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 demoralized 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 Sunita's behaviour and felt that her performance could be improved. She started involving Smita in decision making-issues related to the organization and made her a part of high level joint-management committee. Smita was now punctual in the office and her performance started improving.

(i) Identify the function of Management being performed by Rita.

(ii) Name the element of the above function of management which helped Rita to improve Smita's behaviour.

(iii) State any three features of the element identified in (ii) above.

Answer 1

(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.

Detailed Answer:

(a) Directing function of management is performed by Rita.

(b) Motivation helped Rita to improve Smita's behaviour.

(c) The features of motivation are as follows:

(i) Is an Inherent Feeling: Motivation is a feeling that is inherent to an employee. For instance, needs desires, wants and ambitions are internal to individuals and directly influence their behaviour towards their work in a certain manner.

(ii) Leads to a Goal-Oriented Behaviour: Motivation influences the behaviour of the employees and induces them to work efficiently towards the achievement of the goals of the Organisation.

(iii) Can be Both Positive and Negative: Positive motivations can take the form of rewards, incentives or promotions. On the other hand, negative motivations can be in the form of warnings of demotions. The kind of motivation to be followed depends on the needs and attitudes of the employee.

(iv) Complex Process: Motivation is a complex process as the individuals are heterogeneous in their expectations, perceptions and reactions, any one type of motivation may not have uniform effect on all the members.