What is informal communication?
● Communication that takes place without following the formal lines of communication is said to be informal communication.
● It is also called grapevine communication as it spreads throughout the organisation.
● This type of communication arises due to the need felt by the workers to exchange their views without using the formal channel.
● For examples, social interactions and friendly chit chats. It helps to establish a personal touch among the workers. It is dynamic, flexible and has no record.
Which style of leadership does not believe in the use of power unless it is absolutely essential?
Laissez-faire or Free-rein leader does not believe in the use of power unless it is absolutely essential.The employees have a high degree of independence in formulating their own objectives and achieving them. They work on their own task in groups and resolve the issues. The manager only supports them and gives the information required to complete the task.
Which element in the communication process involves converting the message into words, symbols, gestures, etc.?
The element in the communication process involves converting the message into words, symbols, gestures, etc is called encoding.
The workers always try to show their inability when any new work is given to them. They are always unwilling to take up any kind of work. Due to a sudden rise in demand a firm wants to meet excess orders. The supervisor is finding it difficult to cope up with the situation. State the element of directing that can help the supervisor in handling the problem.
The supervisor can use financial incentives to handle this problem. The wages can be linked to their work, this would increase productivity as well as boost the worker’s performance. The supervisor must also be a good mentor and encourage the workers to accept any kind of work as it would help to get better exposure to the industry.
What are semantic barriers of communication?
Semantic barriers are related to the problems and obstructions in the process of encoding and decoding of the message into words or impressions. For example using the wrong words, faulty translations and wrong interpretations. The different types of semantic barriers are mentioned below:
● The intended meaning be not be conveyed by the manager to his subordinate. This might be due to the inadequate vocabulary, use of wrong words and omission of important words.
● The communication originally drafted in one language has to be understood by translating it into another language. At times the translator might not be proficient with both the languages and mistakes may arise in translation.
● The specialists often use technical jargon which is not usually understood by the people not belonging in the concerned field. The actual meaning of many words may not be properly conveyed.
● One word may have several different meanings. The receiver may understand it in one such meaning which was not intended by the speaker.
● Every movement of the body communicates some meaning. The body movement and the gestures of the communicator are extremely important in conveying the message. If there is a mismatch between the two, the message might not be understood in its true intended form.
Explain the process of motivation with the help of a diagram.
Motivation means an inducement to act or move. In the context of an organisation, it means the process of making subordinates to act in a desired manner to achieve certain organizational goals. It is a physiological concept which cannot be forced.
The process of motivation is explained below:
a. Unsatisfied want- The motivation process begins with an unsatisfied want of an individual.
b. Frustration - When the want is , the individual gets frustrated.
c. Drive- The frustration drives the individual to look out for an alternative to satisfy his want.
d. Behavior- He chooses one alternative among the many and starts to behave accordingly.
e. Satisfaction - After following an alternative for a particular duration, a person would analyze if his need is satisfied or not.
f. Reduction of tension- after the satisfaction of the want, the individual would finally reduce his tension.
For example, Nita has an opportunity for promotion to the next higher level in her job. She is tensed about the decision of her superiors and is constantly searching for different alternatives by which she can earn the promotion. She might think of working harder with an increase in efficiency to increase her productivity level and the contribution to the organisation. Eventually, she might get due recognition and promotion. Once her want is satisfied, her tension would be reduced.
State the different networks of grapevine communications.
Grapevine communication refers to the informal system of communication because it spreads throughout the organisation with its branches hello going out in all the directions without any regard to the level of authority. The different types of grapevine network are explained below:
a. Single strand network-Each person communicate with another person in sequence.
b. Gossip network-Each person communicates with another person on a nonselective basis.
c. Probability network-Each person communicates with another person randomly.
d. Cluster network- the individual communicates with only those people whom he trusts.
Explain any three principles of Directing.
Directing means telling the people in an organization what to do and ensuring that they do it to the best of their capabilities. The three principles of directing are:
a. Unity of Command: Unity of command means that an employee in an organisation must receive instructions only from one superior. It follows the principle of a single boss.. If an employee recieves instructions from more than one superior, it might create confusion, conflict, and disorder in the organisation Effective direction can be promoted through. this principle.
b. Harmony of objectives: The objectives of employees as an individual may often conflict the objetives of the organisation. For example, an employee may expect to receive a high amount of attractive salary and monetary benefits to fulfill his personal needs. The organisation may focus on improving its productivity and earning a higher profit. A good form of directing is the one which provides a harmony among the two objectives.
c. Appropriateness of direction technique: It means that the superior in an organisation must employ appropriate motivational and leadership technique while directing the people. It must be based on subordinate needs, capabilities, attitudes and other situational variables. For example, for some people, money can act as a powerful motivator while for others promotion may act as an effective motivator.
In an organisation, one of the departmental managers is inflexible and once he takes a decision, he does not like to be contradicted. As a result, employees always feel they are under stress and they take the least initiative and fear to express their opinions and problems before the manager. What is the problem in the way authority is being used by the manager?
The manager must try to adopt a friendlier approach towards his employees. He must encourage a two-way system of communication. This will provide the employees to have an outlet of their feelings.
A reputed hostel, GyanPradan provides medical aid and free education to children of its employees. Which incentive is being highlighted here? State its category and name any two more incentives of the same category.
GyanPradhan is offering a financial incentive of fringe benefits.It includes housing, medical aid, education to the children over and above the salary.
Other examples of nonfinancial incentives are:
a. Co partnership-The employees are offered companies share at a price lower than the market price. The management may also allot a share in line of various incentive payable in cash. This would create a feeling of ownership in the employee and make them contribute to the organization's growth.
b. Retirement benefits-It includes pension, gratuity fund, retirement provident fund. It provides security for retirement as well as serves as an incentive for the time they have spent working in the organisation.
Explain the qualities of a good leader? Do the qualities alone ensure leadership success?
A person should possess certain qualities to become a good leader. Some of the qualities of a good leader are mentioned below:
a. The physical qualities: It includes height, weight, physical appearance, etc.Good health and endurance also attract people.
b. A good leader must have adequate knowledge regarding his work. Only he would be can able to clearly manage his subordinates.
c. He should possess a high level of integrity and honesty. He must be a role model for his subordinates with regard to his ethics and values.
d. He should have the courage and must take initiative to grab an opportunity as and when it recieves.
e. He should have good communication skills. He should be able to clearly express his ideas and viewpoints to the subordinates. He should also be a good listener and a good counseller.
f. He should understand the needs of the people and motivate them to satisfy their needs. He must be an effective motivator.
g. He should have a high level of self-confidence and must not lose it even in times of distress.
h. He should not change his decisions quickly and remain firm on one. He should be decisive in nature.
i. He should be easy to approach, social and friendly with his subordinates. He should understand people and maintain good human relations with them.
Discuss Maslow’s Need Hierarchy theory of motivation.
Abraham Maslow was a well-known psychologist. He had given the Maslow's need of hierarchy theory in 1943. His theory was based on human needs. Every human being has a hierarchy of five needs which are explained below:
a. Basic physiological needs: These needs are the most basic in the hierarchy and are called basic needs. For example, hunger, thirst, and sleep. In the organizational context, salary is the basic need.
b. Safety needs: These needs provide them safety and security from any physical and emotional harm. For example, the stability of income and job security.
c. Affiliation needs: These are the needs which refer to affection, friendship, a sense of acceptance and belongingness.
d. Esteem needs: It includes the factors of self-respect, autonomy, recognition, and attention.
e. Self-actualization needs: It refers to the need of becoming what one is actually capable of becoming. It includes growth, self-fulfillment, and achievement of goals.
This theory is based on the following assumptions:
a. The behavior of a person is based on
his needs. The satisfaction of such needs influences their behavior.
b. People’s needs are in hierarchical order, starting from basic needs to other higher-level needs.
c. A satisfied need can no longer motivate a person. Only the next higher level need can motivate him.
d. A person moves to the next higher level of the hierarchy only when the lower need is satisfied.
This theory faced criticism on the classification of needs and hierarchy. Yet it was widely recognized and appreciated.
What are the common barriers to effective communication? Suggest measures to overcome them.
At times. the message is sent by the sender but is not understood by the receiver in its true intended meaning. It is important to identify such barriers and overcome them.
The common barriers to effective communication are:
a. Semantic barriers-Semantic barriers are related to the problems and obstructions in the process of encoding and decoding of the message into words or impressions. For example using the wrong words, faulty translations, and wrong interpretations. The different types of semantic barriers are mentioned below:
● The intended meaning be not be conveyed by the manager to his subordinate. This might be due to the inadequate vocabulary, use of wrong words and omission of important words.
● The communication originally drafted in one language has to be understood by translating it into another language. At times the translator might not be proficient with both the languages and mistakes may arise in translation.
● The specialists often use technical jargon which is not usually understood by the people not belonging in the concerned field. The actual meaning of many words may not be properly conveyed.
● One word may have several different meanings. The receiver may understand it in one such meaning which was not intended by the speaker.
● Every movement of the body communicates some meaning. The body movement and the gestures of the communicator are extremely important in conveying the message. If there is a mismatch between the two, the message might not be understood in its true intended form.
b. Psychological barrier: Some psychological factors also become a barrier to effective communication. The mind state of both the sender and receiver are important to ensure that the message is conveyed effectively. The different types of psychological barriers are mentioned below:
● A person may evaluate the meaning of the message before the sender completes his message. This is called premature evaluation. This is due to pre-conceived notions and prejudices against communication.
● If the communication has passed through various levels, successive transmissions of the message lead to loss of or transmission of inaccurate information. This occurs more during oral communication.
● The people who cannot retain information for a long duration also proves to be a barrier to effective communication. This may be due to lack of interest or inattentiveness.
● The receiver may be preoccupied in his mind and may not listen to the message carefully.
● The maybe a certain level of distrust among both the parties. Since they do not believe each other, they will not understand each other's message in its true sense.
c. Organizational barrier: The factors related to organisation structure, authority relationships, rules, and regulations may act as barriers to effective communication. Some of these barriers are:
● A rigid set of rules and regulations, long procedures and communication only through the prescribed channel may be a barrier to communication.
● If the organizational policy is not supportive of Free Flow communication it may lead to become a barrier in the communication.
● If the facilities for smooth and timely communication and not provided such as meetings, suggestion box, complaint box, social gatherings, etc, there would not be a free flow of communication.
● The communication may also be distorted if there are a number of managerial levels where the communication has to be passed through.
● The status of a superior may create a psychological distance between him and his subordinates. The manager may not allow his subordinates to express their feelings freely.
d. Personal barriers: The personal fractures of both the sender and the receiver may affect the effectiveness of the communication. A few of these barriers are explained below:
● If a superior feel that a particular form of communication may have a negative effect on security he may suppress this communication.
● If the superior does not have confidence in the abilities of the subordinates, he may not ask their opinions or advice.
● Subordinates may not communicate some matters with the superior if they feel that it may negatively affect their own personal interest.
● If there is no motivation for communication the subordinate me not take any initiative to communicate.
The different ways to improve the effectiveness of communication are explained below:
a. The Executive Manager must clear all the problems that have to be communicated to the subordinates. He must analyze and study it before conveying it to his subordinates.
b. The sender of the communication must clearly understand the level of understanding of the receiver. The manager should adjust his communication according to the education and understanding level of his subordinates.
c. The manager must involve others in developing a plan for communication before the actual process of communicating the message. This would also help to increase the level of motivation and cooperation on the subordinates due to their direct participation.
d. The contents of the message, tone, language used, the manner in which the message is to be communicated are the important aspects of effective communication. it should not hurt the sentiments of the subordinates.
e. The interest and the needs of the people must be understood. If the message is directly or indirectly related to such interest in need it would he walked a positive response from the people.
f. The communication should not only meet the existing commitments to maintain consistency but should also aim at the future goals of the organisation.
g. They should be regular follow up and review the instructions given to the subordinates. It would help to remove any obstruction in the way of implementing the instructions.
h. The communicator must ensure to ask questions regarding the message conveyed. The receiver should be encouraged to respond to the communication. This would help to measure the success of communication.
i. The manager should be a good listener. Patients and attentive listening is extremely important.
Explain different financial and non-financial incentives used to motivate employees of a company?
Incentives refer to all those measures which are used to motivate the people to improve the performance.
There are two types of incentive- financial and nonfinancial.
Financial incentives refer to incentives which are in direct monetary form or measurable in monetary term. It may be provided on an individual or group basis. The different types of financial incentives are mentioned below:
a. Pay - salary is the basic incentive for any worker. It includes basic pay, dearness allowance, etc. The salary must be increased from time to time. The increments may also be linked to the employee's performance.
b. Productivity linked wage incentive-The which can be linked with the productivity of the individual. This can also be practiced at a group level.
c. Bonus-It is an incentive over and above the salary to the Employees.
d. Profit sharing-The profit can be shared to the Employees. It would help to increase the performance and contribute to the increase in profits.
e. Co partnership-The employees are offered companies share at a price lower than the market price. The management may also allot a share in line of various incentive payable in cash. This would create a feeling of ownership in the employee and make them contribute to the organization's growth.
f. Retirement benefits-It includes pension, gratuity fund, retirement provident fund. It provides security for retirement as well as serves as an incentive for the time they have spent working in the organisation.
g. Fringe benefits-It includes housing, medical aid, education to the children over and above the salary.
Non-financial incentives focus on the attainment of psychological, emotional and social needs of the employee. The different kinds of nonfinancial incentives are mentioned below:
a. Status- Status refers to the rank ok of the position in the organisation. The authority, responsibility, rewards, and prestige of job indicate the status given to a person holding a managerial position. Psychological, social and esteem needs of an individual are satisfied
by status given to their job.
b. Organizational climate-It indicate the characteristic which describes an organisation and distinguish one organisation from another. It influences the behavior of the individuals in the organisation. Some of these characteristics are–individual autonomy, reward orientation,
consideration to employees. If the manager takes serious efforts he can improve the organizational climate.
c. Career advancement opportunities- The manager must provide ample opportunities to its employees to improve their skills and be promoted to the next higher level job. Sound promotion policy and appropriate skill development programs would be helpful in this regard.
d. Job Enrichment-It means designing jobs which include a greater variety of work content, require a higher level of knowledge and skill,
give workers more autonomy and responsibility; and provide the opportunity for personal
growth and meaningful work experience. If the job is enriched it would itself become a motivation to the employee.
e. Employee recognition program- The employee must be properly recognized for his work. Recognition means acknowledgment with the show of appreciation. For example, congratulating the employee on good job performance, rewarding an employee for giving valuable suggestions, installing a certificate for best performances, etc.
f. Job security- It means that the employees must feel secure and stabilized regarding the job. They must have a sense of security about the current income and the work.
g. Employee participation-The employees must be involved in the decision making of those issues which are related to them. These are practiced in the form of work committees or a Joint Management Committee.
h. Employee empowerment- It means Giving more autonomy and power to the Employees. It would make them feel that their jobs are extremely important and they would be able to contribute positively to their performance.
In an organisation, all the employees take things easy and are free to approach anyone for minor queries and problems. This has resulted in everyone talking to each other and thus resulting in inefficiency in the office. It has also resulted in a loss of secrecy and confidential information being leaked out. What system do you think the manager should adopt to improve communication?
The main problem faced in this organisation is the excessive use of informal communication. A proper chain of communication should be established and only the important information should be passed through this chain. There must be a restriction on employee communication at all levels. It would help to form a disciplined system in the organisation.