Unit 4
Staffing and Leading
Concept
Staffing is a managerial function which involves obtaining, utilising and retaining, qualified and competent personnel to fill all positions of an organisation, from top to operative echelon. In finer terms, staffing is placing the right person at the right job. It aims at employing, deploying and monitoring a competent and contented staff, i.e. daily wage earners, contract employees, consultants, regular employees, etc., to undertake various managerial and non-managerial activities in an organisation.
Process
Staffing process stresses on equipping the organisation with an exact number of people, and that too at the right time and place, which will help the organisation to attain its objectives effectively. The staffing process involves a series of steps, discussed as under:
Manpower Planning: Popularly known as human resource planning, it is the process of forecasting the firm’s demand for and supply of competent workforce, in the adequate number in future.
Recruitment: It entails seeking, stimulating and obtaining, as many applications as possible from the eligible and competent candidates.
Selection: It is the decisive step of the staffing process, which involves differentiating between applicants, so as to identify and choose the candidate who best fulfils the qualifications and requirements of the vacant position.
Placement: The allocation of rank and responsibility to selected candidate, is known as Placement.
Orientation and Induction: After the placement, the next step is to provide the new employee with the information they require for functioning comfortably and efficiently in an organisation. Induction is the process of introducing the new joinees to the job and the organisation as well.
Training and Development: In this step, the new joinees undergo training to acquire specific skills. Development implies learning opportunities, designed by the organisation, to ensure the growth of employees.
Performance Appraisal: A rational assessment and evaluation of employee’s performance against clear-cut benchmarks.
Career Management: Career Management is a process in which the individual understand and learns new skills and interests and use them for the betterment of the organisation and self.
Compensation: Compensation refers to the consideration which an individual gains, in return for his/her contribution to the organisation.
Staffing process recognises the significance of each person employed by the organisation, as the work of every individual, keeps the organisation going. So, acquiring a good staff is a tough task, because the success of the organisation depends on it and so, the process should be performed attentively.
Further, the top executives of the organisation should be aware of the national labour laws, which applies to the organisation. Moreover, the organisation should be clear on how many employees, it is going to recruit, for carrying out various activities of the organisation.
Concept
The term motivation is derived from the word ‘motive”. The word ‘motive’ as a noun means an objective, as a verb this word means moving into action. Therefore, motives are forces which induce people to act in a way, so as to ensure the fulfillment of a particular human need at a time. Behind every human action there is a motive. Therefore, management must provide motives to people to make them work for the organization.
Motivation may be defined as a planned managerial process, which stimulates people to work to the best of their capabilities, by providing them with motives, which are based on their unfulfilled needs.
“Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goods.” —William G. Scott
“Motivation is the process of attempting to influence others to do your will through the possibility of gain or reward.” — Flippo
Motivation is, in fact, pressing the right button to get the desired human behaviour.
Motivation is no doubt an essential ingredient of any Organisation. It is the psychological technique which really executes the plans and policies through the efforts of others.
Following are the outstanding Features of the concept of motivation:
1. Motivation is a personal and internal feeling:
Motivation is a psychological phenomenon which generates within an individual.
2. Motivation is need based:
If there are no needs of an individual, the process of motivation fails. It is a behavioural concept that directs human behaviour towards certain goals.
3. Motivation is a continuous process:
Because human wants are unlimited, therefore motivation is an ongoing process.
4. Motivation may be positive or negative:
A positive motivation promotes incentives to people while a negative motivation threatens the enforcement of disincentives.
5. Motivation is a planned process:
People differ in their approach, to respond to the process of motivation; as no two individuals could be motivated in an exactly similar manner. Accordingly, motivation is a psychological concept and a complex process.
6. Motivation is different from job satisfaction:
He might choose the second alternative and succeed in getting promotion (goal achievement) thus, his need for promotion would be satisfied and he would start again for the satisfaction of a new need.
Importance
Importance Of Motivation – In Management
Management tries to utilise all the sources of production in a best possible manner. This can be achieved only when Employees co-operate in this task. Efforts should be made to motivate employees for contributing their maximum. The efforts of management will not bear fruit if the employees are not encouraged to work more. The motivated employees become an asset to the organisation.
The following is the importance of motivation:
1. High Performance:
Motivated employees will put maximum efforts for achieving organisational goals. The untapped reservoirs of physical and mental abilities are taped to the maximum. Better performance will also result in higher productivity. The cost of production can also be brought down if productivity is raised. The employees should be offered more incentive for increasing their performance. Motivation will act as a stimulant for improving the performance of employees.
2. Low Employee Turnover and Absenteeism:
When the employees are not satisfied with their job then they will leave it whenever they get an alternative offer. The dissatisfaction among employees also increases absenteeism. The employment training of new employees costs dearly to the organisation. When the employees are satisfied with their jobs and they are well motivated by offering them financial and non-financial incentives then they will not leave the job. The rate of absenteeism will also be low because they will try to increase their output.
3. Better Organisational Image:
Those enterprises which offer better monetary and non-monetary facilities to their employees have a better image among them. Such concerns are successful in attracting better qualified and experienced persons. Since there is a better man-power to development programme, the employees will like to join such organisations. Motivational efforts will simplify personnel functions also.
4. Better Industrial Relations:
A good motivational system will create job satisfaction among employees. The employment will offer those better service conditions and various other incentives. There will be an atmosphere of confidence among employers and employees. There will be no reason for conflict and cordial relations among both sides will create a healthy atmosphere. So motivation among employees will lead to better industrial relations.
5. Acceptability to Change:
The changing social and industrial situations will require changes and improvements in the working of enterprises. There will be a need to introduce new and better methods of work from time to time. Generally, employees resist changes for fear of an adverse effect on their employment. When the employees are given various opportunities of development then they can easily adapt to new situations. They will think of positive side of new changes and will co-operate with the management. Motivation will ensure the acceptability of new changes by the employees.
6. Creates Supportive Work Environment:
When the needs of employees are satisfied and they get proper recognition, then they will have positive attitude towards work. The relations between superiors and subordinates will be cordial and working environment will improve. Motivation will help in improving co-operation and co-ordination in the organisation and employees will work in a team-spirit.
7. Helpful in Changing Attitude of Employees:
In the absence of motivation, the employees will be taking the work in a routine way and will not think of doing their best. Motivation will help in changing the attitude of employees from negative to positive. The motivated employees will be using business resources properly and will improve their performance.
Importance Of Motivation – In An Organisation
Importance # 1. Improves the Efficiency of Work:
Motivation influences the level of performance of employees, which depends not only on individual’s abilities but also on his/her willingness to achieve a high level of performance. Motivation fills the gap between the ability to work and willingness to work. Thus, it leads to increase in productivity, reducing the cost of operations and seeming overall efficiency.
Importance # 2. Sets in Motion the Action of People:
In every organisation, there are physical, financial and human resources. The utilization of physical and financial resources depends on the ability and zeal of people to work. Motivation puts human resources into action. Motivation builds die will power to work among employees and enables the management to secure the best possible utilization of all resources.
Importance # 3. Ensures Achievement of Organisational Goals:
Management can achieve the goals effectively by motivating subordinates to put in their best efforts towards the fulfillment of the assigned tasks. If people are not motivated, no purpose can be served by planning, organizing and staffing functions. By meeting individual needs through a satisfactory system or rewards, the management can secure the cooperation of subordinates for the accomplishment of organisational goals.
Importance # 4. Helps in Creating Friendly and Supportive Relationships:
Motivation brings about employee satisfaction through financial aid or reward, recognition of good work and promotional opportunities. Hence, it leads to cordial and friendly relationship between the employer and the employees. Industrial disputes are reduced and there is high morale. Effective motivation helps management to win resistance to change. Motivated employees support all changes that are in the organisational interest as they identify their own advancement with the prosperity of the enterprise.
Importance # 5. Motivation Leads to the Stability in the Work Force:
Motivation builds confidence among subordinates, improves work performance, secures their loyalty, and reduces absenteeism and labour turnover. It improves the image of the organisation and consequently, attracts competent personnel in an organisation.
Importance # 6. Acceptance of Organisational Changes:
Organisations are created in the society. Because of changes in the society, changes in technology, value system, etc. Organisation has to adapt to those changes to cope up with the requirement of the time. When these changes are introduced in the organisation, there is a tendency to resist these changes by the employees. However, if they are properly motivated, they accept, introduce and implement these changes keeping the organisation on the right track of progress.
Importance Of Motivation – Briefly Discussed
A manager guides the people in a desired manner in order to achieve organisational objectives. Two important things are necessary to perform any job. People should have ability to work and willingness to work. Unwillingness to work is of no use. Hence, there is a need for motivation to create willingness in the minds of workers to do a job.
So, the performance may be expressed in the following formula:
Performance = ability x motivation (willingness)
E. F. L. Brech has explained the importance of motivation as “The problem of motivation is the key to management actions and in its executive form, it is among chief tasks of the general manager. We may safely lay it down that the tone of an organisation is the reflection of the motivation from the top.”
The importance of motivation is briefly discussed below:
1. Maximum utilisation of factors of production – Workers perform the work sincerely through the inspiration of motivation. This creates the possibility of maximum utilisation of factors of production viz., labour and capital.
2. Willingness to work – Motivation influences the willingness of people to work. A man is technically, mentally and physically fit to perform the work but he may not be willing to work. Motivation creates a willingness on the part of workers to do the work in a better way.
3. Reduced absenteeism – Financial incentive schemes coerce the workers to work more. Financial incentive scheme is framed in such a way that monetary benefits are given on the basis of number of hours engaged. This reduces absenteeism.
4. Reduced labour turnover – Motivation has both financial and non-financial incentive schemes. This helps to retain the existing labourers. The enterprise can plan its activities on long-term basis with the help of reduced labour turnover.
5. Availability of right personnel – Financial and non-financial incentives not only retains the existing employees but also attract the employees from outside the enterprise. In other words, right people are attracted from outside to work for the enterprise.
6. Building of good labour relations – Motivation helps to solve the labour problems of absenteeism, labour turnover, indiscipline and grievances. This ensures building of good labour relations.
7. Increase in the efficiency and output – Both workers and management have got benefits from motivational plans. On the one hand, wages of the workers increase corresponding to the increase of output and efficiency. On the other hand, the productivity of the organisation and its profits increases due to consolidated efforts of the motivated people.
8. Sense of belonging – A proper motivation scheme promotes closer rapport between enterprise and workers. The workers begin to feel that the enterprise belongs to them and consider its interests as their own. Thus there is no difference between workers and enterprise.
9. Basis of co-operation – Efficiency and output are increased through co-operation. The co-operation could not be obtained without motivation, so, motivation is a basis of cooperation.
10. Helps in realising organisational goals – Organisational goals are achieved quickly through motivation. Motivated employees have a feeling of total involvement in the performance of organisation task. Employees may work whole-heartedly for the realisation of organisational goals.
11. Improvement upon skill and knowledge – Employees have promised efficient job performance or completion. Hence, the employees may improve upon their skill and knowledge required for the job.
Influencing Factors
Motivation is the reason that drives all of our actions. An individual expects that if they behave a certain way or perform certain tasks, they will achieve their desired outcome. In the workplace, this outcome, as long as it’s positive, is the driver that can impact if and how the tasks given to employees are performed. The key to reaching the highest possible results lies in being able to identify the factors that drive each individual in a workforce.
It’s crucial that apart from considering that the final outcome is worthwhile, employees also believe that they are capable of performing the task that’s expected of them. If the targets or goals seem unachievable from their perspective, it is unlikely they’ll feel motivated which in return will lead to lower performance.
This is why, being able to identify the main factors that drive an employee is a first and most important step on the way to increasing performance. There are 9 main components that contribute to employees motivation:
1. Salary
Receiving regular payment, especially in reference to permanent employees, is considered a basic need that is expected to be satisfied by an employer. However, salary on its own is a short term satisfied. In the longer term salary isn’t a factor that increases performance and a promise of getting a pay rise frequently has only a temporary impact.
However, if the salary is lower than an employee would expect, it could cause dissatisfaction and disengagement. While earning an ‘equitable’ salary might not motivate employees to perform better, it will reduce the risk of them feeling resentful or frustrated by the job.
2. Non-monetary incentives
Non-financial rewards are a way of satisfying employees’ ego and self-actualization needs. These are often used to:
- Acknowledge extraordinary performance.
- Recognize achievement.
- Increase morale.
- Create a positive work environment.
- Motivate high performance.
According to research conducted by the Industrial Relations Services, non-monetary rewards help to fulfil organisational objectives at a relatively low cost. What’s more, some non-financial incentives can be executed almost immediately as opposed to financial rewards, which can take weeks or months to take effect.
There is a wide range of different non-financial incentives that can be used by managers:
- Simple “thank you” - either said directly to an employee or better still, sent in written form and preferably hand-written.
- Public appreciation and acknowledgement of a job or task well done.
- Rewarding an employee with a title of a “star of the month” or employee of the month”.
- Vouchers or tangible goods.
- Flexible working arrangements.
- The opportunity to work from home.
- Free or subsidized meals, fruit or drinks.
3. Relationship with colleagues
As employees spend one-third of their day at work, relationships and interactions they have with their colleagues can significantly impact their mood and outlook. Negative experiences or attitudes will eventually lead to isolation and loneliness, making it more difficult to find satisfaction from work, which in turn will decrease motivation.
Employee’s social needs linked to their desire to be accepted and to belong to a community can be used to build strong and loyal teams that will achieve higher results by cooperating on the basis of common understanding.
To stimulate the development of positive work relationships, it’s advised to focus on team building activities that will allow employees get to know each other better:
- Brainstorming sessions in or outside of the office that allow anyone to speak freely, openly and honestly.
- Team lunches or dinners, and social events such as Christmas parties.
- Bowling, river cruises, comedy clubs, physically challenging activities or other activities that the team could attend together. Care should be taken to select and plan events taking into account all team members’ abilities.
- Using an external facilitator for team building who might offer: ice breakers, discussion topics, games or similar techniques.
4. Relationship with leadership
Each employee has a hierarchy of needs that should be addressed and the responsibility of understanding those needs lays with their line manager. The basis for effective communication between the two parties is two-sided trust. Relationships built on this foundation will help employees to honestly and openly talk about their needs, thoughts and feelings, which in turn will give the line managers clear direction on how to support and motivate their team members.
5. Company’s culture
According to survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review, the reasons behind why employees work determines how well they perform. Employees are conscious of their company’s culture and learn and align their professional goals with the organization’s goals, which becomes their answer to the question: “why we do what we do”. The extent to which employees align with the goals set by their employer is directly impacted by the strength and clarity of their employer’s mission statement and values.
Any lack of belief or understanding of the employer’s goals is one of the major causes of low job satisfaction, negative attitude and lower commitment. On the other hand, employees who are aligned with the culture are generally more happy in their roles, achieve better result and fulfillment.
A company’s culture comes down to 6 main elements: work environment, company mission, value, ethics, expectations and goals. In practice, the culture is just a set of rules or accepted behaviours that help employees make decisions every day. While every company would have their own unique set of features, values and beliefs, culture is always about making sure that the employees have a productive and enjoyable working environment.
6. Learning and development opportunities
Self-actualisation is a natural by product of high performance. Most employees naturally want to do a good job to feel they are achieving their full potential. Learning & Development (L&D) is a way of educating and guiding your employees on the areas and aspects that will help them develop and progress.
The subject of personal and professional development is especially important to generation Y - a recent M3S survey has shown that the desire to learn, acquire new skills and continue personal development is one of the reasons millennial choose to leave their employer. According to the research, the lack of professional and/or personal development is one of the main causes of job dissatisfaction among this group.
On the other hand, L&D can stimulate higher performance and improve engagement as long as the company offers development opportunities at every level - from learning on the job, through mentorship, shadowing and specific internal or external training programmes.
7. Processes within the company
While processes on their own aren’t a motivational tool, they are closely linked to the areas that impact desire, enthusiasm and willingness of the employees. The workload, division of responsibilities, access to resources and accountability all depends on the structure and efficiency of the processes on which the business runs.
Efficient processes stimulate workers, allowing them to work effectively and efficiently and by reducing the amount of potential blockers. At each stage of the process an individual should be aware of what’s expected from them and what resources are available. Making sure that an employee feels responsible for the outcomes of their work is crucial in building work engagement and stimulating higher performance.
8. Personal life
According to a research by Bensinger, DuPont & Associates, 47% of employees state that problems in their personal lives affect their work performance. Personal challenges can cause issues with concentration, poor attention, lack of engagement and even absenteeism.
As employees spend ⅓ of their days at work, there’s a lot that an employer and/or a manager can do to support members of their team who are going through a tough time. Being patient and understanding towards them is the first step.
Most organisations have clear policies, procedures or guidelines that specify how employees can be supported during difficult times. These often fall under “work-life balance” umbrella and are especially helpful in situations when bereavement or grief strikes, including flexible working, paid time off or Employee Assistance Programs.
By offering support and understanding, as well as guiding employees through the hard times, it is possible to build trust and loyalty within people who frequently will return stronger and more committed. Making their professional career another challenge to deal with and manage might create the opposite result and as an employer, you may never regain their trust and commitment.
9. Performing meaningful work
As in case of non-monetary incentives, motivation through meaning targets the need of self-actualisation. Finding meaning is an existential question and according to research, including Deloitte’s Talent 2020 series, performing meaningful work is one of the top 3 motivational drivers.
Finding the meaning behind work turns out to be linked to being able to make a difference to humanity through the job. By creating a culture of ethics, morals and establishing a CSR strategy, companies can encourage and guide their employees in the search of meaning.
Another element to consider is educating employees on the values and the mission of the organisations they work for - the foundation of seeing the meaning is understanding why the company does what it does and how it makes a difference. Another aspect is showing how the employees the role they play within the company links to the Company’s vision, mission and values. By helping employees understand how they make an impact on the business and through that how they contribute to society is a clear and simple way of giving them a purpose.
The process of motivation is illustrated in the figure given below:
Figure 15.1 shows an employee has a need or urge for promotion to a higher position. If this need is strong, the employee will fix his goal and find alternatives to reach the goal. The might have two alternatives, namely, (i) hard work and (ii) enhancement of qualification (e.g., getting MBA) and hard work.
The Process of Motivation
He might choose the second alternative and succeed in getting promotion (goal achievement) thus, his need for promotion would be satisfied and he would start again for the satisfaction of a new need.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation are two types of behavior stimulation. Extrinsic motivation is the stimulation of behavior through various external factors. Intrinsic motivation is a behavioral catalyst driven by a desire for personal satisfaction or fulfillment. Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation correspond with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Extrinsic motivation coincides with the safety needs in the hierarchy, while intrinsic motivation concurs with esteem and self-actualization needs.
We cannot say that one form of motivation is better than the other. Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation can effectively impact humans’ behavior and stimulate them to perform certain actions. It is also worth mentioning that the effectiveness of a particular type of motivation may vary among individuals. For example, some people tend to prefer external rewards more, while others put a greater emphasis on personal satisfaction.
Generally, intrinsic motivation is highly regarded as the strongest incentive to achieve long-term objectives. If an individual possesses strong intrinsic motivation, it is very likely that he or she will complete a task. The caveat here is that a person cannot always be intrinsically motivated.
Unlike intrinsic motivation that can drive human behavior only in certain tasks or actions, extrinsic motivation comes with a larger number of potential applications. It is an effective stimulus to motivate a person to do a task he or she was not interested in previously.
CONCLUSION
Motivation is dynamic - it changes over time. It’s the line manager’s responsibility to identify and react to these changes. Having a full understanding of what employees want to achieve as individuals, and showing them how to do it, is the main principle that if followed will help to build a strong, engaged and high performing team.
Motivation theories
1. MASLOW’S NEED HIERARCHY THEORY:
It is probably safe to say that the most well-known theory of motivation is Maslow’s need hierarchy theory Maslow’s theory is based on the human needs. Drawing chiefly on his clinical experience, he classified all human needs into a hierarchical manner from the lower to the higher order.
In essence, he believed that once a given level of need is satisfied, it no longer serves to motivate man. Then, the next higher level of need has to be activated in order to motivate the man. Maslow identified five levels in his need hierarchy as shown in figure 17.2.
These are now discussed one by one:
1. Physiological Needs:
These needs are basic to human life and, hence, include food, clothing, shelter, air, water and necessities of life. These needs relate to the survival and maintenance of human life. They exert tremendous influence on human behaviour. These needs are to be met first at least partly before higher level needs emerge. Once physiological needs are satisfied, they no longer motivate the man.
2. Safety Needs:
After satisfying the physiological needs, the next needs felt are called safety and security needs. These needs find expression in such desires as economic security and protection from physical dangers. Meeting these needs requires more money and, hence, the individual is prompted to work more. Like physiological needs, these become inactive once they are satisfied.
3. Social Needs:
Man is a social being. He is, therefore, interested in social interaction, companionship, belongingness, etc. It is this socialising and belongingness why individuals prefer to work in groups and especially older people go to work.
4. Esteem Needs:
These needs refer to self-esteem and self-respect. They include such needs which indicate self-confidence, achievement, competence, knowledge and independence. The fulfillment of esteem needs leads to self-confidence, strength and capability of being useful in the organisation. However, inability to fulfill these needs results in feeling like inferiority, weakness and helplessness.
5. Self-Actualization Needs:
This level represents the culmination of all the lower, intermediate, and higher needs of human beings. In other words, the final step under the need hierarchy model is the need for self-actualization. This refers to fulfillment.
The term self-actualization was coined by Kurt Goldstein and means to become actualized in what one is potentially good at. In effect, self- actualization is the person’s motivation to transform perception of self into reality.
According to Maslow, the human needs follow a definite sequence of domination. The second need does not arise until the first is reasonably satisfied, and the third need does not emerge until the first two needs have been reasonably satisfied and it goes on. The other side of the need hierarchy is that human needs are unlimited. However, Maslow’s need hierarchy-theory is not withoutwithout its detractors.
The main criticisms of the theory include the following:
- The needs may or may not follow a definite hierarchical order. So to say, there may be overlapping in need hierarchy. For example, even if safety need is not satisfied, the social need may emerge.
- 2. The need priority model may not apply at all times in all places.
- 3. Researches show that man’s behaviour at any time is mostly guided by multiplicity of behaviour. Hence, Maslow’s preposition that one need is satisfied at one time is also of doubtful validity.
- 4. In case of some people, the level of motivation may be permanently lower. For example, a person suffering from chronic unemployment may remain satisfied for the rest of his life if only he/she can get enough food.
- Notwithstanding, Maslow’s need hierarchy theory has received wide recognition, particularly among practicing managers. This can be attributed to the theory’s intuitive logic and easy to understand. One researcher came to the conclusion that theories that are intuitively strong die hard’.
2. Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory:
The psychologist Frederick Herzberg extended the work of Maslow and proposed a replacement motivation theory popularly referred to as Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene (Two-Factor) Theory. Herzberg conducted a widely reported motivational study on 200 accountants and engineers employed by firms in and around Western Pennsylvania.
He asked these people to explain two important incidents at their jobs:
(1) When did you feel particularly good about your job, and
(2) When did you feel exceptionally bad about your job? He used the critical incident method of obtaining data.
The responses when analysed were found quite interesting and fairly consistent. The replies respondents gave once they felt good about their jobs were significantly different from the replies given once they felt bad. Reported good feelings were generally related to job satisfaction, whereas bad feeling with job dissatisfaction. Herzberg labeled the work satisfiers motivators, and he called job dissatisfies hygiene or maintenance factors. Taken together, the motivators and hygiene factors have become referred to as Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation
Herzberg’s motivational and hygiene factors are shown in the Table 17.1
According to Herzberg, the other of satisfaction isn't dissatisfaction. The underlying reason, he says, is that removal of dissatisfying characteristics from a job doesn't necessarily make the job satisfying. He believes in the existence of a dual continuum. The other of ‘satisfaction’ is ‘no satisfaction’ and therefore the opposite of ‘dissatisfaction’ is ‘no dis-satisatisfaction’.
According to Herzberg, today’s motivators are tomorrow’s hygiene because the latter stop influencing the behaviour of persons once they get them. Accordingly, one’s hygiene could also be the motivator of another.
However, Herzberg’s model is labeled with the subsequent criticism also:
1. People have a tendency to take credit themselves when things go well. They blame failure on the external environment.
2. The theory basically explains job satisfaction, not motivation.
3. Even job satisfaction isn't measured on an overall basis. It's not unlikely that an individual may dislike a part of his/ her job, still thinks the job acceptable.
4. This theory neglects situational variable to motivate an individual.
Because of its ubiquitous nature, salary commonly shows up as a motivator also as hygiene.
Regardless of criticism, Herzberg’s ‘two-factor motivation theory’ has been widely read and a few managers seem untaminar together with his recommendations. The most use of his recommendations lies in planning and controlling of employees work.
Vroom’s Expectation theory
The expectancy theory was proposed by Victor Vroom of Yale School of Management in 1964. Vroom stresses and focuses on outcomes, and not on needs unlike Maslow and Herzberg. The theory states that the intensity of a tendency to perform in a particular manner is dependent on the intensity of an expectation that the performance will be followed by a definite outcome and on the appeal of the outcome to the individual.
The Expectancy theory states that employee’s motivation is an outcome of how much an individual wants a reward (Valence), the assessment that the likelihood that the effort will lead to expected performance (Expectancy) and the belief that the performance will lead to reward (Instrumentality).
In short, Valence is the significance associated by an individual about the expected outcome. It is an expected and not the actual satisfaction that an employee expects to receive after achieving the goals.
Expectancy is the faith that better efforts will result in better performance. Expectancy is influenced by factors such as possession of appropriate skills for performing the job, availability of right resources, availability of crucial information and getting the required support for completing the job.
Instrumentality is the faith that if you perform well, then a valid outcome will be there. Instrumentality is affected by factors such as believe in the people who decide who receives what outcome, the simplicity of the process deciding who gets what outcome, and clarity of relationship between performance and outcomes. Thus, the expectancy theory concentrates on the following three relationships:
Effort-performance relationship: What is the likelihood that the individual’s effort be recognized in his performance appraisal?
Performance-reward relationship: It talks about the extent to which the employee believes that getting a good performance appraisal leads to organizational rewards.
Rewards-personal goals relationship: It is all about the attractiveness or appeal of the potential reward to the individual. Vroom was of view that employees consciously decide whether to perform or not at the job. This decision solely depended on the employee’s motivation level which in turn depends on three factors of expectancy, valence and instrumentality.
Advantages of the Expectancy Theory
- It is based on self-interest individual who want to achieve maximum satisfaction and who wants to minimize dissatisfaction.
- This theory stresses upon the expectations and perception; what is real and actual is immaterial.
- It emphasizes on rewards or pay-offs.
- It focuses on psychological extravagance where final objective of individual is to attain maximum pleasure and least pain.
Limitations of the Expectancy Theory
- The expectancy theory seems to be idealistic because quite a few individuals perceive high degree correlation between performance and rewards.
- The application of this theory is limited as reward is not directly correlated with performance in many organizations. It is related to other parameters also such as position, effort, responsibility, education, etc.
Implications of the Expectancy Theory
- The managers can correlate the preferred outcomes to the aimed performance levels.
- The managers must ensure that the employees can achieve the aimed performance levels.
- The deserving employees must be rewarded for their exceptional performance.
- The reward system must be fair and just in an organization.
- Organizations must design interesting, dynamic and challenging jobs.
- The employee’s motivation level should be continually assessed through various techniques such as questionnaire, personal interviews, etc.
Concept
Leadership is an important element of the directing function of management. Wherever, there is an organized group of people working towards a common goal, some type of leadership becomes essential. “The power of leadership is the power of integrating. The leader stimulates what is best in us he unites and concentrates what we feel only gropingly and shatteringly. He is a person who gives form to the uncoarctate energy in every man. The person who influences me most is not he who does great Deeds, but he who makes me feel that I can do great deeds.” Marry Parker Follet.
Leadership is the ability to build up confidence and zeal among people and to create an urge in them to be led. To be a successful leader, a manager must possess the qualities of foresight, drive, initiative, self-confidence and personal integrity. Different situations may demand different types of leadership.
Functions
Following are the important functions of a leader:
1. Setting Goals:
A leader is expected to perform creative function of laying out goals and policies to persuade the subordinates to work with zeal and confidence.
2. Organizing:
The second function of a leader is to create and shape the organization on scientific lines by assigning roles appropriate to individual abilities with the view to make its various components to operate sensitively towards the achievement of enterprise goals.
3. Initiating Action:
The next function of a leader is to take the initiative in all matters of interest to the group. He should not depend upon others for decision and judgment. He should float new ideas and his decisions should reflect original thinking.
4. Co-Ordination:
A leader has to reconcile the interests of the individual members of the group with that of the organization. He has to ensure voluntary co-operation from the group in realizing the common objectives.
5. Direction and Motivation:
It is the primary function of a leader to guide and direct his group and motivate people to do their best in the achievement of desired goals, he should build up confidence and zeal in the work group.
6. Link between Management and Workers:
A leader works as a necessary link between the management and the workers. He interprets the policies and programmes of the management to his subordinates and represents the subordinates’ interests before the management. He can prove effective only when he can act as the true guardian of the interests of his subordinates.
Importance
A Leader moves others to act while at the same time coordinating with the help of demonstration. They should be harmonious enough for others to follow their requests, and they should have the basic speculation aptitudes to realize the most ideal approach to utilize the assets available to an association. In business, administration is connected to execution, and any authority definition needs to consider. In this way, while initiative isn't characteristically connected to benefit, the individuals who are seen as compelling Leaders in corporate settings are the ones who increment their organization's main concern.While there are individuals who appear to be normally invested with more administration capacities than others, anybody can figure out how to turn into a Leader by improving specific abilities. History is loaded with individuals who, while having no past initiative experience, have ventured to the front in emergencies and convinced others to follow their recommended game-plan. They had attributes and characteristics that helped them to venture into parts of authority. The terms administration and the managements will in general be utilized conversely, yet they're not the equivalent. Initiative requires characteristics that stretch out past administration obligations. The two chiefs and directors need to deal with the assets available to them, however obvious initiative requires more. For instance, chiefs might possibly be depicted as moving by individuals working under them; however a Leader must move the individuals who follow them. Another distinction among Leaders and chiefs is that Leaders accentuate development regardless of anything else.
Likert’s Scale theory
Rensis Likert and his associates studied the patterns and styles of managers for three decades at the University of Michigan, USA, and identified a four-fold model of management systems. The model was developed on the basis of a questionnaire administered to managers in over 200 organizations and research into the performance characteristics of different types of organizations. The four systems of management system or the four leadership styles identified by Likert are:
System 1 - Exploitative Authoritative: Responsibility lies in the hands of the people at the upper echelons of the hierarchy. The superior has no trust and confidence in subordinates. The decisions are imposed on subordinates and they do not feel free at all to discuss things about the job with their superior. The teamwork or communicationis very little and the motivation is based on threats.
System 2 - Benevolent Authoritative: The responsibility lies at the managerial levels but not at the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy. The superior has condescending confidence and trust in subordinates (master-servant relationship). Here again, the subordinates do not feel free to discuss things about the job with their superior. The teamwork or communication is very little and motivation is based on a system of rewards.
System 3 - Consultative: Responsibility is spread widely through the organizational hierarchy. The superior has substantial but not complete confidence in subordinates. Some amount of discussion about job related things takes place between the superior and subordinates. There is a fair amount of teamwork, and communication takes place vertically and horizontally. The motivation is based on rewards and involvement in the job.
System 4 - Participative: Responsibility for achieving the organizational goals is widespread throughout the organizational hierarchy. There is a high level of confidence that the superior has in his subordinates. There is a high level of teamwork, communication, and participation.
The nature of these four management systems has been described by Likert through a profile of organizational characteristics. In this profile, the four management systems have been compared with one another on the basis of certain organizational variables which are:
Leadership processes
Motivational forces
Communication process
Interaction-influence process
Decision-making process
Goal-setting or ordering
Control processes
On the basis of this profile, Likert administered a questionnaire to several employees belonging to different organizations and from different managerial positions (both line and staff). His studies confirmed that the departments or units employing management practices within Systems 1 and 2 were the lease productive, and the departments or units employing management practices within Systems 3 and 4 were the most productive.
Advantages
With the help of the profile developed by Likert, it became possible to quantify the results of the work done in the field of group dynamics. Likert theory also facilitated the measurement of the “soft” areas of management, such as trust and communication.
Conclusion
According to Rensis Likert, the nearer the behavioral characteristics of an organization approach System 4 (Participative), the more likely this will lead to long-term improvement in staff turnover and high productivity, low scrap, low costs, and high earnings. If an organization wants to achieve optimum effectiveness, then the ideal system.
Blake and Mouten’s Managerial Grid theory
The treatment of task orientation and people orientation as two independent dimensions was a major step in leadership studies. Many of the leadership studies conducted in the 1950s at the University of Michigan and the Ohio State University focused on these two dimensions.
Building on the work of the researchers at these Universities, Robert Blake and Jane Mouton (1960s) proposed a graphic portrayal of leadership styles through a managerial grid (sometimes called leadership grid). The grid depicted two dimensions of leader behavior, concern for people (accommodating people’s needs and giving them priority) on y-axis and concern for production (keeping tight schedules) on x-axis, with each dimension ranging from low (1) to high (9), thus creating 81 different positions in which the leader’s style may fall.(See figure 1).
Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid
The five resulting leadership styles are as follows:
Impoverished Management (1, 1): Managers with this approach are low on both the dimensions and exercise minimum effort to get the work done from subordinates. The leader has low concern for employee satisfaction and work deadlines and as a result disharmony and disorganization prevail within the organization. The leaders are termed ineffective wherein their action is merely aimed at preserving job and seniority.
Task management (9, 1): Also called dictatorial or perish style. Here leaders are more concerned about production and have less concern for people. The style is based on theory X of McGregor. The employees’ needs are not taken care of and they are simply a means to an end. The leader believes that efficiency can result only through proper organization of work systems and through elimination of people wherever possible. Such a style can definitely increase the output of organization in short run but due to the strict policies and procedures, high labour turnover is inevitable.
Middle-of-the-Road (5, 5): This is basically a compromising style wherein the leader tries to maintain a balance between goals of company and the needs of people. The leader does not push the boundaries of achievement resulting in average performance for organization. Here neither employee nor production needs are fully met.
Country Club (1, 9): This is a collegial style characterized by low task and high people orientation where the leader gives thoughtful attention to the needs of people thus providing them with a friendly and comfortable environment. The leader feels that such a treatment with employees will lead to self-motivation and will find people working hard on their own. However, a low focus on tasks can hamper production and lead to questionable results.
Team Management (9, 9): Characterized by high people and task focus, the style is based on the theory Y of McGregor and has been termed as most effective style according to Blake and Mouton. The leader feels that empowerment, commitment, trust, and respect are the key elements in creating a team atmosphere which will automatically result in high employee satisfaction and production.
Advantages of Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid
The Managerial or Leadership Grid is used to help managers analyze their own leadership styles through a technique known as grid training. This is done by administering a questionnaire that helps managers identify how they stand with respect to their concern for production and people. The training is aimed at basically helping leaders reach to the ideal state of 9, 9.
Limitations of Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid
The model ignores the importance of internal and external limits, matter and scenario. Also, there are some more aspects of leadership that can be covered but are not.
Concept
Communications is fundamental to the existence and survival of humans as well as to an organization. It is a process of creating and sharing ideas, information, views, facts, feelings, etc. among the people to reach a common understanding. It is the key to the directing function of management.
The word communication has been derived from the Greek word ‘communis’ which means ‘common’. Thus, it means sharing of ideas in common.
According to Louis A. Allen, “Communication is the sum of all the things one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. It is a bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding.”
The American Management Association defines communication as, “any behavior that results in the exchange of meaning.”
Koontz and O’Donnell are of the opinion that, “Communication is a way that one organization member shares meaning and understanding with another.”
Thus, communication refers to the whole process of man’s life in relation to the group and includes exchange of information, a system of communicating and a process by which meanings are exchanged among human beings.
Purpose
Effective communication is vital for efficient management and to improve industrial relations. In modern world the growth of telecommunication, information technology and the growing competition and complexity in production have increased importance of communication in organisations large and small irrespective of their type and kind. A corporate executive must be in a position to communicate effectively with his superiors, colleagues in other departments and subordinates. This will make him perform well and enable him to give his hundred percent to the organization.
The following points can illustrate the importance of communication in human resource management:
1. Base for Action:
Communication acts as a base for any action. Starting of any activity begins with communication which brings information necessary to begin with.
2. Planning Becomes Easy:
Communication facilitates planning. Planning is made easy by communication. Any type of information regarding the human resource requirement of each department of the organisation with their qualifications, the type and kinds of job etc. can be collected through communication which helps in human resource planning. Policies and programmes for their acquisition can be prepared and implemented. In the entire process communication plays a vital role, it also facilitates managerial planning of the organisation.
3. Means of Coordination:
Communication is an important tool for coordinating the efforts of various people at work in the organisation.
4. Aids in Decision-Making:
The information collected through communication aids in decision-making. Communication facilitates access to the vital information required to take decisions.
5. Provides Effective Leadership:
A communication skill bring manager near to his subordinates and exchange ideas and submits appropriate proposals, knows their opinions, seeks advices and make decisions. This enables a manager to win confidence of his subordinates through constantly communicating with them and removing probable misunderstandings. In this way he leads his people to accomplish the organisational goal.
6. Boosts Morale and Motivation:
An effective communication system instills confidence among subordinates and workers ensuring change in their attitude and behaviour. The main cause of conflict and dissatisfaction is misunderstanding which can be removed through communication skills. The removal of misunderstanding makes manager and his subordinates understand each other and create good industrial relations. This boosts up the morale of the people and motivates them to work harder.
Process
The communication process follows the steps given below:
1. Sender: The sender generates the message and conveys it to the receiver. He is the one who starts the communication.
2. Message: It is the information that is generated by the sender and is then intended to be communicated further.
. Encoding: The message generated by the sender is encoded symbolically in the form of words, pictures, gestures, etc. before it is being conveyed.
4. Media: It is the manner in which the encoded message is transmitted. The message may be transmitted orally or in writing. The medium of communication includes telephone, internet, post, fax, e-mail, etc. The choice of medium is decided by the sender.
5. Decoding: It is the process of converting the symbols encoded by the sender.
6. Receiver: The person who is last in the chain of communication process is the receiver.
7. Feedback: Once the receiver confirms to the sender that he has received the message and understood it, the process of communication is complete.
Oral and Written communication
Oral Communication
Oral Communication is the process of conveying or receiving messages with the use of spoken words. This mode of communication is highly used across the world because of rapid transmission of information and prompt reply. Oral communication can either be in the form of direct conversation between two or more persons like face to face communication, lectures, meetings, seminars, group discussion, conferences, etc. or indirect conversation, i.e. the form of communication in which a medium is used for interchange of information like telephonic conversation, video call, voice call, etc. The best thing about this mode of communication is that the parties to communication, i.e. sender or receiver, can notice nonverbal cues like the body language, facial expression, tone of voice and pitch, etc. This makes the communication between the parties more effective. However, this mode is backed with some limitation like the words once spoken can never be taken back.
Written Communication
The communication in which the message is transmitted in written or printed form is known as Written Communication. It is the most reliable mode of communication, and it is highly preferred in the business world because of its formal and sophisticated nature. The various channels of written communication are letters, e-mails, journals, magazines, newspapers, text messages, reports, etc.
There are a number of advantages of written communication which are as under:
- Referring the message in the future will be easy.
- Before transmitting the message, one can revise or rewrite it in an organised way.
- The chances of misinterpretation of message are very less because the words are carefully chosen.
- The communication is planned.
- Legal evidence is available due to the safekeeping of records.
But as we all know that everything has two aspects, same is the case with written communication as the communication is a time consuming one. Moreover, the sender will never know that the receiver has read the message or not. The sender has to wait for the responses of the receiver. A lot of paperwork is there, in this mode of communication.
Conclusion
Oral Communication is an informal one which is normally used in personal conversations, group talks, etc. Written Communication is formal communication, which is used in schools, colleges, business world, etc. Choosing between the two communication mode is a tough task because both are good at their places. People normally use the oral mode of communication because it is convenient and less time-consuming. However, people normally believe in the written text more than what they hear that is why written communication is considered as the reliable method of communication.
Formal and Informal communication networks
Formal communication
Formal and informal communication do overlap but they are rather distinct types of communication. It can be quite easy to recognize the differences between them but also quite interesting to learn about them in greater depth. Formal communication refers to the flow of official information through proper, predefined channels and routes. The flow of information is controlled and needs deliberate effort to be properly communicated. Formal communication follows a hierarchical structure and chain of command. The structure is typically top down, from leaders in various departments and senior staff in the organization, which funnel down to lower level employees. Employees are bound to follow formal communication channels while performing their duties. Formal communication is considered effective as it is a timely and systematic flow of communication.
Informal communication
In comparison, informal communication refers to communication which is multi-dimensional. Informal communication moves freely within the organization and is not bound by pre-defined channels and communication routes. Informal communication is particularly quick. Informal communication is far more relational than formal communication and is by nature, a very natural form of communication as people interact with each other freely and can talk about a diverse range of topics, often extending outside of their work duties. Due to the inherent nature of informal communication, it moves a lot faster and does not have a paper trail.Informal communication in the workplace is often called the ‘grapevine’ and generally begins with employees through social relations. In many cases informal communications can turn to formal communication if they are added in to the formal communication information flow of a company.Informal communication is considered effective as employees can discuss work-related issues which saves the organization time and money. It also helps to build more productive and healthy relationships in the workforce.
Barriers to communication
The process of communication has multiple barriers. The intended communique will often be disturbed and distorted leading to a condition of misunderstanding and failure of communication. The Barriers to effective communication could be of many types like linguistic, psychological, emotional, physical, and cultural etc. We will see all of these types in detail below.
Linguistic Barriers
The language barrier is one of the main barriers that limit effective communication. Language is the most commonly employed tool of communication. The fact that each major region has its own language is one of the Barriers to effective communication. Sometimes even a thick dialect may render the communication ineffective.
As per some estimates, the dialects of every two regions changes within a few kilometers. Even in the same workplace, different employees will have different linguistic skills. As a result, the communication channels that span across the organization would be affected by this.
Thus keeping this barrier in mind, different considerations have to be made for different employees. Some of them are very proficient in a certain language and others will be ok with these languages.
Psychological Barriers
There are various mental and psychological issues that may be barriers to effective communication. Some people have stage fear, speech disorders, phobia, depression etc. All of these conditions are very difficult to manage sometimes and will most certainly limit the ease of communication.
Emotional Barriers
The emotional IQ of a person determines the ease and comfort with which they can communicate. A person who is emotionally mature will be able to communicate effectively. On the other hand, people who let their emotions take over will face certain difficulties.
A perfect mixture of emotions and facts is necessary for effective communication. Emotions like anger, frustration, humour, can blur the decision-making capacities of a person and thus limit the effectiveness of their communication.
Physical Barriers to Communication
They are the most obvious barriers to effective communication. These barriers are mostly easily removable in principle at least. They include barriers like noise, closed doors, faulty equipment used for communication, closed cabins, etc. Sometimes, in a large office, the physical separation between various employees combined with faulty equipment may result in severe barriers to effective communication.
Cultural Barriers of Communication
As the world is getting more and more globalized, any large office may have people from several parts of the world. Different cultures have a different meaning for several basic values of society. Dressing, Religions or lack of them, food, drinks, pets, and the general behaviour will change drastically from one culture to another.
Hence it is a must that we must take these different cultures into account while communication. This is what we call being culturally appropriate. In many multinational companies, special courses are offered at the orientation stages that let people know about other cultures and how to be courteous and tolerant of others.
Organisational Structure Barriers
As we saw there are many methods of communication at an organizational level. Each of these methods has its own problems and constraints that may become barriers to effective communication. Most of these barriers arise because of misinformation or lack of appropriate transparency available to the employees.
Attitude Barriers Certain people like to be left alone. They are the introverts or just people who are not very social. Others like to be social or sometimes extra clingy! Both these cases could become a barrier to communication. Some people have attitude issues, like huge ego and inconsiderate behaviours.
These employees can cause severe strains in the communication channels that they are present in. Certain personality traits like shyness, anger, social anxiety may be removable through courses and proper training. However, problems like egocentric behaviour and selfishness may not be correctable.
Perception Barriers
Different people perceive the same things differently. This is a fact which we must consider during the communication process. Knowledge of the perception levels of the audience is crucial to effective communication. All the messages or communique must be easy and clear. There shouldn’t be any room for a diversified interpretational set.
Physiological Barriers
Certain disorders or diseases or other limitations could also prevent effective communication between the various channels of an organization
The shrillness of voice, dyslexia, etc are some examples of physiological barriers to effective communication. However, these are not crucial because they can easily be compensated and removed.
Technological Barriers & Socio-religious Barriers
Other barriers include the technological barriers. The technology is developing fast and as a result, it becomes difficult to keep up with the newest developments. Hence sometimes the technological advance may become a barrier. In addition to this, the cost of technology is sometimes very high.
Most of the organizations will not be able to afford a decent tech for the purpose of communication. Hence, this becomes a very crucial barrier. Other barriers are socio-religious barriers. In a patriarchal society, a woman or a transgender may face many difficulties and barriers while communicating.
Key Takeaways:
Communication is the sum of all the things one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. It is a bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding.
Overcoming barriers to communication
In order to remove hindrances in the way of communication the following steps are worth consideration:
(1)Clarify Ideas before Communication:
The person sending the communication should be very clear in his mind about what he wants to say. He should know the objective of his message and, therefore, he should arrange his thoughts in a proper order.
(2) Communicate According to the Need of the Receiver:
The sender of the communication should prepare the structure of the message not according to his own level or ability but he should keep in mind the level, understanding or the environment of the receiver.
(3) Consult Others before Communication:
At the time of planning the communication, suggestions should be invited from all the persons concerned. Its main advantage will be that all those people who are consulted at the time of preparing the communication plan will contribute to the success of the communication system.
(4) Be Aware of Language, Tone and Content of Message:
The sender should take care of the fact that the message should be framed in clear and beautiful language. The tone of the message should not injure the feelings of the receiver. As far as possible the contents of the message should be brief and excessive use of technical words should be avoided.
(5) Convey Things of Help and Value to the Listener:
The subject matter of the message should be helpful to the receiver. The need and interest of the receiver should specially be kept in mind. Communication is more effective in such a situation.
(6) Ensure Proper Feedback:
The purpose of feedback is to find out whether the receiver has properly understood the meaning of the information received. In the face-to- face communication, the reaction on the face of the receiver can be understood.
But in case of written communication or some other sort of communications some proper method of feedback should be adopted by the sender.
(7) Consistency of Message:
The information sent to the receiver should not be self- contradictory. It should be in accordance with the objectives, policies, programmes and techniques of the organisation. When a new message has to be sent in place of the old one, it should always make a mention of the change otherwise it can create some doubts.
(8) Follow up Communication:
In order to make communication effective the management should regularly try to know the weaknesses of the communication system. In this context effort can be made to know whether to lay more stress upon the formal or the informal communication would be appropriate.Similarly, suggestions can be invited in respect of the medium of communication (oral, written and gestural) to know as to which medium would be more effective and appropriate.
(9) Be a Good Listener:
It is the essence of communication that both the sender and the receiver should be good listeners. Both should listen to the each other’s point of view with attention, patience and positive attitude. A sender can receive much relevant information by being a good listener.
References-
- Principles & Practices of Management: L. M. Prasad
- Principles of Management: P. C. Tripathy & P.N. Reddy
