Government College University Faisalabad

Department of Library and Information Science

Course:

LIS-559 Management of Libraries and Information Centers

Sr #	Contents	Page
1	Write down the Principle of Management.
2	Define Planning? Discuss planning in detail. What are the factors in planning?
3	Describe the planning techniques in detail.
4	Define Policy making, its sources, effectives, advantages.
5	Define decision Making, its types.
6	What is organization its structure, culture & charts of organization.
7	How libraries are work as organizations. Different between formal and informal organization.
8	What is personnel or staffing & how to planning staffing requirements?
9	Role of supervisor. Channels, Direction, Legitimacy of communication.
10	Write down the written & oral communication.

Course by:

Madam Shumaila (MPhil Library and Information Science)

Question: 1 

Write down the Principle of Management. Fayol Principles?

Answer:

Definition of Management

Management involves coordinating and overseeing the work activities of others so that their activities are completed efficiently and effectively.

Principles of Management

A set of fourteen principles of management, developed by Henry Fayol can be depicted as follows:

·         Division of work

·         Authority and responsibility

·         Discipline

·         Unity of command

·         Unity of direction

·         Remuneration

·         Centralization

·         Order

·         Scalar chain

·         Initiative

·         Subordination of individual

·          Stability of tenure

·         Equity

·         Esprit-de-corps

·         Division of Work:

It is best to assign workers to jobs fairly limited in scope, so that they can develop a high degree of skill this promotes efficiency for organization. 

·         Authority and Responsibility:

Authority and responsibility both have inter-dependence relationship with each-other. In the absence of authority nobody can take responsibility on his shoulders in organization for the achievement of various activities. 

·         Discipline:

Clearly defined limits of acceptable behavior are absolutely necessary, so that everyone in an organization knows what can and cannot be done.

·         Unity of Command:

An employee should receive orders from only one supervisor. Because of a number of interacting variables in any job situation, line and staff as authority become opposed to line and staff as function. 

·         Unity of Direction:

There should be only one plan and the person should be responsible for supervising it. All activities have the same objective should be supervised by one person. 

·         Remuneration:

Remuneration for work must be fair and accurate, affording maximum satisfaction for both employee and employer.

·         Centralization:

Fayol thought centralization of authority of authority to be desirable at least for overall control. Certainly, both formulation of policy and the generation of basic rules and procedures ought to be centralized.

·         Order:

Relationships between various units must be established in a logical, rational manner, so that these units work in harmony. 

·         Scalar Chain:

Organizations need a formalized hierarchy that reflects the flow of authority and responsibility. Fayol suggested that a chain of command is necessary most of the time, but at times, it is best ignored.

·         Initiative:

Initiative should be encouraged at all levels all subordinates should be asked to submit plans and new ideas. All of these should be carefully reviewed.

·         Subordination of individual:

Fayol believed that the individual should subordinate self-interest to the general good. This is difficult, though in a work situation in which employees perceive no managerial concern for individual wellbeing.

·         Stability of tenure:

A high turnover rate is expensive for an organization. Turnover of a high degree is both a cause and an effect of bad management and one way of evaluating a manager is to examine the turnover and absenteeism rate of persons working under that manager. 

·         Equity:

Managers elicit loyalty from employees only when they deal with them as individual persons. Employees must be seen as persons not things to be manipulated. If managers hope to create a good working environment, they must treat everyone fairly and with equity.

·         Esprit-de-corps:

As a good Frenchman, Fayol believed in esprit de corps. He felt that all successful organizations survive only when a feeling of unity pervades the group and that viable organizations deal with crises as a team.

Question: 2

Define Planning. Discuss planning in detail? What are the factors in Planning?

Answer:

Definition:

Planning is an effort to anticipate the future and the inevitable change that comes with it. It must be accomplished by choosing from among possible alternatives and with full knowledge and use of techniques and tools available for such action.

Introduction:

Planning services and system is libraries and information centers are all of the above and more. As an analytical process it involves assessing the future, determining a desired direction for the organization in that future, creating objectives in the context of that future, developing programs of action for such objectives, selecting an appropriate agenda from among those alternatives that are priorities, and pursuing a detailed course of action.

Anticipating the Future:

Planning is an effort to anticipate future change; it can be accomplished by choosing from among several possible alternatives. Planning in the past was most often accomplished as a line function, performed only by managers in a direct supervisory relationship. Now many large libraries and information centers have developed cadre’s people whose primary function in planning. The specific objectives of that office were to:

·         Provide a direction and framework for library and information service operations that will guide decision making and problem-solving.

·         Improve library service, operations, and fiscal control through the application of computer technology and management science to library procedures.

·         Ensure the rational and effective development of information services and resources in the context of university academic planning.

·         Permit the anticipation of future resource needs for information service by establishing plans based on present decisions.

·         Bring the skills and experience of university and library staff members into the planning process.

Environment for Planning:

Planning is committing library or information center resources–physical, personnel, and material-based upon the best possible knowledge of the future. It requires systematically organizing the effort needed to use these resources and requires measuring the results of planning decisions through systematic feedback so that needed changes can be affected. This competition places greater responsibility on the librarian to sell programs and exert pressures.           

Environmental Assessment

Political, economic, social and technological (PEST) trends all significantly influence success in achieving the mission of a library or information center in today’s volatile climate. For instance, commerce and technology are globalizing, international resource needs are increasing and the word political climate is changing daily as governments and organizations react to changes.

Factors in Planning:

Factors in the planning process can be arbitrarily divided into at least five elements: Time, Collecting and analyzing date, levels of planning, flexibility, and accountability.

·         Time Frame

There are two categories of plans with respect to time: long-range and strategic plans and short-term, annual or operational plans.

Long-range

A variety of terms, including long-range, normative, strategic, and master planning have been used to describe what is now most popularly conceived, with a few variation, as the strategic planning process. For example, perhaps the best known long-range plans have been those produced by various national governments in the form of five or ten year plans.

Short-term

It involves a shorter time frame and the resolution of specific problems, usually of an internal nature. Such plans often coincide with the accounting or book keeping year and are deadline driven. For example, of short-term plans in the calculation of one year’s budget, this is expressed in operational terms.

·         Collecting and Analyzing Data

It is an analytical study of the whole organization and its operation. One must fight the urge to allow data collection to dominate or to bog down the planning process, rather viewing this step as a means to an end-the collection of data relating to past activities with the view of making decisions about future ones.

·         Levels of Planning

All supervisors, coordinators, or team leaders, whatever their level of responsibility within the organizational structure, should engage in planning on two levels. It should be easy to recognize the consequences of failing to coordinate long-range and short-term plans because the whole concept of planning is to create a network of mutually dependent components ranging from overall, mission-oriented plans to detailed, technical plans for specific operations.

·         Flexibility

Flexibility, or adaptability in meeting changing needs, is the essence of good planning. Flexibility applies to both short-term and strategic planning processes. Any planning that is too rigid to accommodate change as it occurs is an exercise in futility. It is important that the library’s or the information center’s plans remain compatible with those of the larger organization of which the information unit is a part and that they reflect the changing environment in which the library or information center exists.

·         Accountability

Accountability is key to future success. Accountability requires obligation and initiative to carry out established plans. For managers, this means delegating authority and making individuals or teams responsible for achieving the plan’s objectives once they have been established. A plan can be no better than the control mechanisms established to monitor, evaluate and adjust efficiency and effectiveness toward the ultimate success of the endeavor. 

  

Question: 3

Describe the planning techniques in detail.

Answer:

Planning Techniques:

Many techniques must be considered for use in the planning process. However, they should not be mistaken for the process itself. Some of the most important techniques are developing standards and guidelines and forecasting.

·         Developing Standards and Guidelines

One concise definition of standards is being able to designate any measure by which one judges a thing as authentic, good, or adequate. Standards are measurable, enforceable, and can be directly related to goals. For examples of standards developed by the American Library Association, the Library Association (UK), and the special Libraries Association, sees Reading on the website.

·         Forecasting

The term forecasting elicits visions of crystal ball gazing, but more appropriately designates a process of projection or prediction. Predictions are, basically, opinions about facts.

·         Deterministic: This strategy assumes that there is a close causal relationship between the present and the future. This strategy places great reliance upon information about the future.

·         Symptomatic: This strategy searches for signs that might be indicators of the future, for example, the leading economic indicators. This approach is based on the concept that the sequence of event in a cycle is a consistent pattern.

·         Systematic: This strategy looks for underlying regularities over a period of time. Econometrics is an example of this type of forecasting.

The most important type of technological forecasting, one that is popular among librarians and   information specialists is the Delphi technique.

A panel of experts on a subject, for example, library funding, is identified.

For instance, the number of volumes put on reserve and the number of times they have circulated during a semester, it plotted on a graph, can reveal significant trends for future planning. Environmental scanning is carried out to anticipate and to interpret change and sometimes to provide a competitive edge. Bench marking, a process that searches for the best practice, assuming that an organization can be improved by analyzing and copying other successful organizations.

·         Management by Objectives

MBO is a participative system of managing in which manager’s load ahead for improvement, think strategically, set performance stretch objectives at a beginning period, develop supporting plans, and give accountability for results at the end of the period.

MBO helps solve management problems by:

·         Providing a means of measuring the true contributions of managerial and professional personnel.

·         Defining the common goals of people and organizations and measuring individual contributions to them.

·         Providing a means of determining each manager’s span of control.

·         Aiding in identifying potential for advancement and in finding promotable people.

·         Total Quality Management (TQM)

TQM no longer has the success it experienced several years ago, particularly in Japan where it originated and many no longer advocate the approach. Some organizations report success in using TQM; others have tried it and abandoned it. All libraries and information agencies have certain processes, for example, copy cataloging or overdue billings, which could be greatly improved by TQM methods. Benchmarking, which is a part of the process, is one good example.

  

Question: 4

Define policy making, its sources, culture & charts of organization.

Answer:

Policy Making

Policy making is one part of decision making. In that policies emanate from the original decisions and become general statements or understandings that channel thinking in future decision making and serve as guidelines for actions, particularly those of a repetitive nature, in order to create some sense of uniformity in the conduct of an organization.

·         Sources of Policy

Polices can be categorized according to their source as follows:

·         Originated policy: This type of policy is developed to guide the general operations of the library or information center. An example of an originated policy is the previously mentioned policy to adhere to the concept of equal employment opportunity.

·         Appealed policy: appealed policy certain decisions may be needed by managers in their assigned areas of responsibility, and the staff is required to take it through the chain-of-command, where a common law is established.

·         Implied policy: This type of policy is developed from actions that people see about them and believe to constitute policy. For instance, repetitive actions, such as promotion from within, may be interpreted as policy.

·         Externally imposed policy: These policies, which come through several channels, dictate the working of an institution but may be beyond its control. For example, local state and federal laws have a direct bearing on the policies that libraries may formulate.

·         Effective policy development

Policies fall into two groups: those that deal with the managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling and those that deal with the functions of the enterprise, such as selection and development of technology, resources, finance, personnel and public relations.

·         Consistent. This maintains efficiency. Again, the existence of contradicting policies dissipates desired effects.

·         Flexible. Policies must change as new needs arise. Unfortunately, many organizations adhere to out-of-date policies.

·         Distinguished for rules and procedures. Rules and procedures are firm, while policies, as guides, allow some discretion and latitude.

·         Written. A clear, well-written policy helps facilitate information dissemination.

·         Advantages

·         They are available to all in the same form.

·         They can be referred to, so that anyone who wishes can check the policy.

·         They can be taught to new employees easily.

·         They prevent misunderstanding trough use of a particular set of words.

·         They indicate a basic honest and integrity of the organization’s intentions.

·         They can be readily disseminated to all who are affected by them.

·         They force managers to think more sharply about the policy as it is being written, thus helping achieve further clarity.

·         They generate confidence of all persons in management and in the fact that everyone will be treated substantially the same under given conditions.

·         Implementing policy

The relationship between procedures and policies can be best indicated by an example. Library policy may grant employees a month’s annual vacation. The procedures specify how vacations are to be scheduled to avoid disruption of service, maintain records to assure each employee is allocated the right length of vacation days, and elucidate procedure for applying for additional entitled time off.

Question: 5

Define Decision Making and its types.

Answer:

Decision Making

Decision making is a conscious choosing and it is a much slower process than some would like to imagine. An example of the latter is the decision to open a new branch library or to purchase a totally integrated online system for the library’s or the information center’s operation.

Decision making at a formal level involves a series of scientific steps:

·         Intelligence gathering: The environment inside and outside the organization is searched for conditions requiring a decision and information is assembled with respect to those conditions.

·         Design: the available courses of action are determined and analyzed to determine their relative values as solutions to the problems that have been detected.

·         Choice: An available course of action, which is designed to convert the present, less desirable situation into a future situation judged to be more desirable is selected.

·         Review: Assessing the past choices and adjusting new directions.

·         Group Decision Making

The approach to decision making by groups is somewhat different from individual decision making, primarily because of group dynamics. There are, nevertheless, several advantages to group decision making, including:

·         Group Judgment: The old adage “two heads are better than one” applies here. Group deliberation is important in identifying alternative solutions to a problem.

·         Group authority: there is a great fear of allowing one person to have too much authority. Group decisions prevent this problem to an extent.

·         Communication: It is much easier to inform and receive input from all parts of the organization through a group. Communication permits a wider participation in decision making and therefore can have some influence on employee motivation.

     More realistically, disadvantages potentially include:

·         Cost: Group decision making requires a great deal of time, energy and therefore, money.

·         Compromise: Group decisions can be diluted to the least common denominator.

·         Indecision: There are delays in reaching a final decision because of the lengthy deliberations required.

·         Power: One individual usually emerges as a leader. This person should be in a position of influence in the organization.

·         Authority: Groups are frequently used to make decisions that are beyond their authority.

·         Steps and Factors in Making Decisions

 The scientific approach to decision making requires that one first identify the problem. Several factors influence decision making for libraries and other information centers.

·         Experience: Experience is carefully analyzed and not blindly followed; it can be useful and appropriate.

·         Experimentation: this approach toward deciding among alternatives although legitimate in many situations is expensive share capital expenditures and personnel are concerned.

·         Research and analysis: although this is the most general and effective technique used it may be somewhat expensive.

     The following suggestions may facilitate involvement in the decision making process:

·         Distinguish big from little problems to avoid getting caught in a situation that is rapid fir and not effective.

·         Rely on policy to settle routine problems and subject the big problems to thorough analysis.

·         Avoid crisis decisions by planning ahead.

·         Don’t expect to be right all the time no one ever is.

Question: 6

What is organization its structure, culture & charts of organization.

Answer:

Definition:

Organizations are goal-directed boundary maintaining and socially constructed systems of human activity. They are goal directed, which means that they are purposive systems in which members attempt to achieve a certain set of goals.

Organizational Structure

The terms organization and organizational structure are often used interchangeably, but more precise definitions are available. The organization is the group of individuals joined together to achieve an objective. An organizational structure results from the organizing process and is the system of relations, formally prescribed and informally developed, that governs the activities of people who are dependent on each other for accomplishment of common objectives.

Organizational structure is one of the interrelated components that define any organization. How individual positions are coordinated and how information is officially disseminated.

Organizational Culture

The organization itself has an invisible quality, a certain style, a character, a way of doing things that may be more powerful than the dictates of any one person or any formal system. To understand the soul of the organization requires that we travel below the charts, rule books, machines, and buildings into the underground world of corporate cultures.

Organizational culture is composed of many elements. Among the most common are:

·         Symbols are objects or acts that convey meaning to others.

·         Language is the shared terminology that helps cement an organization’s identity.

·         Group norms are the implicit standards or ways of acting that evolve within an organization.

·         Slogans are phrases or sentences that express an organization’s values.

·         Heroes are the men and women who exemplify the attributes of the culture.

·         Myths or stories are the retellings of real things that happened to figures associated with the organization, typically in the past.

·         Ceremonies are the rituals that mark a special event.

Three levels of culture:

·         Artifacts: Artifacts are visible manifestations of underlying cultural assumptions, such as behavior patterns, rituals, physical environment, stories and myths.

·         Espoused values: Espoused values are the shared values of the organization. For example, many libraries have mission statements that inform both employees and patrons about what the library strives to accomplish.

·         Basic Assumptions: basic assumptions are the invisible but identifiable reasons why group members perceive, think and feel the way they do about certain issues.

Organization charts

When they hear the word structure, most organizational people think of boxes of charts. The term has been used for years to describe simple reporting relationships. But the term has been used inaccurately.

Who reports to whom does not tell us anything about the structural dynamics that drive an organization to perform and behave as it does. If the real structure is not pondered, explored and penetrated when designing the organization, it may never be understood.

An org chart consists of boxes that represent individuals and their roles and connectors that represent the relationships between them. In most organizations, this is represented by the president or CEO at the top, branching down through layers of direct reports.

A good org chart may also include other helpful information, like contact details, links to departmental pages or sites, and more.

Here are a few uses for org charts:

·         Business group org charts show manager and employee relationships

·         HR org charts show employee details

·         Departmental org charts show relationships between corporate divisions, regardless of personnel shifts

·         Government org chart shows chain of command

·         Hospital org charts show departmental responsibility

·         IT org charts show how separate groups deliver a single service to the business

Question: 7

How libraries are work as organizations. Different between formal and informal organization.

Answer:

Definition:

Organizations are the basic building block of modern society. The development of organizations is inevitable in any complex culture because of the limitations of individuals.

Libraries as organizations:

As Lowell Martin has pointed out:

·         Libraries are service agencies, not profit-making firms.

·         Libraries purvey information, not more tangible services or products.

·         Libraries perform functions both of supply and guidance, a combination that in the medical field is shared among the doctor’s office, the hospital and the pharmacy.

·         Libraries provide professional service without, in most cases, having a personal and continuous client relationship.

·         Libraries for all their general acceptance, are currently marked by ambiguous goals rather than clear-cut relationship.

·         Libraries during long history have accumulated set conceptions of function and method that make for rigid structure and resistance to change.

·         Libraries respond both to resources and to clientele in a dual and sometimes conflicting orientation, with some staff characterized as resource-minded and others as people minded.

·         Libraries function as auxiliaries to larger enterprises, such as universities, schools and municipalities and not as independent entities.

·         Library because of their auxiliary role are subject to external pressures from political bodies, faculties and users.

·         Libraries are staffed in the higher echelons by personnel with graduate training, making for a highly educated core staff.

·         Libraries are administered by professionals who are promoted from the service ranks not by career managers.

·         Libraries seek identity and domain within a host of communication and information sources in the community at large and in their parent organization.

Formal Organization

When the managers are carrying on organizing process then as a result of organizing process an organizational structure is created to achieve systematic working and efficient utilization of resources. This type of structure is known as formal organizational structure.

Formal organizational structure clearly spells out the job to be performed by each individual, the authority, responsibility assigned to every individual, the superior- subordinate relationship and the designation of every individual in the organization. This structure is created intentionally by the managers for achievement of organizational goal.

Informal Organization

In the formal organizational structure individuals are assigned various job positions. While working at those job positions, the individuals interact with each other and develop some social and friendly groups in the organization. This network of social and friendly groups forms another structure in the organization which is called informal organizational structure.

The informal organizational structure gets created automatically and the main purpose of such structure is getting psychological satisfaction. The existence of informal structure depends upon the formal structure because people working at different job positions interact with each other to form informal structure.

Question: 8

What is Personnel or Staffing & how to planning staffing requirements and detention staffing needs.

Answer:

Definition

·         It is safest to employ honest men, even though they may not be the cleverest. Ekken Kaibara

·         Never write people off either fire their enthusiasm or fire then with enthusiasm. Maurice Line

 PLANNING STAFFING REQUIREMENTS

An effective HRM program is one that utilizes a series of steps. All of the steps require a thorough understanding of the country’s employment laws and regulations. Once that understanding exists the staffing procedure should consist of eight basic steps:

·         Determining needs

·         Job design

·         Recruitment

·         Selection

·         Orientation and training

·         Evaluation

·         Coaching and discipline

·         Resignation and termination

·         Determining Staffing Needs:

Determining staffing needs involves several steps, starting with an assessment of existing staff. The purpose of the process is to help identify what type and how many staff will be needed. First, an inventory is conducted of current staff in terms of factors such as years of experience (perhaps grouped into categories of 5, 10, 15 years of experience) skill sets (linguistic, technical, professional, customer relations) and potential for advancement. One of the authors uses the matrix shown for grouping staff.

·         Job design

Job design asks the question, “What work must be performed to accomplish organizational goals?” Answers to this apparently simple question are multiple and complex at times. The goal should be a comprehensive list of all the required tasks, not merely a few general answers. For example, a response for a library reference service point should be more than answer questions.

·         Log in to e-mail account

·         Read e-mail questions

·         Decide who can best answer the question

·         Forward question to appropriate person

·         Log off

·         Recruitment

Once the needs of a particular position have been determined, the search begins for suitable applicants. Many large libraries conduct national searches for qualified persons for their professional positions and draw the majority of their nonprofessionals from the local area. Immigration policies new make it difficult to recruit people internationally.

Once there is a pool of applicants, the review or screening process begins. The process involves several elements: the application form, letters or statements of interest, the pre-employment test results, a personal interview and verification of qualifications and past work experience. Normally, a library selects only a few persons for in person interviews. Thus the screening process relies on the applicant to supply the requisite information regarding his or her qualifications.

·         Selection

Once all the verification work is in the final decision takes place. In most libraries, HR makes the call to the selected candidate to determine if the person is still available and interested. HR is also usually the office that makes the decision on what salary and benefits to offer. Salary level decisions are a mix of assessing the skills and background of the selected, that person’s prior salary history and equity within the organization’s salary scheme. One of the most damaging events in terms of moral is to have a newcomer receive a higher salary than existing employees with similar skills background and experience.

·         Orientation and training

The first day for the new person should be a combination of orientation and training in the new duties and time with HR to take care of all the issues surrounding the total compensation package. One possible sequence of events the first day would be:

·         Start at the HR office for completing the hiring and payroll process

·         Escort new employee to library and re-introduce the person to his supervisor

·         Return to department for an overview of its activities

·         A demonstration of duties the person is to perform

·         A period of supervised practice

·         Private practice time

·         A review session

·         Evaluation

One of the more difficult and sensitive areas in any hiring procedure is verification of an applicant’s education and work history. Letters of recommendation from former teachers and employers are often of questionable value due to the length of time that has passed since the writer had direct contact with the applicant. It is not unheard of for a present employer to write and give glowing verbal recommendations for a person they wish should leave. Dismissing an employee may lead to legal action against the organization so helping the person find employment elsewhere is an option some organizations take?

·         Coaching and Discipline

Today, all libraries face a rapidly changing technological environment. Keeping staff current with the changes is a major challenge for managers, especially in times of “steady state” or declining budgets. Often, failure to keep staff up-to-date results in a decline in service which in turn leads  to customer dissatisfaction and ultimately less support at budget request times. Managers face a dual technological challenge: acquiring and upgrading the necessary technology and finding funding for staff training.

·         Resignation and Termination

Conventional management theory, at least in the United States, holds that performance appraisals are essential to the successful operation of any organization, including libraries. In theory, it should help worker in improve performance.

There is a substantial list of beliefs about the appraisal process:

·         Essential to good management

·         Natural, normal part of human activity

·         Assures at least minimum for granting or withholding economic benefits

·         Only valid method for granting or withholding economic benefits

·         Means of maintaining control of production

·         Essential for employee growth and development

·         Essential for motivating employees

·         Assess quality of orientation and training programs

·         Means of objectively assessing an individual’s work-related strengths and weaknesses

·         Reflects a continuous analysis of a person’s daily work performance

·         Reflects an assessment of total performance not just assigned duties

Question: 9

Write down the written & oral communication.   

Answer:

Oral Communication

Great communication skills are your ticket to success in the academic and business world. But have you ever been overcome by fear or anxiety prior to going on a job interview or speaking in front of an audience? Knowing when to choose oral communication and polishing your speaking skills can help you at every stage of your career.

Oral communication is the process of verbally transmitting information and ideas from one individual or group to another. Oral communication can be either Formal or Informal. Examples of informal oral communication include:

·         Face-to-face conversations

·         Telephone conversations

·         Discussions that take place at business meetings

More formal types of oral communication include:

·         Presentations at business meetings

·         Classroom lectures

·         Commencement speech given at a graduation ceremony

With advances in technology, new forms of oral communication continue to develop. Video Phones and Video Conferences combine audio and video so that workers in distant locations can both see and speak with each other. Other modern forms of oral communication include Podcasts (audio clips that you can access on the Internet) and Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP), which allows callers to communicate over the Internet and avoid telephone charges. Skype is an example of VoIP.

Advantages

There are many situations in which it makes sense to choose oral over written communication. Oral communication is more personal and less formal than written communication. If time is limited and a business matter requires quick resolution, it may be best to have a face-to-face or telephone conversation. There is also more flexibility in oral communication; you can discuss different aspects of an issue and make decisions more quickly than you can in writing. Oral communication can be especially effective in addressing conflicts or problems. Talking things over is often the best way to settle disagreements or misunderstandings. Finally, oral communication is a great way to promote employee morale and maintain energy and enthusiasm within a team.

Disadvantages

Despite the many benefits of oral communication, there are times when written communication is more effective. For example, you may want to exchange important information that needs to be documented using written communication. A lot of transactions in the business world require some type of written record, and you will find that even strong verbal skills are not a substitute for putting things in writing. Additionally, oral communication tends to be less detailed and more subject to misunderstanding than written communication. It's best to always think carefully about which method of communication best fits your objective.

Written Communication

Activity of the mind, Effective written communication is essential for preparing worthy promotional materials for business development. Speech came before writing. But writing is more unique and formal than speech. Effective writing involves careful choice of words, their organization in correct order in sentences formation as well as cohesive composition of sentences. Also, writing is more valid and reliable than speech. But while speech is spontaneous, writing causes delay and takes time as feedback is not immediate.

Advantages of Written Communication

	Written communication helps in laying down apparent principles, policies and rules for running of an organization.
	It is a permanent means of communication. Thus, it is useful where record maintenance is required.
	It assists in proper delegation of responsibilities. While in case of oral communication, it is impossible to fix and delegate responsibilities on the grounds of speech as it can be taken back by the speaker or he may refuse to acknowledge.
	Written communication is more precise and explicit.
	Effective written communication develops and enhances an organization’s image.
	It provides ready records and references.
	Legal defenses can depend upon written communication as it provides valid records.

Disadvantages of Written Communication

	Written communication does not save upon the costs. It costs huge in terms of stationery and the manpower employed in writing/typing and delivering letters.
	Also, if the receivers of the written message are separated by distance and if they need to clear their doubts, the response is not spontaneous.
	Written communication is time-consuming as the feedback is not immediate. The encoding and sending of message takes time.
	Effective written communication requires great skills and competencies in language and vocabulary use. Poor writing skills and quality have a negative impact on organization’s reputation.
	Too much paper work and e-mails burden is involved.

Written vs. Oral Communication

Most people intuitively understand that there are differences between oral and written language. 

It is important to realize that speech is genuinely different from written prose, and one should

Not use the logic of oral language in formal academic writing. 

In more formal writing, choosing the “right words” depends partly on whether they are appropriate

For the writing situation, and whether  they express an exact meaning.

As a rule of thumb, the audience will remember about one-half of what was said.  Written language is saved for posterity with the assumption that 100% of it will be read, understood, and remembered.

EFFECTIVE WRITTEN LANGUAGE  is

ORAL LANGUAGE is

·         Precise and direct.  ·         Chosen with greater deliberation and thought.. ·         More sophisticated, and developed. ·         Less personal. ·         Driven by logic, organization, and  explicitness ·         Achieved through sentence length, complex language style. ·         Validated by author’s credibility. ·         Objective. ·         Non-retractable (it’s forever… and so are mistakes and flaws). ·         Planned and deliberate.

·         A dynamic transfer of information. ·         Everyday spoken language, including some cultural expressions, such as “go crazy.” ·         Able to engage the audience psychologically and to use complex forms of non-verbal communication. ·         Retractable (one can apologize for a mistake or offer clarification) ·         Highly subjective ·         Spontaneous ·         Dependent upon orientation signals (for example, “Well, in the first place”), and projection terms (for example, “It seems to me”) to soften the tone ·         Conversational and indirect

Question: 10

Role of supervisor, Channels, Direction and Legitimacy of communication.

Answer:

Role of supervisor

The Primary Supervisor is responsible for coordinating, communicating and managing the candidature, for guiding, directing and advancing the thesis and for ensuring that the candidate is informed about the quality of the thesis. The primary responsibility for the overall project, research processes and the production of the thesis remains with the Primary Supervisor even where advice is sought from others about the thesis structure and content. The Primary Supervisor must be registered and hold a degree for which the candidate is enrolled or have other multidisciplinary qualifications suitable to the candidate's research project. In some cases, the supervisor may not hold a higher degree but still have an outstanding publication, research and/or academic record, particularly in supervision, which the Board of Graduate Research accepts as equivalent in standing. In rare cases where no supervisor is available for a brief period of time, the Head of School assumes direct responsibility for the supervision until a supervisor can be appointed.

The Primary Supervisor provides appropriate guidance and support about:

·         the nature of research and research culture;

·         the standard of performance expected;

·         the choice of the research topic;

·         the planning of the research program;

·         the presentation of the research proposal;

·         relevant literature and sources;

·         relevant research methodologies and research ethics;

·         the typical stages and management of the research project;

·         annual reviews and the candidate's progress towards completion;

·         the final stages of the thesis prior to submission;

The responsibilities of the Primary Supervisor include:

·         remaining sensitive to the needs of the candidate;

·         providing sound advice on all stages of work, presentation etc.;

·         ensuring a professional relationship at all times;

·         maintaining regular and frequent supervision sessions;

·         keeping retrievable records of meetings with candidates;