Business Leadership

Management essentials

Personality is defined as a combination of characteristics that distinguish individuals from others.

Various personality traits and characteristics can enhance workplace productivity.

The document recommends reading an article on how personality determines the right job fit and taking the Myers Briggs Tests from specific websites to assess and compare individual personality types accurately.

Employee Motivation

The driving force that compels individuals to take action towards achieving their goals within the work environment.

Intrinsic Motivation

Internal factors that motivate individuals, such as personal satisfaction, enjoyment of the task, or a sense of accomplishment.

Extrinsic Motivation

External factors that drive individuals to perform, such as rewards, recognition, or incentives provided by others.

Reward Systems

Mechanisms put in place by organizations to recognize and reward employees for their performance and achievements, aiming to motivate and retain talent.

Organizational Structuring

The way in which an organization arranges its hierarchy, roles, and reporting relationships to facilitate efficient operations and employee motivation.

Role Design

The process of defining and structuring job roles within an organization to align with employee skills, interests, and organizational goals.

Performance-Contingent Rewards

Rewards that are allocated based on an individual's performance, encouraging employees to strive for higher levels of achievement.

Self-Awareness

The ability to recognize and understand one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which can impact motivation levels and drive towards success.

Intrinsic Rewards

Valued outcomes that naturally occur as a person engages in a task, contributing to their motivation and satisfaction.

Extrinsic Rewards

Valued outcomes provided to individuals by others as a form of recognition or incentive, influencing motivation and performance.

Types of Motivational Theories

Content theories

help managers to understand human needs and how people with different needs may respond to different work situations

Process theories

help managers to understand how people give meaning to rewards and then respond with various work-related behaviors

Reinforcement theory

help managers understand the environment as a major source of rewards and how people’s behavior is influenced by these environmental consequences

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

Developed by Abraham Maslow, it categorizes human needs into a hierarchical structure:

1. Physiological Needs

most basic needs required for human survival, such as food, water, air, shelter, and sleep. Without satisfying these needs, individuals cannot function optimally. Once these needs are met, individuals can move on to fulfilling higher-level needs.

2. Safety Needs

Once physiological needs are met, individuals seek safety and security. This includes physical safety, financial security, health, and protection from danger. Fulfillment of safety needs provides stability and reduces anxiety, allowing individuals to focus on higher-order needs.

3. Love and Belongingness Needs

After satisfying safety needs, people crave social connection, love, and a sense of belonging. This involves forming meaningful relationships, friendships, family connections, and feeling accepted within a community or group. Fulfillment of these needs fosters emotional well-being and provides support networks.

4. Esteem Needs

With social belonging established, individuals seek self-esteem and esteem from others. This includes feelings of accomplishment, recognition, respect, and appreciation. Esteem needs can be fulfilled through personal achievements, status, and recognition by others.

5. Self-Actualization Needs

At the top of the hierarchy are self-actualization needs, representing the desire for personal growth, fulfillment of potential, and self-fulfillment. This involves pursuing personal interests, creativity, autonomy, and realizing one's full potential. Self-actualized individuals are characterized by a sense of purpose, morality, creativity, and a holistic view of life.

Maslow's theory suggests that as lower-level needs are satisfied, individuals become motivated to fulfill higher-level needs.

Acquired Needs Theory by David McClelland:

McClelland proposes that people develop needs through life experiences, measured by the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).

Three primary acquired needs identified:

Need for Achievement (nAch)

Desire to excel, solve problems, and master tasks. Seek regular feedback and prefer working alone or with other high achievers.

Need for Affiliation (nAff)

Desire to establish and maintain friendly relations, conform to group norms, and excel in customer service roles.

Need for Power (nPow)

Desire to control or influence others' behavior. Includes personal (self-serving) and social/institutional (organizational goals) power.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT):

McClelland used this test to measure acquired needs by analyzing participants' responses to ambiguous images.

ERG Theory by Clayton Alderfer:

ERG theory is an extension of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, proposed by Clayton Alderfer. Alderfer condensed Maslow's five hierarchical needs into three categories:

Existence Needs

Corresponding to Maslow's physiological and safety needs, such as food, shelter, and security.

Relatedness Needs

Reflecting the need for interpersonal relationships, social interaction, and affiliation.

Growth Needs

Similar to Maslow's esteem and self-actualization needs, focusing on personal development, achievement, and self-fulfillment.

Unlike Maslow's hierarchy, Alderfer's theory allows for the simultaneous pursuit of multiple needs and acknowledges that frustration of higher-level needs may cause individuals to regress to lower-level needs.

Two-factor Theory by Frederick Herzberg:

Also known as the Motivation-Hygiene Theory, Herzberg's Two-factor Theory distinguishes between motivational factors and hygiene factors.

Motivational factors are related to the job content and intrinsic aspects of work, such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, and opportunities for growth.

Hygiene factors are extrinsic to the job and include aspects of the work environment, such as salary, working conditions, company policies, and interpersonal relationships.

The presence of hygiene factors prevents job dissatisfaction, but their absence does not necessarily lead to job satisfaction. The presence of motivational factors leads to job satisfaction and motivation. Their absence = dissatisfaction

Prolonged dissatisfaction at work can have significant negative impacts on one's life. Assess whether they are in the right job by considering factors such as job compatibility with personality, and it highlights the significance of personality tests in the recruitment process.

It explains the "Big Five" personality traits – conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience – and how they influence job satisfaction and performance.

Ch - 2 - Communication

Communication

An interpersonal process of sending & receiving symbols with messages attached to them.

The key elements of the communication process :

Sender

Message

Communication channel

Receiver

Interpreted meaning

Feedback

Effective Communication

Occurs when the intended meaning of the sender is identical to the interpreted meaning of the receiver.

Efficient Communication

Occurs at a minimum resource cost; to convey a message in the least amount of time.

Sources of Noise in Communication

Poor choice of channels

Poor Written or oral expression

Failure to recognize non-verbal signals

Physical distractions.

Channel Selection

The capacity of a communication channel to effectively carry information.

Managers need to choose a channel with appropriate richness for the communication.

Richness of communication Channel

Low Richness

→→→→

→ →

→→→→→→

→→→→

→→→→

High Richness

Interpersonal

Postings

Memo

Email

Telephone

Face to face

Personal

One way

E-Bulletins

Letters

Text/Message

Instant

meeting

Two way

Fast

Reports

Voicemail

messaging

Video call

Slow

Written Channels work for