Question # 2 Discus, the main management functions and practical cases by selecting any

international organization you choose.

Management functions

Management has been described as a social process involving responsibility for economical and
effective planning & regulation of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given purposes.
It is a dynamic process consisting of various elements and activities.

Different experts have classified functions of management. According to George &

Jerry, “There are four fundamental functions of management i.e. planning,
organizing, actuating and controlling”. But the most widely accepted functions of
management is Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling.

Planning
The function of management of systematically making decisions about the goals to be achieved
and activities or actions needed to achieve those that an individual, a group, a work unit, or the
overall organization will pursue in the future. Plans are developed for the entire organization unit
and individuals for certain period of time. Its activities include:-
A) Analyzing the current situation.

B) Anticipating the future.

C) Determining the organizational objectives.

D) Deciding the activities to be involved.

E) Choosing strategies.

F) Determining resources to achieve organizational goals.

Every plan has to contribute positively towards the accomplishments of the objectives. Efficiency
is measured by the contribution of the plan to objectives implementing the plan. Planning is the
primary prerequisite for all other function of management. Every action of the manager follows a
planning step. If more people in an organization use common and consistent planning premises,
the enterprise planning will be more coordinated. Planning
covers a period over which commitment of resources can be
clearly visualized. Building flexibility in planning beneficial,
but cost of building flexibility needs to be evaluated against the
benefits. Manager needs to periodically check events of the plan
and redraw plans to maintain the move towards a desired goal.

Organizing.
The management function of assembling and coordinating human, financial, physical, information
and other resources needed to achieve organizational goals. Its activities include:-
(a) Specifying Job responsibilities.
(b) Grouping jobs into work units
(c) Resource allocation

An organization is effective is effective if it as a whole, and every part of it, makes possible
accomplishment of individuals in contributing towards the attainment of objectives. There is a
limit at each managerial position on the number of persons an individual can effectively manage.
Maintenance of authority delegation requires that decisions within the authority competence of an
individual manager be made by him and not referred upward in the organization. The better an
organizational structure reflects a classification of the tasks and activities required for achievement
of objectives and assists their coordination through creating a system of interrelated roles; and the
more these roles are designed to fit the capabilities and motivations of people available to fill them,
the more effective and efficient an organization structure will be. The more a position or a
department has clear definition of results expected, activities to be undertaken, organization
authority delegated, and authority and informational relationships with other positions, the more
adequately individual responsible can contribute toward accomplishing objectives.

Staffing.
The positions provided by the organization structure must be staffed with personnel able and
willing to carry out the assigned functions. The quality of management personnel can be ensured
through proper definition of the job and its appraisal in terms of human requirements, evaluation
of candidates and incumbents, and appropriate training. Specifications for the job rest on
organization requirements and on provision for incentives to induce effective and efficient
performance of the tasks involved. Performance must be appraised against the management action
required by superiors and against the standard of adherence in practice to managerial principles.
Managers should be selected from among the best available candidates for the job, whether they
are inside or outside the enterprise. The objective of management development is to strengthen
existing managers. The most effective means of developing managers is to have the task performed
primarily by a manager's superior.
Directing.
The management function that involves the manager's efforts to stimulate high performance by
employees and includes directing, motivating and communicating with employees, individually
and in groups. Its activities include:
(a) Directing the workforce
(b) Motivating your subordinates
(c) Communicating with employees
(d) Leadership

Effective directing depends on the extent to which individual objectives in cooperative activity are
harmonized with group objectives. The more completely an individual has a reporting relationship
to a single superior, the less the problem of conflict in instructions and the greater the feeling of
personal responsibility for results. Effective direction requires that management supplement
objective methods of supervision with direct personal contact. Since people, tasks, and
organizational environment vary, techniques of supervision will be most effective if appropriately
varied. At one time there was a management emphasis on directing in the directorial (autocratic)
sense, but in recent times, the concept of directing has become more congruent with leading than
with pushing. Thus today, directing is more related to leading and leadership styles. Leadership in
this context means the process whereby a work environment is created in which people can do
their best work and feel an interest in producing a quality product or service.

Controlling.
The function of management of monitoring progress and making needed changes to make sure that
the organizational goals are achieved. Its activities include:

(a) Setting performance standards that indicate progress toward long-term goals.
(b) Monitoring staff performance through performance data evaluation
(c) Identifying performance problems by comparing performance data against standards and
take corrective actions.

The task of control is to assure accomplishment of objectives by detecting potential or actual

deviation from plans early enough to permit effective corrective action. The primary responsibility
for the exercise of control rests in the manager charged with the execution of plans. The more
controls are designed to deal with and reflect the specific nature and structure of plans, the more
effective they will serve the interests of the enterprises and its managers. The more controls are
designed to reflect the place in the organization structure where responsibility for action lies, the
more they will facilitate correction of deviation of events from plans. Controls have to be consistent
with the position, operational responsibility, competence, and needs of the individuals who have
to interpret the control measures and exercise control. Effective control requires objective,
accurate, and suitable controls. Effective control requires attention to those factors critical to
appraising performance against an individual plan. Control is justified only if indicated or
experienced deviations from plans are corrected through appropriate planning, organizing, staffing
and directing.
Question # 3. Discuss in detail about Human Resource Management (staffing) system from theoretical
and practical case oriented in selected organization (See chapter 4).
Staffing – Meaning and Objectives
Staffing is concerned with manning various positions in the organization. Staffing involves the
determination of manpower requirements of the enterprise and providing it with adequate
competent people at all its levels. Thus, manpower planning, procurement (i.e., selection and
placement), training and development, appraisal and remuneration of workers are included in
staffing.
The staffing function of management pertains to recruitment, selection, training, development,
appraisal and remuneration of personnel. It is the duty of every manager to perform this function.
The responsibility for the efficient planning and execution of staffing function rests upon every
manager at all levels. The responsibility increases as one moves up the organizational hierarchy.
Many managers believe in the myth that the staffing function is the responsibility of the
personnel department.
No doubt, the personnel department involves itself in staffing function. However, there cannot be
a greater folly a manager can commit than throwing the entire responsibility on someone else’s
lap. The responsibility for staffing is more at the higher echelons of the enterprise. The policy-
makers cannot shirk from this basic responsibility.
One important factor that needs special consideration is the estimation of the number of
managers required in the enterprise. The number depends not only on its size but upon the
complexity of the organizational structure, its plan for expansion or diversification and the
turnover rate.
The degree of decentralization determines to a very large extent, the number of personnel
required. If the estimation is to be accurate and if the enterprise wants to avoid any misadventure,
then it must involve itself seriously in a manpower planning exercise.

Staffing function of management are as follows:

(i) Staffing is an important function of management.
(ii) The basic concern of staffing is management of manpower or human resources.
(iii) Staffing helps in getting right types of persons on right jobs. (iv) Staffing is a pervasive
function. It is performed by the managers at all levels of management.
Important objectives of staffing:
(i) To procure right type of personnel for right jobs.
(ii) To train and develop human resources.
(iii) To develop personnel policies as regards transfer, promotion, etc.
(iv) To mound effectively the human resources and motivate them for higher performance.
(v) To establish desirable working relationship between employers and employees and between
groups of employees
(vi) To ensure satisfaction of the needs of the workers so that they become loyal and committed
to the organization.
(vii) To build high morale among employees by maintaining good human relations.
Staffing includes:
1. Identifying the requirement of workforce and its planning.

2. Recruitment and selection of appropriate personnel for new jobs or for positions which may
arise as a result of existing employees leaving the organization.

3. Planning adequate training for development and growth of workforce.

4. Deciding on compensation, promotion and performance appraisals for the workforce.

Influencing factors of staffing process

1. Supply and demand of specific skills in the labor market
2. Unemployment rate
3. Labor market conditions
4. Legal and political considerations
5. Company’s image
6. Company policies
7. Human resource planning cost
8. Technological developments
9. General economic environment.
While performing the staffing function, the manager has to see that men are fit for jobs and jobs
are not altered for men.
Elements of Staffing:
It consists of many inter related activities such as:
(i) Human Resource Planning – This is the first step in the process of staffing in which a planner
forecast and determine the number and kind of manpower required by the organization in future.
It has two aspects viz., short term and long term.
(ii) Recruitment – It refers to identification of the sources of man power availability.
(iii) Selection – It is the process of choosing and appointing the right candidates for various
positions in the organization.
(iv) Placement – It involves placing the selected candidates on the right jobs after given
orientation training.
(v) Training and Development – It involves improving job and work knowledge skills and
attitudes of employees on a regular basis so that they may perform their work effectively and
efficiently.
(vi) Remuneration and Compensation – It is necessary to pay equitable amount of wages and
salaries to the employees. In order to achieve the objectives of the organization.
(vii) Performance Evaluation – It is the appraisal system of various categories of employees in
terms of their behavior and work performance at the work place.
(viii) Transfer – It is the moving of employees to similar positions in the other work units.
(ix) Promotion – It is the moving of employees from low position to higher position in the
organization. It is also called vertical movement upward direction.
(x) Working Environment – It is the responsibility of personnel department to provide good
working conditions to the employees in the organization. It certainly influences the motivation
and morale of the employees.
Question # 4. Discuss about the theories, types and styles of leadership in detail. (See leadership/directing
chapter 4).

Leadership is essentially a continuous process of influencing behavior. It may be considered in

context of mutual relations between a leader and his followers. The leader tries to influence the
behavior of individuals or group of individuals around him to achieve desired goals.
Leadership is a dynamic process, which deserves study. It is a relational process involving
interactions among leaders, members and sometimes outside constituencies. Good leaders are
made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader.
Leadership development is an important and a recent issue in the field of management practices.
Basically, it involves developing those qualities and attitudes in managers which help them to
look into the future and to bring necessary improvement pertaining to different leadership styles.
Leadership Theories
A. Great-Man Theory
The effort toward explorations for common traits of leadership is protracted over centuries as
most cultures need heroes to define their successes and to justify their failures. In 1847, Thomas
Carlyle stated in the best interests of the heroes that “universal history, the history of what man
has accomplished in this world, is at the bottom of the history of the great men who have worked
here”. Carlyle claimed in his “great man theory” that leaders are born and that only those men
who are endowed with heroic potentials could ever become the leaders. He opined that great men
were born, not made. An American philosopher, Sidney Hook, further expanded Carlyle
perspective highlighting the impact which could be made by the eventful man vs. the event
making man (Dobbins & Platz, (1986).
He proposed that the eventful man remained complex in a historic situation, but did not really
determine its course. On the other hand, he maintained that the actions of the event-making man
influenced the course of events, which could have been much different, had he not been involved
in the process. The event making man’s role based on “the consequences of outstanding
capacities of intelligence, will and character rather than the actions of distinction”. However,
subsequent events unfolded that this concept of leadership was morally flawed, as was the case
with Hitler, Napoleon, and the like, thereby challenging the credibility of the Great Man theory.
These great men became irrelevant and consequently growth of the organizations, stifled
(MacGregor, 2003). “The passing years have given the coup de grace to another force the great
man who with brilliance and farsightedness could preside with dictatorial powers as the head of a
growing organization but in the process retarded democratization”. Leadership theory then
progressed from dogma that leaders are born or are destined by nature to be in their role at a
particular time to a reflection of certain traits that envisage a potential for leadership.
B. Trait Theory
The early theorists opined that born leaders were endowed with certain physical traits and
personality characteristics which distinguished them from non-leaders. Trait theories ignored the
assumptions about whether leadership traits were genetic or acquired. Jenkins identified two
traits; emergent traits (those which are heavily dependent upon heredity) as height, intelligence,
attractiveness, and self-confidence and effectiveness traits (based on experience or learning),
including charisma, as fundamental component of leadership (Ekvall & Arvonen, 1991).
Max Weber termed charisma as “the greatest revolutionary force, capable of producing a
completely new orientation through followers and complete personal devotion to leaders they
perceived as endowed with almost magical supernatural, superhuman qualities and powers”. This
initial focus on intellectual, physical and personality traits that distinguished non-leaders from
leaders portended a research that maintained that only minor variances exist between followers
and leaders (Burns, 2003). The failure in detecting the traits which every single effective leader
had in common, resulted in development of trait theory, as an inaccessible component, falling
into disfavor. In the late 1940s, scholars studied the traits of military and non-military leaders
respectively and exposed the significance of certain traits developing at certain times.
C. Contingency Theories (Situational)
The theories of contingency recommend that no leadership style is precise as a stand-alone as
the leadership style used is reliant upon the factors such as the quality, situation of the followers
or a number of other variables. “According to this theory, there is no single right way to lead
because the internal and external dimensions of the environment require the leader to adapt to
that particular situation”. In most cases, leaders do not change only the dynamics and
environment, employees within the organization change. In a common sense, the theories of
contingency are a category of behavioral theory that challenges that there is no one finest way of
leading/organizing and that the style of leadership that is operative in some circumstances may
not be effective in others (Greenleaf, 1977).
Contingency theorists assumed that the leader was the focus of leader-subordinate relationship;
situational theorists opined that the subordinates played a pivotal role in defining the
relationship. Though, the situational leadership stays to emphasis mostly upon the leader, it
creates the significance of the focus into group dynamic. “These studies of the relationships
between groups and their leaders have led to some of our modern theories of group dynamics and
leadership”. The theory of situational leadership proposes that style of leadership should be
accorded with the maturity of the subordinates (Bass, 1997). “The situational leadership model,
first introduced in 1969, theorized that there was no unsurpassed way to lead and those leaders,
to be effective, must be able to adapt to the situation and transform their leadership style between
task-oriented and relationship-oriented”.
D. Style and Behavior Theory
The style theory acknowledges the significance of certain necessary leadership skills that
serve as enabler for a leader who performs an act while drawing its parallel with previous
capacity of the leader, prior to that particular act while suggesting that each individual has a
distinct style of leadership with which he/she feels most contented. Like one that does not fit all
heads, similarly one style cannot be effective in all situations. Yukl (1989) introduced three
different leadership styles. The employees serving with democratic leaders displayed high degree
of satisfaction, creativity, and motivation; working with great enthusiasm and energy irrespective
of the presence or absence of the leader; maintaining better connections with the leader, in terms
of productivity whereas, autocratic leaders mainly focused on greater quantity of output. Laissez
faire leadership was only considered relevant while leading a team of highly skilled and
motivated people who excellent track-record, in the past.
Feidler & House (1994) identified two additional leadership styles focusing effectiveness of
the leadership. These researchers opined that consideration (concern for people and relationship
behaviors) and commencing structure (concern for production and task behaviors) were very
vital variables. The consideration is referred to the amount of confidence and rapport, a leader
engenders in his subordinates. Whereas, initiating structure, on the other hand, reflects the extent,
to which the leader structures, directs and defines his/her own and the subordinates‟ roles as they
have the participatory role toward organizational performance, profit and accomplishment of the
mission. Different researchers proposed that three types of leaders, they were; autocratic,
democratic and laissez-faire. Without involving subordinates, the autocratic leader makes
decisions, laissez-faire leader lets subordinates make the decision and hence takes no real
leadership role other than assuming the position and the democratic leader accesses his
subordinates then takes his decision. “He further assumed that all leaders could fit into one of
these three categories”.
E. Process Leadership Theory
Additional leadership theories with a process focus include servant leadership, leaning
organizations, principal centered leadership and charismatic leadership, with others emerging
every year. Greenleaf introduced servant leadership in the early 1970s. A resurgence of the
discussion of servant leadership was noted in the early 1990s Servant leaders were encouraged to
be focused to the anxieties of the followers and the leader should sympathize with them take-care
of and nurture them. The leadership was imparted on a person who was by nature a servant. “The
servant leader focuses on the needs of the follower and helps them to become more autonomous
freer and knowledgeable”. The servant leader is also more concerned with the “have-nots” and
recognizes them as equal (Greenleaf, 1996). The leaders in leading organizations are to be the
steward (servant) of the vision of the organization and not a servant of the people within the
organization. Leaders in learning organizations clarify and nurture the vision and consider it to
be greater than one-self. The leader aligns themselves or their vision with others in the
organization or community at large.
These process leadership theories and others that have emerged often suggest that the work
of leaders is to contribute to the well-being of others with a focus on some form of social
responsibility. There appears to be a clear evolution in the study of leadership. Leadership theory
has moved from birth traits and rights, to acquired traits and styles, to situational and relationship
types of leadership, to the function of groups and group processes and, currently, to the
interaction of the group members with an emphasis on personal and organizational function of
groups and group processes and, currently, to the interaction of the group members with an
emphasis on personal and organizational moral improvements (Yammarino, 1999).
F. Transactional Theory
The leadership theories, by the late 1970s and early 1980s, activated to diverge from the
specific perspectives of the leader, leadership context and the follower and toward practices that
concentrated further on the exchanges between the followers and leaders. The transactional
leadership was described as that in which leader-follower associations were grounded upon a
series of agreements between followers and leaders (House & Shamir, 1993). The transactional
theory was “based on reciprocity where leaders not only influence followers but are under their
influence as well”. Some studies revealed that transactional leadership show a discrepancy with
regard to the level of leaders‟ action and the nature of the relations with the followers.
Bass and Avolio (1994) observed transactional leadership “as a type of contingent-reward
leadership that had active and positive exchange between leaders and followers whereby
followers were rewarded or recognized for accomplishing agreed upon objectives”. From the
leader, these rewards might implicate gratitude for merit increases, bonuses and work
achievement. For good work, positive support could be exchanged, merit pay for promotions,
increased performance and cooperation for collegiality. The leaders could instead focus on
errors, avoid responses and delay decisions. This attitude is stated as the “management-by-
exception” and could be categorized as passive or active transactions. The difference between
these two types of transactions is predicated on the timing of the leaders‟ involvement. In the
active form, the leader continuously monitors performance and attempts to intervene proactively
(Avolio & Bass, 1997).
G. Transformational Theory
Transformational leadership distinguishes itself from the rest of the previous and
contemporary theories, on the basis of its alignment to a greater good as it entails involvement of
the followers in processes or activities related to personal factor towards the organization and a
course that will yield certain superior social dividend. The transformational leaders raise the
motivation and morality of both the follower and the leader (House & Shamir, 1993). It is
considered that the transformational leaders “engage in interactions with followers based on
common values, beliefs and goals”. This impacts the performance leading to the attainment of
goal. As per Bass, transformational leader, “attempts to induce followers to reorder their needs
by transcending self-interests and strive for higher order needs". This theory conforms the
Maslow (1954) higher order needs theory. Transformational leadership is a course that changes
and approach targets on beliefs, values and attitudes that enlighten leaders‟ practices and the
capacity to lead change.
The literature suggests that followers and leaders set aside personal interests for the benefit
of the group. The leader is then asked to focus on followers’ needs and input in order to
transform everyone into a leader by empowering and motivating them (House & Aditya, 1997).
Emphasis from the previously defined leadership theories, the ethical extents of leadership
further differentiates the transformational leadership. The transformational leaders are considered
by their capability to identify the need for change, gain the agreement and commitment of others,
create a vision that guides change and embed the change (MacGregor Bums, 2003). These types
of leaders treat subordinates individually and pursue to develop their consciousness, morals and
skills by providing significance to their work and challenge. These leaders produce an
appearance of convincing and encouraged vision of the future. They are “visionary leaders who
seek to appeal to their followers‟ better nature and move them toward higher and more universal
needs and purposes” (MacGregor Bums, 2003).
Leadership Types
The leadership typology has been classified into various ways, based on the nature displayed by
the leaders in influencing the followers. The types of leadership that has been discussed here
include feudal, paternal, dictatorial, participatory, developmental, bureaucratic, manipulative,
expert type and charismatic type of leadership, which are as follows:
1. Feudal Type: In the feudal type of leadership, the relationship that exists between a leader and
follower is that of a lord and his subject. Under this type, the employee of the organization is
considered as an essential part of the organization and is given compensation by the leader for
performing his/her immediate task.
2. Paternal Type: In this type of leadership, the leader’s relationship with the employee is that of
a father and son. Hence, the leadership as per this typology is called as „paternal‟ and the
employees of the organization are seen as family members. This type of leadership is quite
popular in Japan, mainly due to their cultural environment.
3. Dictatorial Type: When a leader adopts a style, where he/she dictates terms to the employees
and demands obedience of the employees in carrying out the orders, the typology is called as
„dictatorial‟. That is, in this typology, the leader gives out orders and expects the subordinates to
carry out the orders rigidly and the employees of the organization, has completely no role in
decision making. However, dictatorship is redundant in the present time and people express their
resentment by way of massive resistance, low morale and low productivity.
4. Participatory Type: In this typology, the leader tends to adopt a flexible approach, wherein the
employees of the organization are allowed to participate in decision making process and the
leader rather than passing out orders, just shares his/her vision and ideas to the employees and
the decisions are arrived at by having a group discussion. The leader of this kind believes in
upbringing of team spirit and cordial atmosphere in the organization.
5. Developmental Type: Under this typology, the leader feels that it is his/her duty to develop
people. The leader considers his/her subordinates to have vast potentialities for improvement and
thus the focus of this leader is laid on promoting the subordinates to highest performances.
6. Bureaucratic Type: Under this type of leadership, a leader is bound by strict rules and
regulations and they expect their employees to follow the procedures in a prompt manner.
Bureaucratic style of leadership may be suitable for a routine organization, where the tasks
undertaken by the leader and the employees are routine in nature. Bureaucratic leaders may not
be suitable for flexible and large organizations, where the nature of work is quite complex. As
per this typology, rules and procedures, decide the way of functioning of employees and no
initiation or participation is permitted.
7. Manipulative Type: According to this typology, the leader manipulates the employees of the
organization so as to attain his own personal goals. However, this kind of leadership attitude
cannot be exhibited for a long time, as people cannot be exploited on a sustainable basis. Thus,
once the employees become aware of such manipulations, resentment sets-in in the organization.
8. Expert Type: Expert type of leadership is an emerging style of leadership, which evolved as a
result of the growing complexities in organizations. The basis for expert leadership is the
individual leader’s knowledge and ability and he/she assumes the role of a leader regardless of
his/her age, sex, physical or other attributes.
9. Charismatic Type: The term „charisma‟ is primarily associated with Max Weber, who states
that, “charisma is applied to a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which
he/she is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman,
exceptional powers or qualities”. Charismatic leaders are regarded as of divine origin and the
recognition of the followers depends upon the demonstration of constant proof, which in turn,
augments follower devotion and enthusiasm.
Styles of leadership
The literature on leadership styles has been growing in number and different styles of leadership
are highlighted by different studies. However, it has to be understood that a single style of
leadership cannot suit different situations. As and when the need arises, based on the situation
and needs of the employee and organization, a leader can combine one or more styles of
leadership in influencing people towards the goals of the organization. Thus, choosing the right
style, in the right situation, at the right time is the key to the success of a leader.
The 5 most common leadership styles are:
1.Transformational leadership
2.Delegative leadership
3.Authorative leadership
4.Transactional leadership
5.Particivative leadership
1.Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership is a leadership style that places emphasis on change and
transformation. Leaders who adopt this approach strive to inspire their followers to achieve more
than they ever thought possible by tapping into their individual potential. This type of leadership
can be extremely effective in organizations that are looking to make major changes or
transformations.
Some of the key characteristics of transformational leadership include:
A focus on the future: Transformational leaders are always looking ahead and thinking about
what needs to be done in order to achieve the organization’s goals. They inspire their followers
to do the same.

A focus on change: Transformational leaders are comfortable with change and understand that it
is necessary for organizational success. They work to ensure that their followers are also
comfortable with change and are able to adapt to it.

A focus on people: Transformational leaders see the potential in each and every one of their
followers. They strive to develop their followers’ individual strengths and abilities so that they
can reach their full potential.

2. Delegative Leadership

Often referred to as “laissez-faire”, a delegative leadership style focuses on delegating initiative

to team members. This is generally known as one of the least intrusive forms of leadership, this
literally translates to “let them do”. This is therefore considered a very hand-off leadership style.
Leaders who adopt this style have trust, relying on their employees to do their jobs. They don’t
micromanage or get too involved in providing feedback or guidance. Instead declarative leaders
give their employees the freedom to utilize their creativity, resources, and experience to help
them meet their goals.

This can be a successful leadership strategy if team members are competent and take
responsibility for their work. However, delegate leadership can also lead to disagreements among
team members may split or divide a group.

It can be particularly difficult for newcomers to adapt to this style of leadership, or staff
members to develop an understanding of who is ultimately in charge and responsible for
outcomes. Therefore, it’s important that this leadership style is kept in check.

3. Authoritative Leadership

Authoritative leaders are often referred to a visionary. Leaders who adopt this style consider
themselves mentors to their followers. Not to be confused with authoritarian leadership,
authoritative leadership places more emphasis on a “follow me” approach. In this way
leaders chart a course and encourage those around them to follow.

Leaders who display authoritative traits tend to motivate and inspire those around them. As they
provide overall direction, they also provide guidance, feedback and motivation to their teams.
This promotes a sense of accomplishment, or achievement.

The authoritative leadership style relies heavily on getting to know each member of a team. This
allows a leader to provide guidance and feedback on a more personalized level, helping
individuals to succeed. This means authoritative leaders need to be able to adapt, particularly as
the size of their team grows.

Authoritative leadership is clearly very hands-on, but leaders must exercise caution not to
micromanage. This is a tendency with this style, which can be overbearing for team members
and creative negative sentiments.
 4. Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership, often referred to as managerial leadership, is a leadership style that

relies on rewards and punishments. This leadership style has a clear emphasis on structure,
assuming individuals may not possess the motivation needed to complete their tasks.

With this reward based system, a leader sets out clear goals, or tasks for their teams. Leaders also
make it clear how their teams will be rewarded (or punished) for their work. Rewards can take
many formats, but typically will involve financial recompense, such as pay, or a bonus.

This “give and take” leadership style is more concerned with following established routines and
procedures in an efficient manner, than with making any transformational changes to an
organization.

Transactional leadership establishes roles and responsibilities for each employee. However, it
can lead to diminishing returns if employees are always aware of how much their effort is worth.
Therefore, it is important that incentives are consistent with company goals and supported by
additional gestures of appreciation.

5. Participative Leadership

Sometimes referred to as democratic leadership, participative leadership is a leadership style

encouraging leaders to listen to their employees and involve them in decision-making process.
This leadership style requires leaders to be inclusive, utilize good communication skills and
crucially, be able to share power/responsibility.

When a leader adopts a participative style of leadership this encourages collaboration, through
accountability. This often leads to a collective effort of a team to identify problems and develop
solutions, as opposed to assigning individual blame.
This leadership style has historically been very common, utilized by a wide range of leaders in
many organizations. However, as working habits have changed (accelerated by the COVID-19
pandemic) and teams have become more decentralized it makes this leadership style more
difficult.

Spontaneous, open and candid communication are often associated with a participative
leadership style. Remote working, or virtual teams can make this particularly challenging to
maintain.

Participative leadership is often favored as it helps to build trust with employees. Empowering
them and encouraging them to share their ideas on important matters, demonstrating their value
to a team.

.
Question # 5. Discuss about the characteristics of successful organizational cultures and briefly
describe how you can us those characteristics to foster (encourage) a positive culture within your
departments (team)/ organization.

What is organizational culture?

Organizational culture is the collection of values, expectations, and practices that guide and
inform the actions of all team members. Think of it as the collection of traits that make your
company what it is. A great culture exemplifies positive traits that lead to improved performance,
while a dysfunctional company culture brings out qualities that can hinder even the most
successful organizations.
Don’t confuse culture with organizational goals or a mission statement, although both can help
define it. Culture is created through consistent and authentic behaviors, not press releases or
policy documents. You can watch company culture in action when you see how a CEO responds
to a crisis, how a team adapts to new customer demands, or how a manager corrects an employee
who makes a mistake.

The importance culture in company

Organizational culture affects all aspects of your business, from punctuality and tone to contract
terms and employee benefits. When workplace culture aligns with your employees, they’re more
likely to feel more comfortable, supported, and valued. Companies that prioritize culture can
also weather difficult times and changes in the business environment and come out stronger.

Culture is a key advantage when it comes to attracting talent and outperforming the
competition. 77 percent of workers consider a company’s culture before applying, and almost
half of employees would leave their current job for a lower-paying opportunity at an organization
with a better culture. The culture of an organization is also one of the top indicators of employee
satisfaction and one of the main reasons that almost two-thirds (65%) of employees stay in their
job.
8 steps to building a high-performing organizational culture

Creating a great organizational culture requires developing and executing a plan with clear
objectives that you can work towards and measure. The 8 steps below should serve as a roadmap
for building a culture of continuity that will deliver long-term benefits across your company.

1. Excel in recognition

Recognizing the contributions of all team members has a far-reaching, positive effect on
organizational culture. When everyone on the team recognizes the accomplishments of others,
individuals start to see how they’re part of a whole. Even the most jaded employees want to
know their work matters, and they notice when they aren’t appreciated — 76 percent of
employees don’t feel especially recognized by superiors. Experts agree that when an
organization makes appreciating employees part of its culture, important metrics like employee
engagement, retention, and productivity improve.

Making recognition part of your culture means it must be a regular occurrence, not something
that is only reserved for major milestones or work anniversaries. Encourage team members to
practice frequent social recognition in addition to monetary recognition. Providing social
recognition on a consistent basis has a remarkable business impact: companies that invest in
social recognition are four times more likely to increase stock prices, twice more likely to
improve NPS scores, and twice more likely to improve individual performances.

Monetary recognition is valuable as well. Consider a points-based recognition program that will
allow employees to easily build up substantial point balances. They’ll enjoy looking forward to
redeeming their points for a reward that’s personally meaningful to them, rather than being
handed a generic mug or a years of service award that will gather dust on a shelf.

To foster other cultural traits, recognition should also be clearly tied to company values and
specific actions. After all, 92 percent of employees agree when they’re recognized for a specific
action, they’re more likely to take that action again in the future.
Last but not least, leadership needs to take center stage in your recognition efforts, as they’re the
cultural trendsetters for your entire company. Incorporate a recognition talk track into your
leadership training and share top tips with managers on how to recognize others and why it
matters.

2. Enable employee voice

Creating a culture that values feedback and encourages employee voice is essential, as failing to
do so can lead to lost revenue and demotivated employees.

First, you need to collect feedback using the right listening tools that make it easy for employees
to express what they’re feeling in the moment, like pulse surveys and workplace chatbots. Then
analyze the results to see what’s working and what isn’t in your organization, and act on those
findings while they’re still relevant. Not only does this strengthen your culture, it leads
to benefits like higher employee fulfillment and greater profitability. According to a Clutch
survey, 68 percent of employees who receive regular feedback feel fulfilled in their jobs, and
Gallup found that organizations with managers who received feedback on their strengths
showed 8.9 percent greater profitability.

In addition to gathering feedback using the methods described above, make sure you’re paying
attention to more suitable expressions of feedback that can reveal cultural deficiencies. For
example, pay attention to body language, as it can tell you much even when employees aren’t
willing to share. If you’re working with a remote team, video conferences can help keep this
nonverbal channel of communication open. Managers should treat all their sessions with
employees as opportunities to gather and respond to feedback and act as a trusted coach.

3. Make your leaders culture advocates

Your company’s success in building a strong workplace culture rests in the hands of team leaders
and managers. For example, if your workplace culture prioritizes certain values and your
leadership team doesn’t exemplify them — or even displays behaviors that go against them it
undermines the effort. Team members will recognize the dissonance between stated values and
lived behaviors. They may even start to emulate negative behaviors because they believe those
behaviors have been rewarded by management.
Your leadership team can help build the culture you need by prioritizing it in every aspect of
their work lives. They need to openly and transparently discuss the organization’s culture and
values, and they should also be prepared to incorporate feedback from employees into their
cultural advocacy efforts. Leaders need their employees’ perspective on culture — while 76
percent of executives believe their organization has a well-communicated value system, only 31
percent of employees agree. When employees see leaders living your culture, they’ll follow suit.

4. Live by your company values

Your company’s values are the foundation of its culture. While crafting a mission statement is a
great start, living by company values means weaving them into every aspect of your business.
This includes support terms, HR policies, benefits programs, and even out-of-office initiatives
like volunteering. Your employees, partners, and customers will recognize and appreciate that
your organization puts its values into practice every day. You can also recognize employees for
actions that exemplify your values to show that they’re more than just words and incentivize
employees to build the value-based culture you want to see.

5. Forge connections between team members

Building a workplace culture that can handle adversity requires establishing strong connections
between team members, but with increasingly remote and terse communication, creating those
bonds can be challenging. Encouraging collaboration and engaging in team building activities —
even when working remote — are two effective ways to bring your team together and promote
communication.

Look for and encourage shared personal interests between team members as well, especially
among those from different generations that might otherwise have a difficult time relating to
each other. This can create new pathways for understanding and empathy that are vital to
improving communication, creativity, and even conflict resolution.

6. Focus on learning and development

Great workplace cultures are formed by employees who are continually learning and companies
that invest in staff development. Training initiatives, coaching, and providing employees with
new responsibilities are all great ways to show your team that you’re invested in their success.
A culture of learning has a significant business impact. Find Courses’ most recent benchmark
study found that companies with highly engaged employees were 1.5 times more likely to
prioritize soft skills development. It also found that companies that had experienced revenue
growth in the previous financial year were twice more likely to use innovative learning
technologies and three times more likely to increase their learning and development budgets.

7. Keep culture in mind from day one

When an employee’s perspective doesn’t match your company culture, internal discord is likely
to be the result. Organizations should hire for culture and reinforce it during the onboarding
process and beyond. Practices and procedures must be taught, and values should be shared.

When hiring, ask questions focused on cultural fit, like what matters to the interviewee and why
they’re attracted to working at your company. But these questions shouldn’t be the sole
determining factor when evaluating a candidate, as the best organizations keep an open mind
to diverse perspectives that can help keep their culture fresh.

You should also prioritize building social relationships during the onboarding process so that
employees have the insight necessary to understand your company’s culture and values. These
relationships will last throughout the employee’s time at the company, so that cultural values are
mutually reinforced on a continuous basis.

8. Personalize the employee experience

As modern consumers, your employees expect personalized experiences, so you need to focus on
ways to help each team member identify with your culture. Tools like pulse surveys and
employee-journey mapping are great ways to discover what your employees value and what their
ideal corporate culture looks like. Take what you learn and tailor your actions to personalize the
employee experience for your team. Once you start treating your employees with the same care
you treat your customers, a culture that motivates each individual at your organization is sure to
follow.

Developing culture made easy

Organizational culture will develop even without your input, but in the absence of that guidance,
it may not be healthy or productive. Keep these three basic techniques in mind when developing
your company culture: communication, recognition, and action. By following the steps in this
guide, you can improve communication with employees, start creating a culture of recognition,
and ensure that all members of your team put your culture into action.

Your company can start practicing all three techniques with Achievers Recognize and Achievers
Listen. With Achievers Recognize, your organization can leverage points-based and social
recognition and create a fun and easy user experience for employees. With Achievers Listen,
employees can give you valuable feedback through check-ins and pulse surveys, so you can see
what aspects of your culture are working and what needs tweaking.

Qualities of a great organizational culture

Every organization’s culture is different, and it’s important to retain what makes your company
unique. However, the cultures of high-performing organizations consistently reflect certain
qualities that you should seek to cultivate:

• Alignment comes when the company’s objectives and its employees’ motivations are all
pulling in the same direction. Exceptional organizations work to build continuous alignment to
their vision, purpose, and goals.

• Appreciation can take many forms: a public kudos, a note of thanks, or a promotion. A culture
of appreciation is one in which all team members frequently provide recognition and thanks for
the contributions of others.

• Trust is vital to an organization. With a culture of trust, team members can express themselves
and rely on others to have their back when they try something new.

• Performance is key, as great companies create a culture that means business. In these
companies, talented employees motivate each other to excel, and, as shown above, greater
profitability and productivity are the results.

• Resilience is a key quality in highly dynamic environments where change is continuous. A

resilient culture will teach leaders to watch for and respond to change with ease.

• Teamwork encompasses collaboration, communication, and respect between team members.

When everyone on the team supports each other, employees will get more done and feel happier
while doing it.
• Integrity, like trust, is vital to all teams when they rely on each other to make decisions,
interpret results, and form partnerships. Honesty and transparency are critical components of this
aspect of culture.

• Innovation leads organizations to get the most out of available technologies, resources, and
markets. A culture of innovation means that you apply creative thinking to all aspects of your
business, even your own cultural initiatives.

• Psychological safety provides the support employees need to take risks and provide honest
feedback. Remember that psychological safety starts at the team level, not the individual level,
so managers need to take the lead in creating a safe environment where everyone feels
comfortable contributing. Now that you know what a great culture looks like, let’s tackle how to
build one in your organization.
Question # 6. Discuss about organizing managerial functions. (including departmentalization, span of
management, centralization and decentralization management concepts etc… see chapter 6)

Organizing is the function of management which follows planning. It is a function in which the
synchronization and combination of human, physical and financial resources take place. All the
three resources are important to get results. Therefore, organizational function helps in
achievement of results which in fact is important for the functioning of a concern.

A manager performs organizing function with the help of following steps: -

1. Identification of activities - All the activities which have to be performed in a concern have to
be identified first. For example, preparation of accounts, making sales, record keeping, quality
control, inventory control, etc. All these activities have to be grouped and classified into units.

2. Departmentally organizing the activities - In this step, the manager tries to combine and group
similar and related activities into units or departments. This organization of dividing the whole
concern into independent units and departments is called depart mentation.

3. Classifying the authority - Once the departments are made, the manager likes to classify the
powers and its extent to the managers. This activity of giving a rank in order to the managerial
positions is called hierarchy. The top management is into formulation of policies, the middle level
management into departmental supervision and lower level management into supervision of
foremen. The clarification of authority help in bringing efficiency in the running of a concern. This
helps in achieving efficiency in the running of a concern. This helps in avoiding wastage of time,
money, effort, in avoidance of duplication or overlapping of efforts and this helps in bringing
smoothness in a concern’s working.

4. Co-ordination between authority and responsibility - Relationships are established among

various groups to enable smooth interaction toward the achievement of the organizational goal.
Each individual is made aware of his authority and he/she knows whom they have to take orders
from and to whom they are accountable and to whom they have to report. A clear organizational
structure is drawn and all the employees are made aware of it.
 Importance of Organizing Function

1. Specialization - Organizational structure is a network of relationships in which the work is

divided into units and departments. This division of work is helping in bringing specialization in
various activities of concern.

2. Well defined jobs - Organizational structure helps in putting right men on right job which can
be done by selecting people for various departments according to their qualifications, skill and
experience. This is helping in defining the jobs properly which clarifies the role of every person.

3. Clarifies authority - Organizational structure helps in clarifying the role positions to every
manager (status quo). This can be done by clarifying the powers to every manager and the way he
has to exercise those powers should be clarified so that misuse of powers do not take place. Well
defined jobs and responsibilities attached helps in bringing efficiency into managers working. This
helps in increasing productivity.

4. Co-ordination - Organization is a means of creating co-ordination among different departments

of the enterprise. It creates clear cut relationships among positions and ensure mutual co-operation
among individuals. Harmony of work is brought by higher level managers exercising their
authority over interconnected activities of lower level manager. Authority responsibility
relationships can be fruitful only when there is a formal relationship between the two. For smooth
running of an organization, the co-ordination between authority- responsibility is very important.
There should be co-ordination between different relationships. Clarity should be made for having
an ultimate responsibility attached to every authority. There is a saying, “Authority without
responsibility leads to ineffective behavior and responsibility without authority makes person
ineffective.” Therefore, co-ordination of authority- responsibility is very important.

5. Effective administration - The organization structure is helpful in defining the jobs positions.
The roles to be performed by different managers are clarified. Specialization is achieved through
division of work. This all leads to efficient and effective administration.

6. Growth and diversification - A company’s growth is totally dependent on how efficiently and
smoothly a concern works. Efficiency can be brought about by clarifying the role positions to the
managers, co-ordination between authority and responsibility and concentrating on specialization.
In addition to this, a company can diversify if its potential grow. This is possible only when the
organization structure is well- defined. This is possible through a set of formal structure.

7. Sense of security - Organizational structure clarifies the job positions. The roles assigned to
every manager is clear. Co-ordination is possible. Therefore, clarity of powers helps automatically
in increasing mental satisfaction and thereby a sense of security in a concern. This is very important
for job- satisfaction. 8. Scope for new changes - Where the roles and activities to be performed are
clear and every person gets independence in his working, this provides enough space to a manager
to develop his talents and flourish his knowledge. A manager gets ready for taking independent
decisions which can be a road or path to adoption of new techniques of production. This scope for
bringing new changes into the running of an enterprise is possible only through a set of
organizational structure.

Principles of Organizing

• Principle of departmentalization

• Principle of Span of Control

• Principle of Delegation of Authority.

• Principle of Centralization & Decentralization.

Principle of Departmentalization

Departmentalization is the process of breaking down an enterprise into various departments.

(1) Functional Departmentalization: Functional departmentalization defines departments by the

functions like accounting or purchasing.

(2) Geographical Departmentalization: Geographical departmentalization is an arrangement of

departments according to geographic area or territory.

(3) Product Departmentalization: Companies may have multiple products. All common activities
required to produce and market a product are grouped together.

(4) Process Departmentalization: Departmentalization is done on the basis of processing.

(5) Customer Departmentalization: Customer divisions are divisions set up to service particular
types of clients or customers.

Advantages of departmentalization

1.Simplicity: Functional departmentation is simple and common form of departmentation. It is

very easy to establish and operate.

2. Specialization: Functional departmentation follows the principle of specialization. Special

knowledge and skill helps high level operation of the organizational functions.

3. Better coordination: Functional departmentation facilitates better coordination among

departments, different functions and employees,

4. Optimum Utilization Of Resources: Functional departmentation focuses on the optimum

utilization of both human and non-human resources. This ensures positive outcome to the
organization.
Disadvantages of departmentalization

1. Conflict: In functional departmentation, there is very high chance of conflict among

departments and other functional areas.

2. Slow Decision Making: Because of numbers of specialists and experts and many departments,
decision making process is slow in this type of departmentation.

3. High Supervision Cost: There are many supervisors in this type of organization. So, supervision
costs is very high.

4. Lack Of Innovation And Creativity:Functional departmentation emphasis on high level speed

production by the help pf specialists and skilled employees. It emphasis on mass production and
expansion. But it ignores innovation and creativity.

5. Difficult to Monitor: It is very difficult to monitor performance in this type of departmentation.

 Principle of Span of Control

Span of control refers to the number of subordinates that can be managed effectively and
efficiently by supervisors or managers in an organization. Typically, it is either narrow or wide
resulting in a flatter or more hierarchical organizational structure. Each type has its inherent
advantages and disadvantages.

Narrow Span

Advantages

 Have more levels of reporting in the organization, resulting in a more heirarchical

organization
 Supervisors can spend time with employees and supervise them more closely
 Creates more development, growth, and advancement opportunities

Disadvantages

 More expensive (high cost of management staff, office, etc.)

 More supervisory involvement in work could lead to less empowerment and delegation
and more micromanagement
 Tends to result in communication difficulties and excessive distance between the top and
bottom levels in the organization

Wide Span

Advantages

 Have fewer levels of reporting in the organization, resulting in a more flexible, flatter
organization
 Ideal for supervisors mainly responsible for answering questions and helping to solve
employee’s problems
 Encourages empowerment of employees by giving more responsibility, delegation and
decision-making power to them
Disadvantages

 Tends to result in greater communication efficiencies and frequent exposure to the top
level of the organization
 May lead to overloaded supervisors if employees require much task direction, support,
and supervision
 May not provide adequate support to employees leading to decreased morale or job
satisfaction

Principle of Delegation of Authority

• Delegation of Authority:

– It is a process that superior or manager assigns some of his tasks to his subordinate with some
authority to do that tasks.

– Transforming certain responsibilities to the specific subordinate and giving a necessary

authority to do it.

• Many managers do the delegation to decrease the pressures on them and focus on certain
activities. Also, it promotes the idea of sharing in decision-making and encouraging subordinates
to take this opportunity and responsibility.

Advantages of Delegation of Authority

1. Specialization: Authorities and responsibilities are delegated as per the skills, abilities,
knowledge and experience of subordinates. So, delegation of authority promotes specialization
and division of work in the organization.
2. Reduce Pressure and Workload: In delegation, routine tasks are assigned to middle level and
lower level managers. It reduces the pressure, stress and workload of top level manager. Manager
get enough time to conduct other important creative and productive activities.
3. Quick Decisions: Lower level managers get the authority to make decisions which helps to
improve their decision making power. They do not need to consult top managers to take decision
which ensures prompt decisions at the workplace.
4. Employee Development: Delegation of authority helps to develop skills and capabilities of
subordinates. It helps them to perform challenging jobs which helps to develop managerial
qualities.
Disadvantages of Delegation of Authority
1. Misunderstanding and Conflict: Because of lack of proper communication and coordination,
there exists a chance of misunderstanding and conflict between managers and subordinates. It may
negatively affect the performance and productivity of the firm.
2. Poor Results: It authority and responsibility is delegated to unskilled and incompetent
subordinate, then the organization cannot achieve desired results because of poor performance.
3. Misuse of Power: Another drawback of delegation is that the subordinate can misuse his.her
power by taking wrong decisions for personal benefit.
4. Burden On Subordinates: Delegation of authority increases the workload and stress of
subordinates. Pressure of work may lose interest and lower the motivation towards the job.

Principle of Centralization & Decentralization

• Centralization: – All power and decision making process is on one person’s hand in the
organization (from the top of the organization).

• Decentralization: – The power and decision making would be distributed in more than one
level, person, department. Principle of Centralization & Decentralization

Advantages of Centralization:

– Easy to coordinate and combine policies and practices.

– Helping the administrator to look at all the work.

– Easy to control within the organization. (One system of control).

– No duplication of decisions.
Disadvantages of Centralization:

– Selfishness in making decisions.

– Decreasing ambitions from subordinates/employees (Not sharing in decision making)

– It may take much time to make a decision, or to get the job done.

– Long waiting from lower level of the organization to get the green light from the top
management. Principle of Centralization & Decentralization

Advantages of Decentralization:

– Sharing employees in the decision making process.

– Increasing the satisfaction and motivation of the employees by allowing them to make
decisions

– Quick accomplishment of work.

– Decreasing the burdens of the top management.

Disadvantages of Decentralization:

– Duplicating decisions, work, and services.

– Exploiting the authority, negatively, from some subordinates.

– Decreasing the central control.