Stucor Mg8591 KL
Stucor Mg8591 KL
Stucor Mg8591 KL
UNIT I
INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONS
According to Harold Koontz, ―Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people
in formally organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in which people can perform and
individuals and can co-operate towards attainment of group goals‖.
IMPORTANCE OF MANAGEMENT
Encourages Initiative Optimum use of resources
Encourages Innovation Reduces wastage
Facilitates growth and expansion Increases efficiency
Improves life of workers Improves relations
Improves corporate image Encourages Team Work
CHARACTERISTICS OF MANAGEMENT
Continuous and never ending process. Situational in nature.
Getting things done through people. Need not be an ownership.
Result oriented science and art. Both an art and science.
Multidisciplinary in nature. Management is all pervasive.
A group and not an individual activity. Management is intangible.
Follows established principles or rules. Uses a professional approach in work.
Aided but not replaced by computers. Dynamic in nature.
Management Vs Administration
LEVELS OF MANAGEMENT
The Top Management: It consists of board of directors, chief executive or managing director. The top
management is the ultimate source of authority and it manages goals and policies for an enterprise. It
devotes more time on planning and coordinating functions. The role of the top management can be
summarized as follows –
1. Top management lays down the objectives and broad policies of enterprise. It appoints the
executive DM for middle level
2. It issues necessary instructions for preparation of department budgets, procedures, schedules etc.
3. It prepares strategic plans & policies for the enterprise. It controls & coordinates the activities of all
the departments.
4. It is also responsible for maintaining a contact with the outside world. It provides guidance and
direction.
5. The top management is also responsible towards the shareholders for the performance of the
enterprise.
Middle Level Management: The branch managers and departmental managers constitute middle level.
They are responsible to the top management for the functioning of their department. They devote more
time to organizational and directional functions. In small organization, there is only one layer of middle
level of management but in big enterprises, there may be senior and junior middle level management. Their
role can be emphasized as –
1. They execute the plans of the organization in accordance with the policies and directives of the top
management.
2. They participate in employment & training of lower level management. They make plans for the
sub-units of the organizat
3. They interpret and explain policies from top level management to lower level.
4. They are responsible for coordinating the activities within the division or department.
5. It sends important reports, other important data to top level management. They evaluate
performance of junior managers.
Lower Level Management: Lower level is also known as supervisory / operative level of management. It
consists of supervisors, foreman, section officers, superintendent etc. Supervisory management refers to
those executives whose work has to be largely with personal oversight and direction of operative
employees. Their activities include
1. Assigning of jobs and tasks to various workers. They guide and instruct workers for day to day
activities.
2. They are responsible for the quality as well as quantity of production. They supervise & guide the
sub-ordinates.
3. They are also entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining good relation in the organization.
They motivate workers.
4. They communicate workers problems, suggestions, and recommendatory appeals etc to the higher
level and higher level goals and objectives to the workers. They prepare periodical reports about the
performance of the workers.
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5. They help to solve the grievances of the workers. They are responsible for providing training to the
workers.
6. They arrange necessary materials, machines, tools etc for getting the things done.
FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT
Management has been described as a social process involving responsibility for economical and
effective planning & regulation of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes. It is a
dynamic process consisting of various elements and activities. These activities are different from operative
functions like marketing, finance, purchase etc. Rather these activities are common to each and every
manger irrespective of his level or status. Different experts have classified functions of management.
According to George & Jerry, ―There are four fundamental functions of management i.e. planning,
organizing, actuating and controlling‖. According to Henry Fayol, ―To manage is to forecast and plan, to
organize, to command, & to control‖. Whereas Luther Gullick has given a keyword ‗POSDCORB‘ where
P stands for Planning, O for Organizing, S for Staffing, D for Directing, Co for Co-ordination, R for
reporting & B for Budgeting. But the most widely accepted are functions of management given by
KOONTZ and O‘DONNEL i.e. Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling.
1. Planning: It is the basic function of management. It deals with chalking out a future course of action &
deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined goals.
According to KOONTZ, ―Planning is deciding in advance – what to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges
the gap from where we are & where we want to be‖. It is all pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it
also helps in avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.
2. Organizing: It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and
developing productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational goals. According to
Henry Fayol, To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e. raw
material, tools, capital and personnel‘s. Organizing as a process involves:
Identification of activities, Classification of grouping of activities. Assignment of duties.
Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility. Coordinating authority and responsibility
relationships.
3. Staffing: Staffing has assumed greater importance in the recent years due to advancement of technology,
increase in size of business, complexity of human behavior etc. The main purpose of staffing is to put right
man on right job i.e. square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. Staffing involves:
Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of searching, choose the person and giving
the right place).
Recruitment, selection & placement. Training & development. Remuneration. Performance
appraisal. Promotions & transfer.
4. Directing: It is considered life-spark of the enterprise which sets it in motion the action of people
because planning, organizing and staffing are the mere preparations for doing the work. Direction is that
inert-personnel aspect of management which deals directly with influencing, guiding, supervising,
motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of organizational goals. Supervision overseeing the work of
subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of watching & directing work & workers. Motivation- means
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inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates with zeal to work. Positive, negative. Monetary.
Leadership- a process by which manager guides and influences the work of subordinates in desired
direction. Communications is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person
to another. It is a bridge of understanding.
ROLES OF MANAGER
Henry Mintzberg identified ten different roles, separated into three categories. The categories he defined
are as follows
a) Interpersonal Roles: Involve people and other ceremonial duties. It can be further classified as follows
• Leader – Responsible for staffing, training, and associated duties.
• Figurehead – The symbolic head of the organization.
• Liaison – Maintains the communication between all contacts and informers that compose the
organizational network.
b) Informational Roles: Related to collecting, receiving, and disseminating information.
• Monitor – Personally seek and receive information, to be able to understand the organization.
• Disseminator – Transmits all import information received from outsiders to the members of the
organization.
• Spokesperson – On the contrary to the above role, here the manager transmits the organization‘s
plans, policies and actions to outsiders.
c) Decisional Roles: Roles that revolve around making choices.
• Entrepreneur – Seeks opportunities. Basically they search for change, respond to it, and exploit it.
• Negotiator – Represents the organization at major negotiations.
• Resource Allocator – Makes or approves all significant decisions related to the allocation of
resources.
• Disturbance Handler – Responsible for corrective action when the organization faces disturbances.
Management as a Science
Management is a systematic body of knowledge consists of principles, generalizations, approaches
and concepts to be applied in practical situation. The manager can manage the situation or
organization in a systematic and scientific manner only if he posses the adequate knowledge of
management and its principles.
The principles generalization and concepts of management have been developed and formulated on
the basis of observation research and analysis and experimentation, as is the case with the
principles of other sciences.
Like other sciences management principles are also based on relationship of cause and effect.
Example if workers are paid more, they will produce more.
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Management knowledge and its principles are codified and a systematized and can be transferred
from one manager to another and can be taught.
Management principles are universally applicable to all types of organizations they are generalized
in nature. Forming general guidelines for managers to practice.
Law of science have universal application example; formula for water or law of gravity is
applicable everywhere same in the case with management. Management process has universal
applicability. Example: high motivation leads to high efficiency in employees.
Management as an Art Art means application of knowledge & skill to get the desired results. An art may
be defined as personalized application of general theoretical principles for achieving best possible results.
Art has the following characters –
Practical Knowledge: Every art requires practical knowledge therefore learning of theory is not
sufficient. It is very important to know practical application of theoretical principles.
Personal Skill: Although theoretical base may be same for every artist, but each one has his own
style and approach towards his job. That is why the level of success and quality of performance
differs from one person to another.
Creativity: Every artist has an element of creativity in line. That is why he aims at producing
something that has never existed before which requires combination of intelligence & imagination.
Perfection through practice: Practice makes a man perfect. Goal-Oriented: Every art is result
oriented as it seeks to achieve concrete results.
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Reward Profit Salary
Decision making Intuitive Calculative
Driving force Creativity and Innovation Preserving status quo
Risk orientation Risk taker Risk averse
He advocated a thorough planning of the job by the management and emphasized the necessity of perfect
understanding and co-operation between the management and the workers both for the enlargement of
profits and the use of scientific investigation and knowledge in industrial work. He summed up his
approach in these words:
• Science, not rule of thumb • Maximum output, in place of restricted
• Harmony, not discord output
• Co-operation, not individualism • The development of each man to his greatest
efficiency and prosperity
Elements of Scientific Management:
The techniques which Taylor regarded as its essential elements or features may be classified as under:
1. Scientific Task and Rate-Setting (work study): Work study may be defined as the systematic,
objective and critical examination of all the factors governing the operational efficiency of any specified
activity in order to effect improvement. Work study includes.
Methods Study: The management should try to ensure that the plant is laid out in the best
manner and is equipped with the best tools and machinery. The possibilities of eliminating or
combining certain operations may be studied.
Motion Study: It is a study of the movement, of an operator (or even of a machine) in
performing an operation with the purpose of eliminating useless motions.
Time Study (work measurement): The basic purpose of time study is to determine the proper
time for performing the operation. Such study may be conducted after the motion study. Both
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time study and motion study help in determining the best method of doing a job and the standard
time allowed for it.
Fatigue Study: If, a standard task is set without providing for measures to eliminate fatigue, it
may either be beyond the workers or the workers may over strain themselves to attain it. It is
necessary, therefore, to regulate the working hours and provide for rest pauses at scientifically
determined intervals.
Rate-setting: Taylor recommended the differential piece wage system, under which workers
performing the standard task within prescribed time are paid a much higher rate per unit than
inefficient workers who are not able to come up to the standard set.
2. Planning the Task: Having set the task which an average worker must strive to perform to get wages
at the higher piece-rate, necessary steps have to be taken to plan the production thoroughly so that there
are no bottlenecks and the work goes on systematically.
3. Selection and Training: Scientific Management requires a radical change in the methods and
procedures of selecting workers. It is therefore necessary to entrust the task of selection to a central
personnel department. The procedure of selection will also have to be systematized. Proper attention has
also to be devoted to the training of the workers in the correct methods of work.
5. Specialization: Scientific management will not be complete without the introduction of specialization.
Under this plan, the two functions of 'planning' and 'doing' are separated in the organization of the plant.
The `functional foremen' are specialists who join their heads to give thought to the planning of the
performance of operations in the workshop. Taylor suggested eight functional foremen under his scheme
of functional foremanship.
The Route Clerk: To lay down the sequence of operations and instruct the workers concerned
about it.
The Instruction Card Clerk: To prepare detailed instructions regarding different aspects of work.
The Time and Cost Clerk: To send all information relating to their pay to the workers and to
secure proper returns of work from them.
The Shop Disciplinarian: To deal with cases of breach of discipline and absenteeism.
The Gang Boss: To assemble and set up tools and machines and to teach the workers to make all
their personal motions in the quickest and best way.
The Speed Boss: To ensure that machines are run at their best speeds and proper tools are used by
the workers.
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The Repair Boss: To ensure that each worker keeps his machine in good order and maintains
cleanliness around him and his machines.
The Inspector: To show to the worker how to do the work.
6. Mental Revolution: At present, industry is divided into two groups – management and labour. The
major problem between these two groups is the division of surplus. The management wants the maximum
possible share of the surplus as profit; the workers want, as large share in the form of wages. Taylor has in
mind the enormous gain that arises from higher productivity. Such gains can be shared both by the
management and workers in the form of increased profits and increased wages.
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13. Esprit of Co-operation: Esprit de corps is the foundation of a sound organization. Union is
strength. But unity demands co-operation. Pride, loyalty and sense of belonging are responsible
for good performance.
14. Initiative: Creative thinking and capacity to take initiative can give us sound managerial
planning and execution of predetermined plans.
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was that the workplace is a social system and informal group influence could exert a powerful effect on
individual behavior. A third was that the style of supervision is an important factor in increasing workers'
job satisfaction.
(ii) Behavioral Science: Behavioral science and the study of organizational behavior emerged in the
1950s and 1960s. The behavioral science approach was a natural progression of the human relations
movement. It focused on applying conceptual and analytical tools to the problem of understanding and
predicting behavior in the workplace.
The behavioral science approach has contributed to the study of management through its focus on
personality, attitudes, values, motivation, group behavior, leadership, communication, and conflict, among
other issues.
d) SYSTEMS APPROACH:
The systems approach focuses on understanding the organization as an open system that transforms
inputs into outputs. The systems approach began to have a strong impact on management thought in the
1960s as a way of thinking about managing techniques that would allow managers to relate different
specialties and parts of the company to one another, as well as to external environmental factors. The
systems approach focuses on the organization as a whole, its interaction with the environment, and its
need to achieve equilibrium
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e) CONTINGENCY APPROACH:
The contingency approach focuses on applying management principles and processes as dictated by the
unique characteristics of each situation. It emphasizes that there is no one best way to manage and that it
depends on various situational factors, such as the external environment, technology, organizational
characteristics, characteristics of the manager, and characteristics of the subordinates. Contingency
theorists often implicitly or explicitly criticize the classical approach for its emphasis on the universality
of management principles; however, most classical writers recognized the need to consider aspects of the
situation when applying management principles.
Approaches B Dates Emphasis
CLASSICAL APPROACH
Scientific 1880s Traditional rules of thumb are replaced by precise procedures
developed after careful study of an individual at work
Administrative 1940s Given ideas about the primary functions of management and 14
principles of an administration
Bureaucratic 1920s Replaces traditional leadership and charismatic leadership with legal
leadership
BEHAVIORAL APPROACH
HRelations 1930s workers' attitudes are associated with productivity
B Science 1950s Gives idea to understand human behavior in the organization
QUANTITATIVE APPROACH
OR 1940s Uses mathematical and statistical approaches to solve management
problems.
POM 1940s This approach focuses on the operation and control of the production
process that transforms resources into finished goods and services
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Systems 1950s Considers the organization as a systems that transforms inputs into
outputs while in interaction with its environment
Contingency 1960s Applies management principles and processes as dictated by the unique
characteristics of each situation.
a) Sole Proprietorships: The vast majority of small business starts out as sole proprietorships . . . very
dangerous. These firms are owned by one person, usually the individual who has day-to-day responsibility
for running the business. Sole proprietors own all the assets of the business and the profits generated by it.
They also assume "complete personal" responsibility for all of its liabilities or debts. In the eyes of the
law, you are one in the same with the business.
Merits:
• Easiest and least expensive form of ownership to organize.
• Sole proprietors are in complete control, within the law, to make all decisions.
• Sole proprietors receive all income generated by the business to keep or reinvest.
• Profits from the business flow-through directly to the owner's personal tax return.
• The business is easy to dissolve, if desired.
Demerits:
• Unlimited liability and are legally responsible for all debts against the business.
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• Their business and personal assets are 100% at risk.
• Has almost been ability to raise investment funds.
• Are limited to using funds from personal savings or consumer loans.
b) Partnerships: In a Partnership, two or more people share ownership of a single business. Like
proprietorships, the law does not distinguish between the business and its owners. The Partners should
have a legal agreement that sets forth how decisions will be made, profits will be shared, disputes will be
resolved, how future partners will be admitted to the partnership, how partners can be bought out, or what
steps will be taken to dissolve the partnership when needed. They also must decide up front how much
time and capital each will contribute, etc.
Merits:
• Partnerships are relatively easy to establish; however time should be invested in developing the
partnership agreement.
• With more than one owner, the ability to raise funds may be increased.
• The profits from the business flow directly through to the partners' personal taxes.
• Prospective employees may be attracted to the business if given the incentive to become a partner.
Demerits:
• Partners are jointly and individually liable for the actions of the other partners.
• Profits must be shared with others.
• Since decisions are shared, disagreements can occur.
• Some employee benefits are not deductible from business income on tax returns.
• The partnerships have a limited life; it may end upon a partner withdrawal or death.
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d) Joint Stock Company:
Limited financial resources & heavy burden of risk involved in both of the previous forms of
organization has led to the formation of joint stock companies these have limited dilutives. The capital is
raised by selling shares of different values. Persons who purchase the shares are called shareholder. The
managing body known as; Board of Directors; is responsible for policy making important financial &
technical decisions. There are two main types of joint stock Companies.
(i) Private limited company: This type company can be formed by two or more persons. The maximum
number of member ship is limited to 50. In this transfer of shares is limited to members only. The
government also does not interfere in the working of the company.
(ii) Public Limited Company: It is one whose membership is open to general public. The minimum
number required to form such company is seven, but there is no upper limit. Such companies can advertise
to offer its share to genera public through a prospectus. These public limited companies are subjected to
greater control & supervision of control.
Merits:
• The liability being limited the shareholder bear no Rick& therefore more as make persons are
encouraged to invest capital.
• Because of large numbers of investors, the risk of loss is divided.
• Joint stock companies are not affected by the death or the retirement of the shareholders.
Disadvantages:
• It is difficult to preserve secrecy in these companies.
• It requires a large number of legal formalities to be observed.
• Lack of personal interest.
e) Public Corporations: A public corporation is wholly owned by the Government centre to state. It is
established usually by a Special Act of the parliament. Special statute also prescribes its management
pattern power duties & jurisdictions. Though the total capital is provided by the Government, they have
separate entity & enjoy independence in matters related to appointments, promotions etc.
Merits:
• These are expected to provide better working conditions to the employees & supported to be better
managed.
• Quick decisions can be possible, because of absence of bureaucratic control.
• More flexibility as compared to departmental organization.
• Since the management is in the hands of experienced & capable directors & managers, these ate
managed more efficiently than that of government departments.
Demerits:
• Any alteration in the power & Constitution of Corporation requires an amendment in the particular
Act, which is difficult & time consuming.
• Public Corporations possess monopoly & in the absence of competition, these are not interested in
adopting new techniques & in making improvement in their working.
f) Government Companies: A state enterprise can also be organized in the form of a Joint stock
company; A government company is any company in which of the share capital is held by the central
government or partly by central government & party by one to more state governments. It is managed by
the elected board of directors which may include private individuals. These are accountable for its
working to the concerned ministry or department & its annual report is required to be placed ever year on
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the table of the parliament or state legislatures along with the comments of the government to concerned
department.
Merits:
• It is easy to form.
• The directors of a government company are free to take decisions & are not bound by certain rigid
rules & regulations.
Demerits:
• Misuse of excessive freedom cannot be ruled out.
• The directors are appointed by the government so they spend more time in pleasing their political
masters & top government officials, which results in inefficient management.
Organizational culture is the shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that
influence the way organizational members act. This implies:
Individuals perceive organizational culture based on what they see, hear, or experience within the
organization.
Organizational culture is shared by individuals within the organization.
Organizational culture is a descriptive term. It describes, rather than evaluates.
Seven dimensions of an organization‘s culture have been proposed
Innovation and risk taking (the degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and
take risks)
Attention to detail (the degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and
attention to detail)
Outcome orientation (degree to which managers focus on results rather than techniques and
processes used to achieve those outcomes)
People orientation (the degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect on
people within the organization)
Team orientation (the degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than
individuals)
Aggressiveness (the degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing
and cooperative)
Stability (the degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in
contrast to growth)
i) Resources: A good starting point to identify company resources is to look at tangible, intangible and
human resources. Tangible resources are the easiest to identify and evaluate: financial resources and
physical assets are identifies and valued in the firm‗s financial statements.
Intangible resources are largely invisible, but over time become more important to the firm than
tangible assets because they can be a main source for a competitive advantage. Such intangible recourses
include reputational assets (brands, image, etc.) and technological assets
(Proprietary technology and know-how).
Human resources or human capital are the productive services human beings offer the firm in terms of
their skills, knowledge, reasoning, and decision-making abilities.
ii) Capabilities: Resources are not productive on their own. The most productive tasks require that
resources collaborate closely together within teams. The term organizational capabilities are used to refer
to a firm‗s capacity for undertaking a particular productive activity. Our interest is not in capabilities per
se, but in capabilities relative to other firms. To identify the firm‗s capabilities we will use the functional
classification approach. A functional classification identifies organizational capabilities in relation to each
of the principal functional areas.
iii) Culture: It is the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an
organization and that helps in achieving the organizational goals.
i) Shareholders: Any person or company that owns at least one share (a percentage of ownership) in a
company is known as shareholder. A shareholder may also be referred to as a "stockholder". As
organization requires greater inward investment for growth they face increasing pressure to move from
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private ownership to public. However this movement unleashes the forces of shareholder pressure on the
strategy of organizations.
ii) Suppliers: An individual or an organization involved in the process of making a product or service
available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user is known as supplier. Increase in raw
material prices will have a knock on affect on the marketing mix strategy of an organization. Prices may
be forced up as a result. A closer supplier relationship is one way of ensuring competitive and quality
products for an organization.
iii) Distributors: Entity that buys non-competing products or product-lines, warehouses them, and resells
them to retailers or direct to the end users or customers is known as distributor. Most distributors provide
strong manpower and cash support to the supplier or manufacturer's promotional efforts. They usually also
provide a range of services (such as product information, estimates, technical support, after-sales services,
credit) to their customers. Often getting products to the end customers can be a major issue for firms. The
distributors used will determine the final price of the product and how it is presented to the end customer.
W hen selling via retailers, for example, the retailer has control over where the products are displayed,
how they are priced and how much they are promoted in-store. You can also gain a competitive advantage
by using changing distribution channels.
iv) Customers: A person, company, or other entity which buys goods and services produced by another
person, company, or other entity is known as customer. Organizations survive on the basis of meeting the
needs, wants and providing benefits for their customers. Failure to do so will result in a failed business
strategy.
v) Competitors: A company in the same industry or a similar industry which offers a similar product or
service is known as competitor. The presence of one or more competitors can reduce the prices of goods
and services as the companies attempt to gain a larger market share. Competition also requires companies
to become more efficient in order to reduce costs. Fast-food restaurants McDonald's and Burger King are
competitors, as are Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and W al-Mart and Target.
vi) Media: Positive or adverse media attention on an organisations product or service can in some cases
make or break an organisation.. Consumer programmes with a wider and more direct audience can also
have a very powerful and positive impact, hforcing organisations to change their tactics.
The macro environment consists of forces that originate outside of an organization and generally
cannot be altered by actions of the organization. In other words, a firm may be influenced by changes
within this element of its environment, but cannot itself influence the environment. The curved lines in
Figure 1 indicate the indirect influence of the environment on the organization.
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Macro environment includes political, economic, social and technological factors. A firm
considers these as part of its environmental scanning to better understand the threats and opportunities
created by the variables and how strategic plans need to be adjusted so the firm can obtain and retain
competitive advantage.
i) Political Factors: Political factors include government regulations and legal issues and define both
formal and informal rules under which the firm must operate. Some examples include:
• tax policy • trade restrictions and tariffs
• employment laws • political stability
• environmental regulations
ii) Economic Factors: Economic factors affect the purchasing power of potential customers and the firm's
cost of capital. The following are examples of factors in the macro economy:
• economic growth • exchange rates
• interest rates • inflation rate
iii) Social Factors: Social factors include the demographic and cultural aspects of the external macro
environment. These factors affect customer needs and the size of potential markets. Some social
factors include:
• health consciousness • career attitudes
• population growth rate • emphasis on safety
• age distribution
iv) Technological Factors: Technological factors can lower barriers to entry, reduce minimum efficient
production levels, and influence outsourcing decisions. Some technological factors include:
• R&D activity • technology incentives
• automation • rate of technological change
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(1) The degree of change in an organization’s environment: Degree of change is characterized as
being dynamic or stable. In a dynamic environment, components of the environment change frequently. If
change is minimal, the environment is called a stable environment.
(2) The degree of complexity in that environment: The degree of environmental complexity is the
number of components in an organization‘s environment and the extent of an organization‘s knowledge
about those components. If the number of components and the need for sophisticated knowledge is
minimal, the environment is classified as simple. If a number of dissimilar components and a high need
for sophisticated knowledge exist, the environment is complex. As uncertainty is a threat to organizational
effectiveness, managers try to minimize environmental uncertainty
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According to Koontz O'Donnel - "Planning is an intellectual process, the conscious determination of courses
of action, the basing of decisions on purpose, acts and considered estimates".
Nature of Planning
1. Planning is goal-oriented: Every plan must contribute in some positive way towards the accomplishment
of group objectives. Planning has no meaning without being related to goals.
2. Primacy of Planning: Planning is the first of the managerial functions. It precedes all other management
functions.
3. Pervasiveness of Planning: Planning is found at all levels of management. Top management looks after
strategic planning. Middle management is in charge of administrative planning. Lower management has to
concentrate on operational planning.
4. Efficiency, Economy and Accuracy: Efficiency of plan is measured by its contribution to the objectives as
economically as possible. Planning also focuses on accurate forecasts.
5. Co-ordination: co-ordinates the what, who, how, where and why of planning. Without co-ordination of all
activities, we cannot have united efforts.
6. Limiting Factors: A planner must recognize the limiting factors (money, manpower etc) and formulate
plans in the light of these critical factors.
7. Flexibility: The process of planning should be adaptable to changing environmental conditions.
8. Planning is an intellectual process: The quality of planning will vary according to the quality of the mind
of the manager.
Purpose of Planning
1. To manage by objectives: All the activities of an organization are designed to achieve certain specified
objectives. However, planning makes the objectives more concrete by focusing attention on them.
2. To offset uncertainty and change: Future is always full of uncertainties and changes. It foresees the
future & makes necessary provisions for it.
3. To secure economy in operation: The selection of most profitable course of action that would lead to the
best result at the minimum costs.
4. To help in co-ordination: Co-ordination is, indeed, the essence of management, the planning is the base
of it. Without planning it is not possible to co-ordinate the different activities of an organization.
5. To make control effective: The controlling function of management relates to the comparison of the
planned performance with the actual performance. In the absence of plans, a management will have no
standards for controlling other's performance.
6. To increase organizational effectiveness: Mere efficiency in the organization is not important; it should
also lead to productivity and effectiveness. Planning enables the manager to measure the organizational
effectiveness in the context of the stated objectives and take further actions in this direction.
Features of Planning
• It is primary function of management. • It is a continuous process
• It is an intellectual process • It is a pervasive function
• Focuses on determining the objectives
• Involves choice and decision making
PLANNING PROCESS
a) Perception of Opportunities: Is not strictly a planning process. However, this awareness is very important
for planning process be-cause it leads to formulation of plans by providing clue whether opportunities exist
for taking up particular plans. From this point of view, it can be considered are the beginning of planning
process. Perception of opportunities includes a preliminary look at possible opportunities and the ability to see
them clearly and completely, knowledge of where the organization stands in the light of its strengths and
weaknesses, an understanding of why the organization wants to solve uncertainties, and a vision of what it
expects to gain.
b) Establishing Objectives: The first and primary step in planning process is the establishment of planning
objectives or goals. Definite objectives, in fact, speak categorically about what is to be done, where to place
the initial emphasis and the things to be accomplished by the network of policies, procedures, budgets and
programmes, the lack of which would invariably result in either faulty or ineffective planning.
c) Considering the Planning Premises: Planning premises are assumptions about the future understanding of
the expected situations. These are the conditions under which planning activities are to be undertaken. These
premises may be internal or external. Internal premises are internal variables that affect the planning. These
include organizational polices, various resources and the ability of the organization to withstand the
environmental pressure. External premises include all factors in task environment like political, social
technological, competitors’ plans and actions, government policies, market conditions. Both internal factors
should be considered in formulating plans. At the top level mainly external premises are considered. As one
moves downward, internal premises gain importance.
d) Identification of alternatives: Once the organizational objectives have been clearly stated and the
planning premises have been developed, the manager should list as many available alternatives as possible for
reaching those objectives. For instance, to achieve the objectives of securing desired profits, necessary plant
and machinery should be established in the organization. The machinery can be of different types like:
Manual plant, Semi automatic plant, complete automatic plant. While developing the alternatives,
organizational frame work like constraint of capital, manpower and philosophies may be taken into account.
f) Choice of alternative plans: After the evaluation of various alternatives the fit one is selected. Sometimes
evaluation shows that more than one alternative is equally good. In such a case, a planner may choose more
than one alternative. There is another reason for choosing more than one alternative. Alternative course of
action is to be undertaken in future, which is not constant. A course of action chosen keeping in view the
various planning premises may not be the best one if there is change in planning premises. Therefore, planner
must be ready with alternative, normally known as contingency plan, which can be implemented in changed
situations.
g) Formulating of Supporting Plans: After formulating the basic plan, various plans are derived so as to
support the major plan. In an organization there can be various derivative plans like planning for buying
equipments, buying raw materials, recruiting and training personnel, developing new product, etc. These
derivative plans are formulated out of the main plan and, therefore, they support it.
h) Establishing sequence of activities: After formulating basic and derivative plans, the sequence of
activities is determined so that plans are put into action. Based on plans at various levels, it can be decided
who will do what and at what time. Budgets for various periods can be prepared to give plan more concrete
meaning or implementation.
b) Tactical plans: A tactical plan is concerned with what the lower level units within each division must do,
how they must do it, and who is in charge at each level. Tactics are the means needed to activate a strategy
and make it work. They are concerned with shorter time frames and narrower scopes than are strategic plans.
These plans usually span one year or less because they are considered short-term goals. Long-term goals, on
the other hand, can take several years or more to accomplish. Normally, it is the middle manager's
responsibility to take the broad strategic plan and identify specific tactical actions.
c) Operational plans: The specific results expected from departments, work groups, and individuals are the
operational goals. These goals are precise and measurable. ―Process 150 sales applications each week‖ or
―Publish 20 books this quarter‖ are examples of operational goals.
An operational plan is one that a manager uses to accomplish his or her job responsibilities. Supervisors, team
leaders, and facilitators develop operational plans to support tactical plans (see the next section). Operational
plans can be a single-use plan or a standing plan.
Single-use plans apply to activities that do not recur or repeat. A one-time occurrence, such as a
special sales program, is a single-use plan because it deals with the who, what, where, how, and how
much of an activity.
¬ Programme: Programme consists of an ordered list of events to be followed to execute a project.
¬ Budget: A budget predicts sources and amounts of income and how much they are used for a
specific project.
Standing plans are usually made once and retain their value over a period of years while undergoing
periodic revisions and updates. The following are examples of ongoing plans:
¬ Policy: Provides a broad guideline for managers to follow when dealing with important areas of
decision making. Policies are general statements that explain how a manager should attempt to
handle routine management responsibilities. Typical human resources policies, for example,
address such matters as employee hiring, terminations, performance appraisals, pay increases, and
discipline.
¬ Rule: Is an explicit statement that tells an employee what he or she can and cannot do. Rules are
―do‖ and ―don't‖ statements put into place to promote the safety of employees and the uniform
treatment and behavior of employees. For example, rules about absenteeism.
¬ Procedure: A procedure is a set of step-by-step directions that explains how activities or tasks are
to be carried out. Most organizations have procedures for purchasing supplies and equipment, for
example. This procedure usually begins with a supervisor completing a purchasing requisition. The
d) Contingency plans: Intelligent and successful management depends upon a constant pursuit of adaptation,
flexibility, and mastery of changing conditions. Strong management requires a ―keeping all options open‖
approach at all times — that's where contingency planning comes in. Contingency planning involves
identifying alternative courses of action that can be implemented if and when the original plan proves
inadequate because of changing circumstances. Keep in mind that events beyond a manager's control may
cause even the most carefully prepared alternative future scenarios to go awry. Unexpected problems and
events frequently occur. When they do, managers may need to change their plans. Anticipating change during
the planning process is best in case things don't go as expected. Management can then develop alternatives to
the existing plan and ready them for use when and if circumstances make these alternatives appropriate.
OBJECTIVES
Objectives may be defined as the goals which an organization tries to achieve. Objectives are
described as the end- points of planning. According to Koontz and O'Donnell, "an objective is a term
commonly used to indicate the end point of a management programme." Objectives constitute the purpose of
the enterprise and without them no intelligent planning can take place.
Features of Objectives
• The objectives must be predetermined. • All objectives are interconnected and
• clearly defined provides clear direction for mutually supportive.
managerial effort • Objectives may be short-range, medium-
• Objectives must be realistic. range long-range.
• Objectives must be measurable. • Objectives may be constructed into a
• Objectives must have social sanction. hierarchy.
Advantages of Objectives
• Clear definition of objectives encourages unified planning.
• Objectives provide motivation to people in the organization.
• When the work is goal-oriented, unproductive tasks can be avoided.
• Objectives provide standards which aid in the control of human efforts in an organization.
• Objectives serve to identify the organization and to link it to the groups upon which its existence
depends.
• Objectives act as a sound basis for developing administrative controls.
• Contribute to the management process: they influence the purpose of the orgn, policies, personnel,
leadership as well as managerial control.
Process of Setting Objectives: Objectives are the keystone of management planning. It is the most important
task of management. Objectives are required to be set in every area which directly and vitally effects the
survival and prosperity of the business. In the setting of objectives, the following points should be borne in
mind.
• Objectives are required to be set by management in every area which directly and vitally affects the
survival and prosperity of the business.
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• The objectives to be set in various areas have to be identified.
• the past performance must be reviewed, since past performance indicates what the organization will be
able to accomplish in future.
• The objectives should be set in realistic terms i.e., the objectives to be set should be reasonable and
capable of attainment.
• Objectives must be consistent with one and other.
• Objectives must be set in clear-cut terms.
• For the successful accomplishment of the objectives, there should be effective communication.
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES (MBO) MBO was first popularized by Peter Drucker in 1954 in his
book 'The practice of Management’.
Definition: ―MBO is a process whereby the superior and the mangers of an organization jointly identify its
common goals, define each individual’s major area of responsibility in terms of results expected of him, and
use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each of its members.‖
Features of MBO
1. MBO is concerned with goal setting and planning for individual managers and their units.
2. The essence of MBO is a process of joint goal setting between a supervisor and a subordinate.
3. Managers work with their subordinates to establish the performance goals that are consistent with their
higher organizational objectives.
4. MBO focuses attention on appropriate goals and plans.
5. MBO facilitates control through the periodic development and subsequent evaluation of individual
goals and plans.
Steps in MBO:
1) Setting objectives: To be effective, individual managers must understand the specific objectives of their
job and how those objectives fit in with the overall company objectives set by the board of directors. The
managers of the various units or sub-units, or sections of an organization should know not only the objectives
of their unit but should also actively participate in setting these objectives and make responsibility for them.
MBO systems, objectives are written down for each level of the organization, and individuals are given
specific aims and targets.
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2) Developing action plans: Actions plans specify the actions needed to address each of the top
organizational issues and to reach each of the associated goals, who will complete each action and according
to what timeline. An overall, top-level action plan that depicts how each strategic goal will be reached is
developed by the top level management. The format of the action plan depends on the objective of the
organization.
3) Reviewing Progress: Performance is measured in terms of results. Job performance is the net effect of an
employee's effort as modified by abilities, role perceptions & results produced. Effort refers to the amount
of energy an employee uses in performing a job. Abilities are personal characteristics used in performing a
job and usually do not fluctuate widely over short periods of time. Role perception refers to direction in
which employees believe they should channel their efforts on their jobs, & they are defined by the activities
& behaviors they believe are necessary.
4) Performance appraisal: Performance appraisals communicate to employees how they are performing
their jobs, and they establish a plan for improvement. Performance appraisals are extremely important to
both employee and employer, as they are often used to provide predictive information related to possible
promotion. Appraisals can also provide input for determining both individual and organizational training
and development needs. Performance appraisals encourage performance improvement.
Advantages
• Motivation – Involving employees in the whole process of goal setting and increasing employee
empowerment.
• Better communication and Coordination – Frequent reviews and interactions between superiors and
subordinates Clarity of goals
• Subordinates have a higher commitment to objectives they set themselves than those imposed on them
by another person.
• Managers can ensure that objectives of the subordinates are linked to the organization's objectives.
Limitations: There are several limitations to the assumptive base underlying the impact of managing by
objectives, including:
• It over-emphasizes the setting of goals over the working of a plan as a driver of outcomes.
• It underemphasizes the importance of the environment or context in which the goals are set. That
context includes everything from the availability and quality of resources, to relative buy-in by
leadership and stake-holders.
• Companies evaluated their employees by comparing them with the "ideal" employee. Trait appraisal
only looks at what employees should be, not at what they should do.
• When this approach is not properly set, agreed and managed by organizations, self-centered employees
might be prone to distort results, falsely representing achievement of targets that were set in a short-term,
narrow fashion. In this case, managing by objectives would be counterproductive.
STRATEGIES:
According to Koontz and O' Donnell, "Strategies must often denote a general programme of action
and deployment of emphasis and resources to attain comprehensive objectives". Strategies are plans made in
the light of the plans of the competitors because a modern business institution operates in a competitive
environment. They are a useful framework for guiding enterprise thinking and action.
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Characteristics of Strategy
• It is the right combination of different factors.
• It relates the business organization to the environment.
• It is an action to meet a particular challenge, to solve particular problems or to attain desired
objectives.
• Strategy is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
• It is formulated at the top management level.
• It involves assumption of certain calculated risks.
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strategy is timing. Even the best product may fail if it is introduced to the market at an inappropriate
time.
10. Consistency Testing and Contingency Planning: The last key aspect of the strategic planning
process is the testing for consistency and preparing for contingency plans.
TYPES OF STRATEGIES
According to Michel Porter, the strategies can be classified into three types. They are
a) Cost leadership strategy
b) Differentiation strategy
c) Focus strategy
The following table illustrates Porter's generic strategies:
a) Cost Leadership Strategy: This generic strategy calls for being the low cost producer in an industry for
a given level of quality. The firm sells its products either at average industry prices to earn a profit higher
than that of rivals, or below the average industry prices to gain market share. In the event of a price war, the
firm can maintain some profitability while the competition suffers losses. Even without a price war, as the
industry matures and prices decline, the firms that can produce more cheaply will remain profitable for a
longer period of time. The cost leadership strategy usually targets a broad market. Some of the ways that
firms acquire cost advantages are by improving process efficiencies, gaining unique access to a large source
of lower cost materials, making optimal outsourcing and vertical integration decisions. If competing firms
are unable to lower their costs by a similar amount, the firm may be able to sustain a competitive advantage
based on cost leadership.
Firms that succeed in cost leadership often have the following internal strengths:
• Access to the capital required to make a significant investment in production assets; this investment
represents a barrier to entry that many firms may not overcome.
• Skill in designing products for efficient manufacturing, for example, having a small component
count to shorten the assembly process.
• High level of expertise in manufacturing process engineering.
• Efficient distribution channels.
Each generic strategy has its risks, including the low-cost strategy. For example, other firms may be able to
lower their costs as well. As technology improves, the competition may be able to leapfrog the production
capabilities, thus eliminating the competitive advantage. Additionally, several firms following a focus
strategy and targeting various narrow markets may be able to achieve an even lower cost within their
segments and as a group gain significant market share.
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b) Differentiation Strategy: A differentiation strategy calls for the development of a product or service that
offers unique attributes that are valued by customers and that customers perceive to be better than or
different from the products of the competition. The value added by the uniqueness of the product may allow
the firm to charge a premium price for it. The firm hopes that the higher price will more than cover the extra
costs incurred in offering the unique product. Because of the product's unique attributes, if suppliers
increase their prices the firm may be able to pass along the costs to its customers who cannot find substitute
products easily.
Firms that succeed in a differentiation strategy often have the following internal strengths:
• Access to leading scientific research.
• Highly skilled and creative product development team.
• Strong sales team with the ability to successfully communicate the perceived strengths of the
product.
• Corporate reputation for quality and innovation.
The risks associated with a differentiation strategy include imitation by competitors and changes in
customer tastes. Additionally, various firms pursuing focus strategies may be able to achieve even greater
differentiation in their market segments.
c) Focus Strategy: The focus strategy concentrates on a narrow segment and within that segment attempts
to achieve either a cost advantage or differentiation. The premise is that the needs of the group can be better
serviced by focusing entirely on it. A firm using a focus strategy often enjoys a high degree of customer
loyalty, and this entrenched loyalty discourages other firms from competing directly.
Because of their narrow market focus, firms pursuing a focus strategy have lower volumes and therefore
less bargaining power with their suppliers. However, firms pursuing a differentiation-focused strategy may
be able to pass higher costs on to customers since close substitute products do not exist.
Firms that succeed in a focus strategy are able to tailor a broad range of product development strengths to a
relatively narrow market segment that they know very well.
Some risks of focus strategies include imitation and changes in the target segments. Furthermore, it may be
fairly easy for a broad-market cost leader to adapt its product in order to compete directly. Finally, other
focusers may be able to carve out sub-segments that they can serve even better.
A Combination of Generic Strategies: These generic strategies are not necessarily compatible with one
another. If a firm attempts to achieve an advantage on all fronts, in this attempt it may achieve no advantage
at all. For example, if a firm differentiates itself by supplying very high quality products, it risks
undermining that quality if it seeks to become a cost leader. Even if the quality did not suffer, the firm
would risk projecting a confusing image. For this reason, Michael Porter argued that to be successful over
the long-term, a firm must select only one of these three generic strategies. Otherwise, with more than one
single generic strategy the firm will be "stuck in the middle" and will not achieve a competitive advantage.
Porter argued that firms that are able to succeed at multiple strategies often do so by creating separate
business units for each strategy. By separating the strategies into different units having different policies and
even different cultures, a corporation is less likely to become "stuck in the middle."
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However, there exists a viewpoint that a single generic strategy is not always best because within the same
product customers often seek multi-dimensional satisfactions such as a combination of quality, style,
convenience, and price. There have been cases in which high quality producers faithfully followed a single
strategy and then suffered greatly when another firm entered the market with a lower-quality product that
better met the overall needs of the customers.
POLICIES
Policies are general statements or understandings that guide managers’ thinking in decision making.
They usually do not require action but are intended to guide managers in their commitment to the decision
they ultimately make.
The first step in the process of policy formulation, as shown in the diagram below, is to capture the values or
principles that will guide the rest of the process and form the basis on which to produce a statement of
issues. The statement of issues involves identifying the opportunities and constraints affecting the local
housing market, and is to be produced by thoroughly analyzing the housing market. The kit provides the
user with access to a housing data base to facilitate this analysis.
The statement of issues will provide the basis for the formulation of a set of housing goals and objectives,
designed to address the problems identified and to exploit the opportunities which present themselves.
The next step is to identify and analyze the various policy options which can be applied to achieve the set of
goals and objectives. The options available to each local government will depend on local circumstances as
much as the broader context and each local authority will have to develop its own unique approach to
addressing the housing needs of its residents.
An implementation program for realizing the policy recommendations must then be prepared, addressing
budgetary and programming requirements, and allocating roles and responsibilities. Finally, the
implementation of the housing strategy needs to be systematically monitored and evaluated against the
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stated goals and objectives, and the various components of the strategy modified or strengthened, as
required.
At each step of the way, each component of the strategy needs to be discussed and debated, and a public
consultation process engaged in. The extent of consultation and the participants involved will vary with each
step.
Importance of Policies
Policies are useful for the following reasons:
• They provide guides to thinking and action and provide support to the subordinates.
• They delimit the area within which a decision is to be made.
• They save time and effort by pre-deciding problems and
• They permit delegation of authority to mangers at the lower levels.
DECISION MAKING
The word decision has been derived from the Latin word "decidere" which means "cutting off".
Thus, decision involves cutting off of alternatives between those that are desirable and those that are not
desirable. In the words of George R. Terry, "Decision-making is the selection based on some criteria from
two or more possible alternatives".
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TYPES OF DECISIONS
a) Programmed and Non-Programmed Decisions: Herbert Simon has grouped organizational decisions
into two categories based on the procedure followed. They are:
i) Programmed decisions: Programmed decisions are routine and repetitive and are made within
the framework of organizational policies and rules. These policies and rules are established well in
advance to solve recurring problems in the organization. Programmed decisions have short-run
impact. They are, generally, taken at the lower level of management.
ii) Non-Programmed Decisions: Non-programmed decisions are decisions taken to meet non-
repetitive problems. Non-programmed decisions are relevant for solving unique/ unusual problems
in which various alternatives cannot be decided in advance. A common feature of non-programmed
decisions is that they are novel and non-recurring and therefore, readymade solutions are not
available. Since these decisions are of high importance and have long-term consequences, they are
made by top level management.
b) Strategic and Tactical Decisions: Organizational decisions may also be classified as strategic or
tactical.
i) Strategic Decisions: Basic decisions or strategic decisions are decisions which are of crucial
importance. Strategic decisions a major choice of actions concerning allocation of resources and
contribution to the achievement of organizational objectives. Decisions like plant location, product
diversification, entering into new markets, selection of channels of distribution, capital expenditure
etc are examples of basic or strategic decisions.
ii) Tactical Decisions: Routine decisions or tactical decisions are decisions which are routine and
repetitive. They are derived out of strategic decisions. The various features of a tactical decision are
as follows:
• Tactical decision relates to day-to-day operation of the organization and has to be taken very
frequently.
• Tactical decision is mostly a programmed one. Therefore, the decision can be made within
the context of these variables.
• The outcome of tactical decision is of short-term nature and affects a narrow part of the
organization.
• The authority for making tactical decisions can be delegated to lower level managers
because: first, the impact of tactical decision is narrow and of short-term nature and Second,
by delegating authority for such decisions to lower-level managers, higher level managers are
free to devote more time on strategic decisions.
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1. Specific Objective: The need for decision making arises in order to achieve certain specific objectives.
The starting point in any analysis of decision making involves the determination of whether a decision needs
to be made.
2. Problem Identification: A problem is a felt need, a question which needs a solution. In the words of
Joseph L Massie "A good decision is dependent upon the recognition of the right problem". The objective of
problem identification is that if the problem is precisely and specifically identifies, it will provide a clue in
finding a possible solution. A problem can be identified clearly, if managers go through diagnosis and
analysis of the problem.
Diagnosis: Diagnosis is the process of identifying a problem from its signs and symptoms. A
symptom is a condition or set of conditions that indicates the existence of a problem. Diagnosing the
real problem implies knowing the gap between what is and what ought to be, identifying the reasons
for the gap and understanding the problem in relation to higher objectives of the organization.
3. Search for Alternatives: A problem can be solved in several ways; however, all the ways cannot be
equally satisfying. Therefore, the decision maker must try to find out the various alternatives available in
order to get the most satisfactory result of a decision. A decision maker can use several sources for
identifying alternatives:
• His own past experiences
• Practices followed by others and
• Using creative techniques.
4. Evaluation of Alternatives: After the various alternatives are identified, the next step is to evaluate them
and select the one that will meet the choice criteria. /the decision maker must check proposed alternatives
against limits, and if an alternative does not meet them, he can discard it. Having narrowed down the
alternatives which require serious consideration, the decision maker will go for evaluating how each
alternative may contribute towards the objective supposed to be achieved by implementing the decision.
5. Choice of Alternative: The evaluation of various alternatives presents a clear picture as to how each one
of them contribute to the objectives under question. A comparison is made among the likely outcomes of
various alternatives and the best one is chosen.
6. Action: Once the alternative is selected, it is put into action. The actual process of decision making ends
with the choice of an alternative through which the objectives can be achieved.
7. Results: When the decision is put into action, it brings certain results. These results must correspond
with objectives, the starting point of decision process, if good decision has been made and implemented
properly. Thus, results provide indication whether decision making and its implementation is proper.
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Characteristics of Effective Decisions
An effective decision is one which should contain three aspects. These aspects are given below:
• Action Orientation: Decisions are action-oriented and are directed towards relevant and controllable
aspects of the environment. Decisions should ultimately find their utility in implementation.
• Goal Direction: Decision making should be goal-directed to enable the organization to meet its
objectives.
• Effective in Implementation: Decision making should take into account all the possible factors not
only in terms of external context but also in internal context so that a decision can be implemented
properly.
RATIONAL DECISION MAKING MODEL: The Rational Decision Making Model is a model which
emerges from Organizational Behavior. The process is one that is logical and follows the orderly path from
problem identification through solution. It provides a structured and sequenced approach to decision
making. Using such an approach can help to ensure discipline and consistency is built into your decision
making process.
The conditions for making decisions can be divided into three types. Namely
a) Certainty,
b) Uncertainty and
c) Risk.
Virtually all decisions are made in an environment to at least some uncertainty However; the degree
will vary from relative certainty to great uncertainty. There are certain risks involved in making decisions.
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a) Certainty: In a situation involving certainty, people are reasonably sure about what will happen when
they make a decision. The information is available and is considered to be reliable, and the cause and effect
relationships are known.
b) Uncertainty: In a situation of uncertainty, on the other hand, people have only a meager database, they
do not know whether or not the data are reliable, and they are very unsure about whether or not the situation
may change. Moreover, they cannot evaluate the interactions of the different variables. For example, a
corporation that decides to expand its Operation to an unfamiliar country may know little about the country,
culture, laws, economic environment, and politics. The political situation may be volatile that even experts
cannot predict a possible change in government.
c) Risk: In a situation with risks, factual information may exist, but it may be incomplete. 1o improve
decision making One may estimate the objective probability of an outcome by using, for example,
mathematical models On the other hand, subjective probability, based on judgment and experience may be
used. All intelligent decision makers dealing with uncertainty like to know the degree and nature of the risk
they are taking in choosing a course of action. One of the deficiencies in using the traditional approaches of
operations research for problem solving is that many of the data used in model are merely estimates and
others are based on probabilities. The ordinary practice is to have staff specialists conic up with best
estimates.
Virtually every decision is based on the interaction of a number of important variables, many of
which has an element of uncertainty but, perhaps, a fairly high degree of probability. Thus, the wisdom of
launching a new product might depend on a number of critical variables: the cost of introducing the product,
the cost of producing it, the capital investment that will he required, the price that can be set for the product,
the size of the potential market, and the share of the total market that it will represent.
PLANNING PREMISES
According to H. weihrich and H.koontz, ‖Planning premises are identified as the anticipated environment in
which plans are expected to operate."
I. The probability of impact of factors: Represents whether the factors under study affect or do not affect
the planning premises. This probability can be high, medium or low.
II. The degree of impact of factors: Given the factors which have the probability of developing planning
premises, it represents the degree to which these factors affect the planning premises. This can also be high,
medium or low.
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Based on these two broad factors, nine different combinations can be formed which broadly result
into four categories:
1. Critical factors: These factors must be thoroughly analyzed as they significantly affect making of the
planning premises.
(i) High probability of impact, and (ii) High degree of impact.
2. High priority factors: Though these factors are not as important as critical factors, they rank high in
priority in developing the planning premises. These factors also must be thoroughly analysed by managers
as they significantly affect the making of planning premises.
(i) Medium probability of impact, and High degree of impact and (ii) High/Medium probability of impact,
and Medium degree of impact
3. Factors to be watched: Thus, while these factors may not affect the planning premises, but if they affect,
their degree of impact is high. A close watch must be kept on these factors so that their impact may not be
ignored.
(i) Low probability of impact, and (ii) High degree of impact.
4. Low priority factors: These factors rank low in priority in affecting the planning premises as either their
probability of impact is low or the degree of impact is low. These factors do not significantly affect making
of the planning premises and, therefore, do not require extensive scanning by managers.
(i) Low probability of impact, and Medium degree of impact and (ii) High/Medium/Low probability of
impact, and Low degree of impact.
The factors covered under various categories are not generic and determination of these factors depends
upon the judgment of managers, nature and size of the organization and nature of environment in which the
organizations are operating.
2. Development of alternative premises: Since factors affecting organizational plans cannot be perfectly
predicted, managers should develop alternative premises i.e., plans under different sets of assumptions about
the future events. This helps in developing contingent plans. Contingent plans are the alternative plans for
alternative premises. Since the premises keep changing, some slowly and some fast, to keep pace with such
changes, alternative plans must be developed. As developing too many plans is costly in terms of time and
money, the following factors should be considered in developing contingent plans:
(a) Should be made for those factors which are important for corporate decisions like economic factors,
competitors’ policies, consumers’ tastes etc. They should be made in the order of priority of factors like:
Critical factors, High priority factors, To be watched factors, Low priority factors,
(b) They should be made on the basis of cost-benefit analysis, i.e., alternative whose cost seems to be more
than its benefits should be dropped out.
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(c) Though maximum details should be covered in each contingency plan, all the plans cannot cover
extensive information. Contents or details should depend on the order of priority of plans. Important plans
made for critical factors should cover maximum information while plans for low priority factors should not
contain extensive details as the degree of their impact on organizational plans is low.
Collecting details or information about the factors that affect the premises is based on forecasting
techniques. The choice of technique (simple or complex) depends upon the need of the organization,
resources, the period in which information is collected, the sample size, to what degree is the sample
representative of the general population etc. Every technique has costs and benefits and a thorough cost-
benefit analysis should be undertaken before adopting a specific technique of forecasting. In some cases,
this information is available through secondary sources like published journals, magazines and information
agencies. The relevance of such information should be considered before using it for development of
premises.
3. Verification of premises: Planning staff at different levels of different departments makes plans
according to their judgement. These premises are then sent to top executives for their approval. The
premises which involve both staff and line managers are more consistent than those that are developed by
executives alone.
4. Communication of premises: After the premises are developed, they are supported by budgets and
programmes and communicated to all those concerned with development of plans at different levels in
different departments. Planning premises are contained in documents like environmental threat and
opportunity profile (ETOP) and communicated to managers concerned. The premises, thus, help to develop
sound plans followed by strategies, policies, procedures etc. which further help in effective implementation
of plans.
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4. Constant and Variable Premises
Constant Premises do not change. They remain the same, even if there is a change in the course of
action. They include men, money and machines.
Variable Premises are subject to change. They change according to the course of action. They
include union-management relations.
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UNIT III
ORGANIZING
DEFINITION
According to Koontz and O'Donnell, "Organization involves the grouping of activities necessary to
accomplish goals and plans, the assignment of these activities to appropriate departments and the
provision of authority, delegation and co-ordination."
Organization involves division of work among people whose efforts must be co-ordinated to achieve
specific objectives and to implement pre-determined strategies.
(1) Increase in Managerial Efficiency: A good and balanced organization helps the managers to increase
their efficiency. Managers, through the medium of organization, make a proper distribution of the whole work
among different people according to their ability.
(3) Sound Communication Possible: Communication is essential for taking the right decisionat the right
time. However, the establishment of a good communication system is possible only through an organization.
In an organization the time of communication is decided so that all the useful information reaches the officers
concerned which. in turn, helps the decision-making.
(4) Facilitates Coordination: In order to attain successfully the objectives of the organization,coordination
among various activities in the organization is essential. Organization is the only medium which makes
coordination possible. Under organization the division of work is made in such a manner as to make all the
activities complementary to each other increasing their inter-dependence. Inter-dependence gives rise to the
establishment of relations which, in turn, increases coordination.
(5) Increase in Specialization: Under organization the whole work is divided into differentparts. Competent
persons are appointed to handle all the sub-works and by handling a particular work repeatedly they become
specialists. This enables them to have maximum work performance in the minimum time while the
organization gets the benefit of specialization.
(6) Helpful in Expansion: A good organization helps the enterprise in facing competition. Whenan enterprise
starts making available good quality product at cheap rates, it increases the demand for its products. In order
to meet the increasing demand for its products an organization has to expand its business. On the other hand,
a good organization has an element of flexibilitywhich farfromimpedingthe
expansionworkencouragesit.
ORGANIZING PROCESS
Organization is the process of establishing relationship among the members of the enterprise. The
relationships are created in terms of authority and responsibility. To organize is to harmonize, coordinate or
arrange in a logical and orderly manner. Each member in the organization is assigned a specific responsibility
or duty to perform and is granted the corresponding authority to perform his duty. The managerial function of
organizing consists in making a rational division of work into groups of activities and tying together the
positions representing grouping of activities so as to achieve a rational, well-coordinated and orderly structure
for the accomplishment of work. According to Louis A Allen, "Organizing involves identification and
grouping the activities to be performed and dividing them among the individuals and creating authority and
responsibility relationships among them for the accomplishment of organizational objectives." The various
steps involved in this process are:
b) Enumeration of Objectives:If the members of the group are to pool their efforts effectively, there must be
proper division of the major activities. The first step in organizing group effort is the division of the total job
into essential activities. Each job should be properly classified and grouped. This will enable the people to
know what is expected of them as members of the group and will help in avoiding duplication of efforts. For
example, the work of an industrial concern may be divided into the following major functions – production,
financing, personnel, sales, purchase, etc.
c) Classification of Activities:The next step will be to classify activities according to similarities and
common purposes and functions and taking the human and material resources into account. Then, closely
related and similar activities are grouped into divisions and departments and the departmental activities are
further divided into sections.
d) Assignment of Duties:Here, specific job assignments are made to different subordinates for ensuring a
certainty of work performance. Each individual should be given a specific job to do according to his ability
and made responsible for that. He should also be given the adequate authority to do the job assigned to him. In
the words of Kimball and Kimball - "Organization embraces the duties of designating the departments and the
personnel that are to carry on the work, defining their functions and specifying the relations that are to exist
between department and individuals."
e) Delegation of Authority:Since so many individuals work in the same organization, it is the responsibility
of management to lay down structure of relationship in the organization. Authority without responsibility is a
dangerous thing and similarly responsibility without authority is an empty vessel. Everybody should clearly
know to whom he is accountable; corresponding to the responsibility authority is delegated to the subordinates
for enabling them to show work performance. This will help in the smooth working of the enterprise by
facilitating delegation ofresponsibilityandauthority.
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
An organization structure is a framework that allots a particular space for a particular department or an
individual and shows its relationship to the other. An organization structure shows the authority and
responsibility relationships between the various positions in the organization by showing who reports to
whom. It is an established pattern of relationship among the components of the organization.
1. PURE LINE ORGANISATION:Under this form, similar activities are performed at a particular level.
Each group of activities is self – contained unit and is able to perform the assigned activities without the
assistance of others
Production Manager
|
______________________________ |____________________________
| | |
Foreman-A Foreman-B Foreman-C
| | |
Worker Worker Worker
2. DEPARTMENTAL LINE ORGANISATION:Under this form, entire activities are divided into different
departments on the basis of similarity of activities. The basic objective of this form is to have uniform control,
authority and responsibility.
Production Manager
|
______________________________ |____________________________
| | |
Foreman-A Foreman-B Foreman-C
(Body Moulding) (Seating) (Finishing)
| | |
Worker Worker Worker
Merits Demerits
1) It is simple to understand 1) Lack of specialization
2) Easy supervision & control 2) Low – Morale
3) Quick decisions 3) Autocratic approach
4) It sets clearly the direct lines of 4) Overburden to manager
authority and responsibility of a line
manager
MERITS DEMERITS
1. It enhances the quality of decision 1. It may create more friction or
2. Greater scope for advancement Conflict between line and staff
3. It relieves the line managers. 2. It is expensive
4. Reduction of burden. 3. It creates confusion
FUNCTIONAL ORGANISATION STRUCTURE: It is the most widely used organization structure in the
medium and large scale organizations having limited number of products. This structure emerges from the
idea that the organization must perform certain functions in order to carry on its operations.Functional
structure is created by grouping the activities on the basis of functions required for the achievement of
organizational objectives. For this purpose, all the functions required are classified into basic, secondary and
supporting functions according to their nature & importance.
FEATURES:
1) The whole activities of an organisation are divided into various functions
2) Each functional area is put under the charge of one executive
3) For any decision, one has to consult the functional specialist
MERITS DEMERITS
1) Planned specialization 1) calls for more coordination
2) Facilitates large scale production 2) no clear line of authority
3) Disciplinary controls are well 3) slow decision making
defined 4) lack of responsibility
4) Offers clear career paths
COMMITTEE ORGANISATION: A committee does not represent a separate type of organization like line
and staff, or functional. It is rather a device which is used as supplementary to or in addition to any of the
above types of organizations. A committee may be defined as a group of people performing some aspects of
Managerial functions. Thus, a committee is a body of persons appointed or elected for the Consideration of
specific matters brought before it.
MERITS DEMERITS
1. Group Deliberation and Judgement: 1. High Cost in Time and Money
2. Fear of Authority 2. Indecisive Action
3. Representation of interested Group 3. Compromising Attitude
4. Coordination of Functions 4. Dominance of a Few
5. Transmission of Information 6. Splitting of Responsibilities
Merits
1. It offers operational freedom & flexibility
2. It focuses on end results.
3. It maintenance professional Identity.
4. It holds an employee responsible for management of resources.
Demerits:-
1. It calls for greater degree of coordination,
2. It violates unity of command.
3. Difficult to define authority & responsibility.
4. Employee may be de motivated.
General Manager
Project B W W W W
Manager
Project B W W W W
Manager
Project C
Manager W W W W
FORMAL ORGANIZATION
Chester I Bernard defines formal organization as -"a system of consciously coordinated activities or
forces of two or more persons. It refers to the structure of well-defined jobs, each bearing a definite measure
of authority, responsibility and accountability." The essence of formal organization is conscious common
purpose and comes into being when persons–
Are able to communicate with each other
Are willing to act and Share a purpose.
The formal organization is built around four key pillars. They are:
• Division of labour • Structure and
• Scalar and functional processes • Span of control
INFORMAL ORGANIZATION
Informal organization refers to the relationship between people in the organization based on personal
attitudes, emotions, prejudices, likes, dislikes etc. an informal organization is an organization which is not
established by any formal authority, but arises from the personal and social relations of the people. These
relations are not developed according to procedures and regulations laid down in the formal organization
structure; generally large formal groups give rise to small informal or social groups. These groups may be
based on same taste, language, culture or some other factor. These groups are not pre-planned, but they
develop automaticallywithintheorganizationaccordingtoitsenvironment.
DEPARTMENTATIONBYDIFFERENTSTRATEGIES
Departmentation takes place in various patterns like departmentation by functions, products, customers,
geographic location, process, and its combinations.
a) FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENTATION
Functional departmentation is the process of grouping activities by functions performed. Activities can be
grouped according to function (work being done) to pursue economies of scale by placing employees with
shared skills and knowledge into departments for example human resources, finance, production, and
marketing. Functional departmentation can be used in all types of organizations.
Advantages:
• Advantage of specialization
• Easy control over functions
• Pinpointing training needs of manager
• It is very simple process of grouping activities.
b) PRODUCT DEPARTMENTATION
Product departmentation is the process of grouping activities by product line. Tasks can also be grouped
according to a specific product or service, thus placing all activities related to the product or the service under
one manager. Each major product area in the corporation is under the authority of a senior manager who is
specialist in, and is responsible for, everything related to the product line. Dabur India Limited is the India‘s
largest Ayurvedic medicine manufacturer is an example of company that uses product departmentation. Its
structure is based on its varied product lines which include Home care, Health care, Personal care and Foods.
Advantages
• It ensures better customer service
• Unprofitable products may be easily determined
• It assists in development of all around managerial talent
• Makes control effective
• It is flexible and new product line can be added easily.
Disadvantages
• It is expensive as duplication of service functions occurs in various product divisions
• Customers and dealers have to deal with different persons for complaint and information of different
products.
c) CUSTOMER DEPARTMENTATION
Customer departmentation is the process of grouping activities on the basis of common customers or
types of customers. Jobs may be grouped according to the type of customer served by the organization. The
assumption is that customers in each department have a common set of problems and needs that can best be
met by specialists. UCO is the one of the largest commercial banks of India is an example of company that
uses customer departmentation. Its structure is based on various services which includes Home loans,
Business loans, Vehicle loans and Educational loans.
Advantages
• It focused on customers who are ultimate suppliers of money
• Better service to customer having different needs and tastes
• Development in general managerial skills
Disadvantages
• Sales being the exclusive field of its application, co-ordination may appear difficult between sales
function and other enterprise functions.
• Specialized sales staff may become idle with the downward movement of sales to any specified group
of customers.
Advantages
• Help to cater to the needs of local people more satisfactorily.
• It facilitates effective control
• Assists in development of all-round managerial skills
Disadvantages
• Communication problem between head office and regional office due to lack of means of
communication at some location
• Coordination between various divisions may become difficult.
• Distance between policy framers and executors
• It leads to duplication of activities which may cost higher.
e) PROCESS DEPARTMENTATION
Geographic departmentation is the process of grouping activities on the basis of product or service or
customer flow. Because each process requires different skills, process departmentation allows homogenous
activities to be categorized. For example, Bowater Thunder Bay, a Canadian company that harvests trees and
processes wood into newsprint and pulp. Bowater has three divisions namely tree cutting, chemical
processing, and finishing (which makes newsprint).
Advantages
• Oriented towards end result.
• Professional identification is maintained.
• Pinpoints product-profit responsibility.
Disadvantage
• Conflict in organization authority exists.
• Possibility of disunity of command.
• Requires managers effective in human relation
f) MARTIX DEPARTMENTATION
In actual practice, no single pattern of grouping activities is applied in the organization structure with
all its levels. Different bases are used in different segments of the enterprise. Composite or hybrid method
forms the common basis for classifying activities rather than one particular method. One of the mixed forms
of organization is referred to as matrix or grid organization‘s According to the situations, the patterns of
Organizing varies from case to case. The form of structure must reflect the tasks, goals and technology if the
originations the type of people employed and the environmental conditions that it faces. It is not unusual to
see firms that utilize the function and project organization combination. The same is true for process and
project as well as other combinations. For instance, a large hospital could have an accounting department,
Advantages Disadvantages
• Efficiently manage large, complex tasks • Requires high levels of coordination
• Effectively carry out large, complex tasks • Conflict between bosses
• Requires high levels of management skills
SPAN OF CONTROL
Span of Control means the number of subordinates that can be managed efficiently and effectively by
a superior in an organization. It suggests how the relations are designed between a superior and a subordinate
in an organization.
It determines the complexity of individual manager job.
It determines the shape or configuration of the organisation.
The classical writers suggest that between 3 to 8 subordinates as ideal depending up on the level of
management.
V.A.Gracuna a French management consultant has suggested a mathematical formula to fix the number of
subordinates.He classified superior and subordinate relationship into the following:
Direct single relationship: - Direct single relationships arise from the direct individual contacts of the
superior with his subordinates. Ex: - A, B,C are subordinates to X. Here three single relationships.
Direct group relationships:-Direct group relationships arise between the superior and subordinates in
all possible combinations. Thus the superior may consult his subordinates with one or more
combinations.Ex:-A with B, B with C, A with C, etc..
Cross relationships:- Cross relationships arise because of mutual interaction of subordinates
working under the common superior , such as A and B,B and C,A and C,C and A etc.. The
relationship is quite different between A and B than B and A from management point of view because
the type of interaction will be different in both cases.
Gracuna has given formula to find various relationships with varying number of subordinates.
Number of subordinates = n,
Direct single relationship = n,
Direct group relationship = n(2n-1-1)
Cross relationship = n(n-1),
Total relationship = n(2n/2+n-1)
(or)
= n(2n-1 +n-1).
1 . 1
2 . 6
3 . 18
4 . 44
5 . 100
6 . 222
8 . 1080
10 . 5210
Gracuna suggest that most ideal span for a manager is 6 subordinates with 222 relationships.
Advantages:
• Close supervision
• Close control of subordinates
• Fast communication
Disadvantages:
• Too much control
• Many levels of management
• High costs
• Excessive distance between lowest level and highest level
2. Wide span of control: W ide span of control means a single manager or supervisor overseesa large number
of subordinates. This gives rise to a flat organizational structure.
Advantages:
• More Delegation of Authority
• Development of Managers
• Clear policies
Disadvantages:
• Overloaded supervisors
• Danger of superiors loss of control
• Requirement of highly trained managerial personnel
• Block in decision making
CENTRALIZATION
It is the process of transferring and assigning decision-making authority to higher levels of an
organizational hierarchy. The span of control of top managers is relatively broad, and there are relatively
many tiers in the organization.
Advantages of Centralization
• Provide Power and prestige for manager
• Promote uniformity of policies, practices and decisions
• Minimal extensive controlling procedures and practices
• Minimize duplication of function
Disadvantages of Centralization
• Neglected functions for mid. Level, and less motivated beside personnel.
• Nursing supervisor functions as a link officer between nursing director and first-line management.
DECENTRALIZATION:
It is the process of transferring and assigning decision-making authority to lower levels of an
organizational hierarchy. The span of control of top managers is relatively small, and there are relatively few
tears in the organization, because there is more autonomy in the lower ranks.
Characteristics
• Philosophy / emphasis on: bottom-up, political, cultural and learning dynamics.
• Decision-making: democratic, participative, detailed.
• Organizational change: emerging from interactions, organizational dynamics.
• Execution: evolutionary, emergent. Flexible to adapt to minor issues and changes.
• Participation, accountability. Low risk of not-invented-here behaviour.
Advantages of Decentralization
• Raise morale and promote interpersonal relationships
• Relieve from the daily administration
• Bring decision-making close to action
• Develop Second-line managers
• Promote employee‘s enthusiasm and coordination
• Facilitate actions by lower-level managers
Disadvantages of Decentralization
• Top-level administration may feel it would decrease their status
• Managers may not permit full and maximum utilization of highly qualified personnel
• Increased costs. It requires more managers and large staff
• It may lead to overlapping and duplication of effort
1. Authority - in context of a business organization, authority can be defined as the power and right of a
person to use and allocate the resources efficiently, to take decisions and to give orders so as to achieve
the organizational objectives. Authority must be well- defined. All people who have the authority should
know what is the scope of their authority is and they shouldn‘t mutualize it. Authority is the right to give
commands, orders and get the things done. The top level management has greatest authority. Authority
always flows from top to bottom. It explains how a superior gets work done from his subordinate by
clearly explaining what is expected of him and how he should go about it. Authority should be
accompanied with an equal amount of responsibility. Delegating the authority to someone else doesn‘t
imply escaping from accountability. Accountability still rest with the person having the utmost authority.
2. Responsibility - is the duty of the person to complete the task assigned to him. A person who is given the
responsibility should ensure that he accomplishes the tasks assigned to him. If the tasks for which he was
held responsible are not completed, then he should not give explanations or excuses. Responsibility
without adequate authority leads to discontent and dissatisfaction among the person. Responsibility flows
from bottom to top. The middle level and lower level management holds more responsibility. The person
held responsible for a job is answerable for it. If he performs the tasks assigned as expected, he is bound
for praises. While if he doesn‘t accomplish tasks assigned as expected, then also he is answerable for that.
3. Accountability - means giving explanations for any variance in the actual performance from the
expectations set. Accountability cannot be delegated. For example, if ‘A‘ is given a task with sufficient
authority, and ‘A‘ delegates this task to B and asks him to ensure that task is done well, responsibility rest
with ‘B‘, but accountability still rest with ‘A‘. The top levelmanagement is most accountable. Being
accountable means being innovative as the person will think beyond his scope of job. Accountability ,in
short, means being answerable for the end result. Accountability can‘t be escaped. It arises from
responsibility.
DELEGATION PROCESS
The steps involved in delegation are given below
1. Allocation of duties – The delegator first tries to define the task and duties to the subordinate. He also
has to define the result expected from the subordinates. Clarity of duty as well as result expected has to
be the first step in delegation.
2. Granting of authority – Subdivision of authority takes place when a superior divides and shares his
authority with the subordinate. It is for this reason; every subordinate should be given enough
independence to carry the task given to him by his superiors. The managers at all levels delegate
authority and power which is attached to their job positions. The subdivision of powers is very
important to get effective results.
Therefore every manager, i.e., the delegator has to follow a system to finish up the delegation process.
Equally important is the delegate’s role which means his responsibility and accountability is attached with the
authority over to here.
STAFFING
Staffing involves filling the positions needed in the organization structure by appointing competent
and qualified persons for the job.
STAFFING/HRM Process
a) Manpower requirements: Manpower Planning which is also called as Human Resource Planning consists
of putting right number of people, right kind of people at the right place, right time, doing the right things for
which they are suited for the achievement of goals of the organization. The primary function of man power
planning is to analyze and evaluate the human resources available in the organization, and to determine how
to obtain the kinds of personnel needed to staff positions ranging from assembly line workers to chief
executives.
b) Recruitment: Recruitment is the process of finding and attempting to attract job candidates who are
capable of effectively filling job vacancies. Job descriptions and job specifications are important in the
recruiting process because they specify the nature of the job and the qualifications required of job candidates.
c) Selection: Selecting a suitable candidate can be the biggest challenge for any organization. The success of
an organization largely depends on its staff. Selection of the right candidate builds the foundation of any
organization's success and helps in reducing turnovers.
RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Recruitment is the process of finding and attempting to attract job candidates who are capable of
effectively filling job vacancies. The recruitment process consists of the following steps
a) Identification of vacancy c) Selection of sources
b) Preparation of job description and job d) Advertising the vacancy
specification e) Managing the response
a) Identification of vacancy:The recruitment process begins with the human resource department receiving
requisitions for recruitment from any department of the company. These contain:
• Posts to be filled
• Number of persons
• Duties to be performed
• Qualifications required
c) Selection of sources:Every organization has the option of choosing the candidates for its recruitment
processes from two kinds of sources: internal and external sources. The sources within the organization itself
(like transfer of employees from one department to other, promotions) to fill a position are known as the
internal sources of recruitment. Recruitment candidates from all the other sources (like outsourcing agencies
etc.) are known as the external sources of the recruitment.
d) Advertising the vacancy:After choosing the appropriate sources, the vacancy is communicated to the
candidates by means of a suitable media such as television, radio, newspaper, internet, direct mail etc.
e) Managing the response:After receiving an adequate number of responses from job seekers, the sieving
process of the resumes begins. This is a very essential step of the recruitment selection process, because
selecting the correct resumes that match the job profile, is very important. Naturally, it has to be done rather
competently by a person who understands all the responsibilities associated with the designation in its
entirety. Candidates with the given skill set are then chosen and further called for interview. Also, the
applications of candidates that do not match the present nature of the position but may be considered for
future requirements are filed separately and preserved.The recruitment process is immediately followed by the
selection process.
Sources of recruitment
Internal sources of recruitment involve motivating the employees of the organization to apply for the
openings within the organization
1. Transfers: The employees of the organization are transferred to the similar jobs of other departments.
It may not involve a change in salary, responsibility, and position of the job. Transfers help in
External sources of recruitment involve motivating the skilled and more efficient candidates external to the
organization to apply for the vacant positions in the organization.
1. Advertisements: To find the skilled and more efficient manpower giving advertisement for the vacant
job position is the better way. Advertisements help in attracting the right candidates and in maximizing
brand image. Advertisements may be given in print media or electronic media, it gives better results
and it is cheaper than approaching third parties.
2. Job portals: With the growing technology and internet usage, job portals are playing a major role in
finding right candidates for right jobs. Job portals can inform up to date job alerts to the candidates and
offer attractive benefits and packages to the employers. The tools and techniques used by the job
portals highly reduce the efforts in finding the skilled candidates.
3. Company’s websites: With the increase in business operations and globalization, the need for human
resources is also increasing day by day. To face a severe competition and to reduce the cost during the
long run, many companies are setting up their own websites for finding and attracting candidates with
competitive skills.
4. Social networking sites: Communicating about vacant positions of the organization through social
networking sites help in motivation and attracting the highly skilled and more efficient candidates to
apply for the jobs.
5. Placement agencies: Approaching placement agencies reduces the time and efforts to find the right
candidates from the pool of skilled candidates. They use various tools and techniques to filter the
resumes and they send it to the companies for further processing. The main drawback of this method is
commission basis on hiring the candidates.
6. Job fairs and walk in interviews: Walk in interviews and job fairs are declared and conducted by
companies to find the skilled candidates. Following this method highly reduces efforts in finding more
efficient human resources for the bulk requirement.
7. Campus interviews: This is an easy and economical method helps in finding eligible candidates,
through this method organization can find energetic and more competitive candidates for suitable
vacancies, this method is beneficial for both the candidates and companies.
JOB ANALYSIS
Job Analysis is the process of describing and recording aspects of jobs and specifying the skills and
other requirements necessary to perform the job.
The outputs of job analysis are
a) Job description
b) Job specification
Job Description: A job description (JD) is a written statement of what the job holder does how it is done,
under what conditions it is done and why it is done. It describes what the job is all about, throwing light on
Contents
A job description usually covers the following information:
§ Job title: Tells about the job title, code number and the department where it is done.
§ Job summary: A brief write-up about what the job is all about.
§ Job activities: A description of the tasks done, facilities used, extent of supervisory help, etc.
§ Working conditions: The physical environment of job in terms of heat, light, noise and other hazards.
§ Social environment: Size of work group and interpersonal interactions required to do the job.
Job Specification: Job specification summarizes the human characteristics needed for satisfactory job
completion. It tries to describe the key qualifications someone needs to perform the job successfully. It spells
out the important attributes of a person in terms of education, experience, skills, knowledge and abilities
(SKAs) to perform a particular job. The job specification is a logical outgrowth of a job description. For each
job description, it is desirable to have a job specification. This helps the organization to find what kinds of
persons are needed to take up specific jobs.
Contents
A job specification usually covers the following information:
• Education • Work Orientation Factors
• Experience • Age
• Skill, Knowledge, Abilities
SELECTION PROCESS
Selecting a suitable candidate can be the biggest challenge for any organisation. The success of an
organization largely depends on its staff. Selection of the right candidate builds the foundation of any
organization's success and helps in reducing turnovers.
Though there is no fool proof selection procedure that will ensure low turnover and high profits, the
following steps generally make up the selection process-
a) Initial Screening: This is generally the starting point of any employee selection process. Initial Screening
eliminates unqualified applicants and helps save time. Applications received from various sources are
scrutinized and irrelevant ones are discarded.
b) Preliminary Interview: It is used to eliminate those candidates who do not meet the minimum eligibility
criteria laid down by the organization. The skills, academic and family background, competencies and
interests of the candidate are examined during preliminary interview. Preliminary interviews are less
formalized and planned than the final interviews. The candidates are given a brief up about the company and
the job profile; and it is also examined how much the candidate knows about the company. Preliminary
interviews are also called screening interviews.
d) Personal Interview: Most employers believe that the personal interview is very important. It helps them in
obtaining more information about the prospective employee. It also helps them in interacting with the
candidate and judging his communication abilities, his ease of handling pressure etc. In some Companies, the
selection process comprises only of the Interview.
e) References check: Most application forms include a section that requires prospective candidates to put
down names of a few references. References can be classified into - former employer, former customers,
business references, reputable persons. Such references are contacted to get a feedback on the person in
question including his behaviour, skills, conduct etc.
g) Final Interview: Final interview is a process in which a potential employee is evaluated by an employer
for prospective employment in their organization. During this process, the employer hopes todetermine
whether or not the applicant is suitable for the job. Different types of tests are conducted to evaluate the
capabilities of an applicant, his behaviour, special qualities etc. Separate tests are conducted for various types
of jobs.
h) Physical Examination: If all goes well, then at this stage, a physical examination is conducted to make
sure that the candidate has sound health and does not suffer from any serious ailment.
i) Job Offer: A candidate who clears all the steps is finally considered right for a particular job and is
presented with the job offer. An applicant can be dropped at any given stage if considered unfit for the job.
EMPLOYEE INDUCTION/ORIENTATION
Orientation or induction is the process of introducing new employees to an organization, to their
specific jobs & departments, and in some instances, to their community.
Purposes of Orientation
Orientation isn't a nicety! It is used for the following purposes:
1. To Reduce Start-up-Costs:Proper orientation can help the employee get "up to speed" much more
quickly, thereby reducing the costs associated with learning the job.
2. To Reduce Anxiety:Any employee, when put into a new, strange situation, will experience anxiety that
can impede his or her ability to learn to do the job. Proper orientation helps to reduce anxiety that results from
entering into an unknown situation, and helps provide guidelines for behaviour and conduct, so the employee
doesn't have to experience the stress of guessing.
3. To Reduce Employee Turnover:Employee turnover increases as employees feel they are not valued, or
are put in positions where they can't possibly do their jobs. Orientation shows that the organization values the
employee, and helps provide tools necessary for succeeding in the job.
4. To Save Time for Supervisor & Co-Workers:Simply put, the better the initial orientation, the less likely
supervisors and co-workers will have to spend time teaching the employee.
5. To Develop Realistic Job Expectations, Positive Attitudes and Job Satisfaction:It is important that
employees learn early on what is expected of them, and what to expect from others, in addition to learning
Often, Overview Orientation can be conducted by the personnel department with a little help from the branch
manager or immediate supervisor, since much of the content is generic in nature.
The second kind of orientation is called Job-Specific Orientation, and is the process that is used to help
employees understand:
• Function of the organization, • Policies, procedures, rules and regulations
• Responsibilities, • Layout of workplace
• Expectations, • Introduction to co-workers and other
• Duties people in the broader organization.
Job specific orientation is best conducted by the immediate supervisor, and/or manager, since much of the
content will be specific to the individual. Often the orientation process will be ongoing, with supervisors and
co-workers supplying coaching.
CARRER DEVELOPMENT
Career development not only improves job performance but also brings about the growth of the personality.
Individuals not only mature regarding their potential capacities but also become better individuals.
Purpose of development
Management development attempts to improve managerial performance by imparting
• Knowledge • Changing attitudes • Increasing skills
The major objective of development is managerial effectiveness through a planned and a deliberate process of
learning. This provides for a planned growth of managers to meet the future organizational needs.
Development Process:
TRAINING
Training is a process of learning a sequence of programmed behaviour. It improves the employee's
performance on the current job and prepares them for an intended job.
Purpose of Training:
To improve Productivity: Training leads to increased operational productivity and increased company
profit.
To improve Quality: Better trained workers are less likely to make operational mistakes.
To improve Organizational Climate: Training leads to improved production and product quality which
enhances financial incentives. This in turn increases the overall morale of the organization.
To increase Health and Safety: Proper training prevents industrial accidents.
Personal Growth: Training gives employees a wider awareness, an enlarged skill base and that leads
to enhanced personal growth.
1) Identifying Training needs: A training program is designed to assist in providing solutions for specific
operational problems or to improve performance of a trainee.
• Organizational determination and Analysis: Allocation of resources that relate to organizational goal.
• Operational Analysis: Determination of a specific employee behaviour required for a particular task.
• Man Analysis: Knowledge, attitude and skill one must possess for attainment of organizational
objectives.
2) Getting ready for the job: The trainer has to be prepared for the job. And also who needs to be trained -
the newcomer or the existing employee or the supervisory staff.
Preparation of the learner:
• Putting the learner at ease • Placing the learner as close to his normal
• Stating the importance and ingredients of working position
the job • Familiarizing him with the equipment,
• Creating interest materials and trade terms
4) Performance Try out: The trainee is asked to go through the job several times. This gradually builds up
his skill, speed and confidence.
TRAINING METHODS
Training methods can be broadly classified as on-the-job training and off-the-job training
a) On-the-job training: On the job training occurs when workers pick up skills whilst working alongside
experienced workers at their place of work. For example this could be the actual assembly line or offices
where the employee works. New workers may simply “shadow” or observe fellow employees to begin
with and are often given instruction manuals or interactive training programmes to work through.
1. Coaching: Coaching is a one-to-one training. It helps in quickly identifying the weak areas and
tries to focus on them. It also offers the benefit of transferring theory learning to practice. The
biggest problem is that it perpetrates the existing practices and styles. In India most of the scooter
mechanics are trained only through this method.
2. Mentoring: The focus in this training is on the development of attitude. It is used for managerial
employees. Mentoring is always done by a senior inside person. It is also one-to- one interaction,
like coaching.
3. Job Rotation: It is the process of training employees by rotating them through a series of related
jobs. Rotation not only makes a person well acquainted with different jobs, but it also alleviates
boredom and allows to develop rapport with a number of people. Rotation must be logical.
4. Job Instruction: This method is also known as training through step by step. Under this method,
trainer explains the trainee the way of doing the jobs, job knowledge and skills and allows him to
do the job. The trainer appraises the performance of the trainee, provides feedback information and
corrects the trainee.
5. Committee Assignments: Under the committee assignment, group of trainees are given and asked
to solve an actual organisational problem. The trainees solve the problem jointly. It develops team
work.
6. Apprenticeship: Apprenticeship is a formalized method of training curriculum program that
combines classroom education with on-the-job work under close supervision. The training
curriculum is planned in advance and conducted in careful steps from day to day. Most trade
apprenticeship programs have a duration of three to four years before an apprentice is considered
completely accomplished in that trade or profession. This method is appropriate for training in
crafts, trades and technical areas, especially when proficiency in a job is the result of a relatively
long training or apprenticeship period, e.g., job of a craftsman, a machinist, a printer, a tool maker,
a pattern designer, a mechanic, etc.
7. Understudy: In this method, a superior gives training to a subordinate as his understudy like an
assistant to a manager or director (in a film). The subordinate learns through experience and
observation by participating in handling day to day problems. Basic purpose is to prepare
subordinate for assuming the full responsibilities and duties.
b) Off-the-job training: This occurs when workers are taken away from their place of work to be
trained. This may take place at training agency or local college, although many larger firms also have their
own training centres. Training can take the form of lectures or self-study and can be used to develop more
general skills and knowledge that can be used in a variety of situations. The various types of off-the-job
training are
1. Instructor presentation: The trainer orally presents new information to the trainees, usually
through lecture. Instructor presentation may include classroom lecture, seminar, and workshop.
2. Group discussion: The trainer leads the group of trainees in discussing a topic.
3. Demonstration: The trainer shows the correct steps for completing a task, or shows an example of
a correctly completed task.
4. Assigned reading: The trainer gives the trainees reading assignments that provide new
information.
5. Exercise: The trainer assigns problems to be solved either on paper or in real situations related to
the topic of the training activity.
6. Case study: The trainer gives the trainees information about a situation and directs them to come to
a decision or solve a problem concerning the situation.
7. Role play: Trainees act out a real-life situation in an instructional setting.
8. Field visit and study tour: Trainees are given the opportunity to observe and interact with the
problem being solved or skill being learned.
CAREER STAGES
What people want from their careers also varies according to the stage of one's career. What may
have been important in an early stage may not be important in a later one. Five distinct career stages have
been identified: trial, establishment/advancement, mid-career, and late career. Each stage represents
different career needs and interests of the individual
a) Trial stage: The trial stage begins with an individual's exploration of career-related matters and ends
usually at about age 25 with a commitment on the part of the individual to a particular occupation. Until the
decision is made to settle down, the individual may try a number of jobs and a number of organizations.
Unfortunately for many organizations, this trial and exploration stage results in high level of turnover
among new employees. Employees in this stage need opportunities for self-exploration and a variety of job
activities or assignments.
c) Mid Career Crisis Sub Stage: The period occurring between the mid-thirties and mid-forties during
which people often make a major reassessment of their progress relative to their original career ambitions
and goals.
d) Maintenance stage: The mid-career stage, which occurs roughly between the ages 45 and64, has also
been referred to as the maintenance stage. This stage is typified by a continuation of established patterns
of work behavior. The person is no longer trying to establish a place for him or herself in the
organization, but seeks to maintain his or her position. This stage is viewed as a mid-career plateau in
which little new ground is broken. The individual in this stage may need some technical updating in his
or her field. The employee should be encouraged to develop new job skills in order to avoid early
stagnation and decline.
e) Late-career stage: In this stage the career lessens in importance and the employee plans for retirement
and seeks to develop a sense of identity outside the work environment.
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Performance appraisal is the process of obtaining, analyzing and recording information about the
relative worth of an employee. The focus of the performance appraisal is measuring and improving the
actual performance of the employee and also the future potential of the employee. Its aim is to measure
what an employee does.
a) Establishing performance standards:The first step in the process of performance appraisal is the
setting up of the standards which will be used to as the base to compare the actual performance of the
employees. This step requires setting the criteria to judge the performance of the employees as successful
or unsuccessful and the degrees of their contribution to the organizational goals and objectives. The
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standards set should be clear, easily understandable and in measurable terms.In case the performance of the
employee cannot be measured, great care should be taken to describe the standards.
c) Measuring the actual performance:The most difficult part of the Performance appraisal process is
measuring the actual performance of the employees that is the work done by the employees during the
specified period of time. It is a continuous process which involves monitoring the performance throughout
the year. This stage requires the careful selection of the appropriate techniques of measurement, taking care
that personal bias does not affect the outcome of the process and providing assistance rather than
interfering in an employees work.
d) Comparing the actual with the desired performance:The actual performance is compared with the
desired or the standard performance. The comparison tells the deviations in the performance of the
employees from the standards set. The result can show the actual performance being more than the desired
performance or, the actual performance being less than the desired performance depicting a negative
deviation in the organizational performance. It includes recalling, evaluating and analysis of data related to
the employees’ performance.
e) Discussing results: The result of the appraisal is communicated and discussed with the employees on
one-to-one basis. The focus of this discussion is on communication and listening. The results, the problems
and the possible solutions are discussed with the aim of problem solving and reaching consensus. The
feedback should be given with a positive attitude as this can have aneffect on the employees’future
performance. The purpose of the meeting should be to solve the problems faced and motivate the
employees to perform better.
f) Decision making: The last step of the process is to take decisions which can be taken either to improve
the performance of the employees, take the required corrective actions, or the related HR decisions like
rewards, promotions, demotions, transfers etc.
1. Rating Scales: Rating scales consists of several numerical scales representing job related performance
criterions such as dependability, initiative, output, attendance, attitude etc. Each scales ranges from
excellent to poor. The total numerical scores are computed and final conclusions are derived.
Advantages – Adaptability, easy to use, low cost, every type of job can be evaluated, large number of
employees covered, no formal training required. Disadvantages – Rater’s biases
2. Checklist: Under this method, checklist of statements of traits of employee in the form of Yes or No
based questions is prepared. Here the rater only does the reporting or checking and HR department does
the actual evaluation. Advantages – economy, ease of administration, limited training required,
standardization. Disadvantages – Raters biases, use of improper weighs by HR, does not allow rater to
give relative ratings
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3. Forced Choice Method: The series of statements arranged in the blocks of two or more are given and
the rater indicates which statement is true or false. The rater is forced to make a choice. HR department
does actual assessment. Advantages – Absence of personal biases because of forced choice.
Disadvantages – Statements may be wrongly framed.
4. Forced Distribution Method: here employees are clustered around a high point on a rating scale. Rater
is compelled to distribute the employees on all points on the scale. It is assumed that the performance is
conformed to normal distribution. Advantages – Eliminates Disadvantages – Assumption of normal
distribution, unrealistic, errors of central tendency.
5. Critical Incidents Method: The approach is focused on certain critical behaviors of employee that
makes all the difference in the performance. Supervisors as and when they occur record such incidents.
Advantages – Evaluations are based on actual job behaviors, ratings are supported by descriptions,
feedback is easy, reduces recency biases, chances of subordinate improvement are high. Disadvantages –
Negative incidents can be prioritized, forgetting incidents, overly close supervision; feedback may be
too much and may appear to be punishment.
6. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS): statements of effective and ineffective behaviors
determine the points. They are said to be behaviorally anchored. The rater is supposed to say, which
behavior describes the employee performance. Advantages – helps overcome rating errors.
Disadvantages – Suffers from distortions inherent in most rating techniques.
7. Field Review Method: This is an appraisal done by someone outside employees’ own department
usually from corporate or HR department. Advantages – Useful for managerial level promotions, when
comparable information is needed, Disadvantages – Outsider is generally not familiar with employees
work environment, Observation of actual behaviors not possible.
8. Performance Tests & Observations: This is based on the test of knowledge or skills. The tests may be
written or an actual presentation of skills. Tests must be reliable and validated to be useful. Advantage –
Tests may be apt to measure potential more than actual performance. Disadvantages – Tests may suffer
if costs of test development or administration are high.
9. Confidential Records: Mostly used by government departments, however its application in industry is
not ruled out. Here the report is given in the form of Annual Confidentiality Report (ACR) and may
record ratings with respect to following items; attendance, self-expression, team work, leadership,
initiative, technical ability, reasoning ability, originality and resourcefulness etc. The system is highly
secretive and confidential. Feedback to the assessee is given only in case of an adverse entry.
Disadvantage is that it is highly subjective and ratings can be manipulated because the evaluations are
linked to HR actions like promotions etc.
10. Essay Method: In this method the rater writes down the employee description in detail within a number
of broad categories like, overall impression of performance, promoteability of employee, existing
capabilities and qualifications of performing jobs, strengths and weaknesses and training needs of the
employee. Advantage – It is extremely useful in filing information gaps about the employees that often
occur in a better-structured checklist. Disadvantages – It its highly dependent upon the writing skills of
rater and most of them are not good writers. They may get confused success depends on the memory
power of raters.
11. Comparative Evaluation Method (Ranking & Paired Comparisons): These are collection of
different methods that compare performance with that of other co-workers. The usual techniques used
may be ranking methods and paired comparison method.
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a. Ranking Methods: Superior ranks his worker based on merit, from best to worst. However how best and why
best are not elaborated in this method. It is easy to administer and explanation.
b. Paired Comparison Methods: In this method each employee is rated with another employee in the form of pairs.
The number of comparisons may be calculated with the help of a formula as under.
2. Psychological Appraisals: These appraisals are more directed to assess employees potential for
future performance rather than the past one. It is done in the form of in-depth interviews,
psychological tests, and discussion with supervisors and review of other evaluations. It is more
focused on employees emotional, intellectual, and motivational and other personal characteristics
affecting his performance. This approach is slow and costly and may be useful for bright young
members who may have considerable potential. However quality of these appraisals largely depend
upon the skills of psychologists who perform the evaluation.
3. Assessment Centers: An assessment center is a central location where managers may come
together to have their participation in job related exercises evaluated by trained observers. It is more
focused on observation of behaviors across a series of select exercises or work samples. Assesses
are requested to participate in in-basket exercises, work groups, computer simulations, role playing
and other similar activities which require same attributes for successful performance in actual job.
The characteristics assessed in assessment center can be assertiveness, persuasive ability,
communicating ability, planning and organizational ability, self-confidence, resistance to stress,
energy level, decision making, sensitivity to feelings, administrative ability, creativity and mental
alertness etc. Disadvantages – Costs of employees traveling and lodging, psychologists, ratings
strongly influenced by assesses inter-personal skills. Solid performers may feel suffocated in
simulated situations. Those who are not selected for this also may get affected.
Companies that are large enough to be organized into strategic business units face the challenge of
allocating resources among those units. In the early 1970's the Boston Consulting Group developed a
model for managing a portfolio of different business units (or major product lines). The BCG growth-
share matrix displays the various business units on a graph of the market growth rate vs. market share
relative to competitors:
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Resources are allocated to business units according to where they are situated on the grid as follows:
Cash Cow - a business unit that has a large market share in a mature, slow growing industry. Cash
cows require little investment and generate cash that can be used to invest in other business units.
Star - a business unit that has a large market share in a fast growing industry. Stars may generate
cash, but because the market is growing rapidly they require investment to maintain their lead. If
successful, a star will become a cash cow when its industry matures.
Question Mark (or Problem Child) - a business unit that has a small market share in a high
growth market. These business units require resources to grow market share, but whether they will
succeed and become stars is unknown.
Dog - a business unit that has a small market share in a mature industry. A dog may not require
substantial cash, but it ties up capital that could better be deployed elsewhere. Unless a dog has
some other strategic purpose, it should be liquidated if there is little prospect for it to gain market
share.
SWOT ANALYSIS
A scan of the internal and external environment is an important part of the strategic planning
process. Environmental factors internal to the firm usually can be classified as strengths (S) or weaknesses
(W), and those external to the firm can be classified as opportunities (O) or threats (T). Such an analysis of
the strategic environment is referred to as a SWOT analysis.
Strengths
A firm's strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive
advantage. Examples of such strengths include:
patents exclusive access to high grade natural
strong brand names resources
good reputation among customers favourable access to distribution networks
cost advantages from proprietary know-
how
Weaknesses
The absence of certain strengths may be viewed as a weakness. For example, each of the following may be
considered weaknesses:
lack of patent protection high cost structure
a weak brand name lack of access to the best natural resources
poor reputation among customers lack of access to key distribution channels
In some cases, a weakness may be the flip side of a strength. Take the case in which a firm has a large
amount of manufacturing capacity. While this capacity may be considered a strength that competitors do
not share, it also may be a considered a weakness if the large investment in manufacturing capacity
prevents the firm from reacting quickly to changes in the strategic environment.
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Opportunities
The external environmental analysis may reveal certain new opportunities for profit and growth. Some
examples of such opportunities include:
an unfulfilled customer need loosening of regulations
arrival of new technologies removal of international trade barriers
Threats
Changes in the external environmental also may present threats to the firm. Some examples of such threats
include:
shifts in consumer tastes away from the new regulations
firm's products increased trade barriers
emergence of substitute products
A firm should not necessarily pursue the more lucrative opportunities. Rather, it may have a better
chance at developing a competitive advantage by identifying a fit between the firm's strengths and
upcoming opportunities. In some cases, the firm can overcome a weakness in order to prepare itself to
pursue a compelling opportunity.To develop strategies that take into account the SWOT profile, a matrix of
these factors can be constructed. The SWOT matrix (also known as a TOWS Matrix) is shown below:
S-O strategies pursue opportunities that are a good fit to the company's strengths.
W-O strategies overcome weaknesses to pursue opportunities.
S-T strategies identify ways that the firm can use its strengths to reduce its vulnerability to external
threats.
W-T strategies establish a defensive plan to prevent the firm's weaknesses from making it highly
susceptible to external threats.
Porter's Five Forces of Competitive Position Analysis were developed in 1979 by Michael E Porter
of Harvard Business School as a simple framework for assessing and evaluating the competitive strength
and position of a business organization.
This theory is based on the concept that there are five forces that determine the competitive
intensity and attractiveness of a market. Porter’s five forces help to identify where power lies in a business
situation. This is useful both in understanding the strength of an organization’s current competitive
position, and the strength of a position that an organization may look to move into.The five forces are:
DEFINITION
"Activating deals with the steps a manager takes to get sub-ordinates and others to carry out
plans" - Newman and Warren.
Directing concerns the total manner in which a manager influences the actions of subordinates. It is
the final action of a manager in getting others to act after all preparations have been completed.
Characteristics
Elements of Management Creative Function
Continuing Function Linking function
Pervasive Function Management of Human Factor
Scope of Directing
Initiates action Facilitates change
Ensures coordination Assists stability and growth
Improves efficiency
Elements of Directing
The three elements of directing are
Motivation Leadership Communication
b) Investigation: This stage of enhancing entrepreneurial creativity and innovation involves the business
owner taking time to study the problem at hand and what its various components are.
c) Transformation: The information thus accumulated and acquired should then be subjected to convergent
and divergent thinking which will serve to highlight the inherent similarities and differences. Convergent
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thinking will help identify aspects that are similar and connected while divergent thinking will highlight the
differences. This twin manner of thinking is of particular importance in realizing creativity and innovation
for the following reasons:
One will be able to skim the details and see what the bigger picture is the situation/problem's
components can be reordered and in doing so new patterns can be identified.
It will help visualize a number of approaches that can be used to simultaneously tackle
the problem and the opportunity.
One's decision-making abilities will be bettered such that the urge to make snap decisions will be
resisted.
d) Incubation: At this stage in the quest for creativity and innovation it is imperative that the subconscious
reflect on the accumulated information, i.e. through incubation, and this can be improved or augmented when
the entrepreneur:
Engages in an activity completely unrelated to the problem/opportunity under scrutiny.
Takes time to daydream i.e. letting the mind roam beyond any restrictions self-imposed or otherwise.
Relax and play
Study the problem/opportunity in a wholly different environment
e) Illumination: This happens during the incubation stage and will often be spontaneous. The realizations
from the past stages combine at this instance to form a breakthrough.
f) Verification: This is where the entrepreneur attempts to ascertain whether the creativity of thought and the
action of innovation are truly effective as anticipated. It may involve activities like simulation, piloting,
prototype building, test marketing, and various experiments. While the tendency to ignore this stage and
plunge headlong with the breakthrough may be tempting, the transformation stage should ensure that the new
idea is put to the test.
MOTIVATION
"Motivation" is a Latin word, meaning "to move". Human motives are internalized goals within
individuals. Motivation may be defined as those forces that cause people to behave in certain ways.
Motivation encompasses all those pressures and influences that trigger, channel, and sustain human behavior.
Most successful managers have learned to understand the concept of human motivation and are able to use
that understanding to achieve higher standards of subordinate work performance
According to Koontz and O'Donnell, "Motivation is a class of drives, needs, wishes and similar
forces".
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Motivation is an Internal Feeling: Motivation is a psychological phenomenon which generates in
the mind of an individual the feeling that he lacks certain things and needs those things. Motivation is
a force within an individual that drives him to behave in a certain way.
Motivation is Related to Needs: Needs are deficiencies which are created whenever there is a
physiological or psychological imbalance. In order to motivate a person, we have to understand his
needs that call for satisfaction.
Motivation Produces Goal-Directed Behaviour: Goals are anything which will alleviate a need and
reduce a drive. An individual's behavior is directed towards a goal.
Motivation can be either Positive or Negative: Positive or incentive motivation is generally based
on reward. According to Flippo - "positive motivation is a process of attempting to influence others to
do your will through the possibility of gain or reward". Negative or fear motivation is based on force
and fear. Fear causes persons to act in certain way because they are afraid of the consequences if they
don't.
IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVATION
A manager's primary task is to motivate others to perform the tasks of the organization. Therefore, the
manager must find the keys to get subordinates to come to work regularly and on time, to work hard, and to
make positive contributions towards the effective and efficient achievement of organizational objectives.
Motivation is an effective instrument in the hands of a manager for inspiring the work force and creating
confidence in it. By motivating the work force, management creates "will to work" which is necessary for the
achievement of organizational goals. The various benefits of motivation are:-
1) Motivation is one of the important elements in the directing process. By motivating the workers, a
manager directs or guides the workers' actions in the desired direction for accomplishing the goals of
the organization.
2) Workers will tend to be as efficient as possible by improving upon their skills and knowledge so that
they are able to contribute to the progress of the organization thereby increasing productivity.
3) For performing any tasks, two things are necessary. They are: (a) ability to work and (b) willingness
to work. Without willingness to work, ability to work is of no use. The willingness to work can be
created only by motivation.
4) Organizational effectiveness becomes, to some degree, a question of management's ability to
motivate its employees, to direct at least a reasonable effort towards the goals of the organization.
5) Motivation contributes to good industrial relations in the organization. When the workers are
motivated, contented and disciplined, the frictions between the workers and the management will be
reduced.
6) Motivation is the best remedy for resistance to changes. When changes are introduced in an
organization, generally, there will be resistance from the workers. But if the workers of an
organization are motivated, they will accept, introduce and implement the changes whole heartily and
help to keep the organization on the right track of progress.
7) Motivation facilitates the maximum utilization of all factors of production, human, physical and
financial resources and thereby contributes to higher production.
8) Motivation promotes a sense of belonging among the workers. The workers feel that the enterprise
belongs to them and the interest of the enterprise is their interests.
9) Many organizations are now beginning to pay increasing attention to developing their employees as
future resources upon which they can draw as they grow and develop.
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SATISFACTION
Employee satisfaction (Job satisfaction) is the terminology used to describe whether employees are
happy and contented and fulfilling their desires and needs at work. Many measures purport that employee
satisfaction is a factor in employee motivation, employee goal achievement, and positive employee morale in
the workplace. Employee satisfaction, while generally a positive in your organization, can also be a downer
if mediocre employees stay because they are satisfied with your work environment. Factors contributing to
employee satisfaction include treating employees with respect, providing regular employee recognition,
empowering employees, offering above industry-average benefits and compensation, providing employee
perks and company activities, and positive management within a success framework of goals, measurements,
and expectations. Employee satisfaction is often measured by anonymous employee satisfaction surveys
administered periodically that gauge employee satisfaction in areas such as:
management,
understanding of mission and vision,
empowerment,
teamwork,
communication, and
Coworker interaction.
The facets of employee satisfaction measured vary from company to company.
A second method used to measure employee satisfaction is meeting with small groups of employees and
asking the same questions verbally. Depending on the culture of the company, either method can contribute
knowledge about employee satisfaction to managers and employees.
JOB DESIGN
It is the process of Work arrangement (or rearrangement) aimed at reducing or overcoming job
dissatisfaction and employee alienation arising from repetitive and mechanistic tasks. Through job design,
organizations try to raise productivity levels by offering non-monetary rewards such as greater satisfaction
from a sense of personal achievement in meeting the increased challenge and responsibility of one's work.
a) Positive Motivation:
This type of motivation is generally based on reward. A positive motivation involves the possibility
of increased motive satisfaction. According to Flippo - "Positive motivation is a process of attempting to
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influence others to do your will through the possibility of gain or reward". Incentive motivation is the "pull"
mechanism. The receipt of awards, due recognition and praise for work-well done definitely lead to good
team spirit, co-operation and a feeling of happiness.
Positive motivation include:-
Praise and credit for work done
Wages and Salaries
Appreciation
A sincere interest in subordinates as individuals
Delegation of authority and responsibility
b) Negative Motivation:
This type of motivation is based on force and fear. Fear causes persons to act in a certain way because
they fear the consequences. Negative motivation involves the possibility of decreased motive satisfaction. It
is a "push" mechanism. The imposition of punishment frequently results in frustration among those punished,
leading to the development of maladaptive behaviour. It also creates a hostile state of mind and an
unfavourable attitude to the job. However, there is no management which has not used the negative
motivation at some time or the other.
MOTIVATION THEORIES
Some of the motivation theories are discussed below
a) McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y:
McGregor states that people inside the organization can be managed in two ways. The first is
basically negative, which falls under the category X and the other is basically positive, which falls under the
category Y. After viewing the way in which the manager dealt with employees, McGregor concluded that a
manager‟s view of the nature of human beings is based on a certain grouping of assumptions and that he or
she tends to mold his or her behavior towards subordinates according to these assumptions.
On analysis of the assumptions it can be detected that theory X assumes that lower-order needs
dominate individuals and theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals. An organization
that is run on Theory X lines tends to be authoritarian in nature, the word “authoritarian” suggests such ideas
as the “power to enforce obedience” and the “right to command.” In contrast Theory Y organizations can be
described as “participative”, where the aims of the organization and of the individuals in it are integrated;
individuals can achieve their own goals best by directing their efforts towards the success of the organization.
(i) Physiological needs: These are important needs for sustaining the human life. Food, water, warmth,
shelter, sleep, medicine and education are the basic physiological needs which fall in the primary list of need
satisfaction. Maslow was of an opinion that until these needs were satisfied to a degree to maintain life, no
other motivating factors can work.
(ii) Security or Safety needs: These are the needs to be free of physical danger and of the fear of losing a
job, property, food or shelter. It also includes protection against any emotional harm.
(iii) Social needs: Since people are social beings, they need to belong and be accepted by others. People try
to satisfy their need for affection, acceptance and friendship.
(iv) Esteem needs: According to Maslow, once people begin to satisfy their need to belong, they tend to
want to be held in esteem both by themselves and by others. This kind of need produces such satisfaction as
power, prestige status and self-confidence. It includes both internal esteem factors like self respect, autonomy
and achievements and external esteem factors such as states, recognition and attention.
(v) Need for self-actualization: Maslow regards this as the highest need in his hierarchy. It is the drive to
become what one is capable of becoming; it includes growth, achieving one‟s potential and self-fulfillment.
It is t maximize one‟s potential and to accomplish something. All of the needs are structured into a hierarchy
and only once a lower level of need has been fully met, would a worker be motivated by the opportunity of
having the next need up in the hierarchy satisfied. For example a person who is dying of hunger will be
motivated to achieve a basic wage in order to buy food before worrying about having a secure job contract or
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the respect of others. A business should therefore offer different incentives to workers in order to help them
fulfill each need in turn and progress up the hierarchy. Managers should also recognize that workers are not
all motivated in the same way and do not all move up the hierarchy at the same pace. They may therefore
have to offer a slightly different set of incentives from worker to worker.
Examples of Hygiene factors are: Security, status, relationship with subordinates, personal life, salary,
work conditions, relationship with supervisor and company policy and administration.
Examples of Motivational factors are: Growth prospectus job advancement, responsibility, challenges,
recognition and achievements.
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f) McClelland’s Theory of Needs:
David McClelland has developed a theory on three types of motivating needs:
(i) Need for Power
(ii) Need for Affiliation
(iii) Need for Achievement
Basically people for high need for power are inclined towards influence and control. They like to be
at the center and are good orators. They are demanding in nature, forceful in manners and ambitious in life.
They can be motivated to perform if they are given key positions or power positions. In the second category
are the people who are social in nature. They try to affiliate themselves with individuals and groups. They are
driven by love and faith. They like to build a friendly environment around themselves. Social recognition and
affiliation with others provides them motivation. People in the third area are driven by the challenge of
success and the fear of failure. Their need for achievement is moderate and they set for themselves
moderately difficult tasks. They are analytical in nature and take calculated risks. Such people are motivated
to perform when they see at least some chances of success.
McClelland observed that with the advancement in hierarchy the need for power and achievement
increased rather than Affiliation. He also observed that people who were at the top, later ceased to be
motivated by this drives.
LEADERSHIP
Definition
Leadership is defined as influence, the art or process of influencing people so that they will strive
willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals.
- Leaders act to help a group attain objectives through the maximum application of its capabilities.
- Leaders must instill values – whether it be concern for quality, honesty and calculated risk taking or for
employees and customers.
Importance of Leadership
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Aid to authority
Motive power to group efforts
Basis for co operation
Integration of Formal and Informal Organization.
LEADERSHIP STYLES
The leadership style we will discuss here are:
a) Autocratic style
b) Democratic Style
c) Laissez Faire Style
a) Autocratic style
Manager retains as much power and decision-making authority as possible. The manager does not
consult employees, nor are they allowed to give any input. Employees are expected to obey orders without
receiving any explanations. The motivation environment is produced by creating a structured set of rewards
and punishments.
Autocratic leadership is a classical leadership style with the following characteristics:
Manager seeks to make as many decisions as possible
Manager seeks to have the most authority and control in decision making
Manager seeks to retain responsibility rather than utilize complete delegation
Consultation with other colleagues in minimal and decision making becomes a solitary process
Managers are less concerned with investing their own leadership development, and prefer to simply
work on the task at hand.
Advantages
1. Reduced stress due to increased control
2. A more productive group „while the leader is watching‟
3. Improved logistics of operations
4. Faster decision making
Disadvantages
1. Short-term approach to management.
2. Manager perceived as having poor leadership skills
3. Increased workload for the manager
4. People dislike being ordered around
5. Teams become dependent upon their leader
b) Democratic Style
Democratic Leadership is the leadership style that promotes the sharing of responsibility, the exercise
of delegation and continual consultation.
The style has the following characteristics:
a. Manager seeks consultation on all major issues and decisions.
b. Manager effectively delegate tasks to subordinates and give them full control and
responsibility for those tasks.
c. Manager welcomes feedback on the results of intiatives and the work environment.
d. Manager encourages others to become leaders and be involved in leadership development.
Advantages
1. Positive work environment
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2. Successful initiatives
3. Creative thinking
4. Reduction of friction and office politics
5. Reduced employee turnover
Disadvantages
1. Takes long time to take decisions
2. Danger of pseudo participation
3. Like the other styles, the democratic style is not always appropriate. It is most successful when used
with highly skilled or experienced employees or when implementing operational changes or resolving
individual or group problems.
c) Laissez-Faire Style:
This French phrase means “leave it be” and is used to describe a leader who leaves his/her colleagues
to get on with their work. The style is largely a "hands off" view that tends to minimize the amount of
direction and face time required.
Advantages
No work for the leader
Frustration may force others into leadership roles
Allows the visionary worker the opportunity to do what they want, free from interference Empowers
the group
Disadvantages
It makes employees feel insecure at the unavailability of a manager.
The manager cannot provide regular feedback to let employees know how well they are doing.
Managers are unable to thank employees for their good work.
The manager doesn‟t understand his or her responsibilities and is hoping the employees can cover for
him or her.
COMMUNICATION
Communication is the exchange of messages between people for the purpose of achieving common
meanings. Unless common meanings are shared, managers find it extremely difficult to influence others.
Whenever group of people interact, communication takes place. Communication is the exchange of
information using a shared set of symbols. It is the process that links group members and enables them to
coordinate their activities. Therefore, when managers foster effective communication, they strengthen the
connections between employees and build cooperation. Communication also functions to build and reinforce
interdependence between various parts of the organization. As a linking mechanism among the different
organizational subsystems, communication is a central feature of the structure of groups and organizations. It
helps to coordinate tasks and activities within and between organizations.
DEFINITION
According to Koontz and O'Donnell, "Communication, is an intercourse by words, letters symbols or
messages, and is a way that the organization members shares meaning and understanding with another".
a) Source:
The source initiates a message. This is the origin of the communication and can be an individual,
group or inanimate object. The effectiveness of a communication depends to a considerable degree on the
characteristics of the source. The person who initiates the communication process is known as sender, source
or communicator. In an organization, the sender will be a person who has a need or desire to send a message
to others. The sender has some information which he wants to communicate to some other person to achieve
some purpose.
b) Encoding:
Once the source has decided what message to communicate, the content of the message must be put
in a form the receiver can understand. As the background for encoding information, the sender uses his or her
own frame of reference. It includes the individual's view of the organization or situation as a function of
personal education, interpersonal relationships, attitudes, knowledge and experience. Three conditions are
necessary for successful encoding the message.
Skill: Successful communicating depends on the skill you posses. Without the requisite skills, the
message of the communicator will not reach the requisite skills; the message of the communicator
will not reach the receiver in the desired form. One's total communicative success includes speaking,
reading, listening and reasoning skills.
Attitudes: Our attitudes influence our behaviour. We hold predisposed ideas on a number of topics
and our communications are affected by these attitudes.
Knowledge: We cannot communicate what we don't know. The amount of knowledge the source
holds about his or her subject will affect the message he or she seeks to transfer.
c) The Message:
The message is the actual physical product from the source encoding. The message contains the
thoughts and feelings that the communicator intends to evoke in the receiver. The message has two primary
components:-
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The Content: The thought or conceptual component of the message is contained in the words, ideas,
symbols and concepts chosen to relay the message.
The Affect: The feeling or emotional component of the message is contained in the intensity, force,
demeanour (conduct or behaviour), and sometimes the gestures of the communicator.
d) The Channel:
The actual means by which the message is transmitted to the receiver (Visual, auditory, written or
some combination of these three) is called the channel. The channel is the medium through which the
message travels. The channel is the observable carrier of the message. Communication in which the sender's
voice is used as the channel is called oral communication. When the channel involves written language, the
sender is using written communication. The sender's choice of a channel conveys additional information
beyond that contained in the message itself. For example, documenting an employee's poor performance in
writing conveys that the manager has taken the problem seriously.
f) Decoding:
Decoding means interpreting what the message means. The extent to which the decoding by the
receiver depends heavily on the individual characteristics of the sender and receiver. The greater the
similarity in the background or status factors of the communicators, the greater the probability that a message
will be perceived accurately. Most messages can be decoded in more than one way. Receiving and decoding
a message are a type of perception. The decoding process is therefore subject to the perception biases.
g) The Receiver:
The receiver is the object to whom the message is directed. Receiving the message means one or
more of the receiver's senses register the message - for example, hearing the sound of a supplier's voice over
the telephone or seeing the boss give a thumbs-up signal. Like the sender, the receiver is subject to many
influences that can affect the understanding of the message. Most important, the receiver will perceive a
communication in a manner that is consistent with previous experiences. Communications that are not
consistent with expectations is likely to be rejected.
h) Feedback:
The final link in the communication process is a feedback loop. Feedback, in effect, is
communication travelling in the opposite direction. If the sender pays attention to the feedback and interprets
it accurately, the feedback can help the sender learn whether the original communication was decoded
accurately. Without feedback, one-way communication occurs between managers and their employees. Faced
with differences in their power, lack of time, and a desire to save face by not passing on negative
information, employees may be discouraged from providing the necessary feedback to their managers.
The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown. Same word may mean different to
different individuals. For example: consider a word “value”.
“Value” means different in different sentences. Communication breakdown occurs if there is wrong
perception by the receiver.
2. Information Overload: Managers are surrounded with a pool of information. It is essential to control
this information flow else the information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked.
As a result communication is less effective.
3. Inattention: At times we just not listen, but only hear. For example a traveler may pay attention to
one “NO PARKING” sign, but if such sign is put all over the city, he no longer listens to it. Thus,
repetitive messages should be ignored for effective communication. Similarly if a superior is
engrossed in his paper work and his subordinate explains him his problem, the superior may not get
what he is saying and it leads to disappointment of subordinate.
4. Time Pressures: Often in organization the targets have to be achieved within a specified time period,
the failure of which has adverse consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal channels of
communication are shortened, or messages are partially given, i.e., not completely transferred. Thus
sufficient time should be given for effective communication.
5. Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected a lot by noise to distractions. Physical
distractions are also there such as, poor lightning, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also affects
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communication in a meeting. Similarly use of loud speakers interferes with communication.
6. Emotions: Emotional state at a particular point of time also affects communication. If the receiver
feels that communicator is angry he interprets that the information being sent is very bad. While he
takes it differently if the communicator is happy and jovial (in that case the message is interpreted to
be good and interesting).
7. Complexity in Organizational Structure: Greater the hierarchy in an organization (i.e. more the
number of managerial levels), more is the chances of communication getting destroyed. Only the
people at the top level can see the overall picture while the people at low level just have knowledge
about their own area and a little knowledge about other areas.
8. Poor retention: Human memory cannot function beyond a limit. One cant always retain what is
being told specially if he is not interested or not attentive. This leads to communication breakdown
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10. Flexibility in meeting the targets: For effective communication in an organization the managers
should ensure that the individuals are meeting their targets timely without skipping the formal
channels of communication. There should not be much pressure on employees to meet their targets.
CHANNELS/TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
a) Formal Communication: Formal communication follows the route formally laid down in the
organization structure. There are three directions in which communications flow: downward, upward and
laterally (horizontal).
i) Downward Communication: Downward communication involves a message travelling to one or more
receivers at the lower level in the hierarchy. The message frequently involves directions or performance
feedback. The downward flow of communication generally corresponds to the formal organizational
communications system, which is usually synonymous with the chain of command or line of authority. This
system has received a great deal of attention from both managers and behavioral scientists since it is crucial
to organizational functioning.
ii) Upward Communication: In upward communication, the message is directed toward a higher level in
the hierarchy. It is often takes the form of progress reports or information about successes and failures of the
individuals or work groups reporting to the receiver of the message. Sometimes employees also send
suggestions or complaints upward through the organization's hierarchy. The upward flow of communication
involves two distinct manager-subordinate activities in addition to feedback:
The participation by employees in formal organizational decisions.
Employee appeal is a result against formal organization decisions. The employee appeal is a result of
the industrial democracy concept that provides for two-way communication in areas of disagreement.
iii) Horizontal Communication: When takes place among members of the same work group, among
members of work groups at the same level, among managers at the same level or among any horizontally
equivalent personnel, we describe it as lateral communications. In lateral communication, the sender and
receiver(s) are at the same level in the hierarchy. Formal communications that travel laterally involve
employees engaged in carrying out the same or related tasks. The messages might concern advice, problem
solving, or coordination of activities.
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APPV
CONTROLLING
DEFINITION
Control is the process through which managers assure that actual activities conform to
planned activities.
In the words of Koontz and O'Donnell - "Managerial control implies measurement of
accomplishment against the standard and the correction of deviations to assure attainment of
objectives according to plans."
CONTROL PROCESS
The basic control process involves mainly these steps as shown in Figure
a) The Establishment of Standards: Because plans are the yardsticks against which controls
must be revised, it follows logically that the first step in the control process would be to
accomplish plans. Plans can be considered as the criterion or the standards against which we
compare the actual performance in order to
Figure out the deviations.
d) Taking Corrective Actions: After actual performance has been measured compared with
established performance standards, the next step in the controlling process is to take corrective
action, if necessary. Corrective action is managerial activity aimed at bringing organizational
performance up to the level of performance standards. In other words, corrective action focuses
on correcting organizational mistakes that hinder organizational performance. Before taking any
corrective action, however, managers should make sure that the standards they are using were
properly established and that their measurements of organizational performance are valid and
reliable.
At first glance, it seems a fairly simple proposition that managers should take corrective action to
eliminate problems - the factors within an organization that are barriers to organizational goal
attainment. In practice, however, it is often difficult to pinpoint the problem causing some
undesirable organizational effect.
a) Feed forward controls: They are preventive controls that try to anticipate problems and take
corrective action before they occur. Example – a team leader checks the quality, completeness
and reliability of their tools prior to going to the site.
b) Concurrent controls: They (sometimes called screening controls) occur while an activity is
taking place. Example – the team leader checks the quality or performance of his members while
performing.
c) Feedback controls: They measure activities that have already been completed. Thus
corrections can take place after performance is over. Example – feedback from facilities
engineers regarding the completed job.
BUDGETARY CONTROL
Definition: Budgetary Control is defined as "the establishment of budgets, relating the
responsibilities of executives to the requirements of a policy, and the continuous comparison of
actual with budgeted results either to secure by individual action the objective of that policy or to
provide a base for its revision.
Salient features:
Objectives: Determining the objectives to be achieved, over the budget period, and the
policy that might be adopted for the achievement of these ends.
Activities: Determining the variety of activities that should be undertaken for
achievement of the objectives.
Plans: Drawing up a plan or a scheme of operation in respect of each class of activity, in
physical a well as monetary terms for the full budget period and its parts.
Performance Evaluation: Laying out a system of comparison of actual performance by
each person section or department with the relevant budget and determination of causes
for the discrepancies, if any.
Control Action: Ensuring that when the plans are not achieved, corrective actions are
taken; and when corrective actions are not possible, ensuring that the plans are revised
and objective achieved
CLASSIFICATION OF BUDGETS
Budgets may be classified on the following bases –
b) BASED ON CONDITION:
(i) Basic Budget: A Budget, which remains unaltered over a long period of time, is
called Basic Budget.
(ii) Current Budget: A Budget, which is established for use over a short period of time
and is related to the current conditions, is called Current Budget.
c) BASED ON CAPACITY:
(i) Fixed Budget: It is a Budget designed to remain unchanged irrespective of the level
of activity actually attained. It operates on one level of activity and less than one set of
conditions. It assumes that there will be no change in the prevailing conditions, which
is unrealistic.
(ii) Flexible Budget: It is a Budget, which by recognizing the difference between fixed,
semi variable and variable costs is designed to change in relation to level of activity
attained. It consists of various budgets for different levels of activity
d) BASED ON COVERAGE
(i) Functional Budget: Budgets, which relate to the individual functions in an
organization, are known as Functional Budgets, e.g. purchase Budget, Sales Budget,
Production Budget, plant Utilization Budget and Cash Budget.
(ii) Master Budget: It is a consolidated summary of the various functional budgets. It
serves as the basis upon which budgeted Profit & Loss Account and forecasted
Balance Sheet are built up.
Time, Space, Material, and Product Budgets: Many budgets are better expressed in
quantities rather than in monetary terms. e.g. Direct-labour-hours, machine-hours, units of
materials, square feet allocated, and units produced. The Rupee cost would not accurately
measure the resources used or the results intended.
Cash Budgets: The cash budget is simply a forecast of cash receipts and disbursements
against which actual cash "experience" is measured. The availability of cash to meet
obligations as they fall due is the first requirement of existence, and handsome business
profits do little good when tied up in inventory, machinery, or other noncash assets.
Zero Based Budget: The idea behind this technique is to divide enterprise programs into
"packages" composed of goals, activities, and needed resources and then to calculate costs
for each package from the ground up. By starting the budget of each package from base
zero, budgeters calculate costs afresh for each budget period; thus they avoid the common
tendency in budgeting of looking only at changes from a previous period.
Advantages
There are a number of advantages of budgetary control:
Promotes coordination and communication.
Enables remedial action to be taken as variances emerge.
Motivates employees by participating in the setting of budgets.
Improves the allocation of scarce resources.
Economises management time by using the management by exception principle.
Problems in budgeting
Whilst budgets may be an essential part of any marketing activity they do have a number
of disadvantages, particularly in perception terms.
Budgets can be seen as pressure devices imposed by management, thus resulting in:
o Bad labour relations o Inaccurate record-keeping.
Departmental conflict arises due to:
o Disputes over resource allocation
o Departments blaming each other if targets are not attained.
It is difficult to reconcile personal/individual and corporate goals.
Responsibility versus controlling, i.e. some costs are under the influence of more than one
person, e.g. power costs.
Managers may overestimate costs so that they will not be blamed in the future should
they overspend.
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NON-BUDGETARY CONTROL TECHNIQUES
There are, of course, many traditional control devices not connected with budgets,
although some may be related to, and used with, budgetary controls.
PRODUCTIVITY
Productivity refers to the ratio between the output from production processes to its input.
Productivity may be conceived of as a measure of the technical or engineering efficiency of
production. As such quantitative measures of input, and sometimes output, are emphasized.
a) Physical Productivity: This is a ratio of the amount of product to the resources consumed
(usually effort). Product may be measured in lines of code, classes, screens, or any other unit of
product. Typically, effort is measured in terms of staff hours, days, or months. The physical size
also may be used to estimate software performance factors (e.g., memory utilization as a function
of lines of code).
c) Economic Productivity: This is a ratio of the value of the product produced to the cost of the
resources used to produce it. Economic productivity helps to evaluate the economic efficiency of
an organization. Economic productivity usually is not used to predict project cost because the
outcome can be affected by many factors outside the control of the project, such as sales volume,
inflation, interest rates, and substitutions in resources or materials, as well as all the other factors
that affect physical and functional measures of productivity. However, understanding economic
productivity is essential to making good decisions about outsourcing and subcontracting. The
basic calculation of economic productivity is as follows:
COST CONTROL
Cost control is the measure taken by management to assure that the cost objectives set
down in the planning stage are attained and to assure that all segments of the organization
function in a manner consistent with its policies.
PURCHASE CONTROL
Purchase control is an element of material control. Material procurement is known as the
purchase function. The functional responsibility of purchasing is that of the purchase manager or
the purchaser. Purchasing is an important function of materials management because in purchase
of materials, a substantial portion of the company's finance is committed which affects cash flow
position of the company. Success of a business is to a large extent influenced by the efficiency of
its purchase organization.
Advantages:
a) Continuous availability of materials: It ensures the continuous flow of materials. So
production work may not be held up for want of materials. A manufacturer can complete
schedule of production in time.
b) Purchasing of right quantity: Purchase of right quantity of materials avoids locking up of
working capital. It minimizes risk of surplus and obsolete stores. It means there should not be
possibility of overstocking and under stocking.
c) Purchasing of right quality: Purchase of materials of proper quality and specification avoids
waste of materials and loss in production. Effective purchase control prevents wastes and losses
of materials right from the purchase till their consumptions. It enables the management to reduce
cost of production.
d) Economy in purchasing: The purchasing of materials is a highly specialized function. By
purchasing materials at reasonable prices, the efficient purchaser is able to make a valuable
contribution to the success of a business.
f) Works as information centre: It serves as a function centre on the materials knowledge
relating to prices, sources of supply, specifications, mode of delivery, etc. By providing
continuous information to the management it is possible to prepare planning for production.
g) Development of business relationship: Purchasing of materials from the best market and
from reliable suppliers develops business relationships. The result is that there may be smooth
supply of materials in time and so it avoid disputes and financial losses.
g) Finding of alternative source of supply: If a particular supplier fails to supply the materials
in time, it is possible to develop alternate sources of supply. the effect of this is that the
production work is not disturbed.
h) Fixing responsibilities: Effective purchase control fix the responsibilities of operating units
and individuals connected with the purchase, storage and handling of materials.
In short, the basic objective of the effective purchase control is to ensure continuity of
supply of requisite quantity of material, to avoid held up of production and loss in production and
at the same time reduces the ultimate cost of the finished products.
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MAINTENANCE CONTROL
Maintenance department has to exercise effective cost control, to carry out the
maintenance functions in a pre-specified budget, which is possible only through the following
measures:
First line supervisors must be apprised of the cost information of the various materials so
that the objective of the management can be met without extra expenditure on maintenance
functions
A monthly review of the budget provisions and expenditures actually incurred in respect
of each centre/shop will provide guidelines to the departmental head to exercise better cost
control.
The total expenditure to be incurred can be uniformly spread over the year for better
budgetary control. However, the same may not be true in all cases particularly where overhauling
of equipment has to be carried out due to unforeseen breakdowns. Some budgetary provisions
must be set aside, to meet out unforeseen exigencies.
The controllable elements of cost such as manpower cost and material cost can be
discussed with the concerned personnel, which may help in reducing the total cost of
maintenance. Emphasis should be given to reduce the overhead expenditures, as other
expenditures cannot be compromised.
It is observed through studies that the manpower cost is normally fixed, but the same way
increase due to overtime cost. However, the material cost, which is the prime factor in
maintenance cost, can be reduced by timely inspections designed, to detect failures. If the
inspection is carried out as per schedule, the total failure of parts may be avoided, which
otherwise would increase the maintenance cost. The proper handling of the equipment by the
operators also reduces the frequency of repair and material requirements. Operators, who check
their equipment regularly and use it within the operating limits, can help avoid many unwanted
repairs. In the same way a good record of equipment failures/ maintenance would indicate the
nature of failures, which can then be corrected even permanently.
QUALITY CONTROL
Quality control refers to the technical process that gathers, examines, analyze & report
the progress of the project & conformance with the performance requirements
2. Histogram: Histogram is used for illustrating the frequency and the extent in the context of
two variables. Histogram is a chart with columns. This represents the distribution by mean. If the
histogram is normal, the graph takes the shape of a bell curve. If it is not normal, it may take
different shapes based on the condition of the distribution. Histogram can be used to measure
something against another thing. Always, it should be two variables. Consider the following
example: The following histogram shows morning attendance of a class. The X-axis is the
number of students and the Y-axis the time of the day.
3. Cause and Effect Diagram: Cause and effect diagrams (Ishikawa Diagram) are used for
understanding organizational or business problem causes. Organizations face problems everyday
4. Check Sheet: A check sheet can be introduced as the most basic tool for quality. A check
sheet is basically used for gathering and organizing data. When this is done with the help of
software packages such as Microsoft Excel, you can derive further analysis graphs and automate
through macros available. Therefore, it is always a good idea to use a software check sheet for
information gathering and organizing needs. One can always use a paper-based check sheet when
the information gathered is only used for backup or storing purposes other than further
processing.
5. Scatter Diagram: When it comes to the values of two variables, scatter diagrams are the best
way to present. Scatter diagrams present the relationship between two variables and illustrate the
results on a Cartesian plane. Then, further analysis, such as trend analysis can be performed on
the values. In these diagrams, one variable denotes one axis and another variable denotes the
other axis.
6. Control Charts: Control chart is the best tool for monitoring the performance of a process.
These types of charts can be used for monitoring any processes related to function of the
organization. These charts allow you to identify the following conditions related to the process
that has been monitored.
Stability of the process
Predictability of the process
Identification of common cause of variation
Special conditions where the monitoring party needs to react
7. Pareto Charts: Pareto charts are used for identifying a set of priorities. You can chart any
number of issues/variables related to a specific concern and record the number of occurrences.
This way you can figure out the parameters that have the highest impact on the specific concern.
This helps you to work on the propriety issues in order to get the condition under control.
Implementation of MIS
1. Preparing organizational plans 7. Construction of data files
2. Planning of workflow 8. Operation of old and new systems in
3. Training of personnel parallel
4. Development of software 9. Phasing out the old and inducing the
5. Acquiring computer hardware new systems
6. Designing the format for data 10. Evaluation, Maintenance and control
collection of the new system
BALANCED SCORECARD
A performance measurement tool that looks at more than just the financial perspective. The
balanced scorecard approach is a way to evaluate organizational performance from more than
just the financial perspective. A balanced scorecard typically looks at four areas that
contribute to a company‘s performance:
BENCHMARKING
– The search for the best practices among competitors or non-competitors that lead to their
superior performance. The standard of excellence against which to measure and compare.
– Managers in diverse industries such as health care, education, and financial services are
discovering what manufacturers have long recognized — the benefits of benchmarking,
which is the search for the best practices among competitors or noncompetitors that lead
to their superior performance.
– Benchmarking should identify various benchmarks, which are the standards of excellence
against which to measure and compare.
– For instance, the American Medical Association developed more than 100 standard
measures of performance to improve medical care.
– Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan, benchmarked Walmart operations in purchasing,
transportation, and logistics.
– At its most basic, benchmarking means learning from others.
Biographical Characteristics:
Age: Age of an employee has a significant impact and performance. It is envisaged that
younger people are more energetic, skilful and talented than older people. The belief is
true but this is not always true because in many cases, older people are highly skilled,
regularly updating their skills, well-experienced, persistent, and even physically and
mentally fit.
Gender: Do males perform better than females? Most research reveals, no. Females do
not perform less than males, if they are equally trained or having similar capabilities.
Marital Status: The scientific studies undercover that married people are more
responsible, persistent in nature and undergo less absence and turnover and are more
satisfied from their jobs because marriages cause them to accept new responsibilities.
Number of dependants: The greater the children or other dependents a person has, the
lesser is the concentration on work. It has been observed in most cases, that many times,
employees especially females with huge children or other persons, such as relatives as
dependents make leaves to take care of the schooling and hospitalization needs of their
dependents.
Tenure: Switching jobs or companies is not a big deal/ problem, rather it may be a result
of serious need to leave a problematic company or to avail a better opportunity. But the
persons that show greater stay (of years) on a job show their persistent nature and an
indication of their satisfactory performance.
Ability:
Ability refers to an individual‘s capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. It is a
current assessment of what one can do. Individual overall abilities are made up of two sets of
factors: intellectual and physical.
Intellectual Abilities: Intellectual abilities are those needed to perform mental activities.
IQ tests are designed to ascertain one‘s general intellectual abilities. Examples of such
tests are popular college admission tests such as the SAT, GMAT, and LSAT. The seven
most frequently cited dimensions making up intellectual abilities are: number aptitude,
verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial
visualization, and memory.
Physical Abilities: Specific physical abilities gain importance in doing less skilled and
more standardized jobs. Research has identified nine basic abilities involved in the
performance of physical tasks. Individuals differ in the extent to which they have each of
these abilities. High employee performance is likely to be achieved when management
matches the extent to which a job requires each of the nine abilities and the employees‘
abilities.
Heredity: Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception (expectancy
time of a female), for instance, physical stature/ structure, facial attractiveness, skin color,
hair color, muscles composition, energy level, height, built, sex/ gender, temperament,
and so on. Heredity is a transformed from molecular structure of genes located in the
chromosomes. Moreover, our parents or forefathers‘ genes determine our biological,
physiological, and psychological make-up.
Culture & Environment: Culture is a set of values, norms, customs, traditions, rituals,
and attitudes passed from one generation to the other. The norms of our family, friend
circle, and social groups influence our behavior. Environment also impacts our
personality; the person groomed in highly educated society tends to be well-educated,
well-mannered, and gentle.
The "Big Five" Personality Traits: The Big Five personality factors are as follows:
o Extraversion. This dimension captures a person‘s comfort level with relationships.
Extraverted individuals are sociable, talkative, and assertive.
o Agreeableness. This dimension refers to how readily a person will go along with
others. Highly agreeable people are good-natured, cooperative, warm and trusting.
o Conscientiousness. This dimension is a measure of a person‘s reliability. People who
score high on conscientiousness are responsible, dependable, persistent, and
achievement-oriented.
o Emotional stability. This dimension taps a person‘s ability to withstand stress. People
high on emotional stability are calm, self-confident, and secure.
o Openness to experience. The final dimension addresses a person‘s range of interests
and fascination with novelty. People high on openness to experience are imaginative,
artistically sensitive, and intellectual.
Locus of control: Some people believe they are masters of their own fate/ destiny, and
other believes in luck or chance. Individuals who believe that they control what happens
to them are called ―internals‖ and the individuals who believe that what happens to them
is controlled by outside forces, such as luck or chance are called ―externals‖.
Self-Monitoring: This is the ability to measure one‘s own performance against some
performance standards or benchmarks. Such people offer better results.
Risk Taking: It is the willingness to take risks or chances. Risk is the degree of failure or
uncertainty. Risk taking managers are challenge-acceptors and fast decision-makers.
Research proves that risk taking managers make rapid decisions with less information but
surprising with greater accuracy of decisions.
Formal groups: those defined by the organization‘s structure, with designated work assignments
establishing tasks
The behaviors that one should engage in are stipulated by and directed toward
organizational goals.
An airline flight crew is an example of a formal group.
Informal groups: alliances that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined
Natural formations in the work environment in response to the need for social contact
Three employees from different departments who regularly eat lunch together is an
informal group. These types of interactions among individuals, even though informal,
deeply affect their behavior and performance.
There is no single reason why individuals join groups.
Command groups: are dictated by the formal organization.
The organization chart determines a command group.
Composed of direct reports to a given manager
Task group: organizationally determined—represent those working together to complete a job
task.
A task group‘s boundaries are not limited to its immediate hierarchical superior. It can
cross command relationships.
For instance, if a college student is accused of a campus crime, it may require
communication and coordination among the dean of academic affairs, the dean of
students, the registrar, the director of security, and the student‘s advisor.
All command groups are also task groups, but the reverse need not be true.
An interest group: People who affiliate to attain a specific objective with which each is
concerned.
Employees who band together to have their vacation schedules altered
Friendship groups often develop because the individual members have one or more
common characteristics.
Social alliances, which frequently extend outside the work situation, can be based on
similar age or ethnic heritage.
THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP
Some of the theories of leadership ranging from conventional theories to contemporary
theories have been dealt with over here, the chief of them being the following:
Initiating Structure: Initiating structure refers to the extent to which a leader is likely to
define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal
attainment. It includes behaviour that attempts to organize work, work relationships, and
goals. A leader with initiating structure is generally task oriented, with focus on
performance of employees and meeting of deadlines.
9 1.9 9.9
8
5 5.5
4
1 1.1 9.1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
CONTINGENCY/SITUATIONAL THEORIES
(1) Fiedler Model: The basic premise behind this theory is that, effective performance of an
organization or a group of people in an organization highly depend upon the style adopted by a
leader and the degree to which a situation gives control to the leader. In order to assess the style
followed by a leader, Fiedler developed, Least-Preferred Coworker‟ (LPC) scale, in which the
leaders were asked to give their preference on the employee with whom they have least
preference to work with. If the least preferred co-worker was described in favourable terms, such
response was rated as ‘relationship-oriented’ and if rated in unfavourable terms, a leader was
regarded as ‘production-oriented’.
Leader-Member Relations: The degree of confidence, trust and respect that members
have on their leader;
Task Structure: The degree to which the job assignments are structured or unstructured;
Position Power: The degree of influence a leader has over power variables such as hiring,
firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases.
Leader-Member Relations
Good Good Good Good Poor Poor Poor Poor
Task Structure High High Low Low High High Low Low
Position Power Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak
Fiedler states that a task oriented leader performs better in situations that are very favourable to
her/him and in situations that are very unfavourable. That is, when faced with a Category I, II,
III, VII or VIII situation, task-oriented leaders perform better. Relationship-oriented leaders
perform better in moderately favourable situations – categories IV through VII.
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(2) Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory: According to Hersey and Blanchard there are
four types of leadership behaviour that varies from highly directive to highly laisssez-faire, which
again depends upon the ability and willingness of followers to perform a given task. According to
SLT, if a follower is unable and unwilling to do a task, the leader needs to give clear and specific
directions; if followers are unable and willing, the leader needs to display high task orientation to
compensate for the followers‟ lack of ability and high relationship orientation to get the followers
to „buy into‟ the leader‘s desire; if followers are able and unwilling, the leader needs to use a
supportive and participative style; and if the employee is both able and willing, the leader doesn‘t
need to do much.
(3) Leadership Continuum Theory: According to Tannenbaum and Schmidt, the leader must
consider the following three forces or variables before choosing the best leadership style for a
particular situation:
Supervisor: The leader‘s personality and preferred behavioural style, expectation, values,
background, knowledge, feeling of security and confidence in the subordinates should be
considered in selecting a leadership style. Based on personality and behaviour, some
leaders tend to be more autocratic and others more participative.
Subordinates: The leadership style preferred by followers is based on personality and
behaviour. Generally, the more willing and able the followers are to participate, the more
freedom of participation should be used, and vice versa.
Situation (Environment): The environmental considerations, such as the organization
size, structure, climate, goals and technology, are taken into consideration when selecting
a leadership style. Managers on higher levels also influence leadership styles. For
example, if a senior manager uses an autocratic leadership style, the middle manager may
tend to follow suit.
Autocratic Style
Participative Style
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Leader makes Leader makes Leader Leader Leader Leader Leader
decision and decisions and presents ideas presents presents defines limits permits
announces it sells it to and invites tentative problem, and asks the followers to
to followers followers by followers‘ decision invites followers to make ongoing
individually or explaining why it questions. subject to suggested make a decisions
in a group is a good idea (it change. solutions and decision within defined
without could also be in makes the limits
discussion (it writing) decision.
could also be
in writing).
JOB SATISFACTION a feeling of fulfilment or enjoyment that a person derives from their job.
JOB ENLARGEMENT is a job design technique wherein there is an increase in the number of
tasks associated with a certain job. In other words, it means increasing the scope of one‘s duties
and responsibilities. The difference between job enrichment and job enlargement is essentially of
quantity and quality.
JOB ENRICHMENT is the process of making a job more interesting, challenging and
satisfying for the employees. It can either be in the form of up gradation of responsibilities,
increase in the range of influence and the challenges.
Whereas job enlargement means increasing the scope of job quantitatively by adding up more
tasks, job enrichment means improvement in the quality of job such that employees are more
satisfied and fulfilled
Group Team
Purpose General Specific
Work basis Individual Collective
Process Discuss, Decide and Delegate Discuss, Decide and Do
Leadership A single leader Shared
Accountability Individual Individual & Mutual
Evaluation Indirect Direct
GROUP STRUCTURE
• Group Size & Group Roles
• Group Norms- ―Standardized patterns of belief, attitude, communication and behavior
within groups
• Group Cohesiveness- The degree to which members are attracted to a group and share the
group‘s goals
• Group Think- Psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which
the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional
decision-making outcome.
• Group Dynamics-Group dynamics concern the forces operating within groups that affect
the way members relate to and work with one another.
MOTIVATIONAL TECHNIQUES
• Financial Incentives • MBO
• Job Enlargement • Behaviour Modification
• Job Enrichment • Positive Imagery
• Job rotation • Team building activities
• Participation • Training
• Delegation of Authority • Enhanced Communication
• Quality of Work Life • Targets, rewards and incentives.
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