ABHRHAN MASLOW MANAGEMENT

The psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a theory that suggests we, humans, are
motivated to satisfy five basic needs. These needs are arranged in a hierarchy. Maslow
suggests that we seek first to satisfy the lowest level of needs. Once this is done, we
seek to satisfy each higher level of need until we have satisfied all five needs.
While modern research shows some shortcomings with this theory, Maslows Hierarchy
of Needs Theory remains an important and simple motivation tool for managers to
understand and apply.
The Hierarchy of Needs is as follows:
1. Physiological Needs (basic issues of survival such as salary and stable employment)
2. Security Needs (stable physical and emotional environment issues such as benefits,
pension, safe work environment, and fair work practices)
3. Belongingness Needs (social acceptance issues such as friendship or cooperation
on the job)
4. Esteem Needs (positive self-image and respect and recognition issues such as job
titles, nice work spaces, and prestigious job assignments.)
5. Self-Actualization Needs (achievement issues such as workplace autonomy,
challenging work, and subject matter expert status on the job)
With Maslows theory, an employees beginning emphasis on the lower order needs of
physiology and security makes sense. Generally, a person beginning their career will be
very concerned with physiological needs such as adequate wages and stable income
and security needs such as benefits and a safe work environment. We all want a good
salary to meet the needs of our family and we want to work in a stable environment.
Employees whose lowest level needs have not been met will make job decisions based
on compensation, safety, or stability concerns. Also, employees will revert to satisfying
their lowest level needs when these needs are no longer met or are threatened (such as
during an economic downturn).

This places an extra obligation on managers to act humanely when difficult

organizational decisions such as staff reductions have to be implemented. Callous
implementation of difficult decisions will cause the remaining employees in the
organization to feel threatened about the ability or desire of the organization to continue
to meet their physiological and security needs.
Once these basic needs are met, the employee will want his belongingness (or social)
needs met. The level of social interaction an employee desires will vary based on
whether the employee is an introvert or extrovert. The key point is that employees
desire to work in an environment where they are accepted in the organization and have
some interaction with others.
This means effective interpersonal relations are necessary. Managers can create an
environment where staff cooperation is rewarded. This will encourage interpersonal
effectiveness.
Ongoing managerial communication about operational matters is also an important
component of meeting employees social needs. Employees who are kept in the dark
about operational matters and the future plans of the organization often feel like they
are an organizational outsider. (This last point is especially important for virtual
employees whose absence from the office puts an extra obligation on managers to keep
these employees engaged in organizational communications.)
With these needs satisfied, an employee will want his higher level needs of esteem and
self-actualization met. Esteem needs are tied to an employees image of himself and his
desire for the respect and recognition of others.
Even if an individual does not want to move into management, he probably does not
want to do the same exact work for 20 years. He may want to be on a project team,
complete a special task, learn other tasks or duties, or expand his duties in some
manner.

Cross-training, job enrichment, and special assignments are popular methods for
making work more rewarding. Further, allowing employees to participate in decision
making on operational matters is a powerful method for meeting an employees esteem
needs. Finally, symbols of accomplishment such as a meaningful job title, job perks,
awards, a nice office, business cards, work space, etc. are also important to an
employees esteem.
The important consideration for managers is that they must provide rewards to their
employees that both come from the organization and from doing the work itself.
Rewards need to be balanced to have a maximum effect.
With self-actualization, the employee will be interested in growth and individual
development. He will also need to be skilled at what he does. He may want a
challenging job, an opportunity to complete further education, increased freedom from
supervision, or autonomy to define his own processes for meeting organizational
objectives. At this highest level, managers focus on promoting an environment where an
employee can meet his own self-actualization needs.
The basic idea of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs is that our needs are constantly
changing. As one need is met, we desire other needs. This makes sense. Will the raise
we received 3 years ago motivate us for the next 10 years? Will the challenging job we
began 5 years ago have the same effect on us today? Will the performance award we
received last year completely satisfy our need for recognition for the rest of our lives?
The answers to all of these questions is clearly, no.
This is the beauty of Maslows theory of motivation. Employee needs change with time.
This means that managers must continually adapt to employees changing needs if they
want to keep their workforce motivated. Maslow understood these truths!

.
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE PLANNING

Planning for the future of an organization can be difficult. One must consider the
thoughts and ideas of board members, staff members, executive management and
other stakeholders. Not all of these folks are on the same page or have the same
agenda. Some individuals can bring positive ideas to the table, only to have their
enthusiasm squashed by barriers brought by others. While everyone ideally has the
same end goal -- success -- finding one's way there can be difficult.
Fear
Fear can be a barrier to effective planning. When management focuses on the fear of
change or lack of success rather than the potential for growth, it makes it difficult to plan
for the future of an organization. Fear of financial insolvency or a lack of knowledge
about market conditions can cause executive management to avoid planning for the
future and focus solely on day-to-day operations.
Shortsightedness
Shortsighted behavior can cause executive managers to stop in their tracks. By
focusing on current projects rather than broader, long-term goals and on day-to-day
management rather than future growth and profitability, shortsightedness is a barrier to
effective planning.
Negativity
Negativity, or a lack of positive ideas and suggestions for the future, can create an
insurmountable barricade when it comes to strategic planning. A good leader must be
positive and bring knowledge and expertise to the table. Negative thought, or a belief in
failure, can lead to inertia, which can cause an organization to stagnate.
Communication Barriers
Difficulty in communicating goals and plans can stall a planning session. Whether
communication barriers stem from language or cultural differences, or whether a
manager simply is an ineffective communicator, poor communication can make it hard
to express goals and organizational mission.
Poor Leadership

Leaders who are insecure or fearful in their own position within an organization are
ineffective when it comes to planning. A leader must inspire those around him to work to
their full capability. A leader who cannot lead, or who is unapproachable, cannot collect
suggestions and ideas from employees that are essential to effective planning.
Lack of Creativity
An ability to think originally and grow in new directions are what often keep a company
alive and vibrant. While one business model may work for many years, organizations
have to think creatively and take chances by expanding and growing into new areas. A
lack of creativity, tied with poor leadership, can cause employees to grow bored and
disheartened, and employees who feel like that can't do their best work.
FUNCTION OF MANAGEMENT
1. Planning
It is the basic function of management. It deals with chalking out a future course
of action & deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for
achievement of pre-determined goals. According to KOONTZ, Planning is
deciding in advance - what to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges the gap from
where we are & where we want to be. A plan is a future course of actions. It is
an exercise in problem solving & decision making. Planning is determination of
courses of action to achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic
thinking about ways & means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals.
Planning is necessary to ensure proper utilization of human & non-human
resources. It is all pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it also helps in
avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.
2. Organizing
It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and
developing productive relationship amongst them for achievement of
organizational goals. According to Henry Fayol, To organize a business is to

provide it with everything useful or its functioning i.e. raw material, tools, capital
and personnels. To organize a business involves determining & providing
human and non-human resources to the organizational structure. Organizing as
a process involves:

Identification of activities.

Classification of grouping of activities.

Assignment of duties.

Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility.

Coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.

3. Staffing
It is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it manned.
Staffing has assumed greater importance in the recent years due to
advancement of technology, increase in size of business, complexity of human
behavior etc. The main purpose o staffing is to put right man on right job i.e.
square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. According to Kootz
& ODonell, Managerial function of staffing involves manning the organization
structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal & development of
personnel to fill the roles designed un the structure. Staffing involves:

Manpower Planning (estimating man power in terms of searching, choose

the person and giving the right place).

Recruitment, Selection & Placement.

Training & Development.

Remuneration.

Performance Appraisal.

Promotions & Transfer.

4. Directing
It is that part of managerial function which actuates the organizational methods to
work efficiently for achievement of organizational purposes. It is considered lifespark of the enterprise which sets it in motion the action of people because
planning, organizing and staffing are the mere preparations for doing the work.
Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of management which deals directly with
influencing, guiding, supervising, motivating sub-ordinate for the achievement of
organizational goals. Direction has following elements:

Supervision

Motivation

Leadership

Communication

Supervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is

the act of watching & directing work & workers.
Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates with
zeal to work. Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary incentives may be used
for this purpose.
Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and
influences the work of subordinates in desired direction.
Communications- is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc
from one person to another. It is a bridge of understanding.

5. Controlling
It implies measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction
of deviation if any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of
controlling is to ensure that everything occurs in conformities with the standards.
An efficient system of control helps to predict deviations before they actually
occur. According to Theo Haimann, Controlling is the process of checking
whether or not proper progress is being made towards the objectives and goals
and acting if necessary, to correct any deviation. According to Koontz & ODonell
Controlling is the measurement & correction of performance activities of
subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans
desired to obtain them as being accomplished. Therefore controlling has
following steps:

Establishment of standard performance.

Measurement of actual performance.

Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out

deviation if any.

Corrective action.

Explain various Types of the Organization?

Types of the Organization
1. Formal organization
a. The establishment and the development of this type of the organization are very
formal in the nature.
b. Helps in providing a shape to the various organized activities.
c. The Formal organization is developed for a continuous purpose mainly involving the
activities that are repetitive in the nature.

d. This organization looks after the growth and the stability in the business.
e. In the Formal organization, the design is such that that it acts as a great support for
the distribution of the authority, creation of the positions, linkage of the various functions
etc.
f. The Formal organization is not at all born by itself.
g. Efforts of someone to get the organization established in the order to make it a
juridical person are involved in the Formal organization.
h. The Formal organization is registered with some type of the legal provision in the acts
as those meant for the shop establishment, the companies, the cooperatives, the trusts,
the societies etc, to provide it the legal existence in its own name.
2. Informal organization
a. Here, the people come together informally through their acquaintance.
b. Informal relations are created within the same organization which may not be formally
planned.
c. The Informal organization is born of itself.
d. Whenever there is a formal organization, an informal organization is born.
e. The Informal organization comes up with the help of the social relations such as the
trust, the dependence, the liking etc.
f. The position and the problems in the formal structure are given great weight age
informally.
g. A different communication channel is created by the informal organization and this is
referred to as the grape vine.
h. With the help of the informal communication, the situation in the organization can be
sensed in a different way all together.
i. The gossip can be conveyed with the help of the informal communication.
3. Matrix organization

a. According to the principle of the unity of the command, one person should take the
order from only one person.
b. Plurality of the persons giving the orders should not be present.
4. The project organization
a. One goes for the project with the establishment of the temporary organization with a
fixed end in mind.
b. Anything that has a beginning and an end, is referred to as the project organization.
c. The main responsibility of this type of the organization is to handle the complete
project in a especial managerial way as the project is not going to be a continuous
process at anytime.
d. The specialized, skilled people are required at the different stages and also, in this
type of the organization, the replacement of the specialized people can be done
depending on the different types of the situations that may arise during the project.
5. Virtual organization
a. This type of the organization, does not look like to be physically operating but very
well works like the one, due to the modern communication equipment which may
include the following functions
I. Digital mail
II. Voice communication
III. Cameras
IV. Projection systems
V. Audio and video conferencing

LINE OF CONTROL AND SPAN OF CONTROL

Span of control or span of management is a dimension of organizational design
measured by the number of subordinates that report directly to a given manager. This

concept affects organization design in a variety of ways, including speed of

communication flow, employee motivation, reporting relationships, and administrative
overhead. Span of management has been part of the historical discussion regarding the
most appropriate design and structure of organizations.
HISTORICAL DISCUSSION
OF SPAN OF CONTROL
A small, or narrow, span of control results in each manager supervising a small number
of employees, while a wide span of management occurs when more subordinates report
directly to a given manager. A small span of management would make it necessary to
have more managers and more layers of management to oversee the same number of
operative employees than would be necessary for an organization using a wider span of
management. The narrower span of management would result in more layers of
management and slower communications between lower level employees and top level
managers of the firm. Recent moves to downsizeorganizations and to eliminate
unnecessary positions has resulted in many organizations moving to wider spans of
management and the elimination of layers of middle-level managers.
A\
FACTORS THAT MAY AFFECT
SPAN OF CONTROL
While early discussions of span of control often centered on pinpointing the optimal
number of subordinates, a number of factors may influence the span of control most
appropriate for a given management position. Assuming that all other aspects of a
manager's job are the same, these factors would likely alter the span of management as
follows:
1. Job complexity. Subordinate jobs that are complex, ambiguous, dynamic or
otherwise complicated will likely require more management involvement and a
narrower span of management.

2. Similarity of subordinate jobs. The more similar and routine the tasks that
subordinates are performing, the easier it is for a manager to supervise
employees and the wider the span of management that will likely be effective.
3. Physical proximity of subordinates. The more geographically dispersed a group
of subordinates the more difficult it is for a manager to be in regular contact with
them and the fewer employees a manager could reasonably oversee, resulting in
a narrower span of management.
4. Abilities of employees. Managers who supervise employees that lack ability,
motivation, or confidence will have to spend more time with each employee. The
result will be that the manager cannot supervise as many employees and would
be most effective with a narrower span of management.
5. Abilities of the manager. Some managers are better organized, better at
explaining things to subordinates, and more efficient in performing their jobs.
Such managers can function effectively with a wider span of management than a
less skilled manager.
6. Technology. Cell phones, email, and other forms of technology that facilitate
communication and the exchange of information make it possible for managers
to increase their spans of management over managers who do not have access
to or who are unable to use the technology.
The trend in recent years has been to move toward wider spans of control to reduce
costs, speed decision making, increase flexibility and empower employees. However, to
avoid potential problems of wide spans of control, organizations are having to invest in
training managers and employees and in technology enabling the sharing of information
and enhancing communication between and among managers and employees.

What are the different steps involved in the planning?

Different

steps

involved

in

the

planning

are

:-

1. Premising
a. Acts

as

great

tool

for carrying

out the

planning

of the

business.

b. Act as the judgments about the future plans, depending on the type of the situation in
which
c.

they
Decides

whether

will

to

proceed

work.

with

the

plan

or

not.

d. Helps in basing the judgment about the certain things that may work or not.
e. Must be correct as in case they are wrong, then the whole plan will go wrong.
f.

Help

in

tackling

the

environment

around

certain

plan.

g. The premises must be consistent to all the plans and the sub plans.
h.

number

of

premises

can

be

used

to

arrive

at

certain

plan.

i. The premises can be the possible growth in the market, the availability of the
resources, the nature of the future competition, the strategic considerations etc.
2. Information / intelligence collection and the forecasting:
a. In this step, all the relevant data that is needed for the plan is collected.
b.

Both

the

primary

data

and

the

secondary

data

can

be

used.

c. Primary data can be collected by interviewing the people and the secondary data is in
the
d.

printed
This

form

data

is

or

the

published

interpreted

in

data

terms

that

of

the

is
future

available.
utility.

e. In this step, the forecasting of the various changes, which take place during the
implementation

process

of

the

data,

is

done.

f. Ultimately this forecasts acts as the premises for the future planning of the activity.
3. Establish vision:
a. Vision is what we do not see but what we feel is in store for the future.
b. Vision is dreaming as well as having faith in the activities that are being implemented.
c.

Vision

is

very

much

personal

in

the

nature.

d. It is required for giving the much needed direction for moving ahead in the future.
e. Acts as the compass that guides an individual in the correct direction.
4. Define mission:
a. Serves the beneficiaries depending on their needs and the satisfaction.
b.

The

mission

is

stated

in

terms

of

the

recipient.

c. The mission is thought of in the angle of the receiver of the goods and the services.
d. It is very subjective in the nature.
5. Decide the policy:
a. The guidelines in the nature of an umbrella of the decisions of the long term are
settled
b.

mainly

The

to

provide

can

be

policy

firm

guideline

written

for

or

many

unwritten

subsidiary
in

decisions.

the

nature.

c. The boundaries can be defined with the help of the various policies.
d. Provides the discretion within the boundaries, hence helping in the adjustment of the
performance to the situation.
6. Set the objectives:
a. Objectives are defined as the achievements that mainly aim at in the broad terms to
establish
b.

some

of

Objectives

the

guidelines,
can

be

in

order

to

take

many

in

the

required
the

action.
number.

c. May consist of the hierarchy along with the network of the objectives depending upon
the divisions like the strategic business units, the departments and the levels in the
organization.
d. It is very essential that these divisions are mutually consistent and also well
coordinated

in

the

nature.

e. Setting up of the objectives is done at the higher levels of the organization.

f. The objectives must be able to help the subordinates in determining the goals in the
concrete
g. Goals are actually in the terms of the performance.

terms.

7. Set the goals

a. Are short term and are operational within a financial year as these are more tied up
with
b.

the
Provide

the

much

needed,

budgets.
practical

orientation

to

the

plans.

c. Goals are divided into people working, so that each one has a target to achieve.
8. Draw the program
a. For the achievement of the objectives simultaneously, synchronization is very
necessary.
9. Convert the program into the budget:
a. Budget can be defined as the available achievable targets and expressed in the
money terms with the revenue and the expenditure for all the activities aiming at the
possible
b.

surplus.

All

the

plans

are

converted

into

the

budget.

c. After this conversion, the budget is used as the control and the evaluation document.
10. Collect the information on the feedback:
a.
b.

After
The

various

the

implementation,

required

corrections

c. The revised plans are reintroduced.

this
in

the

step
future

plans

is
are

performed.
carried

out.