ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

PROJECT SUBMITTED TO PROF. ANUBHA WALIA

GEET SHARMA9/30/2013

CONTENTS:-

1:- ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

2:- MOTIVATION

3:- LEARNING & RE-ENFORCEMENT

4:- STRESS MANAGEMENT

5:- PERCEPTION

6:- TEAM WORK & GROUP DYANMICS

7:- COMMUNICATION

8:- PERSONALITY

9:- LEADERSHIP

!0:- CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION

11:- ATTITUDE AND VALUE

!2:- INTER AND INTRA PERSONAL

TOPIC -1

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Meaning of organisational behaviour:-

It is the study of human behaviour, attitudes and performance in an organisation. It is the study of what people think, feel and do, in and around organisation.

The Classical Era (1880 – 1930):-

The classical management era lasted from about 1880 to 1930. During this time the general theories of management began to evolve. They are as follows:

1) Administrative Theory:

It is also called the universal process school of management. This theory was given by HENRY FAYOL in the year 1916. Fayol a French industrialist divided the manager’s job into 5 functions: planning, organising, command, coordination and control. He then gave 14 universal principal of management. They are as follows-

1. Division of Work- Specialization allows the individual to build up experience, and to continuously improve his skills. Thereby he can be more productive.

2. Authority- The right to issue commands, along with which must go the balanced responsibility for its

function.

3. Discipline- Employees must obey, but this is two-sided: employees will only obey orders if management play their part by providing good leadership.

4. Unity of Command- Each worker should have only one boss with no other conflicting lines of command.

5. Unity of Direction- People engaged in the same kind of activities must have the same objectives in a single plan. This is essential to ensure unity and coordination in the enterprise. Unity of command does not exist without unity of direction but does not necessarily flows from it.

6. Subordination of individual interest (to the general interest) - Management must see that the goals of the firms are always paramount.

7. Remuneration- Payment is an important motivator although by analysing a number of possibilities, Fayol points out that there is no such thing as a perfect system.

8. Centralization (or Decentralization) - This is a matter of degree depending on the condition of the business and the quality of its personnel.

9. Scalar chain (Line of Authority) - A hierarchy is necessary for unity of direction. But lateral communication is also fundamental, as long as superiors know that such communication is taking place. Scalar chain refers to the number of levels in the hierarchy from the ultimate authority to the lowest level in the organization. It should not be over-stretched and consist of too-many levels.

10. Order - Both material order and social order are necessary. The former minimizes lost time and useless handling of materials. The latter is achieved through organization and selection.

11. Equity- In running a business a ‘combination of kindliness and justice’ is needed. Treating employees well is important to achieve equity.

12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel- Employees work better if job security and career progress are assured to them. An insecure tenure and a high rate of employee turnover will affect the organization adversely.

13. Initiative- Allowing all personnel to show their initiative in some way is a source of strength for the organization. Even though it may well involve a sacrifice of ‘personal vanity’ on the part of many managers.

14. Esprit de Corps- Management must foster the morale of its employees. He further suggests that: “real talent is needed to coordinate effort, encourage keenness, use each person’s abilities, and reward each one’s merit without arousing possible jealousies and disturbing harmonious relations.”

2) Scientific Management Theory:

This theory was given by FREDRICK TAYLOR in 1911. It means management that conducts business or affairs by standards established by facts or truths gained through systematic observation, experiments or reasoning. Taylor was known as the “Father of Scientific Management”. Taylor devised four principles for scientific management theory, which were:

1. The development of a true science of management,

2. The scientific selection and training of workers,

3. Proper remuneration for fast and high-quality work

4. Equal division of work and responsibility between worker and manager.

3) Bureaucracy Theory:

Max Weber a German sociologist propounded the theory called principle of bureaucracy – a theory related to authority structure and relations in the 19th century. According to him, bureaucracy is the formal system of organization and administration designed to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. He suggested an ideal model for management as bureaucratic approach. He, in the book the theory of social and economic organizations, explained the basic principles of bureaucracy. He gave emphasis on division of labour, hierarchy, detailed rules and impersonal relations.

Principles of Bureaucratic Theory:

1) Job specialization: - Jobs are divided into simple, routine and fixed category based on competence and functional specialization.

 2) Authority hierarchy: - Officers are organized in a hierarchy in which higher officer controls lower position holders i.e. superior controls subordinates and their performance of subordinates and lower staff could be controlled.

 3) Formal selection: - All organizational members are to be selected on the basis of technical qualifications and competence demonstrated by training, education or formal examination.

 4) F ormal rules and regulations : - To ensure uniformity and to regulate actions employees, managers must depend heavily upon formal organizational rules and regulations. Thus, rules of law lead to impersonality in interpersonal relations.

 5) Impersonality: - Rules and controls are applied uniformly, avoiding involvement with personalities and preferences of employees. Nepotism and favouritism are not preferred.

 6) Career orientation: - Career building opportunity is offered highly. Lifelong employment and adequate protection of individuals against arbitrary dismissal is guaranteed. Here managers are professional officials rather than owners units they manage. They work for a fixed salaries and pursue their career within the organization.

The Behavioural Era (1930 – 1960):-

A unique combination of factors fostered the emergence of the behavioural era during the 1930’s. The first was that the management began looking for new ways of handling employees. Second was, the behavioural scientists conducting on-the-job research started calling for more attention to the “human” factor. And under this one study took place named as:

1) Hawthorne Legacy Theory:

The Hawthorne effect is a psychological phenomenon in which participants in behavioural studies change their behaviour or performance in response to being observed by the individual conducting the study. In the workplace, the Hawthorne effect can explain how the more attention an employee receives from managers, co-workers and customers, the higher the level of effort and employee productivity. Essentially, productivity increases when employees think that they are being watched or observed closely.

The term 'Hawthorne effect' was derived from the location where the phenomenon was first witnessed during a series of experiments designed to find ways to increase worker productivity. The Hawthorne

experiments consisted of two studies: one on lighting levels at Western Electric Company's Hawthorne Works and the other on offering special privileges to five bank workers. What was not blatantly obvious at the time soon became a staple of behavioural management theory. That is, it is important to consider the social and human relations needs of workers. Such needs have a direct effect on employee performance and levels of productivity.

The Modern Era (1960 onwards):-

This era was started from 1960 onwards. Here new theories came into existence due to changes in the environment and the organisation. The theories are as follows:

1) Theory X:

Douglas McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous X-Y theory in his 1960 book 'The Human Side of Enterprise'. Theory X and theory Y are still referred to commonly in the field of management and motivation.

Theory X is also known as an “authoritarian management style”, which states that:

The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can.

Therefore most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards organisational objectives.

The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambitious, and wants security above all else.

2) Theory Y:

Douglas McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous X-Y theory in his 1960 book 'The Human Side of Enterprise'. Theory X and theory Y are still referred to commonly in the field of management and motivation.

Theory Y is also known as “participative management style”, which states that:

Effort in work is as natural as work and play.

People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organisational objectives, without external control or the threat of punishment.

Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their achievement.

People usually accept and often seek responsibility.

The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.

In industry the intellectual potential of the average person is only partly utilised.

 3) Contingency Theory:

According to the pair of contingency theorists (Tosi Jr and Slocum Jr 1984), contingency theories developed and their acceptance grew because they respond to criticisms that the classical theorists advocated “one best way” of organising and managing.

Contingency theories propose that the appropriate organisational structure and management styles are dependent upon a set of “contingency” factors, usually the uncertainty and instability of the environment.

The contingency approach encourages managers to view organisational behaviour within a situational context.

Organisational behaviour scholars should embrace the contingency approach because it helps them realistically interrelate individuals, groups and organisations.

4) System Theory – I/P PROCESS O/P:

The systems framework is also fundamental to organizational theory as organisations are complex dynamic goal-oriented processes. One of the early thinkers in the field was Alexander Bogdanva who developed his Tectology, a theory widely considered a precursor of Bertalanffy’s General Systems Theory, aiming to model and design human organizations. Kurt Lewin was particularly influential in developing the systems perspective within organizational theory and coined the term "systems of ideology", from his frustration with behavioural psychologies that became an obstacle to sustainable work in psychology. The complexity theory perspective on organizations is another systems view of organizations. German sociologist Nikolas Luhmann (1927 - 1998) developed a sociological system theory and describes organisations-alongside interactions and society - as one of three main entities.

The systems approach to organizations relies heavily upon achieving negative entropy through openness and feedback. A systemic view on organizations is Trans disciplinary and integrative. In other words, it transcends the perspectives of individual disciplines, integrating them on the basis of a common "code", or more exactly, on the basis of the formal apparatus provided by systems theory. The systems approach gives primacy to the interrelationships, not to the elements of the system. It is from these dynamic interrelationships that new properties of the system emerge.

EMERGING ISSUES IN ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR:-

1. GLOBALIZATION:

It is a process of increasing the connectivity and interdependence of the world’s markets and businesses.

It is a continuous process of ensuring that every aspect of production builds quality into the product.

b) JUST-IN-TIME (JIT):

Just- in- time inventory system is designed to minimize the storage and the holding costs by ensuring the timely delivery of materials and supplies whenever needed.

2. DIVERSITY:

Diversity can be defined as a mixture of people who vary by age, gender, race, religion and / or lifestyle. Some of the challenges that the organisation face with the diverse workforce are;

a) Language differences

b) National ethnic grouping

c) Attitude and cultural differences

ETHICS:

Ethics refers to the study of moral principles or values that determine whether actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad.

CODE OF ETHICS:

Code of ethics is a document describing what the organisation stands for and the general rules of conducts expected of employees.

ETHICS AUDIT:

An ethics audit involves actively investigating and documenting incidents of dubious ethical value.

DOWNSIZING:

It is the process reducing the number of employees needed to operate effectively in an organisation.

RIGHTSIZING:

It is a process that is directed at adjusting the number of employees needed to work in a newly designed organisation.

OUTSOURCING:

It is the process of eliminating those parts of organisations that focus on non-core sections of business and hiring outside firms to perform these functions instead.

VIRTUAL ORGANISATION:

A virtual corporation is a highly flexible, temporary organisation formed by a group of companies that join forces to exploit a specific opportunity.

TELECOMMUTING:

It is the practice of using communications technology to enable work to be performed from remote locations, such as home.

BENCHMARKING:

Benchmarking involves comparing one’s own products or services with the best from other firms so as to improve quality.

QUALITY CONTROL AUDIT:

Quality control audit is conducted to ensure the meeting of quality standards in the organisation.

RE-ENGINEERING:

It is defined as the fundamental re-thinking and radical redesigning of business processes to achieve drastic improvement in performance.

LEARNING ORGANISATION:

Learning organisation is a place where new patterns of thinking are nurtured and people are continually learning how to learn together.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS:-

Skills are abilities related to performance that can be learned. It is divided into 4 parts:

1. Technical Skills – It involves the ability to apply specific methods, procedures and techniques in a specialized field.

2. Interpersonal Skills – It include the ability to lead, motivate, manage conflict, conduct group meetings and work with others.

3. Conceptual Skills – It involves viewing the organisation as a whole and applying planning and thinking abilities.

4. Communication Skills – It involve the ability to send and receive information and to convey and understand thoughts, feelings and attitudes.

MANAGERIAL ROLES:-

To do the job effectively, managers need to perform certain roles in the organisations. Roles can be defined as a set of behaviours associated with a particular job in an organisation. According to HENRY MINTZBERG, there are 10 different managerial roles. And these 10 roles fall into 3 major categories:

(A) INTERPERSONAL ROLES – It refers relationships with others and flow directly from a manager’s formal authority. It has 3 sub divisions:

1. Figurehead role – performing ceremonial duties.

2. Leader role – hiring, training and motivating subordinates.

3. Liaison role – making contacts with the outside world for the benefit of the organisation.

(B) INFORMATIONAL ROLES – Through their informational roles, managers build a network of contacts. It has 3 sub divisions:

1. Monitor – scanning environment for relevant information, receiving unsolicited information.

2. Disseminator – passing along selected privileged information to subordinates.

3. Spokesperson – transmitting selected information to people.

(C) DECISIONAL ROLES – In their decisional roles, managers commit the organisation to future courses of action. It has 4 sub divisions:

1. Entrepreneur – formulating and introducing changes, initiating new objects.

2. Disturbance handler – responding involuntarily top pressure non-routine situations.

3. Resource allocator – determining who will get what resources.

4. Negotiator – participating in negotiating sessions with other parties.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR FRAMEWORK:-

The framework for understanding the behaviour of employees in organisations consists of 5 basic components:

1. The environment

2. Individual processes – It comprises of the following:

Personality

Perception

Values and attitudes

Learning and reinforcement

Work motivation

Work stress

3. Interpersonal and group processes – It comprises of the following:

Dynamics within teams Dynamics between teams Leadership

Interpersonal communication Leadership and negotiation

4. Organizational processes – It comprises of the following:

Organizational cultures Power and political behaviour Job design Organizational design Decision making

5. Change processes – It comprises of the following:

Nature of planned organizational change Approach to planned organizational change

All of the above 5 components are interrelated with each other, that shows the behaviour of employees in an organization.

TOPIC -2

MOTIVTIONAL THEORY

Motivation is defined as individual’s intention or willingness to put maximum effort in his/her work to reach organizational goals and enhance one’s ability to satisfy some individual needs. The cyclic process of motivation starts from unsatisfied needs TensionDrivesSearch BehaviorSatisfied Needto end with Reduced Tension. There are three major elements related to motivation: Effort, Goals and Needs.

Effort: It refers to an individual’s intensity in reaching the stated goal. The intensity varies from Individual to individual and also depends upon the extent to which individual assigns Importance to various goals. If these efforts are channeled in proper direction consistent With organizational goals, the organization will maximize its profit and reach a state of Excellence in their field.

Need: It refers to some internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive. It is also a State of deficiency and the organism tries to restore this deficiency to make it as Equilibrium. An unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within an Individual. These drives direct the individual in different directions or searching in different places to find a particular goal, If the goal is attained the organism will satisfythe need and reduce the tension.

Goals: Human behavior is always goal directed. Once the desired goal is satisfied, individuals will always restate the goals or look for other goals to get satisfied. Goals will always be changing from one level to another. In order to motivate an individual, managers must ensure to set a goal in such a way which stimulates him or her to put more effort in their work. An effective way to set goals is to follow the SMART approach, which states that goals should meet five characteristics:1. Specific2. Measurable3. Achievable4. Relevant5. Timely or Time Limited If the chosen

Theories

1: MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEED

This motivation theory was originally developed in clinic from study of neurotic. This theory was proposed by Abraham Maslow in 1943 and is based on the assumption that people are motivated by a series of five universal needs. These needs are ranked, according to the order in which they influence human behaviour, in hierarchical fashion.

1: Physiological needs are deemed to be the lowest- level needs. These needs include the needs such as food & water.

2: Thus, safety needs -- the needs for shelter and security -- become the motivators of human behaviour.

3: Social needs include the need for belongingness and love.

4: After social needs have been satisfied, ego and esteem needs become the motivating needs

5: self-actualization; the need for self-realization, continuous self-development, and the process of becoming all that a person is capable of becoming.

2: HERZBERG’S MOTIVATOR HYGEINE THEORY

Also known as the Motivation-Hygiene Theory. It was found by Frederick Herzberg in 1959. It consists of

two factors MOTIVATOR AND HYGIENE which are the primary cause of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

Herzberg's study consisted of a series of interviews that sought to elicit responses to the questions:

Self Actualization

Esteem needs

Love or belongings needs

Safety Needs

Physical Needs

(1) Recall a time when you felt exceptionally good about your job. Why did you feel that way about the job? Did this feeling affect your job performance in any way? Did this feeling have an impact on your personal relationships or your well- being?

(2) Recall a time on the job that resulted in negative feelings? Describe the sequence of events that resulted in these negative feelings.

1) SATISFACTION (MOTIVATION ): Five factors stood out as strong determiners of job satisfaction:

Achievement Recognition Work Itself Responsibility Advancement

2) DISSATISFACTION (HYGIENE): The determinants of job dissatisfaction were found to be: Company policy Administrative policies Supervision Salary Interpersonal relations

3: Two-factor Theory:-

TWO FACTOR THEORIES EMERGED FROM HERZBERG’S MOTIVATOR HYGEINE THEORY . In this Herzeberg envisaged that the best way to improve the job was to enrich it. Jod enrichment includes giving a job greater scope (variety) and depth (responsibility and control).

4: David McClelland

It was Henry Murray in 1938 defined the need of achievement as desire. According to David McClelland in 1971, regardless of culture or gender, people are driven by three motives:

Achievement, Affiliation, and Power

Achievement: The need for achievement is characterized by the wish to take responsibility for finding solutions to problems, master complex tasks, set goals, and get feedback on level of success.

Affiliation: The need for affiliation is characterized by a desire to belong, an enjoyment of teamwork, a concern about interpersonal relationships, and a need to reduce uncertainty.

Power: The need for power is characterized by a drive to control and influence others, a need to win arguments, a need to persuade and prevail

5:> ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY

Clayton Alderfer in late 1960 reworked Maslow's Need Hierarchy to align it more closely with empirical research. Alderfer's theory is called the ERG theory -- Existence, Relatedness, and Growth.

• Existence refers to our concern with basic material existence requirements; what Maslow called physiological and safety needs.

• Relatedness refers to the desire we have for maintaining interpersonal relationships; similar to Maslow's social/love need, and the external component of his esteem need.

• Growth refers to an intrinsic desire for personal development; the intrinsic component of Maslow's esteem need, and self-actualization

Level of Need Definition Properties

Growth Impel a person to make creative or productive effects on himself and his environment

Satisfied through using capabilities in engaging problems; creates a greater sense of wholeness and fullness as a human being

Relatedness Involve relationships with significant others

Satisfied by mutually sharing thoughts and feelings; acceptance, confirmation, under- standing, and influence are elements

Existence Includes all of the various forms of material and psychological desires

When divided among people one person's gain is another's loss if resources are limited

7: Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGregor observed two diametrically opposing viewpoints of managers about their employees, one is negative called “Theory of X” and one is positive called “Theory of Y”

a) Theory of X : Following are the assumptions of managers who believe in the “Theory of X” in regard to their employees.

• Employees dislike work; if possible avoid the same

• Employees must be coerced, controlled or threatened to do the work

• Employees avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction

• Most employees consider security of job, most important of all other factors in the job and have very little ambition

b) Theory of Y : Following are the assumptions of managers who believe in the “Theory of Y” in regard to their employees.

• Employees love work as play or rest

• Employees are self-directed and self-controlled and committed to the organizational objectives

• Employees accept and seek responsibilities

• Innovative spirit is not confined to managers alone, some employees also possess it.

Theory of X assumes Maslow’s lower level needs dominate in employees. Whereas Theory of Y, assumes Maslow’s higher level needs dominate in employees.

8: Porter and Lawler’s model in 1968:

After identifying the flaw in content model of motivation and VROOMS EXPECTENCY THEORY in terms of their inability to correctly diagnose the relationship between performance and job satisfaction, brought forward the improved model.

Basically, Porter and Lawler’s model (shown below) shows that the amount of effort generated depend upon: The value of the reward The amount of effort seen to be necessary The probability of receiving the reward

9: C Argyris

Even though management based on the assumptions of Theory X is perhaps no longer appropriate in the opinion of McGregor and others, it is still widely practiced. Consequently a large majority of the people in organisations today are treated as immature human beings in their working environment.

In attempting to analyse the situation, Argyris compared bureaucratic/pyramidal values (the organisation’s counterpart to Theory X assumptions) that still dominate most organisations with a more humanistic/democratic value system (Theory Y assumptions about people).

Process theories

6: Equity Theory

Equity theory was first developed in 1963 by John Stacey Adams. Motivation is affected by one’s perception (accurate or inaccurate) of the relative outcome (rewards) one receives and inputs (efforts) one exerts in comparison to others. If “O” indicates Outcomes. “I” indicates inputs. For individuals “a” and “b”: Comparison Perception of a If O/Ia < O/Ib Inequity (under rewarded) If O/IA = O/Ib Equity

If O/Ia > O/Ib Inequity (over rewarded) When people sense inequities in their work they will be aroused to remove the Discomfort and restore a state of felt equity to the situation by:

1: changing work inputs

2: changing rewards received 3: leaving the situation

4: changing the comparison points

5: psychologically distorting the comparisons

8:> Expectancy Theory (Vroom)

In recent years, probably the most popular motivational theory has been the Expectancy Theory (also known as the Valence-Instrumentality- Expectancy Theory). Although there are a number of theories found with this general title, they all have their roots in Victor Vroom's 1964 work on motivation.

Probability ofachieving reward

Value of reward

Effort

Skills, abilities, personality

Role perception

Performance

Vroom's theory assumes that behaviour results from conscious choices among alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. The key elements to this theory are referred to as Expectancy (E), Instrumentality (I), and Valence (V). Expectancy refers to the strength of a person's belief about whether or not a particular job performance is attainable. Instrumentality as a probability belief linking one outcome (a high level of performance, for example) to another outcome (a reward). Valence refers to the emotional orientations people hold with respect to outcomes (rewards).

Motivational Force = Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valance

Goal Setting Theory: Goal setting theory was developed and refined by Edwin A. Locke in the 1960s. His first article on goal setting theory was “Toward a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives” which was published in 1968

 Work on the theory of goal-setting suggests that an effective tool for making progress is to ensure that participants in a group with a common goal are clearly aware of what is expected from them.

setting involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted (S.M.A.R.T ) goals.

Setting goals affects outcomes in four ways:

1. Choice: goals narrow attention and direct efforts to goal-relevant activities, and away from perceived undesirable and goal-irrelevant actions.

2. Effort: goals can lead to more effort; for example, if one typically produces 4 widgets an hour, and has the goal of producing 6, one may work more intensely towards the goal than one would otherwise.

3. Persistence: someone becomes more prone to work through setbacks if pursuing a goal.4. Cognition : goals can lead individuals to develop and change their behaviour.

Reinforcement Theory

Much of the work regarding reinforcement began with behavioural psychologists such as Edward Thorndike, J. B. Watson and B.F. Skinner and their use of animal experiments. B.F. Skinner is famous for his work on reinforcement and believed that positive reinforcement is superior to punishment in shaping behaviour.

S In order for goals to translate into motivation and improved performance, goals must be specific.

M Goals must be measurable to be able to provide progress feedback and to know when the goal is achieved.

A A goal must be assignable to an individual or a group.

R The goal must be challenging, yet realistic.

T In order for goals to positively affect motivation and performance, goals must be time-related.

B.F. Skinner in 1971 was a high profile researcher that articulated many of the theoretical constructs of reinforcement and behaviourism. Skinner defined reinforcer according to the change in response strength rather than to more subjective criteria, such as what is pleasurable or valuable to someone

The managers use the following methods for controlling the behaviour of the employees:

Positive Reinforcement - This implies giving a positive response when an individual shows positive and required behaviour. For example - Immediately praising an employee for coming early for job. This will increase probability of outstanding behaviour occurring again. Reward is a positive reinforce, but not necessarily..

Negative Reinforcement - This implies rewarding an employee by removing negative / undesirable consequences. Both positive and negative reinforcement can be used for increasing desirable / required behaviour.

Punishment-  It implies removing positive consequences so as to lower the probability of repeating undesirable behaviour in future. In other words, punishment means applying undesirable consequence for showing undesirable behaviour. For instance - Suspending an employee for breaking the organizational rules. Punishment can be equalized by positive reinforcement from alternative source.

Extinction - It implies absence of reinforcements. In other words, extinction implies lowering the probability of undesired behaviour by removing reward for that kind of behaviour. For instance - if an employee no longer receives praise and admiration for his good work, he may feel that his behaviour is generating no fruitful consequence.

TOPIC-3

LEARNING & RE-ENFORCEMENT

.

Theories of learning

Objectives:

Consider a variety of theories of learning

Identify several principles of learning

Understand how individual differences affect the learning process

There are many different theories of how people learn. What follows is a variety of them, and it is useful to

consider their application to how your students learn and also how you teach in educational programs. It is

interesting to think about your own particular way of learning and to recognise that everyone does not learn

the way you do.

Burns (1995,) 'conceives of learning as a relatively permanent change in behaviour with behaviour including

both observable activity and internal processes such as thinking, attitudes and emotions.' It is clear that Burns

includes motivation in this definition of learning. Burns considers that learning might not manifest itself in

observable behaviour until sometime after the educational program has taken place.

Sensory Stimulation Theory: Traditional sensory stimulation theory has as its basic premise that effective learning occurs when the senses

are stimulated (Laird, 1985). Laird quotes research that found that the vast majority of knowledge held by

adults (75%) is learned through seeing. Hearing is the next most effective (about 13%) and the other senses -

touch, smell and taste account for 12% of what we know. By stimulating the senses, especially the visual

sense, learning can be enhanced. However, this theory says that if multi-senses are stimulated, greater

learning takes place. Stimulation through the senses is achieved through a greater variety of colours, volume

levels, strong statements, facts presented visually, use of a variety of techniques and media.

Reinforcement theory This theory was developed by the behaviourist school of psychology, notably by B.F. Skinner earlier this

century (Laird 1985, Burns 1995). Skinner believed that behaviour is a function of its consequences. The

learner will repeat the desired behaviour if positive reinforcement (a pleasant consequence) follows the

behaviour.

Positive reinforcement, or 'rewards' can include verbal reinforcement such as 'That's great' or 'You're

certainly on the right track' through to more tangible rewards such as a certificate at the end of the course or

promotion to a higher level in an organisation.

Negative reinforcement also strengthens behaviour and refers to a situation when a negative condition is

stopped or avoided as a consequence of the behaviour. Punishment, on the other hand, weakens behaviour

because a negative condition is introduced or experienced as a consequence of the behaviour and teaches the

individual not to repeat the behaviour which was negatively reinforced. A set of conditions is created which

are designed to eliminate behaviour (Burns, 1995, p.108). Laird considers this aspect of behaviourism has

little or no relevance to education. However, Burns says that punishment is widely used in everyday life

although it only works for a short time and often only when the punishing agency is present.

Burns notes that much Competency Based Training is based on this theory, and although it is useful in

learning repetitive tasks like multiplication tables and those work skills that require a great deal of practice,

higher order learning is not involved. There is criticism of this approach that it is rigid and mechanical.

Cognitive-Gestalt approaches: The emphasis here is on the importance of experience, meaning, problem-solving and the development of

insights (Burns 1995, p.112). Burns notes that this theory has developed the concept that individuals have

different needs and concerns at different times, and that they have subjective interpretations in different

contexts.

Holistic learning theory: The basic premise of this theory is that the 'individual personality consists of many elements ... specifically ...

the intellect, emotions, the body impulse (or desire), intuition and imagination (Laird, 1985, p.121) that all

require activation if learning is to be more effective.

Facilitation theory (the humanist approach )Carl Rogers and others have developed the theory of facilitative learning. The basic premise of this theory is

that learning will occur by the educator acting as a facilitator, that is by establishing an atmosphere in which

learners feel comfortable to consider new ideas and are not threatened by external factors (Laird 1985.)

Other characteristics of this theory include:

a belief that human beings have a natural eagerness to learn there is some resistance to, and unpleasant

consequences of, giving up what is currently held to be true, the most significant learning involves changing

one's concept of oneself.

Facilitative teachers are:

Less protective of their constructs and beliefs than other teachers, more able to listen to learners, especially

to their feelings, inclined to pay as much attention to their relationship with learners as to the content of the

course, apt to accept feedback, both positive and negative and to use it as constructive insight into

themselves and their behaviour.

Learners:

Are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning, provide much of the input for the learning

which occurs through their insights and experiences, Are encouraged to consider that the most valuable

evaluation is self-evaluation and that learning needs to focus on factors that contribute to solving significant

problems or achieving significant results.

Experiential learning: Kolb proposed a four-stage learning process with a model that is often referred to in describing experiential

learning (McGill & Beatty 1995). The process can begin at any of the stages and is continuous, ie there is no

limit to the number of cycles you can make in a learning situation. This theory asserts that without reflection

we would simply continue to repeat our mistakes. The experiential learning cycle:

(Brooks 1995)

Kolb's research found that people learn in four ways with the likelihood of developing one mode of learning

more than another. As shown in the 'experiential learning cycle' model above, learning is:

through concrete experience

through observation and reflection

through abstract conceptualisation

through active experimentation

Differences in learning styles: As already discussed, the idea that people learn in different ways has been explored over the last few decades

by educational researchers. Kolb, one of the most influential of these, found that individuals begin with their

preferred style in the experiential learning cycle (see above).

Honey and Mumford (1986 cited in McGill & Beatty 1995 p.177) building on Kolb's work, identified four

learning styles:

Activist (enjoys the experience itself),

Reflector (spends a great deal of time and effort reflecting)

Theorist (good at making connections and abstracting ideas from experience)

Pragmatist (enjoys the planning stage)

There are strengths and weaknesses in each of these styles. Honey and Mumford argue that learning is

enhanced when we think about our learning style so that we can build on strengths and work towards

minimising weaknesses to improve the quality of learning.

Action Learning Action Learning is the approach that links the world of learning with the world of action through a reflective

process within small cooperative learning groups known as 'action learning sets' (McGill & Beatty 1995).

The 'sets' meet regularly to work on individual members' real-life issues with the aim of learning with and

from each other. The 'father' of Action Learning, Reg Revans, has said that there can be no learning without

action and no (sober and deliberate) action without learning.

Revans argued that learning can be shown by the following equation, where L is learning; P is programmed

knowledge (e.g. traditional instruction) and Q is questioning insight.

L = P + Q

Revans, along with many others who have used, researched and taught about this approach, argued that

Action Learning is ideal for finding solutions to problems that do not have a 'right' answer because the

necessary questioning insight can be facilitated by people learning with and from each other in action

learning 'sets'.

Adult Learning (Andragogy) Malcolm Knowles (1978, 1990) is the theorist who brought the concept of adult learning to the fore. He has

argued that adulthood has arrived when people behave in adult ways and believe themselves to be adults.

Then they should be treated as adults. He taught that adult learning was special in a number of ways. For

example:

Adult learners bring a great deal of experience to the learning environment. Educators can use this as

a resource.

Adults expect to have a high degree of influence on what they are to be educated for, and how they

are to be educated.

The active participation of learners should be encouraged in designing and implementing educational

programs.

Adults need to be able to see applications for new learning.

Adult learners expect to have a high degree of influence on how learning will be evaluated.

Adults expect their responses to be acted upon when asked for feedback on the progress of the

program.

Classical Conditioning Theory: Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov developed classical conditioning theory. When he was doing a research on the chemical properties of saliva of dog, he noticed accidentally that the dog started salivating the moment hearing the sound of a door of cupboard clinging. Based on his observation, he wanted to do some experiment whether the dog can be conditioned to respond to any neutral stimuli. He used a simple surgical procedure to operate the salivary glands of a dog to measure accurately the amount of saliva.

Pavlov’s Experiment: Pavlov conducted his experiment in three stages.

Stage I: When Pavlov presented the dog with a piece of meat, the dog exhibited a noticeable increase in salivation. The meat is unconditional stimulus and salivation is unconditional response.Stage II: In this stage, the dog was not given a peace of meat but only exposed to a sound of ringing bell; the dog did not salivate to the mere sound of a ringing bell.

Stage III: Pavlov decided to link both the presentation of meat and the ringing of a bell one after the other with an interval of 5 minutes. After repeatedly hearing the bell before getting the meat, the dog began to salivate as soon the bell rang. There is an association or link between meat and ringing a bell. After repeating the association between meat and ringing a bell, the dog started salivating merely at the sound of the bell, even if no food was offered. The dog is now conditioned to respond to a sound of a bell and started salivating. This is called classical conditioning process. Thus, classical condition is defined as the formation of S-R link (Stimulus-Response) or habit between a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response through the repeated paring of conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.

Social Learning Theory People learn through both observation and direct experience, which is called as social learning theory. Individual learn by observing what happens to other people and just by being told about something, as well as by direct experiences. By observing people around us, mostly from parents, teachers, peers, films and television performers, bosses, we learn new behavior pattern. Albert Bandura, who has most vigorously studied observational learning in humans, has emphasized that people observe others to learn not just specific motor skills (such as driving a car and performing surgery) but also more general modes or styles of behaving. Bandura demonstrated both of these functions of observational learning – acquiring specific actions and learning general styles of behavior – in experiments with children. Bandura proposed that people actively observe the behavior of other people to gain knowledge about the kinds of things that people do, and use that knowledge in situations where it is useful. Social learning theory gives much importance to perceptual process. People respond to how they perceive and defy consequences, not to the objective

consequence themselves. The influence of models is key to the social learning process. The following four processes are vital to determine the influence that a model will have on an individual.

i) Attention Process: People learn from a model only when they recognize and pay attention to its critical features. People tend to be most influenced by models that are attractive, repeatedly available similar to us in our estimation.ii) Retention Process : A model’s influence will depend on how well the individual remembers the model’s action after the model is no longer readily available.iii) Motor Reproduction Process: After a person has seen a new behavior by observing the model, the watching must be converted to doing. This process then demonstrates that the individual can perform the modeled activities.iv) Reinforcement Process: Individual will be motivated to exhibit they modeled behavior if positive incentives or rewards are provided. Behavior that is positively reinforced will be given more attention, learned better and performed more often.

REINFORCEMENT:

The reinforcement theory implies that if a person has a need, then he /she will be motivated to work hard to achieve the need desired. Furthermore, there is a continuous pattern within reinforcement for consequences influence behavior and behavior influences consequences. It is important to recognize that people constantly need to be reinforced for work that is done. Reinforcement is what motivates and derives people to push themselves.

REINFORCEMENT THEORY OF MOTIVATION:

Behaviorist B.F. Skinner derived the reinforcement theory, one of the oldest theories- of motivation as way to explain behavior and why we do what we do. The theory may also be known as behaviorism or operant conditioning. The theory states that "an individual’s behavior is a function of its consequences". It is based on law of effect, i.e. individual’s behavior with positive consequences trends to be repeated, but individual’s behavior with negative consequences trends not to be repeated.

Reinforcement theory of motivation overlooks the internal state of individual, that is the inner feelings and drives of individuals are ignore by skinner. This theory focuses totally on what happens to an individual when he takes some action. Thus, according to skinner, the external environment of the organization must be designed effectively and positively so as to motivate the employees this theory is a strong tool for analyzing controlling mechanism for individual’s behavior. However it does not focus on the causes of individual’s behavior. "In understanding why an organism behaves the way it does, skinner saw no place for dwelling on a person’s intention or goals". For him, it was outward behavior and its environment that mattered. His most important contribution to the behavior study was the concept of reinforcement formalized in his principles of operant conditioning. (In contrast to Ivan Pavlov' principles of classical conditioning).

Reinforcement theory has been used in many areas of study including animal training raising children and motivating employees in the workplace. It focuses on observable behavior rather than personal states. Theory focuses on the environmental factors that contribute to shaping behavior. Reinforcement theory claims that stimuli are used to shape behaviors. the four primary approaches to the theory are ;

1. Positive reinforcement.

2. Negative reinforcement

3. Extinction

4. Punishment

TYPES OF REINFORCEMENT:

According to Huitt and Hummel (1997), 4 methods are employed in operant conditioning-

Positive reinforcement, Negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and Negative punishment.

The managers use the following methods for controlling the behavior of employees;

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT : It presents pleasant consequences for performing a desired behavior. That is, a manager recognizes in some way an employee’s desirable behavior in completing a task or leading towards achievement of organizational goals.

The administration of positive consequences to increase the likelihood of repeating the desired behavior in similar settings.

Rewards are not necessarily positive reinforcers

A reward is a positive reinforcer only if the behavior improves.

PRINCIPLES OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. (Luthans and Kreitner 1985)

Principle of contingent reinforcement.

Principle of immediate reinforcement.

Principle of reinforcement size.

Principle of deprivation.

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT: in this an unpleasant event is presented before the employee behavior occurs and then removed when the behavior does occur.

Also known as avoidance.

The withdrawal of negative consequences to increase the likelihood of repeating the desired behavior

in similar settings.

OMISSION/ EXTINCTION : omission means that all reinforcing events are stopped. Whereas reinforcement increases the frequency of desired behavior, omission decreases the frequency of an undesirable behavior and finally extinguishes it. Omission reduces the occurrence of employee behaviors that do not lead to the achievement of organizational goals The omission procedure consists of;

Identifying the behavior to be reduced or eliminated.

Identifying the reinforcer that maintains the behavior.

PUNISHMENT : “punishment creates a set of conditions which are designed to eliminate behavior.” It’s an unpleasant event that follows behavior and decreases its frequency.

Implications of using punishment.

Punishing poor performance enhances performance without affecting satisfaction.

Arbitrary and capricious punishment leads to poor performance and dissatisfaction.

Punishment may be offset by positive reinforcement from another source.

POSITIVE PUNISHMENT : it gives positive individuals what they do not like when they have performed the undesired behavior (Griggs, 2009). Positive punishment is what we think of when we think of a “punishment”.

NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT: it removes what individuals like when they have performed the undesired behavior (Griggs, 2009)

Types ofReinforcement

Stimulus Response Consequencesor Reward

PositiveReinforcement:

High performance isrewarded in theorganization

Individualperformance at a highlevel (desiredbehavior)

Pay increase,recognition,praise

Punishment: Only one hour is given forlunch each day

Individualcontinually takesmore than one hourfor lunch

Reprimand bySupervisor

Avoidance Individuals who take morethan one hour for lunchwill be reprimanded bysupervisor

Individuals take onlyone hour for lunch

No reprimand

Extinction 1. Bonus given to salesperson for each newcustomer order2. Bonus removed foreach new customerorder

Sales person workedhard to get newordersSales persons exertonly nominal effort toget new orders

BonusNo bonus

SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT : Schedules of reinforcement determine when reinforcement is applied. Reinforcement is always delivered according to some schedule (BANDURA 1969) . A schedule of reinforcement is basically a rule stating which instances of a behavior will be reinforced. In some case, a behavior might be reinforced every time it occurs. Sometimes, a behavior might not be reinforced at all. Either positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement might be used, depending on the situation. In both cases, the goal of reinforcement is always to strengthen the behavior and increase the likelihood that it will occur again in the future.

CONTINUOUS AND INTERMITTENT REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULE:

1. Continuous Reinforcement:

In continuous reinforcement, the desired behavior is reinforced every single time it occurs. Generally, this schedule is best used during the initial stages of learning in order to create a strong association between the behavior and the response. Once the response if firmly attached, reinforcement is usually switched to a partial reinforcement schedule.

For example ; when you drop coin in soft drink vending machine. Your behavior is reinforced by the consequences of the machine delivering a can of soda.

2. Partial Reinforcement:

In partial reinforcement, the response is reinforced only part of the time. Learned behaviors are acquired more slowly with partial reinforcement, but the response is more resistant to extinction. In intermittent reinforcement, a reinforcer is delivered after some, but not every, occurrence of the desired behavior. Intermittent reinforcement can be subdivided into ‘interval and ratio’ and ‘fixed and variable’ schedule.

There are four schedules of partial reinforcement:

Fixed-ratio schedules are those where a response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses. This schedule produces a high, steady rate of responding with only a brief pause after the delivery of the reinforcer.

Variable-ratio schedules occur when a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses. This schedule creates a high steady rate of responding. Gambling and lottery games are

good examples of a reward based on a variable ratio schedule.

Fixed-interval schedules are those where the first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed. This schedule causes high amounts of responding near the end of the interval, but much slower responding immediately after the delivery of the reinforcer.

Variable-interval schedules occur when a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed. This schedule produces a slow, steady rate of response.

Schedules of Reinforcement for Monetary Rewards:Schedules of Reinforcement Examples of ResearchFixed Interval Weekly or monthly paycheckFixed Ratio Piece-rate pay system based on number of units

produced or sales commissionVariable Interval Praise, recognition, or promotion awarded at

variable time periodsVariable Ratio Monitory bonuses for excellent performance

awarded in small sums at various time periods.

Behavior Modification: Behavior - modification programs in organizations generally follow at least fivestages of development:Stages I: Identifying Critical Behaviors : In this step, the managers has to identify the critical behaviors that make a significant impact on the employee’s job performance. These are those 5 to 10 percent

of behaviors that may account for up to 70 or 80 per cent of each employee’s performance. This may be a difficult step for companies that use non-job related factors to measure performance (eg. Cooperativeness, friendliness, and other subjective measure).

Stage II: Developing a Baseline Data : This step requires the manager to develop some baseline performance data. This is obtained by determining the number of times the identified behavior is occurring under present condition. In this stage, specific goals for each employee are established. Lowering the absenteeism by 10 per cent is a typical example. Goals may concern such aspects as productivity improvement, decreased absenteeism and so on.

Stage III : Identifying Behavioral Consequences : This step is to perform a functional analysis to identify the behavioral contingencies or consequences of performance. The employee keeps a record of his or her daily work. This acts ass a self-feedback mechanism

Stage IV: Developing and implementing an intervention strategy : The manager reviews the employee’s performance record and then rewards the positive aspects of the performance, as determined by the goals set in Stage Two and recorded in Stage Three. Reinforcing with recognition, compliments or praise strengthens the desired behavior; withholding of such reinforcement should help make the employeeaware of certain deficiencies in his or performance.

Stage V: Evaluating Performance Improvement: Finally, auditing of the effectiveness of this program is assessed OB Modification has been used by a number of organizations to improve employeeproductivity and to reduce errors, absenteeism,

The impact of reinforcement on organizational behavior can be summarized as follows: 1. Some type of reinforcement is necessary to reproduce a change in behavior.2. Some types or categories of rewards are more effective for use in organization than are others.3. The speed with which learning takes place and how lasting its effects will be determined by the timing of the reinforcement.

Topic-4

STRESS MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION TO STRESS

The existence and importance of stress in industry was first recognized in America in 1956.A machine operator named James Carter cracked up while working on the General Motors production line in Detroit. Mr Carter had what commonly known as nervous breakdown and he sued general motors for that claiming that company is responsible for his condition. Carter won the case and from that day most executives took the relationship between stress and industry very seriously indeed

Work stress has very disastrous effect on quality of life and quality of work life. It has no boundaries; it can affect women, men, executives and people of all nationalities. The American Institutes of stress estimates that about $300 billion is lost because of work related stress and its after-effects-lower productivity, high employee turnover, high absenteeism, medical cost etc. Stress is created by multitude of overlapping factors such as quantitative or qualitative workloads, ethical dilemmas, and difficult relationship with bosses and colleagues. Although stress can sometime can act as stimulant and challenge us (eustress). The notion of management of stress basically focuses on management of distress.

WHAT IS STRESS?

When confronted with uncomfortable situation like appearing for an interview, giving formal speech, different people will have different feelings and reactions- some negative and some positive. Stress refers to the body’s physiological, emotional and psychological responses to an individual wellbeing. When the response is in the form of a deviation from healthy functioning the state is called distress. The reaction which activates and motivates the people to achieve their goal, change their environment and face life challenges is called eustress.

Definitions of stress :-

Dr. Seyles, an expert in stress management, defines stress as “non- specific response of body to situation”.

It is important to remember that the body chemistry does not distinguish between the anxiety causing, pleasant or unpleasant situations. In any of these situations, the body response is the same, resulting in fight or flight mechanism.

“Stress is an adaptive response to an external situation that results in physical, psychological and/or behavioural deviations.”

Please write a One Sentence Definition of

S T R E S S.

THE THEORY OF GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME

This theory states that when an organism is confronted with a threat, the general physio logical response occur in three stages i.e. alarm reaction, stage of resistance, stage of exhaustion.

1. Alarm reaction : - The first stage includes an initial “shock phase” in which resistance is lowered, and a “counter shock phase” in which defensive mechanism becomes active. Alarm reaction is characterised by autonomous excitability, adrenaline discharge, increased heart rate, muscle tone. Depending on the nature and the intensity of threat and the conditions of organism, the severity of the symptoms may differ from mild invigorations to disease of adaptation.

2. Stage of resistance: - Maximum adaptation occurs at this stage. The bodily signs characteristic of the alarm reaction disappears. Resistance increases to level above normal. If the stress persists or the defensive reaction proves ineffective, the organism deteriorates to next stage.

3. Stage of exhaustion: - Adaptation energy is exhausted, signs of alarm reaction reappear and resistance level begins to decline irreversibly and the organism collapses.

Drawback of this theory:- One of the major drawback of this theory is that the related

research was carried out on animals where the stressors are usually physical or environment and this is not always in the case of human beings. The concept of general adaptation syndrome is therefore, not given importance in the present days.

NATURE OF STRESS

An individual experiences stress when she perceives the presence of the factor creating stress as representing a demand that may exceed her ability to respond. The factor that causes stress have been referred to as stressors. When individuals are under stress, there reaction varies from physiological, psychological to behavioural responses.

Fight-or-Flight Responses

As a result of the reaction to the stress, breathing and heart rate changes , brain activity goes up to allow the brain to function maximally. Hearing and sight become more acute and muscles ready themselves for reaction. These biochemical and bodily changes represent a natural reaction to the environment stressors which is known as fight or flight response. When a predator attacks an animal in a forest, it has two choices either to fight back or to flee. The human nervous system also responds in the same way to the stressor from the environment. This response helps to survive during emergency. For most of the people most of the time predator is imaginary than real. In a work situation for ex- a fight-or-flight response isn’t usually appropriate. If an employee receives an unpleasant work from a manager. Instead, the employee is expected to accept the assignment calmly and do the best job possible. Remaining calm and performing effectively may be difficult when the employee perceives that the assignment as threatening and the body is prepared to act accordingly.

EXPERIENCING STRESS:

A variety of factor influences how an individual experiences stress. Identifies four of the primary factors:

1. The person’s perception of the situation

2. The person’s past experiences,

3. The presence or absence of social support,

4. Individual differences in reacting to stress

1. Perception: - It is a process whereby person selects and organizes environmental information

in to concept of reality. Employee perception of a situation can influence how they experience stressed- two Microsoft employee job gets changed. The first employee view the new duties as an opportunities to learn new competencies and think that the change is vote of confidence from management in her ability to be flexible and take on challenges. Whereas the second employee think the same situation to be extremely threatening and concludes that management is not happy with his performance.

2. Past Experiences: - A person may perceive the situation as more or less stressful depending

up on how familiar that person is with that particular situation and his prior experiences with the particular stressors involved. Past training may allow some employee to deal calmly with the stressors than the less trained employees.

3. Social Support:- The presence or absence of other people influences how individual in work

place experience stress and respond to stressors. The presence of co-worker may increase an individual confidence, allowing individual to cope in a better way with the stress. For example working alongside someone who is more confident and competently in stressful situations may help the employee to behave similarly.

4. Individual Differences:- Individual differences in motivation, attitudes, personality and ability also influence whether employees experience work stress, and if they do, how they respond to it. Simply stated people are different, what one person consider a major source of stress, the other person may hardly notice. Personality characteristics in a particular may explain some of the differences in the way the employee respond to a particular stress.

TYPES OF STRESS Constructive Versus Destructive

The form of stress which has a negative impact on the state of mind and the physical systems is called destructive stress. Stress that has a positive impact resulting in a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm is called constructive stress.

Episodic Versus Chronic Stress

The pattern of high degrees of stress followed by an interval of relief is referred to as episodic stress. Chronic stress is one in which a person faces stress continuously and he can fight nor flee.

Eustress

This stress happen because of sudden joy, fortunately this type of stress is not long- lasting. Furthermore it is a state of happiness. Eustress, therefore, is not harmful, being occasional and fleeting.

Hyper Stress

This type of stress is caused because of hyperactivity and travails of life to meet deadlines, etc. Targets and eleventh hour rush or continuous work causes hyper stress. The key to handle this type of stress is to have good planning.

Hypo stress

This type of stress is just opposite of hyper stress. This stress is cause by less than optimum activity. The effects of hypo stress are slower than other types but are more penetrating and long lasting. There are example when organization has deliberately create hypo stress by denying work to there employees.

Causes of stress

Employees can experience stress both from their work life and from their personal life. These sources interact with each other to give rise to various symptoms. Stress in our daily life is the result of many interacting factors. We as individuals with some exclusive personality traits contributing towards generating stress. The organizational environment may play host to potential stressors. The minor or major changes that

occur in the external environment may also contribute towards generation towards stress.

ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS:-

1. TASK DEMANDS : - Stress from the task demands emerge from the change enforced on the employees with respect to the demand of their job.

2. Role Demand :- Job role demand include impossible workloads, idle period of time, job ambiguity, and conflicting performance expectations.

3. Overload: - When there is an expectation from the organization to accomplish more than the ability of the person, it results in work load.

4. Under load: - Under load occurs when people have insufficient work to fill their time or are not allowed to use enough of their skills and abilities.

5. Role Conflict : - Role conflict exists when job functions contain duties or responsibilities that conflict with one another.

6. Physical demand:- The physical demand of the work place can have huge impact on mental and physical condition of the employee. Poor working condition in the form of high temperature, noise, pollution etc. are the some of the example of working condition that can take toll on the employees.

7. Career Development:- The issues related to career planning and development such as security, promotions, transfer and other developmental processes like under promotion, over promotion can create anxiety and stress among the person concerned.

8. Aggressive behaviour : - A very common of aggressive behaviour in organization can be observed in the form of violence and sexual harassment.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS 1. Economic Uncertainty :- Downsizing, rightsizing, retrenchment and so on all these things are

done in the name of efficiency and cost reduction to improve profitability.

2. Technological Changes: - Advancements in technology in the form of robots, computerization etc. has contributed immensely to the productivity and profitability. However, it also has caused

displacement of skilled workers who have to now unlearn and learn new skills to match up the expectations of the organization.

3. Political Uncertainty- Political disturbances in the external environment have tremendous impact on the working of business organization.

Consequences of stress:- 1. Physiological Consequences :- The symptoms of stress as a part of physiological

consequences include heightened blood pressure, increased blood pressure, headache, sweating,

cold flashes etc.

2. Psychological Consequences :-Excessive amount of stress in the organization can

cause boredom, anxiety, tension and depression. All of these take the feeling of well-being away from the individual and contribute to poor concentration and decreased the attention span at work

3. Job Burnout:- Job burnout refers to adverse effect of working conditions in which ability

to confront and manage stress reduces significantly and job satisfaction and relief from stress seem impossible to achieve.

4. Behavioural Consequences:- When stress becomes distress, job performance gets

affected and work place accidents become very common. High stress levels impair our ability to remember information, make effective decisions, and take appropriate actions.

INDIVIDUAL COPING STRATEGIES:-

1. Change the job:- If a person is not able to derive satisfaction from the job that he is currently employed at, changing the nature of the job or leaving the organization in the favour of alternative employment may be the answer.

2. Time Management:- Time management is a process of planning, organizing and controlling one’s time.

3. Seeking help:- In a situation where an employee is not able to cater to the demands of work place and job, same words of support from the colleagues and advice from the boss can greatly help him alleviate his stress.

4. Exercise:- Exercise is highly effective method of managing stress. People who exercise regularly are less likely to have heart attack as when compared to inactive people.

Topic-5

PERCEPTION

MEANING OF PERCEPTION:-

It is the process of selection and organization of environmental stimuli and interpreting them to provide meaningful experience for the perceiver.

PERCEPTUAL PROCESS:-

The perceptual process began when environmental stimuli are received through our sense. Most stimuli are screened out, the rest are organized and interpreted based on various information processing activities. The resulting perceptions influence our emotions and behaviour towards these objects, people and events.

1) Perceptual Selection:

It is the process by which people filter out most stimuli so that they can deal with the most important ones. Perceptual selection is driven by internal and external factors.

(a) Internal factors include:

Personality - Personality traits influence how a person selects perceptions. For instance, conscientious people tend to select details and external stimuli to a greater degree.

Motivation - People will select perceptions according to what they need in the moment. They will favour selections that they think will help them with their current needs, and be more likely to ignore what is irrelevant to their needs.

Experience - The patterns of occurrences or associations one has learned in the past affect current perceptions. The person will select perceptions in a way that fits with what they found in the past.

Learning – A perceptual set is an expectation of a perception based on past experience with the same or similar stimuli.

(b) External factors include:

Size - A larger size makes it more likely an object will be selected.

Intensity - Greater intensity, in brightness, for example, also increases perceptual selection.

Contrast - When a perception stands clearly out against a background, there is a greater likelihood of selection.

Motion - A moving perception is more likely to be selected.

Repetition - Repetition increases perceptual selection.

Novelty and familiarity - Both of these increase selection. When a perception is new, it stands

out in a person's experience. When it is familiar, it is likely to be selected because of this familiarity.

Five Stages in Perceptual Process: Stage I: Observation Phase – It depicts the environmental stimuli being observed by the five

senses of the perceived Stage II: Selection of the Stimuli: This is governed both by factors external to the perceived,

such as the characteristics of the stimulus, and internal to the individual, such as the personality disposition and motivations of the perceiver.

Stage III: Organizing Stage – In this stage, the perceiver is influenced by figure and ground, grouping, and several perceptual errors such as stereotyping halo effects, projection and perceptual defense.

Stage IV: Interpretation Stage: This stage is governed by the perceiver’sassumptions of people and events and attributions about causes of behavior and feelings.

Stage V: Behavior Response: In this stage the response of the perceiver takes on both covert and overt characteristics. Covert response will be reflected in the attitudes, motives, and feelings of the perceiver and overt responses will be reflected in the actions of the individual.

PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION:-

It is the process by which people grow environmental stimuli into recognisable patterns. Factors influencing perceptual organization are:

Continuity – It is the tendency to perceive objects as continuous patterns.

Closure - This is the tendency to try to create wholes out of perceived parts. Sometimes this can result in error, though, when the perceiver fills in unperceived information to complete the whole.

Proximity - Perceptions that are physically close to each other are easier to organize into a pattern or whole.

Similarity - Similarity between perceptions promotes a tendency to group them together.

PERCEPTUAL INTERPRETATION:-

An assessment of the information collected for the purpose of making interpretation or judgement is called perceptual interpretation. During this process there occur some errors. They are as follows:

1. Judgemental error - These are certain mistakes that we commit as a result of being judgemental. These arise as a result of many actions on the part of the person perceiving the situation. Types of judgemental error:

a) Similarity – The tendency to see others having characteristics more like our own.

b) Contrast error – The tendency of some interviewers to compare job candidates to other candidates interviewed at the same time.

2. Perceptual errors: Some of the perceptual errors are as follows:

a) Perceptual defence – The tendency of people to protect themselves against idea, objects, a situation that are threatening.

b) Stereo typing – The tendency to assign attributes to someone slowly on the basis of the category in which the person has been placed.

c) Halo effects – Evolution of another person slowly on the basis of one attribute, either favourable or unfavourable, is called halo effect.

d) Projection – It is the tendency for the people to see their own traits in another people.

e) Expectancy effects – It is the extent to which prior expectations basis perception of events, objects and people.

f) Self-fulfilling prophecy – Expecting certain things to happen shapes the behaviour of the perceiver in such a way that the expected is more likely to happen.

ATTRIBUTION PROCESS:

It refers to the manner in which people come to understand the causes of others behaviour is called attribution process.

INTERNAL VS EXTERNAL CAUSES OF BEHAVIOUR:

A widely accepted model by HAROLD KELLEY attempts to explain how people determine why others behave as they do. This explanation states that in making attributions, people focus on 3 major factors:

1. Consistency: The extent to which the people perceived behaves in the same manner as on other occasions when faced with the same situation.

2. Distinctiveness: It is the extent to which the person perceived act differently in different situation.

3. Consensus: The extent to which others, faced with the same situation, behave in a manner similar to the person perceived.

INFERENCE MODEL:

It is the model that examines the attributions based on internal causes and relies on drawing backward influences for an observed event.

ATTRIBUTIONAL TENDENCIES:

There are 2 attribution tendencies that distort ones interpretation of observed behaviour.

1. Fundamental Attribution Bias – It is reflects one’s tendencies to attribute another person’s behaviour to his or her personal characteristics, as opposed to situational factors.

2. Self-Serving Bias – It represents one’s tendency to take more personal responsibility for success rather than for failure.

IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT:-

It refers to the process used by individuals to control the impression others form of them Rosenfeld, Giacalone and Riordan (1995) viewed various tactics to generate favourable impressions. They are:

1. Name-dropping

2. Disclosing obstacles

3. Doing favours

4. Flattery

5. Opinion conformity

6. playing dumb

7. Playing safe

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL:-

It is a process in which social perception occurs when someone formally evaluate the job performance of another.

PERCEPTION MAPPING:-

It is a process by which organizations attempt to perceive themselves with respect to all aspects of their culture, business and people.

Attribution Theory: While observing people’s behavior such as getting an overseas assignment or promotion to top management position or failed miserably in university examination or fired from the employer etc. we attempt to determine whether it was internally caused or external caused. If those factors such as knowledge, skill, effort, talent, hard work, positive attitude are responsible for the occurrence of behavior, it is labeled as internally caused.Internally caused behaviors are those that are believed to be under the personal control of the individual. If those factors such as situational factors such as location advantage, non-availability of material, contacts with influential others, etc are responsible for the occurrence of behavior, it is labeled as externally caused. Externally caused behavior is seen as resulting from outside causes; that is, the person is seen as forced into the behavior by the situation.

There are three factors which are used to determine whether the behavior is caused by internal factors or due to external factors. They are: Distinctiveness, Consensus and Consistency.

Distinctiveness: It refers to whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations. If a person is coming late not only to office but also to picnic party or to birth day party or to attending meeting etc. If his late coming behavior is not unique, it will probably be judged as internal. (Low Distinctiveness) If his late

coming behavior is unusual, that is, only to office work, his late coming behavior is due to external attribution. (High Distinctiveness)

Consensus: It refers to whether all the people who are facing with a similar situation respond in the same way or not. If all the people are responding the same way, then there is high consensus. If consensus is high, then his late coming behavior is due to external factors. If only this worker is late and all others are punctual, then there is low consensus. If consensus is low, then his late coming is due to internal factor

Consistency: It refers whether a person responds the same all the time, that is, whether his late coming is common in all the days or once in a blue moon. If his late coming is reported in all the days, then there is high consistency. If there is high consistency, his late coming behavior is due to internal factor. If his late coming is reported only one time, then there is low consistency. If there is low consistency, then his late coming is due to external factors. The more consistent the behavior, the more the observer is inclined to attribute it to internal factors.

Topic-6

TEAM WORK & GROUP DYNAMICS According to Business Directory, team work has been defined as the “process by which a group of people work collaboratively to achieve a set or given goal/ task”. According to this definition, team work means that people will try to cooperate, using their different individual skills and talents to provide constructive feedback despite the fact that individuals may have personal conflict among themselves. This definition acknowledges that team work brings together ideologically different people, with different skill sets for the accomplishment of a set target or goal.

A SYSTEM MODEL OF TEAM BUILDINGThis model can be a very useful and practical way to analyze the success of a team and tohelp it develop in the areas of most need. This model of team effectiveness was developed based on the characteristics of the group. The key components making upeffective team can be categorized into four aspects such as Work design, Composition,Context and Process.

Work Design: This category includes variables such as skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. It is reported that these characteristics enhancemember motivation and increase team effectiveness. These work design characteristicsmotivate because they increase members’ sense of responsibilities for and ownership ofthe work and because they make the work more interesting to perform.Composition: This category covers such as ability, personality, roles and diversity,size, flexibility, preference for teamworkContext: The three contextual factors that appear to be most significantly related toteam performance are the presence of adequate resources, effective leadership and aperformance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions.Processes: The final category related to team effectiveness is process variables. Theseinclude member commitment to a common purpose, establishment of specific team goals,team efficacy, a managed level of conflict and the reduction of social loafing.

BRUCE TUCKMAN THEORY :

Bruce Tucuman, currently a psychology professor at Ohio State University, is one of the most influential thinkers in modern history. His research has spanned over fifty years, and his dissertations regarding the functions of a small group are revolutionary. Released in 1965, the theory, also known as Tuck man stages, were made widely known to the intellectual community and contained four stages (later five) that would define the basic functions of a team in progress.

A Brief Analysis of Tucuman’s Stages :

The four original stages of Tucumán’s model of group behaviour were forming, storming, norming, and

performing, with adjourning being added twelve years in later.

The stage of forming takes place when team or group members first meet one another. Tucumán

explains how group members will explicitly attempt to avoid conflict in fear of giving off a bad first

impression. According to Tucuman, very little work on the project at hand gets completed during this

stage. This stage is more important for becoming acquainted and learning to work together.

The second stage is known as storming. There is a double-edged definition within storming because

not only does brainstorming of different individuals’ ideas take place but the disagreements and

arguments regarding these ideas also happen. Tucumán explains that this stage is a test of group

members’ maturity and ability to compromise with others’ opposing ideas, two major necessities

when in a team setting.

The third stage is norming, probably the most simple of the five stages. Norming takes place when

storming completes and the group is ready to move forward with assigning roles and beginning

physical production of work.

The fourth stage, performing, happens when the group or team begins to work as one cohesive unit

in an efficient and productive manner. There is very little argument or hesitation; the project closes

in on completion as the individual members become properly synchronized within their roles.

The final stage, added in 1977, is adjourning, which basically explains the process of letting go of

one’s role in the team and the attachments they have made.

Contrasting Tucuman’s Stages with the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum:

Bruce Tucuman’s stages of group dynamics are not the only highly regarded theory defining group

functions. The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum talks about managerial and team roles and how much

power the manager gives the employees to make decisions.

Basically, the manager can give more or less power to their team. If too little power is given to the

employees, then the rest of the team may not function properly. If more power is given to employees and

something goes wrong, the manager will be forced to take the blame, not for the project’s failure but rather

for giving his team the kind of power he/she did.

Unlike Bruce Tucuman’s theory, Tannenbaum and Schmidt focused more on the manager as the primary

role and what would potentially happen to the manager in these situations. On the other hand, Tucuman

wanted to focus on the entire team as a cohesive unit. While compromise is a major contributor to the

Tucuman theory, the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum emphasizes the leader as the only decision-

maker of the group; the team is merely just there for ideas and contributions.

Overall, Tucuman’s Stages is a much more balanced group effort, while the Tannenbaum and Schmidt

Continuum is what one would find in a current corporation’s business meeting.

Theories of Group Dynamics

Introduction:

 The processes involved in groups and their communication methods have been around as long as there have been groups!  However, serious study of group dynamics, as a topic of research, is something that has occurred mostly in the last fifty years.  Writing down what has happened in group dynamics in the last century began after WW2, and has progressively become more refined by researchers.

As we look at the theories that govern the study of groups, we can visualize an ocean with several ships on it.  This ocean represents the general theories of group dynamics. 

However, the general theories are always there, underlying every special theory of how a group works.  The general theories of Emergence and Symbolic Convergence represent dynamics that are in all groups, regardless of the special model the group may be using. These theories have been validated by the work of Ernest Bormann, who has recorded over 400 case studies in his group dynamics classes.

General theories come about through the study of groups in history to find patterns of group behaviour.  The behaviour is observed, analysed, written down and then tested.  When the observed behaviours become actual social theory, they are really statements of the general tendencies of groups.  Because social theory is not absolutely scientific, they are not like a law.  They are theories of what will happen in most groups.

THE PUNCTUATED-EQUILIBRIUM MODEL:

This model emphasis the degree to which the group completes its task based on howmuch time is left before the task must be completed. In the group development, thetimings of when groups form and change the way they work is highly consistent. It isreported that the three activities such as i) direction of the group, ii) inertia and iii) major changes occur at similar times during the formation and operation of groups.

I. Group’s direction: During the first meetings, the members will discuss and set the group direction to achieve the assigned target. A set of behavior pattern and various assumptions will be emerging to formulate action plans during the first meeting. These lasting patterns can appear as early as in the first few seconds of the group’s lifeII. Inertia: During this period the group tends to stand still or becomes locked into a fixed course. The group is unlikely to reexamine the course of action and always keep a fixated mind based on the earlier assumptions and behavioral pattern. New insights that might challenge initial patterns and assumptions might occur among individual members, but the group is often III. Transition from old pattern towards major changes or newperspectives to get results:At one point of time the group experiences its transition from switching the old behavioral pattern or assumptions to the new perspectives to reach the targets. This period is characterized by a concentrated burst of changes, dropping of old patterns and adoption of new perspectives. This transition sets a revised direction. Incapable of acting on these new insights. . This is called inertia.

THREE CRITICAL PERIODS DURING THE GROUPDEVELOPMENT:Period I - Initial Period of Meetings:During this initial period, the group has the least structure and often is dependent on theleaders, and has unclear expectations, high anxiety, and sometimes, low member participation. Initial meetings outline priorities, define member roles, establish peckingorders, and evaluation criteria.Period II - Midpoint: Tension between outcomes and relationships, the exhaustion of group creativity, and the onset of physical and emotional fatigue seem to occur mostfrequently at the midpoint of group’s life cycle.Period III - Crises Point:While the urgency of the task can accelerate the pace of task outcomes, other factors suchas cohesion, conflict management, balance between relationships and task needs, effective communication and involvement are required for well-developed groups

BENNIS AND SHEPARD MODEL OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT:This model focuses primarily on task or projects groups and assumes that such groupsfollow four stages of developmenti) Orientation: During this stage, the group members will be involved in the following activities: Establishing structure, rules and communication networks of the group, clarifying relations and interdependencies among group member, identifying leadership roles and clarifying authority and responsibility relationships, developing a plan for goal accomplishmentii) Internal Problem Solving: The major activities of this stage include: identification and resolution of interpersonal conflict, further clarification of rules, goals and structural relationships. Development of a participative climate among group members.iii) Growth and Productivity: In this stage, the members devote much time directing towards goal accomplishment, developing data-flow and feedback systems for task performance, growing cohesion among members of the group.iv) Evaluation and Control: During this last stage, the members, particularly leadership role emphasizes facilitation, feedback and evaluation, roles and group interdependencies are renewed, revised and strengthened, group exhibits strong motivation toward goal accomplishment.

The Emergent Model

The first general theory that Bormann has come up with is the Emergent Model.  Emergence is the description of the way in which decisions manifest themselves in a group. To take off from the above analogy, emergence is like looking for a ship (a leader, or a decision of the group) in the fog.  You are looking into the fog for the ship that you know is there.  But it’s not there.  Maybe it’s there.  Yes there’s

something there!  Then you see a slight outline, and then, there it is; a ship.  It is difficult to pinpoint the exact point in time you first saw it, but it has emerged.

 In the small group, all of the social and emotional decisions seem to arrive this way.  And it is the leadership of the group, especially, that comes about by emergence. This is important to realize:  that leadership in a small group will arrive this way, because if a group does not recognize emergent leadership, it will really struggle.  So, the “emergent model describes the dynamic process by which the tendencies described in group process arrive at conscious thresholds and become known to the group.”  (Dr. Katz, 10/11/94)

5 Things that Emerge

Bilhart describes five tendencies in a group that emerge:

1.             Tendency to develop   group norms , such as accepted ways to address each other or ways of talking that are acceptable or not.  Once group norms are set, members are expected to conform;

2.             Tendency to   specialization .  Generally a member will emerge to a particular role, such as “the organizer” or “the timekeeper;”

3.             Tendency to form   status roles .   The more fun and/or difficult the task, the higher the status, such as the levels of status in the book “Animal Farm;”

4.             Tendency for the group to develop   its own “culture”,  complete with symbols and inside jokes; 

5.      Tendency to form   shared fantasies  (an invented story that may not be true, but serves to make other members of the group “dream” about  new ideas or deeper thoughts) , good or bad , possibly started by one member and added to by others, to emerge as the group’s shared fantasy.  Fantasies, in particular, may not be of much consequence, but layer upon layer, they become a strong builder of cohesion (they stick together) in the group.

Cohesion of the Group

Cohesion is the key concept of the emergent Model.  It is the single most critical dynamic in a group, and there is a strong correlation between cohesiveness and the quality of the group’s experience and the quality of its progress.  Bormann says that the cohesiveness is the extent to which members of the group are willing to make the needs and goals of the group their own.  Other research has found that the more cohesive the group, the more freedom they had to disagree with one another.  Because of the cohesiveness, or sense of belonging, it gave them the freedom to disagree without devastating reprisal. 

The Assembly Effect

The assembly effect is the key to cohesion of the group in its early stages.  The assembly effect is the interaction of the different personalities of group members and how each personality is affected by another.  As a group forms, the level of compatibility of different personalities becomes crucial to the group.  If each member realizes their strengths, and yet knows and accepts another member’s strengths and weaknesses, those symmetrical relationships become compatible. 

An example that comes to mind is that on a Navy warship, every sailor has been trained in fire fighting.  They all know how to use a fire hose and nozzle to put out both ash and oil type fires.  In the event of an on board fire, that has been started after an explosion, depending on how many lives were lost, maybe one of the cooks or a navigator will have to use this basic knowledge to help save his ship and himself.  The group

that knows each other’s job and can fill in for one another may very well have opportunity to save their ship.  This group strength may be overlooked in a task oriented small group where cohesiveness has not emerged through the social development of the group.  Without this, a member may say something stupid like “I don’t get paid to think” or “that’s not my job…”

 Another part of the assembly effect is that of homogeneity and heterogeneity of its members.  For some tasks, or if time is very short to complete the project, it helps to have the group homogenous:  that is, they think alike, they have similar values and expectations.  However, if a group’s need is to be creative and, in the end come up with a better product, then it helps if they have a diversity of interests, personality, and expectations to come up with a better product  (heterogeneous)

Bormann says that the best groups are heterogeneous when it comes to a need for low-process, and free-wheeling brainstorming in the beginning planning stages.  But there is a need then for high procedural types within the group to complete the project.  In the area of expectation of achievement, it is virtually invaluable to have similar values.  So, an ideal group will have homogeneous values, heterogeneous task skills and a blended midrange of procedural values.  This is really a heterogeneous group that appreciates homogeneity.

The exchange theory

The exchange theory also affects cohesion of the group as the general tendencies emerge.  The exchange effect begins as soon as a group is formed, but it takes a while for members to come up with a cost-benefit exchange analysis for themselves in the group.  So the effect will not play a big part in the group dynamics until about midlife of the group.  In a group, each member will mentally tabulate the rewards and costs to themselves in the areas of material things, social rewards, prestige, esteem, accomplishment of the job and recognition. If the plusses are more than the minuses, then the member will stay and add to the cohesiveness of teamwork and the group.  If the negatives are greater than the positives, then the member will either become a point of non-cohesion in the group or will leave.  If the member leaves, then, by the assembly effect, the group will still struggle with cohesion because the whole new order of assembly will then occur.

Conclusion on Emergence

So it is important to understand how things emerge in the group and its cohesion is affected by such dynamics as the makeup of the assembly and how members view their exchange benefits for being in the group.  The emergent model is one of the basic models of group dynamics that is true to all groups in some way.

Symbolic Convergence Theory

The second general theory of group dynamics that Borman describes is the symbolic Convergence Theory.  It runs parallel with Emergence theory in that it happens at the same time emergence is happening.  Borman describes this theory as the one in which people are story tellers who share fantasies.  As group members talk together and members find they have an experience in common, they begin to chime in and add to the story.  This is called chaining or sharing and the more of it that happens within a group, the more cohesiveness there is in the group. 

In the process of multiple fantasies, a group begins to form its own culture and its own symbols.  That forming is called symbolic convergence.  As layer upon layer of shared fantasies are formed, cohesiveness is created, internal communication is generated, roles begin to emerge, and group norms are established to converge into a whole culture.

Special Theories

We can look at the general theories of emergence and symbolic convergence as a running parallel like railroad tracks. They operate simultaneously and provide a foundation for social theory on group dynamics. 

On those railroad tracks are little boxcars that have been constructed for specific purposes.  These boxcars are like the three special theories.  They each have been constructed for a different purpose, such as the pragmatic, relational and value shift models.

Bormann describes these special or artistic theories, as a plan to form the group in a specific way to bring about a specific purpose.  Unlike General Theories, these can be changed or moulded at any time in order to bring about the main purpose of the group.  The three models then, pragmatic, relational and value shift, are artistic theory as described by Bormann.

Pragmatic Theory

 The Pragmatic Theory was formed as a way to get a group to complete a task.  It was used in groups formed in the early fifties in businesses.  As Riemann summarizes in his book describing the 1950s, the “Lonely Crowd,” the population moved after WW2 up to about 1963, from a rural society to an urban society. Working well in a group became an important value at the time.  Previously the dominant America valued independence and the ability to work alone.

The emphasis of the pragmatic model is the SMCR method of analysing group dynamics as developed by Wilbur Schramm.  That’s the Sender encodes a Message through a Channel, which is then recorded by receiver. 

 

There are two values in the Pragmatic model, fidelity of transmission and efficiency.  In fidelity of transmission, the question is “how much is getting through?”  If there is a lot of external noise such as a stereo playing, the noise   can be reduced in order to get a higher level of fidelity.  Internal noises, such as anger, hunger, or even the temperature of a room can also hinder fidelity of transmission.  To the degree that you can decrease internal noise, you can increase fidelity of transmission.  Intrinsic noise, where there is false message, or an overload of information, will also cause a decrease in fidelity.  Another way to increase fidelity is to increase redundancy by repeating messages or by finding several ways to give the same message.  Or, if you use multiple channels to convey the message, it will more likely get through.

The second value in the Pragmatic model is that of efficiency.  Efficiency concerns itself with the use of energy resources and time.  The goal is to send more messages, more rapidly and with less energy expended.  If we give an erroneous message, it sometimes takes longer to correct it than it would have taken to just be clear the first time.

The Relational Theories

 The Relational theories came about as a reaction to the pragmatic model.  It was articulated as a humanistic revolt against materialism.  The adolescents of the 1950s reacted against materialism and their parents’ generation.  Even though most were still using the pragmatic, task-related model, it came into conflict with the human related, relational model.  Galbraith, in “The New Industrial State” describes this period of time

as one in which there were giant corporate structures and government structures that functioned by means of small group committees.

The revolt took form in sensitivity groups just as Carl Rogers’ Beheld Group in Maine.  These groups generally met in peaceful settings to help the participant “explore himself” or “find himself.”  It was the time of the hippie communes and could be described as dramatis tic, non-manipulative, focusing on self-disclosure, trust and self-growth.  Efficiency was a negative thing to a small group using the relational model, if the price was to ignore human need. 

 However, this was a transitional period.  It is called Relational I.  There was a debate over business versus the fine arts, natural sciences versus social sciences and Pragmatic versus Relational.  The issue was over which type of group was the best way for groups to function.  The Pragmatic model was still in widespread use and those who were using it began to feel as if they were missing something, and sought out the Rogers, Earhart and Esselin kinds of groups.  They took some of those relational values back to the corporations and sought to learn about self-growth and personal enhancement.  They wanted to be humanistic, sensitive socially, employed and homeowners!

 Relational II Theory is actually what has developed today into the body of material called Interpersonal Communication.   This is where the best of the Pragmatic model and the best of the Relational model were combined to overcome the excesses of Relation I and the insensitivity of the Pragmatic.

Value Shift Theory

The third special theory of group dynamics is the Value Shift style.  This style is very different from the Pragmatic and Relational because its purpose is to use the group to bring individual members to the point of adjusting their individual values to match the values of the group.  It seeks to “convert the unconverted” and to “sustain the committed.”  Toffler, in “Future Shock” summarizes this period of time, from 1975 to present, as a time of many and rapid societal changes.  The Value Shift model does not focus on fidelity of transmission, but is really interested only in the best way to change values of individuals to the values of the group.  An example of this would be the groups that form around cults, and some religious groups. 

Difference between work group and work teams:Work group: A group that interacts primarily to share information to make decision tohelp each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility. Work groups have no need or opportunity to engage in collective work that requires joint effort.Work team: A group whose individual effort results in a performance that is greater thanthe sum of the individual inputs. A team gets a greater degree of individual commitmenttowards the common shared goal. The efforts of the team members result in more synergy and may achieve a better total performance.

Conclusion

So, to return to the “big picture” of the ships on the ocean, I’ve discussed the general theories of emergence and symbolic conversion, and noted its foundational place in the study of small group dynamics.  I’ve summarized the three primary special theories of Pragmatic, Relational and Value shift:  the ships on the ocean that have been constructed for special (historical) purposes.

 This is really only a summary of the high point of the theories of small group dynamics.  If I were to go through each of these principles, and tell you how I’ve seen those things happen in the many small groups that I have been a part of, you’d be tired of it before I was finished.  There are some of those models that I have seen in action, but I previously had thought they were indicative of abnormal group behaviour, rather than normal group behaviour.  In that sense, this study has made it easier to understand how to work within groups such as the classroom, student organizations, church, academic departments and youth groups.  You

will find that there is something valuable about being able to anticipate the direction of the group’s action that helps to focus on the goal, and not get caught up in the ups and downs of group communication.

Topic-7

Communication:

The term 'communication' originates from the Latin word communicare, which means to share or impart. When used as per its function, it means a common ground of understanding.

Meaning and Definition of Communication: Communication is a process, which involves organising, selecting and transmission of symbols in such a way as to help the listener perceive and recreate in his own mind the meaning contained in the mind of the communicator. Communication involves the creation of meaning in the listener, the transfer of information and thousands of potential stimuli. Communication enables us to do important things, to grow, to learn to be aware of ourselves and to accommodate to our environment. Communication is a two way process between two parties- the sender and the Receiver. It involves an exchange and progression of thoughts, ideas, knowledge and information towards a mutually accepted goal or direction.

Importance of Communication: Communication is an important aspect of management. Its importance cannot be overlooked. The main cause of misunderstanding is dearth of effective communication. In an inter-dependent company, the importance of communication in management cannot be overemphasized. Its importance has been widely recognized in recent years. Group activities in the case of common goals cannot be Accomplished without communication. The entire organisation control, coordination and motivation cannot be discharged without communication.

Reasons behind significance: Coordination Smooth Working Effective Decision-Making Managerial Efficiency Co-operation Effective Leadership Job Satisfaction Increase Productivity Morale Building Achieving Managerial Role

Nature of Communication: The nature of communication can be explained by the following

characteristics of communication: Two-way process Knowledge of language Meeting of minds necessary The message must have substance Communication may be made through gestures as well Communication is all-pervasive Communication is a continuous process Communication may be formal or informal

OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNICATION The basic objective of human communication is trying to elicit a reaction from the Person we are trying to communicate with. From a business or commercial angle, if we observe any small or large business around us we will be able to notice that the amount of success the business has achieved mainly relies on its power of communication. Communication defines the level of success that the company has attained. Following are a few of the main objectives of business communication.

Information: The core objective of a business is to convey information and making individuals more up to date, E.g.- all the advertisement campaigns that we notice around us are an attempt to inform and convey the information across to others, and in case of companies, this information is generally regarding the product or services at offer. However, the method of communication may be verbal, written, visual or any other.

Motivation: Communication in business is moreover essential to boost the workers' motivation. Thus if the communication is carried out correctly and is successful in encouraging the workers and workers are sufficiently encouraged, the work gets completed easily, proficiently and the workers will carry out their functions by themselves without supervision.

Raising Morale: Another extremely significant objective of business communication (internal) is maintaining a sense of high morale amongst the workers, so that they perform their tasks with dynamism and resilience as a team. This is a key aspect that can create a great impact on the success of a company.

Order and instructions : An order is an oral or written rule influencing the start, end or adjusting an activity. This form of communication is internal and is executed within a company. Order may be in written or verbal form. Written orders are given when the type of job is extremely vital or the person who would carry out the task is far off. Care must be taken at the time of handing out written orders; a copy of the order should always be maintained so that it is easy during the follow up.

Education and training: These days, communication can be additionally used in business to enhance the scope of knowledge. The goal of education is attained by business communication on three levels (a) Management (b) employees (c) general public.

Principles of Communication Communication is complex. While listening to or reading someone else's message, we often filter what is being said through a screen of our own perceptions. Thus our preconceived notions and opinions become one of the major barriers to communication. There is an old communications game- telegraph that is played in a circle. A message is whispered around from person to person. What the exercise usually proves is how profoundly the message changes as it passes through the distortion of each person's inner "filter".

Communication, when effectually conducted, can assist in building sturdy Relationships and harmonious working conditions. It also simplifies the process of sharing the best of ourselves with others

There are certain basic principles that need to be followed while conversingInformally with a colleague, addressing a conference or meeting, writing a newsletter article or formal report; they are as follows:

Identify your audience. Discern the purpose. Know your topic. Anticipate objections. Present a complete picture. Achieve credibility with your audience. Follow through on what you say. Communicate a little at a time. Impart information in several ways. Formulate a practical, useful way to receive feedback. Use multiple communication techniques. Communication is largely non-verbal. Context affects communication. Meanings are in people, not in words. Communication is irreversible. Noise affects communication. Communication is circular. Creating common ground is essential. Communication has effects

Process of Communication: The process of communication involves the following elements:

1. Sender or transmitter: The person who desires to convey the message is known as sender. Sender initiates the message and changes the behaviour of the receiver.

2. Message : It is a subject matter of any communication. It may involve any fact, idea, opinion or information. It must exist in the mind of the sender if communication is to take place.

3. Encoding: The communicator of the information organises his idea into series of symbols (words, signs, etc.) which, he feels will communicate to the intended receiver or receivers.

4. Communication channel: The sender has to select the channel for sending the information. Communication channel is the media through which the message passes. It is the link that connects the sender and the receiver.

5. Receiver: The person who receives the message is called receiver or receiver is the person to whom the particular message is sent by the transmitter. The communication process is incomplete without the existence of receiver of the message. It is a receiver who receives and tries to understand the message.

6. Decoding: Decoding is the process of interpretation of an encoded message into the understandable meaning. Decoding helps the receiver to drive meaning from the message.

7. Feedback : Communication is an exchange process. For the exchange to be complete the information must go back to whom from where it started (or sender), so that he can know the reaction of the receiver. The reaction or response of the receiver is known as feedback.

8. Brain drain: On whole process there is a possibility of misunderstandings at any level and is called brain drain. It may arise on sender side if they do not choose the adequate medium for delivery of message, by using default channel and it may also arise when receiver does not properly decode the message. In other words, we can say that it is breakdown of cycle at any level.

The process of communication as shown in fig involves exchange of ideas and it can be verbal or non-verbal in nature. The pre-requisite of communication is a message and this message must be conveyed through some medium to the recipient in such a way that it is understood by the recipient in the same manner as intended by the sender. The recipient must respond within a period. The response from the recipient to the sender is called feedback. Therefore, communication is said to be a two way process, which is incomplete without a feedback from the recipient to the sender on how well the message is understood by him.

COMMUNICATION PROCESS: MODELS AND THEORIES

There are many communication process models and theories available for Understanding the process involved in it, as developed by different people. It is very tedious, time and space consuming to consider all the communication models. It is, therefore, desirable to familiarise with some significant and important models that serve the purpose of understanding the process of communication.

1. Linear ModelAccording to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, one of the most productive schematic models of a communications system that has been proposed as an answer to Lass well’s question (Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What Channel (with) What Effect?) in relation to communication that emerged in the late 1940s, largely from the speculations of two American mathematicians, Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver. The simplicity of their model, its clarity and its surface generality proved attractive to many students of communication in various disciplines; although it neither is the only model of the communication process extant nor is, it universally accepted. As originally conceived, the model contained five elements—an information source, a transmitter, a channel of transmission, a receiver and a destination—all arranged in linear order. Messages (electronic messages, initially) were supposed to travel along this course, to be transformed into electric energy by the transmitter and to be reconstituted into intelligible language by the receiver. In due course, the five elements of the model were renamed to specify components for other types of communication transmitted in various manners. The information source was split into its components (both source and message) as a provision For wider range of applicability. The six constituents of the revised model are:

A source An encoder A message A channel A decoder A receiver

Some communication systems have simple ways: A person on a landline telephone The mouthpiece of the telephone The words spoken The electrical wires along which the words (now electrical impulses) travel The earpiece of another telephone The mind of the listener

2. Aristotle’s ModelAristotle took the first step towards the development of a communication model. He developed an easy, simple and elementary model of the communication process. In the figure in a communication event, there are three main ingredients,

The Speaker The Speech and

The Audience

David K. Berol’s Model: David Berol’s process theory is one of the communication theorists. The various theories of process models persuasively to another person; Berol’s model is of communication models and identifying elements of communication. Berol’s process theory has contributed largely to the subject of communication. In this model, he identified essential elements and other factors affecting them do not consider verbal and none are included in his model are: Source, Encoder, Message, Channel, Receiver, Decoder, Meaning, Feedback and Noise.

Harold D. Lass well Model The communication process of Lass well, in its broader analysis, spawns to four basic and important questions. They are: Who? What? Whom? Which? These behavioural aspects of the sender in the communication process are well defined.

Lass well’s model ignores the essential elements of the communication process. However, Lass well’s model indicates the major elements in the process by posing some questions related to the act of communication. They are:

Who? Says What? In What Channel? To Whom? With What Effect?

1. Why?Why do we want to communicate? What is the purpose of the communication? Is itTo persuade or to inform? Is any particular action required?

2. What?What do we want to communicate? It may be an order, an idea, an attitude or afeeling. What form of words or possible actions suits the situation?

3. How?How are we going to communicate? In what form will the communication get home the message fastest? What impact will a particular form have on the recipient?

4. Who?Is there a key to the communication situation? How does he feel about me, aboutThis situation?

5. When?Finally, when is the right time to get across this message? When is the receiver likely to give it the most attention? Is timing critical to the success of the communication?

In this model, he covers the five elements in the process by putting forth the abovequestions. The model emphasises on the effects of communication and the response of the receivers. The behavioural aspects of the sender are the important element in the process.

JOHARI WINDOW: The Johari Window is a model for getting and giving feedback. It is a Communication model and we can see it working in the classroom, on The job, and at home. Two psychologists, Joseph Loft and Harry Ingraham, Originally developed the window.

Arena The arena is the information that you know about yourself and that others also know. It is the obvious things, e.g. race, name, height, weight, etc. It is those things that you told others when you introduced yourself to the Class. It is also those feelings that you have shared during the “Thought For the Day,” learning styles, communication process, and the personality Lessons. It is all of that information that you wanted other people to Know. This is an area that is very open for all to see.

Hidden Area The hidden area contains all that information that we don’t want others To know about us. It’s that closet of feelings, insecurities, and not-so-great Experiences. It’s the private information.

Blind Spot The blind spot is the information that others know about you, but you don’t Know about yourself. A funny example is the female student whose husband Told her she snores. She didn’t think she did, but he knew she did. What are Some things that people have said about you that you didn’t know? There are also positive things such as being a good listener or talker. We May feel that we are not a good listener or talker, but our friends may feel Differently.

Unknown Area The unknown area contains information that you don’t know and others Don’t know. It could be abilities and potentials that you have not discovered about yourself yet. An example could be that you might be a great Salesperson or customer service representative, but for now you don’t Know whether you have that ability or not.

Putting It All Together Information can move from one pane to the next as you develop mutual Trust, share hopes and dreams, and find similarities and things in common. We get over our differences and start to trust each other as classmates and teammates. It is the same way on a job with other co-workers. As time goes on and we begin to trust each other we start to tell more and More information about ourselves. We start to expand the arena. Look back at the first day, how open were you? Not much—only what you needed to say.

Shannon And Weaver Model: Simplest model of communication reflects the work of Shannon and Weaver. Model consists of a sender, a message, a channel where the message travels, noise or interference and a receiver.Often, communicator’s blame the audience for not accepting a message, but it is often that the sender, encoding process or channels chosen were not applied correctly. This first model is missing an essential step

in the communications process — feedback. Without feedback, we don’t know if the receiver received or

understood our message.

Wilbur Schramm Model: Communication is something people do. There is no meaning in a message except what people put into it. There is no meaning in a message except what people put into it.

Wilbur Schramm’s Modifications: Added to the model the context of the relationship, and how that relationship will affect Communicator A and Communicator B. Included the social environment in the model, noting that it will influence the frame of reference of both Communicator A and B.

Walter Lippmann’s barriers to effective communication include:

artificial censorship. Gatekeepers in the media. Shrinking news holes. Limitation of social contact. Meager time for paying attention.

McCombs and Shaw (1993): Agenda-Setting Theory

The media not only tell people what to think about in broad terms, but additionally how to think about specific items, and then what to think. In other words, media shape top-of-mind presence regarding issues. However, with the next news cycle, a topic from the day before may disappear, and so does its importance among news consumers.

Communication Network Communication Network is divided into two parts in an organisation.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION Interaction among members of the same organisation is termed as internal Communication. It could be both formal and informal. Large organisations with hundreds of people employees face inability in communicating and directly interacting with everyone. They adopt a number of strategies e.g. newsletters, annual reports to communicate the essential message. In such large setups, it is impossible and unnecessary to transmit information to everyone. Informal communication is prevalent in organisations with a preliminary work force of approximately 20 people, all of whom have direct interaction with each other every day. Almost all messages are communicated back and forth in an informal manner. The channels of communication may be as follows:

Vertical Horizontal Diagonal

VERTICAL COMMUNICATION Vertical communication is upward and downward flow of messages. Information isTransmitted from the top management to the employees working in the organisation or vice versa. Since it is impossible to have upward and downward direct interface on all occasions, especially when the downward number of people working is high, messages navigate or break through with assistance from a mediator or an opinion leader.

LATERAL/HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION Interaction with peers or colleagues is called lateral/horizontal communication. This could prove to be the most effectual form of communication, as peers are not stalled by the ‘chain-of-command’ methods. The volume of horizontal communication that a company benefits from would be subject to the interdependence of various departments. In fact, if the work is conducted by considering operations of various departments, communication is improved and more inclusive. Without lateral communication, there cannot be productive development at the organisational level. In similar situations, there would be lack of coordination, cooperation and numerous forced attempts would be carried out to Amalgamate activities of various departments. Further, it could also cause repetition of work and poor employee relationships.

DIAGONAL COMMUNICATION

In an organisation, communication does not necessarily move across a specific path. Vertical and lateral forms or informal and diagonal forms of transferring messages are vital. As shown in figure in diagonal communication, there is no direct path planned for transmission of information. At certain stages, it could take on the upward trend, then a lateral direction and, finally, move downward or even skip a few stages.

EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION Communication is an on-going process. It not only occurs with people both within and outside the organisation. If a company plans to exist in a competitive environment, it has to implement the latter form of communication also. The image of the company is reliant on external communication. External communication can take on a number of forms:

Advertising Media interaction Public relations Presentations Negotiations Mails Telegrams Letters

Cross Cultural Communication Cross-cultural communication is a field of study that scrutinizes how people from Varying cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves and how they endeavour to communicate across cultures.

Cross-cultural communication tries to amalgamate such relatively unrelated areas as cultural anthropology and established areas of communication. Its core is to ascertaining and understanding how people from variant cultures communicate with each other. Its charge is producing some guiding principles that would simplify communication for different people with different background.

Types of Communication:

Communication can be categorised as follows:

1. Oral/ verbal Communication:a. Wordsb. Articulation

2. Written Communication:

a. Reportsb. Illustrationsc. Memosd. Telegramse. Facsimiles (FAX)f. E-mailsg. Tendersh. Lettersi. Others

3. Non- verbal

a. Body languageb. Signs and symbolsc. Territory/zoned. Object language

1. Verbal/Oral Communication: Anything spoken by mouth is called oral communication. Whatever is uttered from the mouth comprises words and the manners of pronouncing words. The manner of pronouncing words is called articulation. Speaking and listening activities can create overall impact if used effectively. Let us understand the basic features of communication:

Idea: In this preliminary step speakers decide the issue to be communicated. There are Many ideas in the speakers mind. He/she may choose the ideas, which suits the Occasion as well as receiver.

Message: Message construction depends upon various factors such as:

The language must be easily understood by the receiver The thought idea in the language must easily convey the meaning to elicit a positive feedback from

the receiver.

All/most care must be taken by the speaker not to harm the interests of receiver. Queries of the receiver must be anticipated in advance by the speaker for greater impact on receiver

Paragraph/Pauses: Pauses must be appropriately timed to give the receiver some time To absorb whatever he has listened to earlier. This is just for few seconds, but its impact is long and meaningful. In written communication pauses can be translated into paragraphs.

Receiver: The receiver plays an important role in communication. The speaker must Always take care to retain the interest of the receiver in communication because if he loses interest the whole communication process stops. The speaker should always address himself to the needs and expectation of the receiver.

Empathy: Greater the empathy between the sender and receiver, higher the level of Understanding and more is the receptivity to message and ideas. In brief, we can say that the receiver must get completely involved with the ideas and thoughts of the speaker from speakers point of view, without any prior conceptions for better results or communication.

Sender: Sender or the speaker takes the first step towards sharing of ideas, thoughts Concepts with receiver. The success and failure of interaction totally depends upon the methods used by him to convey his message across by recurring attention of the receiver.

2. Written Communication: Written communication acquires a number of forms. It is the most formal of all types of communication. Its manner and style may alter according to the characteristic manner of a company. It is also bound by the dictates of theorganisation.

3. Non Verbal Communication: This is an essential part of communication. The medium of communication other than oral and written communication is called as non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication includes the way an individual positions himself, holds his hands, tilts his head etc. A receiver observes non-verbal communication 55% of the time. Effective and synchronized use of oral and non-verbal communication is the most effective method of communication. Non-verbal communication may include gestures, postures, signs, signals etc.

Elements of Non-Verbal Communication: Non-verbal communication consists of four main elements: body language (face, eyes, touch, and gestures), artefact’s (clothing, appearance, and office design), voice (pitch, loudness, rate, vocal variety, and vocal emphasis) and time.

Body Language: The body sends a continuous flow of cues that tell us about the Speakers' mind-set and emotions.

Physical Aspects to recognise Body Language: We may gain an introduction to the communicative functions of the body by recognizing the importance of six physical aspects:

Body shape and appearance, posture, gestures, touching, facial expressions Eye contact and gaze.

Kinesics: Kinesics is defined as ‘The study of non-linguistic bodily movements such as facial expression and gestures’. Kinesics is the interpretation of body language such as facial expressions and gestures or, more formally, non-verbal behaviour related to movement, either of any part of the body or the body as a whole.

Barriers of Effective Communication: Effective communication can face multiple barriers. In business communication, obstacles occur because of organisational barriers. The Obstacles could be:

Size of organisation Physical distance between employees Specialisation of jobs, activities Power struggles, status of relationships Defensiveness, distorted perceptions, guilt, distortions from past Misleading body language, tone or other non-verbal communication Interpersonal relationships (individual or groups) Prejudices The channels used to communicate

Following are the barriers of effective communication. Physical Barriers Psychological Barriers Linguistic and Cultural Barriers Mechanical Barriers

PHYSICAL BARRIERS There are four kinds of physical barriers.

Competing stimulus: Another conversation (within hearing distance), loud music, traffic noise (in the background), crows cawing, plane overhead - can drown message.

Environmental stress: High temperature plus humidity, poor ventilation, vibrations felt, strong glare can contribute to distractions (in sending and receiving messages).

Subjective stress: Sleeplessness, ill health, effects of drugs, mood variations give rise to stress, leading to difficulty in listening and interpretation

Ignorance of medium: The various media for communication are oral, written, audio, visual, and audio-visual. Use of a medium, which the communicator is not familiar with could turn the medium itself into barrier (e.g. maps, charts used to instruct workers who have not been taught to read maps will alienate workers immediately).

PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS Each person has a ‘frame of reference’, a kind of window to view the world, people, events and situations. A ‘frame of reference’ is a system of standards and values, usually implicit, underlying and to some extent controlling an action or the expression of any belief, attitude or idea. No two people will have same ‘frame of reference’. Our ‘frame of reference’ is fashioned by our expressions, childhood experiences, cultural environment and heredity.

LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL BARRIERS Language is an expression of thoughts/expression of people in terms of cultural environment. When same language is used in different cultures, it takes another colour. Language can be appropriated to suit varied situations e.g. financial terms, medical terms, psychological terms etc. Language facilitates understanding, but it can also prove to be a barrier to communication. A language, whether verbal or non-verbal, is ambiguous in nature. Words are mere symbols. Symbols are comprehended differently by participants in communication. Cultural differences have an impact on language and meanings.

MECHANICAL BARRIERS Mechanical barriers are those raised by channels employed for interpersonal or mass communication. Channels become barriers when the message is impeded by disturbances.In such a case, itA) Increases the difficulty in reception or B) Prevents some elements of the message reaching its destination or both. Some examples of mechanical barriers are static on radio, smeared ink on newspaper, a rolling screen on TV, a barely readable point size or a film projector, video/DVD that does not function properly.

Guidelines for Effective Communication: Communication guidelines are important for horizontal integration of the communication process. These guidelines may include work procedures, which have been agreed upon, design regulations regarding logotypes and colours.

The 7C’s are as follows:

1. Conciseness: The message to be communicated should be as brief and concise as possible. Only simple and brief statements should be made.

2. Concreteness : Concrete and specified expressions should be used in favour of vague and abstract expressions. The facts should also be specified. Such communication builds confidence between sender and receiver.

3. Consistency: Communication approach must have consistency. Excessive vicissitudes might lead to confusion in the mind of the receiver. All the ideas and points must work in tandem and form an appropriate sequence. Such communication will minimize communication barriers.

4. Correctness: It is mandatory to send the message in a correct manner i.e. it must have supporting facts, figures, examples etc. This is done to ensure that if any idea has remained unclear to the receiver he may understand it more clearly, correctly and appropriately based on the supply of facts etc. The sender's ideas must be balanced. The most important aspects of the message should be emphasised for increased attention of the receiver.

5. Clarity: Clarity of thought should precede a conversation. The message constructed by the sender should be unambiguous should adhere to a simple sentence structure. This permits the receiver to understand the message with little effort.

6. Credibility: The above-mentioned points prove futile in the absence of the credibility factor because credibility depends on the trust factor between the sender and receiver. The sender should exude confidence that the receiver will receive the message being sent by him. Similarly, the receiver should maintain constant interaction with the sender and display trust in the sender's credibility. He should accept the sender's messages as the truth.

7. Courtesy: Courtesy follows credibility. Results beyond expectation can be achieved if tact, diplomacy and appreciation of people are woven in the message. Courtesy in expression is an effective and integral part of business world.

The 4S’s are as follows1. Sincerity: Sincerity increases the level of trust between sender and receiver. The receiver also expects sincerity from the sender. If there is a slight sense of insincerity in the message and if the observer is keen about the message then it may affect the communication process.

2. Strength: The strength of the message depends upon the credibility of the sender. If the sender himself believes in the message then there is strength and conviction in whatever he states.

3. Simplicity: The strength of the message depends upon the credibility of the sender. If the sender himself believes in the message then there is strength and conviction in whatever he states.

4. Shortness: The message must be precise and concise. Brief messages are transmitted and comprehended more clearly, more effortlessly and are more effective and economical.

TOPIC –8

PERSONALITY:-

Personality refers to the relatively stable pattern of behaviors and consistent internal states that explain a person’s behavioral tendencies. Or we can say that relatively stableness of characteristics that influences of an individual’s behavior. Strong personality will dominate in a weak situation.

Personality DeterminantsThere are several factors that determine the formation or shaping of our personality.Among them the three major factors are: Heredity, Environment and Situation.i) HeredityThe genetic components inherited from our parents at the time of conception determinestrongly the personality characteristics of an individual. The color, height, physicalstatutory, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition, inheritablediseases etc are considered to be inherited from our parents.

ii) EnvironmentThe culture in which people are brought up in their lives and they type of socializationprocess such as family’s child rearing practices, socio economic status of the family,number of children in a family, birth order, education of the parents, friends and peergroup pressures, religious practices, the type of schooling and recreational activities,pastime behavior etc play a critical role in shaping our personalities.

iii) SituationThe type of specific situation which a person encounters also equally shapes the type ofpersonality characteristics. For example, an individual’s exposure to a job interview andthe type of experiences encountered during that time will shape certain personalitycharacteristics. Similarly, going for a picnic with friends and encountering the type ofexperiences whether pleasant and unpleasant will shape the personality characteristics ofindividuals.

How to personality measured:- Projective test—excites an individual response to abstract stimuli.

Behavioral measure—personality assessment that involves observing an individual’s behavior in a controlled situation.Self-report questionnaire—assessment involving an individual’s responses to questions.

Myer’s-Briggs type indicator (mbti)—instrument measuring Jungs theory or individual differences

Myer’s-Briggs type indicator Preferences Represents.Personality Types (MBTI)MBTI describes four dimensions of Personality Types:(a) Extroversion versus Introversion: (The ways in which people relate to the world)(b) Sensing versus Intuition: (Becoming aware of and perceiving information)(c) Thinking versus feeling: (Ways of deciding and prefer to make judgments)(d) Judging and Perception: (The amount of control exercising and organizing people)

Big Personality Traits There are five Big Personality Traits which have a significant impact in individual’s life.They are as follows:1. Extraversion—this focuses on the comfort level of an individual in interaction with others.2. Agreeableness-agreeableness refers to an individual’s behavior towards others while interacting with them.3. Conscientiousness—refers to the extent to which individuals show consistent and reliable behavior while working in the organization.4. Emotional stability –emotional stability refers to the ability of an individual to control his or her emotions at the time of crises.5. Openness to experience—openness to experience measures the individual’s ability to be open any kind of experience that helps him or her to do the job effectively.

Personality profiling using disc methodology:- The four behavior al patterns which emerged were labeled as dominance, influence, steadiness, and compliance. personality profile analysis (ppa)based on DR Marston’s theory .this profile helps to identify the personality characteristics within a person .every individual will have a unique profile ,of his or her own that makes the individual fit or misfit to perform certain kinds of job.

Fundamental interpersonal relations orientation-behavior (firo-b)It is a highly valid and reliable instrument to find out how a person’s personal needs affect his or her orientation towards other people in their personal or professional life it gives information about a person’s compatibility with others. It helps us to understand how the following three different needs of individuals shape their interactions with others at work, in their personal life:

Inclusion (i); this refers to the need for recognition, participation, and belongingness to others.

Control (c); this relates to the needs of an individual to lead and influence others as well as take responsibility for actions.

Affection (a); this refers to the need for closeness, warmth, and sensitivity towards other people.

Expressed behavior: it refers to what a person actually wants to do or initiates action in that direction in a given set of situations.

Wanted behavior: it indicates the degree to which an individual wants to take action and be on the receiver’s side.

Four types of problem-solving behaviors

Sensation thinkers (st)

Intuitive thinkers (it)

Sensation feelers (sf)

Intuitive feelers (if)

Personality traits

Locus of control; it is a dimension of personality that explains the degree to which people believes that they, rather than external forces, determines their own lives.

Internal—I control what happens to me. External—people can circumstances control my fate

Authoritarianism; it is the degree to which a person believes that status and power differences are appropriate in an organization.

Dogmatism: it refers to the degree of flexibility or rigidity of a person’s views.

Machiavellianism: it is a personality attitude that describes the extent to which a person manipulates others for personal gains.

Risk propensity; this refers to a person’s willingness to take risks.

Self-esteem; it is the judgment one makes about one’s own worth.Success tends to increase self-esteem. Failure tends to decrease self-esteem.

Self-monitoring : this refers to the degree to which people are sensitive to others and adapt their behavior to meet external expectations and situation needs.

High self-monitors. 1. Flexible adjust behavior according to the situation and the behavior of other’s

2. Can appear unpredictable &inconsistent.

Low self-monitors;

1. Act from internal states rather than from situational cues

2. Show consistency.

3. Less likely to respond work group norms or supervisory feedback.

Hofstede’s framework:

Individualism: it refers to the extent to which people choose their own affiliations and stand up for themselves.

Collectivism: it stresses on the importance of human interdependence where people like to work in groups.

Centralized power; societies with centralized power permit unequal intellectual or physical capabilities to grow into blatant inequalities in the distribution of power and wealth.

Diffused power; societies with diffused power play down individual differences by sharing or decentralizing power.

Strong uncertainty avoidance: nations with a strong need for uncertainty avoidance usually claim that absolute truth originates from a dominants religion.

Work uncertainty avoidance; people in weak uncertainty avoidance countries accept the unknown future and are not troubled by it.

Masculinity versus feminity

Masculinity; masculine values permeate societies where the hero is the successful achiever, where showing off and displaying wealth are accepted.

Femininity: feminine values include respecting the underdog, putting relationships before wealth, and tending to the quality of life and environment.

Type A and Type B Personality:This refers to the extent to which people tend exhibit certain characteristics. Type A person feels a chronic sense of time urgency, are highly achievement oriented, exhibit a competitive drive and are impatient when their work is slowed down for any reason. Type B persons are easygoing individuals who do not have sense of time urgency, and who do not experience the competitive drive.Type A PersonalityCompetitiveHigh Need for AchievementAggressiveWorks FastImpatientRestlessExtremely AlertTense Facial MusclesConstant Time Pressure

Type B PersonalityAble to Take Time to Enjoy LeisureNot Preoccupied with AchievementEasy Going Works at Steady PaceSeldom ImpatientRelaxedNot Easily FrustratedMoves SlowlySeldom Lacks Enough Time

Tolerance for Ambiguity

This dimension refers to the extent to which individuals are threatened by or have difficulty coping with situations that are ambiguous, where change occurs rapidly or predictably, where information is inadequate or unclear or where complexity exists they are inclined to pay attention to a variety of items – and they may have somewhat less ability to concentrate without being distracted by interruptions. There are three dimensions in Tolerance of Ambiguity. They are Novelty, Complexity and Insolubility.

Tolerance of Ambiguity towards Novelty: This refers to the extent to which you are tolerant of new, unfamiliar information or situations.

Tolerance of Ambiguity towards Complexity: This refers to the extent to which you are tolerant of multiple, distinctive or unrelated information.

Tolerance of Ambiguity towards Insolubility: This refers to the extent to which you are tolerant of problems that are very difficult to solve alternative solutions are not evident, information is unavailable or the problems compensate seem unrelated to each other.

Matching Personality and Job Types:This refers to the extent to which people successfully match their personalities with their jobs. If there is a perfect relationship between the job and personality, the job satisfaction and production turnover among the employees will be significantly higher. John Holland present six personality types and proposes that the satisfaction and the propensity to leave a job depend on the degree to which people successfully match their personalities with a suitable occupational environment. Holland’s typology of personality is given as below:

Vocational Typology Personality Characteristics

Congruent Occupations

Realistic Shy, genuine, persistent,stable, conforming,practical

Mechanic, drill press operator,assembly-line worker, farmer

Investigative Analytical, original,curious, independent

Biologists, economist,mathematician, news reporter

Social Sociable, friendly,cooperative, understanding

Social worker, teacher,counselor, clinical psychologists

Conventional Conforming, efficient,practical, unimaginative,inflexible

Accountant, corporate manager,bank teller, file clerk

Enterprising Self-confident, ambitious,energetic, domineering

Lawyer, real estate agent, publicrelations specialist, smallbusiness manager

Artistic Imaginative, disorderly,idealistic, emotional,impractical

Painter, musician, writer,interior decorator

Holland’s model proposes that a realistic person in a realistic jobs is in a more compatible situation than is a realistic person in an investigate job. Sociable person should be in social jobs, conventional people in convention jobs and so forth. Due care must be exercised to ensure a perfect between personality characteristics and the type of jobs offered to the candidates during the selection process. The person-organization fit essentially argues that people leave jobs that are not compatible with their personalities.

Catt ell’s 16 personality factors (16 pf) 1. APPREHENSIVE VERSUS SELF-ASSURED

2. ASSERTIVE VERSUS HUMBLE

3. CONSCIENTIOUS VERSUS EXPEDIENT

4. CONTROLLED VERSUS CASUAL

5. EMOTIONALLY STABLE VERSUS UNSTABLE

6. EXPERIMENTAL VERSUS CONSERVATIVE

7. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY VERSUS SOBER

8. IMAGINATIVE VERSUS LESS INTELLIGENT

9. MORE INTELLIGENT VERSUS LESS INTELLIGENT

10. OUTGOING VERSUS RESERVED

11. RELAXED VERSUS TENSE

12. RESERVED VERSUS WARM

13. SHREWS VERSUS FORTHRIGHT

14. SUSPICIOUS VERSUS TRUSTING

15. TOUGH-MINDED VERSUS SENSITIVE

16. VENTURESOME VERSUS TIMID

TOPIC-9

LEADERSHIP

INTRODUCTION Leadership is defined as the process of influencing others to get the job done more effectively over a sustained period of time. Leaders play a critical role in influencing the work behavior of others in the system. For example, Marketing managers influence their sales force personnel to influence to meet the targeted sales volume. If he is more influential, his style will have an impact on the behavior of the subordinates. There are three processes by which people can be influenced-compliance, identification and internalization or some combinations of these.

Compliance: It occurs when people are influenced to do something against their willbecause they have been coerced into doing it otherwise, they may likely to face severconsequences which cost them heavily. In most authoritarian organizations, managers will influence subordinates through the process of coercion which, often elicits reluctant and half-hearted compliance.

Identification: It occurs when people do things that the leader wants them to do because they like him or her and what to put forth the effort to accomplish the things that the leader would like them to do. Subordinates simply follow their managers just because he is so attractive or likable or who acts as a role model. Such leaders tend to have more charisma and possess some qualities that are more valued and admired by others in the organization.

Internalization: It occurs when followers are convinced that acting in a particular way as directed by the leader is in their own interests. This is the highest level, wherein the amount of influence exerted by the managers is very limited. The employees will realize the type of action what

they have been asked to do will be providing more benefits in future. Having internalized the values or opinions of the leader because of their high trust in the individual’s judgment and expertise, the employees willingly do whatever needs to be done.

Types of Leaders Leader by the position achieved Leader by personality, charisma Leader by moral example Leader by power held Intellectual leader Leader because of ability to accomplish things

Managers Vs Leaders

Managers Leaders

Focus on things Focus on people Do things right Do the things right Plan Inspire Organize Influence Direct Motivate Control Build Follows the rules Shape entities

Seven Basic Principles 1. Have two to three years to make measurable financial and cultural progress.2. Come in knowing current strategy, goals and challenges. Form hypothesis on operating priorities.3. Balance intense focus on priorities with flexibility on implementation.4. Decide about new organization architecture.5. Build personal credibility and momentum.6. Earn right to transform entity.7. Remember there is no “one” way to manage a transition.

Leadership styles 1. Autocratic ( Authoritarian)2. Bureaucratic3. Democratic4. Coercive5. Transactional6. Transformational7. Laissez-faire

Autocratic (Authoritarian) 1. Manager retains power (classical approach)2. Manager have decision making authority3. Manager does not consult employees for input4. Subordinates expected to obey orders without explanations5. Motivation provided through structured rewards and punishments

When to use autocratic style? 1. New, untrained employees2. Employees are motivated3. Employees do not respond to any other leadership style4. High volume production needs5. Limited time for decision making6. Manager’s power is challenged by an employee

Bureaucratic Style 1. Manager manages “by the book”2. Everything must be done according to procedure or policy3. If it isn’t covered by the book, the manager refers to the next level above him or her4. Police officer more than leader

When to use bureaucratic?

1. Performing routine tasks2. Need for standards/procedures3. Use of dangerous and delicate equipment’s4. Safety or security training being conducted5. Tasks that require handling of cash

Democratic Style 1. Often referred to as participative style.2. Keeps employees informed.3. Shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities.4. “Coach” who has the final say, but…5. Gathers information from staff members before making decisions.6. Help employees evaluate their own performance.7. Allows employees to establish goals.8. Encourages employees to grow on the job and be promoted.9. Recognizes and encourages achievement.

When to use Democratic Style? 1. To keep employees informed.2. To encourage employees to share in decision-making and problem solving.3. To provide opportunities for employees to develop a high sense of personal growth and job

satisfaction.4. Complex problems that require a lot of input.

5. To encourage team building and participation.

Coercive Style 1. Power from a person’s authority to punish.2. Most obvious types of power a leader has.

3. Good leaders use coercive power only as a last resort: in today’s sophisticated and complex workplace, excessive use of coercive power unleashes unpredictable and destabilizing forces which can ultimately undermine the leader using it.

When to use coercive? 1. To meet very short term goals.2. When left with no other choice.3. In times of crisis.

Transactional Style 1. Motivate followers by appealing to their own self interest.2. Focuses on accomplishment of tasks and good worker relationships in exchange for desirable

rewards.3. Encourage leader to adapt their style and behavior to meet expectations of followers.4. Motivate by the exchange process.

Example:- business owners exchange status and wages for the work effort of the employee.

When to use transactional? 1. Leader wants to be in control.2. When there are approaching deadlines that must be met.3. Relationship is short term.

Transformational Style 1. Charismatic and visionary.2. Inspires followers to transcend their self-interest for the organization.3. Appeal to followers to think about problems in new or different ways.4. Common strategies used to influence followers include vision and framing.5. Stimulates followers intellectually, arousing them to develop new ways to think about problems.6. Uses contingent rewards to positively reinforce desirable performances.7. Flexible and innovative.

When to use Transformational Style? 1. When leaders want members to be an active part of the organization and have ownership to it.2. When leaders are building a sense of purpose.3. When the organization has a long term plan.4. When people need to be motivated.

Laissez-Faire 1. Also known as the hands off style.2. Little or no direction.3. Gives followers as much freedom as possible.

4. All authority or power is given to the followers.5. Followers must determine goals, make decisions, and resolve problems on their own.

When to use Laissez-Faire Style? 1. Employees are highly skilled, experienced, and educated.2. Employees have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own.3. Outside experts, such as staff specialists or consultants are being used.

THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP :There are three major approaches to leadership: a) trait theories, b) behavioral theories, c) situational theories. Trait theories highlight that there exists a finite set of individual traits or characteristics that distinguish successful from unsuccessful leaders. Behavioral theories highlight that the most important aspect of leadership is not the traits of the leader, but what the leader does in various situations. Successful leaders are distinguished form unsuccessful leaders by their particular style of leadership. Situational theories outlines that the effectiveness of the leader is not only determined by his or her style of behavior, but also by the situation surrounding the leadership environment. Situational factors include the characteristics of the leader and the subordinates, the nature of the task and the structure of the group.

TRAIT THEORIES: Some of the significant characteristics of leaders are categorized as follows:-

Physical Characteristics – age, appearance, height, weight

Social Background – Education, social status, mobility

Intelligence – Intelligence, ability, judgment, knowledge, decisiveness, fluency of Speech

Personality – Aggressiveness, alertness, dominance, enthusiasm, extroversion, independence, creativity, personal integrity, self-confidence

Task-related Characteristics – Achievement drive, drive for responsibility, initiative,

persistence, enterprise, task orientation

Social Characteristics – Administrative ability, attractiveness, cooperativeness, popularity, prestige, sociability, interpersonal skill, tack and diplomacy

The list of important leadership traits is endless and grows with each passing year. It has not yet been shown that a finite set of traits can distinguish successful from unsuccessful leaders. For example, successful research administrators are usually inquisitive, independent, perspective, and experts within their field. Successful sales manages are usually high-need achievers, gregarious, enthusiastic and project a professional stature, What may be important traits for one occupation may not be important for other roles in the same organization. Uniformity of traits across all levels is thus questioned. Trait identifies who the leader is, not the behavioral patterns he or she will exhibit in attempting to influence subordinate actions.

BEHAVIORAL THEORIES: The foundation for the style of leadership approach was the belief that effective leaders utilized a particular style to lead individuals and groups to achieving certain goals, resulting in high productivity and morale. Unlike trait theories, the behavioral approach focused on leader effectiveness, not the emergence of an

individual as a leader. There are two prominent styles of leadership such as task orientation, and employee orientation. Task orientation is the emphasis the leader place on getting the job done by such actionsas assigning and organizing the work, making decision, and evaluating performance. Employee orientation is the openness and friendless exhibited by the leader and his concern for the needs of subordinates. Two major research studies directed toward investigating the behavioral approach to leaderships is i) Ohio State University Studies and ii) University of Michigan Studies.

Ohio State Studies : Initiating Structures and Consideration: They identified two independent leadership dimensions.

- Initiating Structure: This concerned the degree to which the leader organized and defined the task, assigned the work to be done, established communication networks and evaluated work-group performance.

- Consideration, which was defined as behavior that involves trust, mutual respect, friendship; support and concern for the welfare of the employee. Consideration refers to an emphasis on an employee orientation leadership style. Their findings indicated that a mixture of initiating-structure and consideration leader behavior, which are achieved the highest effectiveness, depends largely on situational factors.

Michigan State Studies: Two distinct styles of leadership were developed from their studies:

- Job-centered leaderships style, which focused on the use of close supervision, legitimate and coercive power, meeting schedules and evaluating work performance.

- Employee-centered style, which is people oriented and emphasis delegation of responsibility and a concern for employee welfare, needs, advancement and personal growth. Their findings reported that employee centered and job centered styles result in productivity increase. However, job centered behavior created tension and pressure and resulted in lower satisfaction and increased turnover and absenteeism. Employee centered style is the best leadership style. Leadership’s style is too complex to be viewed as un dimensional, but more than two dimensions may complicate the interpretation of leadership behavior. The measurementof leadership style for each of the approaches was accomplished through the use of questionnaire. This method of measurement is both limited and controversial. Further, in search of the most effective leadership’s style, the research findings suggested that a universally accepted best style was inappropriate to the complexities of modern organizations.

Managerial Grid:

The five basic approaches to management identified by Black and Mouton are based on the two dimensions of concern of people and concern for production that are associated with leaders. A managerial grid is formed based on these two dimensions which are rated on 9 point scale. If manager is securing the lowest score on these two dimensions I,I is identified as impoverished style of managers who are low on both their concern of people and production, 1,9 or country club style is designated to those managers who are havinghigh concern for people but low concern for production. The 5, 5 or the middle-of-the road style concerns the moderate levels of concern for both people and production. The 9,1 or task management style is one where there is a high concern for production but very little concern for people and finally, 9,9 or team management style is one where the manager has high concern for both people and production. According to Black and Mouten the one best style for all mangers is the 9,9 or team management style.

Likert’s System Four Model: Rensis Likert suggests that managers operate under four different systems.

System I – Exploitative Authoritative: The manager believes in very authoritarian manner and actually exploits the subordinates

System II – Benevolent Authoritative: The manager takes a paternalistic approach while still being autocratic. Behaving as benevolent autocratic, the leader maintains strict control over the subordinates albeit in a paternalistic manner.

System III – Consultative: The manager consults the subordinates and sill maintains the right to make the final decision.

System IV – Participative Groups: The manager uses a democratic style and makes decision by consensus and majority vote.

Likert feels that the best way for all organizations to manage employees is to movetowards System .

SITUATIONAL THEORIES: Situational approaches to leadership take the position that there is no “one best way to lead in all the situations. Effective leadership style will vary from situations to situation, depending on several factors such as the personality predisposition of the leaders, the characteristics of the followers, the nature of task being done and other situational factors. Tannenbaum and Schmidt reported that the use of authority by the manager (bosscentered leaderships style) or the area of freedom given to subordinates (subordinatecentered leadership) is a function of the following factors such as i) forces in the manager – value system, confidence in subordinates, leadership predispositions and feelings of security and insecurity), ii) forces in the subordinates (their needs for independence or dependence, readiness to assume responsibility, tolerance for ambiguity, abilities, knowledge and experience and inclination to participate in decision making) and iii)forces in the situation (type of organization, group effectiveness, time pressures and the nature of the problem itself)

Fiedler’s Contingency Model of Leadership: Fiedler developed a model to predict work group effectiveness by taking into consideration the best fit between the leadership style and the degree of favorableness of the situation. The following three factors are considered to check whether the situation will be favorable or unfavorable. These factors are i) Leader- Member relations, ii) Task structure of the group, iii) Perceived position power of the manager.

Leadership Style Assessment – Leased Preferred Coworkers Scale: Fiedler developed a scale to rate the type of relationship a supervisor holds towards the least preferred coworkers on a twenty-item questionnaire. The supervisor is asked to describe the person with whom he has

worked least well in accomplishing some task. The model postulates that a low LPC score (unfavorable avoidable evaluation) indicates the degree to which a leader is ready to reject those with whom he cannot work. Therefore, the lower the LPC score, the greater the tendency for the leader to be task oriented. Onthe other hand, a high LPC (favorable evaluation) indicates a willingness to perceive even the worst coworker as having some positive attributes. Therefore, the higher the LPC score, the greatest the tendency for the leader to be employee oriented.

Favorable Situation: The situation is considered as highly favorable if it possess a high level of positive interpersonal relations between leaders and members, a well-defined task structures and a leaders perceive that they are bestowed with strong perceived positional power. In such type of situation the leader will have a great deal of control over situations and will simply have to make sure that he gives the necessary instructions to get the task done. There is no need for him to waste time talking to each employee in order to be perceivedas friendly. A task-oriented style will be effective in such situation.

Unfavorable Situation: The situation is considered as highly unfavorable if it possesses a low level of interpersonal relationship between leaders and members, a poorly defined task and a relatively a weak perceived power. The leader of a task-force committee which is appointed to solve problems encountered in the work setting is likely to find him in such a situation. In such type of situation, the leader is in highly vulnerable situations and thereis no other way to enforce a strict discipline and order to bring the situation in normalcythan following relationship oriented style.

Moderately Favorable Situation: Here the leader might find herself in a mixed situation. For instance, a manager might have good relationship with her workers, but the task structure and position power of the leader may be low. For example, a bank officer may have a good relationship staff member, but the task structure or the power to control the staff members (either to reward or punish members) is not strong enough. In such situations, the manager will be very successful and get the desirable results if he follows more of relationships oriented style than task oriented task style. The major findings of fielder are that the task-oriented leaders perform better than relationship oriented leaders in both extreme situations that are very favorable and thosethat are unfavorable. Relationship oriented leaders tend to perform better than task oriented leaders in situations that are intermediate in favorableness. These findings suggest that each of the leadership style can be effective in certain situation. Fiedler also suggests that the organization can change the effectiveness of the group’s performance by changing the favorableness of the situations or by changing the leader’s preferred style through education and training. Fiedler’s contingency model has proven to be major addition to the study of leadership in organizations for a number of reasons. First, the contingency model was one of the first approaches to leadership that included situational factors within its theoretical framework. The model will probably continue to be an important source of new ideas, propositions and hypotheses about situational leadership. Second, it provides the subtle but important implication that one should not speak of leadership as being either good or poor. Rather, a more realistic viewpoint would be that a manager’s style of leading may be effective in one situation but not in another. Finally, leadership effectiveness is a function of the leader’s style and the interaction of situational factors. The organization may improve the effectiveness of a particular work environment either modifying the situational factors or attempting to change the manager’s leadership style.

Path-Goal Theory of Leader Effectiveness : A second situational theory of leadership has been proposed by House and Evan. The principle function of the leader is facilitating to increase valence perception of their subordinates and clarify and increase expectancy probabilities of them. This will in turn make them to put greater amount of effort and derive higher level of satisfaction and performance in their work. The theory is composed of two basic propositions such as i) role of the leader and ii) dynamics of the situation. The two main aspects of this model

are as follows:

Leadership Role: Leader behavior is acceptable and satisfying to the extent that subordinates perceive such behavior as a source of satisfaction or instrumental to future satisfaction. There are four styles of leadership:

- Directive Leadership Behavior: This deals with planning, organizing, controlling and coordinating of subordinates activities by the leader. It is similar to the traditional dimension of initiating structure in that the leader’s emphasis is on letting the subordinates know what is expected of them.

- Supportive Leadership Behavior: This concerns giving support consideration to the needs of the subordinates, displaying concern for their well-being and welfare and creating a friendly and pleasant environment.

- Participative Leadership Behavior: This deals with sharing of information and an emphasis on consultation with subordinates and use of their ideas and suggestions in reaching group-related decision.

Achievement-Oriented Leadership Behavior: This deals with setting challenging goals, expecting subordinates to perform at the highest level, continually seeking improvement in performance. The leader wants good performance, but at the same time displays confidence in the ability of his subordinates to do a good job.

Dynamics of Situation: The leadership style is determined by the situation in which the leader functions. Two main factors that influence the situational effectiveness of the leader’s behavior are: a) the characteristics of the subordinates and b) the characteristics of his work environment, including task, work group and other organizational factors. The theory proposes that leader behavior will be perceived as acceptable to subordinates to the extent that the subordinates see such behavior as either an immediate source of satisfaction or as neededfor future satisfaction.

Characteristics of Subordinates: Subordinates characteristics are seen to partially determine this perception. The following are the characteristics:- Ability: This refers to the subordinates perception of his or own ability- Locus of Control: This deals with the degree to which an employee believes that he or she has control of what happens to him. People who believe that they controlled their environment and who believe what happens to them occurs because of their behavior are called internal. People who believe what happens to them is not under their control and occurs because of luck or fate are externals.

- Need and Motives: A subordinate’s dominant needs may affect the impact of leader behavior. For example, individuals with high safety and security needs may accept an instrumental leader style, but employees with high affiliation and esteem needs may react more positively to a supportive leader.

Characteristics of Work Environment:There are three broad aspects work environment such as i) task structures, ii) primary work group and iii) formal authority system.

Path-Goal theory states that leaders can exercise four different kinds of styles such as directive leadership, supportive leadership, participative leadership and achievement oriented leadership. The Path-Goal theory postulates that any of the four styles can be used effectively by the leader, depending upon situational factors such as subordinate characteristics (ability internal or external locus of control, needs and motives), and attributes in the work setting (task characteristics, authority system and the nature of the primary work groups). If there is a good fit between the leadership style and the situational factors in the work setting, then subordinates will experience job satisfaction, accept and value the leader as a dispense or valued rewards and will engage in motivated behavior because they will know that their effort will lead to performance and that performance will lead to valued rewards.

Hersey and Blanchard’s Life Cycle Model of Situation Leadership:Heresy and Blanchard developed a situational model focusing on the followers characteristics. Successful leadership is achieved by selecting the right leadership style, which is contingent on the level of the followers’ developmental level. It is the followers who accept or reject the leader, so that they are important factors in a leader’s success. Blanchard defined developmental level as the skill and willingness of people to take responsibility for directing their own behavior. It consists of two components such as jobmaturity (Job competence – skills and abilities) and psychological maturity (motivation and willingness to take responsibility)

Situational Leadership Styles:Situational leadership uses the same two leadership dimensions – task and relationship behavior. However, the situational leadership approach goes a step further by considering each as either high or low and then combining them into for specific leadership styles: Directing, Coaching, Supporting and Delegating.

i) Directing: (high directive – low supportive): The leader defines roles and tells people what tasks to do and how, when and where to do them. It emphasis directive behavior.

ii) Coaching: (high directive – high supportive) : The leader provides both directive behavior and supportive behavior)

iii) Supporting (low directive-high supportive): The leader and follower share in decision-making, with the main role of the leader being facilitating and communicating.

iv) Delegating: (low directive-low supportive) : The leader provides little direction or support.

Followers Characteristics: Besides identifying leadership behavior, the Situational Style Leadership model also identifies follower readiness or developmental level. The follower’s readiness for a task is shown on a continuum ranging from D1 to D4. Two characteristics are used to identify the level of readiness to complete the task such as i) ability and ii) willingness. The situational leadership model finds that different followers have different combinations of these two characteristics and different levels of development or readiness and capacity to complete the tasks. There are four developmental stages of followers.

i) D1: Unwilling, insecure, and with the ability to perform the task.

ii) D2: Willing, confident, and without the ability to perform the task.

iii) D3: Unwilling, insecure and with the ability to perform the task

iv) D4: Willing, confident and with the ability to perform the task.

Followers demonstrating either D4 or D3 behavior are able to direct their own behavior, whereas D2 or D1 followers need to be directed by the leader, hence, leaders need to be able to adapt their style of leadership to the situation and to the followers within their group. The leadership behavior is matched to the developmental level of the followers. As a result, no one particular style of leadership is the best. The decision to vary the style from leader-directed to task directed is dependent on the developmental level of the followers. As followers reach high levels of development, the leader responds not only by continuing to decrease control over activities, but also by continuing to decrease supportive behavior. At stage D1, followers need clear and specific direction, the Directive style is highly suitable. At stage D2, both high directive and high supportive behavior is needed, coaching style is very much suitable. At stage D3, the followers face motivational problems that are best solved by a supportive, non-directive participativestyle. Finally at stage D4, the leader does not have to do much because followers are both willing and able to take responsibility.Leader Behavior Decision Style Follower BehaviorD4 Delegating Made by Follower Willing, confident, ableD3 Participating Made by leader and

followerUnwilling, insecure, able

D2 Coaching Made by leader inconsultation with follower

Willing, confident, unable

D1 Directing Made by Leader Unwilling, insecure, unable

Successful situational leadership recognizes and creates an effective combination of leadership style, the follower’s developmental level and the situation. If a leader decides to change their leadership style, it is best to do this gradually. A change that is too dramatic can cause suspicion or resistance as people feel threatened by the new style. Leaders must work with followers and by their leadership style, affect the ability and willingness of others to perform. They also need to establish the support mechanismneeded to let others develop their aptitude for the task, perform to their maximum ability and develop the confidence to match their level of willingness.

Transformation Leadership: It is exercised when the leader intellectually stimulates the subordinates, excites, arouses and inspires them to perform far beyond what they would have thought themselves capable of. By providing a new vision, the transformational leader transforms the followers into people who self-actualize. Charismatic leadership is central to transformational leaderships. These kinds of leaders guide or motivate their follower’s inthe direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. There exists a kind of understanding between the leader and the follower that if the goals are achieved, the follower’s own interests and desires will be rewarded. This type of leader also pays attention to the concerns and developmental needs of individual followers: they change follower’s awareness of issues by helping them to look at old problems in new ways; and they are able to excite, arouse and inspire followers to put extra effort in order to achieve group goals. In essence, most transformational leaders are also charismatic leaders because they are seen as heroic and as having a profound and extraordinary effect on their followers.

The following are the typical characteristics of Transformational Leader:

i) Charisma: Provides vision, and sense of mission, instills pride , gains respect and trust

ii) Inspiration: Communicates high expectations, use symbols to focus efforts, expresses important purposes in simple way

iii) Intellectual stimulation: Promotes intelligence, rationality and careful problem solving.

iv) Individual Consideration: Gives personal attention, treats each employee individually, coaches, advises.

The following are the typical characteristics of Transactional leaders.

i) Contingent Reward: Contracts exchange of rewards for effort, promises rewards for good performance, recognizes accomplishments

ii) Management by exception: Watches and searches for deviations, form rules and standards, take corrective action

iii) Laisses-faire: Abdicates responsibilities, avoided making directions.

Sources of Power: Power is defined as the capacity to influence, the possession of delegated authority or an ability to act. According to French and Raven, individuals have five different social bases of power depending upon how they position their relationship with others. They are reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power and expert power. The first three types of power can be exercised because of the position in which one finds oneself in the organization and can be referred to as position power and the last two canbe attributed more to the characteristics of the individual and referred to as personal power. It is held because the organization has given power and authority to the position held by the leader. This stems from the belief that the superior has the right to command the subordinate and expect that his or her orders will be obeyed. The employees accept the rights of persons holding higher offices to command because of the legitimate authority bestowed on the individual by the organization.

Reward Power: It is held because the leader has the opportunity through the control of resources, either to give or withhold things wanted by others. A leader can use reward power well to reinforce effective behavior or badly to manipulate the behavior of others. The greater the rewards that the leader is perceived as having within his or her control to dispense to others, the greater will be the individual’s ability to influence others through reward power.

Coercive Power: It can be described as power which is exercised to manipulate the behavior of another by threatening to withhold desired rewards or punish the individual if the latter fails to comply with the wishes of the leader. In order to avoid the negative consequences, the individual will unwillingly obey the orders of the superior and perhaps develop a hostile attitude towards their leader. The strong presence of unions in organizations will restrict or weaken this power base.

Referent Power: Its base is identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits. If a person has admirable, charismatic, attractive, and extraordinary characteristics, he can exercise power over others to get things done. The followers identify with the leader and more attracted towards his or personal charisma and they are pleased to act in ways desired by their leader.

Expert Power: It is held because of the leader’s knowledge, aptitude and ability. It comes from an individual’s ability to direct another’s behavior because of special knowledge or expertise that one person may be perceived to possess which others need and look for. An experienced software engineer will be able to influence his colleagues to things in a particular way because the staff members will look up to this software engineer as someone possess the knowledge, experience and judgment that the staff member lacks. French and Raven make a distinction between expert power and information power. They describe information power as the influence that an individual exercises over another mainly because he has been able to logically convince another on the basis of coherent arguments or self-evident facts. They state that expert power is based the credibility accorded to the leader for his expertise whereas informational influence is based on thecharacteristics of the type of information.

TOPIC -10

Conflicts and negotiations:

What is a conflict?

We define conflict as a disagreement through which the parties involved perceive a threat to their needs, interests or concerns. Within this simple definition there are several important understandings that emerge:Disagreement - Generally, we are aware there is some level of difference in the positions of the two (or more) parties involved in the conflict. But the true disagreement versus the perceived disagreement may be quite different from one another. In fact, conflict tends to be accompanied by significant levels of misunderstanding that exaggerate the perceived disagreement considerably. If we can understand the true areas of disagreement, this will help us solve the right problems and manage the true needs of the parties.

What is a negotiation?

Negotiation is a method by which people settle differences. It is a process by which compromise or agreement is reached while avoiding argument. In any disagreement, individuals understandably aim to achieve the best possible outcome for their position (or perhaps an organisation they represent). However, the principles of fairness, seeking mutual benefit and maintaining a relationship are the keys to a successful outcome.

Sources of ConflictThere are many causes or reasons for conflict in any work setting. Some of the primary causes are:

Poor Communication: different communication styles can lead to misunderstandings between employees or between employee and manager. Lack of communication drives conflict ‘underground’.

Different Values: any workplace is made up of individuals who see the world differently. Conflict occurs when there is a lack of acceptance and understanding of these differences.

Differing Interests: conflict occurs when individual workers ‘fight’ for their personal goals, ignoring organizational goals and organizational well-being.

Scarce Resources: too often, employees feel they have to compete for available resources in order to do their job. In a resource scarce environment, this causes conflicts – despite awareness of how scarce resources may be.

Personality Clashes: all work environments are made up of differing personalities. Unless colleagues understand and accept each other’s approach to work and problem-solving, conflict will occur.

Poor Performance: when one or more individuals within a work unit are not performing - not working up to potential – and this is not addressed, conflict is inevitable.

attitudes towards conflict:

A person may show different attitudes depending on the role she plays in the conflict —this person will behave differently in a conflict with her mother, her partner, a workmate or with a stranger. These attitudes come from the two-dimensional model of conflict developed by Neil Katz*, with two major axes: Interests and Relationship. For instance, a competitive person is more oriented toward defending her own interests than caring for her relationships, while an accommodative person prioritizes the relationship over her own interests.

Although we might be inclined to think of the collaborative model as the most desirable, none of them should be idealized. The attitude or strategy we adopt in a conflict will depend on many factors that will likely condition our true response.

Stages of conflict

(i) Latent Conflict: The first stage of conflict is latent conflict in which the factors that could

become a cause of potential conflict exist. These are the dry for autonomy, divergence of goals, role

conflict and the competition for scarce resources.

(ii) Perceived conflict: Sometimes a conflict arises even if no latent conflict is present. In this

stage one party perceived the others to be likely to thwart or frustrate his or her goals. The case, in

which conflict is perceived when no latent conflict arises, is used to result from the parties

misunderstanding each other’s true position. Such conflict can be resolved by improving

communication between the groups.

(iii) Felt Conflict: Felt conflict is the stage when the conflict is not only perceived but actually felt

and cognized. For example, A may be aware that he is in serious argument with B over some policy.

But this may not make. A tense or anxious and it may have no effect, whatsoever, on A’s affection

towards B. The personalization of conflict is the mechanism which causes many people to be

concerned with dysfunctions of conflict. In other words, it makes them feel the conflict. There are two

reasons for the personalization of it.

(i) The inconsistent demands on efficient organization and individual growth which is caused within

the individual. Anxieties may also result from crisis or from extra-organizational pressures.

Individuals need to vent these anxieties in order to maintain equilibrium.

(ii) Conflict becomes personalized when the whole personality of the individual is involved in the

relationship. Hostile feelings are most common in the intimate relations that characterize various

institutions and residential colleges.

(iv) Manifest Conflict: Manifest conflict is the stage when the two parties engage in behavior

which evokes response from each other. The most obvious of these responses are open aggression,

apathy, sabotage, withdrawal and perfect obedience to rules. Except for prison riots, political

revolutions and extreme labour unrest, violence as a form of manifest conflict is rare. The motives

towards violence may remain they tend to be expressed in less violent forms.

(v) Conflict Aftermath: The aftermath of a conflict may have positive or negative repercussion for

the organization depending upon the how conflict is resolved. If the conflict is genuinely resolved to

the satisfaction of all participants, the basis for more cooperative relationship may be laid or the

participants in their drive for a more ordered relationship may focus on latent conflicts not previously

perceived and dealt with. On the other hand, if the conflict is merely suppressed but not resolved, the

latent conditions of conflict may be aggravated and explode in a more serious from until they are

rectified. This conflict episode is called conflict aftermath.

Outcomes of conflict:

One of the most common outcomes of conflict is that it upsets parties in the short run. However, conflict can

have both positive and negative outcomes. On the positive side, conflict can result in greater creativity or

better decisions. For example, as a result of a disagreement over a policy, a manager may learn from an

employee that newer technologies help solve problems in an unanticipated new way.

Positive outcomes include the following:

Consideration of a broader range of ideas, resulting in a better, stronger idea

Surfacing of assumptions that may be inaccurate

Increased participation and creativity

Clarification of individual views that build learning

On the other hand, conflict can be dysfunctional if it is excessive or involves personal attacks or

underhanded tactics. Examples of negative outcomes include the following:

Increased stress and anxiety among individuals, which decreases productivity and satisfaction

Feelings of being defeated and demeaned, which lowers individuals’ morale and may increase

turnover

A climate of mistrust, which hinders the teamwork and cooperation necessary to get work done

Types of conflict

Conflicts with persons Among the several types of conflict, the most common is one that happens to a person against another person. The other types (person versus nature, versus self or versus society) are the big ones and there are specific strategies on how to deal with them.

The person against person types are the ones we encounter daily and must be understood well enough to deal with them positively. They can be petty and they can be dangerous depending on how one faces them. The following are some of the better-known cases.

Relationship

Among the types of conflict, the ones dealing with relationships are the hardest and most delicate. This is because this kind deals mostly with emotions, and emotions can cloud even the best minds.Once emotions rule, situations can be destructive and dangerous to either or both parties. It is useful to identify the situation right away because you can look for solutions in time. These can include better communications and looking at it from the perspective of the other party.

Values

This is one of the prickliest types of conflict considering that values come in different shades and colors depending where you came from. Every religion and every culture have their own set of values that can clash. Opinions differ and when people disagree on what is “right”, value conflict begins. When either or both parties start imposing their values, conflict can escalate. Sometimes, they are triggered by a simple word or gesture.

Interests

Conflicts on interest are some of the more common types experienced by many of us interacting with all the other people. The issues are many – money, time, resources including procedural and psychological issues (trust, respect, honesty, fairness, etc).

The conflict ensues when someone had invested so much of himself (psychologically and emotionally) into a project. This sense of interest takes over his reason and his sense of objectivity is clouded.  There are other types of conflict, but the preceding ones are the most universal.

Source of conflicts

There are many causes or reasons for conflict in any work setting. Some of the primary causes are:

Poor Communication: different communication styles can lead to misunderstandings between employees or between employee and manager. Lack of communication drives conflict ‘underground’.

Different Values : any workplace is made up of individuals who see the world differently. Conflict occurs when there is a lack of acceptance and understanding of these differences.

Differing Interests: conflict occurs when individual workers ‘fight’ for their personal goals, ignoring organizational goals and organizational well-being.

Scarce Resources: too often, employees feel they have to compete for available resources in order to do their job. In a resource scarce environment, this causes conflicts – despite awareness of how scarce resources may be.

Personality Clashes: all work environments are made up of differing personalities. Unless colleagues understand and accept each other’s approach to work and problem-solving, conflict will occur.

Poor Performance: when one or more individuals within a work unit are not performing - not working up to potential – and this is not addressed, conflict is inevitable.

Strategies for managing conflict optimally Competing : A desire to satisfy one’s interests, regardless of the impact on the other party to the

conflict.

Collaborating : A situation in which the parties to a conflict each desire to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties.

Avoiding : The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict

Accommodating : The willingness of one party in a conflict to place the opponent’s interests above his or her own.

Compromising : A situation in which each party to a conflict is willing to give up something.

Resolving through Negotiations

Negotiation -- attempting to resolve divergent goals by redefining terms of interdependence

Which conflict handling style is best in negotiation?

• Begin cautiously with problem-solving style

• Shift to a win-lose style when

- Mutual gains situation isn’t apparent

- Other part won’t reciprocate info sharing

Critical elements through Negotiations

1. Interests2. Alternatives3. Relationship4. Options5. Legitimacy6. Communication7. Commitment

As a negotiator, during your preparation (remember how important preparing is?), you can use these 7 elements to create your game plan.

As a mediator, it is important to remember these as you can help the parties move forward, move from positions to interests, and keeping the 7 in mind, it helps move from stalemates (among many other positive uses).

Regardless of how you mediate or negotiate, the 7 elements are always present in negotiations. What changes is the importance of one over the other. An example is having your interests met in a particular negotiation might far outweigh the future relationship you will have with the other party

I am going to breakdown the 7 elements into separate posts by day as a way to get you to keep coming back to my blog (wait, did I just think that or type it?!?).

Seriously, I am breaking it down element by element to keep the theme of my posts being quick reads, but after the seventh one, I will make a posting having all seven in one places for easier future references.

INTERESTS

Negotiating based on interests has many positive attributes to it. But what does 'interests' mean?

·         I want him to pay me

·         I want the radio to stop being so loud

·         I want my money back

Guess what? Those are positions- not interests. The above are what you want to accomplish. To create a greater chance of a mutually beneficial agreement, negotiate on interests over positions. When you negotiate on positions, both sides have a tendency to dig their heels in, get stuck in their thoughts, spend most of the negotiation defending their position and attacking the others.

Interest based negotiating on the other hand creates more of a collaborative environment and expands your options. By doing this, it creates a win-win opportunity compared to the combative me versus you/win-lose situation.

Using the above listed examples of positions, possible interests behind them could include:

·         I feel like I was cheated and disrespected

·         I need my rest, I go to bed early because I work the early shift

·         I paid for a service that I feel I did not get and I am frustrated

Your interests represent your needs, hopes and concerns.

Ok, now you know your interests, so you think you are done right? Wrong, you are only halfway there. It is great you know your interests, but in order for the negotiation to get a successful outcome, the agreement must be beneficial to both parties. So yes, you guessed it, you have to figure out the other party's interests too.

Figuring out their interests provides you with many benefits. For one thing, it prepares you on how they may or may not respond to your needs. Also, knowing their interests helps you find out what their alternatives are.

Part Two: Alternatives

Figuring out your interests allows you to figure out your BATNA and WATNA.

It's ok if you are saying, "huh???"

BATNA and WATNA are acronyms for Best-Alternative-To-A-Negotiated-Agreement and Worst-Alternative-To-A-Negotiated-Agreement. You compare your alternative to the possible agreement that is on

the table. You weigh your best alternative and worst alternative with the possible agreement and find out what is best for you. Actually, and this is very important, you need to find out what is best for you given the circumstances.

What do I mean? The agreement on the table might be better than your alternative; however in a perfect world, your alternative might be better. Confused? Read Part 4 and I promise that Options will explain it further.

You need to figure out what is best for you in the current situation by weighing it against your alternatives to getting an agreement. Figuring out your alternatives is key to your preparations for the negotiation.

Generally, you do not want to accept an agreement that is worse than your BATNA.

As is the case with finding interests, you also need to know your other party's alternatives. Just like you will weigh your potential agreement against your alternative, they should do the same. If you are the mediator, this actually goes for the negotiator too, and a party to the negotiation does not know their alternative- help them! Yes, help them. As the mediator, you want to make sure your parties are informed.

There is a big a difference between giving advice and making sure they are aware of what will or will not happen if there is an agreement or lack of one. Raising awareness of the party's alternatives, especially in stalemates can help generate movement.

As the other party/negotiator, a great way to get the other party/negotiator to move towards a possible agreement is to get them to see that their alternative to an agreement will leave them worse off than the offer on the table.

Part 3: Relationship

You have your interests figured out as well as your alternative. Both are two very important tasks to take care of during your preparations, as well as to remember during the negotiation. An important question to ask yourself before you begin your negotiation is, "How important is the relationship I have with the other party/negotiator/group they are representing?"

The value, or lack, of the relationship should determine such things like how hard will you press certain issues, how tough of a stand will you take, will you be more attacking or submissive, etc.?

If the relationship will not exist after the negotiation concludes, you might not care how they feel or really be all to concerned with their emotions, right? Well, not really. Although you might not care as much compared to wanting to keep a relationship on-going, I would still advise someone not to go into the negotiation 'guns blazing'.

The first reason is personal. Maybe I might not care all to much what the other party thinks of me, but I do care what I think of me.

Huh?

What I mean is I have control over me and only me in the negotiation. I do not want to resort to name calling or an all-out offensive attack because that is not how I negotiate.

Additionally, consider your reputation. You might never interact with this person or group again, but keep in mind they might talk to other people in your field or market. When someone says, "Your reputation precedes you," you don't want it to be for being a hothead, do you?

Losing the battle might help you win the war. Ok, first I really dislike referring to any mediation or negotiation to war, so this is a rarity but it fits. If maintaining the relationship is more important than this particular issue/conflict you are having, is it really worth damaging, possibly beyond the point of fixing? This is a very important question to ask yourself.

As a mediator, it is important to ask the parties how important the relationship is. By doing so you are playing the crucial role of reality testing to get them to consider the choices they might make and the future implications it will have.

Part 4: Options

You are now past the early stages of the negotiation/mediation. It is now time to generate some movement. When each side has expressed their interests, next you look at options. Options are the full spectrum of possible agreements. When brainstorming options, keep in mind that each option should meet the needs of both parties- not just you! Let me mention a couple of key points to generating options:

·         Create first, evaluate second. List all options first, not leaving anything out. After all possible options have been listed, then go over each and determine if they meet each party’s needs.

·         Write them down on paper or a board without giving credit to who said what. This helps move in the collaborative direction instead of confrontation. I find it useful to use the 'mind map' method to listing options. It is simple- you put the issue in the middle of the paper, and then draw out branches for each possible option. Some study somewhere says this helps the mind be creative... who knows, but it works for me.

·         Looking at options helps move away from the idea that there are only two options- i win or he/she wins. You are expanding the pie (of options) here.

Exploring options is key to mediation and negotiation. The simple reason is the parties get the satisfaction that they are taking ownership of the issue(s) and have a direct say in how it can possibly be resolved. It has been said many times the process and method of handling the dispute is equally important to the participants as the issue itself.

Part 5: Legitimacy

How do you prove your offer or options are fair? How do you prove the other side's offer is not fair? finding a neutral, external standard defines the legitimacy of the offers being made.

Ask yourself, how would such a deal be viewed by a third party?

If it is a money situation, is charging 9% the usual accepted rate? If it is a contract dispute, is it a commonly accepted practice to expect a deposit back? In the community mediation setting, do you expect the 3 year old child upstairs to stop moving, let alone running?

As a mediator, it helps at times being experienced, perhaps even an expert in the field you are mediating in. Although you are not determining the outcome, it could provide your insight into what open ended type questions to ask.

As the negotiator, knowing accepted standards will help solidify your offers, possibly lessen theirs, and even create a new option(s).

Part 6: Communication

I if had a personal mantra, it would be Communication, Understanding, Peace. For people to understand each other (no, i do not necessarily mean agree), there has to be a clear line of communication, that goes in each direction equally.

If you want more misunderstandings in life, don't communicate... with anyone.

How else are we to understand each other, with all our beautiful differences, ranging from language to size to skin colour, without communicating? It is impossible. Without communication and understanding, it is not possible to get peace. What I mean by peace is not the absence of violence or negative conflict but rather

genuine peace- the kind that is built on the very first two words of the mantra- communication and understanding.

Communication in negotiation/mediation is one of your greatest tools. Depending on how you use it, it could be your best or worst tool. Communication ranges from what you say, how you say it, body movements, positioning, what you do not say, when and how you do not move and gestures.

The type of communication style you use greatly determines your negotiation style. Some quick tips for communicating effectively are:

·         Speak on your own behalf, not for others and assume what they feel/think.

·         Use "I" statements, "I feel frustrated when you missed the deadline because I then have to slow production down and stay later." Call me crazy, but I think it will much work better compared to saying something like, "You are lazy and never meet deadlines."

·         Listen actively. Don't just wait for them to finish to get your counter-point in, but rather use empathy while the other is talking to try and fully understand their point of view.

·         Show you are listening. Simple nodding might work.

·         Be relaxed. Being stiff and rigid in posture can send the wrong message to the other party that you are not being opened minded and not really giving them your attention.

·         it is fine to take notes, but do not scribble and write while looking down the entire time the other person is speaking.

·         Summarize and reflect. Remember, being a part of the process most times is equally important as the issues. Everyone wants to be able to speak and know that they are being heard. You can accomplish this by using such phrases as, "what it sounds like you are saying is..." and, "you seem angry because..."

·         Open ended questions. Using them is the best way to get more information, make sure you understand them, clarify the issues, and also as a way to deflect attacks.

Many books have been written on communication techniques and tips in negotiation and mediation. I highly suggest if you want to improve you communication style, you engage in further reading on this important topic.

Part 7: Commitment

Mission accomplished. As a negotiator, you closed a deal and you are better off. As the mediator, you helped both sides explore the issues and then find a suitable, acceptable option.

The last part of the of the seven elements should not be passed over or forgotten just because you are at the finish line or even feel you have already crossed it. Making sure the agreement reached is realistic and that both sides can keep their end of it is crucial to the process. If there is not a legitimate chance of either of the parties being able to be committed, they will just end up back at the mediation table or even in court.

The best example I can give is mediation between a debt collection agency and the person who owes the debt. If the person owing the debt agrees to pay $1,000 a month to the agency, but also has to pay $800 in rent and takes in $1,800 a month in salary that would mean the person has no money left to eat... or do anything else for that matter!

What do you do as the mediator? A good tool out of the 'mediator's toolbox' to use can be reality testing. Ask questions such as:

·         "Is this something you think you can stick with?"

·         "Given the situation, do you think that can be done?"

·         "Can you afford this on your salary?"

·         "Only you know if you can stick with this plan, what do you think?"

·         "Do you want to take a little time to think about it?"

The questions can also be asked to the other party as well:

·         "Is this something you think he/she can commit to?"

·         "What will happen if they do not hold up their end of the deal?"

These questions can help slow down or pause the negotiation to help everyone take a breath to see if the terms are something that each can stick with.

Remember, commitments are not only what people will do, but it can also state what they won't do. Making sure both sides can commit to the agreement ensures that the time and effort everyone has dedicated to the mediation is not wasted by agreeing to something that is not realistic

Strategies for Negotiation

Distributive Bargaining

Distributive bargaining is the approach to bargaining or negotiation that is used when the parties are trying to divide something up--distribute something.  It contrasts with integrative bargaining in which the parties are trying to make more of something.   This is most commonly explained in terms of a pie.  Disputants can work together to make the pie bigger, so there is enough for both of them to have as much as they want, or they can focus on cutting the pie up, trying to get as much as they can for themselves.  In general, integrative bargaining tends to be more cooperative, and distributive bargaining more competitive. Common tactics include trying to gain an advantage by insisting on negotiating on one's own home ground; having more negotiators than the other side, using tricks and deception to try to get the other side to concede more than you concede; making threats or issuing ultimatums; generally trying to force the other side to give in by overpowering them or outsmarting them, not by discussing the problem as an equal (as is done in integrative bargaining).  The goal in distributive bargaining is not to assure both sides win, but rather that one side (your side) wins as much as it can, which generally means that the other side will lose, or at least get less than it had wanted. (Distributive bargaining tactics rarely assume the pie will divided in half.)

Often these approaches to negotiation are framed as incompatible.  Fisher, Ury, and Patton, authors of the negotiation best-seller Getting to Yes say that integrative bargaining is superior to distributive bargaining in most, if not all, circumstances--even in situations in which something is to be divided up.  By cooperating and focusing on interests rather than positions, they argue that the pie can almost always be enlarged or some other way can be found to provide gains for all sides.  Other theorists suggest this is naive--that distributive situations requiring competitive or hard bargaining often occur.

Conflict theorists Lax and Sebenius have suggested that most negotiation actually involves both integrative and distributive bargaining which they refer to as "creating value" and "claiming value."  Negotiators should do as much as they can to "create value;" once the pie is as big as they can make it, they should claim as much of the value they can for themselves.  Knowing which approach to take when is what they refer to as the "negotiators dilemma

Integrative Bargaining Integrative Bargaining occurs when the two sides look not just for their own outcomes, but for favourable outcomes for both sides. It is sometimes called Win-Win bargaining or Non-Zero-Sum bargaining.

Integrative Bargaining requires a "problem-solving" orientation rather than an adversarial approach.

First, you have to really understand your interests. You may need to ask yourself questions such as: "What is it that I really want?" "Why do I want that?" "What are my underlying problems or interests?" "If I couldn’t get what I think I want, what else could satisfy me?"

Stimulating conflicts in organizations

Conflict improves group and organizational effectiveness. The stimulation of conflict initiates the search for new means and goals and provides the stimulus for innovation. The successful solution of a conflict leads to greater effectiveness, to more trust and openness, to greater attraction of members for each other, and to depersonalization of future conflicts. In this write up we are discussing how the stimulating conflict can provide benefits to the organization. Conflict is a means by which to bring about radical change. It's an effective device by which management can drastically change the existing power structure, current interaction patterns, and entrenched attitudes Conflict facilitates group cohesiveness. Whereas conflict increases hostility between groups, external threats tend to cause a group to pull together as a unit. Inter group conflicts raise the extent to which members identify with their own group and increase feelings of solidarity. Conflict brings about a slightly higher, more constructive level of tension. When the level of tension is very low, the parties are not sufficiently motivated to do something about a conflict. Groups or organizations devoid of conflict are likely to suffer from apathy, stagnation, groupthink, and other debilitating diseases. In fact, more organizations probably fail because they have too little conflict, not because they have too much. Take a look at a list of large organizations that have failed or suffered serious financial setbacks over the past decade or two. The common thread through these companies is that they are stagnated. Their management became complacent and unable or unwilling to facilitate change. These organizations could have benefited from functional conflict. It may be true that conflict is an inherent part of any group or organization. It may not be possible to eliminate it completely. However, just because conflicts exist there is no reason to deify them. All conflicts are dysfunctional, and it is one of management's major responsibilities to keep conflict intensity as low as humanity possible. A few points will support this case.The negatives consequences from conflict can be devastating. The list of negatives associated with conflict is awesome. The most obvious are increased turnover, decreased employee satisfaction, inefficiencies between work units, sabotage, labour grievances and strikes, and physical aggression.Effective managers build teamwork. A good manager has a coordinated team. Conflict works against such an objective. A successful work group is like a successful sports team; each member knows his or her role and supports his or her teammates. When a team works well, the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts Management creates teamwork by minimizing internal conflicts and facilitating internal.Any manager who aspires to move up in such an environment (of conflict) would be wise to follow the traditional view and eliminate any outwards sign of conflict. Failure to follow this advice might result in the premature departure of the manager.Managers who accept and stimulate conflict don't survive in the organizations. The whole argument of the value of conflict may be moot as long as the majority of senior executives in organizations view conflict from the traditional view. In the traditional view any conflict will be seen as bad. Since the evaluation of a manager's performance is made by higher-level executives, managers who do not succeed in eliminating conflict are likely to be appraised negatively. This, in turn, will reduce opportunities for advancement attribution.

TOPIC- 11

Attitudes & Values

I. What Are Values?

Values can be defined as a "broad tendency to prefer certain states of affairs over others." Not everyone holds the same values. Values may be classified into intellectual, economic, social, aesthetic, and political categories.

A. Occupational Differences in Values

Members of different occupational groups espouse different values. Salespeople rank social values less than the average person, while professors value "equal opportunity for all" more than the average person. People tend to choose occupations and organizations that correspond to their values.

B. Values across Cultures

Cross-cultural differences often contribute to failed business negotiations. As well, research shows that anywhere from 16 to 40 per cent of managers who receive foreign assignments terminate them early because they perform poorly or do not adjust to the culture. At the root of many of these problems might be a lack of appreciation of basic differences in work-related values across cultures. Work Centrality. Different cultures value work differently. People for whom work is a central life interest tend to work longer hours. Thus, Japanese managers tend to work longer hours than their North American or British counterparts. This illustrates how cross-cultural differences in work centrality can lead to adjustment problems for foreign employees and managers.

Hofstede's Study. Geert Hofstede, a social scientist, studied over 116,000 IBM employees in forty countries about their work-related values. His results show that differences occurred across cultures in four basic dimensions of work-related values: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, and individualism/collectivism. Subsequent work resulted in a fifth dimension, the long-term/short-term orientation.

Power distance is the extent to which an unequal distribution of power is accepted by society members. In small power distance cultures, inequality is minimized, superiors are accessible, and power differences are downplayed. In large power distance societies, inequality is accepted as natural, superiors are inaccessible, and power differences are highlighted.

Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people are uncomfortable with uncertain and ambiguous situations. Strong uncertainty avoidance cultures stress rules and regulations, hard work, conformity, and security. Cultures with weak uncertainty avoidance are less concerned with rules, conformity, and security, and hard work is not seen as a virtue. However, risk taking is valued.

Another cultural value that differs across cultures is known as masculinity/femininity. More masculine cultures clearly differentiate gender roles, support the dominance of men, and stress

economic performance. More feminine cultures accept fluid gender roles, stress sexual equality, and stress quality of life.

Individualistic cultures stress independence, individual initiative and privacy. Collective cultures favour interdependence and loyalty to family or clan.

Another cultural value that differs across cultures is known as long-term/short-term orientation. Cultures with a long-term orientation tend to stress persistence, perseverance, thrift, and close attention to status differences. Cultures with a short-term orientation stress personal steadiness and stability, face-saving, and social niceties.

C. Implications of Cultural Variation

Exporting OB Theories. An important message from the cross-cultural study of values is that organizational behaviour theories, research, and practices from North America might not translate well to other societies, even the one located just south of Texas.

Importing OB Theories. As well, not all theories and practices that concern organizational behaviour are perfected in North America or even in the West. Understanding cultural value differences can enable organizations to successfully import management practices by tailoring the practice to the home culture's concerns.

Appreciating Global Customers . An appreciation of cross-cultural differences in values is essential to understanding the needs and tastes of customers or clients around the world.

Developing Global Employees. Given these differences in cultural values, it is important for managers to take care when exporting or importing OB theories and appreciating global customers. An awareness of cross-cultural differences in values can help managers better appreciate global customers and develop global employees. Companies need to select, train, and develop employees to have a much better appreciation of differences in cultural values and the implications of these differences for behaviour in organizations.

II. What Are Attitudes?

An attitude is a fairly stable evaluative tendency to respond consistently to some specific object, situation, person, or category of people. Attitudes are tendencies to respond to the target of the attitude. Thus, attitudes often influence our behaviour toward some object, situation, person, or group. Attitudes are a function of what we think and what we feel. That is, attitudes are the product of a related belief and value.

Belief + Value = Attitude à Behaviour.

III. Changing Attitudes

Most attempts at attitude change are initiated by a communicator who tries to use persuasion of some form to modify the beliefs or values of an audience that supports a currently held attitude. Techniques used to affect attitude change are known as persuasion techniques. These may take the form of written communications such as posters or newsletters, or face-to-face communications such as conferences or meetings.

The traditional approach to most organizational attitude-change programs is to change beliefs and/or values

in order to change attitudes and behaviour. Cognitive dissonance theory suggests an alternative approach.

Cognitive dissonance refers to a feeling of tension experienced when certain cognitions are contradictory or inconsistent with each other. When the cognitions (thoughts or knowledge) that people have about their own beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviour are contradictory or inconsistent with each other, they experience cognitive dissonance which is an unpleasant feeling that individuals are usually motivated to reduce.

Dissonance theory suggests that engaging in behaviour that is not supported by our attitudes might lead us to change our attitudes to reduce the tension produced by inconsistency. Individuals can be taught specific behaviours that correspond to the desired attitude change and when the behaviours are successful in carrying out daily activities, dissonance suggests that attitudes will change to correspond to the newly learned behaviours. The new behaviours can be taught by three techniques:

Modelling correct behaviours.

Role-playing correct behaviours.

Social reinforcement of role-played behaviours.

IV. What Is Job Satisfaction?

Job satisfaction refers to a collection of attitudes that workers have about their jobs. Facet satisfaction refers to the tendency for an employee to be more or less satisfied with various facets of the job. Overall satisfaction refers to a person's attitude toward his or her job that cuts across the various facets. Job satisfaction is measured by the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). Both of these questionnaires can give effective measurements of satisfaction.

V. What Determines Job Satisfaction?

When workers complete the JDI or the MSQ, we often find differences in the average scores across jobs and by individuals performing the same job in a given organization. For example, two nurses who work side by side might indicate radically different satisfaction in response to the MSQ item "The chance to do things for other people". How does this happen?

A. Discrepancy

According to discrepancy theory, job satisfaction stems from the discrepancy between the job outcomes wanted and the outcomes that are perceived to be obtained. Thus, a person wanting to be a baseball pitcher might be dissatisfied with the team when placed in an outfield position. In general, employees who have more of their job-related desires met will report more overall job satisfaction.

B. Fairness

In addition to the discrepancy between the outcomes people receive and those they desire, the other factor that determines job satisfaction is fairness.

Distributive fairness (often called distributive justice) occurs when people receive what they think they deserve from their jobs.

Equity theory suggests that job satisfaction stems from a comparison of the inputs that one invests in a job and the outcomes one receives in comparison with the inputs and outcomes of another person or group. Inputs consist of anything that people give up, offer, or trade to their organization in exchange for

outcomes. This might include factors such as education, training, seniority, hard work, and high-quality

work. Outcomes are factors that an organization distributes to employees in exchange for their inputs. These might include pay, benefits, promotions, recognition or anything else of value to employees. In general, people who work harder and are better educated than their peers expect higher rewards. Should these not be attained, the hard workers will be upset and angry over the lack of fair treatment and experience inequity. Inequity is a dissatisfying state of affairs and leads to job dissatisfaction. Thus, the equitable distribution of work outcomes contributes to job satisfaction by providing for feelings of distributive fairness.

Procedural fairness (often called procedural justice) occurs when the process used to determine work outcomes is seen as reasonable. It has to do with the process that led to those outcomes. In allocating outcomes, the following factors contribute to perceptions of procedural fairness.

Adequate reasons for a decision; Consistent procedures used over time and across people; Accurate information is used; Two-way communication is used; and An appeals system.

These factors will contribute to a perception of fairness and help workers to believe they are getting a "fair shake." Procedural fairness seems especially likely to provoke dissatisfaction when people also see distributive fairness as being low.

C. Disposition

According to the dispositional view of job satisfaction, some people are predisposed by virtue of their personalities to be more or less satisfied despite changes in discrepancy or fairness. Researchers have found that some personality characteristics originating in genetics or early learning contribute to adult satisfaction. People who are extraverted and conscientious tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, while those high in neuroticism are less satisfied. People who are high in self-esteem and internal locus of control are also more satisfied. In general, people who are more optimistic and proactive report higher job satisfaction.

D. Mood and Emotion

Affect is also a determinant of job satisfaction. Affect is a broad label for feelings. These feelings

include emotions, which are intense, often short-lived, and caused by a particular event such as a bad performance appraisal. Common emotions include joy, pride, anger, fear, and sadness. Affect also refers

to moods, which are less intense, longer-lived, and more diffuse feelings. Affective Events Theory explains how emotions and moods affect job satisfaction. Jobs consist of a series of events and happenings that have the potential to provoke emotions or to influence moods, depending on how we appraise these events and happenings.

Mood and emotion can also influence job satisfaction through emotional contagion, the tendency for moods and emotions to spread between people or throughout a group. Mood and emotion can also influence

job satisfaction through the need for emotional regulation. This is the requirement for people to conform to certain "display rules" in their job behaviour in spite of their true mood or emotions. Service roles such as waiter, bank teller, and flight attendant are especially laden with display rules. There is growing evidence that the frequent need to suppress negative emotions takes a toll on job satisfaction and increases stress. Some research suggests that the requirement to express positive emotions boosts job satisfaction.

E. Key Contributors to Job Satisfaction

While job satisfaction is a highly personal experience, there are a number of facets that seem to contribute the most to feelings of job satisfaction for most North American workers.

Mentally Challenging Work . This is work that tests employees' skills and abilities and allows them to set their own working pace.

Adequate Compensation. Pay and satisfaction are positively related. Career Opportunities. The ready availability of promotions that management administers according to a fair system contributes to job satisfaction.

People . Friendly, considerate, good-natured superiors and co-workers contribute to job satisfaction as do people who can help us attain job outcomes that we value.

VI. Consequences of Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction has important personal and organizational consequences beyond mere happiness with the job. Many organizations have maintained a competitive advantage by paying particular attention to employee satisfaction.

A. Absence from Work

Some $46 billion in losses occur yearly in American companies due to excessive absenteeism. Canadian estimates cost up to $10 billion and are on the rise. However, the association between job satisfaction and absenteeism is fairly small. The satisfaction facet that is the best predictor of absenteeism is the content of the work itself. The connection between job satisfaction and good attendance probably stems in part from the tendency for job satisfaction to facilitate mental health and satisfaction with life in general.

B. Turnover

Turnover is very expensive for organizations. As we move up the organizational hierarchy, or into technologically complex jobs, such costs escalate dramatically. Research indicates a moderately strong connection between job satisfaction and turnover. In other words, less-satisfied workers are more likely to quit. However, the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover is far from perfect. This is because many other factors are involved. Job satisfaction and commitment to the organization and various "shocks" contribute to intentions to leave. Further, reduced satisfaction or commitment can also stimulate a more deliberate evaluation of the utility of quitting and a careful job search and evaluation of job alternatives. Substantial research indicates that stated intentions to quit are better predictors of turnover than job satisfaction.

C. Performance

Job satisfaction is associated with higher job performance. However, the connection between satisfaction and performance is complicated, because many factors influence motivation and performance besides job satisfaction. The most important facet has to do with the content of the work itself. Interesting, challenging jobs are most likely to stimulate high performance. Although job satisfaction contributes to performance, performance probably also contributes to job satisfaction. When good performance is followed by rewards, employees are more likely to be satisfied.

Attitudes and ConsistencyPeople always seek harmony in their life. They desire to maintain consistency between attitudes and behavior or consistency among their various attitudes. Even in case of divergent opinion or happen to work in a place where the work demands are not aligned with the basic values, people will show interest to change either the nature of assignment or leave the organization or change their basic values in such a way to ensure consistency in their life style. This means that individuals seek to reconcile divergent attitudes and toalign their attitudes and behavior so that they appear rational and consistent. Where there is an inconsistency, forces are initiated to return the individual to a state of equilibrium where attitudes and behavior are again consistent. This can be done by altering either the attitudes or the behavior, or by developing a rationalization for the discrepancy.

Cognitive Dissonance TheoryCognitive dissonance refers to any incompatibility between their behavior and attitudes or incompatibility among a various attitudes. In general, people always prefer a consistency or equilibrium in their life. Festinger argued that any form of incompatibility will lead to a state of discomfort in the minds of people and people will try to attempt to reduce the dissonance and seek a stable state where there is a minimum level of dissonance. It is very difficult process to avoid dissonance completely. But one can minimize theoccurrences of such dissonance by carefully choosing the choices or changing the attitudes suitably.

Self-Perception Theory:Attitudes are used to make sense out of an action that has already occurred. When asked about an attitude towards some object, individuals recall their behavior relevant to that object and then infer their attitude from the past behavior. So if an employee were asked about his feelings about being travel agent, he might think I have had this same job as travel agent ten years ago, so I must like it. Self-perception theorytherefore argues that attitudes are used, after the fact, to make sense of the action that has already occurred rather than as devise that precede and guide action.

Attitudes Surveys:It is eliciting responses from employees through questionnaires about how they feel about their jobs, work groups, supervisors, and the organization. Typically attitude surveys present the employee with a set of statements or questions. Ideally, the items will be tailor-made to obtain the specific information that management desires. An attitude score is achieved by summing up responses to the individual questionnaireitems. These scores can be then being averaged for work groups, department, divisions or the organizations as whole. Surveys have been used over the last three decades to measure attitudes such as job satisfaction, climate, leadership, teamwork, and commitment. As a result, a number of surveys have reasonable national averages that can be used to compare against organizations results. Using attitude surveys on a regular basis provides managers with valuable feedback on how employees perceive their working conditions. Policies and practices that management views as objectives and fair may be seen as inequitable by employees in general. Such type of things can be gathered by conducting attitudes surveys

TOPIC- 12

INTERPERSONAL AND INTRAPERSONAL

WHAT IS INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION: -

When interpersonal communication takes place both the sender and receiver are present. So it needs for face to face communication. In this minimum two members are required. 

INTRA-PERSONAL COMMUNICATION: In every communication, the first communication is to the communicator himself then it passes to others. When I want to communicate some information to other person, a communication process take place within me before I pass the information to other. The moment an urge to communicate arises in my mind that message is transferred to the brain where the message is processed and passed through the medium of either tongue or hand. At times even gestures are used to pass the message in communication.

So, when a communication takes place within a person is called INTRA PERSONAL COMMUNICATION. Here there is only one person involved in it. The various situations in which intra personal communication takes place are thinking while making a decision from the available choice, thinking in the examination hall while writing

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTERPERSONAL AND INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION:-

Intrapersonal communication barriers:- 1. Selective Perception: - Our perception about the subject affects the way in which it is converted

to meaningful communication.

2. Individual differences: - People differ in this ability to develop and apply basic communication skills.

3. Emotions: - The emotional state of a manager has a impact on his or her effectiveness.

4. Frame of reference: - When different frame of reference are used, common understanding in communication is not achieved.

5. Preconceived ideas:- This affects the interpretation of the content of the message.

Interpersonal communication barriers:- 1. Climate:- The lack of climate can easily lead to restricted flow of communication.

2. Trust: - Lack of communication between superior and subordinates makes communication

ineffective.3. Credibility: - It refers to the perceived characteristics of an information source.

4. Sender-Receiver similarity: - The accuracy of communication between two communicator is directly related to the extent to which they perceive themselves to be similar.

5. Interpersonal sensitivity: - Some people lack to achieve their goals because they lack interpersonal sensitivity.

6. Selective listening: - People have the tendency to hear what they want to hear and tune out what they don’t want to hear.

7. Semantic problem: - Words have different meanings for different people and this can lead to problem in understanding communication.

WHAT IS INTERPERSONAL AND INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICTS:-

Interpersonal conflicts:- Conflicts between the same people in the organization . It exists

whenever the people interact in some way to produce some kind of results, because they differ in many ways like attitude, personality, experience etc. Such type of conflicts makes the attainment of the goal quite difficult.

Intra personal conflicts :- It is the result of tension and frustration with in the

individual. It happens because the person is not clear about his goals.

Intra role conflict:- When an incumbent receives conflicting messages from different role

senders, he experiences intra role conflicts.

Inter role conflict: - The conflict of a person experiences because of the multiple role he has to play in his life is termed inter role conflict.

Person role conflict:-This takes place when a person in a role has to perform activities which do not fall in his value system.

GOAL RELATED CONFLICTS:-

1. Approach-approach conflicts:- It happens when the incumbent is faced with two goals, both of them equally attractive but cannot be enjoyed together.

2. Approach-avoidance conflict:- This conflict arises when a person has to choose between two goals both important, one attractive and the unattractive, therefore, avoidable.

3. Avoidance-avoidance conflict:- This conflict is faced by incumbent who has to make a choice

between two equally unattractive, but important goals.4. Interpersonal conflict :- Interpersonal conflict occurs when two people’s attitudes, behaviour,

and actions are in opposite.

Interpersonal conflict

It occurs when two person’s attitudes, behaviour, and actions are in opposition. Personality clashes lead to interpersonal conflicts in organization. Interpersonal conflicts also result when there is a lack of clarity in terms of understanding one’s role in a given situation with respect to another person. When a person in the role set receives a message that is either unclear or incompatible, it causes role conflict. It can happen because of several reasons:

1. A single person may send incompatible or different messages to the role incumbent.2. Two persons may send incompatible or totally opposite messages to the role incumbent.3. The person occupying the role may not be in a position to completely satisfy the demands of the role

because of pressures from another role demand.4. When the role sender sends messages that are incompatible with the incumbent’s set of values.

Interpersonal conflicts may also occur because of lack of the clarity experienced by the role incumbent with respect to his roles. The lack of clarity about a role or role ambiguity, leads to aggressive actions and hostile communication, withdrawal from the role, or an attempt to clarify the ambiguity. Research findings suggest that high level of role conflict and ambiguity

Intragroup Conflict: - It is a form of interpersonal conflict. It includes disagreements between group members on certain issues, thereby leading to ineffectiveness in the group’s functioning. It is a very common feature of family-run businesses where the conflict becomes more intense when the owner or the founder is about to retire or dies untimely.

Intergroup conflict :- Conflicts between teams and groups are termed intergroup conflicts. They result because of opposition, disagreements, and disputes between the teams. It can have both positive and negative consequences. On the positive side, the intergroup conflict increases the cohesiveness among the group members, thereby generating enhanced commitment and loyalty towards the group. On the negative side, it distance people from each other and organization and enhances the gap between team and departments. The team starts seeing each other as the enemy and become hostile to each other. When the number of negative relationships among members is high, the probability of intergroup conflict increases (libianca ET al.1998).

A heightened level of intergroup can be dysfunctional for organizations. In organizations, when groups compete for a common goal in situation of scarce resources, such conflicts are likely to result in aggression and hostility towards each other. Manager should try to encourage cooperative behaviour among members by rewarding such behaviour and also try not to be prejudiced towards certain set of groups or individuals. They should encourage intergroup or inter-departmental activities so that a desirable level of trust can be

established. This trust will allow members to openly exchange ideas and resources with each other and will result in high level of cooperation among them (Tsai and Ghoshal 1998).

Interorganizational Conflicts: - Conflicts between are organization is termed inter organization conflicts. An example of this form of conflict is the Pepsi – Cola war in the recent past. Corporate takeovers, mergers, and acquisitions can also produce inter organisational conflict. The amount of conflict generated may depend on the extent to which the organizations create uncertain conditions for competitor’s , suppliers or customers and try to access or control the same resources. It would also depend on the amount of encouragement given by the organization to communicate with each other, attempt to balance power in the market place, and develop procedures for resolving existing conflicts (Assael 1968). Attempt to manage inter organizational conflicts so that it has positive impact on organizational performance may result in the formation of strategic alliances and partnerships.