ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

68/22539 Amrita Singh

Paper No.I Response Sheet No. 1 Question No.3 Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an individual or a group in efforts towards goal achievement in a given situation.- Hersey and Blanchard. Effectiveness of leaders depends on how their leadership style interrelates with the situation in which they operate. A leader might be successful in one situation with one type of a subordinate, whereas the same leader might not yield success in handling another situation with another subordinate. The situational leadership theory suggests that instead of using just one style, successful leaders should change their leadership styles based on the maturity of the people they're leading and the details of the task. However, leaders must first identify their most important tasks or priorities and must consider the readiness level of their followers by analyzing the groups ability and willingness. In the Situational Leadership model, the leadership style been divided into 4 types and is in accordance with the respective 4 types of followers.

Telling - Telling style is associated with leaders who minutely supervise their followers, constantly instructing them about why, how and when of the tasks that need to be performed. A follower with low competence and low commitment is suitable for such a leader.

Selling - Selling style is when a leader provide controlled direction and is a little more open and allows two way communication between him/herself and the followers thus ensuring that the followers buy in the process and work towards the desired goals. A follower with some competence and low commitment is apt for such a leader.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
68/22539 Amrita Singh

Paper No.I Response Sheet No. 1 Question No.3

Participating - This style is characterized when the leaders seeks opinion and participation of the followers to establish how a task should be performed. The leader in this case tries creating relationship with the followers. A follower with high competence and variable commitment fits such a leader.

Delegating - In this case, the leader plays a role in decisions that are taken but passes on or delegates the responsibilities of carrying out tasks to his followers. The leader however monitors and reviews the process. A follower who is highly competent and committed is suited for such a leader.

All leaders do not possess same attitude or same perspective. The leadership style varies with the kind of people the leader interacts and deals with. A perfect/standard leadership style is one which assists a leader in getting the best out of the people who follow him. Autocratic leadership style: The leader has complete command and hold over their employees/team. This leadership style works only when the leader is the best in performing or when the job is monotonous, unskilled and routine in nature or where the project is short-term and risky. The Laissez Faire Leadership Style: The leader totally trusts their employees/team to perform the job themselves. He just concentrates on the intellectual/rational aspect of his work. This leadership style works only when the employees are skilled, loyal, experienced and intellectual.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
68/22539 Amrita Singh

Paper No.I Response Sheet No. 1 Question No.3 Democrative / Participative leadership style: The leader invites and encourages the team members to play an important role in decision-making process, though the ultimate decision-making power rests with the leader. It leads to an optimistic work environment and also encourages creativity. Bureaucratic leadership: The leader strictly adheres to the organizational rules and policies. This leadership style is more suitable when safe work conditions and quality are required. But this leadership style discourages creativity and does not make employees self-contented.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
68/22539 Amrita Singh

Paper No.I Response Sheet No. 1 Question No.4 Motivation is the process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish the goals. It is defined by Stephen Robbins as, the processes that account for an individuals intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal. The process of motivation consists of three elements: Intensity: how hard a person tries Direction: toward beneficial goal Persistence: how long a person tries

Theory X and Theory Y, created and developed by Douglas McGregor, pertain to employee motivation and have been used in human resource management, organizational behavior analysis, and organizational development. They describe two very different attitudes towards workforce motivation. McGregor felt that companies followed either one of these approaches. Theory X In this theory management assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work if they can. Because of this, workers need to be closely supervised and comprehensive systems of control put in place. A hierarchical structure is needed, with narrow span of control at each level, for effective management. According to this theory employees will show little ambition without an enticing incentive program and will avoid responsibility whenever they can. The managers influenced by Theory X believe that everything must end in blaming someone. They think most employees are only out for themselves and their sole interest in the job is to earn money. They tend to blame employees in most situations, without questioning the systems, policy, or lack of training which could be the real cause of failures.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
68/22539 Amrita Singh

Paper No.I Response Sheet No. 1 Question No.4 Managers that subscribe to Theory X tend to take a rather pessimistic view of their employees. Critics believe that a Theory X manager could be an impediment to employee morale & productivity. Theory Y Management influenced by this theory assumes that employees are ambitious, self-motivated, anxious to accept greater responsibility and exercise self-control, self-direction, autonomy and empowerment. Management believes that employees enjoy their work. They also believe that, given a chance, employees have the desire to be creative at their work place and become forward looking. 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. A Theory Y manager believes that, given the right conditions, most people will want to do well at work and that there is a pool of unused creativity in the workforce. They believe that the satisfaction of doing a good job is a strong motivation in itself. A Theory Y manager will try to remove the barriers that prevent workers from fully actualizing themselves . Though these theories are very basic in nature, they provide a platform for future generations of management theorists and practitioners to understand the changing dynamics of human behavior. Taken too literally, Theories X and Y seem to represent unrealistic extremes. Most employees (including managers) fall somewhere in between these poles. Recent studies have questioned the rigidity of the model, yet McGregor's X-Y Theories remain guiding principles to the management to evolve processes which help in organizational development. A mix of practices which ensure a healthy blend of systems and the freedom to perform at the work place is likely to motivate the employees more. This mix of practices calls for induction of technology into HR.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
68/22539 Amrita Singh

Paper No.I Response Sheet No. 2 Question No.3 Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in human capabilities that is not a result of growth processes. These capabilities are related to specific learning outcomes; verbal information, intellectual skills, motor skills, attitudes and cognitive strategies. Our ability to learn is also important to organizations preoccupied with controlled performance. Classical conditioning, developed by Ivan Pavlov, is where responses that are usually reflexive (and thus elicited) are brought under the control of stimulus events that precede the response. Pavlov worked out its fundamental principles through his studies of salivation in dogs, which he found could be elicited by neutral stimuli, such as a tone, that had been repeatedly presented before the presentation of food. Operant conditioning, developed by B.F. Skinner is a form of learning in which responses that are usually voluntary (and thus emitted) come to be controlled by their consequences. Another name is instrumental conditioning, since the learned responses, which operate on the environment, are instrumental in either attaining some subsequent desirable reward or avoidingescaping some subsequent aversive/punishing event. In operant conditioning, unlike classical conditioning, there are response consequences, i.e., there are reinforcement or punishment contingencies--the reinforcement or punishment (R or P) being dependent/contingent upon the response (CR) occurring.In contrast, in classical conditioning the unconditioned stimulus (US, which is like a reinforcement or punishment) follows the conditioned stimulus (CS) during training regardless of whether or not the conditioned response (CR) occurs. Here the CR, which is usually reflexive, is brought under the control of a stimulus event (CS) that precedes the response, rather than one that follows it.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
68/22539 Amrita Singh

Paper No.I Response Sheet No. 2 Question No.3 The concept of Behaviour Modification evolved from the experimental work of B.F. Skinner. It relies heavily on the law of effect which states that an individual tends to repeat behaviour that is followed by favourable consequences (reinforcement) and tends not to repeat behaviour that is followed by unfavourable consequences. The term Reinforcement here means that it is anything the individual finds rewarding. It is related to the psychological process of motivation and is environmentally based. Two basic conditions are required for effective application of behaviour modification. Firstly, the supervisor/manager must be able to identify some powerful consequences as perceived by the employee and secondly, the supervisor/manager then must be able to administer them in such a way that the employee will see the connection between the behaviour to be affected and the consequences. The law of effect emerges from learning theory which suggests that we learn best under a pleasant environment. As the concept of behaviour modification states that external consequences tend to determine behaviour, it is also related to the law of effect. The benefit of the concept is that it places a greater responsibility on the shoulders of the supervisor/manager. After having identified and measured critical behaviours hindering to successful job performance, it is then necessary to determine what are the causes and consequences of these behaviours. It involves a detailed examination of critical behaviours of the employees to determine its consequences and conditions leading to their occurrences. The functional analysis is also called ABC analysis wherein; A-Antecedent cues Illness/ accident Hangover Lack of transport B Behaviour Late coming Sleeping in Absenteeism C- Consequences. Discipline Programs Verbal Reprimands Written Reprimands

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
68/22539 Amrita Singh

Paper No.I Response Sheet No. 2 Question No.4 Communication is the process of giving, receiving or exchanging ideas, information, signals or messages through appropriate media, enabling individuals or groups to persuade, to seek information, to give information or to express emotions. There are several barriers that affect the flow of communication in an organization. These barriers interrupt the flow of communication from the sender to the reciever, thus making communication ineffective. It is essential for managers to overcome these barriers. The main barriers of communication are summarized below. Perceptual and Language Differences: Perception is generally how each individual interprets the world around him. All generally want to receive messages which are significant to them. But any message which is against their values is not accepted. A same event may be taken differently by different individuals. For example : A person is on leave for a month due to personal reasons (family member being critical). The HR Manager might be in confusion whether to retain that employee or not, the immediate manager might think of replacement because his teams productivity is being hampered, the family members might take him as an emotional support. Information Overload: Managers are surrounded with a pool of information. It is essential to control this information flow else the information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As a result communication is less effective. Inattention: At times we just not listen, but only hear. For example a traveler may pay attention to one NO PARKING sign, but if such sign is put all over the city, he no longer listens to it. Thus, repetitive messages should be ignored for effective communication. Similarly if a superior is engrossed in his paper work and his subordinate

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
68/22539 Amrita Singh

Paper No.I Response Sheet No. 2 Question No.4 explains him his problem, the superior may not get what he is saying and it leads to disappointment of subordinate. Time Pressures: Often in organization the targets have to be achieved within a specified time period, the failure of which has adverse consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal channels of communication are shortened, or messages are partially given, i.e., not completely transferred. Thus sufficient time should be given for effective communication. Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected a lot by noise to distractions. Physical distractions are also there such as, poor lightning, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also affects communication in a meeting. Similarly use of loud speakers interferes with communication. Emotions: Emotional state at a particular point of time also affects communication. If the receiver feels that communicator is angry he interprets that the information being sent is very bad. While he takes it differently if the communicator is happy and jovial (in that case the message is interpreted to be good and interesting). Complexity in Organizational Structure: Greater the hierarchy in an organization (i.e. more the number of managerial levels), more is the chances of communication getting destroyed. Only the people at the top level can see the overall picture while the people at low level just have knowledge about their own area and a little knowledge about other areas. Poor retention: Human memory cannot function beyond a limit. One cant always retain what is being told specially if he is not interested or not attentive. This leads to communication breakdown.
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