CBSE Class 12 Business Studies Directing Worksheet Set E

 

Answer: It refers to the communication between a superior and a subordinate.

 

Answer: When a message is received by a person having passed through many people, generally it loses some of its truth. This is called loss by transmission.

 

Answer: Through dose eye and timely guidance of the employees.

 

Answer: The supervisor is a link between management and the operatives as lie conveys management ideas to the operatives (workers) on one hand and operatives problems to the management on the other.

 

Answer: On education and training the level of ability to do certain work of a person depends on.

 

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 7 Directing Short Answer Type Questions

Question. M/s Beta Ltd. deals in consumer goods. It employs 100 workers and 10 operative managers who give guidance and support to the workers while operating the machinery. The company has a policy of granting leave as per the requirement of the workers. Workers are generally granted leave on festivals and special occasions. Recently on Puja festival, it received a big order. Workers are keen to take Puja holidays while management is pressing hard for overtime. This matter was placed before the Personnel Manager who called the meeting of operative managers and workers to inform them about the changes in the incentive plan which states payment of double wages for working overtime and triple wages for working on holidays. Workers without any pressure voluntarily took limited holidays and were able to increase their earning by working overtime and on holidays. During Board of Directors meeting, Personnel Manager was asked to update the management for achieving higher output, meeting timely supplies without any confrontation with workers. Personnel Manager replied, “I just used a carrot with no sticks approach”.
By quoting the lines from above paragraph state any two elements of directing. 
Answer: Supervision : ‘it employees 10 operating managers ... support to the workers.’ Supervision means guiding the efforts of employees and other resources to achieve desired results. Motivation : ‘to pay double wages for working overtime and triple wages for working on holidays’. Motivation means stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals.

Question. Rahim was working in an enterprise on daily wages basis. It was difficult for him to fulfil the basic needs of his family. His daughter fell ill. He had no money for his daughter’s treatment. To meet the expenses of her treatment, he participated in a cycle race and won the prize money. The cycle company offered him a permanent pensionable job which he happily accepted.
(i) By quoting the lines from the above paragraph, identify the needs of Rahim that are satisfied by the offer of the cycle company.
(ii) Also explain two other needs of Rahim followed by above that are still to be satisfied.
Answer: (i) ‘‘The cycle company offered him a permanent pensionable job which he happily accepted’’ - Safety / Security Needs.
(ii) Two other needs of Rahim followed by above that are still to be satisfied are :
(a) Affiliation or Belongingness Needs : These needs refer to affection, sense of belongingness, acceptance and friendship.
(b) Esteem Needs : These include factors such as self-respect, autonomy status, recognition and attention.
(c) Self Actualisation Needs : It refers to the drive to become what one is capable of becoming. These needs include growth, self-fulfillment and achievement of goals.

Question. Jaideep recently joined as the Managing Direc-tor of ‘Tivori Ltd.’, an apparel designing company. He observed that the company had a number of experienced fashion designers on its payroll. They regularly offered useful suggestions which were neither appreciated nor rewarded by the company. Instead the company outsourced its services to some renowned fashion designers and paid them a good compensation for their services. Because of this, the employees felt disheartened and stopped giving useful suggestions. (i) Identify the communication barrier discussed above.
(ii) State the category of this communication barrier.
(iii) Explain any other communication barrier of the same category. 
Answer: (i) Lack of proper incentives.
(ii) Personal Barrier.
(iii) Other communication barriers of the same category are : Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates : Communication process is hampered when superior do not have faith or confidence on the competencies of their subordinates. In such case, superior not seek advice or opinion of the subordinates.

Question. Lakhan, an expert in the area of Financial Management, sent an e-mail to his subordinate Thomas about a new project for a client in France. Though, the mail was in English, a language known to Thomas, he was not able to understand the actual meaning of many words used in the mail. He was also not a specialist in the field of Financial Management. Not only this, some portions of the mail were translated from French to English in such a manner that many mistakes crept in, causing different meaning to the message.
(i) Identify two specific barriers to communication in Lakhan’s e-mail.
(ii) State any two measures which can be taken by Lakhan to overcome the barriers identified in part
(a) above to improve in future the effectiveness of his communication.
Answer:
(i) Two specific barriers to communication in Lakhan’s e-mail were:
(a) Faulty translations
(b) Technical jargon
(ii) Measures to overcome communication barriers :
(a) Lakhan should communicate according to the needs, education and understanding levels of subordinates.
(b) He should take a proper feedback to improve the communication process and make it more responsive.
(c) He should regularly follow up communication and review the instructions given to subordinates.
(d) He should be aware of languages, tone and content of the message to make it understandable to the receiver.

Question. At present, apart from the basic pay and allowances as a part of compensation, the employees and employers contribute 12% of basic wages each towards Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme and Employees’ Pension Fund scheme. A proposal to reduce the contribution by employers and employees to 10% of basic pay and dearness allowance was listed on the agenda for a recent meeting of Employees Provident Fund Organisation held. The stakeholders expressed their reservations about it and they feel that it should be continued at 12%. Explain any two needs as suggested by Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory, which will not be satisfied by the incentives discussed above.
Answer: The following needs given as per Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory will not be satisfied by the two incentives- Basic pay and allowances (satisfies basic needs) & Retirement Benefits (satisfy safety and security needs) discussed above :
(i) Affiliation /Belonging Needs : These needs refer to affection, sense of belongingness, acceptance and friendship.
(ii) Esteem Needs : These include factors such as self-respect, autonomy status, recognition and attention.
(iii) Self Actualisation Needs : It is the highest level of need in the hierarchy. It refers to the drive to become what one is capable of becoming.

Question. Sadaf is the Chief Executive Officer of a reputed company. She introduced appropriate skill development programmes and a sound promotion policy for the employees of her company. To motivate and retain the best talent in the company, she designed the jobs of the managers to include greater variety of work content. Identify and explain the two incentives introduced by Sadaf to motivate the employees of her company.
Answer: The two incentives used by Sadaf to motivate the employees of her company are :
(i) Career Advancement Opportunity : It means providing an opportunity to employees to improve their skills to be promoted to higher level of jobs. Appropriate skill development programmes and sound promotion policy provide career advancement opportunity to the employees.
(ii) Job Enrichment : It is concerned with designing jobs that include greater variety of work content and provide the opportunity for personal growth and a meaningful work experience. 

Question. Irma is the chief executive officer of a reputed company. She introduced appropriate skill development programmes and a sound promotion policy for the employees of her company. To motivate and retain the best talent in the company, she designed the jobs of the managers to include greater variety of work content. Explain any two other incentives that may be introduced by Irma other than those already introduced by her to further motivate the employees of her company.
Answer: Incentives that may be introduced by Irma other than those already introduced by her to further motivate the employees of her company are :
(i) Status.
(ii) Organisational climate.
(iii) Employees recognition programme.
(iv) Job security.
(v) Employee participation.
(vi) Employee empowerment.
(vii) Pay and Allowances.
(viii) Productivity linked wage incentives.
(ix) Bonus.
(x) Profit sharing.
(xi) Co-partnership.
(x) Retirement Benefits.
(xi) Perquisites.

Question. Ankur is working as a production manager is an organisation. His subordinates Saurabh discussed with him, a method of production which will reduce the cost of production, but due to some domestic problems, Ankur’s mind was preoccupied and he is not in a position to understand the message. Saurabh gets disappointed by this. Identify the factor which acts as a communication barrier. Explain three other factors of the same group of communication barrier.
Answer: The barrier coming across in this case is ‘Lack of attention or poor listening’ which is a part of ‘Psychological Barriers’. The other three factors are :
(i) Premature evaluation.
(ii) Lack of trust.
(iii) Poor retention of message.

Question. Rakesh is working under his superior Neeraj. He always communicates useful ideas and suggestions to his superior regarding reduction of cost, improvement in the product, etc. Neeraj found that implementation of his suggestions have always given favourable results, but he never appreciated Rakesh for his suggestions. Now Rakesh decided not to communicate any suggestion or idea to Neeraj. Identify the factor which acts as a communication barrier. Explain three other factors of the same group of communication barrier. A
Answer: The barrier in the above case is ‘lack of incentive’ which is a part of ‘Personal Barriers’. The other three factors are :
(i) Lack of confidence of superior in the ability of the subordinates.
(ii) Fear of challenge to authority.
(iii) Unwillingness to communicate.

Question. Explain the organisational barriers to communication.
Answer: Organisational Barriers to Communication are :
(i) Organisational policy
(ii) Rules and regulations
(iii) Status
(iv) Complexity in organisational structure
(v) Organisational facilities

Question. Kavita recently joined as the human resource director of Arjun Vidyamandir School, a senior secondary educational institute. She observed that the school had an experienced medical team on its payroll. They regularly offered useful suggestions which were neither appreciated nor rewarded by the school authorities. Instead the school outsourced the task of maintenance of health records of the students and paid them a good compensation for their services. Because of this, the existing medical team felt disheartened and stopped giving useful suggestions.
(i) Identify the communication barrier discussed above.
(ii) State the category of this communication barrier.
(iii) Explain any other two communication barriers of the same category.
Answer:
(i) The communication barrier discussed in the above paragraph is Lack of proper incentives.
(ii) It is a type of Personal barrier.
(iii) Other communication barriers of the same category are : 
(a) Fear of challenge to authority
(b) Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates
(c) Unwillingness to communicate.

Question. Huma is working in a company on a permanent basis. As per the job agreement, she had to work for 8 hours a day and was free to work overtime. Huma worked overtime, due to which she fell ill and had to take leave from her work. No one showed concern and enquired about her health. She realised that she was fulfilling only some of her needs while some other needs still remained to be fulfilled.
(i) By quoting the lines from the above para, identify the needs of Huma which she is able to fulfil.
(ii) Also explain two other needs of Huma followed by the above needs.
Answer:
(i) (a) ‘‘Huma is working in a company on a permanent basis’’ Safety/security needs.
(b) ‘‘As per the job agreement she had to work 8 hours a day and was free to work overtime’’ Basic physiological needs.
(ii) Explanation of two other needs of Huma which still remained to be satisfied are :
(a) Affiliation/Belongingness Needs : These needs refer to affection, sense of belongingness; acceptance and friendship, cordial relations with the colleagues. (b) Esteem Needs : These include factors such as self-respect, autonomy status, job title, recognition and attention.

Question. Describe briefly ‘Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory’ of motivation? 
Answer: Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory is based on human needs; which are as follows :
(i) Basic Physiological Needs
(ii) Safety/Security Needs
(iii) Affiliation/Belonging Needs
(iv) Esteem Needs
(v) Self Actualisation Needs

Question. Smita had been working as an assistant manager with ‘Johnson Enterprises’ for the last ten years. She was very popular among her colleagues because of her commitment and dedication towards the work. When the manager senior to her retired, all her colleagues thought that now Smita would be promoted. But to everyone’s surprise, the vacant post was filled by an outsider, Mrs.Rita. Smita felt demoralised and her performance started declining. She would abstain herself often and could not meet her targets. Mrs. Rita was a good leader, who would not only instruct her subordinates but would also guide and inspire them. She noticed Smita’s behaviour and felt that her performance could be improved. She started involving Smita in decision making-issues related to the organisation and made her a part of high level joint-management committee. Smita was now punctual in the office and her performance started improving.
Answer:
(i) Directing.
(ii) Motivation.
(iii) Features of Motivation :
(a) It is an internal feeling.
(b) It produces goal-directed behaviour.
(c) It can be positive or negative.
(d) It is a complex process.

Question. Describe any four features of motivation.
‘A. S. Environs Ltd.’ is dealing in Environment-Consultancy. To get the business, the team leader and his team used to travel to different states to give presentation to their clients. As per the policy of the company, the team leader used to travel by air whereas his team travelled by road/train. It was not only time consuming but also at times forced the female team members to travel alone. As a result, the subordinates were not acting in a desired manner to achieve organisational goal. The CEO of the company came to know about it. He called the team leader, discussed the matter with him and decided to change the travel policy of the company. It was decided that in future all the members including the leader would travel together and usefully utilise the travelling time in discussion about the presentation to be given to the clients. This made a positive impact and every member of the team started acting in a manner as desired by the team leader. State the features of the element of the function of management used by the CEO.
OR
‘K.S. Energy Ltd.’ was an energy efficiency consultancy company. To get the business, the team leader and his team used to travel to different states to give presentation to their clients. As per the policy of the company, the team leader used to travel by air, whereas his team travelled by road/train. It was not only time consuming but also at times forced female team members to travel alone. As a result, the subordinates were not acting in a desired manner to achieve organisational goals. The CEO came to know about it. He called the team leader, discussed the matter with him and changed the travel policy of the company. It was decided that all the members including the leader would travel together in future and would usefully utilise the travelling time in discussion with the subordinates about the presentation to be given to the clients. This made a positive impact and every member of the team started acting in a manner as desired by the team leader. State the features of the element of the function of management used by the CEO. 
Answer: Features of Motivation :
(i) Motivation is an internal feeling : The urge, drives, desires, aspirations, striving or needs of human being, which are internal, influence human behaviour. For example, people may have the urge for possessing a motorbike, comfortable house, reputation in the society. These urges are internal to an individual.
(ii) Motivation produces goal-directed behaviour : For example, a promotion in the job may be given to the employee with the objective of improving his performance. If the employee is interested in promotion, it helps to produce behaviour to improve performance.
(iii) Motivation can be either positive or negative : Positive motivation provides positive rewards like increase in pay, promotion, recognition, etc. Negative motivation uses negative means like punishment, stopping increments, threatening, etc. which also may induce a person to act in the desired way.
(iv) Motivation is a complex process : As the individuals are heterogeneous in their expectations, perceptions and reactions. Any type of motivation may not have uniform effect on all the members.

Question. Mrs. Rajlaxmi is working as the Human Resource Consultant in a firm manufacturing cosmetics, which is facing a problem of high employee turnover. The CEO of the company has invited suggestions from her for retaining the talented employees and reducing the employee turnover. Mrs. Rajlaxmi recommends that the good employees be rewarded in a way that it creates a feeling of ownership among the employees and at the same time, makes them contribute towards the growth of the organisation.
(i) Identify the incentive and explain its type, which has been suggested by Mrs. Rajlaxmi to the CEO of the company.
(ii) Also explain two other incentives of the same type.
Answer:
(i) Financial Incentive :
(a) Co-Partnership/Stock Option : Under these incentive schemes, employees are offered company shares at a set price which is lower than the market price. Sometimes, management may allot shares in line of various incentives payable in cash. The allotment of shares creates a feeling of ownership to the employees and makes them to contribute for the growth of the organisation. In Infosys, the scheme of stock option has been implemented as a part of managerial compensation.
(ii) Other Financial Incentives :
(a) Pay and Allowances : For every employee, salary is the basic monetary incentive. It includes basic pay, dearness allowance and other allowances.
Salary system consists of regular increments in the pay every year and enhancement of allowances from time-to-time. In some business organisations, pay hike and increments may be linked to the performance.
(b) Productivity-linked Wage incentives : Several wage incentive plans aim at linking payment of wages to increase in the productivity at individual or group level.
(c) Bonus : Bonus is an incentive offered over and above the wages/ salary to the employees.
(d) Profit Sharing : Profit sharing is meant to provide a share to employees in the profits of the organisation. This serves to motivate the employees to improve their performance and contribute to increase in profits.
(e) Retirement Benefits : Several retirement benefits such as provident fund, pension, and gratuity provide financial security to employees after their retirement. This acts as an incentive when they are in service in the organisation.
(f) Perquisites : In many companies, perquisites and fringe benefits are offered such as car allowance, housing, medical aid, education to the children etc., over and above the salary. These measures help to provide motivation to the employees/ managers.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 7 Directing Long Answer Type Question

Question. Non-financial incentives are more suitable for employees whose needs are not satisfied by money alone. Explain any four such incentives.
Answer: Non-financial incentives are discussed below :
(i) Job Security : Generally workers prefer security of job. They may not prefer jobs with higher wages or salaries which do not carry security of job. They want certain stability about future income and work so that they may become complacent and work with a greater zeal.
(ii) Status : Status refers to rank, authority, recognition, and prestige related to the job. It is concerned with social status of a person satisfying egoistic needs. This can be done by way of giving various facilities or by offering higher rank in the organisation to get this non-financial incentive. A person will have to show certain achievements or desired performance to move to a higher status which motivates employees having self-esteem and self actualisation need active in them.
(iii) Organisational Climate : These are the characteristics which describe an organisation. The characteristics have direct influence over the behaviour of a member. A positive approach adopted by a manager creates better organisational climate whereas negative approach may spoil the climate.
(iv) Career Advancement Opportunities : When employees are provided promotional opportunities they improve their skills and efficiency with the hope that they will be promoted to the higher level. Appropriate skill development programmes and sound promotion policy help achieve promotions. Promotion works as a tonic or a big stimulator which induces people to exhibit their best performance.
(v) Job Enrichment : It is concerned with motivating employees by providing greater variety of work content to them which requires higher level of knowledge and skills. It is to give more autonomy and responsibility and provide with the opportunity of personal growth and with a meaningful work experience.
(vi) Employee Recognition Programmes : It includes motivating employees by acknowledging their work with appreciation, e.g., congratulating employee for a good performance. (vii) Employee Participation : It means involving employees in decision making of the issues related to them.
(viii) Employee Empowerment : It means giving more autonomy and powers to subordinates to make them feel that their existence is important in the organisation.

Question. Explain the concept of leadership and its various styles.
Answer:
(i) Autocratic Leadership or Authoritarian Leadership : The autocratic leadership style allows managers to make decisions alone without the input of others. Managers possess total authority and impose their will on the employees. No one challenges the decisions of autocratic leaders. An autocratic leader centralizes power and decision-making in himself. He gives orders, assigns tasks and duties without consulting the employees.
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 organisational interests.
(ii) Democratic Leadership or Participative Leadership : Participative or Democratic Leaders decentralise authority. It is characterised by consultation with the subordinates and their participation in the formulation of plans and policies. He encourages people participation in decision-making process.
(iii) Laissez faire or free-rein leadership : The laissez faire or non-interfering type of leader passes on the responsibility for decision-making to his subordinates and takes a minimum of initiative in the administration. He gives no direction and allows the group to establish its own goals and work out its own problems. The leader plays only a minor role. His idea is that each member of the group when left to himself will put forth his best effort and the maximum results can be achieved in this way.

Question. What is meant by ‘Motivation’? Explain Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of motivation.
Answer: Meaning of Motivation : Motivation refers to a process of stimulating and inspiring people at the work to contribute to the best of their capability for the achievement of organisational objectives. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs : In order to motivate employees, management has to have knowledge of various types of human needs and the incentives which may be used to satisfy these needs.
A.H. Maslow had classified all human needs into different categories. In the order of their priority, these were arranged by him. This arrangement is known as the Hierarchy of Needs.
(i) Physiological needs : These needs are essential for human survival and include need for food, air, shelter, water, sleep, etc.
(ii) Security or safety needs : These are the needs for physical safety as well as economic security which include safety of person and property.
(iii) Social needs : These are needs for belongingness, friendship, love, affection, attention and social acceptance.
(iv) Esteem needs : Esteem needs of an employee refer to those needs, satisfaction of which leads to self-confidence and prestige. These needs include self-respect, autonomy, status, recognition, etc.
(v) Self actualisation needs : This is the need to be what one is capable of becoming, when a person has realised his full potential, his perception of his own self has been transformed into reality.

Question. State any five semantic barriers to communication in an organisation. 
OR
Explain any five semantic barriers to communica-tion.
Answer: Semantic Barriers to Communication :
(i) Badly expressed message in which the intended meaning may not be conveyed on account of inadequate vocabulary, usage of wrong words, omission of needed words, etc.
(ii) Symbols with different meanings where a word may have several meanings and receiver has to perceive one such meaning for the word used by
communicator.
(iii) Faulty translations where the communication drafted in one language is not properly translated in a language understandable by the workers.
(iv) Unclarified assumptions where communication may have certain assumptions which are subject to different interpretations.
(v) Technical jargons where the specialists use them to explain something to persons who are not specialists in the concerned field, as a result of which, it is not understood clearly by the receiver.
(vi) Body language and gesture decoding becomes a barrier when there is no match between what is said and what is expressed in body movements.

Question. ‘The organisations which are keen on developing effective communication, should adopt suitable measures to overcome the barriers to communication and improve communication effectiveness.’ Suggest and explain any such five measures.
Answer: Measures to overcome communication barriers :
(i) Clarify the ideas before communicating.
(ii) Communicate according to the needs of the receiver.
(iii) Consult others before communicating.
(iv) Be aware of the language, tone and content of the message.
(v) Convey things of help and value to listeners.
(vi) Ensure proper feedback.
(vii) Communicate for present as well as for future.
(viii) Follow up communications.
(ix) Be a good listener.

Question. Explain any five points of importance of ‘Directing Function’ of the management.
OR
State the importance of directing function of management.
Answer: (i) Initiates action : Directing helps people to initiate action in the organisation towards attainment of desired objectives. For example, if a supervisor guides his subordinates and clarifies their doubts in performing a task, it will help the worker to achieve work targets given to him.
(ii) Integrates employees’ efforts : Directing integrates employees’ efforts in the organisation in such a way that every individual effort contributes to the organisational performance. Thus, it ensures that the individuals work for organisational goals. For example, a manager with good leadership abilities will be in a position to convince the employees working under him that individual efforts and team effort will lead to the achievement of organisational goals.
(iii) Guides employees to realise their potential : Directing guides employees to fully realise their potential and capabilities by motivating and providing effective leadership. A good leader can always identify the potential of his employees and motivate them to extract work up to their full potential.
(iv) Facilitates changes : Directing facilitates introduction of needed changes in the organisation. Generally, people have a tendency to resist changes in the organisation. Effective directing through motivation, communication and leadership helps to reduce such resistance and develop required cooperation in introducing changes in the organisation. For example, if a manager wants to introduce new system of accounting, there may
be initial resistance from accounting staff. But, if manager explains the purpose, provides training and motivates with additional rewards, the employees may accept change and co-operate with the manager.
(v) Brings stability and balance in the organisation : Effective directing helps to bring stability and balance in the organisation since it fosters co-operation and commitment among the employees and helps in achieving balance among various groups, activities and the departments.

Question. Give the meaning of motivation and state any four features of motivation.
Answer: Meaning of Motivation : Motivation may be defined as the set of forces inspiring a person to intensify his willingness to work for the achievement of certain objectives. Motivation is something that puts a person into action and continues him in that course of action enthusiastically. Features of Motivation are :
(i) Motivation is an Internal Feeling : The urges, drives, desires, aspirations, strivings or needs of human beings which are internal, influence human behaviour. For example, people may have different urges like possessing a car, flat, AC, etc. It may be noted that urges are internal to an individual.
(ii) Motivation produces Goal-directed Behaviour : Motivation induces people to behave in such a manner that they can achieve their goals. For example, if a person has strong desire to get a promotion, he will work efficiently to achieve his goal.
(iii) Motivation is a Complex Process : Individuals are heterogeneous in their expectations, perceptions and reactions. A technique of motivation may not have a uniform effect on all the people. Some are motivated by financial incentives while others prefer non-financial incentives like recognition, well-furnished office, etc. (iv) Motivation is a Continuous Process : Human beings are wanting animals. Their needs are unlimited and keep on changing continuously. Satisfaction of one need gives rise to another. So, the managers have to continuously perform the function of motivation.

Question. Explain how directing helps in effective and efficient functioning of the organisation.
OR
Identify the function of management which refers to the process of guiding, instructing, counselling, motivating and leading people in the organisation to achieve objectives. Explain the importance of this function of management. 
OR
Every action in the organisation is initiated through directing only. In the light of this statement, explain any four points of importance of directing.
OR
What is meant by ‘Directing’ as a function of management? Describe any four points of its importance.
Answer: Directing : Directing is the process of instructing, guiding, controlling, motivating and leading people in the organisation to achieve its objectives. It is concerned with influencing the behaviour of human resources. Importance of Directing :
(i) Integrated group activity : The organisational goals can be achieved only when individual efforts are integrated.
Directing integrates employees’ efforts in such a way that every individual effort contributes to the organisational performance.
(ii) Helps to implement changes : An organisation operates in a changing environment. A proper system of direction helps in motivating employees to take up challenges in new situations. Directing helps the organisation to become dynamic and responsive to the new developments.
(iii) Initiates action : Direction sets an organisation into motion. Through directing, other managerial functions are initiated and activated. Directing helps the management to supervise, communicate, lead and motivate people at work to function in the desired way for achieving organisational goals.
(iv) Directing attempts to get maximum out of the individuals : Every employee has the potential and capacity, which needs to be harnessed by the superiors. By using elements of direction, i.e., Supervision, Motivation, Leadership and Communication, the efficiency of employees can be raised through wilful co-operation.
(v) Brings stability and balance in the organisation : Directing fosters co-operation and commitment among the employees and helps to achieve stability and balance among various groups, activities and the departments.

Question. Tel India Ltd. is an IT company having 1,200 employees. All its employees take things easy and are free to approach any one for minor queries and problems. Because of this the operations of the company are disturbed and its revenue has declined. Everyone is seen talking to each other resulting in inefficiency in its offices. It has also resulted in loss of secrecy and confidential information being leaked out. Explain the measures that the manager should adopt to improve communication system of Tel India Ltd.’.
Answer: Measures to overcome communication barriers:
(i) Clarify the ideas before communicating.
(ii) Communicate according to the needs of the receiver.
(iii) Convey things of help and value to listeners.
(iv) Ensure proper feedback.
(v) Follow up communications.
(vi) Be a good listener.

Question. Describe personal barriers to effective communication.
OR
Explain any four personal barriers to effective communication.
Answer: The personal barriers are as follows :
(i) Lack of proper incentives : When there is no motivation or incentive for communication, subordinates may not take initiative to communicate.
(ii) Unwillingness to communicate : Sometimes, the subordinates are not willing to communicate with their superiors because they believe that if information is not correct, it will adversely affect them.
(iii) Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates : Communication process is hampered when superiors do not have faith or confidence on the competencies of their subordinates. In such cases, superior may not seek advice or opinion of the subordinates.
(iv) Fear of challenge to authority : A superior always aims to maintain a higher position and prestige in the organisation. If he fears that a particular communication may adversely affect his authority, then he may withhold such communication.

Question. Describe psychological barriers to effective communication.
 OR
Explain any four psychological barriers to effective communication. 
Answer: Some of the psychological barriers are as follows :
(i) Premature evaluation : Some people have a tendency to form a judgment before listening the entire message. This is known as premature evaluation. This type of evaluation distorts understanding and acts as a barrier to the effective communication.
(ii) Lack of attention : Inadequate attention to the message makes communication less effective and the message is likely to be misunderstood. Inadequate attention may arise due to the pre-occupied mind of receiver and the result is non-listening of the message.
(iii) Loss by transmission and poor retention : When communication passes through various levels in the organisation, it results in loss of or transmission of inaccurate information. Loss of communication is more in case of oral communication. Poor retention is another problem. Usually, people cannot retain the information for a long time if they are inattentive or not interested.
(iv) Distrust : Lack of mutual trust between the sender and the receiver acts as a barrier to effective communication. When the parties do not believe each other, they cannot understand each other’s message in its original sense.

Question. Communication originally drafted in English has been poorly translated in Hindi. Name the type of barrier to effective communication and explain any other five barriers of this type.
Answer: The type of barrier in this case is Semantic Barrier (Faulty Translation). Some other semantic barriers are :
(i) Unclear Message : Lack of clarity and precision in a message makes it badly expressed. When language of the message is vague, imprecise or there is use of wrong words or omission of needed words, then communication becomes ineffective as intended meaning is not conveyed.
(ii) Faulty Translations : Sometimes messages are in a language, which may not be clearly understandable to the receiver. In such cases, it becomes necessary to translate the message into a known language. If the translator is not proficient in translation, it may act as a barrier in communication.
(iii) Technical jargons : Many specialists or experts make use of technical jargons (terminology) to communicate message, which may not be understood by the receiver. It leads to poor communication.
(iv) Symbols with different meaning : The same word or symbol may carry different meanings to different people and convey different meanings under different circumstances.
(v) Unclarified assumptions : Sometimes the receiver may misinterpret the assumptions drawing different meaning from what sender wants to communicate. For example, senior may instruct the subordinate to take care of the goods. He may mean that take care of the quality of goods whereas workers may understand that he is instructing to keep the goods safely.
(vi) Body language and gesture decoding : Along with verbal communication another important mode of communication is body language and gestures shown by person who is talking. If the verbal communication is not matching with the body language then workers may get confused and misunderstand the meaning.

Question. Effective communication should adopt suitable measures to overcome the barriers of communication. Explain any four such measures. 
OR
The barriers to effective communication exist in all organisations to a greater or less degree. State any six measures to overcome these barriers. 
Answer: Measures to overcome communication barriers are :
(i) Simple language : The sender of the message should use simple language and commonly known words. It is better for sender to use that language which is known to the receiver.
(ii) Clarify the idea before communication : The entire problem or message to be communicated by sender should be studied in depth and stated in such a manner that is clearly conveyed to subordinate or receiver.
(iii) Consult others before communication : It is better to involve subordinates (receivers) to get acceptance or willing co-operation from them, before actually communicating the message.
(iv) Ensure proper feedback : The communication is said to be successful when desired feedback is received by the sender. So, the receiver should be encouraged to respond and to be more responsive regarding the message sent.
(v) Communicate for present as well as future : Generally commitment is done to meet present needs and commitment. But to maintain consistency, the communication should aim at future goals of the organisation also.
(vi) Follow up communication : There should be regular follow up and review of the information/instructions given to the subordinate (receiver). Such follow up helps in removing hurdles in implementing the instructions.
(vii) Communicate according to the needs of the re-ceiver : Manager should adjust his communication according to the education and understanding level of the subordinates.
(viii) Be careful about language and content of message : The content of the message, tone, language and manner in which the message is to be communicated are some important aspects of effective communication. The language should be understandable to the receiver.
(ix) Convey things of help and value to the listeners : While conveying message to others, it is better to know the interest and needs of the people with whom you are communicating.

Question. Explain any four organisational barriers to effective communication.
Answer: Some of the organisational barriers are as follows :
(i) Organisational facilities : Facilities like frequent meetings, conferences, suggestion box, complaint box, social and cultural gatherings, etc. will encourage free and timely flow of communication.
(ii) Complexity in the organisation structure : The effectiveness of communication largely depends upon the nature of the organisation structure. Ifthe structure involves large number of managerial levels, communication gets delayed and distorted due to large number of filtering points.
(iii) Status : Status and relationship create psychological distance between superior and his subordinates and stand in the way of true and accurate communication. A status conscious manager also may not allow his subordinates to express their feelings freely.
(iv) Rules and regulations : Rigid rules and regulations adversely affect the process of communication. By prescribing the subject-matter to be communicated and the channel through which these are to be communicated, rules and regulations create a hurdle to the communication process.
(v) Organisational policy : If the organisational policy, explicit or implicit, is not supportive to free flow of communication, it may hamper effectiveness of the communication.