Unit – 4

Management of Human at Work

Human Resource Development
The field of HRD or Human Resource Development encompasses several aspects of
enabling and empowering human resources in organization. Whereas earlier HRD was
denoted as managing people in organizations with emphasis on payroll, training and
other functions that were designed to keep employees happy, the current line of
management thought focuses on empowering and enabling them to become employees
capable of fulfilling their aspirations and actualizing their potential.

This shift in the way human resources are treated has come about due to the prevailing
notion that human resources are sources of competitive advantage and not merely
employees fulfilling their job responsibilities. The point here is that the current
paradigm in HRD treats employees as value creators and assets based on the RBV or the
Resource Based View of the firm that has emerged in the SHRM (Strategic Human
Resource Management) field.

The field of HRD spans several functions across the organization starting with employee
recruitment and training, appraisals and payroll and extending to the recreational and
motivational aspects of employee development.

Indeed, one reason for the emergence of the RBV or the SHRM paradigm is that with the
advent of the service sector and the greater proportion of companies in the service
sector, employees are not merely a factor of production like land, labour and capital but
in fact, they are sources of competitive advantage. This is characterized by many CEO’s
calling employees their chief assets and valuing their contribution accordingly. As a
matter of fact, many IT and Financial Services companies routinely refer to employees
as the value creators and value enhancers rather than just resources doing their job.

What this has meant is that the field of HRD has become prominent and important for
organizations and has morphed into a function that takes its place among other support
functions in organizations and indeed, it is the main driver of competitive advantage.

Further, the field of HRD now has taken on a role that goes beyond employee
satisfaction and instead, the focus now is on ensuring that employees are delighted with
the working conditions and perform their jobs according to their latent potential which
is brought to the fore. This has resulted in the HRD manager and the employees of the
HRD department becoming partners in the organization’s progress instead of just yet
another line function. Further, the HR managers now routinely interact with the
functional managers and the people managers to ensure high levels of job satisfaction
and fulfilment. The category of people managers is a role that has been created in many
multinational companies like Fidelity and IBM to specifically look into the personality
related aspects of employees and to ensure that they bring the best to the table.

Finally, HRD is no longer just about payroll or timekeeping and leave tracking. On the
other hand, directors of HRD in companies like Infosys are much sought after for their
inputs into the whole range of activities spanning the function and they are expected to
add value rather than just consume resources. With this introduction, we will be moving
into the module covering HRD with each aspect of the HRD function and the associated
topics being covered here. It is hoped that the readers would gain an overall perspective
about HRD after going through the HRD module.

Motivating Individuals and Workgroups

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

 desire for money

 success
 recognition
 job-satisfaction
 team work, etc

Importance of Motivation

Motivation is a very important for an organization because of the following benefits it

provides:

1. Puts human resources into action

Every concern requires physical, financial and human resources to accomplish the
goals. It is through motivation that the human resources can be utilized by making
full use of it. This can be done by building willingness in employees to work. This
will help the enterprise in securing best possible utilization of resources.

2. Improves level of efficiency of employees

The level of a subordinate or a employee does not only depend upon his
qualifications and abilities. For getting best of his work performance, the gap
between ability and willingness has to be filled which helps in improving the level
of performance of subordinates. This will result into-

a. Increase in productivity,
b. Reducing cost of operations, and
c. Improving overall efficiency.
3. Leads to achievement of organizational goals

The goals of an enterprise can be achieved only when the following factors take place :-

a. There is best possible utilization of resources,

b. There is a co-operative work environment,
c. The employees are goal-directed and they act in a purposive manner,
 d. Goals can be achieved if co-ordination and co-operation takes place
simultaneously which can be effectively done through motivation.
4. Builds friendly relationship

Motivation is an important factor which brings employees satisfaction. This can be

done by keeping into mind and framing an incentive plan for the benefit of the
employees. This could initiate the following things:

a. Monetary and non-monetary incentives,

b. Promotion opportunities for employees,
c. Disincentives for inefficient employees.

In order to build a cordial, friendly atmosphere in a concern, the above steps should be
taken by a manager. This would help in:

a. Effective co-operation which brings stability,

b. Industrial dispute and unrest in employees will reduce,
c. The employees will be adaptable to the changes and there will be no resistance to
the change,
d. This will help in providing a smooth and sound concern in which individual
interests will coincide with the organizational interests,
e. This will result in profit maximization through increased productivity.

i. Leads to stability of work force

Stability of workforce is very important from the point of view of reputation and
goodwill of a concern. The employees can remain loyal to the enterprise only
when they have a feeling of participation in the management. The skills and
efficiency of employees will always be of advantage to employees as well as
employees. This will lead to a good public image in the market which will attract
competent and qualified people into a concern. As it is said, “Old is gold” which
suffices with the role of motivation here, the older the people, more the experience
and their adjustment into a concern which can be of benefit to the enterprise.

From the above discussion, we can say that motivation is an internal feeling which can
be understood only by manager since he is in close contact with the employees. Needs,
wants and desires are inter-related and they are the driving force to act. These needs
can be understood by the manager and he can frame motivation plans accordingly. We
can say that motivation therefore is a continuous process since motivation process is
based on needs which are unlimited. The process has to be continued throughout.

We can summarize by saying that motivation is important both to an individual and a

business. Motivation is important to an individual as:

1. Motivation will help him achieve his personal goals.

2. If an individual is motivated, he will have job satisfaction.
3. Motivation will help in self-development of individual.
4. An individual would always gain by working with a dynamic team.

Similarly, motivation is important to a business as:

1. The more motivated the employees are, the more empowered the team is.
2. The more is the team work and individual employee contribution, more
profitable and successful is the business.
3. During period of amendments, there will be more adaptability and creativity.
4. Motivation will lead to an optimistic and challenging attitude at work place.

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

the employees to perform in the best of their abilities. Therefore the role of a leader is to
arouse interest in performance of employees in their jobs. The process of motivation
consists of three stages:-

1. A felt need or drive

2. A stimulus in which needs have to be aroused
3. When needs are satisfied, the satisfaction or accomplishment of goals.

Therefore, we can say that motivation is a psychological phenomenon which means

needs and wants of the individuals have to be tackled by framing an incentive plan.

Team Motivation

A group heading towards a common objective will perform best when it is motivated as
a team. Team motivation is determined by how well the team members’ needs and
requirements are met by the team.

Some tips for effective team motivation are as follows:

The team’s objective should well align and synchronize with the team members
needs and requirements.

Give in written the team’s mission and ensure that all understand it (as mission is a
foundation based on which the team performs).

For maintaining motivation, the team should be given challenges (which must be
difficult but achievable) consistently.

Giving a team responsibility accompanied by authority can also be a good motivator

for the team to perform.
 The team should be provided with growth opportunities. The team’s motivation
level is high when the team members feel that they are being promoted, their skills and
competencies are being enhanced, and they are learning new things consistently.

Effective and true leaders can develop environment for the team to motivate itself.
They provide spur for self- actualization behaviours of team members.

Devote quality/productive time to your team. Have an optimistic and good relation
with your team members. This will make you more acquainted with them and you can
get knowledge of how well they are performing their job. Welcome their views and
ideas as they may be fruitful and it will also boost their morale.

Motivation is all about empowerment. The skills and competencies of the team
members should be fully utilized. Empowering the team members makes them
accountable for their own actions.

Provide feedback to the team consistently. Become their mentor. Give the team
recognition for good and outstanding performance. Give the team a constructive and
not negative feedback.

Discover and offset the factors which discourage team spirit such as too many
conflicts, lethargy, team members’ escape from responsibilities, lack of job satisfaction,
etc.

ERG Theory of Motivation

To bring Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of motivation in synchronization with
empirical research, Clayton Alderfer redefined it in his own terms. His rework is called
as ERG theory of motivation. He recategorized Maslow’s hierarchy of needs into three
simpler and broader classes of needs:

 Existence needs- These include need for basic material necessities. In short, it

includes an individual’s physiological and physical safety needs.
 Relatedness needs- These include the aspiration individual’s have for
maintaining significant interpersonal relationships (be it with family, peers or
superiors), getting public fame and recognition. Maslow’s social needs and
external component of esteem needs fall under this class of need.
 Growth needs- These include need for self-development and personal growth
and advancement. Maslow’s self-actualization needs and intrinsic component of
esteem needs fall under this category of need.
The significance of the three classes of needs may vary for each individual.

Difference between Maslow Need Hierarchy Theory and Alderfer’s ERG Theory

ERG Theory states that at a given point of time, more than one need may be
operational.

ERG Theory also shows that if the fulfillment of a higher-level need is subdued,
there is an increase in desire for satisfying a lower-level need.

According to Maslow, an individual remains at a particular need level until that need
is satisfied. While according to ERG theory, if a higher- level need aggravates, an
individual may revert to increase the satisfaction of a lower- level need. This is called
frustration- regression aspect of ERG theory. For instance- when growth need
aggravates, then an individual might be motivated to accomplish the relatedness need
and if there are issues in accomplishing relatedness needs, then he might be motivated
by the existence needs. Thus, frustration/aggravation can result in regression to a
lower-level need.

While Maslow’s need hierarchy theory is rigid as it assumes that the needs follow a
specific and orderly hierarchy and unless a lower-level need is satisfied, an individual
cannot proceed to the higher-level need; ERG Theory of motivation is very flexible as he
perceived the needs as a range/variety rather than perceiving them as a hierarchy.
According to Alderfer, an individual can work on growth needs even if his existence or
relatedness needs remain unsatisfied. Thus, he gives explanation to the issue of
“starving artist” who can struggle for growth even if he is hungry.

Implications of the ERG Theory

Managers must understand that an employee has various needs that must be satisfied at
the same time. According to the ERG theory, if the manager concentrates solely on one
need at a time, this will not effectively motivate the employee. Also, the frustration-
regression aspect of ERG Theory has an added effect on workplace motivation. For
instance- if an employee is not provided with growth and advancement opportunities in
an organization, he might revert to the relatedness need such as socializing needs and to
meet those socializing needs, if the environment or circumstances do not permit, he
might revert to the need for money to fulfill those socializing needs. The sooner the
manager realizes and discovers this, the more immediate steps they will take to fulfill
those needs which are frustrated until such time that the employee can again pursue
growth.

Theory X and Theory Y

In 1960, Douglas McGregor formulated Theory X and Theory Y suggesting two aspects
of human behaviour at work, or in other words, two different views of individuals
(employees): one of which is negative, called as Theory X and the other is positive, so
called as Theory Y. According to McGregor, the perception of managers on the nature of
individuals is based on various assumptions.

Assumptions of Theory X

 An average employee intrinsically does not like work and tries to escape it
whenever possible.
 Since the employee does not want to work, he must be persuaded, compelled, or
warned with punishment so as to achieve organizational goals. A close
supervision is required on part of managers. The managers adopt a more
dictatorial style.
 Many employees rank job security on top, and they have little or no aspiration/
ambition.
 Employees generally dislike responsibilities.
 Employees resist change.
 An average employee needs formal direction.

Assumptions of Theory Y

 Employees can perceive their job as relaxing and normal. They exercise their
physical and mental efforts in an inherent manner in their jobs.
 Employees may not require only threat, external control and coercion to work,
but they can use self-direction and self-control if they are dedicated and sincere
to achieve the organizational objectives.
 If the job is rewarding and satisfying, then it will result in employees’ loyalty and
commitment to organization.
 An average employee can learn to admit and recognize the responsibility. In fact,
he can even learn to obtain responsibility.
 The employees have skills and capabilities. Their logical capabilities should be
fully utilized. In other words, the creativity, resourcefulness and innovative
potentiality of the employees can be utilized to solve organizational problems.

Thus, we can say that Theory X presents a pessimistic view of employees’ nature and
behaviour at work, while Theory Y presents an optimistic view of the employees’ nature
and behaviour at work. If correlate it with Maslow’s theory, we can say that Theory X is
based on the assumption that the employees emphasize on the physiological needs and
the safety needs; while Theory X is based on the assumption that the social needs,
esteem needs and the self-actualization needs dominate the employees.
McGregor views Theory Y to be more valid and reasonable than Theory X. Thus, he
encouraged cordial team relations, responsible and stimulating jobs, and participation
of all in decision-making process.

Implications of Theory X and Theory Y

Quite a few organizations use Theory X today. Theory X encourages use of tight
control and supervision. It implies that employees are reluctant to organizational
changes. Thus, it does not encourage innovation.

Many organizations are using Theory Y techniques. Theory Y implies that the
managers should create and encourage a work environment which provides
opportunities to employees to take initiative and self-direction. Employees should be
given opportunities to contribute to organizational well-being. Theory Y encourages
decentralization of authority, teamwork and participative decision making in an
organization. Theory Y searches and discovers the ways in which an employee can
make significant contributions in an organization. It harmonizes and matches
employees’ needs and aspirations with organizational needs and aspirations.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Abraham Maslow is well renowned for proposing the Hierarchy of Needs Theory in
1943. This theory is a classical depiction of human motivation. This theory is based on
the assumption that there is a hierarchy of five needs within each individual. The
urgency of these needs varies. These five needs are as follows-

1. Physiological needs- These are the basic needs of air, water, food, clothing and
shelter. In other words, physiological needs are the needs for basic amenities of
life.
2. Safety needs-Safety needs include physical, environmental and emotional safety
and protection. For instance- Job security, financial security, protection from
animals, family security, health security, etc.
3. Social needs-Social needs include the need for love, affection, care,
belongingness, and friendship.
4. Esteem needs-Esteem needs are of two types: internal esteem needs (self-
respect, confidence, competence, achievement and freedom) and external esteem
needs (recognition, power, status, attention and admiration).
5. Self-actualization need- This include the urge to become what you are capable of
becoming / what you have the potential to become. It includes the need for
growth and self-contentment. It also includes desire for gaining more knowledge,
social- service, creativity and being aesthetic. The self- actualization needs are
never fully satiable. As an individual grows psychologically, opportunities keep
cropping up to continue growing.

According to Maslow, individuals are motivated by unsatisfied needs. As each of these

needs is significantly satisfied, it drives and forces the next need to emerge. Maslow
grouped the five needs into two categories - Higher-order needs and Lower-order
needs. The physiological and the safety needs constituted the lower-order needs. These
lower-order needs are mainly satisfied externally. The social, esteem, and self-
actualization needs constituted the higher-order needs. These higher-order needs are
generally satisfied internally, i.e., within an individual. Thus, we can conclude that
during boom period, the employees lower-order needs are significantly met.

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

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

 
FIGURE: Herzberg’s view of satisfaction and dissatisfaction
Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories-

a. Hygiene factors- Hygiene factors are those job factors which are essential for
existence of motivation at workplace. These do not lead to positive satisfaction
for long-term. But if these factors are absent / if these factors are non-existant at
workplace, then they lead to dissatisfaction. In other words, hygiene factors are
those factors which when adequate/reasonable in a job, pacify the employees
and do not make them dissatisfied. These factors are extrinsic to work. Hygiene
factors are also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance factors as they are required
to avoid dissatisfaction. These factors describe the job environment/scenario.
The hygiene factors symbolized the physiological needs which the individuals
wanted and expected to be fulfilled. Hygiene factors include:
 Pay - The pay or salary structure should be appropriate and reasonable. It
must be equal and competitive to those in the same industry in the same domain.
 Company Policies and administrative policies - The company policies
should not be too rigid. They should be fair and clear. It should include flexible
working hours, dress code, breaks, vacation, etc.
 Fringe benefits - The employees should be offered health care plans
(mediclaim), benefits for the family members, employee help programmes, etc.
 Physical Working conditions - The working conditions should be safe,
clean and hygienic. The work equipments should be updated and well-
maintained.
 Status - The employees’ status within the organization should be familiar
and retained.
 Interpersonal relations - The relationship of the employees with his peers,
superiors and subordinates should be appropriate and acceptable. There should
be no conflict or humiliation element present.
 Job Security - The organization must provide job security to the
employees.
b. Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be
regarded as motivators. The motivational factors yield positive satisfaction.
These factors are inherent to work. These factors motivate the employees for a
superior performance. These factors are called satisfiers. These are factors
involved in performing the job. Employees find these factors intrinsically
rewarding. The motivators symbolized the psychological needs that were
perceived as an additional benefit. Motivational factors include:
 Recognition - The employees should be praised and recognized for their
accomplishments by the managers.
 Sense of achievement - The employees must have a sense of achievement.
This depends on the job. There must be a fruit of some sort in the job.
 Growth and promotional opportunities - There must be growth and
advancement opportunities in an organization to motivate the employees
to perform well.
 Responsibility - The employees must hold themselves responsible for the
work. The managers should give them ownership of the work. They
should minimize control but retain accountability.
 Meaningfulness of the work - The work itself should be meaningful,
interesting and challenging for the employee to perform and to get
motivated.
Limitations of Two-Factor Theory
The two factor theory is not free from limitations:

1. The two-factor theory overlooks situational variables.

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

Implications of Two-Factor Theory

The Two-Factor theory implies that the managers must stress upon guaranteeing
the adequacy of the hygiene factors to avoid employee dissatisfaction. Also, the
managers must make sure that the work is stimulating and rewarding so that the
employees are motivated to work and perform harder and better. This theory
emphasize upon job-enrichment so as to motivate the employees. The job must utilize
the employee’s skills and competencies to the maximum. Focusing on the motivational
factors can improve work-quality.

Leadership

Leadership is a process by which an executive can direct, guide and influence the
behavior and work of others towards accomplishment of specific goals in a given
situation. Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce the subordinates to work with
confidence and zeal.

Leadership is the potential to influence behaviour of others. It is also defined as the

capacity to influence a group towards the realization of a goal. Leaders are required to
develop future visions, and to motivate the organizational members to want to achieve
the visions.

According to Keith Davis, “Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined
objectives enthusiastically. It is the human factor which binds a group together and
motivates it towards goals.”

Characteristics of Leadership

1. It is a inter-personal process in which a manager is into influencing and guiding

workers towards attainment of goals.
 2. It denotes a few qualities to be present in a person which includes intelligence,
maturity and personality.
3. It is a group process. It involves two or more people interacting with each other.
4. A leader is involved in shaping and moulding the behaviour of the group towards
accomplishment of organizational goals.
5. Leadership is situation bound. There is no best style of leadership. It all depends
upon tackling with the situations.
6. Importance of Leadership
7. Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximize
efficiency and to achieve organizational goals. The following points justify the
importance of leadership in a concern.
8. Initiates action- Leader is a person who starts the work by communicating the
policies and plans to the subordinates from where the work actually starts.
9. Motivation- A leader proves to be playing an incentive role in the concern’s
working. He motivates the employees with economic and non-economic rewards
and thereby gets the work from the subordinates.
10. Providing guidance- A leader has to not only supervise but also play a guiding
role for the subordinates. Guidance here means instructing the subordinates the
way they have to perform their work effectively and efficiently.
11. Creating confidence- Confidence is an important factor which can be achieved
through expressing the work efforts to the subordinates, explaining them clearly
their role and giving them guidelines to achieve the goals effectively. It is also
important to hear the employees with regards to their complaints and problems.
12. Building morale- Morale denotes willing co-operation of the employees towards
their work and getting them into confidence and winning their trust. A leader can
be a morale booster by achieving full co-operation so that they perform with best
of their abilities as they work to achieve goals.
13. Builds work environment- Management is getting things done from people. An
efficient work environment helps in sound and stable growth. Therefore, human
relations should be kept into mind by a leader. He should have personal contacts
with employees and should listen to their problems and solve them. He should
treat employees on humanitarian terms.
14. Co-ordination- Co-ordination can be achieved through reconciling personal
interests with organizational goals. This synchronization can be achieved
through proper and effective co-ordination which should be primary motive of a
leader.

Role of a Leader

Following are the main roles of a leader in an organization :

1. Required at all levels- Leadership is a function which is important at all levels of

management. In the top level, it is important for getting co-operation in
formulation of plans and policies. In the middle and lower level, it is required for
interpretation and execution of plans and programmes framed by the top
management. Leadership can be exercised through guidance and counseling of
the subordinates at the time of execution of plans.
2. Representative of the organization- A leader, i.e., a manager is said to be the
representative of the enterprise. He has to represent the concern at seminars,
 conferences, general meetings, etc. His role is to communicate the rationale of
the enterprise to outside public. He is also representative of the own department
which he leads.
3. Integrates and reconciles the personal goals with organizational goals- A leader
through leadership traits helps in reconciling/ integrating the personal goals of
the employees with the organizational goals. He is trying to co-ordinate the
efforts of people towards a common purpose and thereby achieves objectives.
This can be done only if he can influence and get willing co-operation and urge to
accomplish the objectives.
4. He solicits support- A leader is a manager and besides that he is a person who
entertains and invites support and co-operation of subordinates. This he can do
by his personality, intelligence, maturity and experience which can provide him
positive result. In this regard, a leader has to invite suggestions and if possible
implement them into plans and programmes of enterprise. This way, he can
solicit full support of employees which results in willingness to work and
thereby effectiveness in running of a concern.
5. As a friend, philosopher and guide- A leader must possess the three dimensional
traits in him. He can be a friend by sharing the feelings, opinions and desires with
the employees. He can be a philosopher by utilizing his intelligence and
experience and thereby guiding the employees as and when time requires. He
can be a guide by supervising and communicating the employees the plans and
policies of top management and secure their co-operation to achieve the goals of
a concern. At times he can also play the role of a counselor by counseling and a
problem-solving approach. He can listen to the problems of the employees and
try to solve them.

Qualities of a Leader
A leader has got multidimensional traits in him which makes him appealing and
effective in behavior. The following are the requisites to be present in a good leader:

1. Physical appearance- A leader must have a pleasing appearance. Physique and

health are very important for a good leader.
2. Vision and foresight- A leader cannot maintain influence unless he exhibits that
he is forward looking. He has to visualize situations and thereby has to frame
logical programmes.
3. Intelligence- A leader should be intelligent enough to examine problems and
difficult situations. He should be analytical who weighs pros and cons and then
summarizes the situation. Therefore, a positive bent of mind and mature outlook
is very important.
4. Communicative skills- A leader must be able to communicate the policies and
procedures clearly, precisely and effectively. This can be helpful in persuasion
and stimulation.
5. Objective- A leader has to be having a fair outlook which is free from bias and
which does not reflects his willingness towards a particular individual. He should
develop his own opinion and should base his judgement on facts and logic.
6. Knowledge of work- A leader should be very precisely knowing the nature of
work of his subordinates because it is then he can win the trust and confidence of
his subordinates.
 7. Sense of responsibility- Responsibility and accountability towards an individual’s
work is very important to bring a sense of influence. A leader must have a sense
of responsibility towards organizational goals because only then he can get
maximum of capabilities exploited in a real sense. For this, he has to motivate
himself and arouse and urge to give best of his abilities. Only then he can
motivate the subordinates to the best.
8. Self-confidence and will-power- Confidence in himself is important to earn the
confidence of the subordinates. He should be trustworthy and should handle the
situations with full will power. (You can read more about Self-Confidence at : Self
Confidence - Tips to be Confident and Eliminate Your Apprehensions).
9. Humanist-This trait to be present in a leader is essential because he deals with
human beings and is in personal contact with them. He has to handle the
personal problems of his subordinates with great care and attention. Therefore,
treating the human beings on humanitarian grounds is essential for building a
congenial environment.
10. Empathy- It is an old adage “Stepping into the shoes of others”. This is very
important because fair judgement and objectivity comes only then. A leader
should understand the problems and complaints of employees and should also
have a complete view of the needs and aspirations of the employees. This helps
in improving human relations and personal contacts with the employees.

From the above qualities present in a leader, one can understand the scope of
leadership and it’s importance for scope of business. A leader cannot have all traits at
one time. But a few of them helps in achieving effective results.

Team Building
What is a team ?

A team is a group of individuals, all working together for a common purpose. The
individuals comprising a team ideally should have common goals, common objectives
and more or less think on the same lines. Individuals who are not compatible with each
other can never form a team. They should have similar if not the same interests, thought
processes, attitude, perception and likings.

Difference between Group and Team

A group is not necessarily a team. A group can have individuals with varied interests,
attitude as well as thought processes. It is not necessary that the group members would
have a common objective or a common goal to achieve.

What happens in a political rally? The political leader appeals to the individuals to cast
the votes in his favour only. Do you think all of them would cast the votes in favour of
the leader? There would always be some individuals who would support his opponent.
This is example of a group. All individuals gathered on a common platform but had
dissimilar interests and likings. Some were in favour of the leader while some against.

A team must have individuals with a common objective to achieve. They should all work
together and strive towards the achievement of a common goal.

Team members
The team members must complement each other. All team members should help each
other and work in unison. Personal interests must take a back seat and all of them must
deliver their level best to achieve the team objective. Team members must not argue
among themselves or underestimate the other member.

Organizations have a sales team, administration team, human resources team operation
team and so on. All the members of the sales team would work together to achieve the
sales target and generate revenues for the organization.

Team Size

The team size depends on the complexity of the task to be accomplished. Ideally a team
should consist of 7-10 members. Too many members also lead to confusions and
misunderstandings.

It is not always that we require a team. Teams should be formed when the task is a little
complicated. A single brain can sometimes not take all critical decisions alone, thus a
team is formed where the team members contribute equally making the task easy. A
team can actually create wonders if all the team members work in unison.

Team Management - Meaning and Concept

There are some tasks which can’t be done alone. Individuals need to come together,
discuss things among themselves and work together towards the realization of a
common goal. The individuals forming a team should ideally think more or less on the
same lines and should have similar interests and objective. People with absolutely
different tastes can’t form a team. Their goals have to be the same. Every team is formed
to achieve a predefined goal and it is the responsibility of each and every member to
contribute his level best and accomplish the assigned task within the stipulated time
frame. The team members must complement each other and come to each other’s help
whenever required. Individual performances do not matter much in a team and every
individual should strive hard and work in unison.

The team members don’t start performing from the very beginning, they need time. It is
not always that all the members would perform equally. Some of them might not get
along well with their team mates or have other issues with each other. Individuals
sometimes find it difficult to adjust with each other and as a result their performance
suffers. Any individual fails to perform; the complete team is at loss. Team management
activities ensure that all the team members work together on a common platform for a
common goal.

Team Management
Team management refers to the various activities which bind a team together by
bringing the team members closer to achieve the set targets. For the team members,
their team must be their priority and everything else should take a back seat. They
should be very focused on their goals.

Let us understand Team Management with the help of a real life situation.
Maria was representing the training and development vertical of a leading firm. Joe,
Kathy, Sandra and Tim were reporting to Maria and helped her in designing the various
training programs. Maria left no stone unturned to ensure that all her team members
were satisfied with their job responsibilities. The workload was shared equally among
four of them. Ideas were discussed on an open forum and each of them contributed to
his level best. They went out for movies and stayed in touch even after work.

Maria being the team leader was actually responsible for bringing her team members
closer so that none of them feels left out and all are motivated to deliver their level best.
With the help of the team management activities, she managed to create a positive
ambience at the workplace and promoted healthy competition in her team.

Importance of Team Building

Employees are the assets of every organization and its success is directly proportional
to the hard work every employee puts in. Individuals must work in a little different and
smarter way than the others and always feel motivated to give their best. Effort by a
single team member goes unnoticed and every team member should contribute equally.
Individuals must be aware what his fellow team members are working on and what he
is supposed to do.

Team work and Team Building are essential in corporates to make the organization a
better place to work.

One does not gain anything out of unnecessary conflicts. You can’t afford to fight with
your colleague who sits next to you probably for 7-8 hours, five days a week. We are not
machines or battery operated devices, we are human beings and we need people to talk
to and discuss various things. One cannot implement things on his own, he needs
individuals who can work as critics and evaluate the pros and cons of his concepts.

Team Building activities bring employees closer and one feels happy to go to work daily.
Individuals start enjoying their work and feel fresh the entire day.

Team Building activities also reduce the chances of confusions, misunderstandings and
in a way making the communication effective. Individual is very clear about his goals
and objectives and what exactly is expected from him.

Team Building exercises also increase the trust factor among the employees. If you are
sitting next to a driver, whom you don’t trust, you will always feel uncomfortable and
will never be able to enjoy the ride. If you don’t trust your teacher, you can never learn
anything from him. You need to trust people. Don’t always assume that your fellow
employee will speak ill about you in front of your superiors. Trust him, you will feel
relaxed.

The productivity increases when individuals work as a team. They tend to divide work
among themselves and hence the objectives are achieved at a much faster pace. People
take less leaves and concentrate more on their work and eventually the organization
benefits.
Individuals feel more positive and confident at work. Stress disappears and it reflects on
their work. Chances of mistakes reduce and people stop cribbing and blaming others.
There is positivity all around. Allow team members to express themselves freely.

Being a “Hitler” at work will never give you extra points, instead you will find yourself in
the bad books of other employees. No one will come to you, when you actually need
them. People will be hesitant to support you and you can’t perform with enemies all
around. Gone are the days when the word “boss” meant a terror to the employees. Now
a days the team leader is also a part of a single team, just with some additional
responsibilities. Learn to respect your colleagues.

Building an Effective Team

Having goals or a clear purpose is important to each of us. In fact, people who set goals
are always more successful than the others.

For leaders who are serious about setting goals, some things are to be kept in mind.
These goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and with Timelines.
Besides, for any organization, goals should also be expressed positively. And for a team,
goals need to be personalized for each member of the team. All these goals should be
put in writing, where you as well as the team can see them often.

Once you sit down with your team and set some goals, it can be very useful to develop
some kind of action plan for accomplishing that goal.

 Informality as well as Participation: In order to build an effective team, the

climate has to be informal, comfortable, as well as relaxed. There should be no
tension or any signs of boredom. Teams enjoy getting together, they interact
easily. There should be lots of good-natured kidding and laughter. Have seating
arrangements in order to facilitate this. A circle is the best seating arrangement
usually, while a typical classroom arrangement is the worst.
 Listening: A highly efficient team has team members who use effective listening
techniques. These include questioning, paraphrasing, as well as summarizing in
order to get out ideas. Listening is the most effective factor that distinguishes
effective teams from ineffective teams. This is a highly important subject which
needs to be discussed in detail in another article.

The ability to really listen is a highly important skill. Each team member has to
have it. Listening lets you understand what the other person is saying. Besides, it
shows the other person that you’re interested in what he/she has to say. But all
of us experience common listening problems.

We tend to let our attention wander. Our mind drifts away. We start thinking
about the time, or other tasks at hand. This way we lose our concentration.

We miss the real point of what is being said. We may end up focusing on the
personality of the speaker. Else we may let our judgment of the person based on
past experiences come in the way. Or, we may be trying hard to look for hidden
messages and lose out on the crux of the conversation.
 Our emotions interfere with our judgment. This takes away our focus from what
is being said. Our judgment of the person interferes with our understanding of
what is being said.

We tend to interrupt and step on the statements of others. This way we don’t
listen to what is being said. Besides, there is a tendency to think ahead to what
we want to say next and miss out on what’s being said right now. It is important
to use the steps of active listening in order to be a good listener.

There are many facets of building an effective team. Having an informal atmosphere as
well as listening skills are some of them.

Managerial Communication - Meaning and Important Concepts

Why do individuals need to communicate with each other?

Information if not shared is of no use. Communication plays a pivotal role in information

sharing. Individuals working together in the same organization need to speak to each
other to keep themselves abreast with the latest developments in the organization.

It is practically not possible for an individual to do everything on his own. He needs a

medium which helps him discuss various ideas and evaluate pros and cons of proposed
strategies with people around. Here comes the role of communication.

What is Managerial Communication?

Managerial communication is a function which helps managers communicate with each

other as well as with employees within the organization.

Communication helps in the transfer of information from one party also called the
sender to the other party called the receiver.

Managerial Communication helps in the smooth flow of information among managers

working towards a common goal. The message has to be clear and well understood in
effective communication.

The team members should know what their manager or team leader intends to
communicate.

Effective managerial communication enables the information to flow in its desired form
among managers, team leaders and their respective teams.

Managerial communication is of the following two types:

Interpersonal Communication - Interpersonal communication generally takes place

between two or more individuals at the workplace.

Organizational Communication - Communication taking place at all levels in the

organization refers to organizational communication.

Ways of Managerial Communication

A successful manager is one who communicates effectively with his subordinates. It is
really essential for managers to express their views clearly for the team members to
understand what exactly is expected out of them.

Usually there are two ways managers communicate amongst themselves and with their
subordinates:

Verbal Communication

Communication done with the help of words is called as verbal communication. No

written records are available in verbal communication.

In verbal communication individuals need to be very careful about their speech. What
they speak and how they speak matter a lot. Managers must choose the right words to
address their team members. Make sure you do not confuse your team members.

One has to be loud and clear while interacting with employees at the workplace. Be very
clear and precise.

Written Communication

Communication is also done through emails, letters, manuals, notices and so on. Such
mode of communication where written records are available is often called written
communication.

Managers must inculcate a practice of communicating through emails with their juniors
as it is the one of the most reliable modes of communication. It is essential for the
managers to master the art of writing emails. Avoid using capitals, bright colours,
designer font styles in official mails. Make sure your signatures are correct.

Body Language

Managers must also take special care of their body language, facial expressions, gestures
for effective communication.

A manager who always has a frown on his face is generally not liked and respected by
people. Being a Boss does not mean you need to shout at people. Be warm and friendly
with your team members.

Organizational Communication

Organizational Communication is of the following two types:

Formal Communication

Communication which follows hierarchy at the workplace is called as formal

communication. Employees communicate formally with each other to get work done
within the desired time frame.

Informal Communication
Employees also communicate with each other just to know what is happening around.
Such type of communication is called as informal communication and it has nothing to
do with designation of individuals, level in the hierarchy and so on.

Direction of Communication Flow

Upward Communication

Flow of information from employees to managers is called upward communication.

Upward communication takes place when employees share their views with their
managers on their nature of work, job responsibilities and how they feel about the
organization on the whole.

Downward Communication

Downward communication takes place when information flows from managers to the
subordinates.

Managers often give orders and directions to their subordinates as to what to do and
how to do various tasks. Such type of communication is called downward
communication.

Barriers to Effective Managerial Communication

Managers need to interact with each other as well as with their team members on a
regular basis not only to get things done effectively but also to ensure peace at the
workplace.

Effective communication at all levels within an organization helps resolve problems

within the desired time frame.

Let us go through various barriers to effective managerial communication at the

workplace:

 Partiality and workplace politics are the major barriers to effective

communication at the workplace.
 Managers must not be partial to any of their team members. It is considered
strictly unprofessional. Each employee should be treated as one. Do not ignore
any of your team members just because you do not like him. A good manager is
one who is impartial to all. Managers have a tendency to communicate with
individuals who are their friends or say a yes to whatever they say. This indeed is
a wrong practice. You must speak to all your team members and address their
queries. Problems and misunderstandings arise when there is lack of
communication and employees feel ignored.
 As responsible managers one must stay away from nasty politics at workplace.
Politics leads to negativity all around and increases stress levels of employees.
Do not believe rumours and prefer speaking to employees directly rather than
finding out from others.
 Listen carefully what the other person has to say before jumping to conclusions.
Being a patient listener helps improve managerial communication. Do not
interrupt while the other person is speaking. One needs to very careful about his
 choice of words. Managers must ensure their speech makes sense and well
understood by people around.
 Do not address your team members just for the sake of it. Take care of your pitch
and tone. For effective managerial communication, one should be neither too
loud nor too soft. Make sure you are audible to all. Address employees in a noise
free zone. Noise is one of biggest barriers to effective communication.
 Employees fail to understand the speaker“s message and eventually dilute the
meaning of effective communication. Do not address employees during lunch
hours or when they are about to leave for the day. Employees are absolutely in a
different frame of mind and fail to understand what the speaker intends to
communicate. Organizations must have board rooms or conference rooms where
employees come on a common platform and communicate effectively without
disturbances.
 Prefer not to interact verbally. In verbal communication, employees tend to
forget what was communicated to them a month ago. Managers must promote
communication through emails at the workplace. Do not mark separate mails to
team members. Mark a cc to all related employees. The emails need to be self
explanatory and employees must be able to understand as to what is expected
out of them. Emails must not be rude and ought to have a proper subject line.
 Do not communicate separately with your team members as information might
not reach in its desired form. Transparency at all levels is essential for effective
managerial communication. Communicating through middle men is
unprofessional and affects communication.

Time Management - Meaning and its Importance

It is rightly said “Time and Tide wait for none”. An individual should understand the
value of time for him to succeed in all aspects of life. People who waste time are the ones
who fail to create an identity of their own.

What is Time Management?

 Time Management refers to managing time effectively so that the right time is
allocated to the right activity.
 Effective time management allows individuals to assign specific time slots to
activities as per their importance.
 Time Management refers to making the best use of time as time is always limited.

Ask yourself which activity is more important and how much time should be allocated
to the same? Know which work should be done earlier and which can be done a little
later.

Time Management plays a very important role not only in organizations but also in our
personal lives.

Time Management includes:

i. Effective Planning
ii. Setting goals and objectives
iii. Setting deadlines
iv. Delegation of responsibilities
v. Prioritizing activities as per their importance
vi. Spending the right time on the right activity

 Effective Planning

Plan your day well in advance. Prepare a To Do List or a “TASK PLAN”. Jot down
the important activities that need to be done in a single day against the time that
should be allocated to each activity. High Priority work should come on top
followed by those which do not need much of your importance at the moment.
Complete pending tasks one by one. Do not begin fresh work unless you have
finished your previous task. Tick the ones you have already completed. Ensure
you finish the tasks within the stipulated time frame.

 Setting Goals and Objectives

Working without goals and targets in an organization would be similar to a

situation where the captain of the ship loses his way in the sea. Yes, you would be
lost. Set targets for yourself and make sure they are realistic ones and achievable.

 Setting Deadlines

Set deadlines for yourself and strive hard to complete tasks ahead of the
deadlines. Do not wait for your superiors to ask you everytime. Learn to take
ownership of work. One person who can best set the deadlines is you yourself.
Ask yourself how much time needs to be devoted to a particular task and for how
many days. Use a planner to mark the important dates against the set deadlines.

 Delegation of Responsibilities

Learn to say “NO” at workplace. Don’t do everything on your own. There are
other people as well. One should not accept something which he knows is
difficult for him. The roles and responsibilities must be delegated as per interest
and specialization of employees for them to finish tasks within deadlines. A
person who does not have knowledge about something needs more time than
someone who knows the work well.

 Prioritizing Tasks

Prioritize the tasks as per their importance and urgency. Know the difference
between important and urgent work. Identify which tasks should be done within
a day, which all should be done within a month and so on. Tasks which are most
important should be done earlier.

 Spending the right time on right activity

Develop the habit of doing the right thing at the right time. Work done at the
wrong time is not of much use. Don’t waste a complete day on something which
can be done in an hour or so. Also keep some time separate for your personal
calls or checking updates on Facebook or Twitter. After all human being is not a
machine.
For Effective Time Management one needs to be:

Organized - Avoid keeping stacks of file and heaps of paper at your workstation. Throw
what all you don’t need. Put important documents in folders. Keep the files in their
respective drawers with labels on top of each file. It saves time which goes on
unnecessary searching.

Don’t misuse time - Do not kill time by loitering or gossiping around. Concentrate on
your work and finish assignments on time. Remember your organization is not paying
you for playing games on computer or peeping into other’s cubicles. First complete your
work and then do whatever you feel like doing. Don’t wait till the last moment.

Be Focussed - One needs to be focused for effective time management.

Develop the habit of using planners, organizers, table top calendars for better time
management. Set reminders on phones or your personal computers.

Time Management Techniques

Time management refers to the judicious use of time for achieving success in life. Time
Management helps an individual to make the best possible use of time. It is essential for
individuals to value time and allocate the right time to the right activity.

Let us go through some Time Management Techniques:

 Set your Priorities. Know what all needs to be done on an urgent basis. Prepare a
“TO DO” List or a “Task Plan” to jot down tasks you need to complete against the
time slot assigned to each activity. High Priority Tasks must be written on top
followed by tasks which can be done a little later. Make sure you stick to your
Task List.
 Make sure you finish your assignments within the stipulated time frame. Tick the
tasks you have already finished. Treat yourself with a chocolate if you finish your
assignments ahead of deadlines.
 Understand the difference between urgent and important work. Manage your
work well. Do not begin your day with something which is not so important and
can be done a little later. First finish off what all is urgent and important. Do not
wait for your Boss’s reminders.
 Stay focused. Do not leave your work station if some urgent work needs to be
done. Going for strolls in the middle of an urgent work breaks continuity and an
individual tends to loose his focus. Individuals who kill time at work find it
difficult to survive workplace stress.
 Do include time for your tea breaks, net surfing, personal calls and so on in your
daily schedule. It is important. Human being is not a machine who can work at a
stretch for eight to nine hours. Assign half an hour to fourty five minutes to check
updates on social networking sites, call your friends or family or go for smoke
breaks etc.
 Set realistic and achievable targets for yourself. Know what you need to achieve
and in what duration? Do not lie to yourself. Assigning one hour to a task which
you yourself know would require much more time does not make sense.
  Do not overburden yourself. Say a firm no to your boss if you feel you would not
be able to complete a certain assignment within the assigned deadline. Don’t
worry, he will not feel bad. Probably he can assign the same to any of your fellow
workers. Accept tasks which you are really confident about.
 Be disciplined and punctual. Avoid taking unnecessary leaves from work unless
there is an emergency. Reach work on time as it helps you to plan your day
better.
 Keep things at their proper places. Files must be kept at their respective drawers.
Staple important documents and put them in a proper folder. Learn to be a little
more organized. It will save your time which goes on unnecessary searching.
 Do not treat your organization as a mere source of money. Change your attitude.
Avoid playing games on computer or cell phones during office hours. It is
unprofessional. Do not work only when your boss is around. Taking ownership
of work pays you in the long run.
 Develop the habit of using an organizer. It helps you plan things better. Keep a
notepad and a pen handy. Do not write contact numbers or email ids on loose
papers. You will waste half of your time searching them. Manage your emails.
Create separate folders for each client. Do not clutter your desktop.

Effective Time Management at Workplace

Time Management refers to assigning specific time slots to activities as per their
importance and urgency in order to make the best possible use of time.

In a layman’s language Time Management is nothing but to manage time well and doing
things when they actually need to be done.

Every organization works on deadlines. An individual constantly needs to be on his toes

to finish off assignments within stipulated time frame. It is essential for employees to
understand the value of time for them to do well and make a mark of their own at the
workplace.

How to practice effective time management in organization?

 Know your targets well. Do not hesitate to speak to your Boss if targets are
unrealistic and unachievable within the allocated time slot. It is always better to
discuss things at the initial stages than cutting a sorry figure later on. Accept
tasks only when you are confident.
 There is absolutely no harm in discussing work with your fellow workers. You
can’t do almost everything on your own. Distribute work amongst your team
members. It is foolish to over burden yourself. One must share his work load
with others to finish assignments within the stipulated time frame. Know your
capabilities.
 Organize yourself. Be very careful about your files, important documents, visiting
cards, folders etc.Keep them at their proper places so that you do not waste half
of your time in searching them.
 Be loyal to your organization. Do not work only when your superiors are around.
Remember you are getting paid for your hard work. Concentrate on your own
work rather than loitering and gossiping around. Do not waste time by playing
games on computer or finding out what your fellow worker is up to.
  It is absolutely okay to call up family members or friends once in a while but
make sure you do not end up in long phone calls while at work. Phone calls and
messages are one of the biggest distractions at work.
 Plan your things well in advance. Do not work just for the sake of working. The
first thing an employee should do in the morning is to jot down what all tasks he
need to do in a single day against the time slot assigned to each task. Preparing a
Task Plan right at the start of the day always helps and provides you a sense of
direction at work. A “TO DO” List suggests you way forward. Tick off completed
assignments. Make sure you finish tasks within the assigned deadlines.
 Keep a notepad and pen handy. Avoid writing on loose papers. You will never
find them when you actually need something. Prefer using an organizer as it
helps you plan your work better.
 Eat only during lunch hours. Eating while working not only makes you feel
sleepy but also breaks continuity.
 Be punctual. Avoid taking frequent leaves from work unless it is an emergency.
Make it a habit to reach office on time.
 Do not keep things pending at your end. Escalate matters immediately which
need approval of higher authorities. Do not keep ignoring things. They would
create problems for you sooner or later.

Performance Appraisal

Performance Appraisal is the systematic evaluation of the performance of employees

and to understand the abilities of a person for further growth and development.
Performance appraisal is generally done in systematic ways which are as follows:

1. The supervisors measure the pay of employees and compare it with targets and
plans.
2. The supervisor analyses the factors behind work performances of employees.
3. The employers are in position to guide the employees for a better performance.

Objectives of Performance Appraisal

Performance Appraisal can be done with following objectives in mind:

1. To maintain records in order to determine compensation packages, wage

structure, salaries raises, etc.
2. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to place right men on right
job.
3. To maintain and assess the potential present in a person for further growth and
development.
4. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related
status.
5. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related
status.
6. It serves as a basis for influencing working habits of the employees.
7. To review and retain the promotional and other training programmes.
Advantages of Performance Appraisal

It is said that performance appraisal is an investment for the company which can be
justified by following advantages:

1. Promotion: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to chalk out the

promotion programmes for efficient employees. In this regards, inefficient
workers can be dismissed or demoted in case.
2. Compensation: Performance Appraisal helps in chalking out compensation
packages for employees. Merit rating is possible through performance appraisal.
Performance Appraisal tries to give worth to a performance. Compensation
packages which includes bonus, high salary rates, extra benefits, allowances and
pre-requisites are dependent on performance appraisal. The criteria should be
merit rather than seniority.
3. Employees Development: The systematic procedure of performance appraisal
helps the supervisors to frame training policies and programmes. It helps to
analyse strengths and weaknesses of employees so that new jobs can be designed
for efficient employees. It also helps in framing future development programmes.
4. Selection Validation: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to understand
the validity and importance of the selection procedure. The supervisors come to
know the validity and thereby the strengths and weaknesses of selection
procedure. Future changes in selection methods can be made in this regard.
5. Motivation: Performance appraisal serves as a motivation tool. Through
evaluating performance of employees, a person’s efficiency can be determined if
the targets are achieved. This very well motivates a person for better job and helps
him to improve his performance in the future.