CBSE Class 12 Case Studies In Business Studies – Directing

DIRECTING
Directing: Definition
Directing refers to the process of instructing, guiding, counselling, motivating and leading people in the organisation for the purpose of achieving organisational goals.

Importance of Directing

  • Directing helps to initiate action by people in the organisation towards attainment of desired objectives.
  • Directing integrates employees’ efforts in the organisation in such a way that it contributes to the organisational performance.
  • Directing guides employees to fully realise their potential through effective communication, motivation and leadership.
  • Directing facilitates introduction of needed changes in the organisation as it helps to reduce employees’ resistance and develop an environment which is conducive to introducing changes in the organisation.
  • Effective directing helps to bring stability and balance in the organisation since it encourages cooperation and commitment.

Features of Directing

  • Directing initiates action in the organisation as it is an executive function of management.
  • Directing takes place at every level of management wherever superior – subordinate relations exist.
  • Directing is a continuous process and is carried on till an organisation ceases to exist.
  • Directing flows from top to bottom as it is first initiated at top level and flows to the bottom through organisational hierarchy.

Elements of Directing

  • Supervision
  • Motivation
  • Leadership
  • Communication

SUPERVISION
Supervision: Definition
Supervision is the process of overseeing the work of a subordinate by his superior.

Importance of Supervision

  • A good supervisor acts as a guide, friend and philosopher to the workers.
  • Supervisor acts as a link between workers and management.
  • Supervisor plays a crucial role in maintaining group unity among workers placed under his control.
  • Supervisor ensures performance of work according to the targets set and motivates the workers effectively.
  • Supervisor provides good on-the-job training to the workers and employees.
  • A supervisor with good leadership qualities can build up high morale among workers.
  • A good supervisor analyses the work performed and gives feedback to the workers.

MOTIVATION
Motivation: Definition
Motivation is the process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals.

Importance of Motivation

  • Motivation helps to improve the performance of both the employees as well as the organisation.
  • Motivation helps to mould negative or indifferent attitudes of employees into positive attitudes for the benefit of theorganisation.
  • Motivation helps to reduce the employee turnover and leads to reduction in the cost to be incurred on new recruitment and training.
  • Motivation helps managers to introduce changes within the organisation smoothly without much resistance from their subordinates.
  • Motivation helps to reduce absenteeism in the organisation as work becomes a source of pleasure and workers attend to the work regularly.

Features of Motivation

  • Motivation is an internal feeling as it relates to the urge, drives, desires, or needs of human beings.
  • Motivation produces goal directed behaviour.
  • Motivation can be either positive or negative.
  • Motivation is a comolex nrocess as the individuals may differ in their perceptions and reactions. expectations,

Motivation Process
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Abraham Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation

  • Basic Physiological Needs refer to the needs that are most basic in the hierarchy like hunger, thirst, shelter etc. which can be fulfilled by basic salary.
  • Safety/Security Needs refer to the needs to get security and protection from physical and emotional harm which can be fulfilled through job security, stability of income, pension plans etc.
  • Affiliation/Belonging Needs refer to the needs that relate to affection, sense of belongingness, acceptance and friendship which can be fulfilled through team work, kindness etc.
  • Esteem Needs include factors such as self-respect, autonomy status, recognition and attention which can be fulfilled by giving praise and recognition, offering promotions etc.
  • Self-Actualisation Needs refer to the drive to become what one is capable of becoming which can be fulfilled by providing challenging work and giving them flexibility and autonomy in their jobs .

INCENTIVES
Incentive: Definition
Incentive means all measures which are used to motivate people to improve performance.

Types of Financial Incentives

  • Pay and allowances
  • Productivity linked wage incentives
  • Bonus
  • Profit Sharing
  • Co-partnership/ Stock option
  • Retirement Benefits
  • Perquisites

Types of Incentives

  • Financial incentives refers to incentives which are in direct monetary form.
  • Non-financial incentives mainly focus on psychological, social and emotional needs.

Types of Non-financial Incentives

  • Status
  • Organisational Climate
  • Career Advancement Opportunity
  • Job Enrichment
  • Employee Recognition programmes
  • Job security
  • Employee participation
  • Employee Empowerment

LEADERSHIP
Leadership: Definition
Leadership is the process of influencing the behaviour of people by making them strive voluntarily towards achievement of organisational goals.

Importance of Leadership

  • It helps to bring about a positive change in the behaviour of the employees for the benefit Of the organisation.
  • It helps to maintain good personal relations and also helps the followers in fulfilling their needs.
  • It helps to introduce the required changes in the organisation smoothly.
  • It helps to resolve the conflicts within the organisation effectively without leading to any disruptions in working of the organisation.
  • It facilitates training of subordinates by the leader.

Features of Leadership

  • Leadership shows the ability of an individual to influence others.
  • Leadership seeks to bring about a desired change in the behaviour of others.
  • Leadership reflects the interpersonal relations between leaders and followers.
  • Leadership is an effective tool to achieve common goals of the drganisation.
  • Leadership is a continuous process.

Styles of Leadership

  • Autocratic leadership
  • Democratic leadership
  • Laissez-faire

COMMUNICATION
Communication: Definition
Communication is defined as a process of exchange of ideas, views, facts, feelings etc., between or among people to create common understanding.

Importance of Communication

  • Acts as basis of coordination among departments, activities and persons in the organisation
  • Helps in smooth working of an enterprise as all organisational interactions depend on communica tions.
  • Acts as basis of decision making as it provides the information needed for decision making.
  • Increases managerial efficiency as it lubricates the entire organisation and keeps the organisation at work with efficiency.
  • Promotes cooperation and industrial peace as the two way communication promotes cooperation and mutual understanding between the management and workers.
  • Effective communication helps to establish effective leadership.
  • Boosts morale and provides motivation to the employees and managers to achieve higher goals.

Elements Involved in Communication Process

  • Sender refers to a person who conveys his thoughts or ideas to the receiver.
  • Message is the content of ideas, feelings, suggestions, order etc., intended to be communicated.
  • Encoding refers to the process of converting the message into communication symbols such as words, pictures, gestures etc.,
  • Media is the path through which encoded message is transmitted to receiver through a face to face interaction, phone call, internet
  • Decoding is the process of converting encoded symbols of the sender.
  • Receiver refers to the person who receives communication of the sender.
  • Feedback includes all those actions of receiver indicating that he has received and understood message of sender.
  • Noise means some obstruction to communication

Types of Formal Communication Networks

  1. Formal communication is of two types:
    Vertical
    1. Upwards (from subordinate to his superior)
    2. Downward (froma superior to his subordinate)
      Horizontal
    3. Takes place between one division and another
  2. Infomal Communication
    • Informal communication is generally referred to as the ‘Grapevine’ because it spreads throughout the organisation with its branches going out in all directions in complete disregard to the levels of au thority.

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION IN THE ORGANISATIONS
Semantic Barriers

  • Badly expressed massage
  • Symbols with different meanings
  • Faulty translations
  • Unclarified assumptions
  • Technical jargon
  • Body language and gesture decoding

Organisational Barriers

  • Organisational policy
  • Rules and regulations
  • Status
  • Complexity in organisation structure
  • Organisational facilities

Psychological Barriers

  • Premature evaluation
  • Lack of attention
  • Loss by transmission and poor retention
  • Distrust

Personal Barriers

  • Fear of challenge to authority
  • Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates
  • Unwillingness to communicate
  • Lack of proper incentives

Ways of Improving Communication Effectiveness

  • Clarifying the ideas before communication
  • Communicate according to the needs of receiver
  • Consult others before communicating
  • Be aware of languages, tone and content of message
  • Convey things of help and value to listeners
  • Ensure proper feedback
  • Follow up communications
  • Be a good listener

MIND MAP
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LATEST CBSE QUESTIONS

Question 1.
Give the meaning of ‘motivation’ as an element of directing. (CBSE, Delhi 2017)
Answer:
Motivation is the process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals.

Question 2.
Explain briefly any three functions performed by a supervisor. (CBSE, Delhi 2017)
Answer:
The three functions performed by the supervisor are stated below:

  1. Supervisor maintains day-to-day contact and maintains friendly relations with workers and acts as a guide, friend and philosopher to them.
  2. Supervisor provides good on the-job training to the workers and employees and helps to build efficient team of workers.
  3. A good supervisor analyses the work performed and gives feedback to the workers. He suggests ways and means of developing work skills.

Question 3.
Umang Gupta is the Managing Director of Denver Ltd. The company had established a good name for itself and had been doing well. It was known for timely completion of orders. The Production Manager, Ms. Kanta was efficiently handling the processing of order and had a team of fourteen motivated employees working under her. Everything was going on well. Unfortunately she met with an accident. Umang knew that in the absence of Ms. Kanta, the company may not be able to meet the deadlines. He also knew that not meeting the deadlines may lead to customer dissatisfaction with the risk of loss of business and goodwill. So, he had a meeting with his employees in which accurate the speedy processing of orders was planned. Everybody agreed to work as team because the behaviour of Umang Gupta was positive towards the employees of the organisation. Hence everyone put in extra time and efforts and the targets were met on time.
Not only this, Umang visited Ms. Kanta and advised her to take sufficient rest.

  1. Identify the leadership style of Umang Gupta and draw a diagram depicting the style.
  2. State any two values highlighted by the behaviour of Umang Gupta. (CBSE, Delhi 2017)

Answer:

  1. Democratic style of leadership is being adopted by Umang Gupta. In adjoining diagram B, C, D, and E are the subordinates of A who is a leader.
    cbse-class-12-case-studies-in-business-studies-directing-5
  2. The two values being highlighted by the behaviour of Umang Gupta are:
    • Responsibility
    • Participation

Question 4.
Explain any three points that highlight the importance of directing function of management.
(CBSE, Delhi 2017)
Answer:
The three points that highlight the importance of directing function of management are
described below:

  1. Initiate action: Directing helps to initiate action by people in the organisation towards attainment of desired objectives. It is the first execution function of management.
  2. Integrates employees efforts: Directing seeks to integrate the individual efforts of employees in the organisation towards the realisation of the organisational goals.
  3. Helps to realise their potential: Directing provides effective guidance, motivation and leadership to the employees so as to enable them to realise their potential and capabilities.

Question 5.
Explain briefly any three measures to overcome the communication barriers. (CBSE, Delhi 2017)
Answer:
The three measures to overcome the communication barriers:

  • Communicate according to the needs of receiver: For effective communication it is important that the message should be adjusted according to the education and understanding levels of the receiver.
  • Be aware of languages, tone and content of message: The contents of the message, tone, language used, manner in which the message is to be communicated are the important aspects of effective communication.
  • Ensure proper feedback: Inorder to ensure the success of communication, questions may be asked regarding the message conveyed. Thus the communication process may be improved by the feedback received to make ensure that the receiver has understood the sender’s ideas clearly.

Question 6.
Explain briefly any three semantic barriers to communication. (CBSE, OD 2017)
Answer:
Semantic barriers are the ones that arise due to the problems and hinderances in the process of encoding and decoding of message into words.
The three types of semantic barriers are described below:

  • Badly expressed message: Many a times due to inadequate vocabulary, usage of wrong words, omission of required words etc. the sender may not be able to convey the intended meaning to the receiver.
  • Faulty translations: Many a times a message has to be translated in an easily understandable language keeping in view the needs of the receiver. However, the message may not be conveyed in the desired manner if the translator is not proficient in both the languages and mistakes may happen which is likely to change the meaning of messages due to use of inappropriate words.
  • Technical jargon: In order to communicate effectively it is important that the words used are easily understandable by the receiver. However, many a times it has been observed that the specialists may use technical terminology which cannot be comprehended by the receivers in the desired manner.

Question 7.
Explain briefly any three organisational barriers to communication. (CBSE, OD 2017)
Answer:
Organisation barriers includes the factors related to organisation structure, rules and regulation, authority responsibility relationships etc. which are likely to hinder the smooth flow of communication within the organisation. The three types of organizational barriers are described below:

  • Organisational policy: The effectiveness of communications within the organization is likely to be adversely affected if the organizational policy either explicitly or implicitly restricts the free flow of communication within the organization like if an organization is highly centralized.
  • Status: The subordinates may not be able to express themselves freely if their superior being status conscious prefers to maintain a distance with them. This kind of an attitude of the superior tends to create a psychological distance between them.
  • Organisational facilities: If an organization provides facilities like frequent meetings, suggestion box, complaint box, social and cultural gathering, transparency in operations and so on in order to facilitate free flow of communication it will lead to better management. This approach will foster smooth, clear and timely communications.

Question 8.
Explain briefly any three personal barriers to communication. (CBSE, OD 2017)
Answer:
The personal barriers arise as a result of the personal outlook of both sender and receiver that may exert influence on effective communication. The three personal barriers to communication are described below:

  • Tear of challenge to authority: At times a superior may tend to withhold or suppress such communication which he feels is likely to have an adverse affect on his authority.
  • Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates: A superior is unlikely to seek any advise from his subordinates if he lacks confidence on their competencies.
  • Unwillingness to communicate: Many a times, a subordinate may withhold any communication deliberately if he feels its disclosure is likely to affect his/her interests adversely.

Question 9.
Why is it said that directing takes place where ever superior subordinate relationship exists?
(CBSE, Sample Paper, 2017)
Answer:
In every organisation, directing function is performed by every manager regardless of the level of management from top executive to supervisor. Therefore, it is said that directing takes place wherever superior subordinate relations exist .

Question 10.
M/s Beta Ltd. deals in consumer goods. It employs 100 workers and 10 operative managers who give guidance and support to the workers while operating the machinery. The company has a policy of granting leave as per the requirement of the workers. Workers 3 H 3 are generally granted leave on festivals and special occasions. Recently on Puja festival, it received a big order. Workers are keen to take Puja holidays while management is pressing hard for overtime. This matter was placed before the Personnel Manager who called the meeting of operative managers and workers to inform them about the changes in the incentive plan which states payment of double wages for working overtime and triple wages for working on holidays. Workers without any pressure voluntarily took limited holidays and were able to increase their earning by working overtime and on holidays. During Board of Directors meeting, Personnel Manager was asked to update the management for achieving higher output, meeting timely supplies without any confrontation with workers. Personnel Manager replied, “I just used a carrot with no sticks approach”.
(CBSE, Sample Paper, 2017)
By quoting the lines from above paragraph state any two elements of directing.
Answer:
The two elements of directing being discussed in the above paragraph are outlined below:

  1. Supervision: Supervision is the process of overseeing the work of the subordinates and giving instructions to ensure optimum utilisation of resources and achievement of work targets.
    Supervision-” it employs 10 operating managers ……………….. support to the workers.”
  2. Motivation: Motivation is the process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals.
    Motivation-“to pay double wages for working overtime and triple wages for working on holidays”.

Question 11.
Describe briefly Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of motivation. (CBSE, Sample Paper, 2017)
Answer:
The various types of needs that exist in a hierarchy within every human being are stated below:

  • Basic Physiological Needs: These needs are most basic in the hierarchy and are linked to primary needs like hunger, thirst, shelter etc. These needs of employees may be fulfilled by providing basic salary and the necessary breaks to use the washroom and eat food.
  • Safety/Security Needs: These needs offer security and protection from physical and emotional harm. Job security and safe working conditions may be offered to the employees for the fulfillment of these needs.
  • Affiliation/Belonging Needs: These needs refer to affection, sense of belongingness, acceptance and friendship. By encouraging cooperative teamwork and by being-an accessible and kind superiors these needs of employees may be fulfilled.
  • Esteem Needs: These include factors such as self-respect, autonomy, status, recognition and attention. By giving praise and recognition when the employee does well and offering promotion these needs of the employee may be fulfilled.
  • Self Actualisation Needs: It is the highest level of need in the hierarchy. It refers to
    the drive to become what one is capable of becoming. These needs include growth,
    self-fulfilment and achievement of goals. By providing challenging work and giving them flexibility and autonomy in their jobs, these needs of the employees may be fulfilled.

Question 12.
Prateek is working in a multinational company in Noida. He was running a temperature for the last many days. When his blood was tested, he was found to be positive for malaria. He was admitted in a hospital and a blood transfusion was advised by the doctors as his condition was very serious. One of his colleagues sent a text message to his superior, Mr. B. Chatterjee. Mr. B. Chatterjee immediately sent a text message to the employees of the organisation requesting them to donate blood for Prateek. When the General Manager came to know about it, he ordered for fumigation in the company premises and cleaning the surroundings.

  1. From the above paragraph, quote lines that indicate formal and informal communication.
  2. State any two features of informal communication.
  3. Identify any two values that are being communicated to society in the above case.
    (CBSE, OD 2016)

Answer:

  1. Informal communication: “One of his colleagues sent a text message to his superior, Mr. B. Chatterjee. Mr. B. Chatterjee immediately sent a text message to the employees of the organisation requesting them to donate blood for Prateek.”
    Formal communication: “When the general manger came to know about it, he ordered for fumigation in the company premises and cleaning surroundings.”
  2. The features of informal communication are as follows:
    • The grapevine/ informal communication spreads very fast and sometimes gets distorted.
    • It is very difficult to detect the source of such communication.
  3. The two values that are being communicated to the society are:
    • Humanity
    • Cleanliness

Question 13.
Mr. Shubhendu Bose is the owner of Bikmac Enterprises carrying on the business of manufacturing various kinds of biscuits. There was a lot of discontentment in the organisation and the targets were not being met. He asked his son, Naval, who had recently completed his MBA, to find out the reason.
Naval found that all the decision-making of the enterprise were in the hands of his father. His father didn’t believe in his employees. As a result, both the employer and the employees were not able to understand each others’ messages in the same sense. Thus, the employees were not happy and targets were not met.

  1. Identify any two communication barriers because of which Bikmac Enterprises was not able to achieve its target.
  2. State one more barrier each of the types identified in (1) above. (CBSE, Delhi 2016)

Answer:

  1. The two communication barriers because of which Bikmac Enterprises was not able to achieve its targets are:
    • Organisational barriers: Organisational Policy
      If the organisational policy, is not supportive to free flow of communication, it may hamper effectiveness of communications. Like in the above case Naval found that all the decision making power of the organisation was highly centralised as it was in hands of his father only.
    • Psychological barriers: Distrust
      Sometimes if there is lack of trust between the parties, they cannot understand each other’s message in the same sense. Like in the above case Naval found out that his father didn’t believe in his employees.
  2. Organisational barriers:
    Status: Sometimes a status conscious manager also may not allow his subordinates to express their feelings freely. This kind of an attitude may create psychological distance between him and his subordinates.
    Psychological barriers:
    Premature evaluation: Sometimes people tend to evaluate the meaning of message even before the sender completes his message on the basis of their own judgement, experience etc.

Question 14.
Mr. Fernandes is the owner of Unibie Enterprises, carrying on the business of manufactur¬ing electrical appliances. There is a lot of discontentment in the organisation and targets are not being met. He asked his son, Michel, who has recently completed his MBA to find out the reason.
Michel found that all the decision-making of the enterprise were in the hands of his father. Moreover, his father did not have confidence in the competency of the employees. Thus, the employees were not happy.

  1. Identify any two communication barriers because of which Unibie Enterprise was not able to achieve its target.
  2. State one more barrier each of the types identified in part (1) above. (CBSE, OD 2016)

Answer:

  1. The two communication barriers because of which Bikmac Enterprises was not able to achieve its targets are:
    • Organisational barriers: Organisational policy
      If the organisational policy, is not supportive to free flow of communication, it may hamper effectiveness of communications. Like in the above case Michel found that all the decision making power of the organisation was highly centralised as it was in hands of his father only.
    • Personal barriers:
      Lack of confidence of superior in the subordinate: The personal factors of both sender and receiver may exert influence on effective communication and they may not be able to understand each other’s message in the same sense. Like in the above case Michel found out that his father didn’t have confidence in the competency of the employees.
  2. Organisational barriers:
    Status: Sometimes a status conscious manager also may not allow his subordinates to express their feelings freely. This kind of an attitude may create psychological distance between him and his subordinates.
    Personal barriers:
    Pear of challenge to authority: If a superior may withhold or suppress the communication that he may perceive is likely to have an adverse affect on his authority.

Question 15.
Alfa Ltd. was dealing in renewable energy services. To get the business, the team leader and his team used to travel to different states to give presentations to the clients. As per the policy of the company, the team leader used to travel by air whereas his team travelled by road/train. It was not only time-consuming but also forced the female team members to travel alone at times.
As a result, the subordinates were not acting in a desired manner to achieve the organisational goals. The CEO of the company came to know about it. He called the team leader, discussed the matter with him and decided to change the travel policy of the company. It was decided that in future, all the members including the leader would travel together and usefully utilise the travelling time in discussion about the presentation to be given to the clients. This made a positive impact and every member of the team started acting in a manner as desired by the team leader.
State the features of the element of the function of management used by the CEO. (CBSE, OD 2016)
Answer:
The CEO Alfa Ltd. has used Motivation, which is an element of directing function of management in order to deal with the situation effectively.
The features of motivation are explained below:

  • Motivation is an internal feeling: An urge, drives, or needs of human being, which are internal, but likely to influence human behaviour.
  • Motivation produces goal directed behaviour: A motivated employees is likely to act in a desired manner and contribute effectively.
  • Motivation can be either positive or negative: Positive motivation can be provided through rewards like increase in pay, promotion, recognition etc. Negative motivation involves use of negative means like punishment, stopping increments, threatening etc. which also may prompt a person to act in the desired way.

Question 16.
Samita had been working as an assistant manager with Johnson Enterprises for the last ten years. She was very popular amongst her colleagues because of her commitment and dedication towards work. When the manager senior to her retired, all her colleagues thought that now Samita would be promoted. But to everyone’s surprise, the vacant post was filled by an outsider, Mrs. Rita. Samita felt demoralised and her performance started declining. She would absent herself often and could not meet her targets.
Mrs. Rita was a good leader who would not only instruct her subordinates but would also guide and inspire them. She notices Samita’s behaviour and felt that her performance could be improved. She started involving Samita in the decision-making issues related to the organisation and made her a part of a high level joint-management committee. Samita was now punctual in office and her performance started improving.

  1. Identify the function of management being performed by Mrs. Rita.
  2. Name the element of the above function of management which helped Rita improve Samita’s behaviour.
  3. State any three features of the element identified in (2) above. (CBSE, Delhi 2015)

Answer:

  1. Mrs. Rita has performed the directing function of management.
  2. Mrs. Rita has been able to improve Samita’s behaviour with the help of motivation which is an element of directing.
  3. The features of motivation are explained below:
    • Motivation is an internal feeling: An urge, drives, or needs of human being, which are internal, but are likely to influence human behaviour.
    • Motivation produces goal directed behaviour.
    • Motivation can be either positive or negative: Positive motivation can be provided through rewards like increase in pay, promotion, recognition etc., Negative motivation involves use of negative means like punishment, stopping increments, threatening etc. which also may prompt a person to act in the desired way.

Question 17.
Jaideep recently joined as the Managing Director of Tivori Ltd., an apparel designing company. He observed that the company had a number of experienced fashion designers on its payroll. They regularly offered useful suggestions which were neither appreciated nor rewarded by the company. Instead, the company outsourced its services to some renowned fashion designers and paid them a good compensation for their services. Because of this, the employees felt disheartened and stopped giving useful suggestions.

  1. Identify the communication barrier discussed above.
  2. State the category of this communication barrier.
  3. Explain any other communication barriers of the same category. (CBSE, OD 2015)

Answer:

  1. The communication barrier discussed in the above paragraph is Lack of proper incentives
  2. It is a type of personal barrier.
  3. Some of the types of personal barriers are described below:
    • Fear of challenge to authority: If a superior may withhold or suppress the communication which he perceives is likely to adversely affect his authority..
    • Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates: A superior may not seek the advice or opinions of their subordinates if he / she do not have confidence on their competency.
    • Unwillingness to communicate: Sometimes, subordinates may deliberately with hold any communication with their superiors, if they perceive that it may adversely affect their personal interests.

Question 18.
Neeraj, a sales representative of Omida. Ltd. has changed seven jobs in the last one year. He is a hardworking person but is not able to finalise deals with customers due to his inadequate vocabulary and omission of needed words. Sometimes, he uses wrong words because of which the intended meaning is not conveyed. All this creates a misunderstandings between him and his clients.

  1. Identify the communication barrier discussed above.
  2. State the category of this communication barrier.
  3. Explain any other communication barriers of the same category. (CBSE, Delhi 2015)

Answer:

  1. The communication barrier discussed above is badly expressed message.
  2. This kind of barrier falls in the category of semantic barriers.
  3. Semantic barriers are concerned with problems and obstructions in the process of encoding and decoding of message into words or impressions. A few of these are discussed below:
    • Symbols with different meanings: Sometimes, a word may have several meanings. The communication will be effective only if the receiver perceives it in the same manner as intended by communicator.
    • Faulty translations: Many a times it has been noted that if the translator is not proficient with both the languages, mistakes may creep in causing different meanings to the communication.
    • Technical jargon: It is usually seen that specialists use technical jargon while explaining something. If the persons with whom they are communicating are not specialists in the concerned field, they may not be able to understand the actual meaning of many such words.
    • Body language and gesture decoding: While speaking, one may tend to move his/her body in a certain manner. If there is no match between what is said and what is expressed in body movements, communications may be wrongly perceived by the receiver.

Question 19.
Pramod was a supervisor at ‘Annapurna Aata’ factory. The factory was producing 200 quintals of aata every day. His job was to make sure that the work went on smoothly and there was no interruption in production. He was a good leader who would give orders only after consulting his subordinates and work-out the policies with the acceptance of the group.
Identify and describe the leadership style being adopted by Pramod. (CBSE, Delhi 2015)
Answer:
As a supervisor of ‘Annapurna Atta/ Pramod has adopted the democratic style of leadership.
Democratic leadership is also known as participative leadership. In this type of leadership style, the members of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process.
Everyone is given the opportunity to participate, ideas are exchanged freely, and discussion is encouraged. It is one of the most effective style of leadership and leads to higher productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale.

Question 20.
Rahim was working in an enterprise on a daily wages basis. It was difficult for him to fulfill the basic needs of his family. His daughter fell ill. He had no money for his daughter’s treatment. To meet the expenses of her treatment, he participated in a cycle race and won the prize money. The cycle company offered him a permanent pensionable job which he happily accepted.

  1. By quoting lines from the above paragraph, identify the needs of Rahim that are satisfied by the offer of the cycle company.
  2. Also, explain two other needs of Rahim followed by above that are still to be satisfied.
    (CBSE, Delhi 2014)

Answer:

  1. The physiological needs and safety needs of Rahim are being satisfied by the offer of the company.
  2. The other needs of Rahim followed by the physiological needs and safety needs that still need to be satisfied are as follows:
    • Affiliation/Belonging Needs: These needs refer to affection, sense of belongingness, acceptance and friendship. The organisation, by encouraging cooperative teamwork and by having accessible and kind superiors, can fulfill these needs of its employees.
    • Esteem Needs: These include factors such as self-respect, autonomy status, recognition and attention. The organisation,by giving praise and recognition when the employees do well, and offering promotions, can fulfill these needs of its employees.

Question 21.
Ankur is working as a production manager in an organisation. His subordinate, Saurabh, discussed with him a method of production which will reduce the cost of production. But due to some domestic problems and Ankur’s mind being pre-occupied, he is not in a position to understand the message. Saurabh got disappointed by this. Identify the factor which acts as communication barrier. Explain three other factors of the same group of communication barriers. (CBSE, OD 2012)
Answer:
Ankur is not in a position to understand the message due to lack of attention. It is a type of psychological barrier. The preoccupied mind of the receiver leads to non-listening of a message which acts as a major psychological barrier. Some of the other psychological barriers are described below:

  • Premature evaluation: Sometimes people tend to evaluate the meaning of a message on the basis of their own judgement, experience etc., even before the sender completes his message. This may lead to misinterpretation of the message.
  • Loss by transmission and poor retention: When communication passes through various levels, successive transmissions of the message result in the loss of information or transmission of inaccurate information. Also, sometimes due to poor retention, people cannot retain the information for a long time if they are inattentive or not interested.
  • Distrust: If the communicator and communicator not trust each other, it may act as a barrier. This is because if they do not believe each other, they may not understand each other’s message in the desired sense.

Question 22.
Rakesh is working under his superior Neeraj. He always communicate useful ideas and suggestions to his superior regarding the reduction of cost, improvements in the product, etc. Neeraj implements his suggestions and has always found favourable results but he never appreciates Rakesh for his suggestions. Now, Rakesh decides not to communicate any suggestion or idea to Neeraj. Identify the factor which acts as a communication barrier. Explain three other factors of the same group of communication barriers. (CBSE, Delhi 2012)
Answer:
Due to the lack of proper incentives, Rakesh has decided not to communicate any suggestion or idea to Neeraj. If there is no motivation or incentive for communication, subordinates may not take initiative to communicate.
It is a type of personal barrier. Sometimes the personal factors of both the sender and the receiver may exert influence on effective communication. A few of these are discussed below:

  • Fear of challenge to authority: A superior may withhold or suppress the communication which he perceives is likely to adversely affect his authority.
  • Lack of confidence of superior in his subordinates: A superior may not seek the advice or opinions of his/her subordinates if he/she does not have confidence on their competency.
  • Unwillingness to communicate: Sometimes, subordinates may deliberately withhold any communication with their superiors if they perceive that it may adversely affect their personal interests.

Question 23.
Ayasha Ltd. assured their employees that in spite of the recession, no workers will be retrenched from their jobs.

  1. Name and explain the type of incentive offered to the employees.
  2. Explain one more incentive of the same category. (CBSE, Delhi 2010)

Answer:

  1. The type of incentive offered to the employees is job security. It is a non-financial incentive. In order to fulfill their safety needs, the employees want certain stability about future income and work. As a result they feel motivated and give better job performance. However, it has been observed many a times that when people feel that they are not likely to lose their jobs, they may become complacent.
  2. The other incentive of this category is employee participation. It is a means by which the employees may be involved in the decision making process of the issues related to them. The sense of participation motivates them to contribute positively towards their job performance.

Question 24.
Rajat, a sales manager, achieved his sales targets one month in advance. This achievement was displayed on the notice board and a certificate for the best performance was awarded to him by the CEO of the company.

  1. Name the incentive provided to Rajat.
  2. Identify the type of incentive.
  3. List two other incentives of the type identified in part (2). (CBSE, 2008)

Answer:

  1. Recognition is the incentive provided to Rajat.
  2. It is a type of non-financial incentive.
  3. The two other types of non-financial incentives are job security and status.

Question 25.
Mohan and Sohan are friends working in Surya Ltd. as Production Manager and Sales Manger respectively. In an interdepartmental meeting, Sohan informed Mohan about a change in the marketing policy of the company.
Identify the type of communication used in the above example. (CBSE, 2008)
Answer:
Formal communication is being used in the above example.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

Question 1.
Post demonetisation, bank employees have been experiencing hectic long working hours, which has been highly praised by all. Banks chalked out a compensation plan for their employees, who have been working long hours like offering compensatory “off-days” in lieu of holidays on which the employees worked , giving “additional money” to the employees and so on. Reshma (42), who has been working with a nationalized bank for seven years, said, ” We have worked tirelessly to meet customer’s demands,”. Moreover she added that “There were several circulars from the head office and RBI. We had to go through them thoroughly and adhere to all the instructions. It is also important to ensure transactions go smoothly and we solve customer-staff disputes,”
In context of the above case:

  1. Identify the human need of Reshma as per Maslow’s need hierarchy theory which was affected due to demonitisation.
  2. Identify the type of incentives which were provided to the bank employees for assuming their responsibility diligently.
  3. State any two values which the banks are propagating towards their customers.

Answer:

  1. The human need of Reshma as per Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of which was affected due to demonitisation is described below:
    Basis physiological needs: These needs are most basic in the hierarchy and are linked to primary needs like hunger, thirst, shelter etc.
  2. Both monetary and non-monetary incentive were being provided to the bank employees for assuming their responsibility diligently.
  3. The two values which the banks are propagating towards their customers are:
    • Customer satisfaction
    • Trust

Question 2.
Roshan is the chief chef of ‘Khidmat7 restaurant located in the city of Bangaluru. The place is known for its exquisite Mughlai cuisine especially mutton biryani and kababs. All the food is prepared under Roshan’s purview. The various activities in the kitchen are initiated in accordance to his instructions. He is very clear and specific in issuing instructions to his subordinates in order to ensure smooth working of the department. He personally oversees the method followed by the chefs for preparation of each dish. He misses no opportunity to praise his subordinates for their good work. All his team members feel very happy and satisfied under his direction. He provides constant guidance to them in order to improve upon its taste and presentation and also encourages them to innovate and be more creative in their work.
In the above context:

  1. Identify the various elements of directing mentioned in the above paragraph by quoting lines from the paragraph.
  2. Describe briefly any two points to highlight the importance of directing as a function of management.

Answer:

  1. The various elements of directing mentioned in the above paragraph are as follows:
    • Communication: “He is very clear and specific in issuing instructions to his
      subordinates in order to ensure smooth working of the department.”
      Supervision-. “He personally oversees the method followed by the chefs for preparation of each dish.”
    • Leadership: “He provides constant guidance to them in order to improve upon its taste and presentation and also encourages them to innovate and be more creative in their work.”
    • Motivation: “He misses no opportunity to praise his subordinates for their good work.”
  2. The importance of directing as a function of management is described below:
    • Initiates action: Directing helps to initiate action by people in the organisation towards attainment of desired objectives. It is the first execution function of management.
    • Integrates employees’ efforts: Directing seeks to integrate the individual efforts of employees in the organisation towards the realisation of the organisational goals.
    • Helps to realise their potential: Directing provides effective guidance, motivation and leadership to the employees so as to enable them to realise their potential and capabilities, (any two)

Question 3.
Anurag has joined as a supervisor in a hospital. He realises that the support staff workers are not working up to their full potential. Due to a constant conflict with the management on wages, they have developed an indifferent attitude towards it. The workers have become lazy and tend to avoid work. Moreover, there are a few internal differences amongst the workers. In order to motivate them he starts giving them praise and encouragement as a result of which the workers slowly start showing improvements in their work performance.
In the above context:

  1. Define the term supervision.
  2. What are the challenges that Anurag is facing as a supervisor? Outline the role he needs to play in overcoming them.

Answer:

  1. The term supervision consists of two words i.e. ‘super’ which means over and above and ‘vision’ which means the art of seeing objects. Supervision is the process of overseeing the work of a subordinate by his superior.
  2. Anurag’s role as a supervisor is very critical because:
    • As a link between workers and management, he has to work towards resolving the conflicts between management and workers. He should convey the management’s ideas to the workers on one hand and workers’ problems to the management on the other.
    • He should strive to maintain harmony among the workers by helping to clear out the internal difference among them.
    • He has to ensure that the performance of work in the hospital is according to the targets set. He has to assume the responsibility for task achievement and motivates his workers effectively.

Question 4.
Neeraj has been working as a sewing machine operator in an export house for the past ten years. His basic work is to seam the parts of a garment together, and attach buttons, hooks, zippers, and accessories to produce clothing. Considering the fact that Neeraj is an experienced operator, he is well versed with the fundamentals of industrial production and possesses good communication skills. The plant superintendent in the factory recommends Neeraj’s name to the production manager for the post of supervisor which will fall vacant after a month on the retirement of the present supervisor. Consequently, Neeraj is assigned the post of supervisor and his salary is increased accordingly. Moreover, as per the policy of the export house, he is offered free medical aid and education to his two children.
In context of the above case:

  1. Identify the type of source of recruitment used by the export house to fill up the post of supervisor. Give any two advantages of using this source.
  2. Identify the types of financial incentives offered to Neeraj by quoting lines from the paragraph.

Answer:

  1. The internal source of recruitment has been used by the export house to fill up the post of supervisor through promotion. The two advantages of using internal source of recruitment are stated below:
    • Employees are motivated to improve their performance: When employees are promoted internally from within an organisation, it has a positive impact on their commitment and loyalty and they tend remain satisfied with their jobs. Also, it may lead to a chain of promotion at lower levels in the organisation. As a result,it motivates the employees to improve their performance through learning and practice.
    • Internal recruitment simplifies the process of selection and placement: The candidates can be appraised more perfectly and economically as that are already working in the organisation. As the candidates are already known to the organisation, it is considered to be a more reliable method of recruitment.
  2. The types of financial incentives offered to Neeraj are as follows:
    • Pay and allowances: “his salary is increased accordingly.”
    • Perquisites: “as per the policy of the export house, he is offered free medical aid and education to his two children.”

Question 5.
After completing his bachelor’s in computer science, Abhijeet joined an IT consultancy firm. He observed there that the senior management more often communicated failures than successes. They rarely shared any good news related to the growth of the firm or give any recognition to its employees for their extraordinary contributions towards the firm. As a result, Abhijeet never felt encouraged enough to work up to his full potential and started exploring other avenues for employment.
In the context of the above case:

  1. Identify and explain the element of directing in the absence of which the employees don’t feel encouraged to work.
  2. State the importance of this element as identified in part (1) by giving any two suitable points

Answer:

  1. The element of directing being referred to is motivation.
  2. The importance of motivation is described below:
    • Improves performance: Motivation helps to improve the performance of both the employees as well as the organisation. This is because motivated employees contribute their maximum efforts for organisational goals.
    • Reduces employee turnover: Motivation helps to reduce employee turnover and thereby saves the cost of new recruitment and training. This is due to the fact that the managers identify the motivational needs of employees and provide suitable incentives. Consequently the employees feel satisfied and may not think of leaving the organisation.

Question 6.
Atuliya has started his own consultancy firm under the name ‘Happy Go Lucky’ after working for five years in a company as a wedding planner. Considering the fact that he is into a labour intensive business and motivation is a complex process, Atulia wants to offer such rewards and benefits that will help to fulfill the various needs of the employees and will inspire them to give their best to the organisation.
In the context of the above case:

  1. Why is motivation considered to be a complex process?
  2. Name the various types of needs that exist in a hierarchy within every human being. Also, suggest any two suitable incentives for each of these that Atulia may offer to his employees.

Answer:

  1. Motivation is considered to be a complex process as the individuals may differ in their expectations, perceptions and reactions. Therefore, the same type of motivation may not have uniform effect on all the persons.
  2. The various types of needs that exist in a hierarchy within every human being are stated below:
    • Basic Physiological Needs: These needs are most basic in the hierarchy and are linked to primary needs like hunger, thirst, shelter etc. Atulia may fulfill these needs of his employees by providing basic salary and the necessary breaks to use the bathroom and eat and/or drink.
    • Safety/Security Needs: These needs offer security and protection from physical and emotional harm. Atulia may offer job security and safe working conditions to his employees for the fulfillment of these needs.
    • Affiliation/Belonging Needs: These needs refer to affection, sense of belongingness, acceptance and friendship. Atulia, by encouraging cooperative teamwork and by being an accessible and kind manager, can fulfill these needs of his employees.
    • Esteem Needs: These include factors such as self-respect, autonomy, status, recognition and attention. Atulia may give praise and recognition when the employee does well, and offer promotions to fulfill these needs of his employees.
    • Self Actualisation Needs: It is the highest level of need in the hierarchy. It refers to the drive to become what one is capable of becoming. These needs include growth, self-fulfilment and achievement of goals. Atulia, by providing challenging work and giving them flexibility and autonomy in their jobs, may fulfill these needs of his employees.

Question 7.
Sunidhi has started a designer studio in the basement of her residence after completing her masters in fashion designing. She has appointed ten employees to take care of the various aspects of the work. She interacts regularly with each employee to tell exactly what is expected of him/her and what he/she needs to do to be regarded as a’ good performer. At the same time she allows a free work environment wherein the employees openly chit chat with each other in order to fulfil their social and emotional needs. Sometimes, these interactions also lead to spreading rumours which are not authentic.
In the context of the above case:

  1. Name and explain the two types of communication being referred to in the above paragraph.
  2. How does effective communication increases managerial efficiency?

Answer:

  1. The two types of communication being referred to in the above paragraph are formal communication and informal communication.
    • Formal communication: The communication that flows through official channels de¬signed in the organisation structure is called formal communication. This corn-
      munication may take place between a subordinate and superior or among same team employees or managers. Usually a written record of such communications is maintained, recorded and filed in the office. Formal communication may be further classified as – Vertical and Horizontal.
    • Informal communication: Informal communication is the type of communication that takes place without following the formal lines of communication. It is generally referred to as the ‘grapevine’ because it spreads throughout the organisation with its branches going out in all directions in utter disregard to the levels of authority. The informal communication arises out of needs of employees to exchange their views, which cannot be done through formal channels.
  2. Effective communication increases managerial efficiency by lubricating the working of the entire organisation through quick and effective performance of managerial functions. It enables the management to express the goals and targets, issue instructions, allocate jobs and responsibilities and look after the performance of subordinates.

Question 8.
Gagan has joined as a Managing Director of True Help Ltd., a company engaged in the business of providing road side assistance to the vehicle owners. He was previously working in an automobile company. As a part of the joining incentive, the company has allotted him 400 shares of the company.
In context of the above case:

  1. Identify the type of source of recruitment used by True Help Ltd. to fill up the post of Managing Director.
  2. Identify the type of financial incentive offered to Gagan. Also, state any one other method that can be used to offer financial incentives to the employees.

Answer:

  1. External source of recruitment has been used by True Help Ltd. to fill up the post of Managing Director.
  2. Co-partnership/ Stock option is the type of financial incentive offered to Gagan.
    The other method that can be used to offer financial incentives to the employees is Bonus. Bonus is an incentive offered over and above the wages/ salary to the employees

Question 9.
Yash has set up a small scale manufacturing unit for making different varieties of low cost detergents. In order to market his product he has employed a team of five salesmen. Each salesman has been assigned specific areas in the city. He holds a meeting every month for determining the objectives to achieved during the coming month. A sales target is pre¬determined for each month which is mutually agreed by both Yash and his sales team. If the salesmen succeeds in reaching this target a bonus is paid out to all of them along with the monthly salary.
In context of the above case:

  1. What style of leadership is adopted by Yash? Explain by quoting lines from the para.
  2. Name the type of non financial incentive being offered to the salesmen by seeking their involvement in deciding the monthly targets of the firm.

Answer:

  1. The democratic style of leadership is adopted by Yash. A democratic leader encourages his subordinates to participate in the process of decision making. Thereby, the manager is able to motivate his subordinates to perform their best, as they themselves have set the goals.
    “A sales target is pre-determined for each month which is mutually agreed by both Yash and his sales team.”
  2. Employee participation is the type of non financial incentive that is being offered to the salesmen by seeking their involvement in deciding the monthly targets of the firm.

Question 10.
Priyank works as a banquet manager in a hotel. He feels highly motivated at his job because the work that is assigned to him frequently involves variety of challenges. He is given more autonomy and responsibility and provided with ample opportunities for personal growth and a meaningful work experience.
In context of the above case:

  1. Define the term ‘motivation’.
  2. What are the measures used to motivate the employees to improve performance known as? Give its classification.
  3. Identify the type of non-financial incentive being offered to Priyank.

Answer:

  1. Motivation refers to the process of stimulating people to action to achieve desired goals.
  2. The measures used to motivate the employees to improve performance are known as incentives. These incentives may be broadly classified as financial and non-financial.
  3. Job Enrichment is the type of non-financial incentive being offered to Priyank.

Question 11.
Google Inc. is an American multinational corporation that is best known for running one of the largest search engines on the World Wide Web (WWW). Every day, 200 million people use it. Google was named the 2014 “Best Company to Work For” by the Great Place to Work Institute and Fortune Magazine. The organization topped the’list for the fifth time. The company hosts employee forums on all fridays where there is an examination of the 20 most asked questions. Moreover, its employees can make use of any of a number of channels of expression to communicate their ideas and thoughts. Channels include Google+ conversations, a wide variety of surveys, Fixits (24 hour sprints wholly dedicated to fixing a specific problem) and even direct emails to any of the Google leaders.
In the above context:

  1. Identify the type of communication barrier being overcome by Google Inc. by providing a number of channels of expression to their employees to communicate their ideas and thoughts.
  2. Briefly explain any two other types of communication barriers.

Answer:

  1. Organisational barrier is being overcome by providing organisation facilities through a number of channels of expression to their employees to communicate their ideas and thoughts.
  2. Two other types of communication barriers are described below:
    • Psychological barriers: Sometimes the emotional or psychological factors act as barriers to communicators. Thus, the state of mind of both sender and receiver of communication reflects in effective communication. For example, premature evaluation, distrust etc.
    • Semantic barriers: These barriers are concerned with problems and obstructions in the process of encoding and decoding of message into words or impressions. Normally, such barriers result on account of use of wrong words, faulty translations, different interpretations etc.

Question 12.
Nikhil runs a small dhabba on the Jaipur highway. He is very rigid and follows a strict policy of punishment like cutting the salary, stopping increments or giving job termination threats to his workers for any kind of discrepancies in their work. He does not seek advice or opinions from his workers, as he does not have any confidence on the competence of his workers. Also, the workers are not willing to offer useful suggestions as they do not expect any motivation or incentive for taking such initiatives. As a result, the labour turnover is high and his business has been adversely affected.
In the above context:

  1. Name and explain the style of leadership adopted by Nikhil.
  2. Identify the various human needs of workers that are being overlooked by Nikhil as per the Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of motivation.
  3. Identify the type of communication barrier created by Nikhil due to which the workers suppress their need to communicate with him.

Answer:

  1. The autocratic style of leadership has been adopted by Nikhil. An autocratic leader expects strict compliance from his subordinates with regard to the orders and instructions given by him. Therefore, it involves only one-way communication.
  2. The various human needs of the workers that are being overlooked by Nikhil as per the Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of motivation are listed below:
    • Basic Physiological Needs: These needs are most basic in the hierarchy and are linked to primary needs like hunger, thirst, shelter etc.
    • Safety/Security Needs: These needs offer security and protection from physical and emotional harm.
  3. Personal barriers have been created by Nikhil due to which the workers suppress their need to communicate with him freely.
    • Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates: If superiors do not have confidence on the competency of their subordinates, they may not seek their advice or opinions.
    • Lack of proper incentives: If there is no motivation or incentive for communication, subordinates may not take initiative to communicate. For example, if there is no reward or appreciation for a good suggestion, the subordinates may not be willing to offer useful suggestions.

Question 13.
After pursuing a course in gemmology from Australia, Raj started a workshop in Surat to supplement his father’s jewellery business in Delhi. He is used to speaking in English but the local skilled workers understand only Hindi and Gujarati. Hence, he started facing problems in the work due to miscommunications between him and the workers. As a result, he is not able to get the jewellery designs made in the desired manner and getting them redesigned turns out to be very expensive.
In the context of the above case:

  1. Define the term ‘communication’.
  2. Identify the type of communication barrier being referred to in the above paragraph.
  3. Suggest any four measures by which he can improve his communication effectiveness.

Answer:

  1. Communication is a process by which people create and share information with one another in order to reach common understanding.
  2. Semantic barrier is being referred to in the above paragraph.
  3. The four measures by which he can improve his communication effectiveness are suggested below:
    • Communicate according to the needs of receiver: Raj should adjust his communication according to the education and understanding levels of his subordinates.
    • Be aware of languages, tone and content of message: The contents of the message, tone, and language used and the manner in which the message is to be communicated are the important aspects of effective communication.
    • Ensure proper feedback: He may ensure the success of communication by asking questions regarding the message conveyed. Thus the communication process may be improved by the feedback received to ensure that the workers have understood his ideas clearly.
    • Follow up communications: He should do a regular follow up and review on the instructions given to the workers. Such follow up measures help in removing hurdles, if any, in implementing the instructions.

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