Dinesh

STAFFING:
The managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization structure
through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of the personnels
to fill the roles assigned to the employers/workforce.

Staffing Process - Steps involved in Staffing

According to Theo Haimann, Staffing pertains to recruitment, selection,
development and compensation of subordinates. Manpower requirements- The
very first step in staffing is to plan the manpower inventory required by a concern
in order to match them with the job requirements and demands. Therefore, it
involves forecasting and determining the future manpower needs of the concern.
Recruitment- Once the requirements are notified, the concern invites and solicits
applications according to the invitations made to the desirable candidates.
Selection- This is the screening step of staffing in which the solicited applications
are screened out and suitable candidates are appointed as per the requirements.
Orientation and Placement- Once screening takes place, the appointed candidates
are made familiar to the work units and work environment through the orientation
programs. Placement takes place by putting right man on the right job.
Training and Development- Training is a part of incentives given to the workers
in order to develop and grow them within the concern. Training is generally given
according to the nature of activities and scope of expansion in it. Along with it, the
workers are developed by providing them extra benefits of in depth knowledge of
their functional areas. Development also includes giving them key and important
jobs as a test or examination in order to analyses their performances.
Remuneration- It is a kind of compensation provided monetarily to the employees
for their work performances. This is given according to the nature of job- skilled or
unskilled, physical or mental, etc. Remuneration forms an important monetary
incentive for the employees.
Performance Evaluation- In order to keep a track or record of the behavior,
attitudes as well as opinions of the workers towards their jobs. For this regular
assessment is done to evaluate and supervise different work units in a concern. It is
basically concerning to know the development cycle and growth patterns of the
employees in a concern.

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Promotion and transfer- Promotion is said to be a non- monetary incentive in
which the worker is shifted from a higher job demanding bigger responsibilities as
well as shifting the workers and transferring them to different work units and
branches of the same organization.

Selection
The Employee selection Process takes place in following order1. Preliminary Interviews- It is used to eliminate those candidates who do not
meet the minimum eligibility criteria laid down by the organization. The
skills, academic and family background, competencies and interests of the
candidate are examined during preliminary interview. Preliminary interviews
are less formalized and planned than the final interviews. The candidates are
given a brief up about the company and the job profile; and it is also examined
how much the candidate knows about the company. Preliminary interviews
are also called screening interviews.
2. Application blanks- The candidates who clear the preliminary interview are
required to fill application blank. It contains data record of the candidates such
as details about age, qualifications, reason for leaving previous job,
experience, etc.
3. Written Tests- Various written tests conducted during selection procedure
are aptitude test, intelligence test, reasoning test, personality test, etc. These
tests are used to objectively assess the potential candidate. They should not be
biased.
4. Employment Interviews- It is a one to one interaction between the
interviewer and the potential candidate. It is used to find whether the candidate
is best suited for the required job or not. But such interviews consume time
and money both. Moreover the competencies of the candidate cannot be
judged. Such interviews may be biased at times. Such interviews should be
conducted properly. No distractions should be there in room. There should be
an honest communication between candidate and interviewer.
5. Medical examination- Medical tests are conducted to ensure physical fitness
of the potential employee. It will decrease chances of employee absenteeism.
6. Appointment Letter- A reference check is made about the candidate selected
and then finally he is appointed by giving a formal appointment letter.

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Recruitment
1. Internal Recruitment - is a recruitment which takes place within the concern
or organization. Internal sources of recruitment are readily available to an
organization. Internal sources are primarily three - Transfers, promotions and
Re-employment of ex-employees.
Internal recruitment may lead to increase in employees productivity as their
motivation level increases. It also saves time, money and efforts. But a
drawback of internal recruitment is that it refrains the organization from new
blood. Also, not all the manpower requirements can be met through internal
recruitment. Hiring from outside has to be done.
Internal sources are primarily 3
a. Transfers
b. Promotions (through Internal Job Postings) and
c. Re-employment of ex-employees - Re-employment of ex-employees
is one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be
invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. There are
situations when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also.

2. External Recruitment - External sources of recruitment have to be solicited

from outside the organization. External sources are external to a concern. But
it involves lot of time and money. The external sources of recruitment include
- Employment at factory gate, advertisements, employment exchanges,
employment agencies, educational institutes, labor contractors,
recommendations etc.
a. Employment at Factory Level - This a source of external recruitment
in which the applications for vacancies are presented on bulletin boards
outside the Factory or at the Gate. This kind of recruitment is applicable
generally where factory workers are to be appointed. There are people
who keep on soliciting jobs from one place to another. These applicants
are called as unsolicited applicants. These types of workers apply on
their own for their job. For this kind of recruitment workers have a
tendency to shift from one factory to another and therefore they are
called as badli workers.
b. Advertisement - It is an external source which has got an important
place in recruitment procedure. The biggest advantage of advertisement
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c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

is that it covers a wide area of market and scattered applicants can get
information from advertisements. Medium used is Newspapers and
Television.
Employment Exchanges - There are certain Employment exchanges
which are run by government. Most of the government undertakings
and concerns employ people through such exchanges. Now-a-days
recruitment in government agencies has become compulsory through
employment exchange.
Employment Agencies - There are certain professional organizations
which look towards recruitment and employment of people, i.e. these
private agencies run by private individuals supply required manpower
to needy concerns.
Educational Institutions - There are certain professional Institutions
which serves as an external source for recruiting fresh graduates from
these institutes. This kind of recruitment done through such educational
institutions, is called as Campus Recruitment. They have special
recruitment cells which helps in providing jobs to fresh candidates.
Recommendations - There are certain people who have experience in
a particular area. They enjoy goodwill and a stand in the company.
There are certain vacancies which are filled by recommendations of
such people. The biggest drawback of this source is that the company
has to rely totally on such people which can later on prove to be
inefficient.
Labor Contractors - These are the specialist people who supply
manpower to the Factory or Manufacturing plants. Through these
contractors, workers are appointed on contract basis, i.e. for a particular
time period. Under conditions when these contractors leave the
organization, such people who are appointed have to also leave the
concern.

Training:
Training of employees takes place after orientation takes place. Training is the
process of enhancing the skills, capabilities and knowledge of employees for
doing a particular job. Training process molds the thinking of employees and
leads to quality performance of employees. It is continuous and never ending
in nature.

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Training is generally imparted in two ways:
1. On the job training- On the job training methods are those which are given
to the employees within the everyday working of a concern. It is a simple and
cost-effective training method. The in proficient as well as semi- proficient
employees can be well trained by using such training method. The employees
are trained in actual working scenario. The motto of such training is learning
by doing. Instances of such on-job training methods are job-rotation,
coaching, temporary promotions, etc.
2. Off the job training- Off the job training methods are those in which training
is provided away from the actual working condition. It is generally used in
case of new employees. Instances of off the job training methods are
workshops, seminars, conferences, etc. Such method is costly and is effective
if and only if large number of employees have to be trained within a short time
period. Off the job training is also called as vestibule training,i.e., the
employees are trained in a separate area( may be a hall, entrance, reception
area ,etc. known as a vestibule) where the actual working conditions are
duplicated.
Orientation and Placement

Once the candidates are selected for the required job, they have to be fitted as per
the qualifications. Placement is said to be the process of fitting the selected person
at the right job or place, i.e. fitting square pegs in square holes and round pegs in
round holes. Once he is fitted into the job, he is given the activities he has to perform
and also told about his duties. The freshly appointed candidates are then given
orientation in order to familiarize and introduce the company to him. Generally the
information given during the orientation programme includes

Employees layout
Type of organizational structure
Departmental goals
Organizational layout
General rules and regulations
Standing Orders
Grievance system or procedure

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In short, during Orientation employees are made aware about the mission and vision
of the organization, the nature of operation of the organization, policies and
programme of the organization.
The main aim of conducting Orientation is to build up confidence, morale and trust
of the employee in the new organization, so that he becomes a productive and an
efficient employee of the organization and contributes to the organizational success.
The nature of Orientation program varies with the organizational size, i.e., smaller
the organization the more informal is the Orientation and larger the organization
more formalized is the Orientation programme.
Proper Placement of employees will lower the chances of employees absenteeism.
The employees will be more satisfied and contended with their work.
Leadership
Is a process by which an executive can direct, guide and influence the behavior and
work of others towards accomplishment of specific goals in a given situation.
Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce the subordinates to work with
confidence and zeal.
Leadership is the potential to influence behavior of others. It is also defined as the
capacity to influence a group towards the realization of a goal. Leaders are required
to develop future visions, and to motivate the organizational members to want to
achieve the visions.
According to Keith Davis, Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek
defined objectives enthusiastically. It is the human factor which binds a group
together and motivates it towards goals.

Approaches:
Trait Approach
The first major approach to leadership is commonly referred to as the trait
approach to leadership because the approach looks for a series of physical, mental,
or personality traits that effective leaders possess that neither non-leaders nor
ineffective leaders possess. We start with this approach to leadership predominantly
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because its the oldest of the major approaches to leadership and is an approach to
leadership that is still very much in existence today. The first major study to
synthesize the trait literature was conducted by Ralph Stogdill in 1948.Stogdill, R.
M. (1948). Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of the
literature. Journal of Psychology, 25, 35-71. In 1970, Stogdill reanalyzed the
literature and found six basic categories of characteristics that were associated with
leadership: physical, social background, intelligence and ability, personality, taskrelated, and social. Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass and Stogdills handbook of leadership:
Theory, research, and managerial applications (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: Free
Press. Table 7.2 "Traits Associated with Leadership" contains a list of the
personality traits from the 1970 study in addition to other researchers who have
discovered a variety of other traits associated with leadership.

Relational Approach
The next approach to leadership is called the relational approach because it focuses
not on traits, characteristics, or functions of leaders and followers, but instead the
relational approach focuses on the types of relationships that develop between
leaders and followers. To help us understand the relational approach to leadership,
lets examine two different perspectives on this approach: Robert Blake and Jane
Moutons Managerial Grid and George Graens Leader-Member Exchange Theory.
Functional Approach
In both the trait and situational approaches to leadership, the primary outcome called
leadership is a series of characteristics that help create the concept. The functional
approach, on the other hand, posits that its not a series of leadership characteristics
that make a leader, but rather a leader is someone who looks like, acts like, and
communicates like a leader. To help us understand the functional approach to

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leadership, well examine two different sets of researchers commonly associated
with this approach: Chester Barnards Functions of the Executive and Kenneth
Benne and Paul Sheats Classification of Functional Roles in Groups.
Situational Approach
As trait approaches became more pass, new approaches to leadership began
emerging that theorized that leadership was contingent on a variety of situational
factors (e.g., task to be completed, leader-follower relationships/interactions,
follower motivation/commitment, etc.). These new theories of leadership are
commonly referred to as the situational approaches. While there are numerous
leadership theorists who fall into the situational approach, were going to briefly
examine two of them here: Fred Fiedlers Contingency Theory and Paul Hersey and
Kenneth Blanchards Situational Leadership Theory.
Leadership Styles
Autocratic leadership style: In this style of leadership, a leader has complete
command and hold over their employees/team. The team cannot put forward their
views even if they are best for the teams or organizational interests. They cannot
criticize or question the leaders way of getting things done. The leader himself gets
the things done. The advantage of this style is that it leads to speedy decision-making
and greater productivity under leaders supervision. Drawbacks of this leadership
style are that it leads to greater employee absenteeism and turnover. This leadership
style works only when the leader is the best in performing or when the job is
monotonous, unskilled and routine in nature or where the project is short-term and
risky.
Democrative/Participative leadership style: The leaders invite and encourage the
team members to play an important role in decision-making process, though the
ultimate decision-making power rests with the leader. The leader guides the
employees on what to perform and how to perform, while the employees
communicate to the leader their experience and the suggestions if any. The
advantages of this leadership style are that it leads to satisfied, motivated and more

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skilled employees. It leads to an optimistic work environment and also encourages
creativity. This leadership style has the only drawback that it is time-consuming.

The Laissez Faire Leadership Style: Here, the leader totally trusts their
employees/team to perform the job themselves. He just concentrates on the
intellectual/rational aspect of his work and does not focus on the management
aspect of his work. The team/employees are welcomed to share their views and
provide suggestions which are best for organizational interests. This leadership
style works only when the employees are skilled, loyal, experienced and
intellectual.

Bureaucratic leadership: Here the leaders strictly adhere to the organizational rules
and policies. Also, they make sure that the employees/team also strictly follows the
rules and procedures. Promotions take place on the basis of employees ability to
adhere to organizational rules. This leadership style gradually develops over time.
This leadership style is more suitable when safe work conditions and quality are
required. But this leadership style discourages creativity and does not make
employees self-contented.
Theory X
This assumes that employees are naturally unmotivated and dislike working, and
this encourages an authoritarian style of management. According to this view,
management must actively intervene to get things done. This style of management
assumes that workers:

Dislike working.
Avoid responsibility and need to be directed.
Have to be controlled, forced, and threatened to deliver what's needed.
Need to be supervised at every step, with controls put in place.
Need to be enticed to produce results; otherwise they have no ambition or
incentive to work.
X-Type organizations tend to be top heavy, with managers and supervisors
required at every step to control workers. There is little delegation of
authority and control remains firmly centralized.

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McGregor recognized that X-Type workers are in fact usually the minority,
and yet in mass organizations, such as large scale production environment, X
Theory management may be required and can be unavoidable.
Theory Y
This expounds a participative style of management that is de-centralized. It
assumes that employees are happy to work, are self-motivated and creative,
and enjoy working with greater responsibility. It assumes that workers:
Take responsibility and are motivated to fulfill the goals they are given.
Seek and accept responsibility and do not need much direction.
Consider work as a natural part of life and solve work problems imaginatively.
This more participative management style tends to be more widely applicable.
In Y-Type organizations, people at lower levels of the organization are
involved in decision making and have more responsibility.

Comparing Theory X and Theory Y

Motivation
Theory X assumes that people dislike work; they want to avoid it and do not want
to take responsibility. Theory Y assumes that people are self-motivated, and thrive
on responsibility.
Management Style and Control
In a Theory X organization, management is authoritarian, and centralized control is
retained, whilst in Theory Y, the management style is participative: Management
involves employees in decision making, but retains power to implement decisions.
Work Organization
Theory X employees tend to have specialized and often repetitive work. In Theory
Y, the work tends to be organized around wider areas of skill or knowledge,
and employees are encouraged to develop their expertise and make suggestions and
improvements.
Rewards and Appraisals
Theory X organizations work on a carrot and stick basis, and performance
appraisal is part of the overall mechanisms of control and remuneration. In Theory

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Y organizations, appraisal is also regular and important, but is usually a separate
mechanism from organizational controls. Theory Y organizations also give
employees frequent opportunities for promotion.
Application
Although the Theory X management style is widely accepted as inferior to others,
it has its place in large-scale production operation and unskilled production line
work. Many of the principles of Theory Y are widely adopted by types of
organization that value and encourage participation. Theory Y-style management is
suited to knowledge work and professional services. Professional service
organizations naturally evolve Theory Y-type practices by the nature of their work;
even highly structured knowledge work, such as call center operations, can
benefit from its principles to encourage knowledge sharing and continuous
improvement.

Motivation is the word derived from the word motive which means needs,
desires, wants or drives within the individuals. It is the process of stimulating people
to actions to accomplish the goals. In the work goal context the psychological factors
stimulating the peoples behavior can be

desire for money

success
recognition
job-satisfaction
team work, etc

One of the most important functions of management is to create willingness amongst

the employees to perform in the best of their abilities. Therefore the role of a leader is
to arouse interest in performance of employees in their jobs.

The process of motivation consists of three stages:1. A felt need or drive

2. A stimulus in which needs have to be aroused
3. When needs are satisfied, the satisfaction or accomplishment of goals.
Therefore, we can say that motivation is a psychological phenomenon which means
needs and wants of the individuals have to be tackled by framing an incentive plan.

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Abraham Maslow is well renowned for proposing the Hierarchy of Needs Theory in
1943. This theory is a classical depiction of human motivation. This theory is based
on the assumption that there is a hierarchy of five needs within each individual. The
urgency of these needs varies. These five needs are as follows1. Physiological needs- These are the basic needs of air, water, food, clothing
and shelter. In other words, physiological needs are the needs for basic
amenities of life.
2. Safety needs- Safety needs include physical, environmental and emotional
safety and protection. For instance- Job security, financial security, protection
from animals, family security, health security, etc.
3. Social needs- Social needs include the need for love, affection, care,
belongingness, and friendship.
4. Esteem needs- Esteem needs are of two types: internal esteem needs (selfrespect, confidence, competence, achievement and freedom) and external
esteem needs (recognition, power, status, attention and admiration).
5. Self-actualization need- This include the urge to become what you are
capable of becoming / what you have the potential to become. It includes the
need for growth and self-contentment. It also includes desire for gaining more
knowledge, social- service, creativity and being aesthetic. The selfactualization needs are never fully satiable. As an individual grows
psychologically, opportunities keep cropping up to continue growing.
According to Maslow, individuals are motivated by unsatisfied needs. As each of
these needs is significantly satisfied, it drives and forces the next need to emerge.
Maslow grouped the five needs into two categories - Higher-order
needs and Lower-order needs. The physiological and the safety needs constituted
the lower-order needs. These lower-order needs are mainly satisfied externally. The
social, esteem, and self-actualization needs constituted the higher-order needs.
These higher-order needs are generally satisfied internally, i.e., within an individual.
Thus, we can conclude that during boom period, the employees lower-order needs
are significantly met.

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Limitations of Maslows Theory

It is essential to note that not all employees are governed by same set of needs.
Different individuals may be driven by different needs at same point of time.
It is always the most powerful unsatisfied need that motivates an
individual.
The theory is not empirically supported.
The theory is not applicable in case of starving artist as even if the artists
basic needs are not satisfied, he will still strive for recognition and
achievement.

Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioral scientist proposed a two-factor theory or
the motivator-hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that
result in satisfaction while there are other job factors that prevent dissatisfaction.
According to Herzberg, the opposite of Satisfaction is No satisfaction and the
opposite of Dissatisfaction is No Dissatisfaction.

FIGURE: Herzbergs view of satisfaction and dissatisfaction

Herzberg classified these job factors into two categoriesA) Hygiene factors- Hygiene factors are those job factors which are essential
for existence of motivation at workplace. These do not lead to positive
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satisfaction for long-term. But if these factors are absent / if these factors are
non-existent at workplace, then they lead to dissatisfaction. In other words,
hygiene factors are those factors which when adequate/reasonable in a job,
pacify the employees and do not make them dissatisfied. These factors are
extrinsic to work. Hygiene factors are also called as dissatisfies or
maintenance factors as they are required to avoid dissatisfaction. These
factors describe the job environment/scenario. The hygiene factors
symbolized the physiological needs which the individuals wanted and
expected to be fulfilled. Hygiene factors include:

Pay - The pay or salary structure should be appropriate and reasonable.

It must be equal and competitive to those in the same industry in the
same domain.
Company Policies and administrative policies - The company policies
should not be too rigid. They should be fair and clear. It should include
flexible working hours, dress code, breaks, vacation, etc.
Fringe benefits - The employees should be offered health care plans
(mediclaim), benefits for the family members, employee help
programs, etc.
Physical Working conditions - The working conditions should be safe,
clean and hygienic. The work equipments should be updated and wellmaintained.
Status - The employees status within the organization should be
familiar and retained.
Interpersonal relations - The relationship of the employees with his
peers, superiors and subordinates should be appropriate and acceptable.
There should be no conflict or humiliation element present.
Job Security - The organization must provide job security to the
employees.

B) Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors

cannot be regarded as motivators. The motivational factors yield positive
satisfaction. These factors are inherent to work. These factors motivate the
employees for a superior performance. These factors are called satisfiers.
These are factors involved in performing the job. Employees find these
factors intrinsically rewarding. The motivators symbolized the
psychological needs that were perceived as an additional benefit.
Motivational factors include:

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Recognition - The employees should be praised and recognized

for their accomplishments by the managers.
Sense of achievement - The employees must have a sense of
achievement. This depends on the job. There must be a fruit of
some sort in the job.
Growth and promotional opportunities - There must be growth
and advancement opportunities in an organization to motivate
the employees to perform well.
Responsibility - The employees must hold themselves
responsible for the work. The managers should give them
ownership of the work. They should minimize control but retain
accountability.
Meaningfulness of the work - The work itself should be
meaningful, interesting and challenging for the employee to
perform and to get motivated.

Limitations of Two-Factor Theory

The two factor theory is not free from limitations:
1. The two-factor theory overlooks situational variables.
2. Herzberg assumed a correlation between satisfaction and productivity.
But the research conducted by Herzberg stressed upon satisfaction and
ignored productivity.
3. The theorys reliability is uncertain. Analysis has to be made by the
raters. The raters may spoil the findings by analyzing same response in
different manner.
4. No comprehensive measure of satisfaction was used. An employee may
find his job acceptable despite the fact that he may hate/object part of
his job.
5. The two factor theory is not free from bias as it is based on the natural
reaction of employees when they are enquired the sources of
satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work. They will blame dissatisfaction
on the external factors such as salary structure, company policies and
peer relationship. Also, the employees will give credit to themselves for
the satisfaction factor at work.
6. The theory ignores blue-collar workers. Despite these limitations,
Herzbergs Two-Factor theory is acceptable broadly.

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Communication.
The process of passing any information from one person to the other person
with the aid of some medium is termed as communication.
The first party who sends the information is called the sender and the second
party who receives the information, decodes the information and accordingly
responds is called the receiver or the recipient. Thus in simpler terms
communication is simply a process where the sender sends the information to
the receiver for him to respond.

Sender

------------------------------Receiver
---Information

The Communication process

Please go through the below diagram:
Parry
(Sender)
(Content - Can be some information, data, diagram, analysis, report)
(Information) (Feedback)
Peter
(Receiver)
(Decodes the information, understands the information and responds)
The above diagram goes a long way to explain the communication process.
Communication process is a simple process where a message is being
transferred from a sender to the receiver. The receiver after receiving the
message understands the message in the desired form and then acts
accordingly.
The Process of Sending the Message
The first party or the sender first thinks of information, whatever he intends
to communicate or transfer to the others. Then he puts the information or the
message in words or prepare a content. The process of putting the thoughts in
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words is called encoding. Finally the content after being ready is transmitted
to the receiver.
The process of receiving the Message
The message reaches the sender, who then decodes the message or in simpler
terms breaks the information, understands it and responds to the receiver. The
sender also gives feedback to the receiver after he has understood the complete
information.
Communication in simpler terms is a process of passing the information from
the first party (sender) to the second party (receiver). Communication plays a
vital role not only in organizations or ones professional career but also is
essential in day to day life.

Types:
Verbal communication
Verbal communication is a type of communication where the information flows
through verbal medium like words, speeches, presentations etc. In verbal
communication the sender shares his/her thoughts in the form of words. In
organizations, individuals communicate verbally among each other in the form of
dialogues, speech, presentations, and discussions to name a few. The tone of the
speaker, the pitch and the quality of words play a crucial role in verbal
communication. The speaker has to be loud and clear and the content has to be
properly defined. Haphazard and unorganized thoughts only lead to confusions and
misunderstandings among individuals. In verbal communication, an individual must
understand the importance of words and how to put them across.
While speaking the pitch ought to be high and clear for everyone to understand and
the content must be designed keeping the target audience in mind. In verbal
communication it is the responsibility of the sender to cross check with the receiver
whether he has downloaded the correct information or not and the sender must give
the required response.
Non-verbal communication
Imagine yourself in a situation, where you cant speak but have to communicate an
urgent information to the other person or for that matter, you are sitting in an
important meeting and you want to express your displeasure or pleasure to your
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colleague without uttering even a word. Here non-verbal mode of communication
comes into picture. Facial expressions, gestures, hand and hair movements, body
postures all constitute non-verbal communication. Any communication made
between two people without words and simply through facial movements, gestures
or hand movements is called as non-verbal communication. In other words, it is a
speechless communication where content is not put into words but simply expressed
through expressions if one has a headache, one would put his hand on his forehead
to communicate his discomfort - a form of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal
communications are vital in offices, meetings and even in romantic chats.
Visual Communication
Before planning any outing or tour, Sandra always refers to the map of that place.
Through the map, she tries to find out more about the place, the route to reach that
place, hotels, shopping joints etc. The map is actually passing information about the
place to Sandra or communicating with Sandra. This mode of communication is
called visual communication. In visual communication, the recipient receives
information from signboards, displays, hoardings, banners, maps etc. The sign board
of Mc Donalds or KFC indicates eating joints - a form of visual communication.
The sign board of No Parking Zone communicates to the individuals that any
vehicle must not be parked in the vicinity - again a mode of visual communication.
Vision plays a very important role in visual communication and it depends on the
recipient how to interpret the message.

Barriers of Communication

Noise - Noise plays an important barrier to effective communication. Imagine

you want to pass on some information to a person standing next to a blaring
mike. Do you think, the sender will ever be able to interpret it correctly? Do
you think the receiver in this case is to blame? In this case, because of the
blaring mike, the information will never reach the person in its desired form.
Any presentation or speech delivered in a noisy classroom or auditorium is
pointless as the information would never fall on the ears of the listeners. Try
market, correct information will never reach the recipient and he would never
be able to interpret it correctly or respond accordingly. Here noise is an
external communication barrier and it results in the distortion of the message.
Unorganized Thought - Unorganized and haphazard thoughts also are
instrumental in poor communication and a very important barrier to effective
communication.

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Mike to Monalisa -Please come at 2 pm, okay not 2 come at 2.30 pm instead,
fine let us freeze it for 3 pm
Monalisa is bound to get confused as Mike himself is not clear about the
timings. The sender must pass on crystal clear information to the receiver. The
sender must first be himself very clear what he wants to communicate and
then only begin the conversation. Abstract ideas, haphazard thoughts lead to
ineffective communication. First know what you have to communicate and
then only speak.

Wrong interpretations - Wrong interpretations again play a very important

role in miscommunication. An information can be wrongly interpreted by the
receiver leading to a complete mess. Tom went for a bash yesterday night.
The word bash can be decoded as beating as well as a party. The sender might
convey his message to the recipient in order to provide some necessary
information but the receiver might misinterpret it. It is the responsibility of
the receiver to give proper feedback to the speaker and clear all the doubts
before ending the conversation. Dont keep things within yourself; ask if you
are not clear with anything.
Not Understanding the receiver - The boss once wanted to address his
young team. He quoted examples from the year 1950 - the year when his team
members were not even born. Dont you think, all the young chaps will lose
interest after sometime? Thats the importance of understanding the recipient.
Dont just prepare a speech, learn more about the culture, habits, thought
process of your listeners. The sender must understand the receiver first and
then pass on the information. If a sender is sad and you want to give him some
exciting news, he will neither respond nor understand and hence the effect
will for sure get nullified. Not understanding the receiver again is a barrier to
effective communication.
Ignoring the content - One should lay emphasis on the content of his speech.
The content has to be clear, crisp and above all interesting. Dont just
speak; take some time to find out what you are speaking. Find out whether the
content is relevant or not? During presentations, the speaker must use
interesting words, funny one liner to capture the attention of the listeners.
Dont make your speech monotonous otherwise the listeners after sometime
will definitely fall asleep. One should be smart enough to understand when to
crack a slight joke in mid of a conversation. It really works. Dont just speak
for the heck of it, understand what you are speaking and try to make it more
interesting, crisp and above all relevant.

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Avoiding the Listener - Imagine yourself attending a seminar where the

speaker is simply reading from his notes and for once has not made any eye
contact with you. You will never be able to relate with the speaker and hence
never bother to find out what he wants to convey. Dont just go on. Create a
friendly atmosphere and then start communicating. Dont just come to the
point, one can ask questions from the listeners like whats new?, Lovely
weather or even use compliments like wonderful crowd, enthusiastic group.
Dont avoid your listeners, make an eye contact with them to effectively
communicate.

Not confirming with the recipient - Always cross check with the listeners,
whether they have received the correct information or not. For instance, if you
are sharing some important contact no, do make it a habit to verify the number
with the receiver whether the receiver has noted it correctly or not. Use words
like Did you get it? Am I Audible? in between the conversation. Try to
find out whether the listener is getting your message or not. Take pauses in
between, simply dont rush. Make a habit to spell out words. If you want to
pass on your email id to your team, it is better to spell out each word of the
email account. Another effective way is to break each word into alphabets,
like ant can be communicated as a as in alpha, n as in Netherlands, t as in
tango. The error rate will definitely go down and the communication will be
more effective.
Not understanding the mood of the recipient - Try to understand the
interest or the mood of the second party and read the mind of the other person.
Dont just start speaking, understand the mood of the other person first and
then share the information. If you think, the receiver is in the pink of his
moods, dont give him sad news, he will never bother to listen. Wait for the
correct time and then communicate if you want your communication to create
an impact.
Low pitch and tone - Sometimes even the pitch and tone can play a
communication barrier. Your content might be accurate, crisp and even
related, but if your pitch is low your information will never reach the listeners
bang on. The tone has to be crystal clear and loud for passing on correct
information. Remember to give the correct pause after each sentence and dont
forget the punctuation marks. Remember you are communicating not only for
the first benchers but the people on the last bench are also a part of the
communication. Be loud and clear but dont shout.

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Impatient Listener - The listener also has to be patient enough to absorb the
complete information and then respond accordingly. Always jot down your
points and start off with your queries once the sender is through with the
communication. Dont just jump in between the conversation as it leads to
unnecessary confusions, misunderstandings and conflict and the
communication never reaches any conclusion.
Different cultural level - In any organization, an individual can never think
on the same line as his boss does. There is always a difference in their thought
process. The work pressure, lack of transparency between the team members
are also the barriers which lead to an ineffective communication. These
barriers are called internal barriers.

Controlling consists of verifying whether everything occurs in conformities with

the plans adopted, instructions issued and principles established. Controlling ensures
that there is effective and efficient utilization of organizational resources so as to
achieve the planned goals. Controlling measures the deviation of actual performance
from the standard performance, discovers the causes of such deviations and helps in
taking corrective actions
According to Brech, Controlling is a systematic exercise which is called as a
process of checking actual performance against the standards or plans with a view
to ensure adequate progress and also recording such experience as is gained as a
contribution to possible future needs.
According to Donnell, Just as a navigator continually takes reading to ensure
whether he is relative to a planned action, so should a business manager continually
take reading to assure himself that his enterprise is on right course.
Controlling has got two basic purposes
1. It facilitates co-ordination
2. It helps in planning

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Features of Controlling Function
Following are the characteristics of controlling function of management1. Controlling is an end function- A function which comes once the
performances are made in conformities with plans.
2. Controlling is a pervasive function- which means it is performed by
managers at all levels and in all type of concerns.
3. Controlling is forward looking- because effective control is not possible
without past being controlled. Controlling always look to future so that
follow-up can be made whenever required.
4. Controlling is a dynamic process- since controlling requires taking review
all methods, changes have to be made wherever possible.
5. Controlling is related with planning- Planning and Controlling are two
inseparable functions of management. Without planning, controlling is a
meaningless exercise and without controlling, planning is useless. Planning
presupposes controlling and controlling succeeds planning.

Controlling Process:
Controlling as a management function involves following steps:
1. Establishment of standards- Standards are the plans or the targets which
have to be achieved in the course of business function. They can also be called
as the criterions for judging the performance. Standards generally are
classified into twoa. Measurable or tangible - Those standards which can be measured and
expressed are called as measurable standards. They can be in form of
cost, output, expenditure, time, profit, etc.
b. Non-measurable or intangible- There are standards which cannot be
measured monetarily. For example- performance of a manager,
deviation of workers, their attitudes towards a concern. These are called
as intangible standards.
Controlling becomes easy through establishment of these standards because
controlling is exercised on the basis of these standards.

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2. Measurement of performance- The second major step in controlling is to
measure the performance. Finding out deviations becomes easy through
measuring the actual performance. Performance levels are sometimes easy to
measure and sometimes difficult. Measurement of tangible standards is easy
as it can be expressed in units, cost, money terms, etc. Quantitative
measurement becomes difficult when performance of manager has to be
measured. Performance of a manager cannot be measured in quantities. It can
be measured only bya. Attitude of the workers,
b. Their morale to work,
c. The development in the attitudes regarding the physical environment,
and
d. Their communication with the superiors.
It is also sometimes done through various reports like weekly, monthly,
quarterly, yearly reports.
3. Comparison of actual and standard performance- Comparison of actual
performance with the planned targets is very important. Deviation can be
defined as the gap between actual performance and the planned targets. The
manager has to find out two things here- extent of deviation and cause of
deviation. Extent of deviation means that the manager has to find out whether
the deviation is positive or negative or whether the actual performance is in
conformity with the planned performance. The managers have to exercise
control by exception. He has to find out those deviations which are critical
and important for business. Minor deviations have to be ignored. Major
deviations like replacement of machinery, appointment of workers, quality of
raw material, rate of profits, etc. should be looked upon consciously.
Therefore it is said, If a manager controls everything, he ends up controlling
nothing. For example, if stationery charges increase by a minor 5 to 10%, it
can be called as a minor deviation. On the other hand, if monthly production
decreases continuously, it is called as major deviation.
Once the deviation is identified, a manager has to think about various cause
which has led to deviation. The causes can bea.
b.
c.
d.

Erroneous planning,
Co-ordination loosens,
Implementation of plans is defective, and
Supervision and communication is ineffective, etc.

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4. Taking remedial actions- Once the causes and extent of deviations are
known, the manager has to detect those errors and take remedial measures for
it. There are two alternatives herea. Taking corrective measures for deviations which have occurred; and
b. After taking the corrective measures, if the actual performance is not in
conformity with plans, the manager can revise the targets. It is here the
controlling process comes to an end. Follow up is an important step
because it is only through taking corrective measures, a manager can
exercise controlling.

Control Techniques
1. To enable managers effectively control the organizational activities, a large
number of controlling techniques are available.
2. A manager should know these techniques and in which situation it should be
applied.
3. There are two types of techniques of controlling.
Traditional Control Techniques:
PERSONAL OBSERVATION
This is the most traditional method of control.
It helps managers to collect first hand information.
It also creates a psychological pressure on the employees to perform well as
they are aware that they are being observed personally on their job.
How ever it is very time consuming , & not suitable for all kinds of jobs.

BUDGETING
Meaning A budget is a statement which reflects future incomes, expenditures & profits
of the firm.
Benefit of budgeting-

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1.
2.
3.
4.

Standards of performance
Planning
Predicting the future
Financial planning

Break Even Analysis

It deals with the study of the relationship between costs, volume, & profit.
It determines the probable profit and losses at different levels of activity.
The sales volume at which there is no profit, no loss is known as breakeven
point.
It can be calculated as ,
Breakeven point=fixed cost/selling price per unit variable cost per unit.
Financial Statement
Financial statements shows financial position of a firm over a period of time,
generally one year.
These are prepared along with last year statements, so that firm can compare
its present performance with last years performance & improve its future
performance.
It offers information on ,
1. Liquidity
2. Financial strength
3. profitability
Statistical Data & Report
Statistical analysis in the form of averages, percentages, ratios, ..etc.
Data can be used for diagrammatic representations like histograms, pie chart,
bar graphs. Etc
A Report is a statement that represents data in the form of information for
carrying out the controlling function.
Quality Control
Quality control uses operational techniques and activities to sustain quality of
the product or service to satisfy customer needs
It is the traditional way to manage quality
There are three stages during the process when inspection is performedPERSPECTIVES OF MANAGERS

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1. When raw material is received.
2. When raw material goes through the production process
3. When products are finished-testing takes place before products are dispatched
to customers.
Modern Control Techniques:
Program (Project) Management and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical
Path Method (CPM) are two popular statistical tools used by the business entities
for the management of the project. These two methods are used in the successful
completion of a project and hence used in conjunction with each other. Nevertheless,
the truth is that CPM is different from PERT in a way that the former cost based
while the latter is time-based. In the same manner, there are many differences
between PERT and CPM, which we are going to discuss in this article.

Definition of PERT
PERT is an acronym for Program (Project) Evaluation and Review Technique, in
which planning, scheduling, organizing, coordinating and controlling of uncertain
activities take place. The technique studies and represents the tasks undertaken to
complete a project, to identify the least time for completing a task and the minimum
time required to complete the whole project. It was developed in the late 1950s. It is
aimed to reduce the time and cost of the project.
PERT uses time as a variable which represents the planned resource application
along with performance specification. In this technique, first of all, the project is
divided into activities and events. After that proper sequence is ascertained, and a
network is constructed. After that time needed in each activity is calculated and the
critical path (longest path connecting all the events) is determined.
Definition of CPM
Developed in the late 1950s, Critical Path Method or CPM is an algorithm used for
planning, scheduling, coordination and control of activities in a project. Here, it is
assumed that the activity duration are fixed and certain. CPM is used to compute the
earliest and latest possible start time for each activity.
The process differentiates the critical and non-critical activities to reduce the time
and avoid the queue generation in the process. The reason behind the identification
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of critical activities is that, if any activity is delayed, it will cause the whole process
to suffer. That is why it is named as Critical Path Method.
In this method, first of all, a list is prepared consisting of all the activities needed to
complete a project, followed by the computation of time required to complete each
activity. After that, the dependency between the activities is determined. Here, path
is defined as a sequence of activities in a network. The critical path is the path with
the highest length.
Key Differences Between PERT and CPM
The most important differences between PERT and CPM are provided below:
PERT is a project management technique, whereby planning, scheduling,
organizing, coordinating and controlling of uncertain activities is done. CPM
is a statistical technique of project management in which planning,
scheduling, organizing, coordination and control of well-defined activities
takes place.
PERT is a technique of planning and control of time. Unlike CPM, which is
a method to control costs and time.
PERT is set according to events while CPM is aligned towards activities.
A deterministic model is used in CPM. Conversely, PERT uses probabilistic
model.
There are three times estimates in PERT i.e. optimistic time (to), most likely
time , pessimistic time (tp). On the other hand, there is only one estimate
in CPM.
PERT technique is best suited for a high precision time estimate, whereas
CPM is appropriate for a reasonable time estimate.
PERT deals with unpredictable activities, but CPM deals with predictable
activities.
PERT is used where the nature of the job is non-repetitive. In contrast to,
CPM involves the job of repetitive nature.
There is a demarcation between critical and non-critical activities in CPM,
which is not in the case of PERT.
PERT is best for research and development projects, but CPM is for nonresearch projects like construction projects.
Crashing is a compression technique applied to CPM, to shorten the project
duration, along with least additional cost. The crashing concept is not
applicable to PERT.
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