Model answer Course: B.Com. LLB Semester: II Subject: Organisation Behaviour

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1 Page1 Model answer Course: B.Com. LLB Semester: II Subject: 1. Objective Answer Questions i. (d) ii. F iii. T iv. (c) v. (d) vi. (a) vii. (c) viii. (d) ix. T x. F xi. T xii. (d) xiii. T xiv. F xv. (a) Section B: Short Answer Questions 2. Learning could be defined as a change in behaviour that is due to experience. Learning Can also be defined as changes in the behaviour of an organism that are the result of regularities in the environment of that organism Nature of Learning a. Learning is a complex process b. The presence of learning process can be deduced often by a change in behaviour. c. The change in behaviour has to be more or less permanent and enduring. d. Practice or exercise (experience) brings about the change in behaviour 3. A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways. The trait approach to personality is one of the major theoretical areas in the study of personality. The trait theory suggests that individual personalities are composed of these broad dispositions. Unlike many other theories of personality, such as psychoanalytic or humanistic theories, the trait approach to personality is focused on differences between individuals. The combination and interaction of various traits forms a personality that is unique to each individual. Trait theory is focused on identifying and measuring these individual personality characteristics.

2 Page2 4. Authority is the right to perform or command. It allows its holder to act in certain designated ways and to directly influence the actions of others through orders. It also allows its holder to allocate the organization s resources to achieve organizational objectives. Line authority: The most fundamental authority within an organization reflects existing superior-subordinate relationships. It consists of the right to make decisions and to give order concerning the production, sales or finance related behaviour of subordinates. In general, line authority pertains to matters directly involving management system production, sales, finance etc., and as a result with the attainment of objectives. People directly responsible for these areas within the organization are delegated line authority to assist them in performing their obligatory activities. Staff authority: Staff authority consists of the right to advise or assist those who possess line authority as well as other staff personnel. Staff authority enables those responsible for improving the effectiveness of line personnel to perform their required tasks. 5. The terms Centralization and Decentralization describe the general degree to which delegation exists in the company or decision making is pushed down to lower levels of management. The larger the organization, the more the chance that decentralization will be advantageous. Delegation is an effective means for helping managers manage their increasing workload in big organizations. But in some cases, the Organization may be too large and decentralized. If the proportionate manpower costs are very high, then that organization may actually benefited by centralization of some of the aspects of the organization. 6. The change agent is catalyst to change requirements in an organisation, he might be a selfdesignated manager within the organization or an outside consultant hired because of a special expertise in a particular area. This individual might be responsible for making very broad changes, like altering the culture of the whole organization; or more narrow ones, like designing and implementing a new safety program or a new quality program. Special skills are necessary for success as a change agent. Among them are the ability to determine how a change should be made, the skill to solve change related problems, and facility in using behavioural science tools to influence people appropriately during the change process. 7. The ability to express and control our own emotions and ability to understand, interpret, and respond to the emotions of others together makes emotional intelligence of a person. In other words Emotional intelligence (EI) also called as EQ is refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic. In nutshell EI is non-cognitive skills and capabilities of a person to handle environmental pressure and demands. Following four things make up the EI of a person:

3 Page3 Self-awareness Self-Management Self-Motivation Empathy Social skills 8. Perception refers to the set of processes we use to make sense of different stimuli we're presented with in the world. Our perceptions are built on how we interpret different sensations, which are sensory impressions we get from the stimuli in the world around us. The perceptual process is a sequence of steps that begins with reception of stimuli in the environment, and ends with recall of that stimulus. This process is typically unconscious and happens continuously large number of times a day. The five stages are stimulation (an action of various agents on nerves), organization (a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need), interpretation-evaluation (ability to reveal meanings and relationships society), memory (ability to store and relate information) and recall (retrieval of information from the past). Section C: Long Answer Questions 1. The central idea of the study of organizational behaviour is that a scientific approach can be applied to the management of workers. Organizational behaviour theories are used for human resource purposes to maximize the output from individual as well as group members. There are a variety of different models and philosophies of organizational behaviour. Areas of research include improving job performance, increasing job satisfaction, promoting innovation and encouraging leadership. In order to achieve the desired results, managers may adopt different tactics, including reorganizing groups, modifying compensation structures and changing the way performance is evaluated etc. Hence Organizational behaviour (OB) is "the study of human behaviour in organizational settings, the interface between human behaviour and the organization, and the organization itself." The study of Organisational Behaviour involves following Goals: consideration of the interaction among the formal structure (organisational context in which the process of management takes place) the tasks to be undertaken the technology employed and the methods of carrying out work the behaviour of people the process of management the external environment Interrelated dimensions influencing behaviour:

4 Page4 The Individual - working environment should satisfy individual needs as well as attainment of organisational goals. The Group - formal and informal. Understanding of groups complements knowledge of individual behaviour. The Organisation - impact of organisation structure and design, and patterns of management, on behaviour. The Environment - technological and scientific development, economic activity, governmental actions. 2. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation". Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid with the largest, most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom and the need for self-actualization at the top. While the pyramid has become the de facto way to represent the hierarchy, Maslow himself never used a pyramid to describe these levels in any of his writings on the subject. Behind everything thing we do is a need that wants to be satisfied. We have instincts that keep us alive and continue our species. But there are other needs that go beyond our body's instincts. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs starts at the basic physiological needs we need just to stay alive. Once these are made we have a need for safety, then we want love and affection. Within our group we want to have self-esteem. Finally we have a need of satisfying our full potential that Maslow calls Self Actualization. The five needs in Maslow's Hierarchy include: 1 Self Actualization -Fulfilment Needs (full potential) This is the rare level where people have need of purpose, personal growth and realization of their potentials. People on this level are fully functional, acting purely on their own volition and have a healthy personality. 2 Ego -Self Esteem Needs (self-respect, personal worth, autonomy) on this level, people act from their ego needs. They value the options of others, in order to believe in themselves. It is a matter of self-respect through respect from others. 3 Social - Love and Belongingness Needs (love, friendship, comradeship) On this level, people need to feel loved. Here loving one's self has not been fully discovered. Some families are tightly bond. If this need is very strong, there can be a rush to fulfil this need resulting in less than ideal partner selection. 4 Security - Safety Needs (security; protection from harm) Here we might include living in a safe area away from threats. This level is more likely to be found in children as they have a greater need to feel safe. Those who worry about small things, such as drinking out of plastic glasses have strong security needs. 5 Body -Physiological Needs (air, food, sleep, stimulation, activity) People on this level tend to be sick or in emergency type situations. They have biological needs for physical equilibrium

5 Page5 (homeostasis). People with lack of shelter, clothing, food etc. focus on physiological needs. People often neglect some of these basic needs in normal life when they eat junk food, go without sleep, don't exercise, or do not simulate their minds. Figure 1: Maslow s Need Hierarchy According to this theory the human mind and brain are complex and have parallel processes running at the same time, thus many different motivations from various levels of Maslow's hierarchy can occur at the same time. Maslow spoke clearly about these levels and their satisfaction in terms such as "relative," "general," and "primarily." Instead of stating that the individual focuses on a certain need at any given time, Maslow stated that a certain need "dominates" the human organism 3. The term conflict is used by different people to convey different meanings. For instance, conflict in mind conveys that the individual is in a state of dilemma over a certain issue and is not able to arrive at any decision. The term conflicting views denotes difference of opinions between two or more persons or groups. An advanced stage of this situation may be conveyed by the following words: They are in conflict, meaning thereby each party to the conflict is planning to meet the challenge of the other. But the term conflict is not synonymous with quarrel and fight. However, it represents a clash in the less literal sense between goals, ideas, ideologies and actions. Conflict may broadly be viewed as a breakdown in the standard mechanism of decisionmaking. Let us take the case of an intra-individual conflict; the individual is in a state of conflict in his mind as he is not able to take any decision in a given situation. In case of inter-individual conflict, two persons are not able to reconcile their views and hence there is a breakdown of mechanism of decision-making. Similarly, in case of intra-group, and inter-group, the process of conflict san be explained as breakdown of decision-making mechanism between the members of the group and between groups respectively.

6 Page6 Thus, a conflict arises when an individual or a group of individuals experiences difficulty in selecting an action alternative. In the context of an organization, broad features of a conflict are as under: Conflict occurs when individuals are not able to choose among the available alternative courses of action. Conflict between two individuals implies that they have conflicting perceptions, values and goals. Conflict is a dynamic process as it indicates a series of events. Each conflict is made up of a series of interlocking conflict episodes. Conflict must be perceived by the parties to it. If no one is aware of a conflict, then it is generally agreed that no conflict exists. Traditional view of conflict Traditionally, conflict in organizations has been viewed very negatively. It has been considered dysfunctional primarily because of the adverse effects it could have on organizational productivity. Conflict could cause losses in productivity because groups wouldn t cooperate in getting jobs finished and wouldn t share important information. Too much conflict could also distract managers from their work and reduce their concentration on the job. The classical writers believed that conflict is inherently bad. They believed that conflict indicates a malfunctioning within the organization and it represents management s failure to bind the workers and the organization together. For instance, whenever there is a clash between the interest of the organization and that of an individual, the interest of the organization must prevail. Thus, traditional writers had a very conservative view about conflict as thy considered it totally bad and advocated that conflicts must be avoided. Human relations view of conflict The human relationists contended that conflict is a natural occurrence in all groups and organizations. Since conflict is inevitable in any group or organization, it must be resolved amicably to achieve good human relations. Conflicts are bound to happen because the organization is composed of individuals having different values, goals and perceptions. Conflicts arise due to faulty policies and structure of the organization 1eading to distortion and blockage in communication. The human relationists perceived conflicts as harmful and advised their resolution in the interest of the organization and the individuals. Interactionist view of conflict: Modern viewpoint This view is based on the belief that conflict is not only a positive force in a group but is also necessary for a group to perform effectively. This approach encourages conflict on the ground that a harmonious, peaceful and cooperative group is prone to become static and non-responsive to the needs for change and innovation.

7 Page7 It is the task of the group leader to allow conflicts to happen to keep the group viable, selfcritical and creative. He may stimulate conflict to make the group members innovative and imaginative. However, conflicts must be kept under control to avoid their dysfunctional consequences. Thus, it is inappropriate to say that conflict is all good or bad, It will all depend whether the conflict is functional or dysfunctional. A functional conflict encourages the group to work for the attainment of its goals and improve its performance. But a dysfunctional conflict is destructive in nature as it hinders group performance. Certain sources of conflict are as follows: Organizational change People hold differing views over the direction to go, the routs to take and their likely success, the resources to be used and the probable outcomes. With the pace of technological, political and social change increasing and marketplace hurting toward a global economy, organizational changes will be ever present. Personality clashes The concept of individual differences is fundamental to organizational behaviour. Not everyone thinks feels, looks or acts alike. Employees need to accept, respect and learn how to use these differences when they arise. Different sets of values People also hold different beliefs to different value systems. Their philosophies may diverge or their ethical values may lead them in different directions. The resulting disputes can be difficult to resolve, since they are less objective than disagreements over alternative products, inventory levels or promotional campaigns. Threats to status The status, or the social rank of a person in a group, is very important to many individuals. Conflict may arise between the defensive person and whoever created a threat to status. Contrasting perceptions People perceive things differently as a result of their prior experiences and expectations. Since their perceptions are very real to them, they sometimes fail to realize that others may hold contrasting perceptions of the same object or event. Conflict may arise by this difference. Lack of trust Every continuing relationship requires some degree of trust- the capacity to depend on each other s word and actions. When someone has a real or perceived person not to trust another, the potential for conflict rises.

Model Answer/Suggested Solutions AR-7332 Organisational Behaviour

Model Answer/Suggested Solutions AR-7332 Organisational Behaviour M.Com. II Semester Note: These model answers are a depiction of important points which, an examinee must have to mention, to secure high marks in particular question. The length of the answer may vary