Managerial Grid Theory
Both tasks and people can be the focus of a leader’s orientation. Both task and person orientation are common applications of Blake and Mouton’s (1978) approach. This notion contends that the highest and most balanced care for people and tasks is what makes a leader effective. Depending on his orientation, each leader can be ranked somewhere along each of the axes from 1 to 9, as shown in Figure.
Even though there are 81 possible combinations, you should try to comprehend the five types represented in the diagram. These will provide you with a fundamental knowledge of the theory, which you can use to inform your other combinations.
- The job or output is what the (9.1) leader is most focused on. He is worried about upholding his duty to see that the job is finished. As a Task-Management Leader, he is known.
- The (1.9) leader is just incidentally concerned with output and is mostly focused on people. The leader’s major responsibility is establishing harmonious relationships among subordinates and providing a secure and pleasant work atmosphere. He is called a Country Club Management leader.
- The (1.1) leader is not interested in either people or productivity. He tries to keep out of the way and avoid becoming engaged in the struggle between the need for production and fostering a positive working environment. He is called an Impoverish Management leader.
- The (5.5) leader reflects a middle-ground position and is called a Middle Road Management leader. He aims to strike a balance between high output and staff satisfaction.
- The (9.9) leader is highly concerned about the task and the people. He worries that the execution of the work is due to dedicated individuals; interdependence through a “common stake” in the organization; and purpose, which results in a relationship of trust and respect. He is known as a leader in Team Management.
Motivation as a Directing Force
Two management techniques that are thought to improve employee behavior and attitude are employee motivation and job enrichment. To utilize available human resources more efficiently and thus make man-management more effective.
What is motivation?
Motivation implies inciting someone to act or move. It refers to desirably performing a subordinate act in an industrial setting. Obviously “desired” implies desired in the interests of the organization or employer. It implies not only that the subordinate should act in a disciplined manner, but also that he should act efficiently and productively. To motivate, therefore, is to induce, persuade, stimulate, or even compel (as when fear becomes the motivator) an employee to act in a manner that may help attain an organizational objective. This may be a limited view. Motivation comprises all the internal urges which are described as desires, wishes, drives, etc, which make a person strive to do a thing. Motivation is what makes people do things. In the USA it is commonly described as “making John Run”. According to Webster, the word “motivate” is to provide someone with a reason or incentive to act. It may be a need, idea, emotion, or organic state that may prompt one to action or work. It is not a manipulation issue.
Motivation and Incentives
Incentives and motivation might not be the same thing. In incentives, we generally expect greater output with the same inputs, while motivation may involve some more inputs considered necessary for changing the work, attitude, and behavior. Again, incentives may not motivate all, particularly those employees whose physical needs are already satisfied. Higher earners could continue to be unsatisfied and irritated since their jobs and working environments do not encourage a person to work hard and provide his best effort. To motivate means really to produce a goal-oriented behavior, which may not be made possible by the mere provision of incentives with the object of higher earnings and higher output.
Need and Importance
The need and importance of motivation are too obvious to need any detailed discussion. The effectiveness of an organization’s personnel is crucial to its survival and expansion, and each employee’s effectiveness is largely determined by his or her skill and motivation to work. The first is determined by the quality of education, training, and experience that he has acquired. Even if there is any deficiency in the same, it can be made good by arranging further training and developing facilities for him. The second factor, i.e. willingness to work, is more difficult to manage as it involves a change in behavior and attitude of a person towards work, or motivating him to work in a desired manner and give overall better performance. A motivated workforce is essential for efficient working and optimum productivity, and thus for attaining organizational objectives. The importance of motivation in personnel management can hardly be better seen than the fact that after planning and organizing, motivation is the third important function of a personnel manager. To make any managerial decision meaningful, it is necessary to convert it into an effective action which the manager can accomplish by motivating his subordinates. Almost all of the interpersonal issues a manager encounters within the company have motivating components. Every aspect of the personnel function is pervasively endowed with motivational attributes. The personnel manager therefore should incorporate the principles and concept of motivation into his philosophy of management. By understanding and applying them himself, he can influence others to attain a better or positive motivation.
Some common assumptions about motivation
- It is a prevalent belief that non-supervisory employees in an organization, such as rank-and-file workers, require motivation more than managerial and supervisory staff. The truth is that these later individuals must first be inspired before they can inspire other employees and subordinates on the factory floor. How can a demotivated manager or boss inspire the people who work for him?
- Motivation and higher productivity go together. Overall, this may be the case, but productivity and individual or collective motivation at work, such as that found in unions, may not be correlated in the same way.
- The staff, managers, and other line executives, who have direct influence over and take work away from those behind them, are responsible for designing and implementing all motivational strategies. The latter are more concerned as seeing the persons under them work most efficiently is their primary function. They can better grasp their concerns and needs because they are in closer contact with their employees. If necessary they can take the advice of the personnel man, industrial psychologist, or consultant.
- Standard theories of motivation developed by psychologists will also apply to industrial situations. Most of these concepts and theories have been developed by studying human materials other than industrial personnel. Therefore, applying them to the latter may not be successful or yield reliable results.