assignment - 2011 latest mb 0038

8/6/2019 Assignment - 2011 Latest MB 0038

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MBA Semester 1 Subject Code: MB0038

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Q.1 Write a detailed note on management theories developed during classical Era . [10]

Ans .

Follett (1933) defined management as "the art o f getting things d one thr ou gh pe o ple". One cana lso think o f management f u ncti o na lly, as the acti on o f meas u ring a q uantit y on a reg ular basisand o f adj usting s ome initia l p lan.Management f uncti ons are as f ollow s:

1. P lanning

2. Organizing

3. Commanding

4. Coo rdinating

5. Contr oll ing

PlanningIt involves the pr ocess o f defining g oa ls, estab lishing strategies f o r achieving these g oa ls, anddeve loping p lans t o integrate and c oo rdinate activities. Ever y o rganizati on needs t o plan f o rchange in o rder t o reach its set g oa l. Effective p lanning enab les an o rganizati o n adapt t o changeby identif ying opp o rt unities and av o iding pr ob lems. It pr ovides the directi on f o r the o ther

f uncti ons o f management and f o r effective team wo rk. P lanning a lso enhances the decisi o n-making pr ocess. A ll leve ls o f management engage in p lanning in their ow n way f o r achievingtheir preset g oa ls.Planning in o rder t o be usef ul must be linked t o the strategic intent o f an o rganizati o n.Theref o re , planning is o ften referred t o as strategic in nat u re and a lso termed as strategicplanning.

Strategic P lanning: T op leve l managers engage chief ly in strategic p lanning o r long rangeplanning Strategic p lanning is the pr ocess o f deve loping and ana lyzing the o rganizati on'smissi on , overa ll goa ls, genera l strategies , and a llocating res ou rces.

OrganizingIt involves designing , str uct u ring , and c oo rdinating the wo rk comp onents t o achieveo rganizati o na l goa l. It is the pr ocess o f determining what tasks are t o be d one , who is to do, how the tasks are t o be gr ou ped , who rep o rts t o whom , and where decisi o ns are t o be made. Akey issue in acc omp lishing the g oa ls identified in the p lanning pr ocess is str uctu ring the wo rk o f


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emp loyees wo rk t ow ard achieving its g oa ls. Since leadership inv olves the exercise o f inf luenceby one pers on over o thers , the q ua lity o f leadership exhibited b y su pervis o rs is a critica l determinant o f o rganizati o na l success.

Contr oll ing

It involves m onit o ring the emp loyees behavi o r and o rganizati ona l pr ocesses and takenecessar y acti ons t o impr ove them , if needed. C o ntr ol is the pr ocess thr ou gh which standardsf o r perf o rmance o f pe op le and pr ocesses are set , comm unicated , and app lied. Effective c ontr ol systems use mechanisms t o monit o r activities and take c o rrective acti on , if necessar y.Acco rding t o Mintzberg (1973) , manageria l roles are: Inf o rmati ona l roles , Decisio na l roles andInterpers ona l roles. Katz (1974) has identified three essentia l management ski lls: technica l, human , and c oncept ua l. Lu thans (1988) f ou nd that a ll managers engage in f ou r manageria l activities: (i) Traditi ona l management This activit y consists o f p lanning , decisi on making , andcontr oll ing , (ii) Comm unicati o n This activit y consists o f exchanging r ou tine inf o rmati o n andprocessing paper wo rk, (iii) Human res ou rce management this activit y consists o f mo tivating , discip lining , managing c onf lict , staffing , and training , and (iv) Net wo rking this activit y involvessocializing, pol iticking , and interacting w ith ou tsiders.

There are f ou r steps in the c o ntr ol pr ocess.They are as f ollow s:

Step 1. Estab lish Perf o rmance Standards. Standards are created when objectives are set d u ringthe p lanning pr ocess. A standard is an y gu ide line estab lished as the basis f o r meas u rement. It isa precise , exp licit statement o f expected res ul ts fr om a pr oduct , service , machine , individ ua l,

o ro rganizati ona l unit. It is usua lly expressed n umerica lly and is set f o r q ua lity, quantit y, andtime. T olerance is permissib le deviati o n fr om the standard.

Organizati ona l behavi o r (OB) is a fie ld o f st udy that investigates the impact that individ ua ls, grou ps , and str uctu re have on behavi o r w ithin an o rganizati o n , then app lies that kn owl edge t o make o rganizati ons wo rk m ore effective ly (Robbins , 2003). An effective and efficient managersh oul d f ocus on t wo key res ul ts. Management f uncti ons have been gr ou ped int o f ou rcateg o ries: p lanning , o rganizing , leading and c ontr oll ing.

The characteristics o f management are g oa l o riented. Ec onomic res ou rce , distinct pr ocess , integrative f o rce , intangib le f o rce , a science and an art , res ults thr ou gh o thers , system o f

au th o rity and m ul tidiscip linar y subject.


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Q.2 . Write a short note on: [ 10]

(a) Contemporary work cohort (b) Alexithymia

Ans .

(a) Contemp o rar y wo rk coho rt: c ontemp o rar y Wo rk Coho rtRobbins (2003) has pr oposedContemp o rar y Wo rk Coho rt , in which the uniq ue va lue o f different , coho rts is that the U.S.wo rkf o rce has been segmented b y the era the y entered the wo rkf o rce.Individ ua ls values differ , bu t tend t o ref lect the s ocieta l va lues o f the peri o d in which the y gre w up.

The c o ho rts and the respective va lues have been listed be low :1. VeteransW o rkers who entered the wo rkf o rce fr om the ear ly 1940s thr ou gh the ear ly 1960s.They exhibited the f ollow ing va lue o rientati ons:They were inf luenced b y the Great Depressi on and W o rld War II1. Be lieved in hard wo rk2.Tended t o be loy a l to their emp loy er3. Termina l va lues: Comf o rtab le life and fami ly sec u rity

2. Boo mersEmp loyees who entered the wo rkf o rce d u ring the 1960s thr ou gh the mid1980sbe longed t o this categ o ry. Their va lue o rientati o ns were:1. Inf luenced heavi ly by John F. Kenned y, the civi l rights and feminist m ovements , the Beat les , the Vietnam War , and bab yboo m competiti on2. Distr usted a u th o rit y, bu t gave a high emphasis on achievement and materia l success3. Organizati o ns that emp loyed them were vehic les f o r their careers4. Termina l va lues: sense o f acc omp lishment and s ocial rec ogniti on

3. Xersbegan t o enter the wo rkf o rce fr om the mid1980s.

They cherished the f ollow ing va lues:1. Shaped b y globa lization , two career parents , MTV, AIDS, and c omp u ters2. Va lue f lexibi lity, life opti ons , and achievement o f job satisfacti on


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3. Fami ly and re lati onships were imp o rtant and enj oy ed team o riented wo rk4. M one y was imp o rtant , bu t woul d trade o ff f o r increased leis u re time Va lue , Ethics And5. Less w illing t o make pers ona l sacrifices f o r emp loy ers than previ ou s generati o ns6. Termina l va lues: tr ue friendship , happiness , and p leas u re

4. Nextersm ost recent entrants int o the wo rkf o rce.

1. Gre w up in pr osper ou s times , have high expectati on , be lieve in themse lves , and c onfident intheir abi lity to succeed2. Neverending search f o r idea l job see n o thing w rong w ith j obh opping3. Seek financia l success4. Enjoy team wo rk, bu t are high ly se lf-re liant5. Termina l va lues: freed om and c omf o rtab le life

(b) Alexith ymia:

Ans:Alexith ymia is usua lly regarded as a dist u rbance o f affect reg ulati on (Ta lyo r, Bagb y and Parker , 1997). The litera l meaning o f the wo rd a lexith ymia is `n o wo rds f o r fee lings'. The c onstr ucta lexith ymia has underg one a c ontin u ing deve lopment f o r the past years , acc o rding t o recentdefiniti ons a lexith ymia c onsists o f the f ollow ing sa lient feat u res:

1. Difficul ties defining em o tions and differentiating em o tions and the b odily sensati ons o f em o tiona l ar ou sa l.

2. Difficul ties in describing em o tio ns t o o ther pe o ple , verba lizing.3. Limited imaginative pr ocesses , a lack o f fantas y.4. a stim ulu s b ou nd , externa lly o riented c ognitive st yle.

Meas u ring a lexith ymiaAlexith ymia is usua lly meas u red w ith the T o ront o Alexith ymia Sca le(TAS-20) , deve loped b y theTaylo r gr ou p. A sh o rtc oming o f this test is that it d oesn't f ully cover the a lexith ymia spectr um(Zech , Luminet , Rim , and Wagner , 1999; Berth oz, Perez-Diaz , Cons ol i, and J ou vent , 2000;Vo rst , and Berm ond , 2001). On ly the feat u res 1 , 2 and 4 are in the TAS-20. Acc o rding t o Nemiahand Sifne os (1970) , the f ou nders o f a lexith ymia , besides the three sca les used in the TAS-20(identificati on , verba lizing and externa lly o riented c ognitive st yle) red uced em o tiona lity andred uced imaginati on are a lso part o f the a lexith ymia c onstr u ct. The a lexith ymia q uesti o nnairedeve loped b y Vo rst and Berm ond (2001) , the s o ca lled Berm ond Vo rst A lexith ymiaQ uesti onnaire (BVAQ) , has the remaining sca les inc o rp o rated and theref o re it c overs the whole


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a lexith ymia spectr um w ith the use o f five s ubsca les (red uced em o tiona lity and imaginati on , red uced capacities t o verba lize , identif y and ana lyze em o tions). By app lying a sec ond o rderfact o r ana lysis t o these s ubsca les , two under lying dimensi ons emerge: an affective dimensi on(em o tiona lity and fantas y), and a c ognitive dimensi on (verba lizing, ana lyzing and identif ying).The c ognitive c omp onent o f the BVAQ has a str ong resemb lance w ith the s ummed sc o re o f the

TAS-20 (Zech , Luminet , Rim , and Wagner , 1999; Berth oz et a l.,2000; V o rst and Berm ond , 2001).

Alexith ymia TypesCombining the extreme sc o res on the affective and c ognitive c omp o nent o f the BVAQ a llow sf o r the creati on o f f ou r main t ypes o f a lexith ymia (M oo rmann , Berm ond and R oo d , 2004;Berm ond , Vo rst and M oo rmann , 2006; M oo rmann et a l., In press). The f ou r main t ypes can bedescribed in sh o rt as f ollow s:

y Ty pe I alexith ym ia Individ ua ls diagn osed w ith t ype 1 a lexith ymia are characterized b y low em o tiona lity, ared uced fantas y and have diffic ul ties w ith verba lizing, identif ying and ana lyzing theirem o tions. These individ ua lss can't ta lk ab ou t their fee lings , bu t a lso don't kn ow whatthe y are fee ling.

y Ty pe II alexith ym ia Pe ople identified as t ype II a lexith ymia experience em o tions , bu t have diffic ul ties w ithverba lizing, identif ying and ana lyzing them. In c ontrast t o type I a lexith ymia the y have awe ll deve loped imaginati on. Type II a lexith ymia has o ften been f ou nd am ongst victimso f sex ua l ab use.

Q.3 Mr . Khanna wants to improve his conflict management skills . He visits a consultant to

help him . He gives the list of situations to the consultant .

Ans:The five basic meth ods f o r res olving conf lict are the f ollow ing:5.1 AVOIDING (DENIAL/WITHDRAWAL):

A pers on av o ids the iss ue b y sidestepping it , pretending it d oes n o t exist , postp o ning it unti l later , o r w ithdra w ing fr om a threatening sit uati o n.

It is usef ul when the iss ue is n o t critica l, when the stakes are low and when timing is n o t critica l.It ma y give time t o clarif y the sit uati o n , to let pe o ple c ool dow n , o r let o thers res olve theconf lict m o re effective ly.

Often , how ever , the c onf lict esca lates and makes management m o re diffic ul t beca use it is sti ll there.


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5.2 ACCOMMODATING (SUPPRESSION, SMOOTHING):

A pers on using acc omm odating p lays d ow n differences t o satisf y the c oncerns o f the o therpers on.

It ma y be usef ul when the iss ue is m uch m o re imp o rtant t o the o ther pers on than t o you rse lf -as a g oo dw ill gest u re t o he lp maintain a c oo perative re lati onship. A lso when you rea lize you arew rong; o r when c ontin ued c ompetiti on woul d on ly damage you r ca use , f o r instance when you are ou tmatched and losing. It is usef ul when it is m o re imp o rtant t o preserve a re lati onshipthan t o dea l w ith an insignificant iss ue thr ou gh c o nf lict.

The s ou rce o f the c o nf lict rare ly goes a way.

5.3 DOMINEERING (POWER, COMPETITION):

This meth od is o ften used t o sett le differences. The p ow er o r d ominance referred t o in thisstrateg y is coercive p ow er o r p osition p ow er (a u th o rity).

Pow er tactics , how ever , res ul t in w inners and losers , and losers d o no t s upp o rt a fina l decisi onin the same way that w inners d o . Futu re meetings o f a gr ou p are o ften sab o taged b y theconsciou s o r unconsci ou s rene wa l o f the str uggle previ ou sly supp osed ly res olved b y pow er.

This strateg y ma y be usef ul when q u ick, decisive acti on is vita l and you know you are right. It issometimes necessar y when you need t o pr o tect you rse lf against pe op le who take advantage o f non-competitive behavi ou r.

Beca use o f the p oo r ou tcome re lati o nship inherent in this strateg y, it sh oul d be caref ully considered , as a w in/ lose sit uati on ma y deteri o rate int o a lose/ lose sit uati o n.

5.4 COMPROMISING (BARGAINING):

Compr omise (meeting each o ther ha lf way) has s o me seri ou s dra wbacks.

Bargaining o ften ca uses b o th sides t o ass ume an inf lated p ositio n. The y are a ware that the y arego ing t o have t o give a litt le and want t o bu ffer the loss.

The c ompr omise s olu tion ma y be watered d ow n o r weakened t o the p o int where it w ill no t be


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effective. There is o ften litt le rea l commitment b y an y o f the parties , and event ua lly a ne w dea l w ill be s ou ght.

How ever there are sit uati ons when c ompr omise is usef ul. Such as when res ou rces are limitedo r when t wo opp onents w ith eq ua l pow er are str ong ly committed t o mu tua lly exc lusive g oa ls.

(as in lab ou r vers us management bargaining.) It is a lso usef ul to achieve temp o rar y sett lementsto comp lex iss ues o r as a back u p m o de when c ollab o rati on o r d ominance fai ls t o be s uccessf ul.It is dependent o n b o th parties h onou ring the agreements.

5.5 COLLABORATING (INTEGRATION, NEGOTIATION):

This strateg y is time-c ons uming b u t has the advantage that the ou tc ome re lati onship isimpr oved b y the deve lopment o f tr ust bet ween the parties. It req u ires that a ll parties rec ognisethe abi lities and expertise o f the o thers. It req u ires a high leve l o f creativit y and inn ovati on.

The p osition o f each part y is we ll underst oo d b y the o ther parties. The emphasis o f the gr ou p ison tr ying t o solve the pr ob lem here , rather than o n defending partic ular p ositions o r vie ws asthe wo rk pr ogresses. U ltimate ly, the best o f the gr ou p's thinking w ill emerge. It represents ashift a way from a w in/ lose sett lement , tow ards an ass umpti on that the needs o f bo th partiescan be f ulfilled.

Situation Approach1. When quick, decisive action is vital (e.g.,emergencies). Competing/Domineering2. On important issues where unpopular actionsneed implementing (e.g., cost cutting, enforcing

unpopular rules, discipline). Competing/Domineering3. To merge insights from people with differentperspectives. collaborating4. When you perceive no chance of satisfyingyour concerns. Avoiding5. When issues are more important to othersthan to you - to satisfy others and maintaincooperation. Accommodating6. To gain commitment by incorporatingconcerns into a consensus. collaborating7. On issues vital to company welfare when you

know you are right. Competing/Domineering


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Q.4 Explain General Adaptation syndrome (GAS):

Genera l Adaptati o nSyndr ome (GAS) is a m ode l o f stress described b y Hans Se lye. This m ode l comprises o f three stages

(A) Alarm Reacti o n(B) Resistance o r Adaptati o n(C) Exhaustion

The a larm stage is characterized b y body's resp onse t o stress b o th ph ysiolo gica lly andps ycholo gica lly. At ph ysiolo gica l leve l, in a larm stage , the b ody ma y experience fast-beatingheart , bu tterf lies in st omach , increased b loo d press u re , heav y breathing , eye di lati on , dr y mou th. At ps ycholo gica l leve l, one ma y experience anxiet y; f light o r fight resp onse; intenseconcentrati on over the pr ob lem ti ll it gets over.

At the resistance stage , the b ody might get imm une in s uch a way, that even the stress o rs arepresent , the b ody resp o nds in a s usceptib le pattern leading the b ody being weak da y by da y.

The fina l stage is kn ow n as exha ustion , in which the b ody's imm u ne s ystem c omp lete ly breaksup and the ps ycholo gica l and ph ysiolo gica l devastati on takes p lace. If we co ntin ue ou rresistance in a simi lar fashi on we ma y even die. In the o ther way ou t , the b ody starts re leasingho rm o nes t o bring h omoeostasis in the s ystem.

Q.5 What is groupthink ?what are its symptoms and also suggest measures to preventgroupthink .

Ans:

Grou pthink is a t ype o f th ou ght exhibited b y grou p members who tr y to minimize c onf lict andreach c onsens us w ith ou t critica lly testing , ana lyzing , and eva luating ideas. D u ring Gr ou pthink , members o f the gr ou p av o id pr om o ting vie wpo ints ou tside the c omf o rt z one o f co nsens usthinking. A variet y o f m o tives f o r this ma y exist s u ch as a desire t o avo id being seen as f ool ish , o r a desire t o avo id embarrassing o r angering o ther members o f the gr ou p. Gr ou pthink ma y

cause gr ou ps t o make hast y, irrati ona l decisi ons , where individ ua l dou bts are set aside , f o r fearo f upsetting the gr ou ps ba lance. The term is freq u ent ly used pej o rative ly, w ith hindsight.

Some s ympt oms o f grou pthink are:


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y Having an i llusion o f invulnerabi lity y Rationa lizing p oo r decisi onsy Believing in the gr ou p's m o ra lity y Sharing stere o types which g u ide the decisi ony Exercising direct press u re o n o thersy No t expressing you r tr ue fee lingsy Maintaining an i llusion o f unanimit y y Using mindg uards t o pr o tect the gr ou p from negative inf o rmati on

Some Meas u res inc lude:

y Using a p ol icy-f o rming gr ou p which rep o rts t o the larger gr ou py Having leaders remain impartia l y Using different p ol icy grou ps f o r different tasksy Dividing int o grou ps and then disc uss differencesy Discussing w ithin s ub-gr ou ps and then rep o rt backy Using ou tside expertsy Using a Devi l's adv ocate t o questi on a ll the gr ou p's ideasy Holding a "sec ond-chance meeting" t o o ffer one last opp o rt u nit y to choo se an o ther

cou rse o f acti on.

Q.6 Unique fashions is a textile company .it is undergoing a process of change and expandingits business . The company is facing several obstacles . There are lot of problems related todifferent departments . It needs some Intervention that may help the company to diagnose itsproblems and developing the action plan for problem solving . The company also expects thatthe intervention should help in improving the relationships amongst group members of

different departments .

Ans.The OD pr ocess begins when an o rganizati o n rec ognizes that a pr ob lem exists whichimpacts the missi on o r hea lth o f the o rganizati on and change is desired. It can a lso begin whenleadership has a visi on o f a better way and wants t o impr ove the o rganizati on. An o rganizati ondoes n o t a lways have t o be in tr ou ble t o imp lement o rganizati on deve lopment activities.A typica l OD pro cess can be divided int o the f ollow ing phases:Prob lem identificati o n: The first step in OD pr ocess inv olves understanding and identificati on o f the existing and p o tentia l problems in the o rganizati on. The a wareness o f the pr ob lem inc ludesknowl edge o f the p ossib le o rganizati ona l pr ob lems o f grow th , human satisfacti on , the usage o f human res ou rce and o rganizati o na l effectiveness.


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D ata c o llecti o n: Having underst oo d the exact pr o b lem in this phase , the re levant data iscollected thr ou gh pers o na l intervie ws, o bservati o ns and q uesti onnaires.

Identificati on data: It inc ludes o rganizati o n name , locati on , type o f o rganizati o n , o rganizati on affi liati on , size (financia l co nditi on , st ockholders , emp loyees).Histo rica l data: Chief c omp laints , du rati on and p o ssib le determinants , sh o rt-range and long-range pr ob lems , maj o r crisis o f the o rganizati on(nat u ra l catastr oph y, loss o f key pers onne l, lab ou r pr o blems , financia l emergencies , techn olo gica l changes) , pr oduct service hist o ry (changeand deve lopment o f o rganizati ona l goa ls, seq uence o f deve lopment inproduct o r service) , o rganizati ona l f olkloreStructu ra l data: Organizati ona l chart , f o rma l job descripti o n , ec olo gy o f the o rganizati on (spatia l distrib u tion o f individ ua ls, activities) , financia l str uctu re , pers onne l (size , variou s ed ucati o na l leve ls, average ten u re , range o r ski lls, absentee rate , tu rn over rate , accident rate) , str uctu ref o r hand ling pers onne l (recr u itment , o rientati on , training , grow th o f the j ob , pr omo tion , compensati o n , perf o rmance ana lysis) , rules andreg ulati ons (medica l, safet y, retirement , recreati o n , o ther fringebenefits).experienced in the envir o nment (interna l o r/and externa l). In pr oblem identificati on , there is ahigh p ossibi lity o f taking s ympt oms as pr o blems. H ow the pr ob lem is seen , experienced andperceived b y different pe ople in the o rganizati on is ver y imp o rtant f o r its s olu tion.

Identificati o n of Organizati ona l Need

Does the o rganizati o n need OD interventi ons? At this stage , this is ascertained. Thecommitment o f the t op management is ver y imp o rtant beca use OD is a Top Dow n Appr oach .The Cons ul tant has t o make s u re , whether OD is the right interventi o n f o r solving the pr ob lemso f the o rganizati o n. On ly after making s u re he sh oul d pr o ceed ahead.

Identificati o n o f Areas f o r In-depth Ana lysis


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OD is cost ly interventi on. On the basis o f pre liminar y pro blems identificati o n , and res ou rceslikely to be made avai lab le , areas f o r in-depth ana lysis ma y be identified. T oo man y pr oblemssh oul d n o t be taken up in the beginning.Acco rding t o Rao and Hari Krishna (2002) , f ou r steps in o rganizati o na l diagn osis can beidentified:

St ru ct ur al anal ys i s : Determines h ow the different parts o f the o rganizati on are f uncti o ning interms o f laid d ow n goa ls.Pro ce ss es anal ys i s : Pro cess imp lies the manner in which events take p lace in a seq uence. Itrefers t o the pattern o f decisi on-making , comm unicati on , grou p d ynamics and c onf lictmanagement patterns w ithin o rganizati o ns t o he lp in the pr ocess o f attainment o f o rganizati o na l goa ls.F u ncti o n anal ys i s : This inc ludes strategic variab les , perf o rmance variab les , res ults , achievements and fina l ou tcomes.D o m ain anal ys i s : Domain refers t o the area o f the o rganizati on f o r o rganizati ona l diagn osis.P lanning and i m ple m entati o n: After diagn osing the pr ob lem , the next phase o f OD, w ith the ODinterventi ons , involves the p lanning and imp lementati on part o f the change pr ocess.

Eval u ati o n and feed b ack: Any OD activit y is inc omp lete w ith ou t pr oper feedback. Feedback is aprocess o f re laying eva luati ons t o the c lient gr ou p b y means o f specific rep o rt o r interacti on.

Interventi ons are str uctu red activities used individ ua lly o r in c ombinati on b y the members o f aclient s ystem t o impr ove their s ocia l o r task perf o rmance. The y ma y be intr oduced b y a changeagent as part o f an impr ovement pr ogram , o r the y ma y be used b y the c lient f ollow ing aprogram t o check o n the state o f the o rganizati on's hea lth , o r t o effect necessar y changes in itsow n behavi o r. "Str uct u red activities" mean s uch diverse pr oced u res as experientia l exercises , questi onnaires , attit ude s u rve ys, intervie ws, re levant gr ou p disc ussions , and even lunchtime

meetings bet ween the change agent and a member o f the c lient o rganizati o n. Ever y acti o n thatinf luences an o rganizati on's impr ovement pr ogram in a change agent-c lient s ystem re lati onshipcan be said t o be an interventi on. [11]

There are man y possib le interventi on strategies fr om which t o choo se. Severa l ass umpti onsab ou t the nat u re and f uncti oning o f o rganizati ons are made in the ch o ice o f a partic ularstrateg y. Beckhard lists six s uch ass umpti ons:

1. The basic b u ilding b locks o f an o rganizati o n are gr ou ps (teams). Theref o re , the basicunits o f change are gr ou ps , no t individ ua ls.

2. An a lways re levant change g oa l is the red uction o f inappr opriate c ompetiti on bet weenparts o f the o rganizati on and the deve lopment o f a m o re c ollab o rative c onditi on.

3. Decision making in a hea lth y o rganizati on is located where the inf o rmati o n s ou rces are , rather than in a partic ular r ole o r leve l o f hierarch y.


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4. Organizati ons , subunits o f o rganizati ons , and individ ua ls contin uou sly manage theiraffairs against g oa ls. Contr ols are interim meas u rements , no t the basis o f manageria l strateg y.

5. One g oa l o f a hea lth y o rganizati on is t o deve lop genera lly open c omm unicati o n , m u tua l tr ust , and c onfidence bet ween and acr oss leve ls.

6. Pe ople s upp o rt what the y he lp create. Pe ople affected b y a change m ust be a llow edactive participati o n and a sense o f ow nership in the p lanning and c o nd uct o f thechange. [3]

Interventi ons range fr om th ose designed t o impr o ve the effectiveness o f individ ua ls thr ou ghth ose designed t o dea l w ith teams and gr ou ps , intergr ou p re lati ons , and the t o ta l o rganizati on.There are interventi ons that f ocus on task iss ues ( what pe ople d o ), and th ose that f o cus onprocess iss ues (h ow pe ople g o ab ou t d o ing it). Fina lly, interventi o ns ma y be r ou gh ly classifiedacc o rding t o which change mechanism the y tend t o emphasize: f o r examp le , feedback , awareness o f changing c ultu ra l no rms , interacti on and c omm unicati on , conf lict , and ed ucati onthr ou gh either ne w knowl edge o r skill practice. [12]

One o f the m ost diffic ult tasks c onfr onting the change agent is t o he lp create in the c lientsystem a safe c limate f o r learning and change. In a fav o rab le c limate , human learning b u ilds onitse lf and c ontin ues indefinite ly du ring man's lifetime. O u t of ne w behavi o r, ne w dilemmas andprob lems emerge as the spira l contin ues upward t o ne w leve ls. In an unfav o rab le c limate , incontrast , learning is far less certain , and in an atm osphere o f ps ycholo gica l threat , it o ften st opsa ltogether. Unfreezing old ways can be inhibited in o rganizati ons beca use the c limate makesemp loyees fee l that it is inappr opriate t o revea l tr ue fee lings , even th ou gh s uch reve lati o nscoul d be c onstr uctive. In an inhibited atm osphere , theref o re , necessar y feedback is n o tavai lab le. Also, tr ying ou t ne w ways ma y be vie wed as risk y beca use it vi olates estab lished

no rms. S uch an o rganizati on ma y a lso be c onstrained beca use o f the law o f systems: If one partchanges , o ther parts w ill bec ome inv olved. Hence , it is easier t o maintain the stat us quo .Hierarchica l au th o rit y, specia lization , span o f contr ol, and o ther characteristics o f f o rma l systems a lso discou rage experimentati on. [11]

The change agent m ust address himse lf to a ll o f these hazards and obstac les. S ome o f thethings which w ill he lp him are:

1. A rea l need in the c lient s ystem t o change2. Gen u ine s upp o rt fr om management3. Setting a pers ona l examp le: listening , supp o rting behavi or4. A sou nd backgr ou nd in the behavi o ra l sciences5. A wo rking kn owl edge o f systems the o ry


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assignment - 2011 latest mb 0038

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