Directing — notes

Directing is the function of management that instructs, guides, supervises, motivates and leads people so that they work towards organisational goals. Its four elements are supervision, motivation, leadership and communication.

Features: it initiates action; it is pervasive (every level, every organisation); it is continuous; it flows from top to bottom.

Importance:

• Initiates action — plans become work only when people are guided.
• Integrates efforts — each person's work is linked to the work of others.
• Means of motivation — guidance and rewards bring out people's potential.
• Stability and balance — leadership and communication keep teams in step.
• Facilitates change — explaining and reassuring reduces resistance to new methods.

Supervision means overseeing people at work and guiding them so that work is done according to plan. The supervisor is the first-line manager in direct daily contact with workers.

Functions of a supervisor: link between management and workers; planning and assigning daily work; ensuring work meets targets and standards; on-the-job training; maintaining group unity; building morale; giving feedback upward and downward.

Span of control is the number of subordinates one superior can supervise effectively. A narrow span gives closer guidance but needs more supervisors; a wide span costs less but gives less attention to each worker.

Factors: nature of work; ability of the supervisor; competence of workers; communication methods; how spread out the workers are.

Motivation is the process of stimulating people to act willingly towards desired goals by satisfying their needs. A motive is an inner urge; a motivator (incentive) is what a manager offers to satisfy it.

Maslow's hierarchy (bottom to top):

1. Physiological — food, clothing, shelter; met by basic pay.
2. Safety — security of job and income; met by permanent posts, pension, insurance.
3. Social — belonging and friendship; met by teamwork and friendly groups.
4. Esteem — status, recognition, self-respect; met by titles, awards, praise.
5. Self-actualisation — becoming what one is capable of; met by challenging work and autonomy.

Assumptions: behaviour depends on needs; needs are in an order; a person moves up when a lower need is reasonably met; a satisfied need no longer motivates.

Leadership is the ability of a person to influence others so that they work willingly and enthusiastically towards group goals.

Styles (meaning only):

• Autocratic — the leader keeps decision-making power and expects obedience.
• Democratic (participative) — the leader consults the group and decides with them.
• Laissez-faire (free-rein) — the group is left largely free to decide and act; the leader supports when asked.
• Bureaucratic — the leader manages strictly by rules, procedures and official channels.

Communication is the exchange of facts, ideas and feelings between people so as to create common understanding.

Objectives: to inform and instruct; motivate; coordinate; educate and train; obtain feedback; build good relations.

Process: sender → encoding → message → channel → decoding → receiver → feedback to the sender. Noise is any disturbance that distorts the message at any stage.

Barriers:

• Semantic — jargon, words with several meanings, faulty translation.
• Psychological — distrust, fear, premature evaluation, poor attention.
• Organisational — rigid rules, too many levels, lack of facilities.
• Personal — superiors who will not listen or subordinates who hesitate to speak.

Overcoming them: clarify the idea first; use the receiver's language; consult and listen; seek feedback and follow up; keep actions consistent with words.