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What are planning premises? Explain the classifications of planning premise. What are planning premises? Explain the classifications of planning premise. The planning premise is a set of assumptions made about the environment during a planning process. There are mainly three category of planning premises Internal and external premises Tangible and intangible premises Controllable and n0n-controllable premises Internal and external premises : Internal premise include assumptions made on factors that are pertinent to internal of the company such as policy, capital investment, competence of managers etc. External premise include assumptions about market, competition, technological changes government policy etc Tangible and intangible premises : Premises that can be verifiable are called tangible premises such as market demand, demographics . On the other hand factors such as political stability, economic environment are intangible premises Controllable and n0n-controllable premises : Factors that can be controlled by a company such as production capacity are said to be controllable premise. Factors such as tax policy or import policy are non-controllable premises Planning premises may be classified as follows: 1. Internal and external premises: Internal premises are the resources and abilities which pertain to the firm's own climate. These include sales forecasts, capital investment in plant and equipment, skill of labor force, competence of management policies and programmers of the organization, values and beliefs of organization members, management philosophy, etc. Such premises are amenable to management control. On the other hand, external premises are related to the external environment of business.

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What are planning premises? Explain the classifications of planning premise. What are planning premises? Explain the classifications of planning premise.The planning premise is a set of assumptions made about the environment during a planning process. There are mainly three category of planning premises

Internal and external premises Tangible and intangible premises Controllable and n0n-controllable premises

Internal and external premises : Internal premise include assumptions made on factors that are pertinent to internal of the company such as policy, capital investment, competence of managers etc. External premise include assumptions about market, competition, technological changes government policy etc

Tangible and intangible premises : Premises that can be verifiable are called tangible premises such as market demand, demographics . On the other hand factors such as political stability, economic environment are intangible premises

Controllable and n0n-controllable premises : Factors that can be controlled by a company such as production capacity are said to be controllable premise. Factors such as tax policy or import policy are non-controllable premises

Planning premises may be classified as follows: 1. Internal and external premises: Internal premises are the resources and abilities which

pertain to the firm's own climate. These include sales forecasts, capital investment in plant and equipment, skill of labor force, competence of management policies and programmers of the organization, values and beliefs of organization members, management philosophy, etc.

Such premises are amenable to management control. On the other hand, external premises are related to the external environment of business.

They consist of economic, technological, social and political factors such as population trends, Government policies and regulations, employment figures, national income, price levels, technological changes, sociological factors, etc.

External premises may be classified in three groups, namely general business environment, product market and the factor market characteristics.

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2. Controllable, semi-controllable and uncontrollable premises:

Controllable premises are those factors over which management has full control. Plant location, expansion programme, advertising policy, capital investment, etc are examples of controllable premises.

Uncontrollable, or non-controllable premises refer to war, population trends, new inventions, natural calamities, business cycles, government policy, legislation, etc which are beyond the control of management.

They upset the plans and require periodical revision of plan in accordance with current developments. Semi-controllable premises are those over which management has partial control. Union management relations, firm's share in the market, etc. are examples of such premises.

3. Tangible and intangible premises: Tangible or quantitative premises are those which can be

expressed or measured in quantitative terms, e.g., labor hours, units of production, number of machines, capital investment, industry demand, population growth, etc.

On the other hand, intangible premises are those which can not be measured quantitatively, e.g., company reputation, public relations, employee motivation and morale, attitudes and philosophy of the owners, political stability, etc. In spite of their qualitative nature, intangible premises play an important role in managerial planning.

4. Foreseeable and unforeseeable premises: Foreseeable premises tend to be definite and well-known

and they can be foreseen with certainty. Requirements for men, money and machines are examples of foresee able premises. Unforeseeable premises "such as war, strike, natural calamities are unpredictable.

MANAGEMENT LEVELS

Managers are organizational members who are responsible for the work performance of other organizational members. Managers have formal authority to use organizational resources and to make decisions. In organizations, there are typically three levels of management: top-level, middle-level, and first-level. These three main levels of managers form a hierarchy, in which they are ranked in order of importance. In most organizations, the number of managers at each

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level is such that the hierarchy resembles a pyramid, with many more first-level managers, fewer middle managers, and the fewest managers at the top level. Each of these management levels is described below in terms of their possible job titles and their primary responsibilities and the paths taken to hold these positions. Additionally, there are differences across the management levels as to what types of management tasks each does and the roles that they take in their jobs. Finally, there are a number of changes that are occurring in many organizations that are changing the management hierarchies in them, such as the increasing use of teams, the prevalence of outsourcing, and the flattening of organizational structures.

TOP-LEVEL MANAGERS

Top-level managers, or top managers, are also called senior management or executives. These individuals are at the top one or two levels in an organization, and hold titles such as: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operational Officer (COO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chairperson of the Board, President, Vice president, Corporate head.

Often, a set of these managers will constitute the top management team, which is composed of the CEO, the COO, and other department heads. Top-level managers make decisions affecting the entirety of the firm. Top managers do not direct the day-to-day activities of the firm; rather, they set goals for the organization and direct the company to achieve them. Top managers are ultimately responsible for the performance of the organization, and often, these managers have very visible jobs.

Top managers in most organizations have a great deal of managerial experience and have moved up through the ranks of management within the company or in another firm. An exception to this is a top manager who is also an entrepreneur; such an individual may start a small company and manage it until it grows enough to support several levels of management. Many top managers possess an advanced degree, such as a Masters in Business Administration, but such a degree is not required.

Some CEOs are hired in from other top management positions in other companies. Conversely, they may be promoted from within and groomed for top management with management development activities, coaching, and mentoring. They may be tagged for promotion through succession planning, which identifies high potential managers.

MIDDLE-LEVEL MANAGERS

Middle-level managers, or middle managers, are those in the levels below top managers. Middle managers' job titles include: General manager, Plant manager, Regional manager, and Divisional manager.

Middle-level managers are responsible for carrying out the goals set by top management. They do so by setting goals for their departments and other business units. Middle managers can motivate and assist first-line managers to achieve business objectives. Middle managers may also communicate upward, by offering suggestions and feedback to top managers. Because middle managers are more involved in the day-to-day workings of a company, they may provide valuable information to top managers to help improve the organization's bottom line.

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Jobs in middle management vary widely in terms of responsibility and salary. Depending on the size of the company and the number of middle-level managers in the firm, middle managers may supervise only a small group of employees, or they may manage very large groups, such as an entire business location. Middle managers may be employees who were promoted from first-level manager positions within the organization, or they may have been hired from outside the firm. Some middle managers may have aspirations to hold positions in top management in the future.

FIRST-LEVEL MANAGERS

First-level managers are also called first-line managers or supervisors. These managers have job titles such as: Office manager, Shift supervisor, Department manager, Foreperson, Crew leader, Store manager.

First-line managers are responsible for the daily management of line workers—the employees who actually produce the product or offer the service. There are first-line managers in every work unit in the organization. Although first-level managers typically do not set goals for the organization, they have a very strong influence on the company. These are the managers that most employees interact with on a daily basis, and if the managers perform poorly, employees may also perform poorly, may lack motivation, or may leave the company.

In the past, most first-line managers were employees who were promoted from line positions (such as production or clerical jobs). Rarely did these employees have formal education beyond the high school level. However, many first-line managers are now graduates of a trade school, or have a two-year associates or a four-year bachelor's degree from college.

MANAGEMENT LEVELS AND THE FOUR MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS

Managers at different levels of the organization engage in different amounts of time on the four managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

Planning is choosing appropriate organizational goals and the correct directions to achieve those goals. Organizing involves determining the tasks and the relationships that allow employees to work together to achieve the planned goals. With leading, managers motivate and coordinate employees to work together to achieve organizational goals. When controlling, managers monitor and measure the degree to which the organization has reached its goals.

The degree to which top, middle, and supervisory managers perform each of these functions is presented in Exhibit 1. Note that top managers do considerably more planning, organizing, and controlling than do managers at any other level. However, they do much less leading. Most of the leading is done by first-line managers. The amount of planning, organizing, and controlling decreases down the hierarchy of management; leading increases as you move down the hierarchy of management.

Exhibit 1 Time Spent on Management Functions at Different Management Levels

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MANAGEMENT ROLES

In addition to the broad categories of management functions, managers in different levels of the hierarchy fill different managerial roles. These roles were categorized by researcher Henry Mintzberg, and they can be grouped into three major types: decisional, interpersonal, and informational.

DECISIONAL ROLES.

Decisional roles require managers to plan strategy and utilize resources. There are four specific roles that are decisional. The entrepreneur role requires the manager to assign resources to develop innovative goods and services, or to expand a business. Most of these roles will be held by top-level managers, although middle managers may be given some ability to make such decisions. The disturbance handler corrects unanticipated problems facing the organization from the internal or external environment. Managers at all levels may take this role. For example, first-line managers may correct a problem halting the assembly line or a middle level manager may attempt to address the aftermath of a store robbery. Top managers are more likely to deal with major crises, such as requiring a recall of defective products. The third decisional role, that of resource allocator, involves determining which work units will get which resources. Top managers are likely to make large, overall budget decisions, while middle mangers may make more specific allocations. In some organizations, supervisory managers are responsible for determine allocation of salary raises to employees. Finally, the negotiator works with others, such as suppliers, distributors, or labor unions, to reach agreements regarding products and services. First-level managers may negotiate with employees on issues of salary increases or overtime hours, or they may work with other supervisory managers when needed resources must be shared. Middle managers also negotiate with other managers and are likely to work to secure preferred prices from suppliers and distributors. Top managers negotiate on larger issues, such as labor contracts, or even on mergers and acquisitions of other companies.

INTERPERSONAL ROLES.

Interpersonal roles require managers to direct and supervise employees and the organization. The figurehead is typically a top of middle manager. This manager may communicate future organizational goals or ethical guidelines to employees at company meetings. A leader acts as an example for other employees to follow, gives commands and directions to subordinates, makes decisions, and mobilizes employee support. Managers must be leaders at all levels of the organization; often lower-level managers look to top management for this leadership example. In the role of liaison, a manger must coordinate the work of others in different work units, establish alliances between others, and work to share resources. This role is particularly critical for middle managers, who must often compete with other managers for important resources, yet must maintain successful working relationships with them for long time periods.

INFORMATIONAL ROLES.

Informational roles are those in which managers obtain and transmit information. These roles have changed dramatically as technology has improved. The monitor evaluates the performance of others and takes corrective action to improve that performance. Monitors also watch for changes in the environment and within the company that may affect individual and organizational performance. Monitoring occurs at all levels of management, although managers

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at higher levels of the organization are more likely to monitor external threats to the environment than are middle or first-line managers. The role of disseminator requires that managers inform employees of changes that affect them and the organization. They also communicate the company's vision and purpose.

Managers at each level disseminate information to those below them, and much information of this nature trickles from the top down. Finally, a spokesperson communicates with the external environment, from advertising the company's goods and services, to informing the community about the direction of the organization. The spokesperson for major announcements, such as a change in strategic direction, is likely to be a top manager. But, other, more routine information may be provided by a manager at any level of a company. For example, a middle manager may give a press release to a local newspaper, or a supervisor manager may give a presentation at a community meeting.

MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Regardless of organizational level, all managers must have five critical skills: technical skill, interpersonal skill, conceptual skill, diagnostic skill, and political skill.

TECHNICAL SKILL.

Technical skill involves understanding and demonstrating proficiency in a particular workplace activity. Technical skills are things such as using a computer word processing program, creating a budget, operating a piece of machinery, or preparing a presentation. The technical skills used will differ in each level of management. First-level managers may engage in the actual operations of the organization; they need to have an understanding of how production and service occur in the organization in order to direct and evaluate line employees. Additionally, first-line managers need skill in scheduling workers and preparing budgets. Middle managers use more technical skills related to planning and organizing, and top managers need to have skill to understand the complex financial workings of the organization.

INTERPERSONAL SKILL.

Interpersonal skill involves human relations, or the manager's ability to interact effectively with organizational members. Communication is a critical part of interpersonal skill, and an inability to communicate effectively can prevent career progression for managers. Managers who have excellent technical skill, but poor interpersonal skill are unlikely to succeed in their jobs. This skill is critical at all levels of management.

CONCEPTUAL SKILL.

Conceptual skill is a manager's ability to see the organization as a whole, as a complete entity. It involves understanding how organizational units work together and how the organization fits into its competitive environment. Conceptual skill is crucial for top managers, whose ability to see "the big picture" can have major repercussions on the success of the business. However, conceptual skill is still necessary for middle and supervisory managers, who must use this skill to envision, for example, how work units and teams are best organized.

DIAGNOSTIC SKILL.

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Diagnostic skill is used to investigate problems, decide on a remedy, and implement a solution. Diagnostic skill involves other skills—technical, interpersonal, conceptual, and politic. For instance, to determine the root of a problem, a manager may need to speak with many organizational members or understand a variety of informational documents. The difference in the use of diagnostic skill across the three levels of management is primarily due to the types of problems that must be addressed at each level. For example, first-level managers may deal primarily with issues of motivation and discipline, such as determining why a particular employee's performance is flagging and how to improve it. Middle managers are likely to deal with issues related to larger work units, such as a plant or sales office. For instance, a middle-level manager may have to diagnose why sales in a retail location have dipped. Top managers diagnose organization-wide problems, and may address issues such as strategic position, the possibility of outsourcing tasks, or opportunities for overseas expansion of a business.

POLITICAL SKILL.

Political skill involves obtaining power and preventing other employees from taking away one's power. Managers use power to achieve organizational objectives, and this skill can often reach goals with less effort than others who lack political skill. Much like the other skills described, political skill cannot stand alone as a manager's skill; in particular, though, using political skill without appropriate levels of other skills can lead to promoting a manager's own career rather than reaching organizational goals. Managers at all levels require political skill; managers must avoid others taking control that they should have in their work positions. Top managers may find that they need higher levels of political skill in order to successfully operate in their environments. Interacting with competitors, suppliers, customers, shareholders, government, and the public may require political skill.

CHANGES IN MANAGEMENT HIERARCHIES

There are a number of changes to organizational structures that influence how many managers are at each level of the organizational hierarchy, and what tasks they perform each day.

Exhibit 2: Flat vs. Tall Organizational Hierarchy

FLATTER ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES.

Organizational structures can be described by the number of levels of hierarchy; those with many levels are called "tall" organizations. They have numerous levels of middle management, and each manager supervises a small number of employees or other managers. That is, they have a small span of control. Conversely, "flat" organizations have fewer levels of middle management, and each manager has a much wider span of control. Examples of organization charts that show tall and flat organizational structures are presented in Exhibit 2.

Many organizational structures are now more flat than they were in previous decades. This is due to a number of factors. Many organizations want to be more flexible and increasingly responsive to complex environments. By becoming flatter, many organizations also become less centralized. Centralized organizational structures have most of the decisions and responsibility at the top of the organization, while decentralized organizations allow decision-making and authority at lower

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levels of the organization. Flat organizations that make use of decentralization are often more able to efficiently respond to customer needs and the changing competitive environment.

As organizations move to flatter structures, the ranks of middle-level managers are diminishing. This means that there a fewer opportunities for promotion for first-level managers, but this also means that employees at all levels are likely to have more autonomy in their jobs, as flatter organizations promote decentralization. When organizations move from taller to flatter hierarchies, this may mean that middle managers lose their jobs, and are either laid off from the organization, or are demoted to lower-level management positions. This creates a surplus of labor of middle level managers, who may find themselves with fewer job opportunities at the same level.

INCREASED USE OF TEAMS.

A team is a group of individuals with complementary skills who work together to achieve a common goal. That is, each team member has different capabilities, yet they collaborate to perform tasks. Many organizations are now using teams more frequently to accomplish work because they may be capable of performing at a level higher than that of individual employees. Additionally, teams tend to be more successful when tasks require speed, innovation, integration of functions, and a complex and rapidly changing environment.

Another type of managerial position in an organization that uses teams is the team leader, who is sometimes called a project manager, a program manager, or task force leader. This person manages the team by acting as a facilitator and catalyst. He or she may also engage in work to help accomplish the team's goals. Some teams do not have leaders, but instead are self-managed. Members of self-managed teams hold each other accountable for the team's goals and manage one another without the presence of a specific leader.

OUTSOURCING.

Outsourcing occurs when an organization contracts with another company to perform work that it previously performed itself. Outsourcing is intended to reduce costs and promote efficiency. Costs can be reduced through outsourcing, often because the work can be done in other countries, where labor and resources are less expensive than in the United States. Additionally, by having an out-sourcing company aid in production or service, the contracting company can devote more attention and resources to the company's core competencies. Through outsourcing, many jobs that were previously performed by American workers are now performed overseas. Thus, this has reduced the need for many first-level and middle-level managers, who may not be able to find other similar jobs in another company.

There are three major levels of management: top-level, middle-level, and first-level. Managers at each of these levels have different responsibilities and different functions. Additionally, managers perform different roles within those managerial functions. Finally, many organizational hierarchies are changing, due to changes to organizational structures due to the increasing use of teams, the flattening of organizations, and outsourcing.

SEE ALSO: Management and Executive Development ; Management Functions ; Organizational Chart ; Organizational Structure ; Outsourcing and Offshoring ; Teams and Teamwork

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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Conclusion

CONCLUSIONManagement Guru Peter Drucker has rightly said that the basic task of management is twofold; marketing and innovation. Management genuinely is the replacement of thought and idea for muscles of knowledge of co-operation of force. Management skills and theories are continuously supporting the organization to implement their ideas and cherish their desired goals. Contribution to such theories by different personnel is enormous and hence is leading the way with world-class management theories. Management surely helps removing the different obstacles lying in different organization, however all the ideas need to be implement as through the process of management.

Posted by Indra at 11:37 PM 0 comments

International Management

International Management deals with the process of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling organizations engaged in worldwide business. Companies go foreign for various aspect: to gain access to new and a global markets, to increase profitability ratio, or to import products for the home market. Companies also go international for security reasons: to protect domestic markets and to acquire innovative technology,.The reasons for entering international markets can also vary with the time, the type of industry and the nationality of the company. Like domestic enterprises, international enterprises give attention to the managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling.However, there is considerable difference in the way these functions are carried out in these two types of enterprises.Japanese management practices have recently increased in importance across companies and cultures. Some Japanese management practices, like continuous training, and group work are believed to have contributed to the success of Japanese companies.Posted by Indra at 11:24 PM 0 comments

Human Resource Management

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTThe HRM process includes five basic activities (1) human resource planning, (2) staffing (3) training and development, (4) performance appraisal and (5) compensation. HR planning is designed to ensure that the personnel needs of the organization will be constantly and appropriately met. HR planning involves three steps: (1) forecasting manpower demand, (2) forecasting manpower supply, and (3) human resource actions. Staffing is an integral part of the HRM process. It is a set of activities aimed at attracting and selecting workers for the purpose of achievement of the organization's goals. The two basic steps involved in staffing are recruitment and selection.Once the candidates are attracted to job positions, the management needs to find qualified people to fill the available jobs through the selection process. Right men in right position enables to formulate the plans more effectively.

Posted by Indra at 11:17 PM 0 comments

Levels of Management

LEVELS OF MANAGEMENTBasically Management undergoes through the process with the support of the different levels of management. Generally three levels of Management :

Top-level Managers

Middle- level Manager

First-level Managers

In a traditional sense, large organizations may have three general levels of managers, including top managers, middle managers and first-line managers. Top managers are responsible for looking the whole organization and engage in more strategic and technical matters, with less attention to day-to-day detail.Top managers have middle managers working for them and who are in charge of a major function or department. In a very large organizations, middle managers may have first-line managers working for them and who are responsible to manage the day-to-day activities of workers.nt

Posted by Indra at 11:02 PM 0 comments

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Fundamental of Organizing

FUNDAMENTAL OF ORGANIZINGOrganizing is an important managerial function. If managerial planning focuses on deciding what to do, organizing generally thinks how to do . Thus, after a manager has set goals and developed a workable plan, the next managerial task is to organize people and groups to carry out the plan.Organizing is the process of identifying and grouping the work to be performed, defining and delegating authority, and establishing relationships to enable people to work together to achieve the organization's objectives.Effective organizing has many benefits. It helps individuals to know the tasks they are expected to formulate. It supports and makes planning work to the desired direction and control the further activities. Organizing also creates channels of communication and helps in maintaining the logical flow of work activities and also maintains a harmonious relationship in the organization.The process of organizing helps managers to focus on tasks that are logically related to a common goal.

Posted by Indra at 10:50 PM 0 comments

Fundamental Of Planning

FUNDAMENTAL OF PLANNINGPlanning is the most important of all management functions. It involves looking ahead for the future and relating today's efforts with tomorrow's possibilities. Planning is goal-oriented, and forward-looking process. It offsets uncertainty and risk, provides a sense of direction, provides guidelines for decision-making, and increases operational efficiency and organizational effectiveness. Planning is an ongoing process. All planning processes consist of eight steps: analyzing opportunities, establishing objectives, determining planning premises, identifying alternatives, evaluating available alternatives, selecting the most appropriate alternative, implementing the plan and reviewing the plan. Though planning provides several benefits, it has certain limitations too: it requires accurate information, it is a time consuming process, it is expensive and it lacks flexibility. In order to overcome these limitations, managers should establish a proper climate for planning; develop clear and specific objectives; evaluate all planning premises, ensure the support of top-level management, encourage employee participation in the planning process, communicate goals and planning premises throughout the organization, integrate short-term and long-term plans, have an

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open systems approach to planning, and implement an effective management information system.

Posted by Indra at 10:42 PM 0 comments

Objectives

OBJECTIVES OF MANAGEMENTObjectives are the important prospect towards which organizational and individual activities are directed. Clear objectives facilitate the effective and efficient management of organizations.Management by Objectives (MBO) is an effective planning tool that helps to set objectives. MBO has come a long way since it was first suggested by Management Guru Peter Drucker as a way of promoting managerial self-control. Management by objectives aims at achieving the objectives of the organization with the support of employee commitment and participation. MBO is a cyclical process. It involves developing different goals of the organization, making them know their roles, establishing specific goals for various departments and individuals, formulating action plans for various departments and individuals, implementing and maintaining self-control and conducting performance appraisal of employees. MBO also offers different advantages. It leads to better management of resources, clarity in organizational action and more satisfied personnel. It encourages individuals commitment, provides a basis for organizational change and leads to the development of effective controls. However, MBO has its drawbacks. It takes up too much time and money and can be inflexible.Moreover, failure to teach the MBO philosophy and lack of proper guidance to goal-setters may lead to its unsuccessful implementation. In order to overcome these limitations and make MBO effective, the support of the top-level managers is essential. They must make clear objectives, encourage participation at all levels, and provide training to people who are willing to implement

Why Co-ordination is Necessary?

Co-ordination means to integrate (bring together) all the activities of an organisation. It is done

for achieving the goals of the organisation. There must be proper co-ordination throughout the

organisation.

According to management experts, co-ordination is necessary because :-

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1. "Co-ordination is the Essence of Management." i.e. co-ordination effects all the functions of

management, viz., Planning, Organising, Staffing, etc.

2. Co-ordination is a function of management.

3. Co-ordination is a principle of management, and all other principles are included in this one

principle, i.e. co-ordination is the "Mother Principle".

4. According to Mary Parker Follett, Co-ordination is the "Plus value of the group". That is, if

there is good Co-ordination then the combined group achievement will be greater than the

total of the individual achievement, i.e. 2+2=5. This is impossible in the physical world, but it

is possible in human affairs through co-ordination.

Importance of Coordination

The need and importance of coordination can be judged from points below :-

1. Coordination encourages team spirit

There exist many conflicts and rivalries between individuals, departments, between a line and

staff, etc. Similarly, conflicts are also between individual objectives and organisational

objectives. Coordination arranges the work and the objectives in such a way that there are

minimum conflicts and rivalries. It encourages the employees to work as a team and achieve the

common objectives of the organisation. This increases the team spirit of the employees.

2. Coordination gives proper direction

There are many departments in the organisation. Each department performs different activities.

Coordination integrates (bring together) these activities for achieving the common goals or

objectives of the organisation. Thus, coordination gives proper direction to all the departments

of the organisation.

3. Coordination facilitates motivation

Coordination gives complete freedom to the employees. It encourages the employees to show

initiative. It also gives them many financial and non-financial incentives. Therefore, the

employees get job satisfaction, and they are motivated to perform better.

4. Coordination makes optimum utilisation of resources

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Coordination helps to bring together the human and materials resources of the organisation. It

helps to make optimum utilisation of resources. These resources are used to achieve the

objectives of the organisation. Coordination also minimise the wastage of resources in the

organisation.

5. Coordination helps to achieve objectives quickly\Coordination helps to minimise the conflicts, rivalries, wastages, delays and other organisational problems. It ensures smooth working of the organisation. Therefore, with the help of coordination an organisation can achieve its objectives easily and quickly.

6. Coordination improves relations in the organisation

The Top Level Managers co-ordinates the activities of the Middle Level Managers and develops

good relations with them. Similarly, the Middle Level Managers co-ordinates the activities of the

Lower Level Managers and develops good relations with them. Also, the Lower Level Managers

co-ordinates the activities of the workers and develops good relations with them. Thus,

coordination overall improves the relations in the organisation.

7. Coordination leads to higher efficiency

Efficiency is the relationship between Returns and Cost. There will be higher efficiency when the

returns are more and the cost is less. Since coordination leads to optimum utilisation of

resources it results in more returns and low cost. Thus, coordination leads to higher efficiency

8. Coordination improves goodwill of the organisation

Coordination helps an organisation to sell high quality goods and services at lower prices. This

improves the goodwill of the organisation and helps it earn a good name and image in the

market and corporate world.

Co-ordination is the Essence of Management

"Co-ordination is the Essence of Management." The meaning of this sentence implies, Co-

ordination affects all the functions of management. In other words, Co-ordination affects

Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Communication, Leading, Motivating and Controlling.

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1. Planning and Coordination

According to Harold Koontz and Cyril O'Donnell, "Planning is deciding in advance what to do,

how to do it, when to do it and who is to do it."

There are many departmental plans in a business. These include, Purchase Plan, Sales Plan,

Production Plan, Finance Plan, etc. All these plans must be coordinated (brought together) and

one Master Plan must be made for the full business. Therefore, Planning is affected by

Coordination.

2. Organising and Coordination

There are many steps in Organising. All these steps must be coordinated, for achieving the

objectives of the business. The Top Level Managers must coordinate the efforts of the Middle

Level Managers. Similarly, the Middle Level Managers must coordinate the efforts of the Lower

Level Managers. Furthermore, the Lower Level Managers must also coordinate the efforts of the

workers. Therefore, Organisation is affected by Coordination.

3. Staffing and Coordination

Staffing involves Recruitment and Selection, Training, Placement, Promotion, Transfer, etc. All

these steps must be properly coordinated. Similarly, the efforts of all the individuals, groups and

departments must be coordinated for achieving the objectives of the business. Therefore,

Staffing is affected by Coordination.

4. Directing and Coordination

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Directing means giving necessary information, proper instructions and guidance to sub-

ordinates. This results in coordination. Therefore, Direction is affected by Coordination.

5. Communicating and Coordination

Many types of communication methods are used in a business. These methods include, Formal

communication, Informal Communication, Upward Communication, Downward Communication,

Oral Communication, Written Communication, etc. It is important to note that, all these types of

communication must be properly coordinated. Lack of proper coordination will hinder the

smooth functioning of the communication process. Furthermore, it will also restrict the important

information flow and cause many economic problems to the business. Thus, Communication is

affected by Coordination.

6. Motivating and Coordination

There are many types of Motivation. These are, Positive Motivation, Negative Motivation,

Financial Motivation, and Non-Financial Motivation. All these types of Motivation must be

properly coordinated. Therefore, Motivation is affected by Coordination.

7. Leading and Coordination

Every manager must be a good leader. He must coordinate the efforts of his subordinates for

achieving the objectives. That is, he must coordinate the human resource. He must also

coordinate the material and financial resources of the organisation. In short, a leader cannot

survive without coordination. In other words, leadership cannot be performed without

coordination. Therefore, Leadership is affected by Coordination.

8. Controlling and Coordination

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In Controlling the standards are first fixed. Then the performances are measured. Performances

are compared with the standards, and the deviations are found out. Then the deviations are

corrected. So, controlling involves many steps. All these steps must be properly coordinated. If

coordination is not proper, Control will surely fail. Therefore, Control is also affected by

Coordination.

Conclusion On Coordination

Now we can conclude that all the functions of management are affected by coordination. Hence

coordination is essential for achieving the objectives of the organisation. It is also required for

the survival, growth and profitability of the organisation. Coordination encourages team spirit,

gives right direction, motivates employees, and makes proper utilisation of resources.

Therefore, Coordination is rightly called the "Essence of Management".

Business Definition for: management decision cycle

management decision cycle

five steps managers take in making decisions and following up on them. The five steps are: (1) the discovery of a problem or need; (2) alternative courses of action to solve the problem or meet the need are identified; (3) a complete analysis to determine the effects of each alternative on business operations is prepared; (4) with the supporting data, the decision maker chooses the best alternative; and (5) after the decision has been carried out, the accountant conducts a post decision review to see if the decision was correct or if other needs have arisen. Any data that relates to future costs, revenues, or uses of resources and that will differ among alternative courses of action are considered relevant decision information.

James Taylor

Decision Management Concept #1 - Definition and process

By James Taylor on July 22, 2008 8:00 AM 0 0 Vote 0 Votes

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It seemed like time to do a series of posts on the basic concepts of decision

management. The series will look like this:

Definition and process

Decisions

Decision Services

Business Rules

Data Mining and Analytics

Adaptive Control

So, here goes.

Decision Management is an approach for automating and improving high-volume

operational decisions. Focusing on operational decisions, it develops decision

services using business rules to automate those decisions, adds analytic insight to

these services using predictive analytics and allows for the ongoing improvements

of decision-making through adaptive control and optimization.

To make decision management happen you need to follow a pretty straightforward

process:

1. Identify Decisions

The first step is to identify and make explicit the decisions within a process or

system. These decisions may be known already or hidden in the process. Known

decisions, such as whether to approve a loan or identify someone as eligible for a

product, may be made manually by people or embedded into systems. These are

typically easy to identify. Hidden decisions are more challenging as they have

typically not been identified before. Hidden decisions may include decisions which

have historically been taken once for the organization but which could be taken for

a specific customer or process instance. These are sometimes called “micro

decisions” and include such decisions as pricing (moving to customer-specific

pricing instead of generic pricing) and recommendations for next action (becoming

personalized and conversation-specific).  Other hidden decisions include

personalization of a process or interaction, inconsistent actions across channels and

implicit decisions made by people without any awareness of the decision and thus

no policies or measures.

If you let the decision stay embedded in the system or the process then you will

never manage to improve it. This does not mean disconnecting it from where it is

used or ignoring how it is used by systems or processes, it just means identifying

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the decisions as unique aspects of a system, decision services if you will, and

focusing on them as something that can be managed and improved separately.

2. Externalize Decisions

Having identified the decisions they must be externalized. This means removing the

code that implements them from other systems – disentangling them – and

explicitly identifying them in processes. For manual decisions this means

documenting the policies and procedures, as well as the information, that go into

making the decisions. A decision audit may be conducted to document and describe

each decision within a process, a business area or even a whole organization. Such

an audit identifies who makes the decision, who decides how it should be made,

how often it is made, how much time is available to make it and other key

attributes.

3. Automate Using Business Rules

The policies and procedures that drive how a decision is made can and should be

represented using a declarative definition of what should be done. Business rules,

either as part of a process or application environment or in a Business Rules

Management System, are ideal for this. Business rules are declarative, expressive

and easy for non-technical users to understand, making it possible to define how a

decision is made completely and correctly. While many decisions are automated to

the point of completion – the automation decides on an action and then causes it to

be taken – many are not. The automation of a decision may simply identify

acceptable options (or unacceptable ones) or direct a manual decision-maker to

certain information resources. One consequence of this is to give business users

control of how the decision is made.

4. Improve the Rules with Data Mining

While many of the business rules required to make a decision come from written

and explicit sources – regulations, policies, procedures, user preferences etc – it is

often possible to use data mining to create and improve business rules. Many rules

have thresholds or limits in them and data analysis can be used to find statistically

significant or historically effective values for these. Data mining can also be used to

develop segmentation rules – decision trees – and these are often represented by

Business Rules as well as affected by policies and regulations. Essentially one can

make the rules better reflect what works, or at least what has worked in the past,

by analyzing data.

5. Add Predictive Insight

One of the main challenges when making decisions is the uncertainty inherent in

guessing what will happen in the future. To treat a customer right, set a price

correctly or select the right supplier one needs visibility into the future – how will

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the customer react to each treatment, what price will be acceptable and profitable,

which supplier will deliver on time and to budget. Without a crystal ball certainty as

to the future is impossible to come by. However, we can turn uncertainty into

probability using predictive analytic techniques. Information about the behavior of a

specific customer, and of customers statistically similar to them, can be used to

predict how likely they are to react favorably to a particular offer. Information about

suppliers and their past deliveries can be used to predict how likely they are to be

on time in the future. Such predictive models can be developed and then integrated

into the decision making so that the rules for the decision use the likelihood of

relevant future outcomes.

6. Continually Improve with Adaptive Control

Decisions are not stable. What makes a good decision changes over time as

markets move, competitors change their behavior and as the expectations of

customers change. Effective decisions then must be managed over time and

continually improved. The most effective way to do this is to use adaptive control

techniques to continually compare the “champion” approach – the one most likely

to be the best – with “challengers”. These challengers change some aspect of the

approach – new models, new rules – and are applied to a small percentage of

transactions. If one of them performs better over time than the champion it can be

promoted to the champion and new challengers devised. This constant challenging

leads to continual improvement and helps ensure that changes outside the

organization don’t lead to a decision being made poorly for an extended period.

Tomorrow, some thoughts on decisions

decision making   Definition

The thought process of selecting a logical choice from the

available options.

When trying to make a good decision, a person must weight the

positives and negatives of each option, and consider all the

alternatives. For effective decision making, a person must be able

to forecast the outcome of each option as well, and based on all

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these items, determine which option is the best for that particular

situation.

Definition OfDecision Making The standard definitions If you search for the definition of decision making here are some samples of what

you'll find:

The cognitive process of reaching a decision.

A position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration

Choosing between alternative courses of action using cognitive processes -

memory, thinking, evaluation, etc

The process of mapping the likely consequences of decisions, working out the

importance of individual factors, and choosing the best course of action to

take.

Other disciplines may have a slightly different definition of decision making, for

example, games theory or computer programming have variations in their uses for

the terminology. And even if you compare models there are variations in each

models definition.

So what's a decision? If you look up the definition of a decision it's often referred to as the act of making

up your mind about something, ora position or opinion or judgment reached after

consideration.

And when people ordinarily consider their own definition of decision making, it is

typical that they consider that somehow it is a thinking process, with lots of mental

activity involved in choosing between alternatives.

But this doesn't include the way some people make decisions. You may have heard

people saying

I have a gut feeling

I know in my heart

I feel it in my bones

So how do we explain this?

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More practical definition of decision making

I much prefer this particular definition of decision making:

The process of selecting from several choices products or ideas, and

taking action.

Because I think when people make decisions, they actually use their whole system,

not just their thinking abilities. I also consider that the whole system approach is

considerably more effective than simply ‘thinking it through’.

Consider, for example, when somebody uses a phrase such as I knew at the time

that I probably shouldn't have chosen this one, but I did it anyway. Usually what

happens is that their system is making one choice, and mentally they choose

something else. There are basically ignoring their own body wisdom. And later, of

course, the bad decision comes back to haunt them.

The way around this so that you make good decisions is obviously to learn your own

signals in your physical system so that you recognize them when they occur. And

the most important thing is to pay attention to the signals!

There are many approaches and they include the

idea of 'sleeping on it’, where someone delays making a decision until the following

day. This can be very useful in allowing somebody's whole system to align to one

particular choice. But even if people sleep on the decision they are still prone to

overriding the body signals, because in our culture more emphasis is put on the

cognitive aspects of decision making.

The evidence for this lies not just in the defination of decision making (see above)

but the emphasis in most of the decision making models is on the strategies for

making the most rational, logical and

Applying TheDecision Making Model In Five Steps

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1. State The Problem - The first and arguably the most important step in the decision making model in five steps is to identifying the problem. Until you have a clear understanding of the problem or decision to be made, it is meaningless to proceed. If the problem is stated incorrectly or unclearly then your decisions will be wrong.

2. Identify Alternatives - Sometimes your only alternatives are to do it or don't do it. Most of the time you will have several feasible alternatives. It is worth doing research to ensure you have as many good alternatives as possible.

3. Evaluate The Alternatives - This is where the analysis begins. You must have some logical approach to rank the alternatives. Two such logical approaches are discussed at Example Of A Decision Matrix and at Sample SWOT Analysis. It is important to realize that these analysis methods are only one of the five steps in the decision making model.

4. Make A Decision - You have evaluated your alternatives. Two or more of your high ranked alternatives may be very close in the evaluations. You should eliminate all of the alternatives that were low ranked. Now it is time to go back and examine the inputs you made to evaluation criteria for the close high ranked alternatives. Do you still feel comfortable with the inputs you made? When you have made any changes it is time for some subjection. You have eliminated the alternatives that do not make logical sense. Now it is time to let your subconscious work. Review all the details of the remaining high ranked close alternatives, so they are completely clear in your mind. Completely leave the project alone for a few days. When you return to the project, the decision will likely be very clear in your head. This only works if you have done your homework!

5. Implement Your Decision - A decision has no value unless you implement it. If you are not good with implementation, then find someone that is. Part of the implementation phase is the follow up. The follow up ensures that the implementation sticks.

Summary

This decision making model in five steps shows a logical structured methodology for making a decision. The discipline that it provides will guide you to the goal of good decision making.

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GROUP DECISION MAKING

Group decision making is a type of participatory process in which multiple

individuals acting collectively, analyze problems or situations, consider and

evaluate alternative courses of action, and select from among the

alternatives a solution or solutions. The number of people involved in group

decision-making varies greatly, but often ranges from two to seven. The

individuals in a group may be demographically similar or quite diverse.

Decision-making groups may be relatively informal in nature, or formally

designated and charged with a specific goal. The process used to arrive at

decisions may be unstructured or structured. The nature and composition of

groups, their size, demographic makeup, structure, and purpose, all affect

their functioning to some degree. The external contingencies faced by

groups (time pressure and conflicting goals) impact the development and

effectiveness of decision-making groups as well.

In organizations many decisions of consequence are made after some form

of group decision-making process is undertaken. However, groups are not

the only form of collective work arrangement. Group decision-making

should be distinguished from the concepts of teams, teamwork, and self

managed teams. Although the words teams and groups are often used

interchangeably, scholars increasingly differentiate between the two. The

basis for the distinction seems to be that teams act more collectively and

achieve greater synergy of effort. Katzenback and Smith spell out specific

differences between decision making groups and teams:

The group has a definite leader, but the team has shared leadership roles

Members of a group have individual accountability; the team has both

individual and collective accountability.

The group measures effectiveness indirectly, but the team measures

performance directly through their collective work product.

The group discusses, decides, and delegates, but the team discusses,

decides, and does real work.

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GROUP DECISION MAKING METHODS

There are many methods or procedures that can be used by groups. Each is

designed to improve the decision-making process in some way. Some of the

more common group decision-making methods are brainstorming, dialetical

inquiry, nominal group technique, and the delphi technique.

BRAINSTORMING.

Brainstorming involves group members verbally suggesting ideas or

alternative courses of action. The "brainstorming session" is usually

relatively unstructured. The situation at hand is described in as much detail

as necessary so that group members have a complete understanding of the

issue or problem. The group leader or facilitator then solicits ideas from all

members of the group. Usually, the group leader or facilitator will record

the ideas presented on a flip chart or marker board. The "generation of

alternatives" stage is clearly differentiated from the "alternative evaluation"

stage, as group members are not allowed to evaluate suggestions until all

ideas have been presented. Once the ideas of the group members have been

exhausted, the group members then begin the process of evaluating the

utility of the different suggestions presented. Brainstorming is a useful

means by which to generate alternatives, but does not offer much in the

way of process for the evaluation of alternatives or the selection of a

proposed course of action.

One of the difficulties with brainstorming is that despite the prohibition

against judging ideas until all group members have had their say, some

individuals are hesitant to propose ideas because they fear the judgment or

ridicule of other group members. In recent years, some decision-making

groups have utilized electronic brainstorming, which allows group members

to propose alternatives by means of e-mail or another electronic means,

such as an online posting board or discussion room. Members could

conceivably offer their ideas anonymously, which should increase the

likelihood that individuals will offer unique and creative ideas without fear

of the harsh judgment of others.

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DIALETICAL INQUIRY.

Dialetical inquiry is a group decision-making technique that focuses on

ensuring full consideration of alternatives. Essentially, it involves dividing

the group into opposing sides, which debate the advantages and

disadvantages of proposed solutions or decisions. A similar group decision-

making method, devil's advocacy, requires that one member of the group

highlight the potential problems with a proposed decision. Both of these

techniques are designed to try and make sure that the group considers all

possible ramifications of its decision.

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE.

The nominal group technique is a structured decision making process in

which group members are required to compose a comprehensive list of their

ideas or proposed alternatives in writing. The group members usually

record their ideas privately. Once finished, each group member is asked, in

turn, to provide one item from their list until all ideas or alternatives have

been publicly recorded on a flip chart or marker board. Usually, at this

stage of the process verbal exchanges are limited to requests for

clarification—no evaluation or criticism of listed ideas is permitted. Once all

proposals are listed publicly, the group engages in a discussion of the listed

alternatives, which ends in some form of ranking or rating in order of

preference. As with brainstorming, the prohibition against criticizing

proposals as they are presented is designed to overcome individuals'

reluctance to share their ideas. Empirical research conducted on group

decision making offers some evidence that the nominal group technique

succeeds in generating a greater number of decision alternatives that are of

relatively high quality.

DELPHI TECHNIQUE.

The Delphi technique is a group decision-making process that can be used

by decision-making groups when the individual members are in different

physical locations. The technique was developed at the Rand Corporation.

The individuals in the Delphi "group" are usually selected because of the

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specific knowledge or expertise of the problem they possess. In the Delphi

technique, each group member is asked to independently provide ideas,

input, and/or alternative solutions to the decision problem in successive

stages. These inputs may be provided in a variety of ways, such as e-mail,

fax, or online in a discussion room or electronic bulletin board. After each

stage in the process, other group members ask questions and alternatives

are ranked or rated in some fashion. After an indefinite number of rounds,

the group eventually arrives at a consensus decision on the best course of

action.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

OF GROUP DECISION MAKING

The effectiveness of decision-making groups can be affected by a variety of

factors. Thus, it is not possible to suggest that "group decision making is

always better" or "group decision making is always worse" than individual

decision-making. For example, due to the increased demographic diversity

in the workforce, a considerable amount of research has focused on

diversity's effect on the effectiveness of group functioning. In general, this

research suggests that demographic diversity can sometimes have positive

or negative effects, depending on the specific situation. Demographically

diverse group may have to over-come social barriers and difficulties in the

early stages of group formation and this may slow down the group.

However, some research indicates that diverse groups, if effectively

managed, tend to generate a wider variety and higher quality of decision

alternatives than demographically homogeneous groups.

Despite the fact that there are many situational factors that affect the

functioning of groups, research through the years does offer some general

guidance about the relative strengths and weaknesses inherent in group

decision making. The following section summarizes the major pros and cons

of decision making in groups.

ADVANTAGES.

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Group decision-making, ideally, takes advantage of the diverse strengths

and expertise of its members. By tapping the unique qualities of group

members, it is possible that the group can generate a greater number of

alternatives that are of higher quality than the individual. If a greater

number of higher quality alternatives are generated, then it is likely that the

group will eventually reach a superior problem solution than the individual.

Group decision-making may also lead to a greater collective understanding

of the eventual course of action chosen, since it is possible that many

affected by the decision implementation actually had input into the decision.

This may promote a sense of "ownership" of the decision, which is likely to

contribute to a greater acceptance of the course of action selected and

greater commitment on the part of the affected individuals to make the

course of action successful.

DISADVANTAGES.

There are many potential disadvantages to group decision-making. Groups

are generally slower to arrive at decisions than individuals, so sometimes it

is difficult to utilize them in situations where decisions must be made very

quickly. One of the most often cited problems is groupthink. Irving Janis, in

his 1972 book Victims of Groupthink, defined the phenomenon as the

"deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment

resulting from in-group pressure." Groupthink occurs when individuals in a

group feel pressure to conform to what seems to be the dominant view in

the group. Dissenting views of the majority opinion are suppressed and

alternative courses of action are not fully explored.

Research suggests that certain characteristics of groups contribute to

groupthink. In the first place, if the group does not have an agreed upon

process for developing and evaluating alternatives, it is possible that an

incomplete set of alternatives will be considered and that different courses

of action will not be fully explored. Many of the formal decision-making

processes (e.g., nominal group technique and brain-storming) are designed,

in part, to reduce the potential for groupthink by ensuring that group

members offer and consider a large number of decision alternatives.

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Secondly, if a powerful leader dominates the group, other group members

may quickly conform to the dominant view. Additionally, if the group is

under stress and/or time pressure, groupthink may occur. Finally, studies

suggest that highly cohesive groups are more susceptible to groupthink.

Group polarization is another potential disadvantage of group decision-

making. This is the tendency of the group to converge on more extreme

solutions to a problem. The "risky shift" phenomenon is an example of

polarization; it occurs when the group decision is a riskier one than any of

the group members would have made individually. This may result because

individuals in a group sometimes do not feel as much responsibility and

accountability for the actions of the group as they would if they were

making the decision alone.

Decision-making in groups is a fact of organizational life for many

individuals. Because so many individuals spend at least some of their work

time in decision-making groups, groups are the subjects of hundreds of

research studies each year. Despite this, there is still much to learn about

the development and functioning of groups. Research is likely to continue to

focus on identifying processes that will make group decision-making more

efficient and effective. It is also likely to examine how the internal

characteristics of groups (demographic and cognitive diversity) and the

external contingencies faced by groups affect their functioning.

DEPARTMENTATION

The process of grouping of activities into units for the purpose of administration is called departmentation. It can be defined "as the process by which activities or functions of enterprise are grouped homogeneously into different groups."

The administrative units are called divisions, units or departments. The followings are the basis of departmentation:

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(a) When departmentation is done on the bask of functions the departments created are production, marketing, accounting, finance and personnel departments.

(b) When departmentation is done on the basis of geographical area, the departments are known as eastern department, western department, northern and southern department.

(c) Departmentation can be done on the basis of customers.

(d) Departmentation can be done on the basis of product handled.

What Are the Various Types of Leadership Styles?

Luanne Kelchner works out of Daytona Beach, Fla. and has been freelance writing full-time since 2008. Her ghostwriting work has covered a variety of topics but mainly focuses on health and home improvement articles. Kelchner has a degree from Southern New Hampshire University in English language and literature. By Luanne Kelchner, eHow Contributor

updated January 06, 2011

Print this article

Managers and leaders use different styles to manage employees and accomplish the goals of the organization. A leader must evaluate each situation to determine the best approach in leading a group of workers. Some groups require a great amount of control, and other groups of workers can achieve the goals with little direction.

1. Behavioral Styles

o The behavioral styles are identified by the way the manager or leader behaves. Autocratic leaders exert a great amount of control over

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employees or those they lead. Employees working under an autocratic leader do not make any decisions. Instead, the employees follow orders or directives from the leader. Laissez-faire leaders provide little direction for employees and leave the decision making to the employees. This type of leader provides the employees with resources, tools and the goal for the group and allows the employees to perform the work and make the decisions to reach the objective. Democratic leaders are a combination of laissez-faire and autocratic leaders. Although the democratic leader will make the decisions for the group, employees are encouraged to provide input and make suggestions.

Situational Styles

o Leaders might also use a variety of leadership styles, which depend on the situation. The managers must have the ability to evaluate a work situation and determine which leadership style fits. Situational leaders have several models to use when directing the activities of employees. Coaching leaders assist workers to help develop the skills needed to accomplish goals. Pacesetting leaders set standards for workers who are motivated and have a high level of skill. The leader sets the standard and leads by example. The affiliative leadership style helps employees who require motivation and praise to encourage a team atmosphere. Coercive leaders control every aspect of decision making and issue commands to workers to achieve goals. This is similar to an autocratic style of leadership.

Power Styles

o Power styles of leadership can direct workers by using positional or personal power. Positional power uses the authority of the job to direct workers; personal power uses the expertise of the leader or charisma to lead a group. According to Mind Tools, workers respond best to expert power sources.

Transformational Styles

o A visionary leadership style works well in an organization or work situation that requires change or transformation. The leader projects a vision of the future for the group and leads workers toward that goal. This type of leader must have the skills to communicate a vision for the group, sets a good example and has integrity. Visionary leaders offer praise and encouragement to motivate the group to work toward the goal.

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There are several types of leadership styles including

democratic style, free-reign style, facilitative style and authoritarian or autocratic style. Effective leaders vary their leadership style to suit different situations dictated by the leadership role. Generally leadership falls into two broad categories, autocratic or free-reign leadership. Authoritarian leadership is generally given to one person.

1. Authoritative Decision Making

o In the authoritarian leadership style, the leader is usually the expert and authority on a subject and is given the position of authority on this basis. Team members or followers must follow the leader's orders without deviating from his decision. Team members have no part in the decision making process and the decisions are never up for debate. Authoritative decision making can be necessary in some specific situations.

Using Authoritarian Leadership

o Authoritarian leadership is often required in situations where fast decisions are needed and a person is appointed in advance to take control when necessary. In such circumstances autocratic leadership is efficient because team members must follow orders without dispute. Authoritarian leadership is also used when an expert is on site and project direction requires each team member to explicitly follow orders and instructions of the expert. Predefined processes also often require authoritarian leadership, when tasks must be completed in a specific order using predefined methodology. The authoritarian directive of the leader maintains smooth running of the operations he is overseeing because he knows and directs the part each individual plays.

Emergency Situations

o An authoritarian style leadership is often required in emergency situations where organization and directive is needed to avoid confusion, panic or further disaster. After natural disasters authoritarian leadership can be handed over to the military, to maintain social order, lead rescue teams and distribute emergency supplies. Dangerous emergency rescues often require authoritarian leadership to ensure safety precautions are met and the mission is successful.

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Overuse of Authoritarian Leadership

o Authoritarian leadership is the most misused leadership style and examples of political autocratic misuse are evident in dictatorships where the citizens' civil rights are exploited. In the corporate world there is also misuse of authoritarian leadership, where it has a negative effect on employee motivation. Authoritarian leadership should not be the predominant leadership style and should be used in moderation.

Leadership Styles: What are Common Types of Leadership?

How do various leadership styles perform? How does somebody develop a style of leadership?

There are a number of leadership types that have been observed and studied, as you certainly know. Authorities and experts have several common systems for classifying these different styles.

All the classification systems of leadership below are valid and offer some guidance from which a leader can learn. Look at the several classification systems below, and consider which one best suits your needs and your situation.

“Most of the work that is accomplished is not yours, it’s the work of others. The leader who can be the coach, coordinator, and cheerleader will be successful in today’s business

Some authorities say leadership consists of three styles:• Authoritarian or autocratic – this is the commanding style—“Do as I say, because I am the boss.” This style is based on the power of the position.

• Democratic or participative (sometimes called authoritative) – this is the style that includes participation and greater equality between leader and followers. This leader asks, “What do you think?” and may make some decisions by majority rule.

• Laissez-faire or free reign – this style is unengaged in leadership, and simply lets people do their own thing with the leader exerting few controls.

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The free reign style can be good or bad, depending on whether the followers are high performers or not. Good performers need free reign to perform best, but for beginners and marginal performers this style is completely ineffective.

Some authorities say leadership can be categorized into two styles:

• Transactional – focused on operations or the “business” of the organization. This leadership goal is to maintain the status quo. In this conception leadership rests on the unspoken agreement between leader and employee, in which the leader is “in charge,” and the employee, by accepting the job, agrees to that fact.

• Transformational - focused on creating a new and shared vision of the future. How do we get from where we currently are to where we need to be? The status quo is no longer enough. This style seeks to transform the organization.

Situational leadership:This classification of leadership types is based on the work of Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard and is well-respected. They believe that leaders should be able to move back and forth between four styles, based on the needs of the follower and the situation itself.

S(Style)1 – Telling or Directing; leader makes decisions and communication is primarily one-way.

S2 – Selling or Coaching; leader involves followers in offering ideas but leader still makes decisions.

S3 – Participating or Supporting; leader allows followers to have an increasing say in decisions but provides coordination and guidance.

S4 – Delegating; leader allows capable others to perform largely on their own and make their own decisions.

Hersey and Blanchard say that all of these styles are appropriate and necessary under particular conditions. A good leader uses all these styles and at the correct times.

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Other Common Leadership Styles:Several other common leadership styles have been widely studied. Two of them are: Servant leadership and bureaucratic leadership.

Servant leadershipThe style called servant leadership is based on a term coined by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s. This refers to anyone (whether having a formal leadership title or not) who leads by meeting the needs of others or of his or her team. This leadership style is based on strong values and personal integrity. It’s quiet, without fanfare.

Bureaucratic leadershipThis type can be defined as “by the book” leadership. This leader focuses on policy and procedures and seeks to keep things fair and well-organized.

The RIGHT Leadership Style...?Many experts believe there is no one “right” leadership type or style.

While this is partly true, if there is one default style of leadership that is most effective in today’s organizational environment it is probably something resembling "participative."

The visionary style, especially when it includes democratic and participative elements, is also nearly always effective. Review the most effective styles for the 21st century here.

In the early years of an organization’s development the leader may need to be somewhat more authoritative and directive (not authoritarian. See above definitions.) – providing a fair and just source of answers and boundaries. This leadership type at this juncture helps provide stability and lays the foundation for growth.

As the organization matures, followers can increasingly participate in setting goals and solving problems. A laissez-faire style, or delegating style, is more appropriate as the organization matures and followers learn and grow.

Your leadership style does not have to be based merely on your personality – you can choose a style. You can and should further develop your ability to use various leadership styles.

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Create an inclusive style, a style that you can vary. Try new behaviors and techniques, depending on what the situation calls for and what fits with your personality and your values

Effective Leadership Styles:Best Practices and Qualities for

Today’s World

Effective leadership styles include qualities that are most likely to be effective in today's world. 21st century leadership needs to be both similar to leadership of the past and different from leadership of the past. How can that possibly be?!

Let’s think about it for a minute. The basic and fundamental principles of effective leadership skills have remained the same for generations. They are based on timeless human relations principles. But many of the tactics have necessarily changed to meet the demands of the 21st century.

The world has changed dramatically in the last few decades. No surprise there! Some styles may have qualified as very effective leadership in the time of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. But they are simply less effective today.

For example, some years ago, if the “boss” or “Dad” said jump, the employee’s or kid’s reaction would have been: “Of course. How high? How long? Is this what you meant?”

Not so today. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know at a gut level, but there’s an important reason that you must keep this truth in mind every single day and in every interaction. It means you have to lead differently.

For anyone in the role of leadership today (whether it’s for your job, or you are chairing a community committee), the kick-in-the-pants, Commanding leadership style of yesteryear will simply not enable you to achieve results. And effective leadership styles achieve results.

What Doesn't WorkIf the Commanding style ever worked, it does not work in the 21st century! The Command style is NOT a 21st century effective leadership style. It is contrary to best practice. Commanders, even in the military, have learned there are better ways to achieve results with followers in today’s world.

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But think about this: issuing orders is the kind of leadership role model many of today’s managers and supervisors have had in their own past. So using the method they have observed most the is logical to them. They may not even realize there is a better way.

If this Commanding model is practically all you’ve seen from the people in charge, you may simply not know how to do it another way. You may try to make this style work by being more demanding—more forceful and more repetitive. But if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, and doing more of it won’t change that.

When most of us were kids, being the “leader” was very desirable because it meant we got to have things our way. It often meant we got to “boss” others around. We may have played at this style from the time of childhood. As children we thought it gave us power.

What WorksOne fairly recent, comprehensive study and classification of leadership was undertaken by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee and published in Primal Leadership in 2002. Their classification of styles may be particularly relevant to 21st century leadership best leadership practice, in contrast to the prior classification systems mentioned here.

The following six styles they identified are listed in order of preference, with the “best” style of leadership first, and on down the list to the least effective style which is listed last.

1. Visionary Leadership – Leader sets direction by creating a vision that engages people. People share the dream. Conclusion from the study authors: this best practice leadership style is probably the overall most effective style, especially the higher in the organization one progresses.

2. Coaching – Leader connects individual needs and wants with the organization’s goals. Coaching explores the person’s life and values beyond just the work. Such leaders help employees forge long-term goals and develop plans to meet those goals. Paradoxically, while this style does not focus specifically on the bottom line, it delivers bottom

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line results. In their findings, it was the second most effective best practice style in driving results.

3. Affiliative – The leader connects people to each other, thereby creating teamwork and harmony. This style promotes collaboration and relationships which indirectly drive better performance, loyalty, and commitment.

4. Democratic – Inclusion and participation show that each member is valued by this leader. This is particularly effective when the leader is genuinely looking for ideas or seeking to secure buy-in for a potential change. At some point, however, if consensus cannot be reached the leader must make the decision and move ahead.

The two less effective leadership styles in the 21st century (although still common) which these authors identified were:

5. Pacesetting – Leader sets and achieves challenge goals. This style is often executed in a highly competitive way, thus it is less effective in most situations because it promotes the good of one person or department with little regard for the good of the entire organization. It can be useful sometimes with a confident and highly motivated team, but this style should be used sparingly.

6. Commanding – Leader provides clear direction and makes all decisions.. This style is frequently misused and overused, and was shown to be minimally effective in the 21st century organization. It can be useful temporarily in a crisis, to jump-start a new initiative, or with a problem employee, but use of the commanding style should be very limited.

Best practice leadership—the most effective styles for the demands of our present-day world—are: visionary, coaching, affiliative, and democratic. Learn all you can to develop skills that align with these styles. You will greatly improve your effectiveness.

Conclusion on Effective StylesToday good leadership skills and effective leadership styles are based more on the principle of servant leadership—serving the needs of others—making their path straight and their way easy. The leader’s role today is to make employees want to follow and to make it easy for them to follow their leader. A leader’s role is to enable the followers to do their jobs.

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In our society, everyone from the customer to colleagues to employees wants to believe they are “first.” The leader who can adequately show genuine interest in the welfare of others and make each of them feel as if they are “first” is one the most likely to be successful in leadership.

Effective leadership styles in the 21st Century have the fundamental themes of collaboration and service. Nice guys DON’T finish last in leadership. Remember that.

Organizational Control Techniques

Control techniques provide managers with the type and amount

of information they need to measure and monitor performance.

The information from various controls must be tailored to a

specific management level, department, unit, or operation.

To ensure complete and consistent information, organizations

often use standardized documents such as financial, status, and

project reports. Each area within an organization, however, uses

its own specific control techniques, described in the following

sections.

Financial controls

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After the organization has strategies in place to reach its goals,

funds are set aside for the necessary resources and labor. As

money is spent, statements are updated to reflect how much was

spent, how it was spent, and what it obtained. Managers use

these financial statements, such as an income statement or

balance sheet, to monitor the progress of programs and plans.

Financial statements provide management with information to

monitor financial resources and activities. The income

statement shows the results of the organization's operations

over a period of time, such as revenues, expenses, and profit or

loss. The balance sheet shows what the organization is worth

(assets) at a single point in time, and the extent to which those

assets were financed through debt (liabilities) or owner's

investment (equity).

Financial audits, or formal investigations, are regularly

conducted to ensure that financial management practices follow

generally accepted procedures, policies, laws, and ethical

guidelines. Audits may be conducted internally or externally.

Financial ratio analysis examines the relationship between

specific figures on the financial statements and helps explain the

significance of those figures:

Liquidity ratios measure an organization's ability to

generate cash.

Profitability ratios measure an organization's ability to

generate profits.

Debt ratios measure an organization's ability to pay its

debts.

Activity ratios measure an organization's efficiency in

operations and use of assets.

In addition, financial responsibility centers require managers to

account for a unit's progress toward financial goals within the

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scope of their influences. A manager's goals and responsibilities

may focus on unit profits, costs, revenues, or investments.

Budget controls

A budget depicts how much an organization expects to spend

(expenses) and earn (revenues) over a time period. Amounts are

categorized according to the type of business activity or account,

such as telephone costs or sales of catalogs. Budgets not only

help managers plan their finances, but also help them keep track

of their overall spending.

A budget, in reality, is both a planning tool and a control

mechanism. Budget development processes vary among

organizations according to who does the budgeting and how the

financial resources are allocated. Some budget development

methods are as follows:

Top-down budgeting. Managers prepare the budget and

send it to subordinates.

Bottom-up budgeting. Figures come from the lower levels

and are adjusted and coordinated as they move up the

hierarchy.

Zero-based budgeting. Managers develop each new

budget by justifying the projected allocation against its

contribution to departmental or organizational goals.

Flexible budgeting. Any budget exercise can incorporate

flexible budgets, which set “meet or beat” standards that

can be compared to expenditures.

Marketing controls

Marketing controls help monitor progress toward goals for

customer satisfaction with products and services, prices, and

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delivery. The following are examples of controls used to evaluate

an organization's marketing functions:

Market research gathers data to assess customer needs—

information critical to an organization's success. Ongoing

market research reflects how well an organization is

meeting customers' expectations and helps anticipate

customer needs. It also helps identify competitors.

Test marketing is small-scale product marketing to assess

customer acceptance. Using surveys and focus groups, test

marketing goes beyond identifying general requirements

and looks at what (or who) actually influences buying

decisions.

Marketing statistics measure performance by compiling

data and analyzing results. In most cases, competency with

a computer spreadsheet program is all a manager needs.

Managers look at marketing ratios, which measure

profitability, activity, and market shares, as well as sales

quotas, which measure progress toward sales goals and

assist with inventory controls.

Unfortunately, scheduling a regular evaluation of an

organization's marketing program is easier to recommend than to

execute. Usually, only a crisis, such as increased competition or a

sales drop, forces a company to take a closer look at its

marketing program. However, more regular evaluations help

minimize the number of marketing problems.

Human resource controls

Human resource controls help managers regulate the quality of

newly hired personnel, as well as monitor current employees'

developments and daily performances.

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On a daily basis, managers can go a long way in helping to control

workers' behaviors in organizations. They can help direct workers'

performances toward goals by making sure that goals are clearly

set and understood. Managers can also institute policies and

procedures to help guide workers' actions. Finally, they can

consider past experiences when developing future strategies,

objectives, policies, and procedures.

Common control types include performance appraisals,

disciplinary programs, observations, and training and

development assessments. Because the quality of a firm's

personnel, to a large degree, determines the firm's overall

effectiveness, controlling this area is very crucial.

Computers and information controls

Almost all organizations have confidential and sensitive

information that they don't want to become general knowledge.

Controlling access to computer databases is the key to this area.

Increasingly, computers are being used to collect and store

information for control purposes. Many organizations privately

monitor each employee's computer usage to measure employee

performance, among other things. Some people question the

appropriateness of computer monitoring. Managers must carefully

weigh the benefits against the costs—both human and financial—

before investing in and implementing computerized control

techniques.

Although computers and information systems provide enormous

benefits, such as improved productivity and information

management, organizations should remember the following

limitations of the use of information technology:

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Performance limitations. Although management

information systems have the potential to increase overall

performance, replacing long-time organizational employees

with information systems technology may result in the loss

of expert knowledge that these individuals hold.

Additionally, computerized information systems are

expensive and difficult to develop. After the system has

been purchased, coordinating it—possibly with existing

equipment—may be more difficult than expected.

Consequently, a company may cut corners or install the

system carelessly to the detriment of the system's

performance and utility. And like other sophisticated

electronic equipment, information systems do not work all

the time, resulting in costly downtime.

Behavioral limitations. Information technology allows

managers to access more information than ever before. But

too much information can overwhelm employees, cause

stress, and even slow decision making. Thus, managing the

quality and amount of information available to avoid

information overload is important.

Health risks. Potentially serious health-related issues

associated with the use of computers and other information

technology have been raised in recent years. An example is

carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful disorder in the hands and

wrists caused by repetitive movements (such as those made

on a keyboard).

Regardless of the control processes used, an effective system

determines whether employees and various parts of an

organization are on target in achieving organizational objectives.

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ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION AND EARLY COMMUNICATION MODELS

ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION AND EARLY COMMUNICATION MODELSLike all the complex objects, communication is also made up of certain basic things called elements.A building has its elements in brick, sand, cement, iron, wood, paints and sanitary fittings. A machine has anumber of components which are all elements joined together to enable the machine to give desired results.Communication is a complex business and involves certain elements which join together to help a messagego across.In this chapter we will give a long sight to various elements which have been marked by experts and whichprovide the very basics of any piece of communication however simple it may be.

Elements of communicationSenderFirst and foremost is the person who sends a message. Known as sender in the jargons ofcommunication, he or she is the chief initiator of any communication. In fact a communication may nottake place if there is no sender. The sender may be singular and plural as well. It all depends on the natureof communication. If a teacher is delivering lecture, it constitute a case of sender as one individual. Sendercomprising many is the case when a group of people shout together, or more than one person sing a songas chorus.

MessageWhen sender – the source of communication, decides to communicate he/she encodes the crux ofthe feeling in words/gestures or any other form commonly understood. This encoded form is calledmessage. It may be a simple word or a very complex and technical integration of feelings by the source on agiven subject.

ChannelNo sooner a message is created by a sender, it enters in the channel. The channel is part of thecommunication process which helps carry the message to its desired destination. In case of printed wordspaper is the channel, in the matter of voice air may serve as a channel. In telephonic conversation the wireand the sets make the channel. Some times the channel itself becomes part of message and sometimemessage is sent in a manner that a part of it serves as a channel.

ReceiverThe process of communication may not be complete if the message does not reach a person, orpersons, it is designed for. Receiver in this process is the element which is target of the message and actuallyreceives it. The dimension of receiver is very wide – it may vary from an individual to an army of people, ora nation or all nations. Again, it depends what the message is.

InterpreterReceiving message in most case is half the process of communication done. In most cases an

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interpreter is required to understand – decode – the message so that the purpose of communication isserved. Noise always occurs at this stage. Noise means part of meaning which is lost from the originalmessage. There is hardly a message which is decoded, or interpreted cent per cent.

FeedbackSending and receiving of message is a simultaneous process in which the receiver continuouslysends back its approval or disapproval after having interpreted the message. This helps the sender to modifyor discipline its message. This element in the communication process is referred as feedback. For instance aperson is delivering speech, the voices, gestures and facial expressions – all part of feedback, would help thespeaker to check its loudness, smiles, rhetoric, contents or time to speak. If there is no feedback, the originalmessage may never shape accordingly which may distort the whole communication exercise.

Context9Every message is delivered and received in a given context. Change in the background factorsdenoted as context, may change the meanings altogether. Context itself comprises multiple factors each oneof them becomes essential when it comes to interpretation of the original message.

Communication ModelCommunication experts have long been striving to arrange elements of communication into somegraphic arrangement so that all the complexities of communication may come in view in a glance. Butbefore we try to examine them lets try to understand what a model is.

What is a Model?• A model is a systematic representation of an object or event in idealized and abstract form. Modelsare somewhat arbitrary by their nature.• Communication models are merely pictures; they’re even distorting pictures, because they stop orfreeze an essentially dynamic interactive or transitive process into a static picture.• Models are metaphors. They allow us to see one thing in terms of another.

The Shannon-Weaver’s Model of CommunicationThe Shannon-Weaver’s model is typical of what are often referred to as transmission models ofcommunication. Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver were two different entities that jointly produced amodel known after their names.Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver produced a general model of communication:This model is now known after them as the Shannon-Weaver’s Model. Although they were principallyconcerned with communication technology, their model has become one which is frequently introduced tostudents of human communication early in their study.The Shannon-Weaver’s Model (1947) proposes that all communication processes must include following sixelements:•

Source•

Encoder•

Message•

Channel•

Decoder•

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Receiver

 

These six elements are shown graphically in the model. As Shannon was researching in the field ofinformation theory, his model was initially very technology-oriented. The model was produced in 1947.The emphasis here is very much on the transmission and reception of information. 'Information' isunderstood rather differently from the way you and I would normally use the term, as well. This model isoften referred to as an 'information model’ of communication.Apart from its obvious technological bias, a drawback from our point of view is the model's obviouslinearity. It looks at communication as a one-way process. A further drawback with this kind of model isthat the message is seen as relatively unproblematic. It is fine for discussing the transformation of10'information' but when we try to apply the model to communication, problems arise with the assumptionthat meanings are somehow contained within the message.

Detailed analysis of the modelThe SourceAll human communication has some source (information source in Shannon's terminology), someperson or group of persons with a given purpose, a reason for engaging in communication. You'll also findthe terms transmitter and communicator used.

The EncoderYou, as the source, have to express your purpose in the form of a message. That message has to beformulated in some kind of code. How do the source's purposes get translated into a code? This requires anencoder. The communication encoder is responsible for taking the ideas of the source and putting them incode, expressing the source's purpose in the form of a message.In person-to-person communication, the encoding process is performed by the motor skills of the source -vocal mechanisms (lip and tongue movements, the vocal cords, the lungs, face muscles etc.), muscles in thehand and so on. Some people's encoding systems are not as efficient as others'. So, for example, a disabledperson might not be able to control movement of their limbs and so find it difficult to encode the intendednon-verbal messages or they may communicate unintended messages.A person who has suffered throat problem may have had their vocal cords removed. They can encode theirmessages verbally using an artificial aid, but much of the non-verbal messages most of us send via pitch,intonation, volume and so on cannot be encoded.Shannon was not particularly concerned with the communication of meanings. In fact, it is WilburSchramm's model of 1954 which places greater emphasis on the processes of encoding and decoding. Wewill discuss threadbare Schramm’s model in next lecture with special emphasis on the provision ofinterpretation of a message for a logical understanding of what has been sent by the source originally.

The MessageThe message of course is what communication is all about. Whatever is communicated is themessage.Denis McQuail (1975) in his book Communication writes that the simplest way of regarding humancommunication is 'to consider it as the sending from one person to another of meaningful messages'.The Shannon-Weaver’s Model, in common with many others separates the message from othercomponents of the process of communication. In reality, though, you can only reasonably examine themessage within the context of all the other interlinked elements. Whenever we are in contact with otherpeople we and they are involved in sending and receiving messages. The crucial question forCommunication Studies is: to what extent does the message received correspond to the messagetransmitted? That's where all the other factors in the communication process come into play.The Shannon-Weaver’s model and others like it tends to portray the message as a relatively uncomplicated

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matter. Note that this is not a criticism of Shannon since meanings were simply not his concern:Frequently the messages have meaning that is they refer to or are correlated according to some system withcertain physical or conceptual entities. (These considerations are irrelevant to the engineering problem).

The ChannelThe words channel and medium are often used interchangeably, if slightly inaccurately. Thechoice of the appropriate channel is a vitally important choice in communication. It's obvious that you don'tuse the visual channel to communicate with the blind or the auditory channel with the deaf, but there aremore subtle considerations to be taken into account as well.11

Physical noiseShannon is generally considered to have been primarily concerned with physical (or 'mechanical' or'engineering') noise in the channel, i.e. unexplained variation in a communication channel or random errorin the transmission of information. Everyday examples of physical noise are:• A loud motorbike roaring down the road while you're trying to hold a conversation.• Your little brother standing in front of the TV set.• Mist on the inside of the car windscreen.• Smudges on a printed page.• 'Snow' on a TV set.It might seem odd to use the word noise in this way. In this technical sense, 'noise' is not necessarilyaudible. Thus a TV technician might speak of a 'noisy picture'. However, it is possible for a message to bedistorted by channel overload. Channel overload is not due to any noise source, but rather to the channelcapacity being exceeded. You may come across that at a party where you are holding a conversation amidstlots of others going on around you or, perhaps, in a communication lesson where everyone has split intosmall groups for discussion.Shannon and Weaver were primarily involved with the investigation of technological communication. Theirmodel is perhaps more accurately referred to as a model of information theory (rather than communicationtheory). Consequently, their main concern was with the kind of physical (or mechanical) noise discussedabove.Transfer of a mismatch between the encoding and decoding devices to the study of human communicationand you're looking at what is normally referred to as semantic noise That concept then leads us on to thestudy of social class, cultural background, experience, attitudes, beliefs and a whole range of other factorswhich can introduce noise into communication.

Semantic noiseSemantic noise is not as easy to deal with as physical noise. It might not be an exaggeration to saythat the very essence of the study of human communication is to find ways of avoiding semantic noise.Semantic noise is difficult to define. It may be related to people's knowledge level, their communicationskills, their experience, and their prejudices and so on. It all depends on the commonality of experiences onpart of the receiver to understand message from sender.

The DecoderThe notion of a decoder reminds us that it is quite possible for a person to have all the equipmentrequired to receive the messages you send (all five senses, any necessary technology and so on) and yet beunable to decode your messages.

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The ReceiverFor communication to occur there must be somebody at the other end of the channel. This personor persons can be called the receiver. To put it in Shannon's terms, information transmitters and receiversmust be similar systems. If they are not, communication cannot occur. (Actually Shannon used the termdestination, reserving the term receiver for what we have called decoder.What that probably meant as far as he was concerned was that you need a telephone at one end and atelephone at the other, not a telephone connected to a radio. In rather more obviously human terms, thereceiver needs to have the equipment to receive the message. A totally blind person has the mentalequipment to decode your gestures, but no system for receiving messages in the visual channel. So, yournon-verbal messages are not received and you're wasting your energy.

1949 – Shannon- Weaver’s Model of Communication12Feedback is a vital part of communication. In the class room students’ facial expression tell theteacher to go to what extent to make students understand the point under discussion. More or less, theseexpression would guide the teacher where and when to finish.When we are talking to someone over the phone, if they don't give us the occasional 'mmmm', 'aaah', 'yes, Isee' and so on, it can be very disconcerting. In face-to-face communication, we get feedback in the visualchannel as well - head nods, smiles, frowns, changes in posture and orientation, gaze and so on.Why do people often have difficulty when using computers, when they find it perfectly easy to drive a car?You'd think it should be easier to operate a computer - after all there are only a few keys and a mouse, asagainst levers, pedals and a steering wheel. A computer's not likely to kill you, either. It could be due to thelack of feedback - in a car, you've the sound of the engine, the speed of the landscape rushing past, theforce of gravity. Feedback is coming at you through sight, hearing and touch -overdo it and it might comethrough smell as well. With a computer, there's very little of that. In fact you apply more of your brain aswhat you must be doing next rather than shaping your activity whether it’s being liked or not by themachine.

Feedback by definitionIn its simplest form the feedback principle means that a behavior is tested with reference to itsresult and success or failure of this result influences the future behaviorThough not exactly cut-out for human communication, the Shannon-Weaver model provides clearguidelines for researchers to mark more avenues for graphic presentation of the elements in daily humancommunication.

Lasswell Formula (1948)The sociologist, Harold Lasswell, tells us that in studying communication we should consider the elementsin the graphic above.13Lasswell was primarily concerned with mass communication and propaganda, so his model is intended todirect us to the kinds of research we need to conduct to answer his questions ('control analysis', 'effectsresearch' and so on). In fact, though, it is quite a useful model, whatever category of communication we arestudying. Note, incidentally, that the Lasswell Formula consists of five major components, though this is byno means obligatory.Harold Lasswell (1948) conceived of analyzing the mass media in five stages: “Who?” “Says what?” “Inwhich/what channel?” “To whom?” “With what effect?” In apparent elaboration on Lasswell and/orShannon and Weaver, George Gerbner (1956) extended the components to include the notions ofperception, reactions to a situation, and message context.

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