Directing and Leadership
What this domain tests
Directing as a function: supervision, motivation, leadership and communication. Expect Maslow and Herzberg applications, leadership styles and communication barriers.
Core rules
- Directing initiates action, maintains momentum and guides people; it includes supervision, motivation, leadership and communication.
- Maslow's hierarchy: physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualisation needs; lower needs generally dominate until satisfied.
- Herzberg: hygiene factors such as pay, conditions and policy prevent dissatisfaction; motivators such as achievement, recognition and growth create satisfaction.
- Leadership styles: autocratic, democratic or participative, and laissez-faire; the choice depends on the situation, task and follower maturity.
- Communication is a two-way process: encoding, channel, decoding, feedback; barriers may be semantic, psychological, organisational or personal.
Worked example
A worker is anxious about a faulty machine guard. Offering a bonus for higher output is unlikely to motivate because safety needs dominate. Reasoning: fix the guard first; then use recognition and pay to address higher needs. This is a Maslow application, and pay alone is a Herzberg hygiene factor.
Traps that cost marks
- Calling salary a motivator; in Herzberg it is a hygiene factor.
- Treating leadership as identical to management.
- Describing communication as one-way instruction.
- Assuming laissez-faire suits every situation.