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MB0038: Management Process and Organization Behavior Assignment Set I Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.

Q.1 Explain controlling and also discuss different types of control Controlling

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It involves monitoring the employees behavior and organizational processes and take necessary actions to improve them, if needed. Controlling is the process through which standards for performance of people and processes are set, communicated, and applied. Effective control systems use mechanisms to monitor activities and take corrective action, if necessary. There are four steps in the control process. They are as follows: Step 1. Establish Performance Standards: Standards are created when objectives are set during the planning process. A standard is any guideline established as the basis for measurement. It is a precise, explicit statement of expected results from a product, service, machine, individual, or organizational unit. It is usually expressed numerically and is set for quality, quantity, and time. Tolerance is permissible deviation from the standard. Step 2. Measure Actual Performance: Supervisors collect data to measure actual performance to determine variation from standard. Written data might include time cards, production tallies, inspection reports, and sales tickets. Personal observation, statistical reports, oral reports and written reports can be used to measure performance. Management by walking around, or observation of employees working, provides unfiltered information, extensive coverage, and the ability to read between the lines. While providing insight, this method might be misinterpreted by employees as mistrust. Oral reports allow for fast and extensive feedback. Computers give supervisors direct access to real time, unaltered data, and information. Online systems enable supervisors to identify problems as they occur. Database programs allow supervisors to query, spend less time gathering facts, and be less dependent on other people. Step 3. Compare Measured Performance Against Established Standards: Comparing results with standards determines variation. Some variation can be expected in all activities and the range of variation - the acceptable variance - has to be established. Management by exception lets operations continue as long as they fall within the prescribed control limits. Deviations or differences that exceed this range would alert the supervisor to a problem. Step 4. Take Corrective Action: The supervisor must find the cause of deviation from standard. Then, he or she takes action to remove or minimize the cause. If the source of variation in work performance is from a deficit in activity, then a supervisor can take immediate corrective action and get performance back on track. Types of Control Controls are most effective when they are applied at key places. Supervisors can implement controls before the process begins (feed forward), during the process (concurrent), or after it ceases (feedback).

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Feed forward controls focus on operations before they begin. Their goal is to prevent anticipated problems. An example of feed forward control is scheduled maintenance on automobiles and machinery. Concurrent controls apply to processes as they are happening. Concurrent controls enacted while work is being performed include any type of steering or guiding mechanism such as direct supervision, automated systems (such as computers programmed to inform the user when they have issued the wrong command), and organizational quality programs. Feedback controls focus on the results of operations. They guide future planning, inputs, and process designs. Examples of feedback controls include timely (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual) reports so that almost instantaneous adjustments can be made.

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Q.2 This question is answered in the full answer sheet since this is a sample. Q.3 Write a detailed note on Myers-Briggs type indicator The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) The MBTI classifies human beings into four opposite pairs (dichotomies), base on their psychological opposites. These four opposite pairs result into 16 possible combinations. In MBTI, Individuals are classified as (McCrae and Costa, 1989) : a. Extroverted or introverted (E or I). b. Sensing or intuitive (S or N). c. Thinking or feeling (T or F). d. Perceiving or judging (P or J). These classifications are then combined into sixteen personality types. For example: a. INTJs are visionaries. They usually have original minds and great drive for their own ideas and purposes. They are characterized as skeptical, critical, independent, determined, and often stubborn. b. ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic, logical, analytical, decisive, and have a natural head for business or mechanics. They like to organize and run activities. c. The ENTP type is a conceptualizer. He or she is innovative, individualistic, versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas. This person tends to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments. MBTI Basics The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung understandable and useful in peoples lives. The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment. "Perception involves all the ways of becoming aware of things, people, happenings, or ideas. Judgment involves all the ways of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived. If people differ systematically in what they perceive and in how they reach conclusions, then it is only reasonable for them to differ correspondingly in their interests, reactions, values, motivations, and skills". In developing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator [instrument], the aim of Isabel Briggs Myers, and her mother, Katharine Briggs, was to make the insights of type theory accessible to individuals and groups. They addressed the two related goals in the developments and application of the MBTI instrument: The identification of basic preferences of each of the four dichotomies specified or implicit in Jungs theory. The identification and description of the 16 distinctive personality types that result from the interactions among the preferences. [10]

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MBTI Type at Work The Myers Briggs Type Indicator instrument and knowledge of personality type are used by many organizations, large and small. Since type provides a framework for understanding individual differences, and provides a dynamic model of individual development, it has found wide application in the many functions that compose an organization," write Gordon Lawrence and Charles Martin in Building People, Building Programs (CAPT 2001). Type and Organizations Type can be introduced into an organization to support many different functions and situations including managing others, development of leadership skills, organizing tasks, creation and management of teams, training for management and staff, conflict resolution, motivation, executive coaching, diversity, recognition and rewards, and change management. Type and Your Work When you understand your type preferences, you can approach your own work in a manner that best suits your style, including how you manage your time, problem solving, best approaches to decision making, and dealing with stress. Knowledge of type can help you deal with the culture of the place you work, the development of new skills, understanding your participation on teams, and coping with change in the workplace. If your work involves selling, knowledge of type can be helpful in understanding what clients need from you, especially how they best like to learn about products and services and how they like to interact during the process of gathering information and making decisions. Personality and Careers Knowing your personality type, as measured through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument, can help you with career planning at every stage: from your choices of subjects and majors in school to choosing your first career, to advancing in your organization or changing careers later in life. People often find difficulty defining what kind of work they want to do or why a given field makes them comfortable or uncomfortable. Personality type is a practical tool for investigating what works for you, then looking for and recognizing work that satisfies your preferences. Knowing your MBTI type may, for example, prove helpful in deciding what specific areas of law, medicine, education, or business a person prefers. A person with a preference for Introversion may find he or she is happier doing research, while a person who prefers Extraversion may favor a field with more interaction with people. Work environments influence how comfortable you are at your job. Someone with a preference for Introversion, for example, who is required to do a lot of detail work or think through a problem, may find it disruptive to be in an environment that is too loud or where a lot of interaction is required. When you know this about yourself, you can make arrangements to do your work in a more suitable location or at a time when there is less activity and interference. Even when circumstances make it necessary for you to do work that you have not chosen or which you must do as part of your overall job description, knowledge and understanding of type can help you discover and use your strengths to accomplish the work. When you find

MB0038: Management Process and Organization Behavior

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an unsatisfactory job fit, you can examine the reasons and seek solutions based on your preferences. When you do have an opportunity to take a new path in your work, type can help you analyze the fit of your type with your past work and consider what new direction can best fit with your preferences. Type Use in the Professions The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument has been extensively studied in various professions. Numerous books and articles are available about the use of type in professional situations. The MBTI Instrument and Health Care Professionals When health care professionals understand personality type they have more resources for providing quality service to patients and their families. With a knowledge of the framework of the sixteen types, health care providers can adjust communication and create appropriate care programs that best suit the patient. Personality type can assist the professions in many ways including learning how to be flexible with patients, understanding their reactions to disease, appreciating how they experience stress, determining patient compliance with protocols, and knowing how best to deliver challenging medical news. Resources Health Care Communication Using Personality Type: Patients Are Different! by Judy Allen and Susan A. Brock (Routledge 2000) The MBTI Instrument and Legal Professionals Personality type has been studied extensively in the legal profession among law students. Legal professionals have also used the concept of personality type to further understand jury members and their listening and communication preferences. The MBTI Instrument and Science and Technology Professionals A study of engineers in the early 1980s by the Center for Applications of Psychological Type, which was published in the International Journal of Applied Engineering Education in 1987, noted some interesting trends among engineering students. Another study, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1976 evaluated the preferences of people working in scientific fields.

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Q.4 Explain the factors influencing perception Factors Influencing Perception

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Perception is our sensory experience of the world around us and involves both the recognition of environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli. Through the perceptual process, we gain information about properties and elements of the environment that are critical to our survival. Perception not only creates our experience of the world around us; it allows us to act within our environment. 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.

Factors influencing perception 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

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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 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' selfconcept. 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.

Characteristics of the Target Characteristics in the target that is being observed can affect what is perceived. Physical appearance plays a big role in our perception of others. Extremely attractive or unattractive individuals are more likely to be noticed in a group than ordinary looking individuals. Motion, sound, size and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it.The perceiver will notice the target's physical features like height, weight, estimated age, race and gender. Perceivers
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tend to notice physical appearance characteristics that contrast with the norm, that are intense, or that are new or unusual. Physical attractiveness often colours our entire impression of another person. Interviewers rate attractive candidates more favourably and attractive candidates are awarded higher starting salaries. Verbal communication from targets also affects our perception of them. We listen to the topics they speak about, their voice tone, and their accent and make judgments based on this input. Non-verbal communication conveys a great deal of information about the target. The perceiver deciphers eye contact, facial expressions, body movements, and posture all in an attempt to form an impression of the target .As a result of physical or time proximity, we often put together objects or events that are unrelated. For example, employees in a particular department are seen as a group. If two employees of a department suddenly resign, we tend to assume their departures were related when in fact, they might be totally unrelated. People, objects or events that are similar to each other also tend to be grouped together. The greater the similarity, the greater the probability we will tend to perceive them as a group. Characteristics of the Situation The situation in which the interaction between the perceiver and the target takes place, has an influence on the perceiver's impression of the target. e.g. meeting a manager in his or her office affects your impression in a certain way that may contrast with the impression you would have formed, had you met the manager in a restaurant. The strength of the situational cues also affects social perception. Some situations provide strong cues as to appropriate behaviour. In these situations, we assume that ie individual's behaviour can be accounted for by the situation, and that it may not reflect the individual's disposition. This is the discounting principle in social perception. For example, you may encounter an automobile salesperson who has a warm and personable manner, asks you about your work and hobbies, and seems genuinely interested in your taste in cars. Can you assume that this behaviour reflects the salesperson's personality? You probably cannot, because of the influence of the situation. This person is trying to sell you a car, and in this particular situation, he probably treats all customers in this manner.

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MB0038: Management Process and Organization Behavior

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