Mb0022

Name

: PRASHANT D. DEVALE

Roll Number

: 510932455

Learning Centre Andheri

: KARROX TECHNOLOGIES LTD,

Subject Organization

: Management Process and Behavior

Date Of Submission : 13th June, 2009 Assignment No. : MB0022

Management Process and Organization Behavior MB0022 SET- 1

Q1. Explain the managerial roles and managerial skills. Answer – Managerial Roles According to Mintzberg ( 1973 ), managerial roles are as follows : 1. Informational Roles 2. Decisional Roles 3. Interpersonal Roles 1. Informational Roles : This involves the role of assimilating

and disseminating information as and when required. Following are the main sub-roles, which managers often perform : a. Monitor – Collecting information from organizations, both

from inside and outside of the organization. b. Disseminator – Communicating information to organizational members. c. Spokesperson – Representing the organization to outsiders. 2. Decisional Roles : It involves decision making. Again, this

role can be

sub – divided into the following :

a. Enterpreneur – Initiating new ideas to improve

organizational performance.

b. Disturbance handlers – Taking corrective action to copy

with adverse situation. c. Resource allocators – Allocating human, physical and monetary resources. d. Negotiator – Negotiating with trade unions, or any other stakeholders. 3. Interpersonal Roles : This role involves activities with

people working in the organization. This is supportive role for informational and decisional roles. Interpersonal roles can be categorized under three sub – headings : a. Figurehead – Ceremonial and symbolic role. b. Leadership – Leading organization in terms of recruiting,

motivating etc. c. Liaison – Liasoning with external bodies and public relations activities. Management Skills According to Katz ( 1974 ), management skills are as follows : 1. Technical Skills 2. Human Skills 3. Conceptual Skills 1. 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. 2. Human Skills : This is the ability to work with, understand

and motivate other people ( both individually and a group ). This requires sensitivity towards other 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. 3. Conceptual Skills : This is an ability to critically analyse,

diagnose a situation and forward a feasible solution. It requires creative thinking, generating options and choosing the best available option. Q2. Describe the contemporary work cohort. Answer – Robbins ( 2003 ) has proposed Contemporary Work Cohort, in which the unique value of different cohorts is that the U.S workforce had been segmented by the era they entered the workforce. Individuals values differ, but tend to reflect the societal values of the period in which they grew up. The cohorts and the respective values have been listed below : 1. Veterans – Workers who entered the workforce from the

early 1940s through the early 1960s. They exhibited the following value orientations : They were influenced by the Great Depression and World War II a. Believed in hard work. b. Tended to be loyal to their employer. c. Terminal Values : Comfortable life and family security. 2. Boomers – Employees who entered the workforce during the

1960s through the mid – 1980s belonged to this category. Their value orientations were :

a. Influenced heavily by John F. Kennedy, the civil rights and feminist movements, the Beatles, the Vietnam War, and baby – boom competition. b. Distrusted authority, but gave a high emphasis on achivement and material success. c. Organizations who employed them were vehicles for their careers. d. Terminal Values : Sense of accomplishment and social recognition. 3. Xers – Began to enter the workforce from the mid – 1980s.

They cherished the following values : a. Shaped by globalization, two – career parents, MTV, AIDS and Computers. b. Value flexibility, life options and achievement of job satisfaction. c. Family and relationships were important and enjoyed team – oriented work. d. Money was important, but would trade off for increased leisure time. e. Less willing to make personal sacrifices for employers than previous generations. f. Terminal Values : True friendship, happiness and pleasure. 4. Nexters – Most recent entrants into the workforce.

a. Grew up in prosperous times, have high expectation, believe in themselves, and confident in their ability to succeed. b. Never – ending search for ideal job; noting wrong with job – hopping. c. Seek financial success. d. Enjoy team work, but are highly self – reliant. e. Terminal Values : Freedom and comfortable life. Q3. Elaborate the issues related to culture and emotion.

Answer – There are two Views of Culture and Emotion: Universality Emotions are part of human nature and in all cultures universally the same set of basic emotions. Based on his crosscultural research, Ekman (1999) has found six emotions which are universally recognized and applicable. They are: 1. Anger 2. Fear 3. Sadness 4. Happiness 5. Disgust 6. Surprise. Cultural specificity – Human beings are like a tabula rasa (clean tablet) on which society writes its script. In other words, culture and traditions, normative patterns and valueorientations are responsible for not only our personality development, but also appropriate social and emotional development. This makes us functional entities in society. Each culture has a unique set of emotions and emotional responses; the emotions shown in a particular culture reflects the norms, values, practices, and language of that culture . Alexithymia – emotional disorder Some people have difficulty in expressing their emotions and understanding the emotions of others. Psychologists call this alexithymia. People who suffer from alexithymia rarely cry and are often seen by others as bland and cold. Their own feelings make them uncomfortable, and they are not able to

discriminate among their different emotions. People, suffering from alexithymia, may be effective performers in jobs where little or no emotional labor. Alexithymic symptoms may be seen in people who experience: 1. Posttraumatic stress disorder 2. Certain brain injuries Emotions Unit 7 Sikkim Manipal University 90 3. Eating disorders (i.e., bulimia, anorexia, or bingeeating disorder) 4. Substance use dependence 5. Depression 6. Other mental health conditions Q4. Discuss the assumption of Douglas Mc Gregor ( Theory X and Theory Y) Answer – Douglas McGregor argued that a manager’s view of the nature of human beings is based on a certain grouping of assumptions and he or she tends to mould his or her behaviour toward employees according to these assumptions. Theory X – In this theory management assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work, if they can. Workers need to be closely supervised and a comprehensive system of controls and hieraechical structure is needed to supervise the workers closely. It is also assumed that workers generally place security above all other factors and will display little ambition. Theory Y – In this theory management assumes employees may be ambitious, self-motivated, anxious to accept greater resposibility, and excercise self-control, self-direction, autonomy and empowerment. It is believed that employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties. It is also believed that, if given the chance employees

have the desire to be creative and forward thinking in the workplace. There is a chance for greater productivity by giving employees the freedom to perform to the best of their abilities without being bogged down by rules. From the above, it is clear that Theory X assumes that lower – order needs dominate individuals. Theory Y assumes that higher – order needs dominate individuals. Q5. What is personal power – Explain different bases of personal power? Answer – Power can be categorized into two type: 1. Formal Power. 2. Informal (Personal Power ) 1. 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 or is derived from the formal authority vested in the individual due to his/her strategic position in the organizational hierachy. The presence of unions and organizational policies on employee treatment can weaken this power base significatly. Formal power may be categorized into four types which are as follows : a. Coercive Power : The coercive power base is being

dependent on fear. It is based on the application, or the threat of application of physical sanctions such as the infliction of pain, the generation of frustration through restriction of movement, or the controlling by force of basic physicological or safety needs. In an organization one can exercise power over another if they have the power to dismiss, suspend, demote another assuming that the job is valuable to the person on whom power is being unleashed.

b. Reward Power : The opposite of coercive power is reward power. Reward power is the extent to which a manager can use extrinsic rewards to control other people. Such rewards include money, promotions, compliments or enriched jobs. Although all managers have some access to rewards, success in accessing and utilizing rewards to achieve influence varies according to the skills of the manager. c. Legitimate Power : The third base of “position” power is

legitimate power or formal authority. It stems from the extent to which a manager can use subordinates internalized values or beliefs that the “boss” has a “right of command” to control their behavior. Legitimate power represents a special kind of power a manager has because subordinates believe it is legitimate for a person occupying the managerial position to have the right to command. The lack of this is legitimacy will result in authority not being accepted by subordinates. Thus this type of power has the following elements : • It represents the power a person receives as a result of his/her position in the formal hierachy. • Positions of authority include coercise and reward powers. • Legitimate power, however is not limited to the power to coerce and reward. It encompasses the acceptance of the authority of a position by members of an organization. d. Information Power : This type of power is derived from access to and control over information. When people have needed information, others become dependant on them. Normally the higher the level, the more information would be accessed by managers. 2. Informal Power ( Personal Power ) : Personal power resides in

the individual and is independent of that individual’s position. Three base of personal power are expertise, rational persuasion and reference.

a. Expert : Expert power is the ability to control another

person’s behaviour by virtue of possessing knowledge, experience or judgement that the other person lacks, but needs. A subordinate obeys a supervisor possessing expert power because the boss ordinarily knows more about what is to be done or how it is to be done than does the subordinate. Expert power is relative, not absolute. However the table may turn in case the subordinate has superior knowledge or skills than his/her boss. In this age of technology driven environments, the second proposition holds true in many occasions where the boss is dependent heavily on the juniors for technologically oriented support. b. Rational persuasion : It is the ability to control another’s behaviour, since, through the individual’s efforts, the person accepts the desirability of an offered goal and a viable way of achieving it. Rational persuasion involves both explaining the desirability of expected outcomes and showing how specific actions will achieve these outcomes. c. Referent : It is the ability to control another’s behaviour

because the person wants to identify with the power source. In this case, a subordinate obeys the boss because he/she wants to bahave, perceive or believe as the boss does. This obedience may occur. Followership is not based on what the subordinate will get for specific actions or specific levels of performance, but on what the individual represent a path toward lucrative future prospects. Q6. Write a short note on potential sources of stress. Answer – While environmental factors are forces outside the organization, which may act as potential sources of stress due to uncertainties and threats that they create for any organization and its members, factors within organization can also act as potential source of strees. Together or singly they may create a tense and volatile working environment which can cause stress for

organizational members because the inability of individuals to handle the pressures arising out of these sources. The following may be seen to be the potential sources of stress : 1. Environmental Factors : a. Environmental uncertainty influences stress levels among employees in an organization. b. Changes in the business cycle create economic uncertainties. c. Political uncertainties can be stress inducing. d. Technological uncertainty can cause stress because new innovations can make an employee’s skills and exprience obsolete in a very short period of time. 2. Organizational Factors : a. Pressures to avoid errors or complete tasks in a limited time period, work overload, a demanding and insensitve boss and unpleasant coworkers are a few examples. b. Task demands are factors related to a person’s job. They include the design of the individual’s job ( autonomy, task variety, degree of automation ), working conditions and the physical work layout. c. Role demands relate to pressures that are a function of the role an individual plays in an organization. 1. Role conflicts create expectations that may be hard to reconcile or satisfy. 2. Role overload is experienced when the employee is expected to do more than time permits. 3. Role ambiguity is created when role expectations are not clearly understood. 4. Interpersonal demands are pressures created by other employees. 5. Organizational structure defines the level of differentiation in the organization, the degree of rules and regulations and where decisions are made. Excessive rules and lack of

participation in decisions might be potential sources of stress. Organizational leadership represents the managerial style of the organization’s senior executives. CEOs, by virtue of their managerial styles create an organizational culture which reflects tension, fear and anxiety. They overemphasize tight control, hire and fire policies which keep organizational members on hot seat and create stress among them. 3. Individual Factors : a. These factors in the employee’s personal live. Primarily,

b. c.

d.

e.

these factors are family issues, personal economic problems, and inherent personality characteristics. Broken families, wrecked marriages and other family issues may create stress at workplace as well. Economic problems created by individuals overextending their financial resources. Spending more than earnings stretches financial positions, create debt situation leading to stress among individuals. A significant individual factor influencing stress is a person’s basic dispositional nature. Over-suspicious anger and hostility increases a person’s stress and risk for heart disease. These individuals with high level of mistrust for others also cause stress for themselves. Stressors are additive – stress builds up.