Directing
Elements of directing
Supervision (direct oversight of subordinates), motivation, leadership and communication. Directing initiates action, is continuous, flows from top to bottom, deals with the human element and is an executive function.
Maslow's hierarchy
Physiological → safety → social → esteem → self-actualisation. A satisfied need no longer motivates, so managers must offer the next level.
Incentives
Financial: pay, allowances, bonus, profit sharing, co-partnership, retirement benefits. Non-financial: status, job security, recognition, employee participation, organisational climate.
Leadership styles
Autocratic leaders take decisions alone and get quick results but lower morale; democratic leaders consult and build commitment but decide slowly; laissez-faire leaders give full freedom, which works with experts.
Communication barriers
Semantic (badly expressed message, words with several meanings, faulty translation), psychological (prejudice, distrust, ego), organisational (rigid rules, hierarchy, status), personal (fear, poor listening).
Worked example
A supervisor posts a notice in English to workers who read only Hindi - a semantic barrier; the fix is translation. If the same workers ignore the notice because they distrust management, that is a psychological barrier; the fix is trust-building. Always name the barrier, then the remedy.
Traps that cost marks
- Reversing Maslow's order.
- Calling supervision a function of management instead of an element of directing.
- Treating grapevine as formal communication - it is informal and fast but unreliable.