Q.14. Which things a leader should avoid?
Ans. A leader should avoid such common practices as the following:
(1) Dependence upon superiority: -
Some people take advantage of their superior position; they believe that their orders should be obeyed simply because “I am the boss.” A successful leader does not have to depend upon his superior position. Rather, his superior position will be recognized, and his merit as a leader is based upon his actions.
(2) Simulation of knowledge: -
Subordinates are quick to estimate the ability of a superior. Thus a wise leader will not try to make believe that he knows more than he really does. An effective leader is one who has the technical knowledge required by his job; subordinates will look up to such a leader. Sometimes they actually know more about the specific work they perform than the superior, for he is not expected to know all the intricacies of every job.
(3) Interference with work: -
A leader delegates work to his subordinates. Once this his been done, within reasonable limits he should allow the subordinate to finish the job by himself. Interference on his part is often resented; furthermore, it causes distraction. A leader must not interfere with the smooth flow of the work done by his subordinates unless he wants to curtail production.
(4) Favoritism and discrimination: -
The leader, as an individual, will probably like some of his subordinates more than others. However, in the work situation he cannot allow personal likes and dislikes to influence the distribution of work or to interfere with discipline.
(5) Public reprimands: -
A subordinate must maintain his self-respect, especially in the eyes of his fellow workers. Just as children should never be punished in the presence of their friends, so employees who are subject to disciplinary action should be told about it in private. A public reprimand often serves only to lower the position of the subordinate. The superior should not even raise his voice when talking to a specific individual in group.
(6) Pettiness: -
Subordinates expect a leader to be magnanimous. Harping on trivialities, continually going over minor details, and demonstrating in other ways that he does not respect the subordinates’s ability often prevents a superior from maintaining harmonious relations.
(7) Conflicting orders: -
A leader must remember the orders he has issued. A subordinate is often confused when the leader, failing to remember a previous order; directs him to do something just the opposite. He is usually too embarrassed to call these conflicting orders to the leader’s attention, but he usually decides that the leader does not know what he is doing. In some organizations lines of authority are not clear-cut, with the result that two people with equal status knowingly or unknowingly issue directly opposing orders. Such a situation can be avoided by establishing clear lines of authority.
(8) Superfluous orders: -
An effective leader is one who issues few orders rather than a great number. Unless orders are within the scope of his authority, can be clearly understood, and are possible to carry out, they will not be obeyed. Too many orders not only tend to undermine that leader’s authority, but also create insecurity in the employee and prevent the exercise of a healthy independence on his part. An effective leader does not find it necessary to issue many orders.
Q.15. Write short note on communication in organization.
Ans. Communication In Organizations: -
Communication is one of the most basic processes in organizations. Indeed, any type of cooperative enterprise would seem to require communication in some form, even if it is some type of nonverbal communication system. The task of studying the characteristics of real-life communication patterns, system procedures, etc., in any large-scale organization can be an exceedingly difficult and complex task. There are a number of techniques which have been used for studying organizational communication-each with this won peculiar advantages and its own share of disadvantages.
“Living-in” Procedure: -
As the name implies the experimenter become an observer who actually joins and attempts to become part of the organization under study. He tries to establish himself as an accepted member of the group so that his presence will not be perceived as an “alien” outside influence which could itself have a biasing influence on the behavior of the system under study. While the method has merit, it is obviously very time-consuming. Days, weeks, and even months may be required before the group members become adapted and at ease in the presence of the observer, and, therefore, begin to behave as if he were not there.
Indirect Analysis: -
This method studies communication by using other, more easily observed measures as a base, and then inferring from them how much communication takes place between various organizational units. For example, one approach is simply to obtain measures (using logs or self-reports) of how much time various units spend with each other. If one then makes the assumption that those units which spend the most time together also communicate the most together, one can develop a picture of the communication structure of the organization. Unfortunately, these indirect measures provide little insight into the content of the information itself.
Duty Study: -
In the duty study method, the experimenter or observer selects a particular spot or location in the network and station himself there to observe all communications which flow past this particular point. In this method a great deal of information can be obtained about the content, quality and quantity of information at any selected point, but one gets no information about the overall pattern of information flow in the organization.
Cross-Section Analysis: -
Cross-section analysis is in a sense the opposite technique from duty study. This method, at a given moment in time, draws a sample of communications from points throughout the entire organization. Thus, at 10:15 A.M. the experimental team might walk into the situation and collect and/or record all communication taking place at that moment. By doing this a number of times at unexpected intervals, a random sample of communications may be obtained which would provide an overall picture of the communication pattern and also provide some indication of the type and content of information flow at each point in the system.
Ecco Analysis: -
The term ECCO is an abbreviation for “episodic communication channels in organization.” This method was first proposed by Davis. It is simple in that it focuses on a particular piece of information and watches it progress throughout the entire organization until it reaches its terminal point. The information can be experimentally inserted at any point and subsequently followed, or one can observe regular information units that are part of the daily routine. The advantage of this method is that not only does it provide information about the communication pattern, but it also gives information about time delays, points of blockage, etc.
