DIRECTING

PRESENTED BY RAKESH V
 MEANING & DEFINITION

 Out of all 5 functions in a management, Directing plays a major role.

 DIRECTING is said to be a process in which the managers instruct, guide and oversee the
performance of the workers to achieve predetermined goals.
 In simple words, it can be described as providing guidance to workers in doing work.
 Planning, Organizing and Staffing have got no importance if direction function does not
take place.
 Directing consists of process or technique by which instruction can be issued and
operations can be carried out as originally planned.
 Therefore, Directing is the function of guiding, inspiring, overseeing and instructing
people towards accomplishment of organizational goals.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF DIRECTING

 Pervasive Function - Directing is required at all levels of organization. Every manager provides guidance and
inspiration to his subordinates.
 Continuous Activity - Direction is a continuous activity as it continuous throughout the life of organization.
 Human Factor - Directing function is related to subordinates and therefore it is related to human factor.
Since human factor is complex and behavior is unpredictable, direction function becomes important.
 Creative Activity - Direction function helps in converting plans into performance. Without this function,
people become inactive and physical resources are meaningless.
 Executive Function - Direction function is carried out by all managers and executives at all levels throughout
the working of an enterprise, a subordinate receives instructions from his superior only.
 Delegate Function - Direction is supposed to be a function dealing with human beings. Human behavior is
unpredictable by nature and conditioning the people’s behavior towards the goals of the enterprise is what
the executive does in this function. Therefore, it is termed as having delicacy in it to tackle human behavior.
ELEMENTS OF DIRECTING
 SUPERVISION

 Supervision: It refers to monitor the progress of routine

work of one’s subordinates and guiding them properly.
Supervision is an important element of the directing
function of management. Supervision has an important
feature that face-to-face contact between the supervisor
and his subordinate is a must.
 According to Terry and Franklin, “Supervision denotes
guiding and directing efforts of employees and other
resources to accomplish stated work outputs.”
 LEADERSHIP

 Leadership: It refers to influence others in a manner to do

what the leader wants them to do. Leadership plays an
important role in directing. Only through this quality, a
manager can inculcate trust and zeal among his
subordinates.
 According to Koontz and O'Donnell, "Leadership is an
ability of the manager to induce subordinates to work with
confidence and zeal”
 MOTIVATION

 Motivation: It refers to that process which excites people

to work for attainment of the desired objective. Among
the various factors of production, it is only the human
factor which is dynamic and provides mobility to other
physical resources.
 According to Koontz and O’Donnell, ‘’Motivation is a
general term applied to various classes of drives, desires,
needs, wishes and similar forces that induce an
individual or a group to work’’
 COMMUNICATION

 Communication: It refers to an art of transferring

facts, ideas, feeling, etc. from one person to another
and making him understand them. A manager has
to continuously tell his subordinates about what to
do, how to do, and when to do various things.
Communication by developing mutual
understanding inculcates a sense of cooperation
which builds an environment of coordination in the
organization.
 According to Newman and Summer,
‘’Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas,
opinions or emotions by two or more persons’’
 IMPORTANCE OF DIRECTING

 Direction function is said to be the heart of management process and therefore, is the
central point around which accomplishment of goals take place.
 It Initiates Actions - Direction is the function which is the starting point of the work
performance of subordinates. It is from this function the action takes place, subordinates
understand their jobs and do according to the instructions laid. Whatever are plans laid, can
be implemented only once the actual work starts. It is there that direction becomes
beneficial.
 It Initiates Efforts - Through direction, the superiors are able to guide, inspire and instruct the
subordinates to work. For this, efforts of every individual towards accomplishment of goals
are required. It is through direction the efforts of every department can be related and
integrated with others. This can be done through persuasive leadership and effective
communication. Integration of efforts bring effectiveness and stability in a concern.
 Means of Motivation - Direction function helps in achievement of goals. A manager makes use of the element
of motivation here to improve the performances of subordinates. This can be done by providing incentives or
compensation, whether monetary or non - monetary, which serves as a “Morale booster” to the subordinates
Motivation is also helpful for the subordinates to give the best of their abilities which ultimately helps in growth.
 It Provides Stability - Stability and balance in concern becomes very important for long term sun survival in the
market. This can be brought upon by the managers with the help of four tools or elements of direction function
- judicious blend of persuasive leadership, effective communication, strict supervision and efficient motivation.
Stability is very important since that is an index of growth of an enterprise. Therefore a manager can use of all
the four traits in him so that performance standards can be maintained.
 Coping up with the changes - It is a human behaviour that human beings show resistance to change.
Adaptability with changing environment helps in sustaining planned growth and becoming a market leader. It
is directing function which is of use to meet with changes in environment, both internal as external. Effective
communication helps in coping up with the changes. It is the role of manager here to communicate the
nature and contents of changes very clearly to the subordinates. This helps in clarifications, easy adaptions
and smooth running of an enterprise.
 Efficient Utilization of Resources - Direction finance helps in clarifying the role of every subordinate towards his
work. The resources can be utilized properly only when less of wastages, duplication of efforts, overlapping of
performances, etc. doesn’t take place. Through direction, the role of subordinates become clear as manager
makes use of his supervisory, the guidance, the instructions and motivation skill to inspire the subordinates. This
helps in maximum possible utilization of resources of men, machine, materials and money which helps in
reducing costs and increasing profits.
 CONCLUSION

 From the above discussion, one can justify that direction, surely, is the heart of management
process.
 Heart plays an important role in a human body as it serves the function pumping blood to all parts
of body which makes the parts function. In the similar manner, direction helps the subordinates to
perform in best of their abilities and that too in a healthy environment.
 The manager makes use of the four elements of direction here so that work can be accomplished in
a proper and right manner.
 According to Earnest Dale, “Directing is what has to be done and in what manner through dictating
the procedures and policies for accomplishing performance standards”.
 Therefore, it is rightly said that direction is essence of management process.