Terminal exercise
1) Explain briefly about the various networks of communication in your organisation and state the conditions under which they will be most effective.



Supplementary material and
Suggested readings
) Personnel Administration - Charles A. Brown
2) Human Behaviour at work - Keth Davis
3) Management - Koontz & Welhrich
4) Personnel Management - C.B. Memoria
5) Dynamics of Personnel - Monappa
Administration
Learning activities
1) Communication is as essential as anything because nothing can be achieved without it. Elucidate the statement underlining the importance of communication in management process.


Unit- III – Decision making and control
Chapter – 1 : Decision making

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• To understand the meaning of decision making process;
• To appreciate the various alternatives through which one can make better decisions;
• To understand the implications involved in decision-making process under certainty, uncertainty and risk conditions;
• To evaluate the various approaches to decision-making process; and
• To evaluate different models and techniques that help in decision-making process.
INTRODUCTION
Decision-making is an integral part of most of the top managers’ duties. Not even a single day passes without taking decisions particularly in modern organizations. Hence, management and decision-making are considered as inseparable. In fact, whatever a manager does, he can do it only by taking some decisions. All matters relating to planning, organisation, staffing, directing and controlling are engrossed in decision-making process. That is why it is aptly pointed out that management is essentially a decision-making process. The survival and future success of any enterprise is directly related to the ability to take timely and appropriate decisions by the executives. Thus, decision-making is said to be the heart of management.
Lot of planning exercise is to be initiated by the manager before taking any viable decision. Questions like what to do, when to do and how to do are to be examined clearly before allocating resources on different managerial activities. Unfortunately, these resources are scarce. So, the manager has to carefully plan and decide what to do or what not to do. Wrong decisions quite often are proved to be either costly or futile exercise. To prevent such losses, decision-making process remains to be the core area in all planned activities of the modern corporations.
MEANING
Koontz and Weihrich have defined this concept as “the selection from among alternatives of a course of action.” According to this definition, picking one course of action among alternatives available is termed as decision-making. In the words of George Terry, “decision-making is the selection of a particular course of action, based on some criteria, from two or more possible alternatives.” We may define this concept as “the process of choosing between various alternatives for achieving a specified goal. Every decision must take into consideration needs and future uncertainties. The famous decision theorist, Herbert Simon has identified three major steps in the decision-making process. The first step involves the recognition and understanding of the real problem. Ina the second phase, various alternatives may be developed. The third step involves careful assessment of alternatives available for taking a better decision.
Characteristics
1) Decision-making is a continuous process.
2) The question of decision-making comes into picture only when there are alternatives,
3) A decision-making process must always be rational and purposeful.
4) Decision-making is an intellectual process supported by good reasoning and sound judgement.
5) Decision-making is an intellectual process supported by good reasoning and sound judgement.
6) Decision-making is always related to future only.