mb0022 - management process and organization behavior

References:

Buchanan, D. & Huczynski, A. (1997) Organizational Behaviour: An Introductory Text,

3rd ed., Prentice Hall, London.

Barnard, C.I. (1938) Functions of the Executive, Harvard University ,Press, Cambridge,

MA.

Pugh, D. (1971) Organization Theory: Selected Readings, Penguin, Harmondsworth.

Ivancevich, J. & Matteson, M. (1998) Organizational Behaviour and Management, 3rd

edn, Irwin, Chicago and London.

Wood, J. (1997) in Dickson, T. & Bickerstaffe, G. (eds.) Mastering Management: The

Definitive Guide to the Foundations and Frontiers of Finance, FT/Pitman Publishing,

London.

Management Process Unit 1

Sikkim Manipal University 1

Unit 1 Management Process

Structure

1.1 Introduction

Objectives

1.2 Management Functions

Self Assessment Questions1

1.3 Management roles and skills

Self Assessment Questions 2

1.4 Effective vs. Successful Managerial Activities


1.5 Summary

Terminal Questions

Answer to SAQ’s and TQ’s

1.1 Introduction

Organizational behavior (OB) is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups,

and structure have on behavior within an organization, then applies that knowledge to make

organizations work more effectively (Robbins, 2003). In recent times, we notice the following

changes in the organizational set up:

1. Demise of traditional hierarchical structure 2. Emergence of workforce with different expectations form organizations 3. Advancement of information technology 4. Increasing importance on empowerment and teamwork 5. Concern for worklife balance



An affective and efficient manager therefore, should focus on two key results. The first is task

performance—the quality and quantity of the work produced or the services provided by the work unit

as a whole. The second is job satisfaction—how people feel about their work and the work setting.

OB directs a manager’s attention to such matters as job satisfaction, job involvement, and

organizational commitment, as well as measures of actual task performance. OB also recognizes the

need for changing behavior, attitude and managerial styles in the context of the above. Hence,

management processes and functions are vital to organizational effectiveness. An understanding of

the basis management functions helps in comprehending the key roles managers need to play to run

organizations effectively.

Learning objectives

The learning objectives of this unit are as follows:

1. Management Functions

2. Management roles and skills

1.2 Management Functions Follett (1933) defined management as "the art of getting things done through people". [2] One can

also think of management functionally, as the action of measuring a quantity on a regular basis and

of adjusting some initial plan.

Management functions are as follows (Fayol, 1949):

1. Planning 2. Organizing 3. Commanding 4. Coordinating 5. Controlling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan



However, in recent time, management functions have been regrouped into four categories, since the

managerial tasks have become highly challenging a fluid in nature making distinctions redundant to a

certain extend. The four functions are as follows:

1. Planning 2. Organizing 3. Leading 4. Controlling

1. Planning –

It involves the process of defining goals, establishing strategies for achieving these goals, and

developing plans to integrate and coordinate activities. Every organization needs to plan for change

in order to reach its set goal. Effective planning enables an organization adapt to change by

identifying opportunities and avoiding problems. It provides the direction for the other functions of

management and for effective teamwork. Planning also enhances the decisionmaking process. All

levels of management engage in planning in their own way for achieving their preset goals.

Planning in order to be useful must be linked to the strategic intent of an organization. Therefore,

planning is often referred to as strategic in nature and also termed as strategic planning.

Strategic Planning: Top level managers engage chiefly in strategic planning or long range planning

Strategic planning is the process of developing and analyzing the organization's mission, overall

goals, general strategies, and allocating resources.

The tasks of the strategic planning process include the following steps:

Define the mission:

A mission is the purpose of the organization. Thus, planning begins with clearly defining the mission

of the organization. The mission statement is broad, deconcise, summarizing what the organization

does. A mission statement should be short – and should be easily understood and every employee

should ideally be able to narrate it from memory. An explicit mission guides employees to work

independently and yet collectively toward the realization of the organization's potential. The mission

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http://www.mindtools.com/planpage.html



statement may be accompanied by an overarching statement of philosophy or strategic purpose

designed to convey a vision for the future as envisaged by top management.

Conduct a situational or SWOT analysis

A situation or SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is vital for the

creation of any strategic plan. The SWOT analysis begins with a scan of the external environment.

Organizations need to examine their business situation in order to map out the opportunities and

threats present in their environments. Sources of information may include stakeholders like,

customers (internal and external), suppliers, governments (local, state, federal, international),

professional or trade associations (conventions and exhibitions), journals and reports (scientific,

professional, and trade).

SWOT analysis provides the assumptions and facts on which a plan will be based. Analyzing

strengths and weaknesses comprises the internal assessment of the organization. For assessing the strengths of the organization the following questions are important:

1. What makes the organization distinctive?

2. How efficient is our manufacturing? 3. How skilled is our workforce?

4. What is our market share?

5. What financing is available?

6. Do we have a superior reputation? For assessing the weaknesses of the organization the following questions are important:

1. What are the vulnerable areas of the organization that could be exploited?

2. Are the facilities outdated? 3. Is research and development adequate? 4. Are the technologies obsolete? For identifying opportunities the following elements need to be looked at:

1. In which areas is the competition not meeting customer needs? 2. What are the possible new markets?

3. What is the strength of the economy?

4. Are our rivals weak?

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5. What are the emerging technologies?

6. Is there a possibility of growth of existing market?)

Identifying threats involves the following:

1. In which areas does the competition meet customer needs more effectively? 2. Are there new competitors? 3. Is there a shortage of resources? 4. Are market tastes changing? 5. What are the new regulations?

6. What substitute products exist?

In general terms, the best strategy is one that fits the organization's strengths to opportunities in the

environment.

The SWOT analysis is used as a baseline for future improvement, as well as gap analysis.

Comparing the organization to external benchmarks (the best practices) is used to assess current

capabilities. Benchmarking systematically compares performance measures such as efficiency,

effectiveness, or outcomes of an organization against similar measures from other internal or

external organizations.

Set goals and objectives

Strategic goals and objectives are developed to fill the gap between current capability and the

mission. They are aligned with the mission and form the basis for the action plans of an organization.

Objectives are also called performance goals. Generally, organizations have longterm objectives for

factors such as, return on investment, earnings per share, etc. It also helps in setting minimum

acceptable standards or commonsense minimums.

Develop related strategies (tactical and operational)

Tactical plans are based on the organization's strategic plan. In turn, operational plans are based on

the organization's tactical plans. These are specific plans that are needed for each task or supportive

activity comprising the whole. Strategic, tactical, and operational planning must be accompanied by

controls to ensure proper implantation of the plans, necessary to maintain competitive advantage in

the said market.



Monitor the plan

A systematic method of monitoring the environment must be adopted to continuously improve the

strategic planning process. To develop an environmental monitoring procedure, shortterm standards

for key variables that will tend to validate and support the longrange estimates must be established.

Feedback is encouraged and incorporated to determine if goals and objectives are feasible. This

review is used for the next planning cycle and review.

2. Organizing

It involves designing, structuring, and coordinating the work components to achieve organizational

goal. It is the process of determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do, how the tasks are to

be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made. A key issue in

accomplishing the goals identified in the planning process is structuring the work of the organization.

Organizations are groups of people, with ideas and resources, working toward common goals. The

purpose of the organizing function is to make the best use of the organization's resources to achieve

organizational goals. Organizational structure is the formal decisionmaking framework by which job

tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated. Formalization is an important aspect of structure. It is

the extent to which the units of the organization are explicitly defined and its policies, procedures,

and goals are clearly stated. It is the official organizational structure conceived and built by top

management. The formal organization can be seen and represented in chart form. An organization

chart displays the organizational structure and shows job titles, lines of authority, and relationships

between departments.

The steps in the organizing process include:

1. Review plans 2. List all tasks to be accomplished 3. Divide tasks into groups one person can accomplish a job 4. Group related jobs together in a logical and efficient manner 5. Assign work to individuals 6. Delegate authority to establish relationships between jobs and groups of jobs.

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3. Leading

An organization has the greatest chance of being successful when all of the employees work toward

achieving its goals. Since leadership involves the exercise of influence by one person over others,

the quality of leadership exhibited by supervisors is a critical determinant of organizational success.

Supervisors can learn about leadership through research. Leadership studies can be classified as

trait, behavioral, contingency, and transformational. Earliest theories assumed that the primary

source of leadership effectiveness lay in the personal traits of the leaders themselves. Yet, traits

alone cannot explain leadership effectiveness. Thus, later research focused on what the leader

actually did when dealing with employees. These behavioral theories of leadership sought to explain

the relationship between what the leader did and how the employees reacted, both emotionally and

behaviorally. Yet, behavior can't always account for leadership in different situations. Thus,

contingency theories of leadership studied leadership style in different environments. Transactional

leaders, such as those identified in contingency theories, clarify role and task requirements for

employees. Yet, contingency can't account for the inspiration and innovation that leaders need to

compete in today's global marketplace. Newer transformational leadership studies have shown that

leaders, who are charismatic and visionary, can inspire followers to transcend their own selfinterest

for the good of the organization.

Leading involves the following functions:

1.Teambuilding

Rigid department boundaries and fixed teams are giving way to ad hoc squads whose membership

changes with every project. Flexible networks of teambased structures are occurring within and

between companies, as well as across national borders. Competitive arenas require quick decisions

by knowledgeable employees who work close to the source of problems. Teams enable knowledge

based and innovative decision making. This collaboration is a revolution in the workplace.

2. Consensus Building

Top performance demands the joint effort of many people, working together toward a common goal.

When an individual works together with others, effectiveness grows, creating greater productivity for



all involved. Together, employees can do more than the collective efforts of each individual working

alone.

3. Selecting

Selecting competent, highperforming employees capable of sustaining their performance over the

long run is a competitive advantage. The selection process consists of forecasting employment

needs, recruiting candidates, interviewing applicants, and hiring employees.

4. Training

After employees are selected, they enter an orientation program to be formally introduced to their

jobs. Orientation sets a tone for new employees' work by describing jobrelated expectations and

reporting relationships. Employees are informed about benefits, policies, and procedures. Specific

duties and responsibilities and performance evaluation are clarified. During orientation, the

supervisor has the opportunity to resolve any unrealistic expectations held by the employee. Training

refers to improving an employee's knowledge, skills, and attitudes so that he or she can do the job.

All new employees (or current employees in new jobs) should be trained. Cross training prepares an

employee for a job normally handled by someone else. Also, training is advisable when new

processes, equipment or procedures are introduced into the workplace.

Training starts with an organization analysis. By focusing on strategy and examining sales

forecasts and expected changes in production, distribution and support systems, employers can

determine which skills will be needed and to what degree. A comparison with current skill levels is

used to estimate staff and training needs. Task analysis identifies the elements of current or future tasks to be done. Personal needs analysis involves asking employees and managers, either in an

interview or in a selfadministered questionnaire, to analyze their training needs. In general,

agreement between managers and employees tends to be low, so it is important that both parties

agree to decisions about the training of employees.

4. Controlling –

It involves monitoring the employees’ behavior and organizational processes and take necessary

actions to improve them, if needed. Control is the process through which standards for performance

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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. On line 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).

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.

The following diagram represents an integrated model connecting all the abovementioned functions

of management. The management process (adopted from Terry, 1972)

Planning Organizing Directing Controlling Resources

HR, Financial, Informational etc.

Goal achievement s




1. In recent time, management functions have been regrouped into ____________ categories.

2. Training starts with an ___________________ analysis.

1.3 Management roles and skills

Managerial Roles

According to Mintzberg (1973), managerial roles are as follows:

1. Informational roles 2. Decisional roles 3. Interpersonal roles

1. Informational roles: This involves the role of assimilating and disseminating information as and

when required. Following are the main subroles, which managers often perform:

a. Monitor—collecting information from organizations, both from inside and outside of the

organization

b. Disseminator—communicating information to organizational members

c. Spokesperson—representing the organization to outsiders

2. Decisional roles: It involves decision making. Again, this role can be subdivided

in to the following:

a. Entrepreneur—initiating new ideas to improve organizational performance

b. Disturbance handlers—taking corrective action to cope with adverse situation

c. Resource allocators—allocating human, physical, and monetary resources

d. Negotiator – negotiating with trade unions, or any other stakeholders

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3. Interpersonal roles : This role involves activities with people working in the organization. This

is supportive role for informational and decisional roles. Interpersonal roles can be categorized

under three subheadings:

a. Figurehead—Ceremonial and symbolic role

b. Leadership—leading organization in terms of recruiting, motivating etc.

c. Liaison—liasoning with external bodies and public relations activities.

Management Skills

Katz (1974) has identified three essential management skills: technical, human, and conceptual.

Technical skills: The ability is to apply specialized knowledge or expertise. All jobs require some

specialized expertise, and many people develop their technical skills on the job. Vocational and on

thejob training programs can be used to develop this type of skill.

Human Skill : This is the ability to work with, understand and motivate other people (both individually

and a group). This requires sensitivity towards others issues and concerns. People, who are

proficient in technical skill, but not with interpersonal skills, may face difficulty to manage their

subordinates. To acquire the Human Skill, it is pertinent to recognize the feelings and sentiments of

others, ability to motivate others even in adverse situation, and communicate own feelings to others

in a positive and inspiring way.

Conceptual Skill : This is an ability to critically analyze, diagnose a situation and forward a feasible

solution. It requires creative thinking, generating options and choosing the best available option.


1. Ceremonial and symbolic role of a manager is called __________________.

2. Vocational and onthejob training programs can be used to develop _______________ skill.



1.4 Effective vs. Successful Managerial Activities

Luthans (1988), on the basis of his study, found that all managers engage in four managerial

activities.

1. Traditional management— This activity consists of planning, decision making, and

controlling. The average manager spent 32 percent of his or her time performing this

activity, whereas successful managers spend 13% and effective managers spend 13% of

their time in this activity.

2. Communication—This activity consists of exchanging routine information and processing

paperwork. The average manager spent 29 percent of his or her time performing this

activity while successful manager spends 28% and effective managers spend 44% of their

time in this activity.

3. Human resource management—This activity consists of motivating, disciplining,

managing conflict, staffing, and training. The average manager spent 20 percent of his or

her time performing this activity, while successful manager spends 11% and effective

managers spend 26% of their time in this activity.

4. Networking—This activity involves socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders.

The average manager spent 19 percent of his or her time performing this activity, while

successful manager spends 48% and successful manages spend 11% of their time in this

activity.

It was found that successful managers spent more time and effort in socializing, interacting and

networking. They did not spend much time to the traditional management activities or to the human

resource management activities (Luthans, 1988).




1. The average manager spent __________ percent of his or her time performing traditional

management.

2. Effective managers spend __________percent of their time in human resource

management.

1.4 Summary Organizational behavior (OB) is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups,


organizations work more effectively (Robbins, 2003). An affective and efficient manager should focus

on two key results. The first is task performance—the quality and quantity of the work produced or

the services provided by the work unit as a whole. The second is job satisfaction—how people feel

about their work and the work setting. management functions have been grouped into four

categories: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Planning involves the process of defining

goals, establishing strategies for achieving these goals, and developing plans to integrate and

coordinate activities. Every organization needs to plan for change in order to reach its set goal.

Effective planning enables an organization adapt to change by identifying opportunities and avoiding

problems. It provides the direction for the other functions of management and for effective teamwork.

Planning also enhances the decisionmaking process. All levels of management engage in planning

in their own way for achieving their preset goals. Organizing involves designing, structuring, and

coordinating the work components to achieve organizational goal. It is the process of determining

what tasks are to be done, who is to do, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and

where decisions are to be made. A key issue in accomplishing the goals identified in the planning

process is structuring the work of the organization. Organizations are groups of people, with ideas

and resources, working toward common goals. The purpose of the organizing function is to make the

best use of the organization's resources to achieve organizational goals. Organizational structure is

the formal decisionmaking framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated.

Formalization is an important aspect of structure. It is the extent to which the units of the organization

are explicitly defined and its policies, procedures, and goals are clearly stated. It is the official

organizational structure conceived and built by top management. The formal organization can be

http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/FIS/Courses/LIS1230/LIS1230sharma/plan1.htm

http://www.mindtools.com/planpage.html

http://www.gsia.cmu.edu/bosch/bart.html



seen and represented in chart form. An organization chart displays the organizational structure and

shows job titles, lines of authority, and relationships between departments. Leading involves team building, consensus building, selecting and training. An organization has the

greatest chance of being successful when all of the employees work toward achieving its goals.

Since leadership involves the exercise of influence by one person over others, the quality of

leadership exhibited by supervisors is a critical determinant of organizational success. Controlling

involves monitoring the employees’ behavior and organizational processes and take necessary

actions to improve them, if needed. Control 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. According to Mintzberg (

1973), managerial roles are: Informational roles, Decisional roles and Interpersonal roles. Katz

(1974) has identified three essential management skills: technical, human, and conceptual. Luthans

(1988) found that all managers engage in four managerial activities: (i) Traditional management—

This activity consists of planning, decision making, and controlling, (ii) Communication—This activity

consists of exchanging routine information and processing paperwork, (iii) Human resource

management—this activity consists of motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing, and

training, and (iv) Networking—this activity involves socializing, politicking, and interacting with

outsiders.

Terminal questions

1. Discuss the four management functions in brief.

2. What do you mean by SWOT analysis? Why is it required by a manager?

3. Discuss three leadership functions of a manager.

4. Based on Katz’s proposition, briefly discus the essential managerial skills.

Answer to Self Assessment Questions


1. Four

2. Organization

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1. Figurehead

2. Technical


1. 32

2. 26

Answer to Terminal Questions

1. Refer section 1.2




Organizational Behavior Unit 2


Unit 2 Organizational Behavior

Structure

2.1 Introduction

Objectives

2.2 Definitions of OB


2.3 Historical evolution of OB as a discipline


2.4 Contributing Disciplines to the OB field


2.5 Summary

Terminal Questions


2.1 Introduction In order to be effective organizations need to develop their interpersonal or people skills According to

Robbins( 2003), Organizational behavior (OB) is a field of study that investigates the impact that

individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within an organization, then applies that

knowledge to make organizations work more effectively. Specifically, OB focuses on how to improve

productivity, reduce absenteeism and turnover, and increase employee citizenship and job

satisfaction. An organization is more than a formal arrangement of functions, more than an

organization chart, more than a vision statement, more than a set of accounts. An organization

consists of people and so it is also a social system. The field of organizational behavior (OB) draws

primarily from the behavioral science disciplines of psychology, social psychology, and cultural

anthropology. The areas on which OB focuses are individuals who will often be working within

groups, which themselves work within organizations, as well as all the interrelationships between

them. Some of the specific themes embraced by OB are personality theory, attitudes and values,

motivation and learning, interpersonal behavior, group dynamics, leadership and teamwork,

organizational structure and design, decisionmaking, power, conflict, and negotiation. Some OB



thinkers go further and suggest that the behavior within the organization has to be viewed partly in

the wider context of the outside world’s effect on the organization and its human resources, missions,

objectives, and strategies.

Learning objectives


1. Historical evolution of OB as a discipline

2. Contributing Disciplines to the OB field

2.2 Definitions Of OB Buchanan and Huczynski (1997) have defined Organizations as “social arrangements, constructed

by people who can also change them. Organizations can be repressive and stifling, but they can also

be designed to provide opportunities for selffulfillment and individual expression. The point is that

human consequences depend on how organizations are designed and run.’ Barnard (1938) defined

Organizations “as system of cooperative activities – and their coordination requires something

intangible and personal that is largely a matter of personal relationships”. There are a number of

definitions that we can draw on to illuminate and deepen our understanding of the concept of

organizational behavior. One of the earliest, and certainly one of the most succinct definitions, comes

from Pugh, (1971) for whom, OB is concerned with ‘‘the study of the structure, functioning and

performance of organizations, and the behavior of groups and individuals within them”. Ivancevich

and Matteson, (1998) in their book Organizational Behavior and Management, offers a broader

definition. They opine that OB is about ‘‘the study of human behavior, attitudes and performance

within an organizational setting; drawing on theory, methods, and principles from such disciplines as

psychology, sociology, and cultural anthropology to learn about individual perception, values,

learning capabilities, and actions while working with groups and within the total organization;

analyzing the external environment’s effect on the organization and its human resources, missions,

objectives and strategies”.



What emerges from these two definitions is a view of OB as:

1. A way of thinking

2. An interdisciplinary field 3. Having a distinctly humanistic outlook

4. Performance oriented

5. Seeing the external environment as critical

6. Using scientific method

7. Having an applications orientation

Levels of analysis:

Wood (1997) provides a useful model for exploring behavioral events. He suggests that different

levels of analysis can be applied when examining the significance of an organizational issue. He

proposes eight, namely:

1. Individual

2. Team

3. Intergroup

4. Organizational

5. Interorganizational

6. Societal

7. International

8. Global.

The basic issue is that the level of explanation that one chooses, determines the view of the causes

of an event or problem. It also affects the actions that one takes, and the solutions that one seeks. In

an organization, inappropriate intervention at the wrong level can make a problem worse rather than

better.

Three points are important in this regard:

People tend to pick their favorite level of analysis to explain events, and then behave accordingly.

This is often particularly true of external consultants brought in to perform a ‘quick fix’.



People are most familiar with, and often prefer, explanations at the individual level of behavior. Trying

to change people by sending them on a training course is simpler than changing structures or

upgrading technology. However, such explanations are often too simplistic, inaccurate, or

incomplete. It may not solve organizational problems, nor provide the base for creating self

sufficiency and sustenance, particularly in a competitive and volatile market.

As a general principle, any organizational problem can be usefully analyzed at an increasingly higher

level of abstraction. By considering a problem progressively at the individual, group, intergroup, and

organizational levels, a deeper understanding of its causes can be gained.

As a result, the tools needed to tackle the problem can be chosen more precisely, and applied more

effectively. Looking at a problem systemically will always yield a better understanding than simply

leaping in with fixed preconceptions. Therefore a contingency approach is what is now preferred

rather than any absolute solutions in OB.


1. Buchanan and Huczynski (1997) have defined Organizations as “_________. arrangements”

2. Barnard (1938) defined Organizations “as system of ________________ activities”.

3. OB is ________________ field.

2.3 Historical Evolution Of OB As A Discipline A large number of people have contributed to the growth of OB as a discipline. The most important

ones have been described below:

A. Early Theorists Adam Smith’s discussions in the Wealth of nations published in 1776 stated that organizations and

society would reap from the division of labor. He concluded that division of labor increased

productivity by raising each worker’s skill and dexterity, by saving time other wise lost in changing

tasks. The development of assembly line production process in the early 20 th century was obviously

stimulated by the economic advantages of work specialization (arising out of division of labor) as

stated in the work of Smith.



The other significant work which influenced this philosophy was that of the work of Charles Babbage

in 1832 titled On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures. He added the following to Smith’s list

of advantages that can be accrued from division of labor:

1. It reduces the time needed to learn a job 2. Reduced wastage of material during the learning process 3. Allowed attainment of increased skill levels 4. Careful match of people’s skills and physical abilities with specific tasks

Thus in the writings of these writers the benefits of division of labor were being highlighted where the

maximum emphasis was on raising productivity and minimizing wastage of resources and time. Very

little were no consideration was given towards the human elements in the workplace.

B. The Classical Era We see this trend to continue in what is called as the classical era which covers the period between

1900 to mid 1930s. the first general theories of management began to evolve and the main

contributors during this era were Frederick Taylor, Henri Fayol, Max Weber, Mary parker Follet and

Chester Barnard.

Frederick Taylor’s main emphasis was on finding one best way of doing each job. He stressed on

selecting the right people for the job , train them to do it precisely in one best way. He favored wage

plans to motivate the workers. His scientific principles of management stressed the following

principles:

1. Shift all responsibility for the organization of work from the worker to the manager; managers should do all the thinking relating to the planning and design of work, leaving the workers with the

task of implementation.

2. Use scientific methods to determine the most efficient way of doing work; assign the worker’s task accordingly, specifying the precise way in which the work is to be done.

3. Select the best person to perform the job thus designed. 4. Train the worker to do the work efficiently.



5. Monitor worker performances to ensure that appropriate work procedures are followed and that appropriate results are achieved.

Taylor was one of the first to attempt to systematically analyze human behavior at work. He insisted

the use of timeandmotion study as a means of standardizing work activities. His scientific approach

called for detailed observation and measurement of even the most routine work, to find the optimum

mode of performance.

The results were dramatic, with productivity increasing significantly. With passing time, new

organizational functions like personnel and quality control were created. Of course, in breaking down

each task to its smallest unit to find what Taylor called ‘‘the one best way’’ to do each job, the effect

was to remove human variability. Hence he lay the ground for the mass production techniques that

dominated management thinking in the first half of the twentieth century.

Henri Fayol, a mining engineer and manager by profession, defined the nature and working patterns of the twentiethcentury organization in his book, General and Industrial Management, published in

1916. In it, he laid down what he called 14 principles of management. This theory is also called the

Administrative Theory. The principles of the theory are:

1. Division of work: tasks should be divided up with employees specializing in a limited set of tasks

so that expertise is developed and productivity increased.

2. Authority and responsibility: authority is the right to give orders and entails enforcing them with

rewards and penalties; authority should be matched with corresponding responsibility.

3. Discipline: this is essential for the smooth running of business and is dependent on good

leadership, clear and fair arguments, and the judicious application of penalties.

4. Unity of command: for any action whatsoever, an employee should receive orders from one

superior only; otherwise authority, discipline, order, and stability are threatened.

5. Unity of direction: a group of activities concerned with a single objective should be cocoordinated

by a single plan under one head.

6. Subordination of individual interest to general interest: individual or group goals must not be

allowed to override those of the business.



7. Remuneration of personnel: this may be achieved by various methods but it should be fair,

encourage effort, and not lead to overpayment.

8. Centralization: the extent to which orders should be issued only from the top of the organization is

a problem which should take into account its characteristics, such as size and the capabilities of the

personnel.

9. Scalar chain (line of authority): communications should normally flow up and down the line of

authority running from the top to the bottom of the organization, but sideways communication

between those of equivalent rank in different departments can be desirable so long as superiors are

kept informed.

10. Order: both materials and personnel must always be in their proper place; people must be suited

to their posts so there must be careful organization of work and selection of personnel.

11. Equity: personnel must be treated with kindness and justice.

12. Stability of tenure of personnel: rapid turnover of personnel should be avoided because of the

time required for the development of expertise.

13. Initiative: all employees should be encouraged to exercise initiative within limits imposed by the

requirements of authority and discipline.

14. Esprit de corps: efforts must be made to promote harmony within the organization and prevent

dissension and divisiveness.

The management function, Fayol stated, consisted of planning, organizing, commanding, co

coordinating and controlling. Many practicing managers, even today, list these functions as the core

of their activities. Fayol was also one of the first people to characterize a commercial organization’s

activities into its basic components. He suggested that organizations could be subdivided into six

main areas of activity:

1. Technical 2. Commercial 3. Financial 4. Security 5. Accounting 6. Management.



In defining the core principles governing how organizations worked and the contribution of

management to that process, Fayol laid down a blueprint that has shaped organization thinking for

almost a century.

Max Weber developed a theory based on authority relations and was he a pioneer in looking at

management and OB from a structural viewpoint. His theory is also known as bureaucratic theory in

management. he described an ideal types of organization and called it a bureaucracy. This was a

system marked by division of labor, a clearly defined hierarchy, detailed rules and regulations and

impersonal relationships. He wanted this ideal types construct to be taken as a basis for creating

organizations in real world. The detailed features of Weber’s ideal bureaucratic structure are a

follows:

1. Jurisdictional areas are clearly specified, activities are distributed as official duties (unlike traditional form where duties delegated by leader and changed at any time).

2. Organization follows hierarchical principle subordinates follow orders or superiors, but have

right of appeal (in contrast to more diffuse structure in traditional authority).

2. Intention, abstract rules govern decisions and actions. Rules are stable, exhaustive, and can be learned. Decisions are recorded in permanent files (in traditional forms few explicit rules or written

records).

3. Means of production or administration belong to office. Personal property separated from office property.

4. Officials are selected on basis of technical qualifications, appointed not elected, and compensated by salary.

5. Employment by the organization is a career. The official is a fulltime employee and looks forward to a lifelong career. After a trial period they get tenure of position and are protected from arbitrary

dismissal.

C. The Human Relations Movement

Since the industrialists of the early decades of the twentieth century followed Taylor’s lead and put

the emphasis on efficiency, it was some years before any significant attention was paid to the needs

and motivations of that other major factor involved in the work process – the workers. One of the



early pioneers of a view that actually people were central to the world of business was Mary Parker Follett. With this started the beginning of what may be termed as the Human relations Movement as

contributor to the field of OB

Follet believed that organizations should be based on a group ethic rather than on individualism. The

manager’s work was to harmonize and coordinate group efforts. Managers and workers need to look

at each other as partners. Therefore managers should rely more on workers’ expertise and

knowledge than on formal authority of their position to lead their subordinates. Thus in her writing

one can trace the importance of motivation and group togetherness , so much required in modern

day organizational situations.

Another major influence in the human relations movement came from the work of Chester Barnard.

Barnard viewed organizations as consisting of people who have interacting social relationships.

Barnard viewed organizational success in terms of fostering cooperation from various stakeholders

such as, employees and others like customers, investors, suppliers and other external

constituencies. Thus irrespective of excellent production systems, Barnard emphasized the need for

boundary spanning activities and development of skills and motivation of employees for

organizational effectiveness and success.

Elton Mayo is known as the founder of the Human Relations Movement, and is known for his

research including the Hawthorne Studies, and his book The Social Problems of an Industrialised

Civilization (1933). The research he conducted under the Hawthorne Studies of the 1930s showed

the significance of groups in affecting the behavior of individuals at work. However, it was not Mayo

who conducted the practical experiments but his employees Roethlisberger and Dickinson. This

helped him to make certain deductions about how managers should behave. He carried out a

number of investigations to look at ways of improving productivity, for example changing lighting

conditions in the workplace.

His findings were that work satisfaction depended to a large extent on the informal social pattern of

the workgroup. Where ever norms of cooperation and higher output were established it was due to a

feeling of importance. Physical conditions or financial incentives had little motivational value. People

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_Studies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933



will form workgroups and this can be used by management to benefit the organization. He concluded

that people's work performance is dependent on both social issues and job content. He suggested a

tension between workers' 'logic of sentiment' and managers' 'logic of cost and efficiency' which could

lead to conflict within organizations.

Summary of Mayo's Beliefs:

Individual workers cannot be treated in isolation, but must be seen as members of a group.

Monetary incentives and good working condition are less important to the individual than the need to

belong to a group. Informal or unofficial groups formed at work have a strong influence on the

behavior of those workers in a group Managers must be aware of these 'social needs' and cater for

them to ensure that employees collaborate with the official organization rather than work against it.

Another contributor whose work revolutionized thinking about workplaces was Dale Carnegie.

His book How to Win Friends and Influence people is a classic which is referred by management

experts even today. His main theme centered on the idea that the way to success was through

winning the cooperation of people. He advised:

1. To make others feel important through a sincere appreciation of their efforts 2. Seek to make a good impression 3. Win people to your way of thinking by letting others do the talking, being sympathetic and never

telling others that they are wrong

4. Change people by praising their good traits and giving chance to others to save their face

The next contributor who influenced the human aspects of management in workplace was Abraham Maslow. Maslow proposed the need hierarchy theory (physiological, safety, social esteem and self

actualization needs) and stated that each step in the hierarchy must be satisfied before the next can

be activated and once a need was substantially satisfied, it no longer motivated an individual. Self

actualization was the ultimate goal of human existence. Managers who accepted this hierarchy

theory attempted to alter the organization and management practices to reduce barriers to

employees’ self actualization Douglas McGregor was another contributor to the human relations movement. He formulated two

sets of assumptions – Theory X and Theory Y about human nature. Theory X posited a negative



view of people stating that this category have little ambition, dislike work, want to avoid responsibility

and need to be closely directed at workplace. Theory Y category on the other hand proposed a

positive view of people stating that they can exercise self direction, assume responsibility and

considered work as a natural activity. McGregor personally believed that Theory Y described best the

nature of people at work and therefore form the basis of all management practices in organizations.

Managers should give freedom to their subordinates in order to unleash their full creative and

productive potential

D. Behavioral Science Theorists

These theorists engaged in objective research of human behavior in organizations. Some of the

major theorists who contributed to the growth of OB as a discipline are briefly given below.

B. F. Skinner His research on conditioning (classical and operant) and behavior modification

influenced the design of organization training programs and reward systems. Behavior is a function

of consequence according to Skinner and he stated that people engage in a desired behavior only if

they are rewarded for it and less likely to be repeated if an individual is not rewarded or punished for

it

David McClelland his work has helped organizations to match people with jobs and in redesigning

jobs for high achievers in order to maximize their motivation potential. For example, people who have

undergone achievement training in India, have been found to work longer hours, initiate more new

business ventures, made greater investments in productive assets than those who did not undergo

such training

Fred Fiedler work in the field of leadership has contributed immensely to the growth of OB as a

discipline. His work on the subject is important since it emphasized the situational aspects of

leadership and attempted to develop a comprehensive theory of leadership behavior

Fredrick Herzberg his primary interest was in finding out answer to the question: what do

individuals want from their jobs? He concluded from his study that people preferred jobs that

provided opportunities for recognition, achievement, responsibility and growth. Only providing the



hygiene factors were insufficient to motivate people in work places. This work is significant to OB as

it has helped in enriching jobs and the quality of work life in modern organizations.

E. OB is present times

What is realized today is that no one theory by itself can improve organizational functioning and

effectiveness. What, therefore, is suggested is a contingency approach. While the 1960s and 70s

witnessed the development of new theories the efforts since then has been on refining existing

theories, clarifying previous assumptions and identifying significant contingency variables. The

emphasis today is on understanding the situational factors and how they influence a behavior pattern

of individuals in organizational contexts.

Landmark publications on organizational behavior

» 1911: Frederick Taylor: Principles of Scientific Management » 1916: Henri Fayol: General and Industrial Management » 1924: MaxWeber: The Theory of Social and Economic Organization

» 1933: Elton Mayo: Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization » 1938: Chester Barnard: The Functions of the Executive » 1954: Abraham Maslow: Motivation and Personality » 1956: William Whyte: The Organization Man

» 1959: Frederick Herzberg: The Motivation to Work

» 1960: Douglas McGregor: The Human Side of Enterprise » 1964: Robert Blake and Jane Mouton: The Managerial Grid » 1973: Henry Mintzberg: The Nature of Managerial Work

» 1978: Chris Argyris and Donald Schon: Organizational Learning » 1979: Reg Revans: Action Learning

» 1981: Richard Pascale and Anthony Athos: The Art of Japanese Management » 1982: Tom Peters and Bob Waterman: In Search of Excellence

» 1984: Meredith Belbin: Management Teams » 1985: Edgar Schein: Organizational Culture and Leadership » 1986: Gareth Morgan: Images of Organization



» 1989: Charles Handy: The Age of Unreason » 1990: Peter Senge: The Fifth Discipline » 1990: Richard Pascale: Managing on the Edge » 1993: James Champy and Mike Hammer: Reengineering the Corporation 1995: Karl Weick: Sensemaking in Organizations

» 1997: Arie de Geus: The Living Company » 1997: Thomas Stewart: Intellectual Capital » 2000: Richard Pascale: Surfing the Edge of Chaos

»2001: Daniel Pink: Free Agent Nation


1. Adam Smith stated that organizations and society would reap from the __________ of labor

2. Taylor has proposed ____________ principles of management.

3. Fayol has proposed _______________ theory.

2.4 Contributing Disciplines To The OB Field Organizational behavior is an applied behavioral science that is built upon contributions from a

number of behavioral disciplines. The main areas are psychology, sociology, social psychology,

anthropology, and political science.

Psychology :

Psychology is the science that attempts to measure, explain, and at times change the behavior of

humans and other animals. Early industrial/organizational psychologists were concerned with

problems of fatigue, boredom, and other factors relevant to working conditions that could disrupt/

impede efficient work performance. More recently, their contributions have been expanded to include

learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, needs and motivational

forces, job satisfaction, decision making processes, performance appraisals, attitude measurement,

employee selection techniques, work design, and job stress.



Sociology

Sociologists study the social system in which individuals fill their roles; that is, sociology studies

people in relation to their fellow human beings. Their significant contribution to OB is through their

study of group behavior in organizations, particularly formal and complex organizations.

Social Psychology

Social psychology blends the concepts of psychology and sociology. It focuses on the influence of

people on one another. The major challenge deals with the issue of how to implement it and how to

reduce barriers to its acceptance.

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.

Anthropologists work on cultures and environments; for example, they have aided in understanding

differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior among people in different countries and

within different organizations.

Political Science

Political science studies the behavior of individuals and groups within a political environment. It

focuses on areas, such as, conflict, intraorganizational politics and power. Self Assessment Questions 3

1. _______________ is the science that attempts to measure, explain, and at times change the

behavior of humans and other animals.

2. _______________ blends the concepts of psychology and sociology.

3. Political science studies the behavior of individuals and groups within a ________________ environment.

2.5 Summary Organizational behavior (OB) is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups,


organizations work more effectively. Specifically, OB focuses on how to improve productivity, reduce

absenteeism and turnover, and increase employee citizenship and job satisfaction. An organization



is more than a formal arrangement of functions, more than an organization chart, more than a vision

statement, more than a set of accounts. An organization consists of people and so it is also a social

system. The field of organizational behavior (OB) draws primarily from the behavioral science

disciplines of psychology, social psychology, and cultural anthropology. The areas on which OB

focuses are individuals who will often be working within groups, which themselves work within

organizations, as well as all the interrelationships between them. Some of the specific themes

embraced by OB are personality theory, attitudes and values, motivation and learning, interpersonal

behavior, group dynamics, leadership and teamwork, organizational structure and design, decision

making, power, conflict, and negotiation. OB is an interdisciplinary field, it has distinctly humanistic

outlook, it is performance oriented, it considers external environment as critical, it uses scientific

method and it has an applications orientation. Wood (1997) provides a useful model for exploring

behavioral events. He suggests that different levels of analysis can be applied when examining the

significance of an organizational issue. He proposes eight, namely: Individual, Team, Intergroup,

Organizational, Interorganizational, Societal, International, and Global. A large number of people

have contributed to the growth of OB as a discipline. Some of the most important works have been

done by Adam Smith, Frederick Taylor, Henri Fayol, Max Weber, Mary parker Follet, Abraham

Maslow, B. F. Skinner, to name a few. Organizational behavior is an applied behavioral science that

is built upon contributions from a number of behavioral disciplines. The main areas are psychology,

sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and political science.

Terminal Questions

1. Discuss Taylors’ scientific principles of management.

2. Explain Fayol’s administrative theory.

3. What is Weber’s ideal bureaucratic structure?

4. Summarize Mayo’ belief.

Answers to Self Assessment Questions Self Assessment Questions 1 1. Social

2. Cooperative

3. Interdisciplinary



Self Assessment Questions 2 1. Division

2. Scientific

3. Administrative

Self Assessment Questions 3 1. Psychology

2. Social psychology 3. Political

Answers to Terminal Questions





Foundation Of Organization Behavior Unit 3


Unit 3 Foundation Of Organizational Behavior

Structure

3.1 Introduction

Objectives

3.2 Biographic characteristics


3.3 Ability


3.4 Summary

Terminal Questions


3.1 Introduction

Organizational Behavior emphasizes on intellectual capital as represented by the sum total of

knowledge, expertise, and dedication of an organization’s workforce. It recognizes that even in the

age of high technology, people are the indispensable human resources whose knowledge and

performance advance the organization’s purpose, mission, and strategies. Only through human

efforts can the great advantages be realized from other material resources of organizations, such as,

technology, information, raw materials, and money. A Fortune survey (1998) of America’s most

admired firms reported that “the single best predictor of overall success was a company’s ability to

attract, motivate, and retain talented people.”

Learning objectives


1. Biographic Characteristics

2. Ability



3.2 Biographic characteristics

Finding and analyzing the variables that have an impact on employee productivity, absence,

turnover, and satisfaction is often complicated. Many of the concepts—motivation, or power, politics

or organizational culture—are hard to assess. Other factors are more easily definable and readily

available—data that can be obtained from an employee’s personnel file and would include

characteristics, such as:

1. Gender

2. Age

3. Marital status

4. Tenure. 1. Gender

Men and women exhibit no consistent differences in their problemsolving abilities, analytical skills,

competitive drive, motivation, learning ability, or sociability. However, women are reported to be more

conforming and to have lower expectations of success than men do. And, women’s absenteeism

rates tend to be higher than those of men.

2. Age

The research findings concerning age are important given the aging of the workforce. People 50

years old and older account for 85 percent of the projected labor force growth between 1990 and

2005 (American Association of Retired Persons, 1995). Older workers are susceptible to being

stereotyped as inflexible and undesirable in other ways. In some cases, workers as young as age

forty are considered to be “old” and complain that their experience and skills are no longer valued.

On the other hand, small businesses in particular, tend to value older workers for their experience,

stability and low turnover. Research is consistent with these preferences and also shows lower

avoidable absences (Mayrand, 1992).

3. Marital Status

There are not enough studies to draw any conclusions about the effect of marital status on job

productivity. Research consistently indicates that married employees have fewer absences, undergo

less turnover, and are more satisfied with their jobs than are their unmarried coworkers (Garrison &



Muchinsky, 1977). Further research needs to be conducted on the other statuses, besides, single or

married, such as, divorce, domestic partnering, etc

4. Tenure

The issue of the impact of job seniority on job performance has been subject of misconceptions and

speculations. Extensive reviews of the seniorityproductivity relationship have been conducted

(Gordon & Fitzgibbons, 1982):

1. There is a positive relationship between tenure and job productivity. 2. There is a negative relationship between tenure to absence. 3. Tenure is also a potent variable in explaining turnover. 4. Tenure has consistently been found to be negatively related to turnover and has been suggested

as one of the single best predictors of turnover.

5. The evidence indicates that tenure and satisfaction are positively related


1. Women’s absenteeism rates tend to be _________ than those of men.

2. There is a _______ relationship between tenure to absence.

3.3 Ability

Ability reflects a person’s existing capacity to perform the various tasks needed for a given job and

includes both relevant knowledge and skills (Cummings & Schwab, 1973). Aptitude represents a

person’s capability of learning something. In other words, aptitudes are potential abilities, whereas

abilities are the knowledge and skills that an individual currently possesses. Managers need to

consider both ability and aptitude while selecting candidates for a job. Various tests used to measure

mental aptitudes and abilities. Some of these provide an overall intelligent quotient (IQ) score (e.g.,

the StanfordBinet IQ Test). Others provide measures of more specific competencies that are

required of people entering various educational programs or career fields. Such tests are designed to

facilitate the screening and selection of applicants for educational programs or jobs. In addition to

mental aptitudes and abilities, some jobs, such as, firefighters and police, require tests for physical



abilities. Muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance are two among the many physical ability

dimensions (Hogan, 1991). There must be a fit between specific aptitudes and abilities and job

requirements. If you want to be a surgeon, for instance, and cannot demonstrate good hand–eye

coordination, there will not be a good ability–job fit. Such a fit is so important that it forms a core

concept in managing human resources.

Individuals overall abilities are made up of two sets of factors: intellectual and physical.

Intellectual Abilities

Intellectual abilities are those required to perform mental activities.

IQ tests are designed to ascertain one’s general intellectual abilities. Examples of such tests are

popular college admission tests such as, the SAT, GMAT, and LSAT. The seven most commonly

cited dimensions making up intellectual abilities are: number aptitude, verbal comprehension,

perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory

(Dunnette, 1976). The abilities are categorized in the following table:

Dimension

Description Job Example

Number aptitude Ability to do speedy and

accurate arithmetic

Accountant

Verbal Communication Read write speaking ability Senior managers

Perceptual Speed Identify similarities and

differences quickly and

accurately

Investigators

Inductive reasoning Logical sequence drawing Market Researcher

Deductive reasoning Ability to use logic and

assess the implications of

the argument

Supervisors

Spatial Visualization Ability to imagine Interior decorator

Memory Ability to retain and recall

past experience

Sales person

Remembering customer’s

name



Jobs differ in the demands they place on incumbents to use their intellectual abilities. A review of the

evidence demonstrates that tests that assess verbal, numerical, spatial, and perceptual abilities are

valid predictors of job proficiency at all levels of jobs.

In this regard, the theory of multiple intelligences was developed by Gardner (1983, 1993). This

theory suggests eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in

children and adults. It has been claimed that our intelligence or ability to understand the world around

us is complex. Some people are better at understanding some things than others. For some, it is

relatively easy to understand how an automobile works, but it is immensely difficult for some to

understand and use a musical instrument. For others music might be easy but playing football is

difficult. The several different intelligences are listed below:

1. Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):

2. Logicalmathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")

3. Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")

4. BodilyKinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")

5. Musical intelligence ("music smart")

6. Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")

7. Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")

8. Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Physical Abilities

Specific physical abilities gain importance in doing less skilled and more standardized jobs. Research

has identified nine basic abilities involved in the performance of physical tasks. Individuals differ in

the extent to which they have each of these abilities. High employee performance is likely to be

achieved when management matches the extent to which a job requires each of the nine abilities and

the employees’ abilities.



Nine Basic Physical Abilities proposed by Fleishman (1979):

Strength Factors

Dynamic strength Ability to exert muscular force repeatedly

or continuously over time

Trunk strength Ability to exert muscular strength using the

trunk (particularly abdominal) muscles

Static strength Ability to exert force against

external objects

Explosive strength Ability to expend a maximum of

energy in one or a series of

explosive acts

Flexibility Factors

Extent flexibility Ability to move the trunk and back

muscles as far as possible

Dynamic flexibility Ability to make rapid, repeated flexing

Movements

Other Factors

Body coordination Ability to coordinate the simultaneous

actions of different parts of the body

Balance Ability Ability to maintain equilibrium despite

forces pulling off balance

Stamina Ability Ability to continue maximum effort

requiring prolonged effort over time



The AbilityJob Fit

Employee performance is enhanced when there is a high abilityjob fit. The specific intellectual or

physical abilities required depend on the ability requirements of the job. For example, pilots need

strong spatialvisualization abilities. Directing attention at only the employee’s abilities, or only the

ability requirements of the job, ignores the fact that employee performance depends on the

interaction of the two. When the fit is poor employees are likely to fail. When the abilityjob fit is out

of synchronization because the employee has abilities that far exceed the requirements of the job,

performance is likely to be adequate, but there will be organizational inefficiencies and possible

declines in employee satisfaction. Abilities significantly above those required can also reduce the

employee’s job satisfaction when the employee’s desire to use his or her abilities is particularly

strong and is frustrated by the limitations of the job


1. Ability to do speedy and accurate arithmetic is called _________ aptitude.

2. Interpersonal intelligence means ____________ smart.

3. Ability to exert force against external objects is called as _________ strength.

3.4 Summary Organizational Behavior emphasizes on intellectual capital as represented by the sum total of

knowledge, expertise, and dedication of an organization’s workforce. It recognizes that even in the

age of high technology, people are the indispensable human resources whose knowledge and

performance advance the organization’s purpose, mission, and strategies. Only through human

efforts can the great advantages be realized from other material resources of organizations, such as,

technology, information, raw materials, and money. Finding and analyzing the variables that have an

impact on employee productivity, absence, turnover, and satisfaction is often complicated. Many of

the concepts—motivation, or power, politics or organizational culture—are hard to assess. Other

factors are more easily definable and readily available—data that can be obtained from an

employee’s personnel file and would include characteristics, such as, gender, age, marital status,

and tenure.

Ability reflects a person’s existing capacity to perform the various tasks needed for a given job and

includes both relevant knowledge and skills (Cummings & Schwab, 1973). Aptitude represents a



person’s capability of learning something. In other words, aptitudes are potential abilities, whereas

abilities are the knowledge and skills that an individual currently possesses. Managers need to

consider both ability and aptitude while selecting candidates for a job. Individuals overall abilities are

made up of two sets of factors: intellectual and physical. Intellectual abilities are those required to

perform mental activities. The seven most commonly cited dimensions making up intellectual abilities

are: number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive

reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory. Specific physical abilities gain importance in doing less

skilled and more standardized jobs. Research has identified nine basic abilities involved in the

performance of physical tasks. Individuals differ in the extent to which they have each of these

abilities. High employee performance is likely to be achieved when management matches the extent

to which a job requires each of the nine abilities and the employees’ abilities. Employee performance

is enhanced when there is a high abilityjob fit. The specific intellectual or physical abilities required

depend on the ability requirements of the job.

Terminal Questions

1. Briefly describe the relationship of biographic characteristics with organizational behavior.

2. What is “ability”? explain the multiple intelligence theory.

3. Explain the significance of abilityjob fit.

Answers to Self Assessment Questions Self Assessment Questions 1

1. Higher

2. Negative Self Assessment Questions 2

1.Number

2. People

3. Static Answers to Terminal Questions

1. Refer to section 3.2



Learning Unit 9


Unit 4 Learning

Structure

4.1 Introduction

Objectives

4.2 Theories of learning


4.3 Shaping behavior


4.4 Behavior modification


4.5 Specific organizational application

4.6 Summary

Terminal Questions


4.1 Introduction

Learning refers to a process that enhances the knowledge, skill and attitude (KSA) of individuals, to

increase his/her willingness to adopt those newly acquired KSA and to implement them at the

workplace. Such learning should be sustainable and comparatively stable for people and for the

institutions that serves people. Learning definitely includes academic studies and occupational

training through high school and beyond. But it also encompasses the physical, cognitive, emotional

and social development of children in the earliest years of their lives.

Learning can be defined as “any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of

experience” (Robbins, 2003).

Following are the characteristics of learning:

1. First, learning involves change. 2. Second, the change must be relatively permanent. 3. Third, learning is concerned with behavior.

Learning Unit 9


4. Finally, some form of experience is necessary for learning Learning objectives


1. Theories of learning

2. Behavior modification

4.2 Theories of Learning

There are three theories of learning namely classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social

learning 1. Classical conditioning: Classical Conditioning is a form of associative learning process proposed by Pavlov (1927). This

process involves presentations of a neutral stimulus along with a stimulus of some significance. The

neutral stimulus does not lead to an overt behavioral response from the organism. This is called as

Conditioned Stimulus (CS). Significant stimulus evokes an innate, often reflexive, response. This is

called Unconditioned Stimulus (US) and Unconditioned Response (UR), respectively. If the CS and

the US are repeatedly paired, eventually the two stimuli become associated and the organism begins

to produce a behavioral response to it. It is the Conditioned Response (CR).Classical conditioning

was first experimented by Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, to teach dogs to salivate in response to

the ringing of a bell. During his research on the physiology of digestion in dogs, Pavlov used a bell

before giving food to his dog. Rather than simply salivating in the presence of meat (a response to

food unconditioned response), after a few repetitions, the dog started to salivate in response to the bell. Thus, a neutral stimulus (bell) became a conditioned stimulus (CS) as a result of consistent pairing with the unconditioned stimulus (US – meat). Pavlov referred to this learned relationship as a Conditioned Response.

2. Operant Conditioning:

The operant conditioning theory is proposed by B.F. Skinner (1953, 1954). This is based on the idea

that learning is a function of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an

individual's response to stimuli. When a particular StimulusResponse (SR) pattern is reinforced

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulus_(physiology)

Learning Unit 9


(rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond. Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner's S

R theory. A reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired response.

Principles of operant conditioning are as follows:

1. Behavior is learned.

2. Behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur.

3. Information should be presented in small amounts so that responses can be reinforced ("shaping")

4. Reinforcements will generalize across similar stimuli ("stimulus generalization") producing

secondary conditioning.

5. Rewards are most effective if they immediately follow the desired response.

For example, if a subordinate is praised by his boss for looking good in a certain attire, the

subordinate is likely to wear that attire and present himself in front of boss, especially when he needs

to please the boss.

3. Social Learning

The social learning theory was proposed by Bandura. It recognizes the importance of observing and

modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. According to Bandura (1977),

most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms

an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves

as a guide for action. Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous

reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences.

Social learning has four processes:

1. Attentional processes People learn from a model only when they recognize and pay attention to its critical features.

2. Retention processes A model’s influence will depend on how well the individual remembers the model’s action after the it is no longer readily available.

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

4. Reinforcement processes Individuals will be motivated to exhibit the modeled behavior if positive incentives or rewards are provided.

Learning Unit 9


Principles of social learning are as follows:

1. The highest level of observational learning is achieved by first organizing and rehearsing the modeled behavior symbolically and then enacting it overtly. Coding modeled behavior into words,

labels or images results in better retention than simply observing.

2. Individuals are more likely to adopt a modeled behavior, if it results in outcomes they value. 3. Individuals are more likely to adopt a modeled behavior, if the model is similar to the observer

and has admired status and the behavior has functional value


1. Classical Conditioning is a form of associative learning process proposed by _________.

2. The operant conditioning theory is based on the idea that learning is a function of change in

___________ behavior

3. Social learning has __________ processes

4.3: Shaping behavior

When a systematic attempt is made to change individuals’ behaviour by directing their learning in

graduated steps, it is called shaping behavior.

There are four methods of Shaping Behavior. They are as follows:

Positive reinforcement This is the process of getting something pleasant as a consequence of a

desired behavior, to strengthen the same behavior. For example, one get a commission, if he/she

achieves sales target

Negative reinforcement This is the process of having a reward taken away as a consequence of a

undesired behavior. For example, scholarship is withdrawn from the student who has not done well

on the examination Punishment is causing an unpleasant condition in an attempt to eliminate an undesirable behavior.

This is the process of getting a punishment as a consequence of a behavior. Example: having your

pay docked for lateness Extinction—eliminating any reinforcement that is maintaining a behavior. So, if a person puts in

extra effort, but gets no recognition for it, he will stop doing it

Learning Unit 9


Both positive and negative reinforcement result in learning. They strengthen a response and increase

the probability of repetition. Both punishment and extinction weaken behavior and tend to decrease

its subsequent frequency

Schedules of reinforcement

The two major types of reinforcement schedules are: 1) continuous and 2) intermittent.

1. A Continuous reinforcement schedule reinforces the desired behavior each and every time it is

demonstrated. It is the traditional reinforcement schedule and is called a continuous reinforcement

schedule. Each time the correct behavior is performed it gets reinforced.

2. An Intermittent reinforcement schedule are fixed and variable categories. In an intermittent

schedule, not every instance of the desirable behavior is reinforced, but reinforcement is given often

enough to make the behavior worth repeating. The intermittent, or varied, form of reinforcement

tends to promote more resistance to extinction than does the continuous form.

Intermittent techniques be placed into following categories:

Fixedinterval reinforcement schedule—rewards are spaced at uniform time intervals; the critical

variable is time, and it is held constant.

Variableinterval reinforcements—rewards are distributed in time so that reinforcements are

unpredictable.

In a fixedratio schedule, after a fixed or constant number of responses are given, a reward is

initiated.

When the reward varies relative to the behavior of the individual, he or she is said to be reinforced on

a variableratio schedule

For example, honesty pay is fixed interval reinforcement, and piece rate is fixed ratio reinforcement

scheme.

Learning Unit 9


In general, variable schedules tend to lead to higher performance than fixed schedules. Continuous

reinforcement schedules may lead to early satisfaction and behavior may weaken when reinforcers

are withdrawn. Continuous reinforcers, thus, are appropriate for newly desired, unstable, or low

frequency responses. Intermittent reinforcers do not follow every response and thus, they also may

lead to early satisfaction. They are appropriate for stable or highfrequency responses. Variable

interval schedules generate high rates of response and more stable and consistent behavior because

of a high correlation between performance and reward.


1. __________________is causing an unpleasant condition in an attempt to eliminate an undesirable

behavior

2. _________________ is eliminating any reinforcement that is maintaining a behavior

3. In general, variable schedules tend to lead to __________ performance than fixed schedules.

4.4 Behavior modification

The typical OB Modification program follows a fivestep problemsolving model:

1. Identifying critical behaviors 2. Developing baseline data 3. Identifying behavior consequences 4. Developing and implementing an intervention strategy 5. Evaluating performance improvement

1. Critical behaviors make a significant impact on the employee’s job performance;

2. Developing baseline data determines the number of times the identified behavior is occurring

under present conditions.

3. Identifying behavioral consequences tells the manager the antecedent cues that emit the

behavior and the consequences that are currently maintaining it.

4. Developing and implementing an intervention strategy will entail changing some elements of the

performancereward linkagestructure, processes, technology, groups, or the task—with the goal

of making highlevel performance more rewarding.

Learning Unit 9


5. Evaluating performance improvement is important to demonstrate that a change took place as a

result of the intervention strategy.

6. OB Modification has been used by a number of organizations to improve employee productivity

and to reduce errors, absenteeism, tardiness, accident rates, and improve friendliness toward

customers.


1. The typical OB Modification program follows a _________ step problemsolving model

2. OB Modification has been used by a number of organizations to improve employee

____________.

4.5 Specific organizational application

1. Using lotteries to reduce absenteeism

For example, Continental Airlines has created a lottery that rewards its 40,000 employees for

attendance. Twice a year, Continental holds a raffle and gives away eight new sport utility vehicles.

Only employees who have not missed a day of work during the previous six months are eligible. This

lottery system thus, follows a variableratio schedule where management credits the lottery with

significantly reducing the company’s absence rate (Robbins, 2003).

2. Well pay vs. sick pay

Organizations with paid sick leave programs experience almost twice the absenteeism of

organizations without such programs. One of the Midwest organizations in USA implemented a well

pay program. It paid a bonus to employees who had no absence for any given fourweek period and

then paid for sick leave only after the first eight hours of absence. The wellpay program produced

increased savings to the organization, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, and improved

employee satisfaction. Forbes magazine used the same approach to cut its health care costs. It

rewarded employees who stayed healthy and did not file medical claims by paying them the

difference between $500 and their medical claims, then doubling the amount. By doing this, Forbes

cut its major medical and dental claims by over 30 percent (Robbins, 2003).

Learning Unit 9


3. Employee discipline

a. Every manager will, at some time, have to deal with problem behaviors in his/her organization.

a. Managers will respond with disciplinary actions such as oral reprimands, written warnings, and temporary suspensions. However, the use of discipline carries costs. It may provide only a short

term solution and result in serious side effects.

b. Disciplining employees for undesirable behaviors gives them a message to what not to do. However, it does not tell them what alternative behaviors are preferred.

c. Discipline does have a place in organizations. d. In practice, it tends to be widely used because of its ability to produce fast results in the short run. e. Developing training programs f. Most organizations have some kind of systematic training program.

g. In one recent year, U.S. corporations with 100 or more employees spent in excess of $58 billion on formal training for 47.3 million workers (Robbins, 2003).

4. Sociallearning theory suggests that training should

a. Offer a model to grab the trainee’s attention.

b. Provide motivational properties

c. Help the trainee to file away what he or she has learned for later use and provide opportunities to

practice new behaviors.

d. Offer positive rewards for accomplishments.

e. If the training has taken place off the job, allow the trainee some opportunity to transfer what

he/she learned to the job.

5. Selfmanagement

1. Organizational applications of learning concepts can also be used to allow individuals to manage their own behavior.

2. Selfmanagement requires an individual to deliberately manipulate stimuli, internal processes, and responses to achieve personal behavioral outcomes.

Learning Unit 9


The basic processes involve observing one’s own behavior, comparing the behavior with a standard,

and rewarding oneself if the behavior meets the standard.


1. Continental Airlines’ lottery system follows a _______ schedule.

2. Forbes magazine used the __________ to cut its health care costs.

4.6 Summary

Learning refers to a process that enhances the knowledge, skill and attitude (KSA) of individuals, to

increase his/her willingness to adopt those newly acquired KSA and to implement them at the

workplace. Characteristics of learning are: learning involves change; change must be relatively

permanent; learning is concerned with behavior; and some form of experience is necessary for

learning. There are three theories of learning namely classical conditioning, operant conditioning,

and social learning. Classical Conditioning is a form of associative learning process proposed by

Pavlov. This process involves presentations of a neutral stimulus along with a stimulus of some

significance. The neutral stimulus does not lead to an overt behavioral response from the organism.

This is called as Conditioned Stimulus (CS). Significant stimulus evokes an innate, often reflexive,

response. This is called Unconditioned Stimulus (US) and Unconditioned Response (UR),

respectively. If the CS and the US are repeatedly paired, eventually the two stimuli become

associated and the organism begins to produce a behavioral response to it. It is the Conditioned

Response (CR). The operant conditioning theory is proposed by B.F. Skinner. This is based on the

idea that learning is a function of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an

individual's response to stimuli. When a particular StimulusResponse (SR) pattern is reinforced

(rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond. Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner's S

R theory. A reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired response. The social learning theory

was proposed by Bandura. It recognizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors,

attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. According to Bandura (1977), most human behavior is

learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new

behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.

Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between

cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences. When a systematic attempt is made to change

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulus_(physiology)

Learning Unit 9


individuals’ behavior by directing their learning in graduated steps, it is called shaping behavior.

There are four methods of Shaping Behavior. They are: positive reinforcement, negative

reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. Both positive and negative reinforcement result in

learning. They strengthen a response and increase the probability of repetition. Both punishment and

extinction weaken behavior and tend to decrease its subsequent frequency. The typical OB Mod

program follows a fivestep problemsolving model: Identifying critical behaviors, Developing baseline

data, Identifying behavior consequences, Developing and implementing an intervention strategy, and

Evaluating performance improvement.

Terminal Questions

1. Explain the classical conditioning theory and social learning theory.

2. Describe the four methods of shaping behavior.

3. Briefly explain the different types of reinforcement schedules.

4. Explain the fivestep problemsolving model of typical OB modification.

Answers to Self Assessing Questions Self Assessing Questions 1

1. Pavlov

2. Overt

3. Four

Self Assessing Questions 2

1. Punishment

2. Extinction

3. Higher


1. Five

2. Productivity

Learning Unit 9



1. Variableratio

2. well pay






Value, Ethics And Job Satisfaction Unit 5


Unit 5 Value, Ethics And Job Satisfaction

Structure

5.1 Introduction

Objectives

5.2 Types of Values


5.3 Contemporary Work Cohort


5.4 National culture and values


5.5 Attitudes


5.6 Summary

Terminal Questions


5.1 Introduction Values represent basic convictions that “a specific mode of conduct or endstate of existence is

personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or endstate of

existence” (Rokeach, 1973). When the values are ranked in terms of their intensity, i.e., when the

value are prioritized in terms of their intensity, it is called value system. Types of values include,

ethical/moral values, doctrinal/ideological (political, religious) values, social values, and aesthetic

values.

Values have both content and intensity attributes.

1. The content attribute signifies that a mode of conduct or endstate of existence is important. 2. The intensity attribute specifies how important it is. 3. Ranking an individual’s values in terms of their intensity equals that person’s value system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_(sociology)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics



Values build the foundation for the understanding of attitudes and motivation of an individual, since,

value has a great impact on perceptions. Values shape relationships, behaviors, and choices. The

more positive our values, more positive are people’s actions. A significant portion of the values an

individual holds is established in the early years—from parents, teachers, friends, and others.

Learning objectives:


1. Types of Values 2. National culture and values 3. Attitudes

5.2 Types Of Values Rokeach, in his Value Survey (Rokeach Value Survey RVS), proposed two sets of values. They are

:Terminal values and Instrumental values. Each set contains 18 individual value items. Terminal

values refer to desirable endstates of existence, the goals that a person would like to achieve during

his/her lifetime. Instrumental values refer to preferable modes of behavior, or means of achieving the

terminal values. This survey proposed that people in the same occupations or categories tend to hold

similar values. The terminal values and instrumental values proposed by RVS are listed below:

Terminal values

1. Equality (brotherhood and equal opportunity for all)

2. A comfortable life (a prosperous life)

3. An Exciting Life (a stimulating, active life)

4. Family Security (taking care of loved ones)

5. Freedom (independence and free choice)

6. Health (physical and mental wellbeing)

7. Inner Harmony (freedom from inner conflict)

8. Mature Love (sexual and spiritual intimacy)

9. National Security (protection from attack)

10. Pleasure (an enjoyable, leisurely life)

11. Salvation (saved; eternal life)

12. SelfRespect (selfesteem)



13. A Sense of Accomplishment (a lasting contribution)

14. Social Recognition (respect and admiration)

15. True Friendship (close companionship)

16. Wisdom (a mature understanding of life)

17. A World at Peace (a world free of war and conflict)

18. A World of Beauty (beauty of nature and the arts)

Instrumental values

1. Ambitious (hardworking and aspiring)

2. Broadminded (openminded)

3. Capable (competent; effective)

4. Clean (neat and tidy)

5. Courageous (standing up for your beliefs)

6. Forgiving (willing to pardon others)

7. Helpful (working for the welfare of others)

8. Honest (sincere and truthful)

9. Imaginative (daring and creative)

10. Independent (selfreliant; selfsufficient)

11. Intellectual (intelligent and reflective)

12. Logical (consistent; rational)

13. Loving (affectionate and tender)

14. Loyal (faithful to friends or the group)

15. Obedient (dutiful; respectful)

16. Polite (courteous and wellmannered)

17. Responsible (dependable and reliable)

18. Selfcontrolled (restrained; selfdisciplined)


1. ___________ values refer to desirable endstates of existence, the goals that a person would like

to achieve during his/her lifetime.

2. Social Recognition is ____________ value



3. ___________ values refer to preferable modes of behavior, or means of achieving the terminal

values

5.3 Contemporary Work Cohort Robbins (2003) has proposed Contemporary Work Cohort, in which the unique value of different

cohorts is that the U.S. workforce has been segmented by the era they entered the workforce.

Individuals’ values differ, but tend to reflect the societal values of the period in which they grew up.

The cohorts and the respective values have been listed below:

1. Veterans—Workers who entered the workforce from the early 1940s through the early 1960s.

They exhibited the following value orientations:

They were influenced by the Great Depression and World War II

1. Believed in hard work 2. Tended to be loyal to their employer 3. Terminal values: Comfortable life and family security

2. Boomers—Employees who entered the workforce during the 1960s through the mid1980s

belonged to this category. Their value orientations were:

1. Influenced heavily by John F. Kennedy, the civil rights and feminist movements, the Beatles, the Vietnam War, and babyboom competition

2. Distrusted authority, but gave a high emphasis on achievement and material success 3. Organizations who employed them were vehicles for their careers 4. Terminal values: sense of accomplishment and social recognition

3. Xers—began to enter the workforce from the mid1980s. They cherished the following values:

1. Shaped by globalization, twocareer parents, MTV, AIDS, and computers 2. Value flexibility, life options, and achievement of job satisfaction 3. Family and relationships were important and enjoyed teamoriented work 4. Money was important, but would trade off for increased leisure time



5. Less willing to make personal sacrifices for employers than previous generations

• Terminal values: true friendship, happiness, and pleasure

4. Nexters—most recent entrants into the workforce.

1. Grew up in prosperous times, have high expectation, believe in themselves, and confident in their ability to succeed

2. Neverending search for ideal job; see nothing wrong with jobhopping 3. Seek financial success 4. Enjoy team work, but are highly selfreliant 5. Terminal values: freedom and comfortable life


1. Workers who entered the workforce from the early 1940s through the early 1960s, are called

________________.

2. _______________ began to enter the workforce from the mid1980s.

5.4 National Culture And Values

Following are the most important research with regard to establishing relationship between national

culture and values.

Hofstede’s research

Hofstede (1980,1991), in order to find the common dimensions of culture across the countries,

gathered data from surveys with 116,000 respondents working from IBM from more than 70 countries

around the world. The underlying concept of the four dimensions is described below (Hofsede 1991):

1. Power distance: This dimension measures the 'social equality' i.e.; to what extent a society accepts unequal distribution of power in families, institutions and organizations. Inequality of

power in organizations is generally manifested in hierarchical superiorsubordinate relationships.



2. Uncertainty avoidance: This is a representation of a society's tolerance for uncertain situations. It measures to what extent a society manages those situations by providing specific and

conventional rules, regulations and norms; by rejecting aberrant ideas or behavior; by accepting

the possibility of absolute truths and the accomplishments of expertise. Countries, which score

high in uncertainty avoidance, discourage risktaking behavior and innovation.

3. Individualism vs. collectivism: Individualism gauges to what extent individuals in a country consider themselves as distinct entities rather than as members of cohesive groups. Collectivism,

on the other hand, emphasizes on 'social ties or bonds' between individuals. Individualistic

society considers selfinterest as more important than the group goal.

4. Masculinity vs. femininity: This dimension refers to what extent dominant values in a society

emphasizes masculine social values like a work ethic expressed in terms of money, achievement

and recognition as opposed to feminine social role which show more concern for people and

quality of life.

Hofstede and Bond (1988) have identified a fifth dimension (based on Confucian dynamism), called

‘longterm orientation’, which measures employees’ devotion to the work ethic and their respect for

tradition. It was found that Asian countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are

extremely strong in work ethic and commitment to traditional Confucian values.

Hofstede (1991) further proposed that each person carries around several layers of cultural

programming. It starts when a child learns basic values: what is right and wrong, good and bad,

logical and illogical, beautiful and ugly. Culture is about your fundamental assumptions of what it is to

be a person and how you should interact with other persons in your group and with outsiders. The

first level of culture is the deepest, the most difficult to change and will vary according to the culture

in which we grow up. Other layers of culture are learned or programmed in the course of education,

through professional or craft training and in organization life. Some of the aspects of culture learned

later have to do with conventions and ethics in your profession. These layers are more of ways of

doing things, or practices as opposed to fundamental assumptions about how things are.



GLOBE research

GLOBE project integrates the above –mentioned cultural attributes and variables with managerial

behavior in organizations. Following are some of the questions asked in this project to prove that

leadership and organizational processes were directly influenced by cultural variables:

1. Are leader behaviors, attributes and organizational practices universally accepted and effective across cultures?

2. Are they influenced by societal and organizational cultures? 3. What is the effect of violating cultural norms that are relevant to leadership and organizational

practices?

4. Can the universal and culturespecific aspects of leadership behaviour and organizational practice be explained with the help of a theory accounting for systematic differences across

cultures?

From the above, GLOBE project identified nine cultural dimensions (House, Javidan, Hanges and

Dorfman, 2002: 310)

1. Uncertainty avoidance: GLOBE project defined this dimension as the extent to which a society or an organization tries to avoid uncertainty by depending heavily on prevalent norms, rituals and

bureaucratic practices.

2. Power distance: it is the degree to which power is unequally shared in a society or an organization.

3. CollectivismI i.e. societal collectivism: it is the degree to which society and organization encourages, and recognizes collective performance.

4. CollectivismII Ingroup collectivism: it is the degree to which individuals take pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organizations and families.

5. Gender egalitarianism: GLOBE has defined this as an extent to which a society or an organization minimizes gender differences and discrimination.

6. Assertiveness: it is the degree to which individuals, both in organizational and social context are, assertive and confrontational.



7. Future orientation: it is the degree to which individuals are encouraged in long term future – orientated behaviors such as planning, investing, etc.

8. Performance orientation: this dimension encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement.

9. Humane orientation: it is the degree to which organizations or society encourage or reward for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous and caring.

Work behavior across cultures

In every culture, there are different sets of attitudes and values which affect behavior. Similarly, every

individual has a set of attitudes and beliefs – filters through which he/she views management

situations within organizational context. Managerial beliefs, attitudes and values can affect

organizations positively or negatively. Managers portray trust and respect in their employees in

different ways in different cultures. This is a function of their own cultural backgrounds. For example,

managers from specific cultures tend to focus only on the behavior that takes place at work, in

contrast to managers from diffused cultures who focus on wider range of behavior including

employees’ private and professional lives. Trompenaars and HampdenTurner (1998:86) have

conducted a survey to find out whether the employees believe their companies should provide

housing to the employees. It was found out that most managers from diffused cultures believed that

company should provide such facility (former Yugoslavia 89%, Hungary 83%, China 82%, Russia

78%), whereas less than 20% managers from specific cultures such as UK, Australia, Denmark,

France, etc., agreed on the same.

Laurent (1983: 7596), as a result of his survey with managers from nine Western European

countries, U.S., three Asian countries found distinctly different patterns for managers in common

work situations.

Task and relationship: in response to the statement which states that the main reason for a

hierarchical structure was to communicate the authority relationship, most U.S. managers disagreed

whereas, most Asian , Latin American managers strongly agreed. It was quite evident that U.S

managers, having an extremely task oriented culture, believed more in flatter organizational

structure to become more effective. On the other hand, the second set of managers were from more



relationship oriented cultures where the concept of authority is more important. Similarly, in

response to the statement which says that in order to have efficient work relationship it is often

necessary to bypass the hierarchical line, differences were found across cultures. Managers from

Sweden (task oriented culture) projected least problem with bypassing since getting the job done is

more important than expressing allegiance to their bosses. In contrast, Italian managers, coming

from a relationshiporiented culture, considered bypassing the authority/boss as an act of in

subordination. The above mentioned example is inevitably a caution signal to the universal

management approach, irrespective of culture. Managers as experts or problemsolvers: in the same study, Laurent asked managers from

various cultures whether it was important for them to have at hand, precise answers to most

questions their subordinates might raise about their work. French managers believed that they

should give precise answers to the questions in order to maintain their credibility and retain the

subordinates’ sense of security. On the contrary, U.S. managers believed that a managers’ role

should be to act as a mentor who would facilitate the employees to solve the problem. They also

believe that providing direct answers to a problem actually discourages subordinates’ initiative and

creativity and ultimately hampers performance.


1. Power distance measures the _________________.

2. ______________ gauges to what extent individuals in a country consider themselves as distinct

entities rather than as members of cohesive groups.

3. Hofstede and Bond (1988) have identified a fifth dimension called __________________

5.5 Attitudes

Attitudes are evaluative statements that are either favorable or unfavorable concerning objects,

people, or events. Attitudes are not the same as values, but the two are interrelated. There are three

components of an attitude:

1. Cognition 2. Affect 3. Behavior



Cognition – It is the mental process involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension, including

thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem solving. Affect is the emotional or feeling segment of an attitude. Behavior The behavioral component of an attitude refers to an intention to behave in a certain way

toward someone or something.

Types of Attitudes

Most of the research in OB has been concerned with three attitudes: job satisfaction, job

involvement, and organizational commitment. 1. Job satisfaction

1. It is defined as an individual’s general attitude toward his/her job. A high level of job

satisfaction equals positive attitudes toward the job and viceaversa.

2. Job involvement

1. It is the measure of the degree to which a person identifies psychologically with his/her job and

considers his/her perceived performance level important to selfworth.

3. Organizational commitment

1.It is defined as a state in which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its

goals, and wishes to maintain membership in the organization. Research evidence has shown

a negative relationship between organizational commitment and both absenteeism as well as

turnover. An individual’s level of organizational commitment is a better indicator of turnover than

the far more frequently used job satisfaction predictor, because, it is a more global and

enduring response to the organization as a whole than is job satisfaction.

Attitudes and Consistency

When there is an inconsistency, forces are initiated to return the individual to an equilibrium state

where attitudes and behavior are again consistent, by altering either the attitudes or the behavior, or

by developing a rationalization for the discrepancy.



Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Festinger (1957), while linking attitudes with behavior, argued that, any form of inconsistency is

uncomfortable and individuals will attempt to reduce the dissonance. The desire to reduce

dissonance would be determined by the importance of the elements creating the dissonance, the

degree of influence the individual believes he/she has over the elements and the rewards that may

be involved in dissonance

Importance: If the elements creating the dissonance are relatively unimportant, the pressure to

correct this imbalance will be low.

Influence: If the dissonance is perceived as an uncontrollable result, they are less likely to be

receptive to attitude change. Though dissonance exists, it is possible to rationalize and justify it.

Rewards: The inherent tension in high dissonance tends to be reduced with high rewards.

However, it is not possible for any individual to completely avoid dissonance. Due to moderating

factors, individuals will not necessarily move to reduce dissonance—or consistency.

Contemporary research has shown that attitudes can significantly predict future behavior and has

confirmed Festinger’s original view that relationship can be enhanced by taking moderating variables

into account( Robbins, 2003). The most powerful moderators are:

1. Importance 2. Specificity 3. Accessibility 4. Social pressures 5. Direct experience

1. Importance: refers to fundamental values, selfinterest, or identification with individuals or groups

that a person values.

2. Specificity: The more specific the attitude and the more specific the behavior, the stronger the

link between the two.



3. Accessibility: Attitudes that are easily remembered are more likely to predict behavior than

attitudes that are not accessible in memory.

4. Social pressures: Discrepancies between attitudes and behavior are more likely to occur where

social pressures to behave in certain ways hold exceptional power.

Direct experience: The attitudebehavior relationship is likely to be much stronger if an attitude

refers to an individual’s direct personal experience.

Selfperception theory

Selfperception theory (Bem, 1967) proposes that attitudes are used to make sense out of an action

that has already occurred rather than devices that precede and guide action. In contrast to the

cognitive dissonance theory, attitudes are just casual verbal statements and they tend to create

plausible answers for what has already occurred.

While the traditional attitudebehavior relationship is generally positive, the behaviorattitude

relationship is stronger especially when attitudes are unclear and ambiguous or little thought has

been given to it earlier.

Attitude Surveys

1. The most popular method for getting information about employee attitudes is through attitude

surveys. It provides with valuable feedback about the way employees perceive their working

conditions. Managers present the employee with set statements or questions to obtain specific

information. What may be viewed by management as fair policies and practices, and as objective,

may be seen as inequitable by employees in general, or by certain groups of employees, and

may result in negative attitudes about the job and the organization. The use of regular attitude

surveys can alert management to potential problems and employees’ intentions well in time, so

that action can be taken to prevent repercussions (Robbins, 2003).

Measuring Job Satisfaction

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 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 more healthy 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, it has also been found that satisfying or delighting

employees is a prerequisite to satisfying or delighting customers, thus protecting the "bottom line

(Brown, 1996).

Creating Job Satisfaction

Probably the most important point to bear in mind when considering job satisfaction is that there are

many factors that affect job satisfaction and that what makes workers happy with their jobs varies

from one worker to another and from day to day. Organizations aspiring to create a work

environment that enhances job satisfaction need to incorporate the following:

1. Flexible work arrangements 2. Task variety and significance 3. Job security 4. A supportive work environment 5. Competitive salary 6. Career opportunities

Job enrichment

It is a deliberate upgrading of responsibility, scope, and challenge in the work itself. Job enrichment

usually includes increased responsibility, recognition, and opportunities for growth, learning, and

achievement. Large companies that have used jobenrichment programs to increase employee

motivation and job satisfaction include, AT&T, IBM, and General Motors (Daft, 1997).

Workers’ role in job satisfaction

A worker should also take some responsibility for his or her job satisfaction. Everett (1995) proposed

the following questions which employees ask themselves in regard to job satisfaction at the

workplace:

http://www.answers.com/topic/longevity

http://www.answers.com/topic/prerequisite

http://www.answers.com/topic/aspire

http://www.answers.com/topic/job-enrichment



1. When have I come closest to expressing my full potential in a work situation?

2. What did it look like?

3. What aspects of the workplace were most supportive?

4. What aspects of the work itself were most satisfying?

5. What did I learn from that experience that could be applied to the present situation?

The following suggestions can help a worker find personal job satisfaction:

1. Seek opportunities to demonstrate skills and talents. 2. Develop communication skills.

3. Acquire job related skills and try to implement them. 4. Demonstrate creativity and initiative. 5. Improve team building and leadership skill. 6. Learn to destress.

The ways of expressing job dissatisfaction

There are a number of ways in which employees can express dissatisfaction (Robbins, 2003). They

are:

1. Exit 2. Voice 3. Loyalty 4. Neglect

1. Exit: Behavior directed toward leaving the organization, actions like looking for a new position as well as resigning.

2. Voice: Actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions, including suggesting improvements, discussing problems with superiors, and some forms of union activity.

http://www.answers.com/topic/workplace



3. Loyalty: Passively, but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve, including standing up for the organization in the face of external criticism/ crisis, and reposing trust in the organization and

its management to take the right decisions and set things in order.

4. Neglect: Passively allowing conditions to worsen, including chronic absenteeism or lateness, reduced effort, and increased error rate


1. There are ____________ components of an attitude

2. Festinger has proposed _________________________ theory.

3. ________________ theory proposes that attitudes are used to make sense out of an action that

has already occurred rather than devices that precede and guide action.

5.6 Summary Values represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or endstate of existence is

personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or endstate of

existence. Types of values include, ethical/moral values, doctrinal/ideological (political, religious)

values, social values, and aesthetic values. Values build the foundation for the understanding of

attitudes and motivation of an individual, since, value has a great impact on perceptions. Values

shape relationships, behaviors, and choices. The more positive our values, more positive are

people’s actions. A significant portion of the values an individual holds is established in the early

years from parents, teachers, friends, and others. Rokeach, in his Value Survey (Rokeach Value

Survey RVS), proposed two sets of values. They are :Terminal values and Instrumental values.

Each set contains 18 individual value items. Terminal values refer to desirable endstates of

existence, the goals that a person would like to achieve during his/her lifetime. Instrumental values

refer to preferable modes of behavior, or means of achieving the terminal values. Hofstede proposed

four dimensions of national culture: Power distance (this dimension measures the 'social equality'),

Uncertainty avoidance (this is a representation of a society's tolerance for uncertain situations),

Individualism vs. collectivism (individualism gauges to what extent individuals in a country consider

themselves as distinct entities rather than as members of cohesive groups and collectivism

emphasizes on 'social ties or bonds' between individuals) and Masculinity vs. femininity (this

dimension refers to what extent dominant values in a society emphasizes masculine social values

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_(sociology)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics



like a work ethic expressed in terms of money, achievement and recognition as opposed to feminine

social role which show more concern for people and quality of life). Attitudes are evaluative

statements that are either favorable or unfavorable concerning objects, people, or events. Attitudes

are not the same as values, but the two are interrelated. There are three components of an attitude:

Cognition (the mental process involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension), Affect (the

emotional or feeling segment of an attitude) and Behavior (an intention to behave in a certain way

toward someone or something). Festinger (1957), while linking attitudes with behavior, argued that,

any form of inconsistency is uncomfortable and individuals will attempt to reduce the dissonance.

The desire to reduce dissonance would be determined by the importance of the elements creating

the dissonance, the degree of influence the individual believes he/she has over the elements and the

rewards that may be involved in dissonance. Selfperception theory (Bem, 1967) proposes that

attitudes are used to make sense out of an action that has already occurred rather than devices that

precede and guide action. In contrast to the cognitive dissonance theory, attitudes are just casual

verbal statements and they tend to create plausible answers for what has already occurred.

Terminal Questions

1. What is Rokeach Value Survey RVS? Explain the values described in this survey.

2. Explain Hofstede’s research.

3. Describe Laurent’s findings .

4. Explain Cognitive Dissonance Theory and self perception theory.


1. Terminal

2. Terminal

3. Instrumental


1. Veterans

2. Xers




1. Social equality

2. Individualism

3. Longterm orientation


1. Three

2. Cognitive Dissonance

3. Selfperception






Personality Unit 6


Unit 6 Personality

Structure

6.1 Introduction

Objectives

6.2 Personality Determinants


6.3 Personality Theories


6.4 Achieving personality fit


6.5 Summary

Terminal Questions


6.1 Introduction The term 'personality' has been derived from the Latin term 'persona' which means to 'speak

through'. The Latin word denotes the masks worn by actors in ancient Greece and Rome. Therefore,

a very common meaning of the term personality is the role which the person (actor) displays in the

public domain at large. Personality is a dynamic concept describing the growth and development of a

person’s whole psychological systemit looks at some aggregate whole that is greater than the sum

of the parts. Allport (1937) defined personality as “the dynamic organization within the individual of

those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment”.



1. Personality Determinants 2. Personality Theories

Personality Unit 6


6.2 Personality Determinants The factors affecting personality development are illustrated below:

1. Heredity The relationship of heredity with personality is a wellaccepted fact. Traits like physique, eye color, hair color, height, temperament, energy level, intelligence, reflexes, etc. are

generally referred to describe the influence of heredity in developing personality. The heredity

approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the molecular

structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes. Robbins (2003) has argued that the three

different streams of research lend some credibility to the argument that heredity plays an

important part in determining an individual's personality. The first looks at the genetic

underpinnings of human behavior and temperament among young children. The second

addresses the study of twins who were separated at birth and the third examines the consistency

in job satisfaction over time and across situations.

2. Environment Environment comprises of culture, family, social and situational factors. The

environmental factors influence personality of an individual since they provide the basis of certain

experiences which determine the individual’s view about life, both positive and negative.

3. Culture Culture establishes norms, attitudes and values that are passed on from generation to generation and create consistencies over time. Every culture expects and trains its members to

behave in the ways that are acceptable to the group. People from different cultural groups have

different attitudes towards independence, aggression, competition, cooperation, artistic talent,

etc. However, on the basis of culture, an individual’s personality cannot be always assessed,

since individuals within the same culture (but from different family and subcultural background)

have been seen to differ in their behavior.

4. Family One of the most important determinants of the personality of a person is the immediate family. Families influence the behavior of a person especially in the early stages of life. The

nature of such influence will depend upon the socioeconomic level of the family, family size,

race, religion, parent's educational level and geographic location.

5. Situation Situational factors also play a crucial role in determining the personality of a

person. Every individual goes through different type of experiences and events in his/her life. Some

of the events and experiences, which an individual goes through in his/her life, can serve as

Personality Unit 6


important determinants of his/her personality. A trauma suffered by a person in the childhood can

sometime change the structure of his/her own personality.


1. The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the

molecular structure of the ______________

2. One of the most important determinants of the personality of a person is the________ family

6.3 Personality Theories Traits are underlying tendencies to behave in a consistent and distinctive style and they describe the

frequency or intensity of a person's feelings, thoughts, or behaviors. Possession of a trait is,

therefore, a matter of degree.

Some of the most important research works on personality traits are mentioned below:

Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Model

Early research on personality traits resulted in isolating large numbers of traits, which made it

impossible to predict behavior. Cattell’s (1973) is one of the most important personality trait theory,

where the number of traits have been reduced. Cattell referred to these 16 factors as primary factors.

Primary Factors and Descriptors in Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Model (Adapted From Conn &

Rieke, 1994).

Descriptors of Low Range Primary Factor Descriptors of High Range

Reserve, impersonal, distant, cool,

reserved, impersonal, detached, formal,

aloof (Sizothymia)

Warmth

Warm, outgoing, attentive to others,

kindly, easy going, participating, likes

people (Affectothymia)

Concrete thinking, lower general mental

capacity, less intelligent, unable to Reasoning

Abstractthinking, more intelligent,

bright, higher general mental capacity,

Personality Unit 6


handle abstract problems (Lower

Scholastic Mental Capacity)

fast learner (Higher Scholastic Mental

Capacity)

Reactive emotionally, changeable,

affected by feelings, emotionally less

stable, easily upset (Lower Ego

Strength)

Emotional

Stability

Emotionally stable, adaptive, mature,

faces reality calm (Higher Ego Strength)

Deferential, cooperative, avoids conflict,

submissive, humble, obedient, easily

led, docile, accommodating

(Submissiveness)

Dominance

Dominant, forceful, assertive,

aggressive, competitive, stubborn,

bossy (Dominance)

Serious, restrained, prudent, taciturn,

introspective, silent (Desurgency) Liveliness

Lively, animated, spontaneous,

enthusiastic, happy go lucky, cheerful,

expressive, impulsive (Surgency)

Expedient, nonconforming, disregards

rules, self indulgent (Low Super Ego

Strength)

Rule

Consciousness

Ruleconscious, dutiful, conscientious,

conforming, moralistic, staid, rule bound

(High Super Ego Strength)

Shy, threatsensitive, timid, hesitant,

intimidated (Threctia) Social Boldness

Socially bold, venturesome, thick

skinned, uninhibited (Parmia)

Utilitarian, objective, unsentimental,

tough minded, selfreliant, nononsense,

rough (Harria)

Sensitivity Sensitive, aesthetic, sentimental, tender

minded, intuitive, refined (Premsia)

Trusting, unsuspecting, accepting,

unconditional, easy (Alaxia) Vigilance

Vigilant, suspicious, skeptical,

distrustful, oppositional (Protension)

Grounded, practical, prosaic, solution

orientated, steady, conventional

(Praxernia)

Abstractedness Abstract, imaginative, absent minded,

impractical, absorbed in ideas (Autia)

Forthright, genuine, artless, open, Privateness Private, discreet, nondisclosing,

Personality Unit 6


guileless, naive, unpretentious, involved

(Artlessness)

shrewd, polished, worldly, astute,

diplomatic (Shrewdness)

SelfAssured, unworried, complacent,

secure, free of guilt, confident, self

satisfied (Untroubled)

Apprehension

Apprehensive, self doubting, worried,

guilt prone, insecure, worrying, self

blaming (Guilt Proneness)

Traditional, attached to familiar,

conservative, respecting traditional

ideas (Conservatism)

Openness to

Change

Open to change, experimental, liberal,

analytical, critical, free thinking,

flexibility (Radicalism)

Grouporiented, affiliative, a joiner and

follower dependent (Group Adherence) SelfReliance

Selfreliant, solitary, resourceful,

individualistic, self sufficient (Self

Sufficiency)

Tolerated disorder, unexacting, flexible,

undisciplined, lax, selfconflict,

impulsive, careless of social rues,

uncontrolled (Low Integration)

Perfectionism

Perfectionistic, organized, compulsive,

selfdisciplined, socially precise,

exacting will power, control, self –

sentimental (High SelfConcept Control)

Relaxed, placid, tranquil, torpid, patient,

composed low drive (Low Ergic Tension) Tension

Tense, high energy, impatient, driven,

frustrated, over wrought, time driven.

(High Ergic Tension)

The MyersBriggs Type Indicator

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).

Personality Unit 6


• 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.

The big five model

1. Many researchers argue that five basic dimensions underlie all other personality dimensions

(e.g; McCrae and Costa, 1990; Digman, 1997). The five basic dimensions are:

1. Extraversion. Comfort level with relationships. Extraverts tend to be gregarious, assertive, and sociable. Introverts tend to be reserved, timid, and quiet.

2. Agreeableness. Individual’s propensity to defer to others. High agreeableness people—

cooperative, warm, and trusting. Low agreeableness people—cold, disagreeable, and

antagonistic.

3. Conscientiousness. A measure of reliability. A high conscientious person is responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those who score low on this dimension are easily

distracted, disorganized, and unreliable.

4. Emotional stability. A person’s ability to withstand stress. People with positive emotional stability tend to be calm, selfconfident, and secure. Those with high negative scores tend to be

nervous, anxious, depressed, and insecure.

Personality Unit 6


5. Openness to experience. The range of interests and fascination with novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious, and artistically sensitive. Those at the other end of the openness

category are conventional and find comfort in the familiar.

Research suggested important relationships between these personality dimensions and job

performance (Barrick, & Mount , 1991). For example, conscientiousness predicted job performance

for all occupational groups. Individuals who are dependable, reliable, careful, thorough, able to plan,

organized, hardworking, persistent, and achievementoriented tend to have higher job performance.

Employees higher in conscientiousness develop higher levels of job knowledge. For the other

personality dimensions, predictability depended upon both the performance criterion and the

occupational group. Extraversion predicted performance in managerial and sales positions.

Openness to experience is important in predicting training proficiency.

Locus of control

A person’s perception of the source of his/her fate is termed locus of control. Locus of control was

formulated within the framework of Rotter's (1954) social learning theory of personality. Rotter (1975)

pointed out that internality and externality represent two ends of a continuum, not an either/or

typology. Internals tend to attribute outcomes of events to their own control. Externals attribute

outcomes of events to external circumstances. For example, college students with a strong internal

locus of control may believe that their grades were achieved through their own abilities and efforts,

whereas, those with a strong external locus of control may believe that their grades are the result of

good or bad luck, or to a professor who designs bad tests or grades capriciously; hence, they are

less likely to expect that their own efforts will result in success and are therefore less likely to work

hard for high grades.

Individuals who rate high in externality are less satisfied with their jobs, have higher absenteeism

rates, are more alienated from the work setting, and are less involved on their jobs than are internals.

Internals, facing the same situation, attribute organizational outcomes to their own actions. Internals

believe that health is substantially under their own control through proper habits; their incidences of

sickness and, hence, of absenteeism, are lower.

Personality Unit 6


Internals generally perform better on their jobs, but one needs to consider differences in jobs.

Internals search more actively for information before making a decision, are more motivated to

achieve, and make a greater attempt to control their environment, and hence, internals do well on

sophisticated tasks. Internals are more suited to jobs that require initiative and independence of

action and want autonomy and independence in their jobs. Externals are more compliant and willing

to follow directions and be led, and do well on jobs that are well structured and routine and in which

success depends heavily on complying with the direction of others.

Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism is the term that some social and personality psychologists use to describe a

person's tendency to deceive and manipulate others for personal gain. The concept is named after

Renaissance diplomat and writer Niccolò Machiavelli, who wrote Il Principe (The Prince). Christie and

Geis (1970) developed a test for measuring a person's level of Machiavellianism. This eventually

became the MACHIV test, a twentystatement personality survey that is now the standard self

assessment tool of Machiavellianism. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains

emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means. High Machs manipulate more, win

more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more. High Mach outcomes are moderated by

situational factors and flourish when they interact face to face with others, rather than indirectly, and

when the situation has a minimum number of rules and regulations, thus, allowing room for

improvisation. High Machs make good employees in jobs that require bargaining skills or that offer

substantial rewards for winning.

Selfesteem ( SE)

Selfesteem is defined as the degree to which people like or dislike themselves (Robbins, 2003).

Individuals with high selfesteem tend to take more risks in job selection and are more likely to

choose unconventional jobs in contrast to people with low selfesteem. Low SEs are more

susceptible to external influence than are high SEs. Low SEs are dependent on the receipt of

positive evaluations from others. In managerial positions, therefore, low SEs will tend to be

concerned with pleasing others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince

Personality Unit 6


Selfmonitoring

It refers to an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors.

Individuals high in selfmonitoring show considerable adaptability. They are highly sensitive to

external cues, and are capable of behaving differently in different situations, and presenting striking

contradictions between their public persona and their private self. Low selfmonitors cannot disguise

themselves in that way. They tend to display their true dispositions and attitudes in almost every

situation resulting in a high behavioral consistency between who they are and what they do. High

selfmonitors tend to pay closer attention to the behavior of others. High selfmonitoring managers

tend to be more mobile in their careers and receive more promotions. High selfmonitor is capable of

putting on different “faces” for different audiences.

Type A and Type B personality Type A personality is a set of characteristics that includes, being impatient, excessively time

conscious, insecure about one's status, highly competitive, hostile and aggressive, and incapable of

relaxation (Friedman & Rosenman 1974). They are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly, are

impatient with the rate at which most events take place, are doing do two or more things at once and

cannot cope with leisure time. They are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of

how many or how much of everything they acquire. Type ‘A’s operate under moderate to high levels

of stress. They expose themselves to continuous time pressure, are fast workers, give preference to

quantity over quality, work long hours, and are also rarely creative.

Type B personality is rarely hurried by the desire to obtain an increasing number of things or

participate in events demanding an everdecreasing amount of time (Friedman & Rosenman, 1974).

Type Bs never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying impatience and feel no

need to display or discuss either their achievements or accomplishments unless otherwise

demanded by the situation. They can relax without guilt.

Self Assessment Questions 2 1. Cattell referred to these 16 factors as _____________ factors.

2. The MBTI classifies human beings into _____________ opposite pairs

Personality Unit 6


3. Locus of control was formulated within the framework of Rotter's ___________ theory of

personality

6.4 Achieving PersonalityJob Fit According to Holland (1997), workers are not passive victims of their environments, but actively seek

potentially compatible work environments. If an individual’s personality and the work environment

“fit”—that is, if the personality is congruent with the work environment—the individual will most likely

enjoy the work and develop and grow in the career. Matching people to the organizational culture at

the time of hiring should result in higher employee satisfaction and reduced turnover. Holland has

proposed Six themes of people and work environments, within which all jobs can be classified:

1. Realistic 2. Investigative 3. Artistic 4. Social 5. Enterprising 6. Conventional

http://www.soicc.state.nc.us/SOICC/planning/hcodes.htm

Personality Unit 6


The abovementioned classification is shown in more details in the following chart:

Type Personality Characteristics

Congruent Occupation

Realistic: Prefers physical

activities that require skill,

strength, and coordination

Shy, genuine, persistent,

stable,

conforming, practical

Mechanic, drill press

operator,

assemblyline worker,

farmer

Investigative: Prefers

activities

that involve thinking,

organizing, and

understanding

Analytical, original, curious,

independent

Biologist, economist,

mathematician, news

reporter

Social: Prefers activities

that

involve helping and

developing others

Sociable, friendly,

cooperative,

understanding

Social workers, teacher,

counselor, clinical

psychologist

Conventional: Prefers rule

regulated, orderly, and

unambiguous activities

Conforming, efficient,

practical,

unimaginative, inflexible

Accountant, corporate

manager, bank teller, file

clerk

Enterprising: Prefers verbal

activities in which there are

opportunities to influence

others and attain power

Selfconfident, ambitious,

energetic, domineering

Lawyer, real estate agent,

public relations specialist,

small

business manager

Artistic: Prefers ambiguous

and

unsystematic activities that

allow creative expression

Imaginative, disorderly,

idealistic,

emotional, impractical

Painter, musician, writer,

interior decorator

Personality Unit 6



1. Holland has proposed _________ themes of people and work environments, within which all

jobs can be classified

2. _____________ person prefers verbal activities in which there are opportunities to influence

others and attain power.

6.5 Summary The term 'personality' has been derived from the Latin term 'persona' which means to 'speak

through'. The factors affecting personality development are Heredity, Environment, Culture, Family,

and Situation. Personality Traits are underlying tendencies to behave in a consistent and distinctive

style and they describe the frequency or intensity of a person's feelings, thoughts, or behaviors.

Possession of a trait is, therefore, a matter of degree. Early research on personality traits resulted in

isolating large numbers of traits, which made it impossible to predict behavior. Cattell’s (1973) is one

of the most important personality trait theory, where the number of traits have been reduced. Cattell

referred to these 16 factors as primary factors. The MBTI classifies human beings into four opposite

pairs (dichotomies), base on their psychological opposites. These four opposite pairs result into 16

possible combinations. Many researchers argue that five basic dimensions underlie all other

personality dimensions (e.g; McCrae and Costa, 1990; Digman, 1997). The five basic dimensions are

Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, and openness to experience. A

person’s perception of the source of his/her fate is termed locus of control. Locus of control was

formulated within the framework of Rotter's (1954) social learning theory of personality. Rotter (1975)

pointed out that internality and externality represent two ends of a continuum, not an either/or

typology. Internals tend to attribute outcomes of events to their own control. Machiavellianism is the

term that some social and personality psychologists use to describe a person's tendency to deceive

and manipulate others for personal gain. Selfesteem is defined as the degree to which people like or

dislike themselves (Robbins, 2003). Individuals with high selfesteem tend to take more risks in job

selection and are more likely to choose unconventional jobs in contrast to people with low self

esteem. Low SEs are more susceptible to external influence than are high SEs. Low SEs are

dependent on the receipt of positive evaluations from others. Selfmonitoring refers to an individual’s

ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors. Individuals high in selfmonitoring

show considerable adaptability. Type A personality is a set of characteristics that includes, being

http://www.soicc.state.nc.us/SOICC/planning/hcodes.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology

Personality Unit 6


impatient, excessively timeconscious, insecure about one's status, highly competitive, hostile and

aggressive, and incapable of relaxation. Type B personality is rarely hurried by the desire to obtain

an increasing number of things or participate in events demanding an everdecreasing amount of

time. According to Holland (1997), workers are not passive victims of their environments, but actively

seek potentially compatible work environments. If an individual’s personality and the work

environment “fit”—that is, if the personality is congruent with the work environment—the individual

will most likely enjoy the work and develop and grow in the career. Matching people to the

organizational culture at the time of hiring should result in higher employee satisfaction and reduced

turnover.

Terminal questions

Describe the determinants of personality.

1. Explain The MyersBriggs Type Indicator.

2. Explain the personality dimensions mentioned in big five model.

3. Explain Type A and Type B personality.

4. Based on Holland’s approach, explain personalityjobfit.

Answer to Self Assessment Questions Self Assessment Questions 1

1. Genes

2. Immediate


1. Primary

2. Four

3. Social learning


1.Six

2. Enterprising

Personality Unit 6








Emotions Unit 7


Unit 7 Emotions

Structure

7.1 Introduction

Objectives

7.2 Theories of emotion


7.3 Certain issues


7.4: Emotional intelligence


7.5 Summary

Terminal Questions


7.1 Introduction In general, the term ’emotion’ is used to designate "a state of consciousness having to do with the

arousal of feelings (Webster’s New World Dictionary)." It is "distinguished from other mental states,

from cognition, volition, and awareness of physical sensation." Feeling refers to "any of the subjective

reactions, pleasant or unpleasant" that one may experience in a situation. Learning objectives:


• Theories of emotion • Emotional intelligence

Emotions Unit 7


7.2 Theories Of Emotion: There are many theories of emotion:

I. JamesLange Theory (1890) [cited in Taylor, 1999]: Subjective emotional responses are the result

of physiological changes within human bodies. The brain perceives an event and, in turn, sends

messages down its neural circuitry to other areas of the brain. This action ultimately produces motor,

autonomic and endocrine responses. These responses elicit an emotional response, which in turn, is

perceived by the brain. Therefore, it is a cyclical process. This theory argues that physiological

behaviors precede the emotion.

II. CannonBard theory (1927) [cited in Taylor, 1999]: Emotionprovoking events induce the

subjective emotional experiences and physiological arousal simultaneously. Through experiences,

individuals begin to acquire certain expectations for every given situation. These expectations

provide a filter and every situation is processed through this filter. During this process, brain

produces the emotion and corresponding physiological behaviors at the same time.

III. SchachterSinger theory (1962): Both feedback from peripheral responses and a cognitive

appraisal of what caused those responses produce emotions. How one interprets the peripheral

response will determine the emotion he / she feels. Individuals label the emotional response

depending on what we think is causing the response. For example, when someone interprets a

stimulus as dangerous, it leads to physiological arousal. Then, this physiological arousal is

interpreted to a particular emotion. It can be fear, surprise, excitement, and astonishment depending

on how the arousal is labeled.

IV. Lazarus' appraisal theory (1980): An individual makes an initial and sometimes unconscious

cognitive appraisal of the situation to decide, if there is a threat; coping action is taken if necessary;

and the individual takes a closer look and identifies the emotions he or she is feeling.

V. Weiner's attribution theory (1986, 1992): Certain attributions produce specific emotions. Once

the initial evaluation has been made, the individual looks at what caused the event. These

attributions of causality can modify the emotion felt. It is the interaction of the perceived internal and

Emotions Unit 7


external causes, controllability and outcome that will determine the emotional responses. What are

the basic emotions? Ortony and Turner (1990) collated a wide range of research as to what basic

emotions are and the basis of including them as basic emotions and proposed a comprehensive

description of basic emotions and corresponding reasons for inclusion :

A comprehensive description of basic emotions and corresponding reasons for inclusion

Emotions Unit 7


Source: Ortony, A., & Turner, T. J. (1990). What's basic about basic emotions? Psychological

Review, 97, 3, July, 315331

Basic Emotions Basis for Inclusion

Arnold Anger, aversion, courage, dejection, desire,

despair, fear, hate, hope, love, sadness

Relation to action

tendencies

Ekman, Friesen, and

Ellsworth Anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise

Universal facial

expressions

Frijda Desire, happiness, interest, surprise, wonder,

sorrow Forms of action readiness

Gray Rage and terror, anxiety, joy Hardwired

Izard Anger, contempt, disgust, distress, fear, guilt,

interest, joy, shame, surprise Hardwired

James Fear, grief, love, rage Bodily involvement

McDougall Anger, disgust, elation, fear, subjection, tender

emotion, wonder Relation to instincts

Mowrer Pain, pleasure Unlearned emotional

states

Oatley and Johnson

Laird Anger, disgust, anxiety, happiness, sadness

Do not require

propositional content

Panksepp Expectancy, fear, rage, panic Hardwired

Plutchik Acceptance, anger, anticipation, disgust, joy,

fear, sadness, surprise

Relation to adaptive

biological processes

Tomkins Anger, interest, contempt, disgust, distress, fear,

joy, shame, surprise Density of neural firing

Watson Fear, love, rage Hardwired

Weiner and Graham Happiness, sadness Attribution independent

http://mambo.ucsc.edu/psl/joehager/pekm.html

http://macwww.psy.uva.nl/tango/personen/personen.qry?function=PersonalPage&ID=173&header=OO

http://www.personalityresearch.org/basicemotions/plutchik.html

http://www.personalityresearch.org/basicemotions/plutchik.html

http://www.behavior.net/orgs/ssti/

Emotions Unit 7


Parrot (2001) has categorized emotions as another classification (Figure no. 1.4): Figure no. 1.4: Parrot’s classification of emotions

Primary emotion

Secondary emotion

Tertiary emotions

Love

Affection Adoration, affection, love, fondness, liking, attraction,

caring, tenderness, compassion, sentimentality

Lust Arousal, desire, lust, passion, infatuation

Longing Longing

Joy

Cheerfulness

Amusement, bliss, cheerfulness, gaiety, glee,

jolliness, joviality, joy, delight, enjoyment, gladness,

happiness, jubilation, elation, satisfaction, ecstasy,

euphoria

Zest Enthusiasm, zeal, zest, excitement, thrill, exhilaration

Contentment Contentment, pleasure

Pride Pride, triumph

Optimism Eagerness, hope, optimism

Enthrallment Enthrallment, rapture

Relief Relief

Surprise Surprise Amazement, surprise, astonishment

Anger

Irritation Aggravation, irritation, agitation, annoyance,

grouchiness, grumpiness

Exasperation Exasperation, frustration

Rage

Anger, rage, outrage, fury, wrath, hostility, ferocity,

bitterness, hate, loathing, scorn, spite, vengefulness,

dislike, resentment

Disgust Disgust, revulsion, contempt

Envy Envy, jealousy

Torment Torment

Sadness Suffering Agony, suffering, hurt, anguish

Emotions Unit 7


Sadness

Depression, despair, hopelessness, gloom, glumness,

sadness, unhappiness, grief, sorrow, woe, misery,

melancholy

Disappointment Dismay, disappointment, displeasure

Shame Guilt, shame, regret, remorse

Neglect

Alienation, isolation, neglect, loneliness, rejection,

homesickness, defeat, dejection, insecurity,

embarrassment, humiliation, insult

Sympathy Pity, sympathy

Fear Horror

Alarm, shock, fear, fright, horror, terror, panic,

hysteria, mortification

Nervousness Anxiety, nervousness, tenseness, uneasiness,

apprehension, worry, distress, dread

Source: Parrott, W. (2001), Emotions in Social Psychology, Psychology Press, Philadelphia

Felt vs. Displayed Emotions (Hochschild, 1979, 1983)

Felt emotions are an individual’s actual emotions. Displayed emotions are those that are

organizationally required and considered appropriate in a given job. They are learned. Felt and

displayed emotions may be different. This is particularly true in organizations, where role demands

and situations often require people to exhibit emotional behaviors that mask their true feelings.


1. Subjective emotional responses are the result of __________ changes within human bodies.

2. Both feedback from peripheral responses and a ___________ appraisal of what caused those

responses produce emotions.

3. _____________ emotions are an individual’s actual emotions.

Emotions Unit 7


7.3 Certain Issues

Culture and emotion

There are two Views of Culture and Emotion: Universality Emotions are part of human nature and in all cultures universally the same set of

basic emotions. Based on his crosscultural research, Ekman (1999) has found six emotions which

are universally recognized and applicable. They are:

1. Anger 2. Fear 3. Sadness 4. Happiness 5. Disgust 6. Surprise.

Cultural specificity – Human beings are like a tabula rasa (clean tablet) on which society writes its

script. In other words, culture and traditions, normative patterns and valueorientations are

responsible for not only our personality development, but also appropriate social and emotional

development. This makes us functional entities in society. Each culture has a unique set of

emotions and emotional responses; the emotions shown in a particular culture reflects the norms,

values, practices, and language of that culture .

Alexithymia – emotional disorder

Some people have difficulty in expressing their emotions and understanding the emotions of others.

Psychologists call this alexithymia. People who suffer from alexithymia rarely cry and are often seen

by others as bland and cold. Their own feelings make them uncomfortable, and they are not able to

discriminate among their different emotions. People, suffering from alexithymia, may be effective

performers in jobs where little or no emotional labor. Alexithymic symptoms may be seen in people

who experience:

1. Posttraumatic stress disorder 2. Certain brain injuries

Emotions Unit 7


3. Eating disorders (i.e., bulimia, anorexia, or bingeeating disorder) 4. Substance use dependence 5. Depression 6. Other mental health conditions

Relationship of gender with emotion

A number of research findings supports the view that women are more emotional than men (e.g.,

Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson, & Rosenkrantz, 1972; Widiger & Settle, 1987). Women are

assumed to experience more frequent and intense emotions, whereas men are assumed to be

emotionally inexpressive and to have less intense emotional experiences. However, researchers

have argued that the stereotype of men as unemotional is more accurate for adult targets than for

child targets because males learn to control their emotions as they get older (Fabes and Martin,

1991). Likewise, women and men may experience happiness in a similar way, but women have been

taught that they can strongly express the emotion of happiness, whereas men have been taught to

control it. The impact of socialization practices accumulate over time, and, thus, these stereotypes

are likely to apply more strongly to adult populations (Geer and Shields, 1996).


1. Ekman (1999) has found _________ emotions which are universally recognized and applicable.

2. People who suffer from _________ rarely cry and are often seen by others as bland and cold

7.4 Emotional Intelligence The importance of both emotion and intelligence in making decisions and achieving success in life

was wellaccepted in ancient India. A concept of “Sthithaprajna” (emotional stability), similar to the

concept of emotional intelligence, can be traced in the second chapter of ‘Srimad BhagavadGita' .

Bhagavad Gita is a specific conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna (third Pandava prince) in

a specific situation of Kurukshetra battlefield. Pandavas were fighting against the Kauravas, the

cousin brothers to restore their kingdom from Kauravas in Kurukshetra. Before the battle started,

Arjuna, with deep sorrow and pity, found his close relatives, friends and respected 'gurus' in enemy's

side. To win the battle he was supposed to kill those beloved ones. He got confused about his rightful

duty. Due to this hridaydurbalata (heartnonstrength), he refused to join the battle. In this context,

Emotions Unit 7


Lord Krishna who played the role as the driver of Arjuna's chariot, enlightened him about the eternal

truth of life. According to Lord Krishna, as mentioned in Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna suffered from

indecisiveness resulting from confusion and a false sense of insecurity. Lord Krishna advised Arjuna

to become 'Sthithaprajna' (the steady minded person). He also told that an individual achieved

his/her goal only when the mind became steady, poised and balanced. Evidently, the concept of

“Sthithaprajna” (the steadyminded person) talked about a unique interdependence between

emotion and intelligence for effective decisionmaking which was most essential in excelling in every

sphere of life. Gita, as a whole, advises all to balance between intelligence and emotion.

Similar views on the role of emotional intelligence as a learning process for achieving a balanced

personality in different stages of life on an intergenerational basis has been depicted in the Vedas.

In particular, Dr. Radhakrishnan, in his book , ‘The Hindu View of Life’ (1927) opined that the attitude

of the Vedas is one of trust tempered by criticism. ‘Trust, because, whatever the older generation

hold, may be true, and criticism because, however, plausible the testimonies of the old views may be,

it cannot deny the present of its right to enquire and sift the evidence’. This view aptly points out the

need for emotional intelligence in everyday life to become more emotionally balanced and functional

individuals in society.

‘Emotional intelligence is an aggregate of individuals’ cognition of own and others' emotions, feeling,

interpretation and action as per environmental demand to manipulate the consequence which in turn

result in superior performance and better human relationship’ (Bhattacharya, 2003). Emotional

intelligence is a measure of the degree to which a person makes use of his/ her reasoning in the

process of emotional responses (both positive and negative) in a given situation. So having high

emotional intelligence doesn't mean that the person never panics or loses his/ her temper. It does

mean that he / she brings own feelings under control and channels them into productive behaviors.

The ability to bring outofcontrol emotions back into line results in what earlier generations called

emotional maturity.

The most popular and accepted mixed model of emotional intelligence is the one proposed by

Goleman (1995). He viewed emotional intelligence as a total of personal and social competences.

Personal competence determines how we manage ourselves, whereas social competence

determines how we handle our interpersonal relationships.

Personal competence: It comprises of three dimensions of emotional intelligence, such as, self

awareness, selfregulation and motivation. Selfawareness is the ability of an individual to observe

Emotions Unit 7


him/herself and to recognize 'a feeling as it happens' (Goleman, 1995). The hallmarks of this ability

are selfconfidence, self assessment and openness to positive criticism. Selfregulation is the ability

to control emotions and to redirect those emotions that can have negative impact. Trustworthiness,

integrity, tolerance of ambiguity and attitude to accept change are some characteristics of this ability.

Motivation is the ability to channelize emotion to achieve a goal through selfcontrol and by

moderating impulses as per the requirement of the situation. The people who have this ability are

optimistic and committed towards organizational as well as individual goals.

Social competence: It comprises of two dimensions namely, empathy and social skills. Empathy is

the ability to feel and get concerned for others, take their perspective and to treat people according to

their emotional reactions. People with this ability are experts in generating and motivating others.

Social skills are the ability to build rapport and to manage relationships with people. People having

this skill are very effective in persuasiveness and team management. ‘Social skill’ is the culmination

of all other components of emotional intelligence assuming that people can effectively manage social

and work relationships only when they can understand and control their own emotion and can

emphasize with the feelings of others.

Goleman’s emotional intelligence model (1995)

Emotional intelligence

Personal competence social competence

Selfawareness Empathy

Selfregulation Social skills

Motivation

Emotions Unit 7



1. The most popular and accepted mixed model of emotional intelligence is the one proposed by

____________.

2. Personal competence comprises of ______________ dimensions of emotional intelligence.

3. Social competence comprises of _____________ dimensions

7.5 Summary ‘Emotion’ is used to designate "a state of consciousness having to do with the arousal of feelings

(Webster’s New World Dictionary)." It is "distinguished from other mental states, from cognition,

volition, and awareness of physical sensation." Feeling refers to "any of the subjective reactions,

pleasant or unpleasant" that one may experience in a situation.

There are many theories of emotion. JamesLange Theory proposes that subjective emotional

responses are the result of physiological changes within human bodies. CannonBard theory

proposes that emotionprovoking events induce the subjective emotional experiences and

physiological arousal simultaneously. SchachterSinger theory proposes that both feedback from

peripheral responses and a cognitive appraisal of what caused those responses produce emotions.

How one interprets the peripheral response will determine the emotion he / she feels. According to

Lazarus' appraisal theory, an individual makes an initial and sometimes unconscious cognitive

appraisal of the situation to decide, if there is a threat; coping action is taken if necessary; and the

individual takes a closer look and identifies the emotions he or she is feeling. Weiner, in his theory,

proposes that certain attributions produce specific emotions. Once the initial evaluation has been

made, the individual looks at what caused the event. These attributions of causality can modify the

emotion felt. It is the interaction of the perceived internal and external causes, controllability and

outcome that will determine the emotional responses. Felt emotions are an individual’s actual

emotions. Displayed emotions are those that are organizationally required and considered

appropriate in a given job. They are learned. Felt and displayed emotions may be different. This is

particularly true in organizations, where role demands and situations often require people to exhibit

emotional behaviors that mask their true feelings. There are two Views of Culture and Emotion. In

“Universality” view, it is believed that emotions are part of human nature and in all cultures

universally the same set of basic emotions. Based on his crosscultural research, Ekman (1999) has

found six emotions which are universally recognized and applicable. They are: Anger, Fear,

Emotions Unit 7


Sadness, Happiness, Disgust, and Surprise. Women are assumed to experience more frequent and

intense emotions, whereas men are assumed to be emotionally inexpressive and to have less

intense emotional experiences. However, researchers have argued that the stereotype of men as

unemotional is more accurate for adult targets than for child targets because males learn to control

their emotions as they get older. Emotional intelligence is an aggregate of individuals’ cognition of

own and others' emotions, feeling, interpretation and action as per environmental demand to

manipulate the consequence, which in turn, result in superior performance and better human

relationship. The most popular and accepted mixed model of emotional intelligence is the one

proposed by Goleman. He viewed emotional intelligence as a total of personal and social

competences. Personal competence determines how we manage ourselves, whereas social

competence determines how we handle our interpersonal relationships.

Terminal Questions

1. Briefly explain Lazarus' appraisal theory and Weiner's attribution theory.

2. What are universally recognized emotions?

3. What is Alexithymia? What are the symptoms of this disease?

4. What is the relationship of gender with emotion?

5. Explain Goleman’s emotional intelligence model.


1. Physiological

2. Cognitive

3. Felt


1. Six

2. Alexithymia

Emotions Unit 7



1. Goleman

2. Three

3. Two







Perception Unit 8


Unit 8 Perception

Structure

8.1 Introduction

Objectives

8.2 Factors influencing perception


8.3 Attribution Theory


8.4 Shortcuts in Judging Others


8.5 Specific Applications in Organizations


8.6 Link between Perception and Individual Decision Making


8.7 The DecisionMaking Process


8.8 Summary

Terminal Questions


8.1 Introduction Individuals behave in a given manner based not on the way their external environment actually, is

but, rather, on what they see or believe it to be. A supervisor may try to help his subordinates to

achieve their target by advising and suggesting solutions. An employee may believe the supervisor is

controlling and interfering. As a result of that, the employee may continuously try to avoid the boss.

The same boss may be perceived as a ‘father figure’ to another employee for his helping attitude. As

a result of that, the specific employee may acknowledge the supervisor and seeks his guidance.

These two employee’s perception about the supervisor that becomes the basis for their different

behavior. Perception can be defined as s a process by which individuals organize and interpret their

Perception Unit 8


sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. Since people’s behavior is based

on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.

Individuals differ in their perceptions with regard to people and inanimate objects. An individual

makes inferences about the actions of people not the same way as they do for inanimate objects.

Nonliving objects are subject to the laws of nature. People have beliefs, motives, or intentions.

Therefore, an individual’s perception and judgment of another person’s actions are influenced by

these assumptions.



1. Factors influencing perception

2. Attribution Theory

3. Specific Applications in Organizations

8.2 Factors Influencing Perception

Three factors shape perception of an individual:

1. Perceiver 2. Target 3. Situation

Perceiver – Refers to the most prevalent personal characteristics affecting perception of the

perceiver, which are attitudes, motives, interests, past experiences, and expectations.

Target . Characteristics of the target can also affect what is being perceived. This includes,

attractiveness, gregariousness, and an individual’s tendency to group similar things together.

Situation The context in which objects or events are seen by individuals also influence their

attention. This includes time, heat, light, or other situational factors.

Perception Unit 8


Selfassessment questions 1

1. _____________ factors shape perception of an individual.

2. The ______________ in which objects or events are seen by individuals also influence their

attention.

8.3 Attribution Theory

An important element in perception is attribution process. Attribution theory (Kelley, 1972) suggests

that when we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or

externally caused. Internally caused behaviors are those that are believed to be under the personal

control of the individual. Externally caused behavior is seen as resulting from outside causes; that is,

the person is seen as having been forced into the behavior by the situation.

There are three determining factors in this regard:

• Distinctiveness

• Consensus

• Consistency

Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations.

What we attempt to know is whether the observed behavior is unusual. If it is, the observer is likely to

give the behavior an external attribution. If this action is not unusual, it will probably be judged as

internal.

Consensus occurs, if, everyone who is faced with a similar situation responds in the same way. If

consensus is high, one would be expected to give an external attribution to the employee’s tardiness,

whereas, in case of other employees taking the same route and making it work on time, the

causation for the same will be attributed to internal causation.

Consistency refers to the pattern that is reflected regularly in a person’s actions. Does the person

respond the same way over time? The more consistent the behavior, the more the observer is

inclined to attribute it to internal causes.

Perception Unit 8


Fundamental Attribution Error (Ross, 1977)

Research evidence shows that individuals have a tendency to underestimate the influence of

external factors and overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors. There is also a

tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors, such as, ability or effort

while putting the blame for failure on external factors, such as, luck. This is called the “selfserving

bias” and suggests that feedback provided to employees will be distorted by recipients. The question

is whether or not these errors or biases that distort attribution are universal across different cultures?

While exact answers may not exist, there is some preliminary evidence that indicates cultural

differences (Robbins, 2003):

• Korean managers found that, contrary to the selfserving bias, they tended to accept

responsibility for group failure.

• Attribution theory was developed largely based on experiments with Americans and Western

Europeans.

• The Korean study suggests caution in making attribution theory predictions in nonWestern

societies, especially in countries with strong collectivist traditions. More studies are required to

provide conclusive evidences in this regard.


1. Attribution theory was proposed by __________ Kelley

2. ___________ occurs, if, everyone who is faced with a similar situation responds in the same way.

3. The tendency of individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors is

called__________________.

Perception Unit 8


8.4: Shortcuts In Judging Others

Individuals have a tendency to use a number of shortcuts when they judge others. An understanding

of these shortcuts can be helpful toward recognizing when they can result in significant distortions.

Selective Perception

Any characteristic that makes a person, object, or event stand out will increase the probability that it

will be perceived. It is impossible for an individual to internalize and assimilate everything that is seen

.Only certain stimuli can be taken in selectively. Selectivity works as a shortcut in judging other

people by allowing us to “speedread” others, but, not without the risk of drawing an inaccurate

picture. The tendency to see what we want to see can make us draw unwarranted conclusions from

an ambiguous situation.

Halo Effect

The halo effect (Murphy & Anhalt, 1992) occurs when we draw a general impression on the basis of

a single characteristic. For example, while appraising the lecturer, students may give prominence to

a single trait, such as, enthusiasm and allow their entire evaluation to be tainted by how they judge

the instructor on that one trait which stood out prominently in their estimation of that person.

Research suggests that it is likely to be most extreme when the traits to be perceived are ambiguous

in behavioral terms, when the traits have moral overtones, and when the perceiver is judging traits

with which he or she has had limited experience.

Contrast Effects

Individuals do not evaluate a person in isolation. Their reaction to one person is influenced by other

persons they have encountered recently. For example, an interview situation in which one sees a

pool of job applicants can distort perception. Distortions in any given candidate’s evaluation can

occur as a result of his or her place in the interview schedule.

Perception Unit 8


Projection

This tendency to attribute one’s own characteristics to other people—which is called projection—can

distort perceptions made about others. When managers engage in projection, they compromise their

ability to respond to individual differences. They tend to see people as more homogeneous than they

really are.

Stereotyping

Stereotyping—judging someone on the basis of our perception of the group to which he or she

belongs. Generalization is not without advantages (Hilton & Hippel, 1996). It is a means of simplifying

a complex world, and it permits us to maintain consistency. The problem, of course, is when we

inaccurately stereotype. In organizations, we frequently hear comments that represent stereotypes

based on gender, age, race, ethnicity, and even weight. From a perceptual standpoint, if people

expect to see these stereotypes, that is what they will perceive, whether or not they are accurate.


1. The ______________ occurs when we draw a general impression on the basis of a single

characteristic.

2. The process through which one’s reaction is influenced by other persons he has encountered

recently is called ___________

3. This tendency to attribute one’s own characteristics to other people is called __________

8.5 Specific Applications In Organizations

Employment Interview

Evidence indicates that interviewers make perceptual judgments that are often inaccurate and they

rarely agree while perceiving the candidates. Different interviewers see different things in the same

candidate and, thus, reach different conclusions about the applicant. Furthermore, interviewers

generally draw early impressions and most interviewers rarely change their decisions after the first

Perception Unit 8


four or five minutes of the interview. Therefore, judgments of the same candidate can vary widely in

an interview situatiion.

Performance Expectations

It is seen that individuals seek to validate their perceptions of reality, even when those perceptions

are not appropriate. Selffulfilling prophecy is a very good example of this. It is the tendency for

someone’s expectations about another to cause that person to behave in a manner consistent with

those expectations (Wilkins, 1976). Self fulfilling prophecy can be of two types:

Pygmalion Effect: A positive instance of the selffulfilling prophecy, in which people holding high

expectations of another tend to improve that individual’s performance.

Golem Effect: A negative instance of the selffulfilling prophecy, in which people holding low

expectations of another tend to lower that individual’s performance.

A study was conducted on 105 soldiers in the Israeli Defense Forces who were taking a fifteenweek

combat command course. Soldiers were randomly divided and identified as having high potential,

normal potential, and potential not known. Instructors were seemed to get better results from the high

potential group because they expected it, confirming the effect of a selffulfilling prophecy.

Performance Evaluation

An employee’s performance appraisal is very much dependent on the perceptual process. Although

the appraisal can be objective, many jobs are evaluated in subjective terms. Subjective measures

are, by definition, judgmental. To the degree that managers use subjective measures in appraising

employees, what the evaluator perceives to be good or bad employee characteristics or behaviors

will significantly influence the outcome of the appraisal.

Employee Effort

An individual’s future in an organization is usually not dependent on performance alone. An

assessment of an individual’s effort is a subjective judgment susceptible to perceptual distortions and

bias.

Perception Unit 8



1. ___________ is the tendency for someone’s expectations about another to cause that person to

behave in a manner consistent with those expectations.

2. A negative instance of the selffulfilling prophecy is called _________________.

8.6 Link Between Perception And Individual Decision Making

Decisionmaking occurs as a reaction to a problem. Problem is defined as a discrepancy between

some current state of affairs and some desired state, needing attention for alternative courses of

action. The awareness that a problem exists and that a decision needs to be made is a perceptual

issue. Every decision requires interpretation and evaluation of information. The perceptions of the

decision maker will address these two issues.

• Data are typically received from multiple sources.

• Which data are relevant to the decision and which are not

Alternatives will be developed, and the strengths and weaknesses of each will need to be evaluated.

For example, senior managers determine their organization’s goals, what products or services to

offer, how best to finance operations, or where to locate a new manufacturing plant. Middle and

lowerlevel managers determine production schedules, select new employees, and decide how pay

raises are to be allocated. Nonmanagerial employees also make decisions, including, whether or not

to come to work on any given day, how much effort to put forward once at work, and whether or not

to comply with a request made by the boss.


1. Decisionmaking occurs as a reaction to a ______________.

2. While making a decision, data are typically received from ____________ sources

Perception Unit 8


8.7 The DecisionMaking Process

The optimizing decision maker is rational. He or she makes consistent, valuemaximizing choices

within specified constraints. This also includes the resource crunch and other limitations as well.

The rational decision making model

This model proposes six steps, which are as follows:

Step 1: Defining the problem

• A problem is a discrepancy between an existing and a desired state of affairs.

• Many poor decisions can be traced to the decisionmaker overlooking a problem or defining the

wrong problem.

Step 2: Identify the decision criteria important to solving the problem.

• The decision maker determines what is relevant in making the decision. Any factors not identified

in this step are considered irrelevant to the decision maker.

• This brings in the decision maker’s interests, values, and similar personal preferences.

Step 3: Weight the previously identified criteria in order to give them the correct priority in the

decision.

Step 4: Generate possible alternatives that could succeed in resolving the problem.

Step 5: Rating each alternative on each criterion.

• Critically analyze and evaluate each alternative.

• The strengths and weaknesses of each alternative become evident as they are compared with

the criteria and weights established in the second and third steps.

Step 6: The final step is to compute the optimal decision:

Perception Unit 8


• Evaluating each alternative against the weighted criteria and selecting the alternative with the

highest total score.

The abovementioned model works with following assumptions (March, 1994):

• Problem clarity. The decision maker is assumed to have complete information regarding the

decision situation.

• Known options. It is assumed the decision maker is aware of all the possible consequences of

each alternative.

• Clear preferences. Criteria and alternatives can be ranked and weighted to reflect their

importance.

• Constant preferences. Specific decision criteria are constant and the weights assigned to them

are stable over time.

• No time or cost constraints. The rational decision maker can obtain full information about criteria

and alternatives because it is assumed that there are no time or cost constraints.

• Maximum payoff. The rational decision maker will choose the alternative that yields the highest

perceived value.

Creativity in Decision Making

Creativity is the ability to produce novel and useful ideas. These are ideas that are not only different

from what has been done before, but, that are also appropriate to the problem or opportunity

presented. People differ in their inherent creativity. A study of lifetime creativity of 461 men and

women found that fewer than one percent were exceptionally creative. Ten percent were highly

creative, and about sixty percent were somewhat creative.

Model of creativity

This model proposes that individual creativity essentially requires expertise, creativethinking skills,

and intrinsic task motivation.

• Expertise is the foundation for all creative work. The potential for creativity is enhanced when

individuals have abilities, knowledge, proficiencies, and similar expertise in their field of endeavor.

Perception Unit 8


• Creative thinking skills. This encompasses personality characteristics associated with creativity,

the ability to use analogies, as well as the talent to see the familiar in a different light.

• Intrinsic task motivation. The desire to work on something because it is interesting, involving,

exciting, satisfying, or personally challenging. This turns creativity potential into actual creative

ideas. It determines the extent to which individuals fully engage their expertise and creative skills

Most decisions in the real world do not follow the rational model. Decisionmakers generally make

limited use of their creativity. Choices tend to be confined to the neighborhood of the problem

symptom and to the neighborhood of the current alternative.

Two of the most important ways of decisionmaking in organizations are :

• Bounded Rationality

• Intuitive decision making

Bounded rationality

When faced with a complex problem, most people respond by reducing the problem to a level at

which it can be readily understood, due to limited informationprocessing capability. As a result,

people seek solutions that are satisfactory and sufficient. This is called bounded rationality (Simon,

1947). Individuals operate within the confines of bounded rationality. They construct simplified

models that extract the essential features.

How does bounded rationality work? Once a problem is identified, the search for criteria and

alternatives begins. The decision maker will identify a limited list made up of the more conspicuous

choices, which are easy to find, tend to be highly visible, and they will represent familiar criteria and

previously triedandtrue solutions. Once this limited set of alternatives is identified, the decision

maker will begin reviewing it. The decisionmaker will begin with alternatives that differ only in a

relatively small degree from the choice currently in effect. The first alternative that meets the “good

enough” criterion ends the search. The order in which alternatives are considered is critical in

determining which alternative is selected. Assuming that a problem has more than one potential

Perception Unit 8


solution, the satisficing choice will be the first acceptable one the decisionmaker encounters.

Alternatives that depart the least from the status quo are the most likely to be selected.

Intuitive decision making

It is an unconscious process created out of distilled experience. It operates in complement with

rational analysis. On one hand, some researchers consider it a form of extrasensory power or sixth

sense, and on the other hand, some believe it is a personality trait that a limited number of people

are born with.

Eight conditions when people are most likely to use intuitive decision making are:

• when a high level of uncertainty exists

• when there is little precedent to draw on

• when variables are less scientifically predictable

• when “facts” are limited

• when facts do not clearly point the way to go

• when analytical data are of little use

• when there are several plausible alternative solutions to choose from, with good arguments for

each

• when time is limited, and there is pressure to come up with the right decision

Decision making process

A. Problem Identification

Problems that are visible tend to have a higher probability of being selected than ones that are

important. Visible problems are more likely to catch a decisionmaker’s attention. If a decisionmaker

faces a conflict between selecting a problem that is important to the organization and one that is

important to the decisionmaker, selfinterest tends to win out. The decisionmaker’s self interest also

plays a part. While selecting a decision to solve a problem, decision maker puts more importance to

his/her selfinterest over the organizational interest.

Perception Unit 8


B. Alternative Development

Since decisionmakers seek a satisficing solution, there is a minimal use of creativity in the search for

alternatives. Efforts tend to be confined to the neighborhood of the current alternative. Evidence

indicates that decisionmaking is incremental rather than comprehensive. Decisionmakers make

successive limited comparisons. The picture that emerges is one of a decisionmaker who takes

small steps toward his or her objective.

C. Making Choices

In order to avoid information overload, decisionakers rely on heuristics or judgmental shortcuts in

decision making. There are two common categories of heuristics—availability and

representativeness. Each creates biases in judgment.

The availability heuristic – It is “the tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is

readily available to them.” Events that evoke emotions, that are particularly vivid, or that have

occurred more recently tend to be more available in our memory. Fore example, many more people

suffer from fear of flying than fear of driving in a car.

Representative heuristic To assess the likelihood of an occurrence by trying to match it with a

preexisting category, managers frequently predict the performance of a new product by relating it to a

previous product’s success.

D. Escalation of commitment

It is an increased commitment to a previous decision in spite of negative information. It has been well

documented that individuals escalate commitment to a failing course of action when they view

themselves as responsible for the failure.

E. Individual Differences: DecisionMaking Styles

People differ along two dimensions. The first is their way of thinking. Some people are logical and

rational. They process information serially. Some people are intuitive and creative. They perceive

things as a whole. The other dimension is a person’s tolerance for ambiguity. Some people have a

Perception Unit 8


high need to minimize ambiguity. Others are able to process many thoughts at the same time. These

four decision making styles can be represented in the following way:

Directive:

• Low tolerance for ambiguity and seek rationality

• Efficient and logical

• Decisions are made with minimal information and with few alternatives assessed.

• Make decisions fast and focus on the shortrun.

Analytic:

• Greater tolerance for ambiguity

• Desire for more information and consideration of more alternatives

• Best characterized as careful decision makers with the ability to adapt to or cope with new

situations

Conceptual:

• Tend to be very broad in their outlook and consider many alternatives

• Their focus is long range, and they are very good at finding creative solutions to problems.

Behavioral:

• Characterizes decision makers who work well with others

• Concerned with the achievement of peers and subordinates and are receptive to suggestions

from others, relying heavily on meetings for communicating

• Tries to avoid conflict and seeks acceptance

F. Organizational Constraints

Following are the organizational constraints that affect decisionmakers.

Performance evaluation Managers are strongly influenced in their decision making by the criteria

by which they are evaluated. Their performance in decision making will reflect expectation.

Perception Unit 8


Reward systems The organization’s reward system influences decision makers by suggesting to

them what choices are preferable in terms of personal payoff.

Programmed routines – All, but the smallest of organizations create rules, policies, procedures, and

other formalized regulations in order to standardize the behavior of their members.

Time constraints Decisions must be made quickly in order to stay ahead of the competition and

keep customers satisfied. Almost all important decisions come with explicit deadlines.

Historical Precedents Decisions have a context. Individual decisions are more accurately

characterized as points in a stream of decisions. Decisions made in the past are ghosts which

continually haunt current choices. It is common knowledge that the largest determining factor of the

size of any given year’s budget is last year’s budget.

Cultural Differences The cultural background of the decision maker can have significant influence

on:

Ethics in Decision Making

Ethical considerations should be an important criterion in organizational decision making. There are

three Ethical Decision Criteria:

1. Utilitarian criterion—decisions are made solely on the basis of their outcomes or consequences.

The goal of utilitarianism is to provide the greatest good for the greatest number. This view tends

to dominate business decision making.

2. Focus on rights—calls on individuals to make decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and

privileges as set forth in documents such as the Bill of Rights.

• An emphasis on rights means respecting and protecting the basic rights of individuals, such as

the right to privacy, to free speech, and to due process.

Perception Unit 8


3. Focus on justice—requires individuals to impose and enforce rules fairly and impartially. There is

an equitable distribution of benefits and costs.


1. The rational decision making model proposes _______________ steps.

2. People respond to a problem with a limited informationprocessing capability. As a result, people

seek solutions that are satisfactory and sufficient. This is called __________________

8.8 Summary Individuals behave in a given manner based not on the way their external environment actually, is

but, rather, on what they see or believe it to be. Perception can be defined as s a process by which

individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their

environment. Since people’s behavior is based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality

itself. Three factors that shape perception of an individual are perceiver, target and situation. An

important element in perception is attribution process. Attribution theory (Kelley, 1972) suggests that

when we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or

externally caused. Internally caused behaviors are those that are believed to be under the personal

control of the individual. Externally caused behavior is seen as resulting from outside causes; that is,

the person is seen as having been forced into the behavior by the situation.

Research evidence shows that individuals have a tendency to underestimate the influence of

external factors and overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors. There is also a

tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors, such as, ability or effort

while putting the blame for failure on external factors, such as, luck. This is called the “selfserving

bias” and suggests that feedback provided to employees will be distorted by recipients. Individuals

have a tendency to use a number of shortcuts when they judge others. An understanding of these

shortcuts can be helpful toward recognizing when they can result in significant distortions. Any

characteristic that makes a person, object, or event stand out will increase the probability that it will

be perceived. It is impossible for an individual to internalize and assimilate everything that is seen

.Only certain stimuli can be taken in selectively. The halo effect (Murphy & Anhalt, 1992) occurs

when we draw a general impression on the basis of a single characteristic. Individuals do not

evaluate a person in isolation. Their reaction to one person is influenced by other persons they have

Perception Unit 8


encountered recently. This tendency to attribute one’s own characteristics to other people—which is

called projection—can distort perceptions made about others. When managers engage in projection,

they compromise their ability to respond to individual differences. They tend to see people as more

homogeneous than they really are. Stereotyping is the process of judging someone on the basis of

our perception of the group to which he or she belongs. Generalization is not without advantages

(Hilton & Hippel, 1996). Decisionmaking occurs as a reaction to a problem. Problem is defined as a

discrepancy between some current state of affairs and some desired state, needing attention for

alternative courses of action. The awareness that a problem exists and that a decision needs to be

made is a perceptual issue. Every decision requires interpretation and evaluation of information. The

optimizing decision maker is rational. He or she makes consistent, valuemaximizing choices within

specified constraints. This also includes the resource crunch and other limitations as well. Most

decisions in the real world do not follow the rational model. Decisionmakers generally make limited

use of their creativity. Choices tend to be confined to the neighborhood of the problem symptom and

to the neighborhood of the current alternative. When faced with a complex problem, most people

respond by reducing the problem to a level at which it can be readily understood, due to limited

informationprocessing capability. As a result, people seek solutions that are satisfactory and

sufficient. This is called bounded rationality (Simon, 1947). Individuals operate within the confines of

bounded rationality. They construct simplified models that extract the essential features.

Terminal questions

1. Explain Kelley’s attribution theory.

2. Explain Halo effect and contrast effect with examples.

3. Describe the rational decision making process.

4. What is bounded rationality?

Answers To Self Assessment Questionss


1. Three

2. Context

Perception Unit 8



1. Kelley

2. Consensus

3. Selfserving bias.


1. Halo effect

2. Contrast effect

3. Projection


1. Selffulfilling prophecy

2. Golem Effect


1. Problem

2. Multiple


1. Six

2. Bounded rationality






Motivation Unit 9


Unit 9 Motivation

Structure

9.1 Introduction

Objectives

9.2 Early Theories of Motivation


9.3 Contemporary Theories of Motivation


9.4 Motivating employees in organizations


9.5 Motivational tools


9.6 Special Issues in Motivation


9.7 Summary

Terminal Questions


9.1 Introduction Many people incorrectly view motivation as a personal trait—that is, some have it and others do not.

Motivation is the result of the interaction of the individual and the situation. Motivation is “the

processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward

attaining a goal” (Robbins, 2003). Intensity is concerned with how hard a person tries. This is the

element most of us focus on when we talk about motivation. Direction is the orientation that benefits

the organization. And Persistence is a measure of how long a person can maintain his/her effort.

Motivated individuals stay with a task long enough to achieve their goal.

Motivation Unit 9




1. Theories of Motivation

2. Special Issues in Motivation

9.2: Early Theories Of Motivation

In the 1950s three specific theories were formulated and are the best known: Hierarchy of Needs

theory, Theories X and Y, and the TwoFactor theory.

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. 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, selfrespect, autonomy, and achievement; and

external esteem factors, such as, status, recognition, and attention

Selfactualization: The drive to become what one is capable of becoming; includes growth,

achieving one’s potential, and selffulfillment

Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower orders. Physiological and safety needs are

described as lowerorder. Social, esteem, and selfactualization are classified as higherorder needs.

Higherorder needs are satisfied internally, whereas, Lowerorder needs are predominantly satisfied,

externally.

Motivation Unit 9


Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGregor argued that a manager’s view of the nature of human beings is based on a

certain grouping of assumptions and he or she tends to mould his or her behavior toward employees

according to these assumptions.

Theory X –

In this theory management assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work, if they can.

Workers need to be closely supervised and a comprehensive system of controls and a hierarchical

structure is needed to supervise the workers closely. It is also assumed that workers generally place

security above all other factors and will display little ambition.

Theory Y

In this theory management assumes employees may be ambitious, selfmotivated, anxious to accept

greater responsibility, and exercise selfcontrol, selfdirection, autonomy and empowerment. It is

believed that employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties. It is also believed that, if given

the chance employees have the desire to be creative and forward thinking in the workplace. There is

a chance for greater productivity by giving employees the freedom to perform to the best of their

abilities without being bogged down by rules.

From the above, it is clear that Theory X assumes that lowerorder needs dominate individuals.

Theory Y assumes that higherorder needs dominate individuals.

Herzberg’s Two Factor theory

Herzberg (1959) constructed a twodimensional paradigm of factors affecting people's attitudes about

work. These two factors are motivators and hygiene factors and this theory is also called motivation

hygiene theory.

Motivators are intrinsic factors, such as, advancement, recognition, responsibility, and achievement.

Presence of these factors ensure job satisfaction. Extrinsic factors, such as, company policy,

supervision, interpersonal relations, working conditions, and salary are hygiene factors. The

Motivation Unit 9


absence of hygiene factors can create job dissatisfaction, but their presence does not motivate or

create satisfaction.

In summary, motivators describe a person's relationship with what she or he does, many related to

the tasks being performed. Hygiene factors on the other hand, have to do with a person's relationship

to the context or environment in which she or he performs the job. The satisfiers relate to what a

person does while the dissatisfiers relate to the situation in which the person does what he or she

does.

Removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying. Job

satisfaction factors are separate and distinct from job dissatisfaction factors. When hygiene factors

are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied; neither will they be satisfied. To motivate people,

emphasize factors intrinsically rewarding that are associated with the work itself or to outcomes

directly derived from it.


1. In Maslow’s theory, _____________ needs include hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs

2. In theory __________, management assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work

3.According to Herzberg, motivators are ____________ factors.

9.3 Contemporary Theories Of Motivation

The following theories are considered contemporary , since they represent the current state of the art

in explaining employee motivation

ERG Theory

Alderfer (1972) classifies needs into three categories into hierarchical order. They are:

The existence category

Provides our basic material existence requirements.

They include Maslow’s physiological and safety needs.

Motivation Unit 9


Relatedness category

1 The desire we have for maintaining important interpersonal relationships.

2 These social and status desires require interaction with others.

3 They align with Maslow’s social need and the external component.

Growth category

An intrinsic desire for personal development.

These include the intrinsic component from Maslow’s esteem category, and the characteristics

included under selfactualization.

This theory is very similar to Maslow’s theory. Existence need corresponds with Maslow’s

physiological and safety needs, Relatedness need corresponds with Maslow’s social needs and

Growth need corresponds with Maslow’s esteem and selfactualization needs.

Alderfer’s ERG theory differs from Maslow’s in the following arguments:

1 More than one need may be operative at the same time.

2 If, the gratification of a higherlevel need is stifled, the desire to satisfy a lowerlevel need

increases.

3 ERG theory does not assume that there exists a rigid hierarchy. A person can be working on

growth even though existence or relatedness needs are unsatisfied, or all three need categories

could be operating at the same time.

ERG theory also contains a frustrationregression dimension. Maslow argued that an individual would

stay at a certain need level until that need was satisfied. ERG argues that multiple needs can be

operating as motivators at the same time. ERG theory notes that when a higherorder need level is

frustrated, the individual’s desire to increase a lowerlevel need takes place (Robbins, 2003).

Motivation Unit 9


McClelland’s Theory of Needs

McClelland’s (1961) theory focuses on three needs: achievement, power, and affiliation. They are

defined as follow:

Need for achievement (nAch) – The need to excel and to achieve in relation to a set of standards,

to strive to succeed.

Need for power (nPow): The need to make others behave in a way that they would not have

behaved, otherwise.

Need for affiliation (nAff): The desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships.

People with high need for achievement have a compelling drive to succeed. They have a desire to do

something better or more efficiently than it has been done before. This drive is the achievement

need. High achievers differentiate themselves from others by their desire to do things better. They

seek situations in which they can attain personal responsibility for finding solutions to problems.

Individuals high in need for power enjoy being “in charge” of any situation. They strive for influence

over others and prefer to be placed into competitive and statusoriented situations. They are also

more concerned with prestige and gaining influence over others than with effective performance.

Individuals with high need for affiliation motive strive for friendship, prefer cooperative situations

rather than competitive ones, and desire relationships that involve a high degree of mutual

understanding.

Based on this theory, the following assumptions can be made (Robbins, 2003):

Individuals with a high need to achieve prefer job situations with personal responsibility,

feedback, and an intermediate degree of risk. When these characteristics are prevalent, high

achievers will be strongly motivated.

A high need to achieve does not necessarily lead to being a good manager, especially in large

organizations. People with a high achievement need are interested in how well they do personally

and not in influencing others to do well.

The needs for affiliation and power tend to be closely related to managerial success. The best

managers are high in their need for power and low in their need for affiliation.

Motivation Unit 9


Cognitive Evaluation Theory

This theory proposes (Deci & Ryan, 1985) that when extrinsic rewards are used by organizations as

payoffs for superior performance, the intrinsic rewards, which are derived from individuals doing what

they like, are reduced. The popular explanation is that the individual experiences a loss of control

over his or her own behavior so that the previous intrinsic motivation diminishes. Furthermore, the

elimination of extrinsic rewards can produce a shift—from an external to an internal explanation—in

an individual’s perception of causation of why he or she works on a task (Robbins, 2003). Therefore,

pay or other extrinsic rewards should be made contingent on an individual’s performance.

This theory may have limited applicability to work organizations, because most lowlevel jobs are not

inherently satisfying enough to foster high intrinsic interest, and many managerial and professional

positions offer intrinsic rewards

GoalSetting Theory

Locke and Latham (1990) proposed that challenging goals produce a higher level of output than do

the generalized goals. More difficult the goal, the higher the level of performance will be. People will

do better when they get feedback on how well they are progressing toward their goals. A goal serves

as a motivator, because, it causes people to compare their present capacity to perform with that

required to succeed at the goal.

There are four contingencies in goalsetting theory:

1 Goal commitment: Goalsetting theory presupposes that an individual is committed to the goal.

1 Adequate selfefficacy: Selfefficacy refers to an individual’s belief that he or she is capable of

performing a task. The higher your selfefficacy, the more confidence you have in your ability to

succeed in a task.

2 Task characteristics: Individual goal setting does not work equally well on all tasks. Goals seem

to have a more substantial effect on performance when tasks are simple, welllearned, and

independent.

3 National culture: Goalsetting theory is culture bound and it is well adapted to North American

cultures.

Motivation Unit 9


Reinforcement Theory

Reinforcement theory (Komaki et. al., 1991) argues that reinforcement conditions human behavior.

According to this theory, behavior is a function of its consequences. Behavior is environmentally

caused. It can be modified (reinforced) by providing (controlling) consequences. Reinforced behavior

tends to be repeated.

Equity Theory

According to this theory (Adams, 1965), employees make comparisons of their job inputs and

outcomes relative to those of others. If, an individual perceives the inputoutcome ratio to be equal to

that of the relevant others with whom he/she compares his/herself, a state of equity is said to exist.

He/she perceives the situation as fair. If the ratio appears to be unequal, the individual experience

inequity.

There are four referent comparisons that an employee can use:

Selfinside: An employee’s experiences in a different position inside his or her current

organization

Selfoutside: An employee’s experiences in a situation or position outside his or her current

organization

Otherinside: Another individual or group of individuals inside the employee’s organization

Otheroutside: Another individual or group of individuals outside the employee’s organization

There are certain issues which are crucial regarding Equity theory. They are as follows:

1 Employees with short tenure in their current organizations tend to have little information about

others.

2 Employees with long tenure rely more heavily on coworkers for comparison.

3 Upperlevel employees will make more otheroutside comparisons.

When employees perceive an inequity, they can be predicted to make one of six choices:

Change their inputs.

Change their outcomes.

Motivation Unit 9


Distort perceptions of self.

Distort perceptions of others.

Choose a different referent.

Leave the field.

Organizational justice

People’s perceptions of fairness in organizations, consisting of perceptions of how decisions are

made regarding the distribution of outcomes and the perceived fairness of those outcomes

themselves.

1 Distributive Justice: The perceived fairness of the way rewards are distributed among people.

2 Procedural Justice : Perceptions of the fairness of the procedures used to determine outcomes.

3 Interactional Justice: The perceived fairness of the interpersonal treatment used to determine

organizational outcomes.

Motivational tips

Certain tips, which may be important in this regard, are as follows:

Avoid underpayment.

1 Avoid overpayment.

2 Give people a voice in decisions affecting them.

3 Explain outcomes thoroughly using a socially sensitive manner.

Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory is one of the most widely accepted explanations of motivation. Victor Vroom’s

(1964) expectancy theory has its critics but most of the research is supportive. Motivation is based on

people’s beliefs, goals and linkage between effort and performance, performance and reward, and

reward and individual goal satisfaction. Expectancy theory argues that the strength of a tendency to

act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given

outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.

Determinants of motivation according to this theory are as follows:

Expectancy: The belief that one’s efforts will positively influence one’s performance.

Motivation Unit 9


Instrumentality: An individual’s beliefs regarding the likelihood of being rewarded in accord with his

or her own level of performance.

Valence: The value a person places on the rewards he or she expects to receive from an

organization.

Other Determinants: Skills and abilities, role perceptions, opportunities to perform, etc.

Three key relationships in Expectancy theory are:

Effortperformance relationship: the probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given

amount of effort will lead to performance

Performancereward relationship: the degree to which the individual believes that performing at a

particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome

Rewardspersonal goals relationship: the degree to which organizational rewards satisfy an

individual’s personal goals or needs and the attractiveness of those potential rewards for the

individual.

Performance formula

A popular way of thinking about employee performance is as a function of the interaction of ability

and motivation; that is,

Performance = f (Ability x Motivation x Opportunity).

If either of motivation or ability is inadequate, performance will be negatively affected. Furthermore,

when an employee performs, he/she needs opportunity to be allowed to perform and prove his/her

worth.


1. Alderfer classifies needs into __________ categories into hierarchical order

2. The need to excel and to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed is called need for ________________ .

3.: The perceived fairness of the interpersonal treatment used to determine organizational outcomes is called as ______________.

Motivation Unit 9


9.4 Motivating Employees In Organizations

A number of motivation theories have been discussed above. Based on these theories, the following

suggestions summarize the essence about motivating employees in organizations. Recognize individual differences Employees have different needs. Therefore, managers need to

understand what is important to each employee. This will allow to individualize goals, level of

involvement, and rewards to align with individual needs. Use goals and feedback Employees should have tangible and specific goals. Feedback should

also be provided regularly to inform the employees about their performance in pursuit of those goals. Include employees in decisionmaking Employees should be included in making decisions that

affect them, for example, choosing their own benefits packages and solving productivity and quality

problems. Link rewards to performance Rewards should be contingent on performance and employees

must perceive a clear linkage.

Maintain equity Rewards should be perceived by employees as equating with the inputs they bring

to the job, i.e; experience, skills, abilities, effort, and other obvious inputs should explain differences

in performance and, hence, pay, job assignments, and other obvious rewards.


1. Employees should have ____________ and specific goals.

2. Rewards should be ___________ on performance.

9.5 Motivational Tools Some of the most important motivational tools have been discussed below. Management by Objective (MBO)

Management by objectives emphasizes participatively set goals that are tangible, verifiable, and

measurable. Four ingredients common to MBO programs are: goal specificity, participative decision

making, an explicit time period, and performance feedback (Robbins, 2003).

Motivation Unit 9


Goal specificity:

The objectives in MBO should be concise statements of expected accomplishments.

Participative decision making:

1 The manager and employee jointly choose the goals and agree on how they will be measured.

An explicit time period:

Each objective has a specific time period in which it is to be completed.

Performance feedback

Continuous feedback on progress toward goals is provided so that workers can monitor and

correct their own actions.

MBO and GoalSetting Theory is closely linked. Goalsetting theory proposes that tangible goals

result in a higher level of individual performance than do easy goals. Feedback on one’s performance

leads to higher performance. MBO also directly advocates specific goals and feedback, implies that

goals must be perceived as feasible and is most effective when the goals are difficult enough to

require stretching.

Employee Recognition Programs

Employee recognition programs consist of personal attention, expressing interest, approval, and

appreciation for a job well done. They can take numerous forms. Employee Recognition Programs

has close link with Reinforcement Theory. Both the concept advocate that rewarding a behavior with

recognition would lead to its repetition. Recognition can take many forms, such as, personally

congratulating an employee, sending a handwritten note or an email message or declaring the

employee as a valuable contributor to the organizational objective.

Employee Involvement

Employee involvement includes, participative management, workplace democracy, empowerment,

and employee ownership. Employees’ involvement in the decision making would positively affect

them and by increasing their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become

Motivation Unit 9


more motivated, more committed to the organization, more productive, and more satisfied with their

jobs.

Some forms of employee involvement have been discussed here: participative management,

representative participation, quality circles, and employee stock ownership plans.

Participative management:

The logic behind participative management is:

a. Managers often do not know everything their employees do.

b. Better decisions

c. Increased commitment to decisions

d. Intrinsically rewarding employees makes their jobs more interesting and meaningful

The two most common forms of participative management are:

a. Works councils They are groups of nominated or elected employees who must be consulted

when management makes decisions. .

b. Board representatives they are employees who sit on a company’s board of directors and

represent the interests of the firm’s employees.

Quality circles (QC):

QC consists of a work group of eight to ten employees and supervisors who have a shared area of

responsibility. Key components of QC are (Robbins, 2003):

They meet regularly on company time to discuss their quality problems, investigate causes of the

problems, recommend solutions, and take corrective actions

They take over the responsibility for solving quality problems and they generate and evaluate their

own feedback.

Management typically retains control over the final implementation decision.

A review of the evidence indicates that they are likely to positively affect productivity, however, they

tend to show little or no effect on employee satisfaction.

Motivation Unit 9


The failure of many quality circle programs to produce measurable benefits has also led to a large

number of them being discontinued.

Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs):

In the typical ESOP, an employee stock ownership trust is created. Companies contribute either

stock or cash to buy stock for the trust and allocate the stock to employees. Employees usually

cannot take physical possession of their shares or sell them as long as they are still employed at the

company.


1. MBO and ____________Theory is closely linked

2. Employee Recognition Programs has close link with ____________ Theory

9.6 Special Issues In Motivation Some of the special issues in motivation are discussed below.

Motivating Professionals

The professional employees likely to seek more intrinsic satisfaction from their work than bluecollar

employees. They generally have strong and longterm commitment to their field of expertise are

perhaps more loyal to their profession than to their employer. They need to regularly update their

knowledge, and their commitment to their profession.

Therefore, extrinsic factors such as money and promotions would be low on their priority list. Rather,

job challenge tends to be ranked high. They like to tackle problems and find solutions.

Managerial Implications:

Provide them with ongoing challenging projects.

Give them autonomy to follow their interests and allow them to structure their work.

Reward them with educational opportunities.

Also reward them with recognition.

Motivating temporary Workers

Temporary workers may be motivated if:

Motivation Unit 9


• They are provided with permanent job opportunity

• The opportunity for training is provided to them

Motivating LowSkilled Service Workers

One of the most challenging managerial tasks in to motivate lowskilled workers who are involved in

repetitive physical work, where higher education and skills are not required. For this category of

people, flexible work schedules and higher pay package may be proved effective motivational

factors.


1. The professional employees likely to seek more ____________satisfaction from their work than bluecollar employees

2. Temporary workers may be motivated if they are provided with ___________ job opportunity.

9.7 Summary

Motivation is “the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of

effort toward attaining a goal”. According to Maslow’s theory, human beings have five needs, which

influence their behavior. Those five needs are Physiological, Safety, Social, Esteem, and Self

actualization needs. In theory X and Y, McGregor argued that a manager’s view of the nature of

human beings is based on a certain grouping of assumptions and he or she tends to mould his or her

behavior toward employees according to these assumptions. Herzberg (1959) constructed a two

dimensional paradigm of factors affecting people's attitudes about work. These two factors are

motivators and hygiene factors and this theory is also called motivationhygiene theory. Alderfer

classified needs into three categories into hierarchical order. They are: the existence category, the

Relatedness category and the Growth category. This theory is very similar to Maslow’s theory.

Existence need corresponds with Maslow’s physiological and safety needs, Relatedness need

corresponds with Maslow’s social needs and Growth need corresponds with Maslow’s esteem and

selfactualization needs. McClelland’s theory focuses on three needs: achievement, power, and

affiliation. According to this theory, people with high need for achievement have a compelling drive to

succeed. Individuals high in need for power enjoy being “in charge” of any situation. Individuals with

Motivation Unit 9


high need for affiliation motive strive for friendship, prefer cooperative situations rather than

competitive ones, and desire relationships that involve a high degree of mutual understanding.

Cognitive Evaluation theory proposes that when extrinsic rewards are used by organizations as

payoffs for superior performance, the intrinsic rewards, which are derived from individuals doing what

they like, are reduced. GoalSetting Theory proposes that challenging goals produce a higher level of

output than do the generalized goals. More difficult the goal, the higher the level of performance will

be. Reinforcement theory argues that reinforcement conditions human behavior. According to this

theory, behavior is a function of its consequences. Behavior is environmentally caused. According to

Equity theory, employees make comparisons of their job inputs and outcomes relative to those of

others. If, an individual perceives the inputoutcome ratio to be equal to that of the relevant others

with whom he/she compares his/herself, a state of equity is said to exist. He/she perceives the

situation as fair. If the ratio appears to be unequal, the individual experience inequity. Expectancy

theory argues that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an

expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that

outcome to the individual.

Terminal questions

1. Compare Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with Alderfer’s ERG theory.

2. Explain goal setting theory.

3. What is organizational justice? Discuss various tyoes of organizational justice.

4. Explain the concept of MBO and QC.

Answers to Self Assessment Questions

Answer to Self Assessment Questions 1

1. Physiological

2. X

3. Intrinsic


1. Three

2. Achievement

Motivation Unit 9


3. Interactional Justice


1. Tangible

2. Contingent


1. GoalSetting

2. Reinforcement


1. Intrinsic

2. Permanent


1. Refer section 9.2 and 9.3




Group Behavior Unit 10


Unit 10 Group Behavior

Structure

10.1 Introduction

Objectives

10.2 Classification of groups


10.3 Models of Group Development


10.4 External Conditions Imposed on the Group


10.5 Group Member Resources


10.6 Group Structure


10.7 Norms


10.8 Conformity


10.9 Techniques of Decision Making in Groups


10.10 Understanding work teams


10.11 Summary

Terminal Questions




10.1 Introduction A group may be defined as a collection of two or more people who work with one another regularly to

achieve common goals. In a group, members are mutually dependent on one another to achieve

common goals, and they interact with one another regularly to pursue those goals. Effective groups

help organizations accomplish important tasks. In particular, they offer the potential for synergy—the

creation of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. When synergy occurs, groups

accomplish more than the total of their members’ individual capabilities.



1. Classification of groups

2. Models of Group Development

3. Understanding work teams

10.2 Classification Of Groups

Groups can be of two types:

Formal

Informal

Formal groups Formal groups come into existence for serving a specific organizational purpose. Individuals’

behaviors in this type of group are aimed at achieving organizational goals. The organization creates

such a group to perform a specific task, which typically involves the use of resources to create a

product such as a report, decision, service, or commodity (Likert, 1961). Though all members

contribute to achieve group goals a leader does exist in this type of group to oversee and direct

group members.

Formal groups may be permanent or temporary in nature. They may be full fledged departments

divisions or specific work teams created for particular projects of fairly long duration. .



Permanent work groups are officially created to perform a specific function on a regular basis. They

continue to exist until a decision is made to change or reconfigure the organization for some reason.

Temporary work groups are task groups are specifically created to solve a problem or perform a

defined task. They may be dismantled after the assigned task has been accomplished. Examples are

the temporary committees and task forces that exist in an organization. Indeed, in today’s

organizations the use of crossfunctional teams or task forces for special problemsolving efforts has

goner up significantly.

Informal group An informal group is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined. Group of employees

snacking together can be an example of such groups. Informal groups may be subcategorized as :

Command, task, interest, or friendship groups.

1. Command groups are dictated by the formal organization. The organization hierarchy determines

a command group. It comprises of direct reports to a given manager.

2. Task groups—represent those working together to complete a job task. A task group’s boundaries

are not limited to its immediate hierarchical superior. It can cross command relationships where

the same member may be reporting to two or more authorities at the same time. All command

groups are also task groups, but the reverse may not be true.

3. An interest group consists of people who affiliate to attain a specific objective with which each is

concerned.

Self assessment questions 1

1. Formal groups come into existence for serving a specific _________________ purpose.

2. An ______________ group is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined.

3. All command groups are also __________ groups.



10.3 Models Of Group Development

The most important models of group development have been cited below. a. The FiveStage Model

1. Forming:

In this stage the members are entering the group. The main concern is to facilitate the entry of the

group members. The individuals entering are concerned with issues such as what the group can offer

them, their needed contribution the similarity in terms of their personal needs, goals and group goals,

the acceptable normative and behavioral standards expected for group membership and recognition

for doing the work as a group member.

2. Storming:

This is a turbulent phase where individuals try to basically form coalitions and cliques to achieve a

desired status within the group. Members also go through the process of identifying to their expected

role requirements in relation to group requirements. In the process, membership expectations tend to

get clarified, and attention shifts toward hurdles coming in the way of attaining group goals.

Individuals begin to understand and appreciate each other’s interpersonal styles, and efforts are

made to find ways to accomplish group goals while also satisfying individual needs.

3. Norming:

From the norming stage of group development, the group really begins to come together as a

coordinated unit. At this point, close relationships develop and the group shows cohesiveness. Group

members will strive to maintain positive balance at this stage.

4. Performing:

The group now becomes capable of dealing with complex tasks and handling internal disagreements

in novel ways. The structure is stable, and members are motivated by group goals and are generally

satisfied. The structure is fully functional and accepted at this stage. Group energy makes a transition

from member’s focus on getting to know and understand each other to performing. For permanent

work groups, performing is the last stage in their development.



5. Adjourning:

A wellintegrated group is able to disband, if required, when its work is accomplished, though in itself

it may be a painful process for group members, emotionally. The adjourning stage of group

development is especially important for the many temporary groups that are rampant in today’s

workplaces. Members of these groups must be able to convene quickly, do their jobs on a tight

schedule, and then adjourn—often to reconvene later, whenever required.

Groups do not always proceed clearly from one stage to the next. Sometimes several stages go on

simultaneously, as when groups are storming and performing. Groups may at times regress to earlier

stages. Another problem is that it ignores organizational context. For instance, a study of a cockpit

crew in an airliner found that, within ten minutes, three strangers assigned to fly together for the first

time had become a highperforming group. The rigid organizational context provides the rules, task

definitions, information, and resources required for the group to perform, effectively.

b. Punctuated equilibrium model Temporary groups with deadlines do not seem to follow the model explained above. Their pattern is

called the punctuatedequilibrium model.

Phase I—The first meeting sets the group’s direction. This stage is the first inertia phase. A structure

of behavioral patterns and assumptions emerges.

Transition Then a transition takes place when the group has used up almost half its allotted time.

The group’s direction becomes fixed and is unlikely to be reexamined throughout the first half of the

group’s life. The group tends to stand still or become locked into a fixed course of action. The group

is incapable of acting on new insights in Phase 1. The midpoint seems to set an alarm clock going

increasing members’ awareness that their time is limited and that they need to move on fast. A

transition triggers off major changes. This ends Phase 1 and is characterized by a concentrated burst

of changes, replacement old patterns, and adoption of new perspectives. The transition sets a

revised direction for Phase 2.

Phase 2 It is a new equilibrium and is also a period of inertia. In this phase, the group executes

plans created during the transition period. The group’s last meeting is characterized by a flurry of

activities. The punctuatedequilibrium model characterizes groups as demonstrating long periods of



inertia interspersed with brief and rapid changes triggered mainly by their members’ awareness of

time and targets .


1. In the ___________ stage the members are entering the group

2. The __________________ stage of group development is especially important for the many

temporary groups that are rampant in today’s workplaces.

10.4 External Conditions Imposed on the Group

All work groups are part of larger systems and organizations and therefore cannot exist or work in

isolation. It is therefore influenced by mainly external factors which include organizational strategy,

authority structures, rules and regulations, access to resources, physical work conditions and

organizational culture and performance systems and reward structures. Robbins (2004) outlines the

role of these factors as follows:

• The strategy will influence the power of various work groups which will determine the resources

that the organization’s top management is willing to allocate to it for performing its tasks.

• Organizations have authority structures that define who reports to whom, who makes decisions,

and what decisions individuals or groups are empowered to make.

• Organizations create rules, procedures, policies, job descriptions, and other forms of formal

regulations to standardize employee behavior.

• The more formal regulations that the organization imposes on all its employees, the more the

behavior of work group members will be consistent and predictable.

• The presence or absence of resources such as money, time, raw materials, and equipment—

which are allocated to the group by the organization—have a large bearing on the group’s

behavior.

• The performance evaluation and reward system. Group members’ behavior will be influenced by

how the organization evaluates performance and what behaviors are rewarded.



• Every organization has an unwritten culture that defines standards of acceptable and

unacceptable behavior for employees. Members of work groups have to accept the standards

implied in the organization’s dominant culture if they are to remain in good standing.

• The physical work setting creates both barriers and opportunities for work group interaction.


1. Organizations have ____________ structures that define who reports to whom, who makes

decisions, and what decisions individuals or groups are empowered to make.

2. The more formal regulations that the organization imposes on all its employees, the more the

behavior of work group members will be _________ and _________.

10.5 Group Member Resources

A. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The knowledge, skills, and abilities of its individual members plays an important role in determining

the group’s success and their ability to achieve set targets effectively and in synergistic manner. A

review of the evidence has shown that interpersonal skills play an important role for high work group

performance. They comprise of conflict management and resolution skills, collaborative problem

solving abilities, and effective communication skills.

B. Personality Characteristics:

A substantial larger body of research evidence is available with regard to the relationship between

personality traits and group attitudes and behavior. The general conclusions are as follows ( Robbins

2004):

• Attributes that have a positive connotation in our culture tend to be positively related to group

productivity, morale, and cohesiveness. These include: sociability, initiative, openness, and

flexibility.

• Negatively evaluated characteristics such as authoritarianism, dominance, and unconventionality

tend to be negatively related to the dependent variables.

3. No single personality characteristic is a good predictor of group behavior.




1. Attributes that have a positive connotation in our culture tend to be ____________ related to

group productivity, morale, and cohesiveness

2. No ___________ personality characteristic is a good predictor of group behavior.

10.6 Group Structure Work groups in order to function as a coordinated unit need to have a proper structure where there

must be certain elements like formal leadership, role clarity among group members. In the absence

of these factors groups not only become conflict ridden , but also suffer from confusion, and function

on a sub optimal level. Each element is explained briefly below:

1. Formal Leadership

Almost every work group must have a formal leader, which is typically identified by a title. The leader

can play an important part in the group’s success.

2. Roles

All group members are actors, where each is playing a role. While some of these roles may be

compatible others create conflicts. Different groups impose different role requirements on individuals.

3. Role perception

For playing one’s role effectively in a group, one’s view of how one is supposed to act in a given

situation must be clear leading to clear role perception. By watching and imitating senior members of

a group the new comers learn how to take on their roles effectively and also learn how to play them

well.

4. Role expectations

Tuning oneself and behaving in a socially desirable manner is a part of fulfilling role expectations in a

given situation in the context of achieving group goals and organizational goals.



1. Role conflict

When a group member is faced with the challenge of playing multiple roles, role conflict may occur

due to inability of the individual to balance all the roles effectively, thereby reducing role

effectiveness, hampering the group and organizational goal attainment process.


1. By watching and imitating __________ members of a group the new comers learn how to take on

their roles effectively and also learn how to play them well.

2. Role _________ is tuning oneself and behaving in a socially desirable manner is a part of

fulfilling role expectations in a given situation in the context of achieving group goals and

organizational goals.

3. When a group member is faced with the challenge of playing multiple roles, role _______ may

occur

10.7 Norms

All groups have norms—“acceptable standards of behavior that are shared by the group’s members.”

Norms serve as a guideline for members detailing what they ought and ought not to do under certain

circumstances. Though a work group’s norms are unique, yet there are still some common classes of

norms. They are:

Performance norms which comprise the following (Robbins 2003):

a. Explicit cues on how hard they should work, how to get the job done, their level of output,

appropriate levels of tardiness, etc.

b. These norms are extremely powerful in affecting an individual employee’s performance.

Appearance norms include things like appropriate dress, loyalty to the work group or

organization, when to look busy, and when it is acceptable to goof off.

Social arrangement norms come from informal work groups and primarily regulate social

interactions within the group.



Allocation of resources norms can originate in the group or in the organization.


1. All groups have ________ “acceptable standards of behavior that are shared by the group’s members

2. __________ norms come from informal work groups and primarily regulate social interactions

within the group.

10.8 Conformity

Strong research evidence suggests that groups can place strong pressures on individual

members to change their attitudes and behaviors to conform to the group’s standard. All groups

do not have a equal sway over the members and those that have more influence are referred to

as reference groups.

The reference group is characterized as one where the person is aware of the others; the person

defines himself or herself as a member, or would like to be a member; and the person feels that

the group members are significant to him/her.

Status

1. Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

Inequality is the basis for any created social order where some are more powerful, enjoy greater

benefits and also command access to resources differentially. This is also related to the risk

taking ability of certain groups / individuals and by virtue of this calculated risk taking ability they

amass greater wealth and have superior position (status) in the hierarchy. The same is also true

of groups where there is a hierarchy and all members do not enjoy the same status.

Status and norms:

Research shows the following with regard to relationship between status and norms(Robbins):



• Highstatus members of groups often are given more freedom to deviate from norms than other

group members.

• Highstatus people also are better able to resist conformity pressures.

• The previous findings explain why many star athletes, famous actors, topperforming

salespeople, and outstanding academics seem oblivious to appearance or social norms.

Status equity:

• When inequity is perceived, it creates disequilibrium that results in corrective behavior.

• The trappings of formal positions are also important elements in maintaining equity. Employees

expect what an individual has and receives to be congruent with his/her status. For example:

pay, office space, etc.

• Groups generally agree within themselves on status criteria.

• Individuals can find themselves in a conflict situation when they move between groups whose

status criteria are different or when they join groups whose members have heterogeneous

backgrounds.

Status and culture:

• Cultural differences affect status. For example, the French are highly status conscious.

• Countries differ on the criteria that create status:

o Status for Latin Americans and Asians tends to be derived from family position and formal roles

held in organizations.

o In the United States and Australia, it tends to be bestowed more on accomplishments.

• It is necessary to understand who and what holds status when interacting with people from a

different culture other than our own.


1. The _________ group is characterized as one where the person is aware of the others

2. Status is a _________ defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.



3. When status inequity is perceived, it creates ______________ that results in corrective

behavior.

10.9 Techniques Of Decision Making In Groups

Schein (1988) observes that groups may make decisions through any of the following six methods:

Decision in lack of response In this type of decision making, ideas are forwarded without any

discussion taking place. When the group finally accepts an idea, all others have been bypassed and

discarded by simple lack of response rather than by critical evaluation.

Decision by authority rule The leader makes a decision for the group, with or without discussion.

Decision by minority rule Two or three people are able to dominate the group into making a decision

to which they agree.

Decision by majority rule Here, viewpoint of the majority is considered as the group’s decision.

Decision by consensus One alternative is accepted by most members and the other members

agreeing to support it.

Decision by unanimity All group members agree totally on the course of action to be taken. This is a

“logically perfect” group decision method that is extremely difficult to attain in actual practice.


1. Schein observes that groups may make decisions through _________ methods.

2. In Decision by_________, two or three people are able to dominate the group into making a

decision to which they agree.

Group productivity: the advantages and disadvantages of group decision making

The potential advantages of group decision making include (Maier, 1967):

1. Information—more knowledge and expertise is applied to solve the problem.



2. Alternatives—a greater number of alternatives are examined, avoiding tunnel vision.

3. Understanding and acceptance—the final decision is better understood and accepted by all group

members.

4. Commitment—there is more commitment among all group members to make the final decision

work.

The potential disadvantages of group decision making include:

1 Social pressure to conform—individuals may feel compelled to go along with the apparent wishes

of the group.

2. Minority domination—the group’s decision may be forced by one individual or a small coalition.

3. Time demands—with more people involved in the dialogue and discussion, group decisions

usually take longer to make than individual decisions.

10.10 Understanding Work Teams

A team is a small group of people with complementary skills, who work actively together to achieve a

common purpose for which they hold themselves collectively accountable (Katzenbach & Smith,

1993). Team building is a collaborative way to gather and analyze data to improve teamwork

(Schermerhorn et al 2002). Team has following advantages (Robbins, 2003):

Ø Teams typically outperform individuals.

Ø Teams use employee talents better.

Ø Teams are more flexible and responsive to changes in the environment.

Ø Teams facilitate employee involvement.

Ø Teams are an effective way to democratize an organization and increase motivation.

Types of Teams

The various types of teams have been described below:

Problem solving teams – small groups from same department who meet regularly to discuss ways of

improving quality and efficiency.

Selfmanaged teams – small groups who take responsibilities of their own targets.



Crossfunctional team – Employees from different work areas but from same hierarchical level, come

together to accomplish a task.

Virtual team – team members, who are physically dispersed, use computer technology to connect

with each other,


1. Team building is a ____________ way to gather and analyze data to improve teamwork.

2. In ___________________ team – Employees from different work areas but from same

hierarchical level, come together to accomplish a task.

10. 11 Summary A group may be defined as a collection of two or more people who work with one another regularly to

achieve common goals. Groups can be of two types: Formal and Informal. Formal groups come into

existence for serving a specific organizational purpose. Individuals’ behaviors in this type of group is

aimed at achieving organizational goals. An informal group is neither formally structured nor

organizationally determined. The FiveStage Model of group development has five stages: Forming,

Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning. Punctuated equilibrium model of group

development proposes that temporary groups with deadlines do not seem to follow the model

explained above. Rather, they follow it Phase I, transition and Phase II. All work groups are part of

larger systems and organizations and therefore cannot exist or work in isolation. It is therefore

influenced by mainly external factors which include organizational strategy, authority structures, rules

and regulations, access to resources, physical work conditions and organizational culture and

performance systems and reward structures. All groups have norms—“acceptable standards of

behavior that are shared by the group’s members.” Norms serve as a guideline for members detailing

what they ought and ought not to do under certain circumstances. Though a work group’s norms are

unique, yet there are still some common classes of norms. A team is a small group of people with

complementary skills, who work actively together to achieve a common purpose for which they hold

themselves collectively accountable (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). Team building is a collaborative

way to gather and analyze data to improve teamwork (Schermerhorn et al 2002).



Terminal questions

1. Explain the fivestage model of group development.

2. Explain the external conditions imposed on groups.

3. Describe the techniques on group decision making.


1. Organizational

2. Informal

3. Task


1. Forming

2. Adjourning


1. Authority

2. Consistent, predictable


1. Positively

2. Single


1. Senior

2. Expectations

3. Conflict


1. Norms

2. Social arrangement




1. Reference

2. Socially

3. Disequilibrium


1. Six

2. Minority rule


1. Collaborative

2. Crossfunctional





Power And Politics Unit 11


Unit 11 Power And Politics

Structure

11.1 Introduction

Objectives

11.2 Bases of Power


11.3 Power Tactics


11.4 Empowerment


11.5 Power in Groups: Coalitions


11.6 Politics: Power in Action


11. 7 Summary

Terminal Questions


11.1 Introduction

Power is the ability to make things happen in the way an individual wants, either by self or by the

subordinates. The essence of power is control over the behavior of others (French & Raven, 1962).

Managers derive power from both organizational and individual sources. These sources are called

position power and personal power, respectively. Power also refers to a capacity that A has to

influence the behavior of B, so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes. The greater B’s

dependence on A, the greater is A’s power in the relationship. Therefore, power is a function of

dependency (Robbins, 2003).

Contrasting Leadership and Power



In an organizational context leadership and power are related to each others. Power is used by

leaders as a means to attain group goals. In other words, power is a means of facilitating their

achievement of goals and objectives that they have set for themselves in view of organizational

requirements. What are differences between leadership and power? The first is in the area of goal

compatibility which is as follows:

• Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence whereas leadership, requires

some congruence between the goals of the leader and the followers.

• The second factor is related to the direction of influence:

Whereas leadership focuses on the downward influence on one’s followers, power does not minimize

the importance of lateral and upward influence patterns. Evidence of the same is gained from

insights into research on power that has tended to encompass a broader area and focus on tactics

for gaining compliance.



1. Bases of Power 2. Power in Groups: Coalitions 3. Politics: Power in Action

11.2 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 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 behavior. 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 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.

Dependency: The Key to Power

The General Dependency Equation is as follows:

• The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the power A has over B. When an individual

possess anything that others require but that which alone the individual controls, he / she can make

others dependent and, therefore, gain power over them.

• Dependency, then, is inversely proportional to the alternative sources of supply.

This is one of the reasons why most organizations develop multiple suppliers rather using just one.

It also explains why individuals in general aspire to financial independence.

Three factors are responsible for dependency. They are as follows:

• Importance

To create dependency, the thing(s) you control must be perceived as being important.

Organizations actively seek to avoid uncertainty and hence, those individuals or groups who can

absorb an organization’s uncertainty will be perceived as controlling an important resource.

• Scarcity

A resource needs to be perceived as scarce to create dependency. For example, lowranking

members in an organization who have important knowledge unavailable to highranking members

gain power over the highranking members. The scarcitydependency relationship is also important in

the power of occupational categories. Individuals in occupations in which the supply of personnel is

low relative to demand can negotiate compensation and benefit packages, which are far more

attractive than can those in occupations where there is an abundance of candidates. Thus scarcity in

supply of certain types of skilled people can give them power to bargain over compensations and

other benefits.



• Nonsubstitutability

The more that a resource has no viable substitutes, the more power that control over that resource

provides.


1. Formal power may be categorized into___________ types.

2. The opposite of coercive power is __________ power

3. Expert power is relative, not ______________.

11.3 Power Tactics

Using position and personal power well to achieve the desired influence over other people is a

challenge for most managers. There are many useful ways of exercising relational influence. The

most common strategies involve the following (Kipinis et. Al, 1984):

• Reason—Use of facts and data to make a logical or rational presentation of ideas

• Friendliness—Use of flattery, creation of goodwill, acting humble, and being friendly

• Coalition—Getting the support of other people in the organization to back up the request

• Bargaining—Use of negotiation through the exchange of benefits or favors

• Assertiveness—Use of a direct and forceful approach such as demanding compliance

• Higher authority—Gaining the support of higher levels in the organization to back up requests

• Sanctions—Use of organizationally derived rewards and punishments

Employees rely on the seven tactics variably. Depending on the situational factors, individuals tend

to use the above strategies accordingly to the suitability and the likelihood of the success to be

achieved by employing the same. The manager’s relative power impacts the selection of tactics in

two ways.



• First, managers who control resources that are valued by others, or who are perceived to be in

positions of dominance, use a greater variety of tactics than do those with less power.

• Second, managers with power use assertiveness with greater frequency than do those with less

power.

• Resistance leads to managers using more directive strategies.

The manager’s objectives for wanting to influence causes them to vary their power tactics. The

objectives may be as follows:

• When seeking benefits from a superior, they use friendliness.

• When they are in need to make superiors accept new ideas, they usually rely on reason.

• Managers use reason to sell ideas to employees and friendliness to obtain favors.

Research evidence also supports the following with regard to use of tactics and the choice used by

managers with regard to power:

The manager’s expectation of the target person’s willingness to comply is an important factor. When

past experience indicates a high probability of success, managers use simple requests to gain

compliance. Where success is less predictable, managers are more likely to use assertiveness and

sanctions to achieve their objectives. The organization’s culture also plays an important role in

deciding the use of power tactics. The organizational culture in which a manager works, will have a

significant bearing on defining which tactics are considered appropriate. The organization itself will

influence which subset of power tactics is viewed as acceptable for use by managers. People in

different countries tend to prefer different power tactics. For example in US people prefer use of

reason in contrast to China where coalition as a tactic is preferred. Differences are consistent with

values among countries—reason is consistent with American’s preference for direct confrontation

and coalition is consistent with the Chinese preference for using indirect approaches.


1. Where success is less predictable, managers are more likely to use __________ and sanctions

to achieve their objectives



2. US people prefer use of reason in contrast to China where _____________ as a tactic is

preferred

11.4 Empowerment

Empowerment is the process by which managers help others to acquire and use the power required

to make decisions affecting both themselves and their work. Moreover, today, managers in

progressive organizations are expected to be competent at empowering the people with whom they

work. Rather than concentrating power only at higher levels as found in the traditional “pyramid” of

organizations, this concept views power to be shared by all working in flatter and more collegial

structures.

The concept of empowerment is part of the decentralized structures which are found in today’s

corporations. Corporate staff is being cut back; layers of management are being eliminated; the

number of employees is being reduced as the volume of work increases. The trend clearly is towards

creating leaner and more responsive organizations which are flexible and capable of taking faster

decisions with minimum bottlenecks created out of power struggles, typical of bureaucratic tall

structures. The need clearly is towards having fewer managers who must share more power as they

go about their daily tasks. Hence, empowerment is a key foundation of the increasingly popular self

managing work teams and other creative worker involvement groups.

For the empowerment process to set in and become institutionalized, power in the organization will

be changed. The following are important in this context:

Changing Position Power: When an organization attempts to move power down the hierarchy, it must

also alter the existing pattern of position power. Changing this pattern raises some important issues

• Can “empowered” individuals give rewards and sanctions based on task accomplishment?

• Has their new right to act been legitimized with formal authority?

Expanding the Zone of Indifference: When embarking on an empowerment program, management

needs to recognize the current zone of indifference and systematically move to expand it. All too

often, management assumes that its directive for empowerment will be followed; management may

fail to show precisely how empowerment will benefit the individuals involved, however.



Thus in empowerment the basic issues which should be addressed are:

Training people in lower ranks how to function in the new empowered position. Using or unleashing

power correctly is also an issue and most importantly the authority, responsibility and the

accountability process should be clearly outlined so as not to upset organizational power equations.

Just apportioning power at lower levels without giving the knowledge of how to use it can actually

create havoc in the organizations.


1. _____________ is the process by which managers help others to acquire and use the power

required to make decisions affecting both themselves and their work.

2. When an organization attempts to move power down the ________, it must also alter the existing

pattern of position power

11.5 Power In Groups: Coalitions

Individuals who lose power or are out of power seek to increase their power individually. If they fail to

do so, then the alternative is to form a coalition—an informal group bound together by the active

pursuit of a single issue. The natural way to gain influence is to become a power holder but this may

be difficult, risky, costly, or impossible.

• In such an event, efforts are directed towards forming a coalition of two or more “outs” who, by

coming together, can combine their resources to increase rewards for themselves. Successful

coalitions have been found to contain fluid membership and are able to form swiftly, achieve their

target issue, and quickly disappear disintegrate.

There are a couple of predictions about coalition formation. They are as follows:

• First, coalitions in organizations often seek to maximize their size. Decisionmaking in

organizations does not end just with selection from among a set of alternatives, but require to be

implemented. The implementation of an commitment to the decision is as important as the



decision. It is essential for coalitions within organizations to seek a broad constituency and there

may be expansion in coalition to help in consensus building

• Another prediction relates to the degree of interdependence within the organization. More

coalitions are likely be created where there is a great deal of task and resource interdependence.

In contrast, there will be less interdependence among subunits and less coalition formation

activity where subunits are largely selfcontained or resources are in plenty.

• Finally, coalition formation will be influenced by the actual tasks that workers perform. In general,

the more routine the task of a group, the greater the likelihood that coalitions will form.


1. Successful coalitions have been found to contain ___________ membership.

2. More coalitions are likely be created where there is a great deal of task and resource __________________.

3. Coalition formation will be influenced by the __________ tasks that workers perform.

11.6 Politics: Power In Action

Politics is defined as those activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the

organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and

disadvantages within the organization.

Organizational politics is the management of influence to obtain ends not sanctioned by the

organization or to obtain sanctioned ends through nonsanctioned means and the art of creative

compromise among competing interests. The above definition clearly points out the following:

a. Political behavior fall outside the ambit of one’s specified job requirements.

b. It includes efforts to influence the goals, criteria, or processes employed for decisionmaking.

c. It includes a variety of political behaviors such as, withholding vital information from decision

makers, whistleblowing, spreading rumors, leaking confidential information, etc.



In this context, it is necessary to make a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate power

dimensions within organizational contexts.

The “LegitimateIllegitimate” Dimension may be explained in terms of the following (Farrell &

Peterson, 1988):

• Legitimate political behavior refers to normal everyday politics—complaining to your supervisor,

bypassing the chain of command, forming coalitions, etc.

• Illegitimate political behaviors that violate the implied rules of the game, such as sabotage,

whistle blowing, and symbolic protests, etc.

• The vast majority of all organizational political actions are legitimate. The extreme illegitimate

forms of political behavior pose a very real risk of loss of organizational membership or extreme

sanction.

There are two quite different schools of thought found existing in the analysis of literature on

organizational politics.

The first tradition builds on Machiavelli’s philosophy and defines politics in terms of selfinterest and

the use of nonsanctioned means. In this tradition, organizational politics may be formally defined as

the management of influence to obtain ends not sanctioned by the organization or to obtain

sanctioned ends through nonsanctioned influence means. Managers are often considered political

when they seek their own goals or use means that are not currently authorized by the organization or

that push legal limits. Where there is uncertainty or ambiguity, it is often extremely difficult to tell

whether a manager is being political in this selfserving sense (Pfeffer, 1981).

The second tradition treats politics as a necessary function resulting from differences in the self

interests of individuals. Here, organizational politics is viewed as the art of creative compromise

among competing interests. In a heterogeneous society, individuals will disagree as to whose self

interests are most valuable and whose concerns should, therefore, be bounded by collective

interests. Politics come into play as individuals need to develop compromises, avoid confrontation,

and coexist together. The same holds true in organizations, where individuals join, work, and stay

together because of their selfinterests being served. It is equally important to remember that the



goals of the organization and the acceptable means are established by organizationally powerful

individuals in negotiation with others. Thus, organizational politics is also the use of power to develop

socially acceptable ends and means that balance individual and collective interests.

Factors Contributing to Political Behavior

1. Individual factors:

Researchers have identified certain personality traits, needs, and other factors that are likely to be

related to political behavior. They are as follows:

a. Employees who are high selfmonitors, possess an internal locus of control, and have a high

need for power are more likely to engage in political behavior.

b. The high selfmonitor is more sensitive to social cues and in all probability be more likely to be

skilled in political behavior than the low selfmonitor.

c. Individuals with an internal locus of control are more prone to take a proactive stance and attempt

to manipulate situations in their favor.

d. The Machiavellian personality is comfortable using politics as a means to further his/her self

interest and does not see it as an unethical action..

A person’s investment in the organization, perceived alternatives, and expectations of success will

influence the tendency to pursue illegitimate means of political action. The following alternatives are

possible in this context:

a. The more that a person has invested and the more a person has to lose, the less likely he/she is

to use illegitimate means.

b. The more alternative job opportunities an individual has, a prominent reputation, or influential

contacts outside the organization, the more likely he/she will risk illegitimate political actions.

c. A low expectation of success in using illegitimate means reduces the probability of its use.



1. Organizational factors:

Political activity has got to do more with the organization’s characteristics than of individual difference

variables. When an organization’s resources are declining, and the existing pattern of resources is

changing, as also when there is opportunity for promotions, politics is more likely to come into play

and surface. Certain important findings in this regard are:

• Cultures characterized by low trust, role ambiguity, unclear performance evaluation systems,

zerosum reward allocation practices, democratic decisionmaking, high pressures for

performance, and selfserving senior managers will create fertile grounds for politicking.

• When organizations downsize to improve efficiency, people may engage in political actions to

safeguard their existing statusquo.

• Promotion decisions have consistently been found to be one of the most political in organizations.

• The less trust there is within the organization, the higher the level of political behavior and the

more likely it will be illegitimate.

• Role ambiguity means that the prescribed behaviors of the employee are not clear. The greater

the role ambiguity, the more one may engage in political activity since there is little chance of it

being visible..

• Making organizations less autocratic by asking managers to behave more democratically is not

necessarily embraced by all individual managers. Internally if the managers believe in autocracy

they would use the required committees, conferences, and group meetings in a superficial way as

arenas for maneuvering and manipulating.

• Top management may set the climate for politicking by engaging in certain behaviors, thereby

giving a signal to people below in the order that is alright to engage in such behavior. When

employees see top management successfully engaging in political behavior, a climate is created

that supports politicking.

To counter the effects of politicking and protect oneself in organizational contexts, individuals may

use three strategies :



(1) Avoid action and risk taking

(2) Redirect accountability and responsibility

(3) Defend their turf.

Avoidance: Avoidance is quite common in controversial areas where the employee must risk being

wrong or where actions may yield a sanction. The most common reaction is to “work to the rules.”

That is, employees are protected when they adhere strictly to all the rules, policies, and procedures

or do not allow deviations or exceptions.

Redirecting Responsibility: Politically sensitive individuals will always protect themselves from

accepting blame for the negative consequences of their actions. Again, a variety of wellworn

techniques may be used for redirecting responsibility. “Passing the buck” is a common method

employees and managers use. The trick here is to define the task in such a way that it becomes

someone else’s formal responsibility.

Defending Turf : Defending turf is a timehonored tradition in most large organizations. This results

form the coalitional nature of organizations. That is, the organization may be seen as a collection of

competing interests held by various departments and groups. As each group tries to increase its

influence, it starts to encroach on the activities of other groups.

There are certain other interesting findings regarding people’s responses to organizational politics

Research evidence indicates strong points out that perception of organizational politics are

negatively related to job satisfaction. The perception of politics results in anxiety or stress. And when

it gets too much to handle, employees leave the organizations. It may thus be a demotivating force

and performance may suffer as a result. The effect of politics is moderated by the knowledge the

individual has of the decision making system and his/her political skills. In this regard the following

observations have been made:

• High political skills individuals often have improved performance.



• Low political skills individuals often respond with defensive behaviors—reactive and protective

behaviors to avoid action, change, or blame.

Reaction to organizational politics is also influenced by culture. In countries that are more unstable

politically, workers will tolerate higher levels of politicking than more politically stable counties


1. Organizational politics is viewed as the art of creative _____________ among competing

interests

2. Employees who are ___________ selfmonitors, possess an internal locus of control

3. The ______________ personality is comfortable using politics as a means to further his/her self

interest and does not see it as an unethical action..

11.7 Summary Power is the ability to make things happen in the way an individual wants, either by self or by the

subordinates. The essence of power is control over the behavior of others (French & Raven, 1962).

Managers derive power from both organizational and individual sources. These sources are called

position power and personal power, respectively. In an organizational context leadership and power

are related to each others. Power is used by leaders as a means to attain group goals. In other

words, power is a means of facilitating their achievement of goals and objectives that they have set

for themselves in view of organizational requirements. Power can be categorized into two types:

Formal and informal. Formal Power: 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. Formal power may be categorized into four types: Coercive Power, Reward Power,

Legitimate Power, Information 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. Using position and personal power well to achieve the desired influence over other people

is a challenge for most managers. There are many useful ways of exercising relational influence. The

most common strategies involve: Reason, Friendliness, Coalition, Bargaining, Assertiveness, Higher

authority, and Sanctions. Empowerment is the process by which managers help others to acquire



and use the power required to make decisions affecting both themselves and their work. Moreover,

today, managers in progressive organizations are expected to be competent at empowering the

people with whom they work. Rather than concentrating power only at higher levels as found in the

traditional “pyramid” of organizations, this concept views power to be shared by all working in flatter

and more collegial structures. Individuals who lose power or are out of power seek to increase their

power individually. If they fail to do so then the alternative is to form a coalition—an informal group

bound together by the active pursuit of a single issue. The natural way to gain influence is to

become a power holder but this may be difficult, risky, costly, or impossible. Politics is defined as

those activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that

influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the

organization. Organizational politics is the management of influence to obtain ends not sanctioned by

the organization or to obtain sanctioned ends through nonsanctioned means and the art of creative

compromise among competing interests.

Terminal questions

1. Contrast leadership and power.

2. Describe various types of formal and informal power.

3. What do you mean by organizational politics? Explain the “LegitimateIllegitimate” dimension in

organizational politics.


1. Four

2. Reward

3. Absolute


1.Assertiveness

2. Coalition




1. Empowerment

2. Hierarchy


1. Fluid

2. Interdependence

3. Actual


1. Compromise

2. High

3. Machiavellian





Conflict Management Unit 12


Unit 12 Conflict Management

Structure

12.1 Introduction

Objectives

12.2 Levels of conflict


12.3 The Conflict Process


12.4 Conflict management approaches


12.5 Negotiation


12.6 Summary

Terminal Questions


12.1 Introduction

Conflict occurs whenever disagreements exist in a social situation over issues (work related or

personal). Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has

negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about

(Thomas, 1992). Conflict can be either constructive or destructive. Constructive conflict prevents

stagnation, stimulates creativity, allows tensions to be released. However, excessive levels of conflict

can hinder the effectiveness of a group or an organization, lessens satisfaction of group members,

increases absence and turnover rates, and, lowers productivity.





1. Levels of conflict

2. The Conflict Process

3. Conflict management approaches

Negotiation

The most important views about conflict are as follows:

The Traditional View: This approach assumes that all conflict is dysfunctional and hinders

performance. Conflict is seen as a dysfunctional outcome resulting from poor communication, a lack

of openness and trust between people, and the failure of managers to be responsive to their

employees.

The Human Relations View: This view believes that conflict is a natural occurrence in all groups and

organizations. Since it was natural and inevitable it should be accepted. It cannot be eliminated and

may even contribute to group performance.

The Interactionist View: This approach encourages conflict on the grounds that a harmonious,

peaceful, tranquil, and cooperative group is prone to becoming static and nonresponsive to needs

for change and innovation. Group leaders should maintain enough conflict to keep the group viable,

selfcritical, and creative.

Functional vs. Dysfunctional Conflict

Functional, constructive forms of conflict support the goals of the group and improve its performance.

Conflicts that hinder group performance are dysfunctional or destructive forms of conflict. Task

conflict relates to the content and goals of the work. Lowtomoderate levels of task conflict are

functional and consistently demonstrate a positive effect on group performance because it stimulates

discussion, improving group performance. Relationship conflict focuses on interpersonal

relationships. These conflicts are almost always dysfunctional and the friction and interpersonal



hostilities inherent in relationship conflicts increase personality clashes and decrease mutual

understanding.

12.2 Levels Of Conflict

At workplace, people may encounter conflict at the intrapersonal level (conflict within the individual),

the interpersonal level (individual to individual conflict), the intergroup level, or the inter

organizational level. Intrapersonal conflict Some conflicts that affect behavior in organizations involve the individual

alone. It can be of three types (Schermerhorn et al, 2002):

Approach–approach conflict occurs when a person must choose between two positive and equally

attractive alternatives. An example is having to choose between a valued promotion in the

organization or a desirable new job with another firm.

Avoidance–avoidance conflict occurs when a person must choose between two negative and equally

unattractive alternatives. An example is being asked either to accept a job transfer to another town in

an undesirable location or to have one’s employment with an organization terminated.

Approach–avoidance conflict occurs when a person must decide to do something that has both

positive and negative consequences. An example is being offered a higher paying job whose

responsibilities entail unwanted demands on one’s personal time.

Interpersonal conflict occurs between two or more individuals who are in opposition to one another.

It may be substantive or emotional or both.

Intergroup conflict occurs among members of different teams or groups.

Interorganizational conflict occurs as the competition and rivalry that characterizes firms operating

in the same markets.




1. Intrapersonal conflict may be of _________ types.

2. _____________________ conflict occurs when a person must choose between two negative and

equally unattractive alternatives.

3. __________ conflict occurs among members of different teams or groups

4. Conflict occurs whenever ____________ exist in a social situation over issues

5. The ___________ View of conflict encourages conflict on the grounds that a harmonious,

peaceful, tranquil, and cooperative group is prone to becoming static and nonresponsive to

needs for change and innovation

6. ___________ conflict relates to the content and goals of the work.

12.3 The Conflict Process

The process of conflict management has the following steps (Schermerhorn et al, 2002):

Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility

This stage concludes the conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise. The conditions are

as follows:

1. Communication Communication becomes a source of conflict due to semantic difficulties,

misunderstandings, and “noise” (distortion) in the communication channels. Differing word

connotations, jargon, insufficient exchange of information, and noise in the communication channel

are all barriers to communication and potential antecedents to conflict.

2. Structure The term structure includes variables such as size, degree of specialization,

jurisdictional clarity, membergoal compatibility, leadership styles, reward systems, and the degree of

dependence. Size and specialization act as forces to stimulate conflict. The larger the group and

more specialized its activities, the greater the likelihood of conflict. The potential for conflict is

greatest where group members are younger and turnover is high. The greater the ambiguity in

responsibility for actions lies, the greater the potential for conflict.



3. Personal variables Personal variables include individual value systems and personality

characteristics. Certain personality types lead to potential conflict. Value differences are the best

explanation for differences of opinion on various matters.

B. Stage II: Cognition and Personalization

Antecedent conditions lead to conflict only when the parties are affected by and aware of it. Conflict

is personalized when it is felt and when individuals become emotionally involved. Emotions play a

major role in shaping perceptions. Negative emotions produce oversimplification of issues,

reductions in trust, and negative interpretations of the other party’s behavior. Positive feelings

increase the tendency to see potential relationships among the elements of a problem, to take a

broader view of the situation, and to develop more innovative solutions (Robbins, 2003).

C. Stage III: Intentions

The primary conflicthandling intentions are represented as follows:

• Cooperativeness—“the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the other party’s concerns.”

• Assertiveness—“the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns.”

• Competing: When one person seeks to satisfy his or her own interests, regardless of the impact

on the other parties to the conflict

• Collaborating: When the parties to conflict each desire to fully satisfy the concerns of all parties.

The intention is to solve the problem by clarifying differences rather than by accommodating.

• Avoiding: A person may recognize that a conflict exists and want to withdraw from it or suppress

it.

• Accommodating: When one party seeks to appease an opponent, that party is willing to be self

sacrificing.

• Compromising: When each party to the conflict seeks to give up something, sharing occurs,

resulting in a compromised outcome. There is no clear winner or loser, and the solution provides

incomplete satisfaction of both parties’ concerns.



Stage IV: Behavior

The behavior stage includes the statements, actions, and reactions made by the conflicting parties.

These conflict behaviors are usually overt attempts to implement each party’s intentions. It is a

dynamic process of interaction with a continuum. At the lower part of the continuum, conflicts are

characterized by subtle, indirect, and highly controlled forms of tension. Conflict intensities escalate

as they move upward along the continuum until they become highly destructive. Functional conflicts

are typically confined to the lower range of the continuum.

Stage V: Outcomes

Outcomes may be functional—improving group performance, or dysfunctional in hindering it. Conflict

is constructive when it (Robins, 2003):

a. Improves the quality of decisions.

b. Stimulates creativity and innovation.

c. Encourages interest and curiosity.

d. Provides the medium through which problems can be aired and tensions released.

e. Fosters an environment of selfevaluation and change.

Outcomes may be dysfunctional as well. They are as follows:

Uncontrolled opposition breeds discontent, which acts to dissolve common ties and eventually leads

to the destruction of the group. Undesirable consequences include a retarding of communication,

reductions in group cohesiveness, subordination of group goals to the primacy of infighting between

members. Conflict can bring group functioning to a halt and potentially threaten the group’s survival.

The demise of an organization as a result of too much conflict is not as unusual as it might first

appear.


1. Communication becomes a source of conflict due to __________ in the communication channels.

2. The potential for conflict is greatest where group members are __________ and turnover is

__________ . 3. Personal variables include individual value systems and _________________ characteristics.



12.4 Conflict Management Approaches

There are two types of conflict management approaches:

• Direct

• Indirect

Direct conflict management approaches

There are five approaches to direct conflict management. They are based on the relative emphasis

on cooperativeness and assertiveness in the relationship between the conflicting parties. They are as

follows:

Avoidance – it is an extreme form of inattention; everyone simply pretends that the conflict does not

really exist and hopes that it will go away.

Accommodation involves playing down differences among the conflicting parties and highlighting

similarities and areas of agreement. This peaceful coexistence ignores the real essence of a given

conflict and often creates frustration and resentment.

Compromise it occurs when each party gives up something of value to the other. As a result of no

one getting its full desires, the antecedent conditions for future conflicts are established.

Competition – here a victory is achieved through force, superior skill, or domination by one party. It may also occur as a result of authoritative command, whereby a formal authority simply dictates a

solution and specifies what is gained and what is lost by whom. This is a case of win lose situation

and as a result, future conflicts over the same issues are likely to occur.

Collaboration – it involves a recognition by all conflicting parties that something is wrong and needs

attention. It stresses gathering and evaluating information in solving disputes and making choices.

Indirect conflict management approaches



Indirect conflict management approaches include reduced interdependence, appeals to common

goals, hierarchical referral, and alterations in the use of mythology and scripts (Schermerhorn et al

2002).

Reduced Interdependence When workflow conflicts exist, managers can adjust the level of

interdependency among units or individuals (Walton & Dutton, 1969). To reduce the conflict, contact

between conflicting parties may be reduced. The conflicting units can then be separated from one

another, and each can be provided separate access to resources. Buffering is another technique to

build an inventory, or buffer, between the two groups so that any output slowdown or excess is

absorbed by the inventory and does not directly pressure the target group.

Appeals to Common Goals An appeal to common goals can focus on the mutual interdependence of

the conflicting parties to achieve the common goal of an organization.

Hierarchical Referral – Here conflicts are reported to the senior levels to reconcile and solve.

SelfAssessment Questions 3

1. There are ___________ direct approaches to conflict management. 2. ____________ occurs when each party gives up something of value to the other.

3. ___________________ is a process where conflicts are reported to the senior levels to reconcile

and solve.

12.5 Negotiation

Negotiation is a “process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to

agree upon the exchange rate for them (Robbins, 2008). There are two general approaches to

negotiation: distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining.

Distributive bargaining



When engaged in distributive bargaining, one’s tactics focus on trying to get one’s opponent to agree

to one’s specific target point or to get as close to it as possible. “Hard” distributive negotiation takes

place when each party holds out to get its own way. The hard approach may lead to a win–lose

outcome in which one party dominates and gains. “Soft” distributive negotiation, takes place when

one party is willing to make concessions to the other to get things over with. A soft approach leads to

accommodation in which one party gives in to the other, or to compromise in which each party gives

up something of value in order to reach agreement.

Integrative bargaining

This strategy is adopted to create a winwin solution. Integrative bargaining builds longterm

relationships and facilitates collaborative work. Following conditions are necessary for this type of

negotiation to succeed (Robbins, 2003):

• Parties who are open with information and candid about their concerns

• A sensitivity by both parties to the other’s needs

• The ability to trust one another

• A willingness by both parties to maintain flexibility

The Negotiation Process

A model of the negotiation process is as follows:

Preparation and planning:

• At this stage, homework needs to be done in regard to the nature, history, concerned parties of

the conflict. Based on the information, a strategy is developed. Both the parties Best Alternative

To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)needs to be determined. BATNA determines the lowest

value acceptable to you for a negotiated agreement for both the parties.

Definition of ground rules:

• At the stage, the venue, the negotiators, time will be decided.



Clarification and justification:

• When initial positions have been exchanged, the origal demands of both the parties sneed to be

explained and justified. Proper documentation is required at this stage to support each of the

parties position.

Bargaining and problem solving:

• The essence of the negotiation process is the actual give and take in trying to hash out an

agreement. Concessions will undoubtedly need to be made by both parties.

Closure and implementation:

• This is the final step, where the agreement is formalized and procedures to implement the

agreement will be developed.

Issues in Negotiation

Some of the most important issues have been discussed below.

1. The role of personality traits in negotiation Overall assessments of the personalitynegotiation

relationship finds that personality traits have no significant direct effect on either the bargaining

process or negotiation outcomes (Wall & Blum, 1991).

2. Gender differences in negotiations Men and women do not negotiate differently. A popular

stereotype is that women are more cooperative, pleasant, and relationshiporiented in negotiations

than are men. The evidence does not support this. The belief that women are “nicer” is probably due

to confusing gender and the lack of power typically held by women. (Stuhlmacher & Walters, 1999).

3. Cultural differences in negotiations Negotiating styles clearly vary across national cultures

(Adler, 2002). The cultural context of the negotiation significantly influences the amount and type of

preparation for bargaining, the emphasis on task versus interpersonal relationships, the tactics used,

etc.


1. There are __________ general approaches to negotiation 2. __________ bargaining strategy is adopted to create a winwin solution



3. personality traits have no significant ________ effect on the bargaining process or negotiation

outcomes

12.6 Summary

Conflict occurs whenever disagreements exist in a social situation over issues (work related or

personal). Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has

negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about

(Thomas, 1992). Conflict can be either constructive or destructive. Constructive conflict prevents

stagnation, stimulates creativity, allows tensions to be released. However, excessive levels of conflict

can hinder the effectiveness of a group or an organization, lessens satisfaction of group members,

increases absence and turnover rates, and, lowers productivity. Functional, constructive forms of

conflict support the goals of the group and improve its performance. Conflicts that hinder group

performance are dysfunctional or destructive forms of conflict. Task conflict relates to the content and

goals of the work. Lowtomoderate levels of task conflict are functional and consistently demonstrate

a positive effect on group performance because it stimulates discussion, improving group

performance. Relationship conflict focuses on interpersonal relationships. These conflicts are almost

always dysfunctional and the friction and interpersonal hostilities inherent in relationship conflicts

increase personality clashes and decrease mutual understanding. People at work may encounter

conflict at the intrapersonal level (conflict within the individual), the interpersonal level (individual to

individual conflict), the intergroup level, or the interorganizational level. Negotiation is a “process in

which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree upon the exchange rate

for them (Robbins, 2008). There are two general approaches to negotiation: distributive bargaining

and integrative bargaining.

Terminal questions

1. Briefly explain the different views about conflict.

2. What are the levels of conflict that people may experience at the workplace?

3. Explain the process of conflict management.

4. Explain the difference between distributive and integrative bargaining.




1. Disagreements

2. Interactionist

3. Task

4. Three

5. Avoidance–avoidance

6. Intergroup


1. Noise

2. Younger, high

3. Personality


1. Five

2. Compromise

3. Hierarchical Referral


1. Two

2. Integrative

3. Direct






Stress Management Unit 13


Unit 13 Stress Management

Structure

13.1 Introduction

Objectives

13.2 Types of Stress


13.3 Potential Sources of Stress


13.4 Consequences of Stress


13.5 Managing Stress


13.6 A suggested framework for stress management


13.7 Crisis management


13.8 Summary

Terminal Questions

Answers to SAQ’s and TQ’s

13.1 Introduction

Stress has been defined as a physical, mental or emotional response to events which cause mental

or bodily tension. In the modern day life stress is a part and parcel of our lives. At the same time, it

should not exceed the capacity of an individual to handle it. If it exceeds in proportion to a person’s

abilities to cope with it, it would cause mental and physical imbalance in the person. Therefore, a

major challenge for every one today is to make stress work for you as a productive force rather than

as a deterrent which can cause imbalance in an individual.



While handling a stressful situation, the brain signals the release of stress hormones. These

chemical substances in turn trigger a set of responses that provides the body with extra energy:

bloodsugar levels rise, the heartbeat speeds up and blood pressure increases. The muscles tense

for action. The blood supply is diverted away from the gut to the extremities to help the body deal

with the situation at hand.



1. Types of Stress

2. Managing Stress

3. Crisis management

13.2 Types Of Stress

Stress can manifest itself in a number of ways depending upon the suddenness of an even to be

dealt with and types of stressors to be handled by an individual. It may manifest itself either

physically, emotionally and / mentally, as certain symptoms.

Physical – This happens when the body as a whole suffers due to stressful situation. There are

many symptoms like, headaches, tension in the neck, forehead, and shoulder muscles. Long periods

of stress can cause other serious symptoms like digestive problems, ulcers, insomnia

(sleeplessness), fatigue, high blood pressure, nervousness, excessive sweating, heart ailments,

strokes and hair loss as well.

Emotional – These responses are due to stress affecting the mind and include, anxiety, anger,

depression, irritability, frustration, overreaction to everyday problems, memory loss and a lack of

concentration for any task.

Anxiety is exhibited as a response to loss, failure, danger or a fear of the unknown. Anger is a

response to frustration or social stress and can become a danger to other individuals, if not kept in

check. Depression is frequently seen as an emotional response to upsetting situations, such as, the

death of a loved one, illness and failure.



Psychological – Longterm stress can cause psychological problems in some individuals.

Symptoms may include social isolation, phobias, compulsive behaviors, eating disorders and night

terrors.

Stress may be classified into two types: positive stress (Eustress) and negative stress (Distress).

Moderate and manageable levels of stress for a reasonable period of time can be handled by the

body through mobilization of resources and is accompanied by positive emotions, such as,

enjoyment, satisfaction, excitement and so on. This beneficial element in stress has been defined by

Selye (1974) as Eustress (EU meaning – good). However, an overload of stress resulting from a

situation of either over arousal or under arousal for long periods of time causes the following: first an

unpleasant feeling, followed by physical damage, fatigue and in extreme cases, even death of an

individual. This has been termed by Selye as distress (dys meaning – bad).


1. Insomnia is __________.

2. Positive stress is called ________.

3. Negative stress is called ___________.

13.3 Potential Sources Of Stress

While environmental factors are forces outside the organization, which may act as potential sources

of stress due to uncertainties and threats that they create for any organization and its members,

factors within organization can also act as potential source of stress. Together or singly they may

create a tense and volatile working environment which can cause stress for organizational members

because the inability of individuals to handle the pressures arising out of these sources.

The following may be seen to be the potential sources of stress:

1. Environmental factors:

• Environmental uncertainty influences stress levels among employees in an organization.

• Changes in the business cycle create economic uncertainties.



• Political uncertainties can be stress inducing.

• Technological uncertainty can cause stress because new innovations can make an employee’s

skills and experience obsolete in a very short period of time.

2. Organizational factors:

• Pressures to avoid errors or complete tasks in a limited time period, work overload, a demanding

and insensitive boss, and unpleasant coworkers are a few examples.

• Task demands are factors related to a person’s job. They include the design of the individual’s

job (autonomy, task variety, degree of automation), working conditions, and the physical work

layout.

• Role demands relate to pressures that are a function of the role an individual plays in an

organization.

a. Role conflicts create expectations that may be hard to reconcile or satisfy.

b. Role overload is experienced when the employee is expected to do more than time permits.

c. Role ambiguity is created when role expectations are not clearly understood.

• Interpersonal demands are pressures created by other employees.

• Organizational structure defines the level of differentiation in the organization, the degree of rules

and regulations, and where decisions are made. Excessive rules and lack of participation in

decisions might be potential sources of stress.

Organizational leadership represents the managerial style of the organization’s senior executives.

CEOs, by virtue of their managerial styles create an organizational culture which reflects tension,

fear, and anxiety. They overemphasize tight control, hire and fire policies which keep organizational

members on hot seat and create stress among them.

3. Individual factors:

• These are factors in the employee’s personal life. Primarily, these factors are family issues,

personal economic problems, and inherent personality characteristics.



• Broken families, wrecked marriages and other family issues may create stress at workplace as

well.

• Economic problems created by individuals overextending their financial resources. Spending

more than earnings stretches financial positions, create debt situation leading to stress among

individuals.

• A significant individual factor influencing stress is a person’s basic dispositional nature. Over

suspicious anger and hostility increases a person’s stress and risk for heart disease. These

individuals with high level of mistrust for others also cause stress for themselves.

4. Stressors are additivestress builds up.

Individual Differences

1. Five individual difference variables moderate the relationship between potential stressors and

experienced stress:

a. Perception

b. Job experience

c. Locus of control

d. Selfefficacy

e. Hostility

a. Perception: Moderates the relationship between a potential stress condition and an employee’s

reaction to it. Stress potential doesn’t lie in objective conditions; it lies in an employee’s interpretation

of those conditions.

b. Job experience: The evidence indicates that experience on the job tends to be negatively related

to work stress.

First is the idea of selective withdrawal. Voluntary turnover is more probable among people who

experience more stress.



Second, people eventually develop coping mechanisms to deal with stress.

Collegial relationships with coworkers or supervisors can buffer the impact of stress.

c. Locus of control: Those with an internal locus of control believe they control their own destiny.

Internals perceive their jobs to be less stressful than do externals.

Internals are likely to believe that they can have a significant effect on the results.

Those with an external locus believe their lives are controlled by outside forces.

Externals are more likely to be passive and feel helpless.

d. Selfefficacy: The confidence in one’s own abilities appears to decrease stress.

e. Hostility: People who are quick to anger, maintain a persistently hostile outlook, and project a

cynical mistrust of others are more likely to experience stress in situations.


1. ______________is created when role expectations are not clearly understood.

2. Those with an ____________ locus of control believe they control their own destiny.

3. ______________ The confidence in one’s own abilities appears to decrease stress.

13.4 Consequences Of Stress

Stress shows itself in three ways—physiological, psychological, and behavioral symptoms.

1. Physiological symptoms:

• Most of the early concern with stress was directed at physiological symptoms due to the fact that

specialists in the health and medical sciences researched the topic.

• Physiological symptoms have the least direct relevance to students of OB.



2. Psychological symptoms:

• Jobrelated stress can cause jobrelated dissatisfaction.

• Job dissatisfaction is “the simplest and most obvious psychological effect” of stress (Robbins,

2003).

• Multiple and conflicting demands—lack of clarity as to the incumbent’s duties, authority, and

responsibilities—increase stress and dissatisfaction.

• The less control people have over the pace of their work, the greater the stress and

dissatisfaction.

3. Behavioral symptoms:

• Behaviorally related stress symptoms include changes in productivity, absence, and turnover,

as well as changes in eating habits, increased smoking or consumption of alcohol, rapid

speech, fidgeting, and sleep disorders.


1. Stress shows itself in _________ ways

2. ____________________ is “the simplest and most obvious psychological effect” of stress.

13.5 Managing Stress

High or low levels of stress sustained over long periods of time, can lead to reduced employee

performance and, thus, require action by management.

1. Individual approaches:

• Effective individual strategies include implementing time management techniques, increasing

physical exercise, relaxation training, and expanding the social support network.

• Practicing time management principles also leaves as an important element in managing stress,

such as:

a. making daily lists of activities to be accomplished.



b. prioritizing activities by importance and urgency.

c. scheduling activities according to the priorities set.

d. knowing your daily cycle and handling the most demanding parts of your job during the high

part of your cycle when you are most alert and productive.

• Noncompetitive physical exercise has long been recommended as a way to deal with excessive

stress levels.

• Individuals can teach themselves to reduce tension through relaxation techniques, such as,

meditation, hypnosis, and biofeedback.

• Having friends, family, or work colleagues to talk to provides an outlet for excessive stress.

2. Organizational approaches

• Strategies that management might want to consider include:

a. Improved personnel selection and job placement leading to right personjobfit thereby

reducing chances of nonperformance and stress level.

b. Use of realistic goal setting, redesigning of jobs can help in aligning the individuals and job

effectively and reduce stress.

c. Training in stress management techniques can be helpful.

d. Increased employee involvement improves motivation, morale, commitment, and leads to

better role integration and reduction in stress.

e. Improved organizational communication helps in creating transparency in organizations and

reduces confusion, thereby decreasing stress level at work.

f. Establishment of corporate wellness programs is an important component in managing

stress among organizational members by rejuvenating and refreshing them from time to

time leading to increased productivity with renewed energy.


1. ______________physical exercise has long been recommended as a way to deal with excessive

stress levels

2. Individuals can teach themselves to reduce tension through _____________ techniques, such

as, meditation.



3. Improved personnel selection and job placement leading to right ______________ thereby

reducing chances of nonperformance and stress level.

13.6 A Suggested Framework For Stress Management

As there is a positive side to stress and provides, drive, excitement and motivation for individuals to

push themselves to achieve more in their lives in the fulfillment of their set goals, there is no

requirement to eliminate stress form one’s life. Managing stress should be given importance rather

than elimination. The goal should be to find the optimal level of stress that can be handled effectively

by an individual which will motivate the person and not overwhelm and distress an individual.

How can one find out what is optimal stress for an individual?

There is no single level of stress that is optimal for all people. We are all motivated or distressed by

different levels of stimulations in a given situation. Age, mental strength, upbringing and cultural

factors can be important elements that my influence our abilities to handle stress. How much

resilience a person can exhibit while handling stressful situations would vary across individuals as

they are likely to differ in their physiological responses to it. Researches have shown the following

regarding our capabilities to handle stress:

1. The person who enjoys arbitrating disputes and moves from job site to job site would be stressed

in a job which was stable and routine, whereas the person who thrives under stable conditions

would very likely be stressed on a job where duties were highly varied.

2. Our personal stress requirements and the amount which we can handle before we succumb to

stress changes with age.

3. It has also been found that many illnesses are related to unrelieved stress. If one is experiencing

stress symptoms, one has gone beyond the optimal stress level; then it is necessary to reduce

the stress in the individual’s life and/or improve the ability to manage it.



How Can One Manage Stress Better?

Identifying unrelieved stress and being aware of its effect on an individual’s life is insufficient for

reducing its harmful effects. Just as there are many sources of stress, there are many possibilities for

its management. There are two choices in this regard either change the source of stress and /

change your reaction to it.

What is the path for doing so?

1. Become aware of the stressors and the emotional and physical reactions.

Notice what causes distress. Ignoring them is not a solution. Listing out all the events that cause

distress is important. What does an individual tell himself/ herself about the meaning of these

events? Determining how the body responds to the stress. Does the individual become nervous or

physically upset? If so, in what specific ways?

2. Recognizing what can be changed.

Is it possible to change the stressors by avoiding or eliminating them completely? Can their intensity

be reduced? Is it possible to shorten an individual’s exposure to stress? Can one devote the time and

energy necessary to make a change (for example, goal setting, time management techniques may

be used)?

3. Reduce the intensity of the emotional reactions to stress.

The stress reaction is triggered by our perception of danger: physical danger and/or emotional

danger. Are we viewing your stressors in exaggerated terms and/or taking a difficult situation and

making it a disaster? Are we trying to please everyone? Are we overreacting and viewing things as

absolutely critical and urgent? Do we feel you must always prevail in every situation? Work at

adopting more moderate views; try to see the stress as something you can cope with rather than

something that overpowers us is a solution for reducing stress, internally.



4. Learning to moderate our physical reactions to stress.

Slow, deep breathing will bring your heart rate and respiration back to normal. Relaxation techniques

can reduce muscle tension. Electronic biofeedback can help you gain voluntary control over such

things as muscle tension; heart rate, and blood pressure. Medications, when needed and prescribed

by a doctor can help in moderating the physical reactions. However, these alone cannot do the job.

Learning to moderate these reactions on our own is a desirable solution in the long run.

5. Build our physical reserves.

Exercising for cardiovascular fitness three to four times a week (moderate, prolonged rhythmic

exercise is best, such as walking, swimming, cycling, or jogging). Eating wellbalanced and nutritious

meals are a must. Maintaining the ideal weight is essential. Avoiding nicotine, excessive caffeine,

and other stimulants can be a great help in reducing stress. Mixing leisure with work and taking

breaks from routine work can relax and reduce stress in a person. Getting adequate sleep is of

utmost importance. Being consistent with the sleep schedule helps in reducing stress to a large

extent.

4. Maintaining our emotional reserves.

Developing some mutually supportive friendships and stable relationships help in sharing bottledup

emotions and reduce stress. Pursuing realistic goals which are meaningful to, rather than goals

others have for set for us which we do not identify with can help in reducing stress. Expecting some

frustrations, failures, and sorrows as apart of life can make us gear up mentally in handling stressful

situations rather than succumb to them.


1. The stress reaction is triggered by our __________________ of danger

2. Electronic biofeedback can help you gain __________________ control over such things as

muscle tension



13.7 Crisis Management

It Is the systematic attempt to avoid organizational crises or to manage those crises events that do

occur (Pearson & Clair, 1998). A crisis is a major, unpredictable event that threatens to harm an

organization and its stakeholders.

Three elements are common to most definitions of crisis: (a) a threat to the organization, (b) the

element of surprise, and (c) a short decision time (Seeger, Sellnow & Ulmer, 1998)

There are four types of organizational crises: Sudden Crises, such as fires, explosions, natural

disasters, workplace violence, etc; Smoldering Crises, problems or issues that start out small and

could be fixed or averted if someone was paying attention or recognized the potential for trouble;

Bizarre, like the finger in the Wendy's Restaurant Chili, a oneofakind crisis; and, Perceptual Crises,

such as the longrunning problem Proctor & Gamble used to have with their former corporate logo,

that included a halfmoon and stars, which critics would claim were symbols of devilworship, calling

for boycotts of P&G products. (Smith & Millar, 2002).

Irrespective of the size of an organization affected, the main benefits of crisis management would

encompass the following:

1. Ability to assess the situation from inside and outside the organization as all stakeholders might

perceive it.

2. Techniques to direct action(s) to contain the likely or perceived damage spread.

3. A more effective way to rapidly trigger that part or parts of business continuity management.

4. Better organizational resilience for all stakeholders.

5. Compliance with regulatory and ethical requirements, e.g. corporate social responsibility.

6. Much better management of serious incidents or any incident that could become serious.

7. Improved staff awareness of their roles and expectations within the organization.

8. Increased ability, confidence and morale within the organization.

9. Enhanced risk management insofar that obvious risks will be identified, mitigated (where possible)

and through crisis and business continuity management as prepared for.

10. Protected and often enhanced reputation a much reduced risk of post event litigation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_responsibility



An example of crisis management:

Bhopal: The Bhopal disaster in which poor communication before, during, and after the crisis cost

thousands of lives, is an apt example of the role of crosscultural communication in crisis

management plans. According to American University’s Trade Environmental Database Case

Studies (1997), local residents were not sure how to react to warnings of potential threats from the

Union Carbide plant. Operating manuals printed only in English is an extreme example of

mismanagement but indicative of systemic barriers to information diffusion. According to Union

Carbide’s own depiction of the incident (2006), a day after the crisis Union Carbide’s upper

management arrived in India but was unable to assist in the relief efforts because they were placed

under house arrest by the Indian government. Symbolic intervention can be counter productive; a

crisis management strategy can help top management in taking more calculated decisions in how

they should respond to disaster scenarios. The Bhopal incident illustrates the difficulty in consistently

applying management standards to multinational operations and the blame shifting that often results

from the lack of a clear management plan.


1. _________ elements are common to most definitions of crisis.

2. There are __________ types of organizational crises

13.8 Summary Stress has been defined as a physical, mental or emotional response to events which cause mental

or bodily tension. In the modern day life stress is a part and parcel of our lives. Stress can manifest

itself in a number of ways depending upon the suddenness of an even to be dealt with and types of

stressors to be handled by an individual. It may manifest itself either physically, emotionally and /

mentally, as certain symptoms. Stress may be classified into two types: positive stress (Eustress)

and negative stress (Distress). Moderate and manageable levels of stress for a reasonable period of

time can be handled by the body through mobilization of resources and is accompanied by positive

emotions, such as, enjoyment, satisfaction, excitement and so on. This beneficial element in stress

has been defined by Selye as Eustress (EU meaning – good). However, an overload of stress

resulting from a situation of either over arousal or under arousal for long periods of time causes the

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-cultural_communication



following: first an unpleasant feeling, followed by physical damage, fatigue and in extreme cases,

even death of an individual. This has been termed by Selye as distress (dys meaning – bad). While

environmental factors are forces outside the organization, which may act as potential sources of

stress due to uncertainties and threats that they create for any organization and its members, factors

within organization can also act as potential source of stress. Together or singly they may create a

tense and volatile working environment which can cause stress for organizational members because

the inability of individuals to handle the pressures arising out of these sources. Stress shows itself in

three ways—physiological, psychological, and behavioral symptoms. As there is a positive side to

stress and provides, drive, excitement and motivation for individuals to push themselves to achieve

more in their lives in the fulfillment of their set goals, there is no requirement to eliminate stress form

one’s life. Managing stress should be given importance rather than elimination. The goal should be to

find the optimal level of stress that can be handled effectively by an individual which will motivate the

person and not overwhelm and distress an individual. It is the systematic attempt to avoid

organizational crises or to manage those crises events that do occur. A crisis is a major,

unpredictable event that threatens to harm an organization and its stakeholders.

Terminal questions

1. Define stress. Explain various types of stress.

2. Describe the potential sources of stress.

3. What are the consequences of stress?

4. Discus the individual and organizational approaches to managing stress.

5. Discuss the various types of organizational crises


1. Sleeplessness

2. Eustress

3. Distress




1. Role ambiguity

2. Internal

3. Selfefficacy


1. Three

2. Job dissatisfaction


1. Noncompetitive

2. Relaxation

3. Personjobfit


1. Perception

2. Voluntary Self Assessment Questions 6

1. Three

2. Four







Organizational Change Unit 14


Unit 14 Organizational Change

Structure

14.1 Introduction

Objectives

14.2 Forces of changes


14.3 Resistance to change


14.4 Responses to change


14.5 Characteristics of organizational change


14.6 Theories of change


14.7 Strategies for change management


14.8 Toolkit for managing change


14.9 Summary

Terminal Questions


14.1 Introduction

Organizational change may be defined as the adoption of a new idea or a behavior by an

organization (Daft 1995). It is a way of altering an existing organization to increase organizational

effectiveness for achieving its objectives. Successful organizational change must continually focus on

making organizations responsive to major developments like changing customer preferences,

regulatory norms, economic shocks and technological innovations. Only those organizations that are



able to undertake suitable change programs, can sustain and survive in a changing and demanding

economic order in their bid to remain ahead of others in the race. Learning objectives:


1. Forces of changes

2. Resistance to Change

3. Theories of change

14.2 Forces Of Changes

Forces for change are of two types:

• Internal forces

• External forces.

Internal forces Change in the top management Change in the top management and consequent change in the

ideas to run the organization also leads to change in the system, structure and processes.

Change in size of the organization Change in the organization’s size leads to change in the internal

structure and complexity of the operations in the organization.

Performance gaps When a gap between set target and actual results (in terms of market share,

employee productivity and profit) is identified, organizations face the forces to change and reduce the

gap.

Employee needs and values With changing needs and values of the employees, organizations

change their policies. For example, attractive financial incentives, challenging assignments, vertical

growth opportunities and autonomy at work may be provided in an organization to attract and retain

its effective employees.



External forces

Technology Technological changes are responsible for changing the nature of the job performed at

all levels in an organization.

Business scenario Due to rapid changes in the business scenario with increasing competition and

global economy, the needs and demands are also changing among the customers, suppliers and

other stakeholders. Organizations are, therefore, forced to change their operational methods to meet

the demands of the stakeholders.

Environmental factors Environmental factors such as economic, political and demographic factors

play a vital role in devising organizational policies and strategy. For example, organizations may

have to change their employment policies in accordance with the government policy, demand of the

nongovernment organizations and changing economic conditions of a country.


1 Forces for change are of _____________ types.

2. Organizations are, therefore, forced to change their operational methods to meet the demands of

the _____________.

3. Environmental factors such as ___________, ______________, and _____________ factors play

a vital role in devising organizational policies and strategy

14.3 Resistance To Change

Resistance to change may be of two types:

• Individual resistance

• Organizational resistance.

Individual resistance



Change leads to insecurity among the employees because of its unknown consequences.

Employees do not know for certain whether the change will bring in better prospects. For example,

because of technological change people may feel threatened due to the fear of obsolescence of

skills, less wages and losing the job. Change sometimes leads to new dimensions of work

relationships. Due to organizational redesign, the employees may have to work with other set of

people than their existing coworkers with whom they have direct relationship, and it is generally not

welcome by most of the employees.

Organizational resistance

Change may bring some potential threat to the organizational power to some people. Therefore,

people try to resist change. The structural inertia in the bureaucratic organizations also hinders

change. Furthermore, resource constraints play a vital role in resistance to change.


1. Resistance to change may be of _________ types.

2. Change leads to _______________ among the employees because of its unknown

consequences.

3. Change may bring some potential _________to the organizational power to some people.

14.4 Responses To Change

The responses to change depend upon the employees’ perception about the change. Different

individuals differ in their attitudes and hence, the perceptions towards change. Therefore, one

important task of the management of an organization is to understand and create a positive attitude

among employees regarding change.



Reactions to Change

Three major reactions to change are:

Anger After employees have passed over the shock of the new situation, most people who view the

change as having a negative impact on their personal situation, many times, they will begin to blame

the management or talk ill about management. This agitation and anger, if not addressed, may lead

to some people actually trying to sabotage the change process by taking stances varying between

active noncooperation and passive resistance.

Denial Many people, depending on their basic values and beliefs, move from anger to acceptance.

However, there are a significant number of people who go through a denial phase. A person going

through this phase will make up excuses why he or she should not be held accountable for anything

that goes wrong with the organization as a result of the change. Such attempts to disassociate from

the new situation often cause the person to alienate oneself from the group.

Acceptance Once the person has accepted the change as real and that it is going to happen, he or

she begins to rationalize his or her role in the new situation. It is important to understand that not only

can an individual accept the situation and begin to work towards the new vision, but one can also

accept the situation as having a negative impact and choose to leave the organization. Either way,

the individual accepts the fact that the new environment exists.

Overcoming Resistance to Change

Some approaches can be taken to reduce the resistance to change. Some of them are listed

below (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn 2000):

Education and communication Open communication and proper education help employees to

understand the significance of change and its requirement. For that, proper initiative should be taken

to provide the information regarding the type, timing, implication, purpose and reason for change.



Employee participation and involvement People generally get more committed towards the change,

if they are directly involved in the change process. This way, they have the opportunity to clarify their

doubts and understand the perspective and requirement of change for the organization. The

management also gets the chance to identify the potential problems that may occur in the workplace

and the chance to prevent it.

Facilitation and support Change agent can offer a range of supportive measures to reduce

resistance. Empathetic and considerate listening can reduce employees’ fear and anxiety towards

change. Counselling sessions to reduce stress, trauma, etc., can be an effective measure.

Negotiation and agreement Organizations which have a fair chance to face potential resistance from

the union representatives, can defuse the resistance by involving them directly in the change

process. They should be properly briefed about the need and value of change. However, this can be

a costly proposition when there is more than one dominant union in the organization, as all the

contending parties would fight for power and recognition.


1. Many people, depending on their basic values and beliefs, move from anger to ___________.

2. ___________ and considerate listening can reduce employees’ fear and anxiety towards change

3. This can be a costly proposition when there is more than one _____________ union in the

organization, as all the contending parties would fight for power and recognition.

14.5 Characteristics Of Organizational Change

Characteristics:

• It is deliberate, systematic and well thought of.

• Velocity of change depends on the degree or level of significance.

• Status quo is challenged.

• Reaction can be both positive and negative.



• Focuses on longterm change.

The forces for change:

Organizationenvironment relationship (merger, strategic alliances, etc.) where organizations attempt

to redefine their relationships with changing social and political environment.

Organizational life cycle (changes in culture and structure of organization’s evolution from birth

through growth towards maturity).

Political nature of organization (changes in internal control structures, etc.) to deal with shifting

political current.


1. Organizational change focuses on ________ change.

2. In Organizationenvironment relationship, organizations attempt to redefine their relationships with

changing _________ and ____________ environment.

14.6 Theories Of Change

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.



Moving/changing 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 behavior. 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 daytoday routine of the organizations. Here, the desired outcomes

are positively reinforced and extra support is provided to overcome the difficulties.

Action research model

Action research model is another model of planned change. According to this model, planned change

is a cyclical process in which initial research about organizations provides the data to guide the

subsequent action to bring the required changes. It emphasizes on the significance of data collection

and diagnosis prior to action planning and implementation and careful evaluation of the actions. This

model describes change in eight steps:

Problem identification It starts with the identification of one or a combination of problems in the

organization and consequent requirement of bringing change in organizational practices.

Consultation with the expert It is the phase where the organization consults with the experts in the

same field to generate the ideas for improvement of the situation. At this stage an open and

collaborative atmosphere is intended to be set up.

Data gathering and preliminary diagnosis This stage is usually completed by the expert often with the

organizational members’ help. The four basic modes of data gathering are interview, process

observation, questionnaires and organizational performance data.



Feedback to key client or group Because action research is a collaborative activity, the diagnostic

data is fed back to the client usually with a group or work team meeting. The consultant provides the

client with all the necessary data.

Joint diagnosis of the problem At this point, the clients and the expert jointly decide whether they

want to work on the identified problems.

Joint action planning The consultant and the client then jointly decide on the further action. This is the

beginning of the movement process (refer to Lewin’s model). At this stage, specific actions are taken

depending on the culture, technology and the environment of the organization.

Action This stage involves actual change from one organizational state to another. It may

include new methods and procedures, reorganizing structures and work designs, and new

behaviors.

Data gathering after action Since action research is a cyclical process, data must also be gathered

after the action has taken place.

Dimensions of Planned Change

Though the models of change describe how to implement change, steps of planned change may be

implemented in a variety of ways, depending on the clients’ needs and goals, the change agents’

skills and values, and the organizational context. Planned change can be contrasted across

situations on two key dimensions: the magnitude of organizational change and the degree to which

the client system is organized (Cummings and Worley 1997).

Magnitude of change Planned change can range from incremental change, which involves minute alterations in the

operations, to quantum change i.e. fundamental change in organizational operations including

structure, culture, reward system, information processes, etc.



Degree of organization In highly mechanistic and bureaucratic organizational dimensions, structure, job design, leadership

styles, policies are too rigid and inflexible. In this type of organizations, communication is

suppressed, conflicts are avoided and employees are apathetic. In contrast, flexible organizations

have loose task definition, communication is fragmented and job responsibilities are ambiguous. In

bureaucratic organizations, change through loosening the control on behaviour is attempted.


1. Lewin (1951) proposed a ___________ step sequential model of change process.

2. Action research model is another model of __________ change.

3. Planned change can range from ____________ change to _________ change.

14.7 Strategies For Change Management

According to Bennis, Benne and Chin (1969), four basic strategies can be adopted to manage

change:

EmpiricalRational People are rational and will follow their selfinterest once a change is revealed to them. Change is

based on the communication of information and the proffering of incentives.

NormativeReeducative People are social beings and adhere to cultural norms and values. Change is based on redefining

and reinterpreting existing norms and values, and developing people’s commitments to new ones.

PowerCoercive People are basically compliant and will generally do what they are told or can be made to do.

Change is based on the exercise of authority and the imposition of sanctions. According to Nicklos

(2004), there can be a fourth strategy in adapting to changes, i.e. environmentaladaptive.



EnvironmentalAdaptive People oppose loss and disruption, but they adapt readily to new circumstances. Change is based on

building a new organization and gradually transferring people from the old one to the new one.


1. According to Bennis, Benne and Chin, _______ basic strategies can be adopted to manage

change:

2.According to Nicklos (2004), there can be a ________ strategy in adapting to changes, i.e.

environmentaladaptive.

14.8 Toolkit For Managing Change

According to Nicklos (2004), some of the factors to select an effective change strategy and some tips

to manage change are described as follows.

Generally, there is no single change strategy. One can adopt a general or what is called a ‘grand

strategy’ but for any given initiative some mix of strategies serves best. Which of the preceding

strategies to use in your mix of strategies is a decision affected by a number of factors. Some of the

more important ones are:

Degree of resistance Strong resistance argues for a coupling of powercoercive and environmental

adaptive strategies. Weak resistance or concurrence argues for a combination of empiricalrational

and normativereeducative strategies.

Target population Large populations argue for a mix of all four strategies.

The stakes High stakes also argue for a mix of all four strategies because when the stakes are

high, nothing can be left to chance.

The time frame Short time frames argue for a powercoercive strategy. Longer time frames argue for

a mix of empiricalrational, normativereeducative and environmentaladaptive strategy.



Expertise Having adequate expertise at making change argues for some mix of the strategies

outlined above. Not having the expertise argues for reliance on the powercoercive strategy.

Dependency This is a classic doubleedged sword. If the organization is dependent on its people,

management’s ability to command or demand is limited. Conversely, if people are dependent upon

the organization, their ability to oppose or resist is limited. (Mutual dependency almost always signals

a requirement for some level of negotiation).


1. ______________resistance argues for a coupling of powercoercive and environmentaladaptive

strategies.

2. _________________ populations argue for a mix of all four strategies.

3. Short time frames argue for a _____________strategy.

14.9 Summary Organizational change may be defined as the adoption of a new idea or a behavior by an

organization. It is a way of altering an existing organization to increase organizational effectiveness

for achieving its objectives. Forces for change are of two types: Internal forces and external forces.

Internal forces are: change in the top management, change in size of the organization, performance

gaps and employee needs and values. External forces are technology, business scenario, and

environmental factors. Resistance to change may be of two types: Individual resistance and

Organizational resistance. Change leads to insecurity among the employees because of its unknown

consequences. Employees do not know for certain whether the change will bring in better prospects.

This results into individual resistance. Change may bring some potential threat to the organizational

power to some people. This leads to organizational resistance. The responses to change depend

upon the employees’ perception about the change. Different individuals differ in their attitudes and

hence, the perceptions towards change. Three major reactions to change are: Anger, Denial and

Acceptance. Some approaches can be taken to reduce the resistance to change, such as, Education

and communication, Employee participation and involvement, Facilitation and support, and

Negotiation and agreement. Organizational change is deliberate, systematic and well thought of.

Velocity of change depends on the degree or level of significance and the status quo in the



organization is challenged with a longterm focus. Two major theories of change are (i) Force field

analysis theory and (ii) Action Research Model. Lewin proposed a three steps sequence of

“unfreezing, moving and refreezing” as the change process in Force Field Analysis Theory.

According to Action Research Model, planned change is a cyclical process in which initial research

about organizations provides the data to guide the subsequent action to bring the required changes

in eight steps.

Terminal questions 1. What are the forces of change? Explain.

2. Explain the different types of resistance to change.

3. Describe the force field analysis model and action research model.

4. Based on the toolkit forwarded by Nicklos stated in this chapter, explain how one can manage

change.


1 Two

2. Stakeholders

3. Economic, political and demographic


1. Two

2. Insecurity

3. Threat


1. Acceptance.

2.Empathetic

3. Dominant Self Assessment Questions 4

1. Longterm

2. Social and political




1. Three

2. Planned

3. Incremental, quantum


1. Four

2. Fourth


1.Strong

2.Large

3. Powercoercive

Answer to Terminal Questions 1. Refer to section 14.2




Organization Development Unit 15


Unit 15 Organization Development

Structure

15.1 Introduction

Objectives

15.2 Characteristics of Organization development


15.3 History of organization development


15.4 Process of organization development


15.5 OD interventions


15.6 Summary

Terminal Questions


15.1 Introduction

Organization development (OD) is a planned approach to improve employee and organizational

effectiveness by conscious interventions in those processes and structures that have an immediate

bearing on the human aspect of the organization (Ramanarayan, Rao, and Singh 1998). OD is an

organizationwide planned effort, managed from the top, to increase organizational effectiveness and

health through planned interventions in the organizational processes, using behavioural science

knowledge. In the initial phase of the development of OD, primary focus was on human as well as the

process aspect of the organizations with a view to improve trust, communication, teamwork and

interpersonal relationship (Friedlander and Brown 1974).





1. Characteristics of Organization development

2. History of organization development

3. OD interventions

15.2 Characteristics Of Organization Development

A number of special characteristics together distinguish organizational development from other

approaches to managing and improving organizational function.

Behavioural science base It is primarily concerned with improving the organization by focusing on aspects that have a bearing

on human and social improvement. Its principles have been drawn largely from the field of

organizational behavior and social sciences.

Normative approach to organizational change OD is a normative process grounded in valueladen assumption of what constitutes ideal individual

and organizational growth. Development for the OD practitioners means the movement of individuals

and organizations in certain directions consistent with democratic and humanistic values and ideals

such as autonomy, selfactualization, etc.

Deliberate intervention in the organization OD implies deliberate intervention in the ongoing processes of an organization. While all the social

systems, in the ordinary course of events, tend to grow in predictable patterns, they may fail to

optimize their capabilities due to an inability to recognize their potential or to anticipate and effectively

cope with internal and external crisis. Development implies planning and action to ensure that growth

takes place consistent with values.



Normative deductive strategy – It is based on the assumptions that the social norms are one of the strong reinforcers of behaviour

(Chin and Benne 1976). The culture of the organization is affected by those norms and hence, to

change the existing organizational culture prevalent norms have to be reduced, modified and

replaced by more effective ones. This approach talks about the change in the organization, which

looks forward to a longterm improvement through internalization of new norms of behavior.

Systems approach to change

Leavitt (1972) has viewed an organization as a social system consisting of different subsystems

such as task, structure, technology and human resource, interlinked by various processes. Any

change in one part or process has implications for other parts or processes relevant to the system.

OD techniques are used to change or modify the processes to change the system consequently.

Using actionresearch model – Actionresearch model is a “data based, problem solving model that replicated the steps involved in

the scientific method of inquiry” (French and Bell 1991). OD, using this model, involves a systematic

process of diagonising organizational problems through data collection and analysis, feeding the data

back to the organizational client group, discussing the findings, planning collaborative action and

implementing proposed solutions.

Use of external consultant Here, the assumption in OD is that the presence of a qualified behavioural scientist as an external

consultant can help the process of OD in the following manner:

• The specialized knowledge of that consultant becomes available to the organization.

• The consultant, as a neutral outsider, is likely to face lesser resistance during the process of

change.

• He is less likely to have a personal stake in implementation of proposed change.




1. OD implies ____________________ intervention in the ongoing processes of an organization

2. It is based on the assumptions that the social norms are one of the strong ________________ of behaviour

3. Leavitt (1972) has viewed an organization as a ___________system

15.3 History Of Organization Development The concept of OD has emerged from four stems. They are described below:

Laboratory training background

This is popularly known as Tgroup or Sensitivity Training conducted in the National Training

Laboratory (NTL). Kurt Lewin was the pioneer of this research. In this training, a small unstructured

group of participants, unknown to each other, learnt about issues such as interpersonal relations,

personal growth, leadership and group dynamics from their own interactions. The experiment

concluded:

• Feedback about group interaction was a rich learning experience.

• The process of groupbuilding had potential for learning that could be transferred to backhome

situation.

Actionresearch/surveyfeedback background It was observed that a collaborative effort between the organizational members and the scientists

was required to gather data about an organization’s functioning to analyze the causes of problems,

and to devise and implement solutions. Further work in this area was conducted by Likert (1967) and

Mann (1962). Data was required to assess the degree of effectiveness of those solutions. This

approach, today, is as one of the most important methods for OD interventions in organizations.

Participative management background



Following the beliefs proposed by the two stems discussed earlier, Likert (1967) proposed another

framework to enhance organizational effectiveness. This framework proposed organizations as

having one of the four types of management systems:

• Exploitive authoritative system (system 1) which exhibits an autocratic topdown approach to

leadership.

• Benevolent authoritative system (system 2) which is more paternalistic than system 1.

• Consultative system (system 3) which is characterized by increased employee interaction, open

communication and decisionmaking.

• Participative group (system 4) which nurtures high degree of employee involvement, participation

and open work culture.

Using system management, through a surveyfeedback process, Likert experimented with several

interventions. The open culture and employee involvement facilitated the implementation process of

the solutions provided for the problems.

Quality of work life (QWL) background Based on the research of Eric Trist et al. at the Tavistcock Institute of Human Relations in London,

this approach looked both at technical and human sides of organizations and how they are

interrelated. QWL programs, in general, require joint participation by union and management in the

process of workdesigning, which consequently result into high level of task variety, appropriate

feedback and employee discretion. The most distinguishing feature of QWL program is the

development of selfmanaging work groups which consist of multiskilled workers.


1. Laboratory training is popularly known as __________ training.

2. Exploitive authoritative system exhibits an autocratic ______________ approach to leadership.

3. The most distinguishing feature of QWL program is the development of __________________

work groups which consist of multiskilled workers.



15.4 Process Of Organization Development

A typical OD process can be divided into the following phases:

Problem identification: The first step in OD process involves understanding and identification of the

existing and potential problems in the organization. The awareness of the problem includes

knowledge of the possible organizational problems of growth, human satisfaction, the usage of

human resource and organizational effectiveness.

Data collection: Having understood the exact problem in this phase, the relevant data is collected

through personal interviews, observations and questionnaires.

Diagnosis: OD efforts begin with diagnosis of the current situation. Usually, it is not limited to a single

problem. Rather a number of factors like attitudes, assumptions, available resources and

management practice are taken into account in this phase. According to Rao and Hari Krishna

(2002), four steps in organizational diagnosis can be identified:

Structural analysis: Determines how the different parts of the organization are functioning in terms of

laid down goals.

Processes analysis: Process implies the manner in which events take place in a sequence. It refers

to the pattern of decisionmaking, communication, group dynamics and conflict management patterns

within organizations to help in the process of attainment of organizational goals.

Function analysis: This includes strategic variables, performance variables, results, achievements

and final outcomes.

Domain analysis: Domain refers to the area of the organization for organizational diagnosis.

Planning and implementation: After diagnosing the problem, the next phase of OD, with the OD

interventions, involves the planning and implementation part of the change process.



Evaluation and feedback: Any OD activity is incomplete without proper feedback. Feedback is a

process of relaying evaluations to the client group by means of specific report or interaction.


1. The __________ step in OD process involves understanding and identification of the existing and potential problems in the organization.

2. Any OD activity is incomplete without proper _____________.

15.5 OD Interventions

OD intervention refers to an activity that is carried on in an organization with the help of an internal or

external OD consultant for achieving a given goal or objective (Prasad 1970). Broadly, OD

interventions can be categorized as under:

• Human process interventions

• Technostructural interventions

• Human resource interventions

• Strategic interventions

Human Process Interventions

These interventions are aimed at the social processes occurring within organizations. Some of the

important human process interventions are discussed below.

Tgroups Tgroups are designed to provide members with experiential learning about group dynamics,

leadership and interpersonal relationships. The basic Tgroup training or sensitivity training is to

change the standards, attitudes and behavior of individuals by using psychological techniques and

programs. Sensitivity training involves group confession where the individual’s problems become the

problems of the group, which in turn tries to find a solution. After critiquing others and being critiqued,

doubt is introduced into the mind of each individual as to whose standards are really proper. The

objectives of Tgroup training are:



• Increased understanding, insight and selfawareness about one’s own and others’ behavior and

its impact on self and others.

• Better understanding about the group and intergroup processes (facilitating and inhibiting group

function).

• Increased diagnostic skills.

• Increased ability to transfer learning into action.

Process consultation It has been defined as a set of activities on the part of the consultant that helped the client to

perceive, understand and act upon the process of events that occur in the client’s environment in

order to improve the situation as defined by the client (Schein 1987: 11).

It deals primarily with five important group processes:

• Communication.

• The functional roles of group members.

• The ways in which the group solves problems and makes decisions.

• The development and growth of group norms.

• The use of leadership and authority.

Third party interventions It focuses on interpersonal or intergroup conflicts. Conflicts can arise from two sources:

• Substantive issues like work methods, pay rates and conditions of employment.

• Interpersonal issues such as differences in personality, task orientations, perceptions among

group members, completion over scarce resources.

Team building It is an effective approach to develop and nurture a team culture in an organization, which helps the

group members to enhance their interpersonal and problemsolving skills. It also helps group

members to develop a higher level of motivation to carry out the group decisions by overcoming

specific problems like apathy, general lack of interest among members, loss of productivity,

increasing complaints within the group, confusion about assignments, low participation in meetings,

lack of innovation and initiation, increasing complaints from those outside the group about the quality,



timeliness, effectiveness of services and products, etc. This intervention can be used for the following

types of teams:

• Groups reporting to the same supervisor, manager/executive.

• Groups involving people with common organizational goals.

• Temporary group formed to perform a specific, onetime task.

• Groups consisting of people whose work roles are interdependent.

• Groups whose members have no formal links in the organization, but whose collective purpose is

to achieve task they can achieve as individuals.

Depending on the types of teams, there are a number of factors that affect the outcome of

a specific teambuilding activity:

• The length of time allocated to the activity.

• The team’s willingness to look at the way in which it operates.

• The length of time the team has been working together.

• The permanence of the teams.

Technostructural Interventions

Due to increasing global competition and rapid technological and environmental changes, the

organizations are forced to move away traditional bureaucratic structures (functional, self contained

and matrix structure) to more flexible structures (processbased and networkbased structures). This

involves streamlining of workflows through structural adjustments by breaking down functional

barriers. In this context, the technostructural interventions help the organizations in structural

redesigning aiming at reorganizing organizational structure, the alternative methods of organizing

work activities and integrating people in a better way.

Human Resource Interventions

These are concerned with methods of managing people in a more effective and efficient way while

ushering in the change process in an organization. These interventions are traditionally associated

with the human resource management function and are increasingly becoming an integral part of the

change management activities, for example, dealing with setting performance goals for groups and



individuals, performance appraisal and reward management. Activities such as career planning,

managing workforce diversity, managing employee wellness also come under this category.

Strategic Interventions

These interventions focus on organizing the resources of the organization to gain a competitive edge

in the market. These generally adopt the topdown management of change approach and require a

thorough and indepth environmental scanning and awareness. The basic philosophy of this

approach lies in developing core competencies or getting access to larger market share and

technology, hitherto absent in the organization, through alliances with other organizations possessing

the same. On the other hand, interventions such as organizational culture change programme and

organizational learning helps organizations to gain the internal capacity to institute their change

management process successfully through continuous awareness, selfrenewal and learning. Thus,

the thrust in this process is mainly on identifying the external sources of change and developing

internal capabilities to address them.

Abad Ahmed (1972) has proposed six steps in an OD process:

1. Motivation for change The motivation for change emerges from pressures, external or internal, felt by the top management

or the new strategic decisions of top management.

2. Data collection, problem identification and diagnosis Throughout the OD programme, especially at the outset, these activities should be acted upon

through interviews, surveys and meetings. Both, top management, other organizational members

and OD specialist take active part in these activities.

3. Planning strategy for change At this stage, the diagnosis of problem is transformed into a proper action plan. Specific goals are set

and the specific approaches for attaining these goals are also specified sequentially.



4. Intervening in the system

It aims to resolve difficulties, remove hurdles and give momentum to increase the effectiveness of the

organization (Dwivedi 2001). Here the OD specialists, and/or the top management take active part in

the process. Some examples of these interventions are: job enlargement, process consultation and

other laboratory methods, which have been discussed earlier in this chapter.

5. Reinforcement and followup A possibility of regression to the earlier behavioural pattern does exist if adequate care is not taken to

adapt mechanisms for reinforcement and followup of the planned change. Establishing task force,

project teams and temporary systems in the organization can be created to perform the responsibility

to implement and monitor the plans defined in the OD programme.

6. Monitoring and evaluation A need for careful monitoring to get feedback regarding the effectiveness of the OD programme is

always felt. In this respect, appraisal of the change efforts, comparative analysis of control groups,

pre and postintervention assessments are some of the methods to get the feedback in this regard.

Role of OD Consultant According to Maheswari (1979), the role of an OD consultant is of a guru (teacher) who needs to

possess the knowledge, wisdom and sensitivity visàvis the problems of an organization. On the

basis of his wisdom, he may advise the client (organization) to implement certain changes. However,

it has to be remembered that effective implementation of the advices are sole responsibility of the

client. The consultant intends to advise the client to take appropriate actions, convinces the client for

the required changes and helps it to modify the mindset. OD consultants, in Indian organizations,

generally face the following difficulties (Dwivedi 2001):

The perception of the entrepreneurs about OD The owners of the organization, in India, feel

threatened that their power would be reduced if the OD interventions are applied, and it would be

difficult to discipline people. They also feel uncomfortable in discussing about their operational

methods with their managers or consultants. Moreover, they generally do not trust consultants fully.



Role of the OD consultants There is confusion about the role of the OD consultant. It is commonly

believed that the role of the OD consultant is to diagnose all organizational problems, suggest proper

solutions, put these all in a report and leave it to the anagement to take actions on it.


1. Tgroups are designed to provide members with _________ learning about group dynamics.

2. Abad Ahmed has proposed ___________ steps in an OD process.

15. 6 Summary

Organization development (OD) is a planned approach to improve employee and organizational

effectiveness by conscious interventions in those processes and structures that have an immediate

bearing on the human aspect of the organization (Ramanarayan, Rao, and Singh 1998). OD is an

organizationwide planned effort, managed from the top, to increase organizational effectiveness and

health through planned interventions in the organizational processes, using behavioral science

knowledge. A number of special characteristics together distinguish organizational development from

other approaches to managing and improving organizational function. Behavioral science base

approach is primarily concerned with improving the organization by focusing on aspects that have a

bearing on human and social improvement. Normative approach to organizational change is a

normative process grounded in valueladen assumption of what constitutes ideal individual and

organizational growth. Deliberate intervention in the organization implies deliberate intervention in

the ongoing processes of an organization. Normative deductive strategy is based on the assumptions

that the social norms are one of the strong reinforcers of behavior. Leavitt (1972) has viewed an

organization as a social system consisting of different subsystems such as task, structure,

technology and human resource, interlinked by various processes. Any change in one part or

process has implications for other parts or processes relevant to the system. Actionresearch model

is a “data based, problem solving model that replicated the steps involved in the scientific method of

inquiry” (French and Bell 1991). OD, using this model, involves a systematic process of diagonising

organizational problems through data collection and analysis, feeding the data back to the

organizational client group, discussing the findings, planning collaborative action and implementing

proposed solutions. The concept of OD has emerged from four stems: (i) Laboratory training



background, (ii) Actionresearch/surveyfeedback background, (iii) Participative management, and

(iv) Quality of work life (QWL) approach. A typical OD process can be divided into phases, such as,

Problem identification, Data collection, Diagnosis, Structural analysis, Processes analysis, Function

analysis, Domain analysis, Planning and implementation, and Evaluation and feedback. Broadly, OD

interventions can be categorized as Human process interventions, Technostructural interventions,

Human resource interventions, and Strategic interventions. Effective implementations of the advices

are sole responsibility of the client. The consultant intends to advise the client to take appropriate

actions, convinces the client for the required changes and helps it to modify the mindset. OD

consultants, in Indian organizations, generally face the following difficulties (Dwivedi 2001).

Terminal Questions

1. What is OD? Discuss the characteristics of OD.

2. What do you mean by Tgroup training? Briefly explain Likert’s framework.

3. Describe a typical OD process.


1. Deliberate

2. Reinforcers

3. Social


1. Tgroup

2. Topdown

3. Selfmanaging


1. First

2. Feedback




1. Experiential

2. Six





mb0022 - management process and organization behavior

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