CHAPTER 6 – DIRECTING

DIRECTING – it is the fourth function of management and it refers to the process of Motivation,
Communication and Leadership. It refers to the relationship between managerial positions and
non-managerial positions.

MOTIVATION
- this refers to any activity being done to try and influence a person to do something. It is
how we convince people to follow orders. A familiar reference is the phrase “the carrot and the
stick” applied to the story of how to convince a donkey to walk. This refers to the two
universally accepted forms of motivation:
a. Positive Motivation – the “carrot”, states that rewards will convince a person to
follow orders. Here, the donkey will see the carrot in front of it and move towards the
carrot. One of the most common forms of reward is money.
b. Negative Motivation – the “stick”, states that in order to motivate a person, there
should be fear of punishment or penalty in case he does not follow orders. The
donkey will be hit on its back with a stick if it will not move. Hence, its discomfort
from the pain will force it to move forward.

However, another form of motivation is being recognized as acceptable and even

Theories of Motivation
1. Traditional Theory – states that the best form of motivation is rewards, especially Money.
This was derived from Frederick Taylor’s studies where incentives can motivate people
in performing better (Piece-rate system).
2. The Hierarchy of Human Needs – Maslow stated the five steps in the ladder of human
needs and wants:
a. Physiological or Biological Needs
b. Safety or Security Needs
c. Social Needs
d. Self Esteem Needs
e. Self-actualization or Self-fulfillment Needs

- the use of the ladder in motivation is that the manager has to determine where the
subordinate is in the ladder and therefore know how to motivate the subordinate. For
example, if the employee is new, a fresh graduate, most probably the appropriate
motivation is money (for biological needs). If the employee wants to be recognized,
the appropriate motivation is promotion (self-esteem needs)
3. Achievement-Power-Affiliation Theory – primarily developed by David McClelland, this
theory states that all people have three needs :
a. Achievement - the need to achieve. The need to accomplish something better, one
has never done before or never been done by anyone
b. Power – the need for authority. The need to have influence over people
c. Affiliation – the need for affiliation. The need to be liked, to be an active member
of society, the need to be popular or recognized.
- the use of this theory is that if the manager can provide these three, he can motivate
anybody into doing anything.

1
4. Motivation – Maintenance Theory – developed by Frederick Herzberg, Bernard Mausner
and Barbara Syndeman, this theory also goes by other names: Dual-Factor Theory and
Motivation – Hygiene Theory. This groups activities or factors in the organization that
produced high and low morale for the members of the organization into two categories:
a. Motivation factors – achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and
the characteristics of the job. Factors that motivate the people and present
challenges.
b. Maintenance or Hygiene Factors – status, relationships with co-workers, salary,
work conditions, etc. Factors that do not necessarily motivate but can prevent
motivation from occurring. In short, they keep the employee satisfied in their
positions.
5. McGregor’s Theory X & Y – according to McGregor, there are two types of subordinates
(or in this case tow theories):
a. Theory X or X Worker – states that men are inherently lazy. They hate work by
nature and needs to be thoroughly motivated in order to work.
b. Theory Y or Y Worker – states that men, by nature, loves work. They do not need
motivation and will work properly in their own power.
- the manager should determine what type of workers they are handling in order to
apply the proper or appropriate theory on how to handle subordinates.
6. Achievement Theory – another theory by McClelland, this states that men have ambitions
because of a specific motive or need. It is the manager’s task to determine that need in
order to motivate the person. Once motivated and has clear visions of his ambitions for
achievement, the worker will depend on his own abilities to achieve that goal.
7. Barnard-Simon’s Theory of Equilibrium – this theory states that there should be equality
between the inducements (motivators provided by the management) and contributions
(performance of workers). This means equal pay for equal work. A manager might give
incentives but the work of subordinates should also improve after they receive their
incentives.
8. Vroom’s Preference-Expectancy Theory – this states that an individual assigns values to
all possible outcome of each alternative course of action. Simply put, an employee has
different ideas on how valuable incentives are. An approach in this theory involves the
employees filling out a form or checklist on which they are given the chance to rate a list
of inducements based on how well they think these will be effective as motivators. Some
employees may choose money as their primary choice while others might choose
promotion. This means that not all inducements are appropriate.
9. Reinforcement Theory – according to Skinner, the employee should perceive the
relationship between performance and reward. If the management adapts a system
wherein good performance means rewards, they should also be consistent. An example is
the system used for training children or pets where good behavior or following orders
means that they could have special treats in return.
According to Skinner, the following are the components of motivated behavior:
a. stimulus – the environmental setting in which behavior occurs (performance)
b. response – the behavior level itself
c. reinforcement – the reward given for good performance only
10. Maturity Theory – states that as a person matures, his needs also differ. Motivation will
be based on the person’s needs and wants. A simple illustration of the difference in
maturity is given in the following table:

2
 IMMATURE MATURE
Passive Active
Independent
Long-term perspective
Dependent
Equal or superordinate position
Short-term perspective
Awareness of self
Subordinate position
Lack of self-awareness

11. Job Enlargement – when promotions are not possible, this theory involves redesigning of
jobs so that related activities are added to those currently being performed. This method
motivates the individual by offering challenge, advancement, responsibility and
recognition.
12. Job Enrichment – this involves putting more meaning into people’s jobs. This offers a
system that encourages self-motivation, the appreciation of the importance of one’s job
while offering possibilities of achievement, growth, responsibility, advancement and
recognition.

COMMUNICATION
- defined as the transfer of information that is meaningful to those involved – in
general, the transmittal of understanding. It is the transfer of information from one
person to another, where the listener can prove that he understood the message
through means of an appropriate feedback.

ENCODING TRANSMISSION DECODING

SENDER CHANNEL MESSAGE MEDIA RECEIVER

FEEDBACK

The Communication Process

Types of Communication
There are several types of communication in an organization, formal communications,
informal communications, communication between groups, upward, downward, lateral
communications and so on. When it comes to media, there are verbal and non-verbal
communications, codes, symbols, signs, and so on.

Ways to Communicate
1. Informal Talk or “grapevine” communication
2. Memoranda
3. Telephone calls
4. Interoffice News
5. Letters
6. Reports
7. Conferences/Conventions
8. Meetings
9. Bulletin Board Notices
10. Exhibits and Displays
11. Visual Aids
12. Internet

3
13. Text Messaging

Barriers to Communication

1. Distance – the physical distance between the supervisor and the subordinate results in
less face-to-face communication. This may result to misunderstanding or lack of
understanding of the message being relayed.

2. Distortion – this occurs when an individual fails to distinguish actual data from his views,
feelings, emotions, opinions etc. People may tend to judge statements made by other
people based on their opinion of what the statement means, which is possibly different
from what the actual meaning was. This is also apparent when message is passed from
one person to another, where the message starts to get distorted from its original context.

3. Semantics – sometimes, the actual words or language used could be the reason for
misunderstanding the message. One may use words with multiple meanings, words that
are not familiar with the listener or a foreign language not understood by the listener.

4. Lack of Leveling – this refers to the differences between the levels of the listener and the
sender with regards to the levels of intelligence, social status, culture, knowledge etc.

5. Lack of Trust – sometimes, it is very difficult to believe the message of somebody we do

6. Inaccessibility – refers to the barrier encountered when we cannot locate the person to
whom we are trying to convey our message to. An example is trying to contact someone
by text yet we do not have, or cannot produce, their cell number.

7. Lack of Clear Responsibilities – this refers to acting without clearly understanding the
objectives or fully absorbing the command of the supervisor. One may hear the summary
of the task without asking for the details.

8. Personal Incompatibility – often the personality itself of the supervisor and the
subordinate mat clash and produce conflict in communication. The two may often
disagree on things and may prevent proper understanding of the message.

9. Refusal to Listen – this refers to being close-minded of listeners who think they know
everything about the situation.

10. Failure to Use Proper Media – for every situation, there is always an appropriate means
of passing the message. This refers to the misuse of media when conveying a message.

11. Communication Gap – as an organization grows, the structure expands and makes the
lines of authority and responsibility more complex. This affects the communication
structure and may produce gaps between offices.

12. Lack of Direction – a message has two meanings, the Manifest or evident meaning and
the Latent or real meaning. The sender may construct a manifest that may obstruct or
distract the latent meaning.

LEADERSHIP

Leadership refers to the guidance and order provided by the person in-charge to ensure
that there will be order in the work being done. Each person may have their own leadership style
yet most people tend to shy away from the responsibility of being a leader. In any case, there are
four generally accepted types of leadership approaches:

4
Types of Leaders

1. The Dictatorial Leader – accomplishes tasks through the use of negative motivation. He
uses fear of penalties and punishment for those that do not follow orders. The
organization structure of dictatorial leaders are often flat structures since having more
levels would put them further from the lower levels. They prefer to have full control of
all levels.

2. The Autocratic Leader – assumes a paternalistic role which forces the subordinates to
rely and be dependent on the leader. Much like our parents, they say that “you have to do
this, trust us, as your parents, we know what’s best for you”. Much like the dictatorial
leader, the autocratic leader also prefers a flat structure.

3. The Democratic Leader – depends not only in his own capabilities but also encourages
consultation of subordinates’ opinions and suggestions. A democratic leader is
comfortable with a tall structure since they trust their subordinates’ capabilities in
decision-making.

4. The Laissez Faire (lazy fair) Leader – depends completely on the abilities of his
subordinates. He has full trust on the abilities of his subordinates that he only needs to
occasionally check to see if work is being done. Much like the democratic leader, the
laissez faire leader is also comfortable with a tall structure since they allow subordinates
to have full control and independence from the leader.

Management Roles

- A person put in the position of manager automatically takes on several roles as part of
his job. These are grouped into three categories as shown:

1. Interpersonal Roles
a. Figurehead: the manager represents the entire organization in any formality. For
example, as president of the Palawan State University, Dr. Salva acts as the
figurehead in all activities held by the university.
b. Liaison: the manager interacts with peers and other people outside the
organizational unit to gain information and favors.
c. Leader: the manager provides guidance and motivation to the work group and also
defines the atmosphere in which the work will be done.

2. Informational Roles
a. Monitor: the manager serves as a receiver and collector of all information
b. Disseminator: the manager transmits special information within the organizational
unit
c. Spokesperson: the manager also disseminates the organization’s information to its
environment

3. Decisional Roles
a. Entrepreneur: the manager’s role is to initiate change
b. Disturbance Handler: the manager must assume when the organization s being
threatened, such as conflicts between subordinates, the sudden departure of a
subordinate or the loss of an important customer.
c. Resource Allocator: the manager decides when, where and how much resources of
the organization will be used at any given time
d. Negotiator: the manager assumes this role when the organization finds itself in major
non-routine negotiations with other organizations or individuals.