MB0038

Master of Business Administration- MBA Semester 1 Reg No.: 511011932

MB0022/ MB0038 – Management Process and Organization Behavior - 4 Credits

Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)

Q1. Write a note on the characteristics of Management.

INTRODUCTION

A central organ or agency is required to co-ordinate the activities and efforts of the various

individual working together in an organisation so that they can work collectively as a team

such an organ is called management. The term management conveys different meaning

depending upon the contest in which it is used.

Management is applicable everywhere and has become the key to success in the modern

organisation. Every organisation requires making of decision, coordination of activities,

handling of people and control of operation directed towards its objectives, management

helps organisation in that activities.

DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT

It is very difficult to give a precise definition of the term ‘management’. In the management

literature, we find a large number of definitions given by different authors.

However, the different view points may be classified in to the following categories, namely:

1. Management as an art of getting things done.

2. Management as a process.

3. Management as a group of managers.

4. Management as a discipline.

MANAGEMENT AS AN ART OF GETTING THINGS DONE

Mary Parker defines management as “the art of getting thing done through others.”

This definition emphasizes that the manager achieve organisational objectives by

getting work done through the workers. It represents the traditional view of

management under which workers are treated as a factor of production only. This

definition is incomplete in the present context; its deficiencies are as follows:

1. The definition is vague as it does not identify the functions which a manager

has to perform to get result from others.

2. It gives the impression of the manipulative character of the practice of

management.

3. The employees are merely treated as means for getting results. In other

words, their position is like a cog in the wheel. This definition ignores the

needs of the workers and does not offer them human treatments.

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY DISTANCE EDUCATION 1


MANAGEMENT AS A PROCESS

The process of management involves the determination of objectives and putting them

into action. Henri Fayol viewed management as a process consisting of five functions

which every organisation performs. “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to

command, to coordinate, and to control”. This definition clearly define the four

functions of management. But the modern trend is to classify managerial functions in

to five categories:

1. Planning

2. Organizing

3. Staffing

4. Directing

5. Controlling

MANAGEMENT AS A GROUP OF MANAGERS

The term management is frequently used to denote a group of managerial personnel.

When one says that ‘management of this company is very efficient’ it is implied that

the persons who are looking after the affairs of the company are very efficient. Thus,

management is the body or group of people which performs certain managerial

functions for the accomplishment of predetermined goals. These people are

individually known as ‘managers’.

MANAGEMENT AS A DISCIPLINE

Management has been widely recognized as a discipline or filed of study. It is taught

as a specialized branch of knowledge in educational institute. As a field of study, the

subject includes management subjects, principles, techniques and skills. Management

is a multi-disciplinary discipline. It has drawn heavily from Anthropology, Psychology,

sociology etc. after obtaining a diploma or degree in management, a person can try for

a managerial job.

CHARACTERISTICS

Management is a distinct activity having the following salient features or characteristics.

1. ECONOMIC RESOURCE: Management is an important economic resource together

with land, labour and capital. As industrialization grows, the need for mangers

increases. Efficient management is the most critical input in the success of any

organized group activity as it is the force which assembles and integrates other

factors of production, namely, labour, capital and materials.



2. GOAL ORIENTED: Management is a purposeful activity. It coordinates the efforts of

workers to achieve the goals of the organization. The success of management is

measured by the extent to which the organizational goals are achieve.

3. DISTINCT PROCESS: Management is a distinct process consisting of such functions

as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. These functions are so

interwoven that it is not possible to lay down exactly the sequence of various

functions or their relative significance. In essence, the process of management

involves decision making and putting of decisions into practice.

4. INTEGRATIVE FORCE: The essence of management is integration of human and

other resources to achieve the desired objectives. All these resources are made

available to those who manage. Managers apply knowledge, experience and

management principles for getting the results from the workers by the use of non

human resources. Managers also seek to harmonize the individual goals with the

organizational goals for the smooth working of the organization.

5. INTANGIBLE FORCE: Management has been called an unseen force. Its presence

is evidenced by the result of its efforts-orderliness, informed employees, buoyant

spirit and adequate work output. Thus, feeling of management is result-oriented.

6. RESULT THOUGH OTHERS: The manager cannot do anything themselves. They

must have the necessary ability and skills to get work accomplished through the

efforts of others. They must motivate the subordinates for the accomplishment of the

tasks assigned to them.

7. A SCIENCE AND AN ART: Management has an organized body of knowledge

consisting of well defined concepts, principles and techniques which have wide

applications. So it is treated as science. The application of these concepts, principles

and techniques requires specialized knowledge and skills on the part of the manager.

Since the skills acquired by a manager are his personal possession, management is

viewed as an art.

8. SYSTEM OF AUTHORITY: Management as a team of managers represents a

system of authority or a hierarchy of command and control. Manager at different

levels possess varying degrees of authority which gets gradually reduced as you go

down in the hierarchy.

9. MULTIDISCIPLINARY SUBJECT: Management has grown as a field of study taking

the help of so many other disciplines such as engineering, anthropology, sociology

etc. much of the management literature is the result of the association of those

discipline.

UNIVERSAL APPLICATION: Management in universal in character. The principles and

techniques of management are equally applicable in the field of business, education,



military, government and hospitals.

Q2 Discuss intellectual abilities in detail.

Ability directly influences an employee’s level of performance and satisfaction through the

ability-job fit. Given management’s desire to get a compatible fit, what can be done? First, an

effective selection process will improve the fit. A job analysis will provide information about

jobs currently being done and the abilities that individuals need to perform the jobs

adequately. Applicants can then be tested, interviewed, and evaluated on the degree to

which they possess the necessary abilities. Second, promotion and transfer decisions

affecting individuals already in the organization’s employ should reflect the abilities of

candidates. With new employees, care should be taken to assess critical abilities that

incumbents will need in the job and to match those requirements with the organization’s

human resources. Third, the fit can be improved by fine-tuning the job to better match an

incumbent’s abilities. Often modifications can be made in the job that, while not having a

significant impact on the job’s basic activities, better adapts it to the specific talents of a

given employee. Examples would be to change some of the equipment used or to

reorganize tasks within a group of employees. A final alternative is to provide training for

employees. This is applicable to both new workers and present job incumbents. Training can

keep the abilities of incumbents current or provide new skills as times and conditions

change.

The following is a list of characteristics commonly displayed by person who are talented or

gifted in Intellectual Abilities:

Understands complex concepts

Draws inferences between content areas

Sees beyond the obvious

Thrives on new or complex ideas

Enjoys hypothesizing

Intuitively knows before taught

Uses an extensive vocabulary

Does in-depth investigations

Learns rapidly in comparison to peers

1 - 2 repetitions for mastery

Manipulates information

Q3 Explain the classification of personality types given by Sheldon.

INTRODUCTION



Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by

a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various

situations. The word "personality" originates from the Latin persona, which means mask.

Significantly, in the theatre of the ancient Latin-speaking world, the mask was not used as a

plot device to disguise the identity of a character, but rather was a convention employed to

represent or typify that character.

DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY

Personality is the outcome of a continuous personal quality development process. The role

of personality becomes clear in a particular situation. Personality is recognized in a situation.

It is the result of personal quality interaction in a particular condition. The major determinants

of personality of an individual are given below:

• Biological Factors

• Cultural Factors

• Family Factors

• Social Factors

• Situational Factors

1. Biological Factors

Heredity:

• It refers to physical stature, facial attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition

and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are characteristics that are considered to

be inherent.

• It plays an important part in determining an individual's personality.

• Heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual's personality is the

molecular structures of the genes, which are located in the chromosomes.

• Recent research studies shows that young children lend strong support to the power of

heredity and finding shows that some personality traits may be built into the same genetic

code that affects factors like height and hair color.

Brain:

• Brain is the second biological approach to determine personality.

• It plays an important role in determining personality.

• Electrical Stimulation of the Brain (ESB) and Split brain psychology results indicates that a

better understanding of human personality and behavior might come from a closer study of



the brain.

• The definite areas of the human brain are associated with pain and pleasure. Research

study shows that these things are true.

Biofeedback:

• It is third biological approach to determine personality.

• Physiologists and psychologists felt that biological functions like brainwave patterns, gastric

and hormonal secretions, and fluctuations in blood pressure and skin temperature were

beyond conscious control. Recent research shows that these functions can be consciously

controlled through biofeedback techniques.

• For this purpose, individual can learns the internal rhythms of a particular body process

through electronic signals that are feedback from equipment which is wired to body.

• In this process, the person can learn to control the body process through questions.

• It is one of the interesting topics to do future research work in personality.

Physical Features:

• It is third biological approach to determine personality.

• It is vital ingredient of the personality, it focus an individual person's external appearance

which also determined the personality.

• Physical features like tall or short, fat or skinny, black or white. These physical features will

be influenced the personal effect on others and also affect self concept of individual.

• Recent research studies shows that definitely this features influence to individual

personality in an organization. In totally, heredity would be fixed at birth and no amount of

experience can be altering

them through creation of suitable environment. Apart from this, personality characteristics

are not completely dictated by heredity. There are other factors also influenced to

determining personality.

2. Cultural Factors

"Each culture expects, and trains, its members to behave in ways that are acceptable to the

group. To a marked degree, the child's cultural group defines the range of experiences and

situations he is likely to encounter and the values and personality characteristics that will

reinforce and hence learned". -Paul H Mussen

• Cultural factors are also major factors which influence to determine individual personality.



• It refers to traditional practice, customs, procedure, norms and rules and regulation

followed by the society.

• It significantly influence to individual behavior compare to biological factors.

• Cultural factors determine attitudes towards independence, aggression, competition,

cooperation, positive thinking, team spirit, and a host of the human being and discharge

his/her duties towards valuable responsibilities to society.

• Western culture influence to Indian society. It is best example of the cultural factors also

determine the personality.

3. Family Factors

• Family factors are also major factors which influence to determine individual personality.

• Family consists of husband and wife and their children's.

• Family role is very important for nurturing and personality development of their children.

• Family will be guided, supervised, take care of all family members, cooperation, 52

Organizational Behaviour coordination and cooperation in work and also explained the role

and responsibilities towards the family, society and real life.

• Family either directly or indirectly influence to person for development of individual

personality.

4. Social Factors

• Social factors are also major factors which influence to determine individual personality.

• It involves the reorganization of individual's in an organization or society.

• It refers to acquiring of wide range of personality by acquiring and absorbed by themselves

in the society or an organization.

• Socialization process is starting from home and extending to work environment in an

organization or society.

• It focuses on good relationships, cooperation, coordination and interaction among the

members in the society or an organization or a family.

In totally, environment factors consist of cultural factors, family factors, and social factors.

5. Situational Factors

• Situational factors also influence to determine of personality.

• Situational factors are very important to change the individual behaviour in a different

circumstance at different situations, it also influence to personality of individual person.

• In general term, personality is stable and consistent and it does change in different



situations.

The Interaction of Personality and Situational Factors are outlined:

• Strong situational pressures

• Personality may not predict behaviour

• Example: enforcement of rules

• Weak Situational pressures

• Personality may predict behaviour

• Example: Customer sales representative

• A strong situation can overwhelm the effects of individual personalities by providing strong

cues for appropriate behaviour.

SHELDON’S THEORY

According to Sheldon there is a link between physiological traits and characteristics of an

individual with his behaviour. There are basically three types.

1.Endomorphy - focused on the digestive system, particularly the stomach (endoderm);

has the tendency toward plumpness, corresponds to Viscerotonia temperament tolerant,

love of comfort and luxury, extravert

Endomorphic Body Type:

soft body

underdeveloped muscles

round shaped

over-developed digestive system

Associated personality traits:

love of food

tolerant

evenness of emotions

love of comfort

sociable

good humored

relaxed

need for affection

2.Mesophorphy- focused on musculature and the circulatory system (mesoderm), has the



tendency towards muscularity, corresponds to the Somatotonia temperament courageous,

energetic, active, dynamic, assertive, aggressive, risk taker

Mesophorph Body Type:

hard, muscular body

overly mature appearance

rectangular shaped

thick skin

upright posture


adventurous

desire for power and dominance

courageous

indifference to what others think or want

assertive, bold

zest for physical activity

competitive

love of risk and chance

3.Ectomorphy focused on the nervous system and the brain (ectoderm) - the tendency

towards slightness, corresponds to Cerebrotonia temperament artistic, sensitive,

apprehensive, introvert

Ectomorphic Body Type:

thin

flat chest

delicate build

young appearance

tall

lightly muscled

stoop-shouldered

large brain


self-conscious

preference for privacy

introverted



inhibited

socially anxious

artistic

mentally intense

emotionally restrained

Q4 What are the different barriers to perception?

Perception can be defined as a process by which individuals select, organize and interpret

their sensory impressions, so as to give meaning to their environment. Perception is a

complex cognitive process and differs from person to person. People's behavior is

influenced by their perception of reality, rather than the actual reality.

In comparison to sensation, perception is a much broader concept. Sensation involves

simply receiving stimuli through sensory organs, whereas the process of perception involves

receiving raw data from the senses and then filtering, modifying or transforming the data

completely through the process of cognition. The processes of perception consist of various

subprocesses such as confrontation, registration, interpretation and feedback.

Though people are continuously exposed to numerous stimuli, they tend to select only a few

of them. The principle of perceptual selectivity seeks to explain how, and why people select

only a few stimuli out of the many stimuli they keep encountering at any given time.

Perceptual selectivity is affected by various internal set factors and external attention factors.

Some of the internal set factors are learning, motivation and personality. External attention

factors include environmental influences like intensity, size, contrast, repetition, motion,

novelty and familiarity.

Sometimes, different individuals may perceive the same thing differently. Differences may

arise due to factors associated with the perceiver (attitudes, motives, expectations, etc.) or

the situation (time, place, etc.) or the target (novelty, background, sounds, size, etc.).

Perceptual organization focuses on the subsequent activities in the perceptual process after

the information from the situation is received.

The various principles of perceptual organization consist of figure-ground, perceptual

grouping, perceptual constancy, perceptual context and perceptual defense. The principle of

figure-ground states that perceived objects stand out from their general background.

According to the principle of perceptual grouping, people tend to group several stimuli



together into a recognizable pattern. People usually tend to group stimuli together on the

basis of closure, continuity, proximity or similarity. Even if a person is not able to obtain

sufficient information to arrive at a decision, he tries to close the gap by grouping the

available information with the information from his past experience. This is called the

principle of closure. Sometimes people tend to think only in a particular direction. This is

called principle of continuity. It may also happen that people may group the stimuli based on

their proximity and similarity.

According to principle of perceptual constancy, there are some things which are perceived

alike by all people, irrespective of the factors influencing perception. It provides a person a

sense of stability in this changing world. Perceptual context provides meaning and value to

stimuli with respect to a particular context. According to the principle of perceptual defense,

people tend to resist information that is emotionally disturbing or clashes with their personal

convictions or cultural values.

Social perception is concerned with how individuals perceive one another. The primary

factors that lead to social perception are the psychological processes that lead to attribution,

stereotyping and halo effect. Attribution refers to the way in which people explain the cause

of their own behavior or others' behavior. If a person's behavior can be attributed to internal

factors such as personality traits, motivation or ability, then it is called dispositional

attribution. If a person's behavior is attributed to external factors, such as a machine or being

under the influence of others, then it is referred to as situational attribution.

Stereotyping and the halo effect are common problems in social perception. When an

individual is judged based on the perception about the group to which he belongs, it is

termed as stereotyping. When people draw a general impression about an individual based

on a single characteristic, it is known as the halo effect. The process by which people try to

manage or control the perceptions other people form of them is called impression

management. It is used by employees in organizations to favorably impress their boss and

move up the hierarchy.

Perceptions have a crucial role in individual decision-making in organizations, by affecting

both the decisions as well as the quality of the decision. The decision taken by an individual

is a complex process involving the intake of data, screening, processing, and interpreting

and evaluating of data, based on the perception of the individual.



Q5 Mr. Batra is the General Manager, HR of a leading Automobile company. He is

having a meeting with Mr. Chandan, a leading HR consultant. Mr. Batra is concerned

about creating an environment that helps in increasing job satisfaction among

employees. Assume that you are Mr. Chandan, the HR consultant. What suggestions

will you give to Mr. Batra, for creating an environment that increases job satisfaction?

Job satisfaction can be influenced by a variety of factors, e.g. the quality of one's relationship

with their supervisor, the quality of the physical environment in which they work, degree of

fulfillment in their work, etc.. Numerous research results show that there are many factors

affecting the job satisfaction. There are particular demographic traits (age, education level,

tenure, position, marital status, years in service, and hours worked per week) of employees

that significantly affect their job satisfaction.

Satisfying factors motivate workers while dissatisfying ones prevent. Motivating factors are

achievement, recognition, the job conducted, responsibility, promotion and the factors

related to the job itself for personal development. Motivating factors in the working

environment result in the job satisfaction of the person while protective ones dissatisfy

him/her.

Maslow connects the creation of the existence of people's sense of satisfaction with the

maintenance of the classified needs. These are: physiological needs (eating, drinking,

resting, etc.), security needs (pension, health insurance, etc.), the need to love (good

relations with the environment, friendship, fellowship, to love and to be loved), need to self-

esteem (self-confidence, recognition, adoration, to be given importance, status, etc.) need of

self-actualization (maximization of the latent[potential] power and capacity, development of

abilities, etc.) .

Insufficient education, inability to select qualified workers for the job, lack of communications,

lack of job definitions, all affect job satisfaction negatively. It has been asserted that

participating in the management, having the decision making power, independence on the

job and the unit where the individual works, have positive impact upon the job satisfaction.

The job itself (the work conducted), and achievement and recognition at work result in

satisfaction while the management policy, relations with the managers and colleagues result

in dissatisfaction. Factors related to the job itself such as using talents, creativity,

responsibility, recognition have influence on the job satisfaction.

Age is one of the factors affecting job satisfaction. Studies conducted in five different

countries prove that the elder workers are more satisfied . Kose has also found a meaningful

relation between the age and job satisfaction.

There is a strong connection between feeling secure and saying one is satisfied with a job.

People who state their job is secure have a much larger probability of reporting themselves

happy with their work.



Similarly, by some researchers, sex is also found to have an influence on job satisfaction.

Besides, Wahba has found out that male librarians give more importance to personal

development and free decision making in their jobs than the female librarians, and the

female librarians are more dissatisfied than the male librarians.

Job satisfaction and devotion to the job, affected each other reciprocally, and they have

great impact upon performance. The most significant of the factors affecting performance

are economical, technical, socio-political, cultural and demographical ones .

However, most efforts to improve performance seem to center on improving the conditions

surrounding the work. These are worthwhile efforts, but they usually result only in short-term

improvements in attitudes and productivity, and the situation often returns quickly to normal .

There is no strong acceptance among researchers, consultants, etc., that increased job

satisfaction produces improve job performance -- in fact, improved job satisfaction can

sometimes decrease job performance. For example, you could let workers sometime sit

around all day and do nothing. That may make them more satisfied with their "work" in the

short run, but their performance certainly doesn't improve. The individual's willingness to get

a result, his/her endeavour and expectation of maintaining the result will push him/her to

show the highest performance.

Job satisfaction varies a lot. (Researches suggests, the higher the prestige of the job, the

greater the job satisfaction). But, many workers are satisfied in even the least prestigious

jobs. They simply like what they do. Most workers like their work if they have little

supervision. The least satisfied workers are those in service occupations and managers that

work for others. Ethnic and religious orientation is associated to work attitudes, and job

satisfaction is related to education.

The difference between the results that the individual desire and those s/he maintained will

affect his/her satisfaction . There is a consistent relationship between the professional status

and the job satisfaction. High levels of job satisfaction are observed in those professions

which are deemed of good standing in the society.

The workers usually compare their working conditions with the conditions of the society,

under the variable of social conditions. If the social conditions are worse than the individual's

working conditions, then this will result in satisfaction of the individual, as the workers deem

themselves relatively in good position.

No meaningful relationship between the job satisfaction and age, professional experience,

education level, level of wage, sex and professional group was found. On the contrary,

professional experience has been claimed to increase job satisfaction.

Q.6 Given below is the HR policy glimpse of “iMagine”, an advertising company



1. It offers cash rewards for staff members

2. It promotes the culture of employee referral and encourages people to refer people

they know, maybe their friends, ex. colleagues, batch mates and relatives.

3. It recognizes good performances and gives fancy titles and jackets to the people

who perform well and also felicitates them in the Annual Day of the company.

What all aspects does it take care of, according to Maslow’s Need Hierarchy?

Maslow is a humanistic psychologist. Humanists do not believe that human beings are

pushed and pulled by mechanical forces, either of stimuli and reinforcements (behaviorism)

or of unconscious instinctual impulses (psychoanalysis). Humanists focus upon potentials.

They believe that humans strive for an upper level of capabilities. Humans seek the frontiers

of creativity, the highest reaches of consciousness and wisdom. This has been labeled "fully

functioning person", "healthy personality", or as Maslow calls this level, "self-actualizing

person."

Maslow has set up a hierarchic theory of needs. All of his basic needs are instinctoid,

equivalent of instincts in animals. Humans start with a very weak disposition that is then

fashioned fully as the person grows. If the environment is right, people will grow straight and

beautiful, actualizing the potentials they have inherited. If the environment is not "right" (and

mostly it is not) they will not grow tall and straight and beautiful.

Maslow has set up a hierarchy of five levels of basic needs. Beyond these needs, higher

levels of needs exist. These include needs for understanding, esthetic appreciation and

purely spiritual needs. In the levels of the five basic needs, the person does not feel the

second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied, nor the third until the second

has been satisfied, and so on. Maslow's basic needs are as follows:

Physiological Needs

These are biological needs. They consist of needs for oxygen, food, water, and a

relatively constant body temperature. They are the strongest needs because if a

person were deprived of all needs, the physiological ones would come first in the

person's search for satisfaction.

Safety Needs

When all physiological needs are satisfied and are no longer controlling thoughts and

behaviors, the needs for security can become active. Adults have little awareness of

their security needs except in times of emergency or periods of disorganization in the

social structure (such as widespread rioting). Children often display the signs of

insecurity and the need to be safe.



Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness

When the needs for safety and for physiological well-being are satisfied, the next

class of needs for love, affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow states that

people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. This involves both

giving and receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging.

Needs for Esteem

When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs for esteem can

become dominant. These involve needs for both self-esteem and for the esteem a

person gets from others. Humans have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of

self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person

feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world. When these needs are

frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless.

Needs for Self-Actualization

When all of the foregoing needs are satisfied, then and only then are the needs for

self-actualization activated. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person's need

to be and do that which the person was "born to do." "A musician must make music,

an artist must paint, and a poet must write." These needs make themselves felt in

signs of restlessness. The person feels on edge, tense, lacking something, in short,

restless. If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem,

it is very easy to know what the person is restless about. It is not always clear what a

person wants when there is a need for self-actualization.

The hierarchic theory is often represented as a pyramid, with the larger, lower levels

representing the lower needs, and the upper point representing the need for self-

actualization. Maslow believes that the only reason that people would not move well in

direction of self-actualization is because of hindrances placed in their way by society. He

states that education is one of these hindrances. He recommends ways education can

switch from its usual person-stunting tactics to person-growing approaches. Maslow states

that educators should respond to the potential an individual has for growing into a self-

actualizing person of his/her own kind. Ten points that educators should address are listed:

1. We should teach people to be authentic, to be aware of their inner selves and to hear

their inner-feeling voices.

2. We should teach people to transcend their cultural conditioning and become world

citizens.

3. We should help people discover their vocation in life, their calling, fate or destiny.

This is especially focused on finding the right career and the right mate.



4. We should teach people that life is precious, that there is joy to be experienced in life,

and if people are open to seeing the good and joyous in all kinds of situations, it

makes life worth living.

5. We must accept the person as he or she is and help the person learn their inner

nature. From real knowledge of aptitudes and limitations we can know what to build

upon, what potentials are really there.

6. We must see that the person's basic needs are satisfied. This includes safety,

belongingness, and esteem needs.

7. We should refreshen consciousness, teaching the person to appreciate beauty and

the other good things in nature and in living.

8. We should teach people that controls are good, and complete abandon is bad. It

takes control to improve the quality of life in all areas.

9. We should teach people to transcend the trifling problems and grapple with the

serious problems in life. These include the problems of injustice, of pain, suffering,

and death.

10. We must teach people to be good choosers. They must be given practice in making

good choices.

MB0022/ MB0038 – Management Process and Organization Behavior - 4 Credits

Assignment Set- 2 (60 Marks)



Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.

Q.1 What is emotional intelligence? Explain Goleman’s model of emotional

intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) describes the ability, capacity, skill or, in the case of the trait EI

model, a self-perceived ability, to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of

others, and of groups. Different models have been proposed for the definition of EI and

disagreement exists as to how the term should be used. Despite these disagreements,

which are often highly technical, the ability EI and trait EI models (but not the mixed models)

enjoy support in the literature and have successful applications in different domains.

Goleman's framework of emotional intelligence

Goleman developed a framework to explain emotional intelligence in terms of five

elements, he described as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social

skills. Each of these elements has distinctive characteristics, as outlined below:

1) Self-awareness: examining how your emotions affect your performance; using your values

to guide decision-making; self-assessment - looking at your strengths and weaknesses and

learning from your experiences; and being self-confident and certain about your capabilities,

values and goals.

2) Self-regulation: controlling your temper; controlling your stress by being more positive and

action-centred; retaining composure and the ability to think clearly under pressure; handling

impulses well; and nurturing trustworthiness and self-restraint.

3) Motivation: enjoying challenge and stimulation; seeking out achievement; commitment;

ability to take the initiative; optimism; and being guided by personal preferences in choosing

goals.

4) Empathy: the ability to see other people's points of view; behaving openly and honestly;

avoiding the tendency to stereotype others; and being culturally aware.

5) Social skills: the use of influencing skills such as persuasion; good communication with



others, including employees; listening skills; negotiation; co-operation; dispute resolution;

ability to inspire and lead others; capacity to initiate and manage change; and ability to deal

with others' emotions - particularly group emotions.

Goleman claims that people who demonstrate these characteristics are more likely to be

successful in senior management, citing research from various sources that suggests senior

managers with a higher emotional intelligence rating perform better than those without. He

gives several anecdotal case studies to illustrate ways in which emotional intelligence can

make a real impact in the workplace.

Q.2. Discuss the five stage model of group development proposed by Tuckman.

The goal of most research on group development is to learn why and how small groups

change over time. To do this, researchers examine patterns of change and continuity in

groups over time. Aspects of a group that might be studied include the quality of the output

produced by a group, the type and frequency of its activities, its cohesiveness, the existence

of conflict, etc.

Tuckman's Stages model

Bruce Tuckman reviewed about fifty studies of group development (including Bales' model)

in the mid-sixties and synthesized their commonalities in one of the most frequently cited

models of group development (Tuckman, 1965). The model describes four linear stages

(forming, storming, norming, and performing) that a group will go through in its unitary

sequence of decision making. A fifth stage (adjourning) was added in 1977 when a new set of

studies were reviewed (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977).

Forming:

Group members learn about each other and the task at hand. Indicators of this

stage might include: Unclear objectives, Uninvolvement, Uncommitted

members, Confusion, Low morale, Hidden feelings, Poor listening, etc.

Storming:

As group members continue to work, they will engage each other in arguments

about the structure of the group which often are significantly emotional and

illustrate a struggle for status in the group. These activities mark the storming

phase: Lack of cohesion, Subjectivity, Hidden agendas, Conflicts,

Confrontation, Volatility, Resentment, anger, Inconsistency, Failure.



Norming:

Group members establish implicit or explicit rules about how they will achieve

their goal. They address the types of communication that will or will not help

with the task. Indicators include: Questioning performance, Reviewing/clarify

objective, Changing/confirming roles, Opening risky issues, Assertiveness,

Listening, Testing new ground, Identifying strengths and weaknesses.

Performing:

Groups reach a conclusion and implement the solution to their issue.

Indicators include: Creativity, Initiative, Flexibility, Open relationships, Pride,

Concern for people, Learning, Confidence, High morale, Success, etc.

Adjourning:

As the group project ends, the group disbands in the adjournment phase. This

phase was added when Tuckman and Jensen's updated their original review

of the literature in 1977.

Each of the four stages in the Forming-storming-norming-performing-adjourning model

proposed by Tuckman involves two aspects: interpersonal relationships and task behaviors.

Such a distinction is similar to Bales' (1950) equilibrium model which states that a group

continuously divides its attention between instrumental (task-related) needs and expressive

Q.3 What are the possible sources of organizational conflict? Explain.

Organizational conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of

needs, values and interests between people working together. Conflict takes many forms in

organizations. There is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those

individuals and groups affected. There are disputes over how revenues should be divided,

how the work should be done, and how long and hard people should work. There are

jurisdictional disagreements among individuals, departments, and between unions and

management. There are subtler forms of conflict involving rivalries, jealousies, personality

clashes, role definitions, and struggles for power and favor. There is also conflict within

individuals — between competing needs and demands — to which individuals respond in

different ways.

The ingredients/sources of conflict.

Needs - Needs are things that are essential to our well-being. Conflicts arise when we ignore



others' needs, our own needs or the group's needs. Be careful not to confuse needs with

desires (things we would like, but are not essential).

Perceptions - People interpret reality differently. They perceive differences in the severity,

causes and consequences of problems. Misperceptions or differing perceptions may come

from: self-perceptions, others' perceptions, differing perceptions of situations and

perceptions of threat.

Power - How people define and use power is an important influence on the number and

types of conflicts that occur. This also influences how conflict is managed. Conflicts can

arise when people try to make others change their actions or to gain an unfair advantage.

Values - Values are beliefs or principles we consider to be very important. Serious conflicts

arise when people hold incompatible values or when values are not clear. Conflicts also

arise when one party refuses to accept the fact that the other party holds something as a

value rather than a preference.

Feelings and emotions - Many people let their feelings and emotions become a major

influence over how they deal with conflict. Conflicts can also occur because people ignore

their own or others' feelings and emotions. Other conflicts occur when feelings and emotions

differ over a particular issue.

Managing Conflict

There are five steps to managing conflict. These steps are:

Analyze the conflict

Determine management strategy

Pre-negotiation

Negotiation

Post-negotiation

Step 1: Analyze the conflict.

The first step in managing conflict is to analyze the nature and type of conflict. To do this,

you'll find it helpful to ask questions.

Answers may come from your own experience, your partners or local media coverage. You

may want to actually interview some of the groups involved. Additional information regarding

analyzing conflicts can be found in the Guide to Information and Resources.



Step 2: Determine management strategy.

Once you have a general understanding of the conflict, the groups involved will need to

analyze and select the most appropriate strategy. In some cases it may be necessary to

have a neutral facilitator to help move the groups toward consensus.

Step 3: Pre-negotiation.

To set the stage for effective negotiation, the groundwork must be laid. The following should

occur prior to negotiation.

Initiation - One partner raises the possibility of negotiation and begins the process. If no one

is willing to approach the others to encourage them to reach an agreement, a trusted

outsider could be brought in as a facilitator.

Assessment - Conditions must be right for negotiation to be successful. Key players must

be identified and invited. Each side must be willing to collaborate with the others.

Reasonable deadlines and sufficient resources to support the effort must exist.

Spokespersons for each group must be identified and involved. Parties need to determine

which issues are negotiable and which are not.

Ground rules and agenda - The groups must agree on ground rules for communication,

negotiation and decision making. They should agree on the objectives of the negotiation

process. An agenda of issues to be covered needs to be developed.

Organization - Meeting logistics must be established, including agreed upon times and

places. People must be contacted and encouraged to attend. Minutes must be taken so that

information can be distributed before and after meetings.

Joint fact-finding - The groups must agree on what information is relevant to the conflict.

This should include what is known and not known about social and technical issues.

Agreement is also needed on methods for generating answers to questions.

Step 4: Negotiation.

Interests - When negotiating be sure to openly discuss interests, rather than stated

positions. Interests include the reasons, needs, concerns and motivations underlying

positions. Satisfaction of interests should be the common goal.

Options - To resolve conflicts, concentrate on inventing options for satisfying interests. Do

not judge ideas or favor any of the options suggested. Encourage creativity, not



commitment.

Evaluation - Only after the partners have finished listing options, should the options be

discussed. Determine together which ideas are best for satisfying various interests.

Written agreement - Document areas of agreement and disagreement to ensure common

understanding. This helps ensure that agreements can be remembered and communicated

clearly.

Commitment - Every partner must be confident that the others will carry out their parts of

the agreement. Discuss and agree upon methods to ensure partners understand and honor

their commitments

Step 5: Post-negotiation.

Once negotiation is complete, the group will need to implement the decisions made. Some

key steps include:

Ratification - The partners must get support for the agreement from organizations that have

a role to play in the agreement. These organizations should be partners and should have

been involved in the previous steps. Each organization will need to follow its own procedures

to review and adopt the agreement.

Implementation - You and your partners' jobs are not done when you've reached

agreement. Communication and collaboration should continue as the agreement is carried

out. The partnership will need to have a plan to monitor progress, document success,

resolve problems, renegotiate terms and celebrate success.

Q.4 The environmental stressors have a great impact on work performance and

adjustment of the individual in an organization. Discuss the different categories of

environmental stressors.

It must be noted that stress factors are subjective and what one person may find stressful,

others may not necessarily experience as negatively. The way in which we experience and

react to stress is described as an emotional condition which triggers physical, psychological

and emotional responses from the individual.

Formally, a stressor is defined as an event or context that elevates adrenaline and triggers

the stress response which results in the body being thrown out of balance as it is forced to

respond.



Examples of Stress Triggers

Environmental stressors (elevated sound levels, over-illumination, overcrowding)

Daily stress events (e.g. traffic, lost keys)

Life changes (e.g. divorce, bereavement)

Workplace stressors (e.g. role strain, lack of control)

Stressors usually fall into one of four categories:

Internal stressors - these we carry around inside of us. They are self owned

stressors. These stressors may range from the posture we adapt, to addictions and

assessment of life/personal satisfaction or simply not getting enough sleep.

External stressors - these are the stressors in the environments in which we

operate and will range from parental pressure, to work pressure, to role pressure, to

household pressure, traffic, crime etc.

Hidden stressors - these are factors which cause stress but where the underlying

cause is difficult to identify. It often results in conflicting feelings and a sense of an

inappropriate reaction or response to a situation. For example underdeveloped

emotional intelligence where self-awareness is not apparent.

Obvious stressors - there are also those situations which obviously do or are

intended to bring about stress. For example a work deadline would be an imposed

obvious stressor where as the death of a loved one would be un-imposed but an

obvious one.

Types of Environmental Stressors

Noise

Research has demonstrated that high levels of background noise can severely impair one’s

ability to concentrate. It has been shown that excessive, intermittent or unpredictable noise

can cause tension and headaches as well as raise people's blood pressure. It can impact

concentration and reduce the ability to perform complex tasks. It can also undermine

teamwork, as people in a noisy environment tend to become more irritable and less willing to

help one another.

Solutions to noise at work can involve:

Arranging to work from a home office.



Installing partitions or physical barriers to reduce or deaden sound.

Scheduling work tasks so that those requiring the most focus can be completed when

the environment is more peaceful.

Using meeting rooms separate from the main source of noise.

If all else fails, using earplugs!

Lighting

Poor lighting, such as insufficient light, light that is too bright or light that shines directly into

one’s eyes can cause eye strain and increase fatigue. In addition to lighting conditions, the

quality of light is also important. Most people are happiest in bright daylight. Daylight which

measures 10,000 lux (equivalent to a bright sunny day) is known to trigger a release of

chemicals in the body that brings about a sense of psychological well-being. Unfortunately,

most types of artificial light do not seem to have the same effect on mood. You will probably

find that improving the quality of light will also improve the quality of your working

environment. Solutions to poor light conditions at work may include:

Arranging work spaces to be near a window.

Whenever possible, allowing natural light to shine through open doors and windows.

Trimming bushes that are in front of windows, painting walls with lighter colours,

checking into the possibility of installing skylights.

Installing brighter light bulbs in work areas or using full-spectrum bulbs in desk

lamps.

Poor Air Quality

Research has shown that poor air quality at work can trigger headaches and tiredness, as

well as impair one’s ability to concentrate. A variety of factors can contribute to the problem

of poor air quality, including a high concentration of pollutants in the air, poor air circulation

or inadequate ventilation.

Other sources of poor air quality include smoking, heating and air conditioning systems,

ionization by electrical equipment, overcrowding (too many people in a small space),

pollution, solvents or other chemicals from carpets, furniture or paint, and excess humidity or

dryness.

Solutions to poor air quality at work may involve:

Opening windows.

Banning smoking indoors.

Using dehumidifiers when humidity is a problem or humidifiers if it is too dry.

Introducing plants – not only do plants raise the amount of oxygen in the air and

reduce stuffiness, they also help to absorb pollutants in the air; evaporation of water



from plant pots or the plants themselves will help to raise humidity when the air is too

dry.

Keeping yourself hydrated by drinking water.

Clutter and Disorganization

Another source of environmental stress can be a work environment that is dirty, messy, or

uncomfortable. The distraction of working in an area that is disorganized, untidy and chaotic

can make it more difficult to achieve your goals.

Solutions to disorganization can involve:

Contracting with janitorial services to ensure the workplace is kept clean.

Developing systems for organizing product, information, and equipment.

Implementing on- or off-site storage systems.

Storing or discarding unnecessary furniture, equipment and office products.

Furniture and Ergonomics

Poorly designed furniture, or the improper use of quality furniture, generally contributes to a

variety of aches and pains. The most common of these is backache. Prolonged ergonomic

problems can produce serious injuries. Taking the time to arrange one’s working

environment is key to working comfortably and avoiding injury.

Solutions to ergonomic concerns at work may involve:

Ensuring that office chairs are properly adjusted to reduce the risk of injury to the

body.

Arranging computer work stations so that correct postures are used when working

with the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and documents.

Organizing work materials and accessories to improve efficiency and reduce the

distance and frequency of reaches.

Organizing your workday to include tasks, breaks and exercises that allow you to

vary your posture, rest your muscles and prevent muscle tension or soreness.

Consulting with a professional who can give you expert advice, as often the ideal

solution may not be immediately obvious.

Stress and performance

For the most part, people view stress as a negative factor. Stress however is only negative

when it is excessive, unmanaged and results in adverse symptoms and experiences. Some



of the negative consequences include:

Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed

Apathy, loss of interest in work or

other activities

Problems sleeping

Fatigue,

Trouble concentrating

Muscle tension or headaches

Stomach problems

Social withdrawal

Loss of sex drive

Using alcohol or drugs to cope

It is clear that with these symptoms the individual's performance at work, home and in social

settings will be adversely affected. Negative stress also seems to have a self-building facet

where once stressed, additional factors just keep contributing to the stress and increase the

stress levels while decreasing performance and functioning.

Q.5 Given below are certain instances observed by a summer trainee – Ritu, while

doing an observational study at Phoenix consultants. An organization dealing with

recycling of plastic products waste etc. She makes the following observations about

two key people in the organization.

1. Mr. Shah – He is a very friendly person and encourages his team members by

giving those recommendations and appreciation. This helps HR to decide about

giving a bonus or promotion to employees.

2. Mr. Parhi- He is an aggressive person. He frequently loses his temper. Ritu

observes that he frequently punishes the non-performers and also gives them

warnings regarding suspension etc.

Now explain what base of power Mr. Shah and Mr. Parhi belong to. Explain the type of

power they use often.

Ten Types of Power

1. Position. Some measure of power is conferred on the basis of one’s formal position in an

organization. For example, a marketing manager can influence the decisions that affect the

marketing department. However, the marketing manager has little power to influence the

decisions that affect the finance department.

2. Knowledge or expertise. People who have knowledge or expertise can wield

tremendous power. Of course, knowledge in itself is not powerful. It is the use of knowledge

and expertise that confers power. Thus, you could be an incredibly bright person and still be

powerless.



3. Character or ethics. The more trustworthy individuals are, the more power they have in

negotiations. The big issue here is whether they do what they say they are going to do—

even when they no longer feel like doing it.

4. Rewards. People who are able to bestow rewards or perceived rewards hold power.

Supervisors, with their ability to give raises, hold power over employees. Money can have

power. But money, like anything else, holds very little power if it is not distributed.

5. Punishment. Those who have the ability to create a negative outcome for a counterpart

have the power of punishment. Managers who have the authority to reprimand and fire

employees hold this type of power. State troopers and highway patrol officers who have the

ability to give out speeding tickets also have this power.

6. Gender. Dealing with someone of the opposite sex can confer power. We have

videotaped many negotiation case studies in which the turning point came when a woman

casually touched a man’s hand or arm to make her point.

7. Powerlessness. In some instances, giving up all power can be very powerful. If a

kidnapper threatens a hostage with death enough times, the hostage may just challenge the

kidnapper to go ahead and kill him. At the point that the hostage gives up power, or control

over his own death, the kidnapper actually loses power.

8. Charisma or personal power. When we ask participants in our seminars for examples of

leaders who have had charisma or personal power, invariably the names of Mother Teresa,

John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan come up. When we ask, “What do all three of these

leaders have in common?” participants usually respond, “Passion and confidence in what

they believe in.”

9. Lack of interest or desire. In negotiations, as in many other areas of life, the side with

the least interest in what is being negotiated holds the most power. If you are buying a house

and you really do not care if you purchase the house you are currently negotiating for or the

one down the street, you will most likely hold more power in the negotiation—unless, of

course, the sellers could care less if they sell the house today or live in it for another ten

years!

10. Craziness. This may sound funny, but bizarre or irrational behavior can confer a



tremendous amount of power. Every organization has someone who blows up or behaves

irrationally when confronted with problems. Those who have been exposed to this type of

behavior tend to avoid such individuals. As a result, these individuals are not given many

tasks to accomplish because others are afraid to ask them.

Leadership style influence level of motivation. However, throughout a lifetime, man’s

motivation is influenced by changing ambitions and/or leadership style he works under or

socializes with. Command-and-control leadership drains off ambition while worker

responsibility increases ambition.

Leadership Style versus Motivation

Leadership Style Motivation TypeMotivation is

Based on:Personality Type Efficiency

Limited

supervision

Worker with

decision making

responsibility

Self motivated

Creativity

Leader of ideas

or people.

Independent

Achiever

Thrives on

change

High

Team motivated

Mixed styles

Goal motivated Opportunity

Personality type and efficiency

depends on leader's skill and/or the

work environment he's created.

Reward

motivatedMaterialism

Recognition

motivatedSocial status

High level of

supervision

Command-and-

control

Peer motivated To be like othersStatus quo

Dependency

Resist change

LowAuthority

motivatedFollows policy

Threat, fear

motivatedReacts to force

Self-motivated or visionaries will not accept authority controlled environments. They

will find a way to escape if trapped.

In a team-motivated environment, dependency types will become inspired and strive

to be acceptable with independent thinking coworkers.



Associates influence the level of individual motivation.

Reaction to Change

Command-and-control leadership is the primary style in our society. It is accepted because

efficiency is created by repetitive action, teaching people to resist change. Once acquiring a

skill, they do not want to learn another. The worker adapts to level three with an occasional

trip to level two.

Worker responsibility is just the opposite, it motivates people to thrive on change by seeking

challenges, finding ways to achieve goals. Level one is the leader of changing technology,

finding ways to create efficiency. (Click on image)

Reaction to Efficiency

The efficiency of advancing technology is forcing change. It is up to the individual or

business to decide which side of change they want to be on, the leading edge or trailing



edge. The leading edge is exciting while the trailing edge is a drag. Playing catch-up drains

motivation while leaders of change inspire motivation.

With today’s changing technology, an individual must be willing to abandoned old skills and

learn new ones. The ability to adapt is achieved through self-development programs.

Because level one thrives on change, they adapt to whatever methods gets things done with

the least amount of effort. This brings us to work habits.

In level one, management and front line workers, together, are searching for ways to solve

and prevent problems. Decisions are made on the front line where alternative methods are

analyzed. Being able to prevent problems is a motivating force. In level three management

makes all decision, as a result, management must find ways to solve all problems and find

alternative methods. Front line employees may be aware conflicts, but they don’t have the

authority to take action and have learned not to be concerned. Supervisors are only

concerned with elements that management thinks are important.

Under command-and-control leadership, management considers the opinions or concerns

of people on the front line to be trivial. As a result, management takes action only when

problems become too big to ignore. If workers have conflicts with their supervisors, they will

find ways to increase the magnitude of problems, creating a combative environment. A

downward spiral of management implementing more control and workers resisting control

develop. Under worker responsibility, management and workers unite to prevent or solve

problems.



Reaction to Learning Habits

In level two, young workers are

establishing work habits,

developing attitudes and

learning a professional skill. Out of

training and on the job, motivation level

will depend on the leadership style

they work under. Under command-

and-control leadership, ambitions will be associated with maintaining the status quo. Under

worker responsibility, ambitions will be associated with opportunity. They will continually

expand their skills as the need or as opportunity arises.

Reaction to Goals

Self-motivated people are goal motivated. Once they conquer one goal, they establish

another. Every goal is a learning process that requires all the elements in level one.

Companies that attract and keep this type of person stay on the leading edge of technology.

The CEO is a visionary in customer service and employee leadership. The employees' goals

are the same as the CEO’s.


Team Motivated

Elementary

problems are

prevented or

solved at the

source. Getting

the job done is

the primary goal

of management

and workers.

Dependency of

Authority

Elementary are

dealt with by

management

when large

enough to be

recognized.

Abused Workers

Lack of

leadership skills

and the desire

for power

creates

elementary

problems.

Managers focus

on worker

control. Getting

the job done is

down the list.

Workers goal is

to find ways to

do little as

possible.

Command and Control

Leadership - Problems are always

out of control.


If the CEO desires control, then he will lead in such a way that trains subordinates to lead by

control. As a result, the employees' goals are quitting time and payday.

Reaction to Recognition

Recognition is important; it builds positive self-esteem. By itself, its benefits are short lived.

Long-term benefits are achieved when the employee feels the job could not have been done

without them. This means they were faced with a challenge, which means, they had the

responsibility and authority to take action. This environment is found in level one.

Self Motivated Projects

Self-motivated projects' is the ability to start and finish what one has started. Most people,

working alone, do not finish what they start.

The ability to finish challenging projects is the secret to being a winner. First requirement is

interest, then asking questions which inspires' the learning process. With information, a

challenge is presented and a goal set. When action is taken, the barriers of persistence, risk,

fear and failure become a challenge by itself.

Self-motivated projects are difficult because no one cares if they succeed, which is another

barrier. This is why most people quit before they get a good start. People, who find ways to

overcome barriers and hang in there, are the winners. They develop skills and confidence,

which are required steps to larger projects.

Team Motivated Projects

Everyone can be inspired to achievement in a team-motivated environment. With a common

goal, team members support each other until success is achieved. In this environment,

others do care and team members are needed for achieving the goal. For this reason, team

motivation is extremely powerful. The exchange of ideas, information and testing the results,

adds to the motivating force. As a result, each member seeks to be a leader of quality input.

Q.6 “Window to Truth’ is a famous and old magazine. The top management decides to

start the e- edition of the magazine.

They also decide the redefine the policies and culture of “Window to Truth”

To start implementing this change, they frequently call meetings of employees. They

have also formed groups at different levels to clarify doubts and explain the



perspective of change.

Analyze the situation in the context of organizational change and elaborate why the

top management is following the discussed practices and what approach is most

evident in the context.

Typically, the concept of organizational change is in regard to organization-wide change, as

opposed to smaller changes such as adding a new person, modifying a program, etc.

Examples of organization-wide change might include a change in mission, restructuring

operations (e.g., restructuring to self-managed teams, layoffs, etc.), new technologies,

mergers, major collaborations, "rightsizing", new programs such as Total Quality

Management, re-engineering, etc. Some experts refer to organizational transformation.

Often this term designates a fundamental and radical reorientation in the way the

organization operates.

The levels of organizational change

Perhaps the most difficult decision to make is at what "level" to start. There are four levels of

organizational change:

First let's describe these levels, and then under what circumstances a business should use

them.

Level 1- shaping and anticipating the future

At this level, organizations start out with few assumptions about the business itself, what it is

"good" at, and what the future will be like.

Management generates alternate "scenarios" of the future, defines opportunities based on

these possible futures, assesses its strengths and weaknesses in these scenarios changes

its mission, measurement system etc. More information on this is in the next article, "Moving

from the Future to your Strategy."

Level 2 - defining what business(es) to be in and their "Core Competencies

Many attempts at strategic planning start at this level, either assuming that 1) the future will

be like the past or at least predictable; 2) the future is embodied in the CEO's "vision for the

future"; or 3) management doesn't know where else to start; 4) management is too afraid to

start at level 1 because of the changes needed to really meet future requirements; or 5) the

only mandate they have is to refine what mission already exists.

After a mission has been defined and a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and

threats) analysis is completed, an organization can then define its measures, goals,

strategies, etc. More information on this is in the next article, "Moving from the Future to your

Strategy."



Level 3 - Reengineering (Structurally Changing) Your Processes

Either as an aftermath or consequence of level one or two work or as an independent action,

level three work focuses on fundamentally changing how work is accomplished. Rather than

focus on modest improvements, reengineering focuses on making major structural changes

to everyday with the goal of substantially improving productivity, efficiency, quality or

customer satisfaction. To read more about level 3 organizational changes, please see "A

Tale of Three Villages."

Level 4 - Incrementally Changing your Processes

Level 4 organizational changes are focusing in making many small changes to existing work

processes. Oftentimes organizations put in considerable effort into getting every employee

focused on making these small changes, often with considerable effect. Unfortunately,

making improvements on how a buggy whip for horse-drawn carriages is made will rarely

come up with the idea that buggy whips are no longer necessary because cars have been

invented. To read more about level 4 organizational changes and how it compares to level 3,

please see "A Tale of Three Villages."

Some General Guidelines to Organization-Wide Change

1. Consider using a consultant. Ensure the consultant is highly experienced in organization-

wide change. Ask to see references and check the references.

2. Widely communicate the potential need for change. Communicate what you're doing

about it. Communicate what was done and how it worked out.

3. Get as much feedback as practical from employees, including what they think are the

problems and what should be done to resolve them. If possible, work with a team of

employees to manage the change.

4. Don't get wrapped up in doing change for the sake of change. Know why you're making

the change. What goal(s) do you hope to accomplish?

6. Plan the change. How do you plan to reach the goals, what will you need to reach the

goals, how long might it take and how will you know when you've reached your goals or not?

Focus on the coordination of the departments/programs in your organization, not on each

part by itself. Have someone in charge of the plan.

7. End up having every employee ultimately reporting to one person, if possible, and they

should know who that person is. Job descriptions are often complained about, but they are

useful in specifying who reports to whom.

8. Delegate decisions to employees as much as possible. This includes granting them the

authority and responsibility to get the job done. As much as possible, let them decide how to



do the project.

9. The process won't be an "aha!" It will take longer than you think.

10. Keep perspective. Keep focused on meeting the needs of your customer or clients.

11. Take care of yourself first. Organization-wide change can be highly stressful.

12. Don't seek to control change, but rather to expect it, understand it and manage it.

13. Include closure in the plan. Acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments.

14. Read some resources about organizational change, including new forms and structures


MB0038

Documents

process of management

functions of management

definition of management

discipline management

efficient management

success of management

term management

characteristics of management