Assignment Answer (mp & Ob)

Name – Shwetank Shashiraj Misra Roll. No. – 520945336 Subject – MB0022 – Management Process and Organization Behaviour Semester - 1 (Assignment Answer Set – 1) Q.1 “Today managers need to perform various functions”: Elaborate the statement

Ans. 1 In recent time, management functions have been regrouped into four categories, since the managerial tasks have become highly challenging a fluid in nature making distinctions redundant to a certain extend. The four functions are as follows: • • • •

Planning Organizing Leading Controlling

1. Planning – It involves the process of defining goals, establishing strategies for achieving these goals, and developing plans to integrate and coordinate activities. Every organization needs to plan for change in order to reach its set goal. Effective planning enables an organization adapt to change by identifying opportunities and avoiding problems. It provides the direction for the other functions of management and for effective teamwork. Planning also enhances the decision-making process. All levels of management engage in planning in their own way for achieving their preset goals. Planning in order to be useful must be linked to the strategic intent of an organization. Therefore, planning is often referred to as strategic in nature and also termed as strategic planning. 2. Organizing – It involves designing, structuring, and coordinating the work components to achieve organizational goal. It is the process of determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made. A key issue in accomplishing the goals identified in the planning process is structuring the work of the organization. Organizations are groups of people, with ideas and resources, working toward common goals. The purpose of the organizing function is to make the best use of the organization’s resources to achieve organizational goals. Organizational structure is the formal decision-making framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated. Formalization is an important aspect of structure. It is the extent to which the units of the organization are explicitly defined and its policies, procedures, and goals are clearly stated. It is the official organizational structure conceived and built by top management. The formal organization can be seen and represented in chart form. An organization chart displays the organizational structure and shows job titles, lines of authority, and relationships between departments. The steps in the organizing process include: • • • • • •

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

1

3. Leading – An organization has the greatest chance of being successful when all of the employees work toward achieving its goals. Since leadership involves the exercise of influence by one person over others, the quality of leadership exhibited by supervisors is a critical determinant of organizational success. Supervisors can learn about leadership through research. Leadership studies can be classified as trait, behavioral, contingency, and transformational. Earliest theories assumed that the primary source of leadership effectiveness lay in the personal traits of the leaders themselves. Yet, traits alone cannot explain leadership effectiveness. Thus, later research focused on what the leader actually did when dealing with employees. These behavioral theories of leadership sought to explain the relationship between what the leader did and how the employees reacted, both emotionally and behaviorally. Yet, behavior can’t always account for leadership in different situations. Thus, contingency theories of leadership studied leadership style in different environments. Transactional leaders, such as those identified in contingency theories, clarify role and task requirements for employees. Yet, contingency can’t account for the inspiration and innovation that leaders need to compete in today’s global marketplace. Newer transformational leadership studies have shown that leaders, who are charismatic and visionary, can inspire followers to transcend their own self-interest for the good of the organization. 4. Controlling – It involves monitoring the employees’ behavior and organizational processes and take necessary actions to improve them, if needed. Control is the process through which standards for performance of people and processes are set, communicated, and applied. Effective control systems use mechanisms to monitor activities and take corrective action, if necessary. There are four steps in the control process. They are as follows: Step 1. Establish Performance Standards. Standards are created when objectives are set during the planning process. A standard is any guideline established as the basis for measurement. It is a precise, explicit statement of expected results from a product, service, machine, individual, or organizational unit. It is usually expressed numerically and is set for quality, quantity, and time. Tolerance is permissible deviation from the standard. Step 2. Measure Actual Performance. Supervisors collect data to measure actual performance to determine variation from standard. Written data might include time cards, production tallies, inspection reports, and sales tickets. Personal observation, statistical reports, oral reports and written reports can be used to measure performance. Management by walking around, or observation of employees working, provides unfiltered information, extensive coverage, and the ability to read between the lines. While providing insight, this method might be misinterpreted by employees as mistrust. Oral reports allow for fast and extensive feedback. Computers give supervisors direct access to real time, unaltered data, and information. On line systems enable supervisors to identify problems as they occur. Database programs allow supervisors to query, spend less time gathering facts, and be less dependent on other people. Step 3. Compare Measured Performance Against Established Standards. Comparing results with standards determines variation. Some variation can be expected in all activities and the range of variation – the acceptable variance – has to be established. Management by exception lets operations continue as long as they fall within the prescribed control limits. Deviations or differences that exceed this range would alert the supervisor to a problem. Step 4. Take Corrective Action. The supervisor must find the cause of deviation from standard. Then, he or she takes action to remove or minimize the cause. If the source of variation in work performance is from a deficit in activity, then a supervisor can take immediate corrective action and get performance back on track. Q.2 “Skills are the tool for performance”-Explain various management skills.

2

Ans.2 Management Skills Katz (1974) has identified three essential management skills: technical, human, and conceptual. Technical skills: The ability is to apply specialized knowledge or expertise. All jobs require some specialized expertise, and many people develop their technical skills on the job. Vocational and on-the-job training programs can be used to develop this type of skill. Human Skill : This is the ability to work with, understand and motivate other people (both individually and a group). This requires sensitivity towards others issues and concerns. People, who are proficient in technical skill, but not with interpersonal skills, may face difficulty to manage their subordinates. To acquire the Human Skill, it is pertinent to recognize the feelings and sentiments of others, ability to motivate others even in adverse situation, and communicate own feelings to others in a positive and inspiring way. Conceptual Skill : This is an ability to critically analyze, diagnose a situation and forward a feasible solution. It requires creative thinking, generating options and choosing the best available option. Q.3 What is negotiation? Explain the process of negotiation. Ans.3 Negotiation Negotiation is a “process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree upon the exchange rate for them (Robbins, 2008). There are two general approaches to negotiation: distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining. Distributive bargaining When engaged in distributive bargaining, one’s tactics focus on trying to get one’s opponent to agree to one’s specific target point or to get as close to it as possible. “Hard” distributive negotiation takes place when each party holds out to get its own way. The hard approach may lead to a win–lose outcome in which one party dominates and gains. “Soft” distributive negotiation, takes place when one party is willing to make concessions to the other to get things over with. A soft approach leads to accommodation in which one party gives in to the other, or to compromise in which each party gives up something of value in order to reach agreement. Integrative bargaining This strategy is adopted to create a win-win solution. Integrative bargaining builds long-term relationships and facilitates collaborative work. Following conditions are necessary for this type of negotiation to succeed (Robbins, 2003): • • • •

Parties who are open with information and candid about their concerns A sensitivity by both parties to the other’s needs The ability to trust one another A willingness by both parties to maintain flexibility

The Negotiation Process A model of the negotiation process is as follows: Preparation and planning: •

At this stage, homework needs to be done in regard to the nature, history, concerned parties of the conflict. Based on the information, a strategy is developed. Both the parties Best Alternative To a Negotiated

3

Agreement (BATNA)needs to be determined. BATNA determines the lowest value acceptable to you for a negotiated agreement for both the parties. Definition of ground rules: •

At the stage, the venue, the negotiators, time will be decided.

Clarification and justification: •

When initial positions have been exchanged, the origal demands of both the parties sneed to be explained and justified. Proper documentation is required at this stage to support each of the parties position.

Bargaining and problem solving: •

The essence of the negotiation process is the actual give and take in trying to hash out an agreement. Concessions will undoubtedly need to be made by both parties.

Closure and implementation: •

This is the final step, where the agreement is formalized and procedures to implement the agreement will be developed.

Q.4 Explain Classical Conditioning Theory? Ans.4 Classical Conditioning is a form of associative learning process proposed by Pavlov (1927). This process involves presentations of a neutral stimulus along with a stimulus of some significance. The neutral stimulus does not lead to an overt behavioral response from the organism. This is called as Conditioned Stimulus (CS). Significant stimulus evokes an innate, often reflexive, response. This is called Unconditioned Stimulus (US) and Unconditioned Response (UR), respectively. If the CS and the US are repeatedly paired, eventually the two stimuli become associated and the organism begins to produce a behavioral response to it. It is the Conditioned Response (CR).Classical conditioning was first experimented by Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, to teach dogs to salivate in response to the ringing of a bell. During his research on the physiology of digestion in dogs, Pavlov used a bell before giving food to his dog. Rather than simply salivating in the presence of meat (a response to food – unconditioned response), after a few repetitions, the dog started to salivate in response to the bell. Thus, a neutral stimulus (bell) became a conditioned stimulus (CS) as a result of consistent pairing with the unconditioned stimulus (US – meat). Pavlov referred to this learned relationship as a Conditioned Response. Q.5 How are culture and society responsible to built value system? Ans.5 Hofstede (1991) further proposed that each person carries around several layers of cultural programming. It starts when a child learns basic values: what is right and wrong, good and bad, logical and illogical, beautiful and ugly. Culture is about your fundamental assumptions of what it is to be a person and how you should interact with other persons in your group and with outsiders. The first level of culture is the deepest, the most difficult to change and will vary according to the culture in which we grow up. Other layers of culture are learned or programmed in the course of education, through professional or craft training and in organization life. Some of the aspects of culture learned later have to do with conventions and ethics in your profession. These layers are more of ways of doing things, or practices as opposed to fundamental assumptions about how things are. GLOBE research GLOBE project integrates the above –mentioned cultural attributes and variables with managerial behavior in organizations. Following are some of the questions asked in this project to prove that leadership and organizational processes were directly influenced by cultural variables:

4

• • • •

Are leader behaviors, attributes and organizational practices universally accepted and effective across cultures? Are they influenced by societal and organizational cultures? What is the effect of violating cultural norms that are relevant to leadership and organizational practices? Can the universal and culture-specific aspects of leadership behaviour and organizational practice be explained with the help of a theory accounting for systematic differences across cultures?

From the above, GLOBE project identified nine cultural dimensions (House, Javidan, Hanges and Dorfman, 2002: 3-10) • • • • • • • • •

Uncertainty- avoidance: GLOBE project defined this dimension as the extent to which a society or an organization tries to avoid uncertainty by depending heavily on prevalent norms, rituals and bureaucratic practices. Power distance: it is the degree to which power is unequally shared in a society or an organization. Collectivism-I i.e. societal collectivism: it is the degree to which society and organization encourages, and recognizes collective performance. Collectivism-II- In-group collectivism: it is the degree to which individuals take pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organizations and families. Gender egalitarianism: GLOBE has defined this as an extent to which a society or an organization minimizes gender differences and discrimination. Assertiveness: it is the degree to which individuals, both in organizational and social context are, assertive and confrontational. Future orientation: it is the degree to which individuals are encouraged in long- term future – orientated behaviors such as planning, investing, etc. Performance orientation: this dimension encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement. Humane orientation: it is the degree to which organizations or society encourage or reward for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous and caring.

Work behavior across cultures In every culture, there are different sets of attitudes and values which affect behavior. Similarly, every individual has a set of attitudes and beliefs – filters through which he/she views management situations within organizational context. Managerial beliefs, attitudes and values can affect organizations positively or negatively. Managers portray trust and respect in their employees in different ways in different cultures. This is a function of their own cultural backgrounds. For example, managers from specific cultures tend to focus only on the behavior that takes place at work, in contrast to managers from diffused cultures who focus on wider range of behavior including employees’ private and professional lives. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1998:86) have conducted a survey to find out whether the employees believe their companies should provide housing to the employees. It was found out that most managers from diffused cultures believed that company should provide such facility (former Yugoslavia 89%, Hungary 83%, China 82%, Russia 78%), whereas less than 20% managers from specific cultures such as UK, Australia, Denmark, France, etc., agreed on the same. Laurent (1983: 75-96), as a result of his survey with managers from nine Western European countries, U.S., three Asian countries found distinctly different patterns for managers in common work situations. Task and relationship: in response to the statement which states that the main reason for a hierarchical structure was to communicate the authority- relationship, most U.S. managers disagreed whereas, most Asian , Latin American managers strongly agreed. It was quite evident that U.S managers, having an extremely task- oriented culture, believed more in flatter organizational structure to become more effective. On the other hand, the second set of managers were from more relationship- oriented cultures where the concept of authority is more important. Similarly, in response to the statement which says that in order to have efficient work relationship it is often necessary to bypass the hierarchical line, differences were found across cultures. Managers from Sweden (taskoriented culture) projected least problem with bypassing since getting the job done is more important than

5

expressing allegiance to their bosses. In contrast, Italian managers, coming from a relationship-oriented culture, considered bypassing the authority/boss as an act of in-subordination. The above- mentioned example is inevitably a caution signal to the universal management approach, irrespective of culture. Managers as experts or problem-solvers: in the same study, Laurent asked managers from various cultures whether it was important for them to have at hand, precise answers to most questions their subordinates might raise about their work. French managers believed that they should give precise answers to the questions in order to maintain their credibility and retain the subordinates’ sense of security. On the contrary, U.S. managers believed that a managers’ role should be to act as a mentor who would facilitate the employees to solve the problem. They also believe that providing direct answers to a problem actually discourages subordinates’ initiative and creativity and ultimately hampers performance. Q.6 Write short notes on (1) Locus of control

(2) Machiavellianism

Ans.6 (1) Locus of control A person’s perception of the source of his/her fate is termed locus of control. Locus of control was formulated within the framework of Rotter’s (1954) social learning theory of personality. Rotter (1975) pointed out that internality and externality represent two ends of a continuum, not an either/or typology. Internals tend to attribute outcomes of events to their own control. Externals attribute outcomes of events to external circumstances. For example, college students with a strong internal locus of control may believe that their grades were achieved through their own abilities and efforts, whereas, those with a strong external locus of control may believe that their grades are the result of good or bad luck, or to a professor who designs bad tests or grades capriciously; hence, they are less likely to expect that their own efforts will result in success and are therefore less likely to work hard for high grades. Individuals who rate high in externality are less satisfied with their jobs, have higher absenteeism rates, are more alienated from the work setting, and are less involved on their jobs than are internals. Internals, facing the same situation, attribute organizational outcomes to their own actions. Internals believe that health is substantially under their own control through proper habits; their incidences of sickness and, hence, of absenteeism, are lower. Internals generally perform better on their jobs, but one needs to consider differences in jobs. Internals search more actively for information before making a decision, are more motivated to achieve, and make a greater attempt to control their environment, and hence, internals do well on sophisticated tasks. Internals are more suited to jobs that require initiative and independence of action and want autonomy and independence in their jobs. Externals are more compliant and willing to follow directions and be led, and do well on jobs that are well structured and routine and in which success depends heavily on complying with the direction of others. (2) Machiavellianism is the term that some social and personality psychologists use to describe a person’s tendency to deceive and manipulate others for personal gain. The concept is named after Renaissance diplomat and writer Niccolò Machiavelli, who wrote Il Principe (The Prince). Christie and Geis (1970) developed a test for measuring a person’s level of Machiavellianism. This eventually became the MACH-IV test, a twenty-statement personality survey that is now the standard self-assessment tool of Machiavellianism. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means. High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more. High Mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors and flourish when they interact face to face with others, rather than indirectly, and when the situation has a minimum number of rules and regulations, thus, allowing room for improvisation. High Machs make good employees in jobs that require bargaining skills or that offer substantial rewards for winning.

6

Name – Shwetank Shashiraj Misra Roll. No. – 520945336 Subject – MB0022 – Management Process and Organization Behaviour Semester - 1 (Assignment Answer Set – 2) Q.1 “Halo effect and selective perception are the shortcuts in judging others” Explain. Ans. Halo Effect The halo effect (Murphy & Anhalt, 1992) occurs when we draw a general impression on the basis of a single characteristic. For example, while appraising the lecturer, students may give prominence to a single trait, such as, enthusiasm and allow their entire evaluation to be tainted by how they judge the instructor on that one trait which stood out prominently in their estimation of that person. Research suggests that it is likely to be most extreme when the traits to be perceived are ambiguous in behavioral terms, when the traits have moral overtones, and when the perceiver is judging traits with which he or she has had limited experience. Selective Perception Any characteristic that makes a person, object, or event stand out will increase the probability that it will be perceived. It is impossible for an individual to internalize and assimilate everything that is seen .Only certain stimuli can be taken in selectively. Selectivity works as a shortcut in judging other people by allowing us to “speed-read” others, but, not without the risk of drawing an inaccurate picture. The tendency to see what we want to see can make us draw unwarranted conclusions from an ambiguous situation. Q.2 Explain “Emotional Intelligence”. Emotional Intelligence The importance of both emotion and intelligence in making decisions and achieving success in life was wellaccepted in ancient India. A concept of “Sthitha-prajna” (emotional stability), similar to the concept of emotional intelligence, can be traced in the second chapter of ‘Srimad Bhagavad-Gita’ . Bhagavad Gita is a specific conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna (third Pandava prince) in a specific situation of Kurukshetra battlefield. Pandavas were fighting against the Kauravas, the cousin brothers to restore their kingdom from Kauravas in Kurukshetra. Before the battle started, Arjuna, with deep sorrow and pity, found his close relatives, friends and respected ‘gurus‘ in enemy’s side. To win the battle he was supposed to kill those beloved ones. He got confused about his rightful duty. Due to this hriday-durbalata (heart-non-strength), he refused to join the battle. In this context, Lord Krishna who played the role as the driver of Arjuna’s chariot, enlightened him about the eternal truth of life. According to Lord Krishna, as mentioned in Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna suffered from indecisiveness resulting from confusion and a false sense of insecurity. Lord Krishna advised Arjuna to become ‘Sthitha-prajna’ (the steady minded person). He also told that an individual achieved his/her goal only when the mind became steady, poised and balanced. Evidently, the concept of “Sthitha-prajna” (the steady-minded person) talked about a unique interdependence between emotion and intelligence for effective decision-making which was most essential in excelling in every sphere of life. Gita, as a whole, advises all to balance between intelligence and emotion. Similar views on the role of emotional intelligence as a learning process for achieving a balanced personality in different stages of life on an inter-generational basis has been depicted in the Vedas. In particular, Dr. Radhakrishnan, in his book , ‘The Hindu View of Life’ (1927) opined that the attitude of the Vedas is one of trust tempered by criticism. ‘Trust, because, whatever the older generation hold, may be true, and criticism because,

7

however, plausible the testimonies of the old views may be, it cannot deny the present of its right to enquire and sift the evidence’. This view aptly points out the need for emotional intelligence in everyday life to become more emotionally balanced and functional individuals in society. ‘Emotional intelligence is an aggregate of individuals’ cognition of own and others’ emotions, feeling, interpretation and action as per environmental demand to manipulate the consequence which in turn result in superior performance and better human relationship’ (Bhattacharya, 2003). Emotional intelligence is a measure of the degree to which a person makes use of his/ her reasoning in the process of emotional responses (both positive and negative) in a given situation. So having high emotional intelligence doesn’t mean that the person never panics or loses his/ her temper. It does mean that he / she brings own feelings under control and channels them into productive behaviors. The ability to bring out-of-control emotions back into line results in what earlier generations called emotional maturity. The most popular and accepted mixed model of emotional intelligence is the one proposed by Goleman (1995). He viewed emotional intelligence as a total of personal and social competences. Personal competence determines how we manage ourselves, whereas social competence determines how we handle our interpersonal relationships. Personal competence: It comprises of three dimensions of emotional intelligence, such as, self-awareness, selfregulation and motivation. Self-awareness is the ability of an individual to observe him/herself and to recognize ‘a feeling as it happens’ (Goleman, 1995). The hallmarks of this ability are self-confidence, self- assessment and openness to positive criticism. Self-regulation is the ability to control emotions and to redirect those emotions that can have negative impact. Trustworthiness, integrity, tolerance of ambiguity and attitude to accept change are some characteristics of this ability. Motivation is the ability to channelize emotion to achieve a goal through self-control and by moderating impulses as per the requirement of the situation. The people who have this ability are optimistic and committed towards organizational as well as individual goals. Social competence: It comprises of two dimensions namely, empathy and social skills. Empathy is the ability to feel and get concerned for others, take their perspective and to treat people according to their emotional reactions. People with this ability are experts in generating and motivating others. Social skills are the ability to build rapport and to manage relationships with people. People having this skill are very effective in persuasiveness and team management. ‘Social skill’ is the culmination of all other components of emotional intelligence assuming that people can effectively manage social and work relationships only when they can understand and control their own emotion and can emphasize with the feelings of others.

Emotional Intelligence

Personal competence

Social competence

Self – awareness self-regulation motivation

Empathy social skill

Q.3 “A group formation passes through various stages”: Explain the various stages of group formation.

8

Ans.3 Various stages of group formation have been cited below. a. The Five-Stage Model 1. Forming: In this stage the members are entering the group. The main concern is to facilitate the entry of the group members. The individuals entering are concerned with issues such as what the group can offer them, their needed contribution the similarity in terms of their personal needs, goals and group goals, the acceptable normative and behavioral standards expected for group membership and recognition for doing the work as a group member. 2. Storming: This is a turbulent phase where individuals try to basically form coalitions and cliques to achieve a desired status within the group. Members also go through the process of identifying to their expected role requirements in relation to group requirements. In the process, membership expectations tend to get clarified, and attention shifts toward hurdles coming in the way of attaining group goals. Individuals begin to understand and appreciate each other’s interpersonal styles, and efforts are made to find ways to accomplish group goals while also satisfying individual needs. 3. Norming: From the norming stage of group development, the group really begins to come together as a coordinated unit. At this point, close relationships develop and the group shows cohesiveness. Group members will strive to maintain positive balance at this stage. 4. Performing: The group now becomes capable of dealing with complex tasks and handling internal disagreements in novel ways. The structure is stable, and members are motivated by group goals and are generally satisfied. The structure is fully functional and accepted at this stage. Group energy makes a transition from member’s focus on getting to know and understand each other to performing. For permanent work groups, performing is the last stage in their development. 5. Adjourning: A well-integrated group is able to disband, if required, when its work is accomplished, though in itself it may be a painful process for group members, emotionally. The adjourning stage of group development is especially important for the many temporary groups that are rampant in today’s workplaces. Members of these groups must be able to convene quickly, do their jobs on a tight schedule, and then adjourn—often to reconvene later, whenever required. Groups do not always proceed clearly from one stage to the next. Sometimes several stages go on simultaneously, as when groups are storming and performing. Groups may at times regress to earlier stages. Another problem is that it ignores organizational context. For instance, a study of a cockpit crew in an airliner found that, within ten minutes, three strangers assigned to fly together for the first time had become a high-performing group. The rigid organizational context provides the rules, task definitions, information, and resources required for the group to perform, effectively. b. Punctuated equilibrium model Temporary groups with deadlines do not seem to follow the model explained above. Their pattern is called the punctuated-equilibrium model.

9

Phase I—The first meeting sets the group’s direction. This stage is the first inertia phase. A structure of behavioral patterns and assumptions emerges. Transition – Then a transition takes place when the group has used up almost half its allotted time. The group’s direction becomes fixed and is unlikely to be reexamined throughout the first half of the group’s life. The group tends to stand still or become locked into a fixed course of action. The group is incapable of acting on new insights in Phase 1. The midpoint seems to set an alarm clock going increasing members’ awareness that their time is limited and that they need to move on fast. A transition triggers off major changes. This ends Phase 1 and is characterized by a concentrated burst of changes, replacement old patterns, and adoption of new perspectives. The transition sets a revised direction for Phase 2. Phase 2 – It is a new equilibrium and is also a period of inertia. In this phase, the group executes plans created during the transition period. The group’s last meeting is characterized by a flurry of activities. The punctuatedequilibrium model characterizes groups as demonstrating long periods of inertia interspersed with brief and rapid changes triggered mainly by their members’ awareness of time and targets . Q.4 “Power is the ability to make things happen in the way an individual wants, either by self or by the subordinates. The essence of power is to control over the behavior of others”: Explain what are the various bases of Power? Ans. 4 Managers derive power from both organizational and individual sources. These sources are called position power and personal power, respectively. Power also refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B, so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes. The greater B’s dependence on A, the greater is A’s power in the relationship. Therefore, power is a function of dependency (Robbins, 2003). Contrasting Leadership and Power In an organizational context leadership and power are related to each others. Power is used by leaders as a means to attain group goals. In other words, power is a means of facilitating their achievement of goals and objectives that they have set for themselves in view of organizational requirements. What are differences between leadership and power? The first is in the area of goal compatibility which is as follows: • •

Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence whereas leadership, requires some congruence between the goals of the leader and the followers. The second factor is related to the direction of influence:

Whereas leadership focuses on the downward influence on one’s followers, power does not minimize the importance of lateral and upward influence patterns. Evidence of the same is gained from insights into research on power that has tended to encompass a broader area and focus on tactics for gaining compliance. Bases Of Power Power can be categorized into two types: Formal and informal A. Formal Power: It is based on the position of an individual in an organization. Formal power is derived from either one’s ability to coerce or reward others or is derived from the formal authority vested in the individual due to his/ her strategic position in the organizational hierarchy. For example, a manager may threaten to withhold a pay raise, or to transfer, demote, or even recommend the firing of a subordinate who does not act as desired. Such coercive power is the extent to which a manager can deny desired rewards or administer punishments to control other people. The availability of coercive power also varies across organizations. The presence of unions and organizational policies on employee treatment can weaken this power base significantly.

10

B. Personal Power Personal power resides in the individual and is independent of that individual’s position. . Three bases of personal power are expertise, rational persuasion, and reference. Q.5 Explain “Organizational Development” process. Ans.5 Process Of Organization Development A typical OD process can be divided into the following phases: Problem identification: The first step in OD process involves understanding and identification of the existing and potential problems in the organization. The awareness of the problem includes knowledge of the possible organizational problems of growth, human satisfaction, the usage of human resource and organizational effectiveness. Data collection: Having understood the exact problem in this phase, the relevant data is collected through personal interviews, observations and questionnaires. Diagnosis: OD efforts begin with diagnosis of the current situation. Usually, it is not limited to a single problem. Rather a number of factors like attitudes, assumptions, available resources and management practice are taken into account in this phase. According to Rao and Hari Krishna (2002), four steps in organizational diagnosis can be identified: Structural analysis: Determines how the different parts of the organization are functioning in terms of laid down goals. Processes analysis: Process implies the manner in which events take place in a sequence. It refers to the pattern of decision-making, communication, group dynamics and conflict management patterns within organizations to help in the process of attainment of organizational goals. Function analysis: This includes strategic variables, performance variables, results, achievements and final outcomes. Domain analysis: Domain refers to the area of the organization for organizational diagnosis. Planning and implementation: After diagnosing the problem, the next phase of OD, with the OD interventions, involves the planning and implementation part of the change process. Evaluation and feedback: Any OD activity is incomplete without proper feedback. Feedback is a process of relaying evaluations to the client group by means of specific report or interaction. Q.6 Write short note on “Stress Management”. Ans.6 Stress Management Stress has been defined as a physical, mental or emotional response to events which cause mental or bodily tension. In the modern day life stress is a part and parcel of our lives. At the same time, it should not exceed the capacity of an individual to handle it. If it exceeds in proportion to a person’s abilities to cope with it, it would cause mental and

11

physical imbalance in the person. Therefore, a major challenge for every one today is to make stress work for you as a productive force rather than as a deterrent which can cause imbalance in an individual. While handling a stressful situation, the brain signals the release of stress hormones. These chemical substances in turn trigger a set of responses that provides the body with extra energy: blood-sugar levels rise, the heartbeat speeds up and blood pressure increases. The muscles tense for action. The blood supply is diverted away from the gut to the extremities to help the body deal with the situation at hand.

*****

12