Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester 1

Subject Code: MB0038

Management Process and Organization Behavior
(Book ID: B1127)
Assignment Set- 1

Q1. Write a note on the managerial roles and skills.

Ans. Management Skills
A manager's job is varied and complex. Managers need certain skills to perform the duties and
activities associated with being a manager. Robert L. Katz found that Managers need three
essential skills or competencies, technical, human, and conceptual.

1. Technical skills involve process or technique knowledge and proficiency in a certain

specialized field, such as engineering, computers, accounting, or manufacturing. These skills are
more important at lower levels of management since these managers are dealing directly with
employees doing the organization's work. The technical skills involve the manager's
understanding of the nature of job that people under him have to perform. It refers to a person's
knowledge and proficiency in any type of process or technique. In a production department, this
would mean an understanding of the technicalities of the process of production. Whereas this
type of skill and competence seems to be more important at the lower levels of management, its
relative importance as a part of the managerial role diminishes as the manager moves to higher
positions. In higher functional positions, such as the position of a marketing manager or
production manager, the conceptual component, related to these functional areas becomes more
important and the technical component becomes less important.

2. Human skills involve the ability to interact effectively with people. Managers interact and
cooperate with employees. Because managers deal directly with people, this skill is crucial!
Managers with good human skills are able to get best out of their people. They know how to
communicate, motivate, lead, and inspire enthusiasm and trust. These skills are equally important
at all levels of management. Human skills are also the ability to interact effectively with people
at all levels. This skill develops in the manager sufficient ability:

a) to recognise the feelings and sentiments of others;

b) to judge the possible reactions to, and outcomes of various courses of action he may
undertake; and
c) to examine his own concepts and values which may enable him to develop more useful
attitudes about himself.
This type of skill remains consistently important for managers at all levels.

3. Conceptual skills involve the formulation of ideas, conceptualization about abstract and
complex situations. Managers understand abstract relationships, develop ideas, and solve
problems creatively. Using these skills, managers must be able to see the organization as a
whole. They have to understand the relationships among various subunits, and visualize how
organization fits into its broader environment. These skills are most important at the top
management levels. conceptual skills refer to the ability of a manager to take a broad and

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farsighted view of the organisation and its future, his ability to think in abstract, his ability to
analyse the forces working in a situation, his creative and innovative ability and his ability to
assess the environment and the changes taking place in it. In short, it is his ability to
conceptualise the environment, the organisation, and his own job, so that he can set appropriate
goals for his organisation, for himself and for his team. This skill seems to increase in importance
as a manager move up to higher positions of responsibility in the organisation. Thus, technical
skill deals with things, human skill concerns people, and conceptual -skill has to do with ideas. A
manager's level in the organization determines the relative importance of possessing technical,
human, and conceptual skills. Top level managers need conceptual skills in order to view the
organization as a whole. Conceptual skills are used in planning and dealing with ideas and
abstractions. Supervisors need technical skills to manage their area of specialty. All levels of
management need human skills in order to interact and communicate with other people successfully.

Managerial Roles
To meet the many demands of performing their functions, managers assume multiple roles.
Henry Mintzberg has identified ten roles common to the work of all managers. The ten roles are
divided into three groups: interpersonal, informational, and decisional. The informational roles
link all managerial work together. The interpersonal roles ensure that information is provided.
The decisional roles make significant use of the information. The performance of managerial
roles and the requirements of these roles can be played at different times by the same manager
and to different degrees depending on the level and function of management. The ten roles are
described individually, but they form an integrated whole. The idea of a role comes from
sociology and is the pattern of actions expected of a person in his activities involving others. It
arises as a result of the position that he occupies in a group in a given situation. Thus, a manager
who occupies different positions in different situations plays different roles because people in
each situation have different expectations of him concerning his functions. supervisor. In the role
of spokesperson, the manager disseminates the organization's information into its environment.
Thus, the top level manger is seen as an industry expert, while the supervisor is seen as a unit or
departmental expert.

1.Monitor – As monitor, the manager has to perpetually scan his environment for information,
interrogate his liaison contacts and his subordinates, and receive unsolicited information, much
of it as a result of the network of personal contacts he has developed.

2. Disseminator – In the role of a disseminator, the manager passes some of his privileged
information directly to his subordinates who would otherwise have no access to it.

3. Spokesman – In this role, the manager informs and satisfies various groups and people who
influence his organisation. Thus, he advises shareholders about financial performance, assures
consumer groups that the organisation is fulfilling its social responsibilities and satisfies
government that the organisation is abiding by the law.

1.4.3 The Decisional Role

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The unique access to information places the manager at the centre of organizational decision-
making. There are four decisional roles. In the entrepreneur role, the manager initiates change. In
the disturbance handler role, the manager deals with threats to the organization will expend its
efforts. In the negotiator role, the manager negotiates on behalf of the organization. The top level
manager makes the decisions about the organization as a whole, while the supervisor makes
decisions about his or her particular work unit.

1.Entrepreneur – In this role, the manager constantly looks out for new ideas and seeks to
improve his unit by adapting it to changing conditions in the environment.

2. Disturbance Handler – In this role, the manager has to work like a fire fighter. He must seek
solutions of various unanticipated problems – a strike may loom large, a major customer may go
bankrupt, a supplier may renege on his contract, and so on.

3. Resource Allocator – In this role, the manager must divide work and delegate authority
among his subordinates. He must decide who will get what.

4. Negotiator – The manager has to spend considerable time in negotiations. Thus, the president
of a company may negotiate with the union leaders, a new strike issue; the foreman may
negotiate with the workers a grievance problem, and so on.

Q2. Discuss the methods of shaping behavior in detail.

Ans. Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior. Through learning the behavior of
an individual can be changed or modified. There are various theories of learning to modify
behavior. These theories are dicussed as below:

1. Classical conditioning theory

2. Operant conditioning theory
3. Cognitive learning theory and
4. Social learning theory

1. Classical Conditioning: Classical conditioning is one of the simplest forms of learning, yet it
has a powerful effect on our attitudes, likes and dislikes, and emotional responses. We have all
learned to respond in specific ways to a variety of words and symbols. Our lives are profoundly
influenced by associations we learn through classical conditioning. Ivan Pavlov's research on the
conditioned reflex in dogs revealed much of what we know about the principles of classical
conditioning.

Classical Conditioning of Pavlov: Ivan Pavlov (1849 - 1936) organized and directed research in
physiology at the Institute of Experimental Medicine in St. Petersburg, Russia from 1891 until
his death in 1936. His book "Conditioned Reflexes" is one of the classic works in psychology.
Classical conditioning is modifying behaviour so that a conditioned stimulus is paired with an
unconditioned stimulus and elicits an unconditioned behaviour. Ivan Pavlov, a Russian
psychologist developed classical conditioning theory based on his experiments to teach a dog to

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salivate in response to the ringing of a bell. When Pavlov presented meat (unconditioned
stimulus) to the dog, he noticed a great deal of salivation (conditioned response). But, when
merely bell was rung, no salivation was noticed in the dog. What Pavlov did next was to link the
meat and the ringing of the bell. He did this several times. Afterwards, he merely rang the bell
without presenting the meat. Now, the dog began to salivate as soon as the bell rang. After a
while, the dog would salivate merely at the sound of the bell, even if no meat were presented. In
effect, the dog had learned to respond, i.e., to salivate at the sound of bell, since it was
conditioned to link the sound of the bell with the offering of meat.

Classical conditioning introduces a simple cause-and-effect relationship between one stimulus

and response. It also makes the response reflective or involuntary after the stimulus-response
relationship has been established. This leaves no ground for making choices, which factor
differentiates human beings from dogs. Under certain situations, classical conditioning does
explain human behaviour. For example, if a student is always reprimanded by his Principal when
he is summoned to the principal's office, he may become nervous whenever asked to come to the
principal's office because of this association.

2. Operant Conditioning Theory: Operant conditioning argues that behaviour is a function of

its consequences. People learn to behave to get something they want or avoid something they
don't want. Operant behavior means voluntary or learned behaviour in contrast to reflexive or
unlearned behaviour. The tendency to repeat such behaviour is influenced by the reinforcement
or lack of reinforcement brought about by the consequences of the behaviour. Reinforcement
therefore strengthens behaviour and increases the likelihood that it will be repeated. What Pavlov
did for classical conditioning, the Harvard psychologist B.F Skinner did for operant conditioning.
Operant conditioning induces a voluntary change in behaviour and learning occurs as a
"consequence" of such change. It is also known as reinforcement theory and it suggests that
behaviour is a function of its consequences. It is based upon the premise that behaviour or job
performance is not a function of inner thoughts, feelings, emotions or perceptions but is keyed to
the nature of the outcome of such behaviour. The consequences of a given behaviour would
determine whether the same behaviour is likely to occur in future or not. Based upon this direct
relationship between the consequences and behaviour, the management can study and identify
this relationship and try to modify and control behaviour. Thus, the behaviour can be controlled
by manipulating its consequences. This relationship is built around two principles. The behaviour
that results in positive rewards tends to be repeated and behaviour with negative consequences tends
not to be repeated.Based upon such consequences, the behaviour can be predicted and controlled.
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Hence, certain types of consequences can be used to increase the occurrence of a desired
behaviour and other types of consequences can be used to decrease the occurrence of undesired
behaviour. The consequences of behaviour are used to influence, or shape behavior through three
strategies: reinforcement, punishment and extinction. Thus, operant conditioning is the process of
modifying behaviour through the use of positive or negative consequences following specific
behaviours. From an organizational point of view, any stimulus from the work environment will
elicit a response. The consequence of such a response will determine the nature of the future
response. For example, working hard and getting the promotion will probably cause the person to
keep working hard in the future.

3. Cognitive Learning theory

Cognitive focuses on an unobservable change in mental knowledge. Cognitive learning is
learning achieved by thinking about the perceived relationship between events and individual
goals and expectations. Cognition refers to individual's ideas, thoughts, knowledge, interpretation
and understanding about the individuals and environment.

4. Social learning Theory

Social learning focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers how
people learn from one another, encompassing such concepts as observational learning, imitation,
and modelling. Modelling, learning is done by observing others behaviour through
reinforcement, environment and the interactions with the world and society.

Principles of Social Learning Theory

1. People can learn by observing the behaviours of others and the outcomes of those behaviours.
2. Learning can occur without a change in behaviour.
3. The consequences of behaviour play a role in learning.
4. Cognition plays a role in learning.

Four processes have been found to determine the influence that a model will have on an
individual.

1. Attention processes: People only learn from a model when they recognize and pay attention
to its critical features. We tent to be most influenced by models that are attractive, repeatedly
available, important to us, or similar to us in our estimation.

2. Retention processes: A model influence will depend on how well the individuals remember
the model action after the model is no longer readily available.

3. Motor reproduction processes: After a person has a new behaviour by observing the model,
watching must be converted to doing.

Q3. Explain the classification of personality types given by Myers -Briggs.

Ans. Myers- Briggs Personality Type Indicators:

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Myers-Briggs developed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a commercially available
questionnaire, which is widely used in business and training, etc. and which provides information
and exercises for better understanding one's own personality type and others with who the
individual interacts and works. Keirsey has renamed and re-conceptualized the Jungian types, but
they relate very closely to the Jungian types. Keirsey refers to "temperaments" rather than
personality. Underlying all these typologies are four personality traits (functions):

1. Extroversion (E) --- Introversion (I)

Do you recharge your energy via external contact & activity (Extroversion) or spending time in
your inner space (Introversion)?

2. Intuition (N) --- Sensing (S)

Do you rely on your inner voice (Intuition) or observation (Sensing)?

3. Thinking (T) --- Feeling (F)

When making decisions, what do you rely most on? Your thoughts or your feelings?

4. Judgement (J) --- Perception (P)

Do you tend to set schedules and organize your life (Judgement), or do you tend to leave the
options open and see what happens (Perception)? Using the letters above, it is possible to have a
unique 4 letter code to indicate each of the 16 Jungian personality types, e.g., I am an INTJ.

Q4. What are the factors influencing perception?

Ans. Factors Influencing Perception
A number of factors operate to shape and sometimes distort perception. These factors can reside:
i) In the perceiver.
ii) In the object or target being perceived or
iii) In the context of the situation in which the perception is made.

1. Characteristics of the Perceiver: Several characteristics of the perceiver can affect

perception. When an individual looks at a target and attempts to interpret what he or she stands
for, that interpretation is heavily influenced by personal characteristics of the individual
perceiver. The major characteristics of the perceiver influencing perception are:

a) Attitudes: The perceiver's attitudes affect perception. For example, suppose Mr. X is
interviewing candidates for a very important position in his organization - a position that requires
negotiating contracts with suppliers, most of whom are male. Mr X may feel that women are not
capable of holding their own in tough negotiations. This attitude will doubtless affect his
perceptions of the female candidates he interviews.

b) Moods: Moods can have a strong influence on the way we perceive someone. We think
differently when we are happy than we do when we are depressed. In addition, we remember
information that is consistent with our mood state better than information that is inconsistent with

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our mood state. When in a positive mood, we form more positive impressions of others. When in
a negative mood, we tend to evaluate others unfavourably.

c) Motives: Unsatisfied needs or motives stimulate individuals and may exert a strong influence
on their perceptions. For example, in an organizational context, a boss who is insecure perceives
a subordinate's efforts to do an outstanding job as a threat to his or her own position. Personal
insecurity can be translated into the perception that others are out to "get my job", regardless of
the intention of the subordinates.

d) Self-Concept: Another factor that can affect social perception is the perceivers' self-concept.
An individual with a positive self-concept tends to notice positive attributes in another person. In
contrast, a negative self-concept can lead a perceiver to pick out negative traits in another person.
Greater understanding of self allows us to have more accurate perceptions of others.

e) Interest: The focus of our attention appears to be influenced by our interests. Because our
individual interests differ considerably, what one person notices in a situation can differ from
what others perceive. For example, the supervisor who has just been reprimanded by his boss for
coming late is more likely to notice his colleagues coming late tomorrow than he did last week. If
you are preoccupied with a personal problem, you may find it hard to be attentive in class.

f) Cognitive Structure: Cognitive structure, an individual's pattern of thinking, also affects

perception. Some people have a tendency to perceive physical traits, such as height, weight, and
appearance, more readily. Others tend to focus more on central traits, or personality dispositions.
Cognitive complexity allows a person to perceive multiple characteristics of another person
rather than attending to just a few traits.

g) Expectations: Finally, expectations can distort your perceptions in that you will see what you
expect to see. The research findings of the study conducted by Sheldon S Zalkind and Timothy
W Costello on some specific characteristics of the perceiver reveal:
• Knowing oneself makes it easier to see others accurately.
• One's own characteristics affect the characteristics one is likely to
see in others.
• People who accept themselves are more likely to be able to see
favourable aspects of other people.
• Accuracy in perceiving others is not a single skill.

These four characteristics greatly influence how a person perceives others in the environmental
situation.
Q5. Mr. Solanki is the VP- HR of a leading Financial services company. He is having a
meeting with Ms. Ramani leading HR consultant. Mr. Solanki is concerned about
creating an environment that helps in increasing the job satisfaction amongst
employees. Assume that you are Ms. Ramani, the HR consultant. What suggestions
you will give to Mr. Solanki, for creating an environment that increases job
satisfaction.
Ans. Job satisfaction is the sense of fulfillment and pride felt by people who enjoy their
work and do it well. For an organization, satisfied work force ensures commitment to high
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quality performance and increased productivity Job satisfaction helps organizations to reduce
complaints and grievances, absenteeism, turnover, and termination. Job satisfaction is also linked
to a healthier work force and has been found to be a good indicator of longevity. And although
only little correlation has been found between job satisfaction and productivity, ithas also been
found that satisfying or delighting employees is aprerequisiteto satisfying or delighting
customers, thus protecting the "bottom line (Brown, 1996).The most important factors
conductive to job satisfaction are:

i) Mentally Challenging Work:

Employees tend to prefer jobs that give them opportunities to use their skills and abilities and
offer a variety of tasks, freedom and feedback on how well they are doing. Under conditions of
moderate challenge, most employees will experience pleasure and satisfaction.

ii) Personality-Job Fit:

People with personality types congruent with their chosen vocationsshould find they have the
right talents and abilities to meet the demands of their jobs; andbecause of this success, they have
a greater probability of achieving high satisfaction fromtheir work. It is important, therefore to fit
personality factors with job profiles.

iii) Equitable Rewards:

Employees want pay systems and promotion policies that theyperceive as being just,
unambiguous, and in line with their expectations. When pay is seen asfair based on job demands,
individual skill level, and industry pay standards, satisfaction islikely to result. Similarly,
employees seek fair promotion policies andpractices. Promotions provide opportunities for
personal growth, more responsibilities andincreased social status. Individuals who perceive that
promotion decisions are made in a fair and just manner are likely to experience job satisfaction.

iv) Supportive working conditions:

Employees prefer physical conditions that arecomfortable and facilitate doing a good job.
Temperature, light, noise and other environmental factors should not be extreme and provide
personal comfort. Further,employees prefer working relatively close to home, in clean and
relatively modern facilitiesand with adequate tools and equipment.

v) Supportive Colleagues:
Employees have need for social interaction. Therefore, havingfriendly and supportive co-workers
and understanding supervisor’s leads to increased jobsatisfaction. Most employees want their
immediate supervisor to be understanding andfriendly, those who offer praise for good
performance, listen to employees’ opinions andshow a personal interest in them.

vi) Whistle blowing:

Whistle-blowers are employees who inform authorities of wrongdoings of their companies or co-
workers. Whistle blowing is important because committed organizational members sometimes
engage in unethical behaviour in an intense desire to succeed. Organizations can manage whistle
blowing by communicating the conditions that are appropriate for the disclosure of wrongdoing.
Clearly delineating wrongful behaviour and the appropriate ways to respond are important
organizational actions.
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vii) Social Responsibility:
Corporate social responsibility is the obligation of an organizationto behaves in ethical ways in
the social environment in which it operates. Socially responsible actions are expected of
organizations. Current concerns include protecting the environment, promoting worker safety,
supporting social issues, investing in the community, etc. Managers must encourage both
individual ethical behaviour and organizational social responsibility

Q6. Given below is the HR policy glimpse of the “VARK-LEARNING” a learning and
training solutions company
1. It offers cash rewards for staff members
2. It promotes the culture of employee referral and encourages people to refer
people they know may be their friends, ex. Colleagues batch mates, relatives.
3. What all needs do it takes care off according to maslow’s need hierarchy
4. It recognizes good performances and give fancy titles and jackets to the people
who perform well and also felicitates them in the Annual Day of the company.What
all aspects does it takes care of according to the Maslow’s Need Hierarchy ?
Ans. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

According to this theory, proposed by Maslow (1943), human beings have wants and desires
which influence their behaviour; only unsatisfied needs can influence behavior, satisfied needs
cannot. The needs are arranged in order of importance, from the basic to the complex.The person
advances to the next level of needs only after the lower level need is at least minimally satisfied.
The further they progress up the hierarchy, the more individuality, humanness and psychological
health a person will show.

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Pyramid

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The five needs are:·

Physiological : Includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs.

Safety : Includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm.
Social : Includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship.

Esteem :Includes internal esteem factors, such as, self-respect, autonomy, and
achievement; and external esteem factors, such as, status, recognition, and
attention.

Self-actualization: The drive to become what one is capable of becoming; includes growth,
achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment Maslow separated the five needs
into higher and lower orders. Physiological and safety needs are described as
lower-order. Social, esteem, and self-actualization are classified as higher-order
needs. Higher-order needs are satisfied internally, whereas, Lower-order needs are
predominantly satisfied, externally.

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 Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester 1
Subject Code: MB0038
Management Process and Organization Behavior
(Book ID: B1127)
Assignment Set- 2

Q1. Write a note on classical era for evolution of Organization behaviour.

Ans. Classical Organization Theory

Classical organization theory evolved during the first half of this century. It represents the
merger of scientific management, bureaucratic theory, and administrative theory.

Frederick Taylor (1917) developed scientific management theory (often called "Taylorism") at
the beginning of this century. His theory had four basic principles: 1) find the one "best way" to
perform each task, 2) carefully match each worker to each task, 3) closely supervise workers, and
use reward and punishment as motivators, and 4) the task of management is planning and
control.

Initially, Taylor was very successful at improving production. His methods involved getting the
best equipment and people, and then carefully scrutinizing each component of the production
process. By analyzing each task individually, Taylor was able to find the right combinations of
factors that yielded large increases in production.

While Taylor's scientific management theory proved successful in the simple industrialized
companies at the turn of the century, it has not faired well in modern companies. The philosophy
of "production first, people second" has left a legacy of declining production and quality,
dissatisfaction with work, loss of pride in workmanship, and a near complete loss of
organizational pride.

Max Weber (1947) expanded on Taylor's theories, and stressed the need to reduce diversity and
ambiguity in organizations. The focus was on establishing clear lines of authority and control.
Weber's bureaucratic theory emphasized the need for a hierarchical structure of power. It
recognized the importance of division of labor and specialization. A formal set of rules was
bound into the hierarchy structure to insure stability and uniformity. Weber also put forth the
notion that organizational behavior is a network of human interactions, where all behavior could
be understood by looking at cause and effect.

Administrative theory (i.e., principles of management) was formalized in the 1930's by Mooney
and Reiley (1931). The emphasis was on establishing a universal set of management principles
that could be applied to all organizations.

Classical management theory was rigid and mechanistic. The shortcomings of classical
organization theory quickly became apparent. Its major deficiency was that it attempted to
explain peoples' motivation to work strictly as a function of economic reward.

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Neoclassical Organization Theory

The human relations movement evolved as a reaction to the tough, authoritarian structure of
classical theory. It addressed many of the problems inherent in classical theory. The most serious
objections to classical theory are that it created overconformity and rigidity, thus squelching
creativity, individual growth, and motivation. Neoclassical theory displayed genuine concern for
human needs.

One of the first experiments that challenged the classical view was conducted by Mayo and
Roethlisberger in the late 1920's at the Western Electric plant in Hawthorne, Illinois (Mayo,
1933). While manipulating conditions in the work environment (e.g., intensity of lighting), they
found that any change had a positive impact on productivity. The act of paying attention to
employees in a friendly and nonthreatening way was sufficient by itself to increase output. Uris
(1986) referred to this as the "wart" theory of productivity. Nearly any treatment can make a wart
go away--nearly anything will improve productivity. "The implication is plain: intelligent action
often delivers results" (Uris, 1986, p. 225).

The Hawthorne experiment is quite disturbing because it cast doubts on our ability to evaluate
the efficacy of new management theories. An organization might continually involve itself in the
latest management fads to produce a continuous string of Hawthorne effects. "The result is
usually a lot of wheel spinning and cynicism" (Pascale, 1990, p. 103). Pascale believes that the
Hawthorne effect is often misinterpreted. It is a "parable about researchers (and managers)
manipulating and 'playing tricks' on employees." (p. 103) Erroneous conclusions are drawn
because it represents a controlling and manipulative attitude toward workers.

Writing in 1939, Barnard (1968) proposed one of the first modern theories of organization by
defining organization as a system of consciously coordinated activities. He stressed in role of the
executive in creating an atmosphere where there is coherence of values and purpose.
Organizational success was linked to the ability of a leader to create a cohesive environment. He
proposed that a manager's authority is derived from subordinates' acceptance, instead of the
hierarchical power structure of the organization. Barnard's theory contains elements of both
classical and neoclassical approaches. Since there is no consensus among scholars, it might be
most appropriate to think of Barnard as a transition theorist.

Simon (1945) made an important contribution to the study of organizations when he proposed a
model of "limited rationality" to explain the Hawthorne experiments. The theory stated that
workers could respond unpredictably to managerial attention. The most important aspect of
Simon's work was the rigorous application of the scientific method. Reductionism,
quantification, and deductive logic were legitimized as the methods of studying organizations.

Taylor, Weber, Barnard, Mayo, Roethlisberger, and Simon shared the belief that the goal of
management was to maintain equilibrium. The emphasis was on being able to control and
manipulate workers and their environment.

Contingency Theory

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Classical and neoclassical theorists viewed conflict as something to be avoided because it
interfered with equilibrium. Contingency theorists view conflict as inescapable, but manageable.

Chandler (1962) studied four large United States corporations and proposed that an organization
would naturally evolve to meet the needs of its strategy -- that form follows function. Implicit in
Chandler's ideas was that organizations would act in a rational, sequential, and linear manner to
adapt to changes in the environment. Effectiveness was a function of management's ability to
adapt to environmental changes.

Lawrence and Lorsch (1969) also studied how organizations adjusted to fit their environment. In
highly volatile industries, they noted the importance of giving managers at all levels the authority
to make decisions over their domain. Managers would be free to make decisions contingent on
the current situation.

Systems Theory

Systems theory was originally proposed by Hungarian biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy in 1928,
although it has not been applied to organizations until recently (Kast and Rosenzweig, 1972;
Scott, 1981). The foundation of systems theory is that all the components of an organization are
interrelated, and that changing one variable might impact many others. Organizations are viewed
as open systems, continually interacting with their environment. They are in a state of dynamic
equilibrium as they adapt to environmental changes.

Senge (1990) describes systems thinking as:

understanding how our actions shape our reality. If I believe that my current state was created by
somebody else, or by forces outside my control, why should I hold a vision? The central premise
behind holding a vision is that somehow I can shape my future, Systems thinking helps us see
how our own actions have shaped our current reality, thereby giving us confidence that we can
create a different reality in the future. (p. 136)

A central theme of systems theory is that nonlinear relationships might exist between variables.
Small changes in one variable can cause huge changes in another, and large changes in a variable
might have only a nominal effect on another. The concept of nonlinearity adds enormous
complexity to our understanding of organizations. In fact, one of the most salient argument
against systems theory is that the complexity introduced by nonlinearity makes it difficult or
impossible to fully understand the relationships between variables.

Q2. What is groupthink. Explain.

Ans. Definition: “Decision making by a group (especially in a manner that discourages
creativity or individual responsibility).”
“Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and
reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas.”
“A process of reasoning or decision-making by a group, especially one characterized by
uncritical acceptance or conformity to a perceived majority view.”
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Groupthink is an interesting phenomenon which can occur when a group of people gathers to
make a decision. Essentially, desires for group cohesiveness and a quick decision cloud the
judgment of the people in the group, leading to a decision which is less than ideal. Social
psychologists have studied groupthink extensively in an attempt to understand the warning signs
of this phenomenon, and to develop methods for avoiding groupthink.

Irving Janis was one of the first social psychologists to delve into groupthink, publishing a study
on groupthink in the context of foreign policy decisions in 1972. He argued that groupthink was
probably responsible for some of the more unwise decisions made by the United States
government, backing up his claim with studies of group dynamics. Many studies of groupthink
focus on foreign policy, since the groups who make these kinds of decisions tend to be
classically pressured and very cohesive, setting up an ideal situation for groupthink.

Several things characterize groupthink. Members of the group tend to experience illusions of
unamity, morality, and invulnerability within the group, meaning that they think everyone agrees,
they are under the impression that their decisions are morally based, and they think that the
decisions made within the group are always sound. Groupthink is also accompanied by self-
censoring, in which members of the group stifle their opinions because they are afraid of
controversy. The group often engages in heavy stereotyping of other groups and the situation
they are dealing with, and there is often an immense pressure for conformity within the group.

One of the hallmarks of groupthink is collective rationalization, in which the members of the
group rationalize thoughts or decisions in flawed ways. This rationalization is often supported by
so-called “mindguards,” who prevent contradictory information from entering the group
discussion. As the members of the group work with incomplete information, high pressure, and a
desire to conform, they come up with an idea which may not be balanced and well considered,
like the decision to invade another country on the basis of flimsy evidence.

There are a number of ways to avoid groupthink. Most importantly, the group must start out with
no clear expectations and desires, and dissenting opinions must be encouraged, to the point of
asking individual members of the group to argue against ideas as they are presented. Many
organizations also break groups up into smaller committees which come back to the main group
with their ideas, in the hopes of stimulating more discussion and creative ideas. In a situation
where discussing decisions with people outside the group is feasible, people are encouraged to
talk with people not in the group, to see whether their ideas will hold up in the outside world.

Q3. Explain the process of negotiation.

Ans. Negotiation:-Negotiation is the process through which the parties to a conflict define
what they are willing to give and accept in an exchange. Negotiation permeates the interactions
of almost everyone in groups and organizations. If the conflict is complex, the negotiation
process may incorporate different strategies for different issues: avoiding some, compromising
on others, and so on.
Steps in Negotiation

We can identify four basic steps in the negotiation process. They are:

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1. Preparation: Preparation for negotiations should begin long before the formal negotiation
begins. Each party gathers information about the other side – its history, likely behaviour,
previous interactions and previous agreements reached by the parties. Each party polls its
members to determine their wishes, expectations, and preferences regarding a new agreement.

2. Evaluation of Alternatives: The two sides attempt to identify the bargaining range (i.e., the
range in which both parties would find an agreement acceptable). The bargainers determine the
alternatives acceptable to them and also identify their best alternative if a negotiated settlement is
not reached. Identifying a set of alternatives, including the best one, helps individuals determine
whether to continue the negotiation or seek another course of action.

3. Identifying Interests: Negotiators act to satisfy their own interests, which may include
substantive, relationship, personal or organizational ones. The person or group must assess the
other party's interests and then decide how to respond to those interests in their offers. Effective
negotiations call for satisfying interests by identifying and exploring a range of possible positions
on specific issues.

4. Making Trade-offs and Creating Joint Gains: Bargainers use tradeoffs to satisfy their own
and others' interests. Either position would meet the interests of maintaining a certain standard of
living. One way to assess tradeoffs is Begin by identifying the best and worst possible outcomes.
Next, specify what impact trade-offs will have on these outcomes. Finally, consider whether the
changed outcomes will better meet the parties' interest. Negotiators need to overcome the idea that
a fixed pie of outcomes exists, avoid non-rational escalation of conflict, pay attention to others'
cognitions and avoid devaluating the others' concessions while overvaluing their own.

Negotiating Approaches

There are two major negotiating approaches;

1. Distributive Bargaining: Distributive bargaining is an approach in which the goals of one

party are in direct conflict with the goals of the other party. Each party wants to maximize its
share of the limited resources. Distributive bargaining is a competitive or win-lose approach to
negotiations.

2. Integrative Negotiation: Under this approach to negotiation, the parties' goals are not seen as
mutually exclusive; the focus is on making it possible for both sides to achieve their objectives.
Integrative negotiation focuses on the merits of the issues and is a win-win approach.

Third-Party Negotiations

When individuals and groups reach a stalemate and are unable to resolve their differences
through direct negotiations, especially when a conflict is emotionally charged, they may turn to a
third party to help them find a solution. The third party may be a manager, a well-respected
colleague or someone whose formal role is to resolve conflicts.

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1. Mediator: A mediator is neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using
reasoning and persuasion, suggesting alternatives, etc. A mediator's role involves exerting high
control over the process but not the outcome. A mediator interviews the parties separately, and
then tries to help them reach a solution by bringing those together or ferrying messages back and
forth during labour management negotiations.

2. Arbitrator: An arbitrator is a third party with the authority to dictate an agreement. An

arbitrator's role involves exerting low control over the process and high, control over the
outcome. The arbitrator allows each party to present facts or arguments and then decides on the
outcome and may even enforce it. Arbitration can be voluntary or compulsory.

3. Consultant: A consultant is a skilled and impartial third party who attempts to facilitate
problem solving through communication and analysis, aided by his or her knowledge of conflict
management. This approach has a longer term focus to build new and positive perception and
attitude between the conflicting parties.

4. Inquisitor: The role of an inquisitor involves high control over both the process and the
outcome of conflict resolution. An inquisitor asks questions, directs the way evidence is
presented, calls for additional evidence and referees arguments, then decides the outcome of the
dispute and enforces his or her decision.

5. Avoider, delegator or impetus provider: A category of roles that involve exerting little
control over the process and the outcome. They are:

a. Avoider: tries to ignore the conflict and minimize its significance.

b. The delegator: asks another person to help in the negotiation.
c. Impetus provider: delegates the conflict to the parties along with a threat that if they fail to
resolve it, the manager will dictate a solution they are sure to dislike.

Q4. The environmental stressors have a great impact on work performance and
adjustment of the individual in an organization. Discuss the different categories of
environmental stressors.
Ans. Stress
Stress is an exceedingly complex concept that does not lend itself to a simple definition. It can
best be understood in terms of the internal and external conditions necessary for its arousal and
the symptoms by which it is identified. Its identifiable symptoms are both psychological and
physiological. Stress carries a negative connotation for some people, as though it were something
to be avoided. This is unfortunate, because stress is a great asset in managing legitimate
emergencies and achieving peak performance. Some definitions of stress are given below:

According to J. C Quick and J.D Quick "Stress, or the stress response, is the unconscious
preparation to fight or flee a person experiences when faced with any demand".

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According to Mikhail A "Stress refers to a psychological and physiological state that results
when certain features of an individual's environment challenge that person, creating an actual or
perceived imbalance between demand and capability to adjust that results in a non-specific response".

Environmental Stressors
Environmental and internal conditions that lie beyond an individual's control are called
environmental stressors. Such stressors can have a considerable impact on work performance and
adjustment. We can organize environmental stressors into the following categories:

1. Task Demands: Task demands are factors related to a person's job. They include the design of
the individual's job, working conditions, and the physical work layout. Changes and lack of
control are two of the most stressful demands people face at work. Change leads to uncertainty, a
lack of predictability in a person's daily tasks and activities and may be caused by job insecurity
related to difficult economic times. Technology and technological innovation also create change
and uncertainty for many employees, requiring adjustments in training, education and skill
development.
Lack of control is a second major source of stress, especially in work environments that are
difficult and psychologically demanding. The lack of control may be caused by inability to
influence the timing of tasks and activities, to select tools or methods for accomplishing the
work, to make decisions that influence work outcomes, or to exercise direct action to affect the
work outcomes.

2. Role Demands: The social-psychological demands of the work environment may be every bit
as stressful as task demands at work. Role demands relate to pressures placed on a person as a
function of the particular role he or she plays in the organization. Role conflicts create
expectations that may be hard to reconcile or satisfy. Role conflict results from inconsistent or
incompatible expectations communicated to a person. The conflict may be an inter-role, intra-
role or person-role conflict.

a. Inter-role Conflict: is caused by conflicting expectations related to two separate roles, such as
employee and parent. For example, the employee with a major sales presentation on Monday and
a sick child at home is likely to experience inter-role conflict.

b. Intra-role Conflict: is caused by conflicting expectations related to a single role, such as

employee. For example, the manager who presses employees for both very fast work and high-
quality work may be viewed at some point as creating a conflict for employees.

c. Person-role Conflict: Ethics violations are likely to cause personrole conflicts. Employees
expected to behave in ways that violate personal values, beliefs or principles experience conflict.
The second major cause of role stress is role ambiguity. Role ambiguity is created when role
expectations are not clearly understood and the employee is not sure what he or she is to do. Role
ambiguity is the confusion a person experiences related to the expectations of others. Role
ambiguity may be caused by not understanding what is expected, not knowing how to do it, or
not knowing the result of failure to do it
.

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3. Inter-personal Demands: are pressures created by other employees. Lack of social support
from colleagues and poor interpersonal relationships can cause considerable stress, especially
among employees with a high social need. Abrasive personalities, sexual harassment and the
leadership style in the organization are interpersonal demands for people at work.

a. The Abrasive Person: May be an able and talented employee, but one who creates emotional
waves that others at work must accommodate.

b. Sexual Harassment: The vast majority of sexual harassment is directed at women in the
workplace, creating a stressful working environment for the person being harassed, as well as for
others.

c. Leadership Styles: Whether authoritarian or participative, create stress for different

personality types. Employees who feel secure with firm, directive leadership may be anxious
with an open, participative style. Those comfortable with participative leadership may feel
restrained by a directive style.

4. Physical Demands: Non-work demands create stress for people, which carry over into the
work environment or vice versa. Workers subject to family demands related to marriage, child
rearing and parental care may create role conflicts or overloads that are difficult to manage. In
addition to family demands, people have personal demands related to non-work organizational
commitments such as religious and public service organizations. These demands become more or
less stressful, depending on their compatibility with the person's work and family life and their
capacity to provide alternative satisfactions for the person.

Q5. Given below are certain instances observed by the summer trainee – Ritu, while
making an observational study at GlobalGreen consultants. An organization dealing
with recycling of plastic products waste etc. She makes the following observation
about two key people in the organization.
1. Mr. Patnayak – He is a very friendly person and encourages his team members by
giving those recommendations and appreciations. This helps HR to decide about
giving a bonus or promotion to employees.
2. Mr. Dutta - He is an aggressive person. He frequently loses his temper. Ritu
observes that he frequently punishes the non-performers and also give them
warnings regarding suspension etc.
Now explain what base of power does Mr. Patnayak and Mr. Dutta belongs to.
Explain the type of power they use often.
Ans. Bases of Power

Power can be categorized into two types: Formal and informal

A. Formal Power:
It is based on the position of an individual in an organization. Formal power is derived from
either one’s ability to coerce or reward others or is derived from the formal authority vested in
the individual due to his/ her strategic position in the organizational hierarchy. For example, a
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manager may threaten to withhold a pay raise, or to transfer, demote, or even recommend the
firing of a subordinate who does not act as desired. Such coercive power is the extent to which a
manager can deny desired rewards or administer punishments to control other people. The
availability of coercive power also varies across organizations. The presence of unions and
organizational policies on employee treatment can weaken this power base significantly. Formal
power may be categorized into four types which are as follows:

1. Coercive Power: The coercive power base is being dependent on fear. It is based on the
application, or the threat of application, of physical sanctions such as the infliction of pain, the
generation of frustration through restriction of movement, or the controlling by force of basic
physiological or safety needs. In an organization one can exercise power over another if they
have the power to dismiss, suspend, demote another assuming that the job is valuable to the
person on whom power is being unleashed.

2. Reward Power: The opposite of coercive power is reward power. Reward power is the extent
to which a manager can use extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to control other people. Examples of
such rewards include money, promotions, compliments, or enriched jobs. Although all managers
have some access to rewards, success in accessing and utilizing rewards to achieve influence
varies according to the skills of the manager.

3. Legitimate Power: The third base of “position” power is legitimate power, or formal
authority .It stems from the extent to which a manager can use subordinates’ internalized values
or beliefs that the “boss “has a “right of command” to control their behaviour. For example, the
boss may have the formal authority to approve or deny such employee requests as job transfers,
equipment purchases, personal time off, or overtime work. Legitimate power represents a special
kind of power a manager has because subordinates believe it is legitimate for a person occupying
the managerial position to have the right to command. The lack of this is legitimacy will result in
authority not being accepted by subordinates. Thus this type of power has the following
elements:

It represents the power a person receives as a result of his/her position in the formal hierarchy.·
Positions of authority include coercive and reward powers.· Legitimate power, however, is not
limited to the power to coerce and reward. It encompasses the acceptance of the authority of a
position by members of an organization.

4. Information Power: This type of power is derived from access to and control over
information. When people have needed information, others become dependant on them. (For
example, managers have access to data that subordinates do not have). Normally the higher the
level, the more information would be accessed by managers.

B. Personal Power
Personal power resides in the individual and is independent of that individual’s position. Three
bases of personal power are expertise, rational persuasion, and reference. Expert power is the
ability to control another person’s behavior by virtue of possessing knowledge, experience, or
judgment that the other person lacks, but needs. A subordinate obeys a supervisor possessing
expert power because the boss ordinarily knows more about what is to be done or how it is to be

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done than does the subordinate. Expert power is relative, not absolute. However the table may
turn in case the subordinate has superior knowledge or skills than his/ her boss. In this age of
technology driven environments, the second proposition holds true in many occasions where the
boss is dependent heavily on the juniors for technologically oriented support. Rational persuasion
is the ability to control another’s behavior, since, through the individual’s efforts, the person
accepts the desirability of an offered goal and a viable way of achieving it. Rational persuasion
involves both explaining the desirability of expected outcomes and showing how specific actions
will achieve these outcomes. Referent power is the ability to control another’s behavior because
the person wants to identify with the power source. In this case, a subordinate obeys the boss
because he or she wants to behave, perceive, or believe as the boss does. This obedience may
occur, for example, because the subordinate likes the boss personally and therefore tries to do
things the way the boss wants them done. In a sense, the subordinate attempts to avoid doing
anything that would interfere with the pleasing boss –subordinate relationship. Followership
is not based on what the subordinate will get for specific actions or specific levels of
performance, but on what the individual represents – a path toward lucrative future prospects.
Charismatic Power is an extension of referent power stemming from an individual’s personality
and interpersonal style. Others follow because they can articulate attractive visions, take personal
risks, demonstrate follower sensitivity, etc.

Q6. “Fashion4Now” is a famous and old magazine. The top management decides to start
the e- edition of the magazine.
They also decide the redefine the policies and culture of window to truth’
To start implementing, this change, they frequently call meetings of employees. They
have also formed groups at different levels to clarify doubts and explain the
perspective of change.
Analyze the situation in the context of organizational change and elaborate why the
top management is following the discussed practices and what approach is most
evident in the context.
Ans. Force Field Analysis theory

Lewin (1951) proposed a three step sequential model of change process:

Unfreezing:
At this stage, the forces, which maintain the status quo in the organizational behavior, are
reduced by refuting the present attitude and behavior to create a perceived need for something
new. It is facilitated by environmental pressure such as increased competition, declining
productivity and performance, felt need to improve the style of work, etc.Schien has suggested
some measures which are quite helpful in undertaking unfreezing process. These are as follows:

1. The physical removal of the individuals being changed from their accustomed routines,
sources of information, and social relationships.
2. The undermining and destruction of social support.
3. Demeaning and humiliating experiences to help individuals to see their old attitudes
or behaviour as unworthy and think to be motivated to change.4. The consistent linking of
reward with willingness to change and of punishment with lack of willingness to change.
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Changing/Moving
This stage involves a shift in behavior of organizations by modifying system, process,
technology and people. This phase can be explained in terms of compliance, identification and
internalization (Rao and Hari Krishna 2002). Compliance or force occurs when individuals are
forced to change whether by reward or by punishment. Internalization occurs when individuals
are forced to encounter a situation that calls for new behaviour. Identification occurs when
individuals recognize one among various models provided in the environment

that is most suitable to their personality.

Refreezing

At this stage, actions are taken to sustain the drive for change and to facilitate the
institutionalization process of the change even in a day-to-day routine of the organizations. Here,
the desired outcomes are positively reinforced and extra support is provided to overcome the
difficulties. There is a tendency that individuals revert back gradually to their old behaviours,
which they were displaying before the change, in the absence of suitable reinforcement.
Therefore, reinforcement is necessary for the internalization of new behaviour

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