Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester 1

MB0038 – Management Process and Organization Behavior(Book ID: B1127)

Q.1 Write a note on the managerial roles and skills.

Managerial Roles

Before discuss about managerial roles and skill we should knownSome basic terminology.

Organization- A place where two or more people work together in a structured way to achieve a specific goal or set of goals.

Managers- The people who are responsible for directing the efforts aimed at helping organizations achieve their goals.

They are the ‘coordinators’ and ‘directors’ in the organization. They are the individuals charged with monitoring the workflow, integrating efforts, meeting goals and providing leadership. In terms of authority, managers possess the right to command others in their areas of responsibility. Each manager reports to someone higher in the organization in what constitutes a theoretical chain of command from top to the bottom of the structure.According to Leonard Sayles, what managers do in reality is-

    • Strive to implement their personal career plans, using the firm as a vehicle. In doing so, they seek to meet the requirements of the organization.

    • Negotiates with peers in other interdependent departments in an effort to get their jobs done effectively.

    • Cultivates good personal relations with staff and service groups whose actions can impact their jobs for better or worse.

    •   Respond to the requests, demands, and requirements of various individuals and groups in order to retain their goodwill. Thus, they may be flexible in adjusting to a variety of personalities, cliques, and eccentricities.

    • Oversee the work into, within, out of their departments to assure that it goes smoothly.

• Alert to the work output, needs, wants, morale of their subordinates, and they interact with subordinates while maintaining a managerial perspective.

    • Represent their subordinates and their subordinate’s views to higher-level managers and to individual in other departments.

Managerial roles are duties perform by the head of organization. he could be charge of all department and seeing to the welfare of members of the organization, their promotion.

To meet the many demands of performing their functions, managers assume multiple roles. A role is an organized set of behaviors. Henry Mintzberg (1973) has identified ten Sub roles common to the work of all managers. The ten roles are divided into three groups.According to Mintzberg (1973), managerial roles are as follows:

1. Informational roles

2. Decisional roles3. Interpersonal roles

1. Informational roles: This involves the role of assimilating and disseminating information as and when required. Following are the main sub-roles, which managers often perform:

a. Monitor – collecting information from organizations, both from inside and outside of the organizationb. Disseminator – communicating information to organizational members

c. Spokesperson – representing the organization to outsiders.

2. Decisional roles: It involves decision making. Again, this role can be sub-divided in to the following:

a. Entrepreneur – initiating new ideas to improve organizational performance

b. Disturbance handlers – taking corrective action to cope with adverse situation

c. Resource allocators – allocating human, physical, and monetary resources

d. Negotiator – negotiating with trade unions, or any other stakeholders

3. Interpersonal roles: This role involves activities with people working in the organization. This is supportive role for informational and decisional roles. Interpersonal roles can be categorized under three sub-headings:

a. Figurehead – Ceremonial and symbolic role.

b. Leadership – leading organization in terms of recruiting, motivating etc.

c. Liaison – liasoning with external bodies and public relations activities.

Management Skills

Skill:Skill is that thing which the person says anything and nobody get angry.

A manager's job is varied and complex. Managers need certain skills to perform the duties and activities associated with being a manager. What type of skills does a manager need? Robert L. Katz (1974) found that managers needed three essential management skills

1. Technical 2. Human 3. Conceptual

Technical skills: The ability is to apply specialized knowledge or expertise. All jobs require some specialized expertise, and many people develop their technical skills on the job. Vocational and on the job training programs can be used to develop this type of skill.

Human Skill: This is the ability to work with, understand and motivate other people (both individually and a group). This requires sensitivity towards others issues and concerns. People, who are proficient in technical skill, but not with interpersonal skills, may face difficulty to manage their subordinates. To acquire the Human Skill, it is pertinent to recognize the feelings and sentiments of others, ability to motivate others even in adverse situation, and communicate own feelings to others in a positive and inspiring way.

Conceptual Skill: This is an ability to critically analyze, diagnose a situation and forward a feasible solution. It requires creative thinking, generating options and choosing the best available option. A mark of a good leader is to be able to provide consistent motivation to his team encouraging them to attain excellence and quality in their performance. A good leader is always looking for ways to improve production and standards. Here are six management skills you can develop as a leader in working to create a quality effective team.

1. ObservationThis is an important aspect that often gets neglected due the demands on a leader's time and schedule.Observation and regular visits to the work environment are a priority and should be scheduled into the calendar. Observing employees at work, the procedures, interaction and work flow is foundational to implementing adjustments to improve results. To have credibility, a leader needs to be seen and be known to be up to date with what is happening in the work place.

2. Monitor Employee PerformanceEmployee performance needs to be monitored in mutually accepted ways. Policies and procedures need to be clear. Conferencing should be on a regular basis and not just when there is a problem. Assessments and evaluations should not be merely all formality or viewed a necessary paperwork to be done and filed away. Individual and group conferencing should be undertaken not only to monitor performance, but with the expectation of on going professional development and support. There should be frequent encouragement and clear criteria for on going goals both for the group and individual.

3. Implementation of Professional Development ProgramsA good leader evaluates weaknesses and provides training and development strategies

to strengthen the weaker skills in the team.

4. Demonstrates Working Knowledge and ExpertiseGood leadership comes from a place of strong knowledge and experience of the production and process leading to results. If a leader does not possess all the expertise and knowledge personally, then regular consultations with experts involved in the departments should be held. This is important in order to maintain an accurate and informed overall picture.

5. Good Decision Making:

Good leadership is characterized by the ability to make good decisions. A leaderConsiders all the different factors before making a decision. Clear firm decisions, combined with the willingness and flexibility to adapt and adjust decisions when necessary, create confidence in the leadership.

6. Ability to Conduct and Evaluate Research:

On going review and research is vital in order to keep on the cutting edge in business. While managing the present to ensure on going excellence in product and performance, a good leader is also able to look towards the future. Conducting and evaluating research is an important way of planning and being prepared for the future.

Excellent leadership is always pro active rather than reactive. By developing these six managerial skills builds a solid foundation for success.

Tips to improve Management Skills:

1. A good manager must be independent, and look after his or herself, plus their other employees. To achieve this you will need confidence. This must be based on your own abilities. One thing you mustn't be is stagnant. You must keep updating your knowledge and skills, and you shouldn't stop learning, because it is a continuous process which should never stop. 2. You must be outgoing - or an extrovert. This doesn't mean that you should go to parties all the time and be surrounded by people 24/7. Although, what you could do is interact with your employees using your gift of gab (if you have one)

Q.2 Discuss the methods of shaping behavior in detail.

Shaping Behavior :

When a systematic attempt is made to change individuals’ behaviour by directing their learning in graduated steps, it is called shaping behavior.

There are four methods of Shaping Behavior. They are as follows:

1. Positive reinforcement – This is the process of getting something pleasant as a consequence of a desired behavior, to strengthen the same behavior. For example, one get a commission, if he/she achieves sales target.

For example,i) Bonuses paid at the end of a successful business year are an example of positive reinforcement.ii) Employees will work hard for a raise or a promotion.iii) Salesmen will increase their efforts to get rewards and bonuses.iv) Students will study to get good grades, andv) In these examples, the rises, promotions, awards, bonuses, good grades, are positive reinforces.

2. Negative reinforcement – This is the process of having a reward taken away as a consequence of a undesired behavior. For example, scholarship is withdrawn from the student who has not done well on the examination. Just as people engage in behaviours in order to get positive reinforces, they also engage in behaviours to avoid or escape unpleasant conditions. Terminating an unpleasant stimulus in order to strengthen or increase the probability of a response is called negative reinforcement.

3. Punishment: Punishment consists of administering a negative consequence when the undesired behavior occurs. Punishment is not the same as negative reinforcement. It decreases a behavior, whereas negative reinforcement increases the frequency of a behavior. Punishment administers a negative consequence, whereas negative reinforcement removes a negative consequence.

It is causing an unpleasant condition in an attempt to eliminate an undesirable behavior. This is the process of getting a punishment as a consequence of a behavior.

According to B. F. Skinner, punishment is still the most common technique of behaviour control in today’s life. When a child misbehaves, he is spanked. If a person does not

behave as the society or law wants him to do, he is punished by arrest and jail.

Example: Loss of pay for coming late to office. Punishment can be accomplished either by adding an unpleasant stimulus or removing a pleasant stimulus. The added unpleasant stimulus might take the form of criticism, a scolding, a disapproving look, a fine, or a

prison sentence. The removal of a pleasant stimulus might consist of withholding affection and attention, suspending a driver’s license, or taking away a privilege such as watching television.

Accordingly, in situations where punishment is desirable as a means of behaviour

modification, certain guidelines would make it more effective thus minimizing its dysfunctional consequences.

a) Praise in public; punish in private.

b) Apply punishment before the undesirable behaviour has been strongly reinforced. Thus, the punishment should immediately follow the undesirable behaviour.

c) The punishment should focus on the behaviour and not on the person.

4. Extinction – An alternative to punishing undesirable behaviour is extension – the attempt to weaken behaviour by attaching no consequences (either positive or negative) to it. It is equivalent to ignoring the behaviour. The rationale for using extinction is that a behaviour not followed by any consequence is weakened. However, some patience and time may be needed for it to be effective.

This type of reinforcement is applied to reduce undesirable behaviour, especially when such behaviours were previously rewarded. This means that if rewards were removed from behaviours that were previously reinforced, then such behaviours would become less frequent and eventually die out. For example, if a student in the class is highly mischievous and disturbs the class, he is probably asking for attention. If .the attention is given to him, he will continue to exhibit that behaviour.

Both positive and negative reinforcement result in learning. They strengthen a response and increase the probability of repetition. Both punishment and extinction weaken behavior and tend to decrease its subsequent frequency

Q.3 Explain the classification of personality types given by Myers -Briggs.[

Q.4 What are the factors influencing perception?

Perception is our sensory experience of the world around us and involves both the recognition of environmental stimuli and action in response to these stimuli. Through the perceptual process, we gain information about properties and elements of the environment that are critical to our survival.

A number of factors operate to shape and sometimes distort perception These factors can reside:

i) In the perceiver ii) In the Object or target being perceived or iii) In the context of the situation in which the perception is made.

1. Characteristics of the Perceiver:

Several characteristics of the perceiver can affect perception. When an individual looks at a target and attempts to interpret what he or she stands for, that interpretation is heavily influenced by personal characteristics of the individual perceiver. The major characteristics of the perceiver influencing perception are:

a) Attitudes:The perciver's attitudes affect perception.For example, Mr. X is interviewing candidates for a very important position in his organization - a position that requires negotiating contracts with suppliers, most of whom are male. Mr. X may feel that women are not capable of holding their own in tough negotiations. This attitude with doubtless affect his perceptions of the female candidates he interviews.

b) Moods:Moods can have a strong influence on the way we perceive someone. We think differently when we are happy than we do when we are depressed. In addition, we remember information that is consistent with our mood state better than information that is inconsistent with our mood state.When in a positive mood, we form more positive impressions of other. When in a negative mood, we tend to evaluate others unfavourably.

c) Motives:Unsatisfied needs or motives stimulate individuals and may exert a strong influence on their perceptions.For example, in an organizational context, a boss who is insecure perceives a sub ordinate's efforts to do an outstanding job as a threat to his or her own position. Personal insecurity can be translated into the perception that others are out to "get my job", regardless of the intention of the subordinates.

d) Self - Concept:Another factor that can affect social perception is the perceivers self-concept. An individual with a positive self-concept tends to notice positive attributes

in another person. In contrast, a negative self-concept can lead a perceiver to pick out negative traits in another person. Greater understanding of self allows us to have more accurate perceptions of others.

e) Interest:The focus of our attention appears to be influenced by our interests. Because our individual interests differ considerably, what one person notices in a situation can differ from what other perceive. For example, the supervisor who has just been reprimanded by his boss for coming late is more likely to notice his colleagues coming late tomorrow than he did last week.

f) Cognitive structure:Cognitive structure, an individual's pattern of thinking, also affects perception. Some people have a tendency to perceive physical traits, such as height, weight, and appearance, more readily. Cognitive complexity allows a person to perceive multiple characteristics of another person rather than attending to just a few traits.

g) Expectations:Finally, expectations can distort your perceptions in that you will see what you expect to see. The research findings of the study conducted by Sheldon S Zalking and Timothy W Costello on some specific characteristics of the perceiver reveal .

i) Knowing oneself makes it easier to see others accurately. ii) One's own characteristics affect the characteristics one is likely to see in other. iii) People who accept themselves are more likely to be able to see favourable aspects of other people. iv) Accuracy in perceiving others is not a single skill.

These four characteristics greatly influence how a person perceives other in the environmental situation.

2) Characteristics of the Target :Characteristics in the target that is being observed can affect what is perceived. Physical appearance pals a big role in our perception of others. Extremely attractive or unattractive individuals are more likely to be noticed in a group than ordinary looking individuals. Motions, sound, size and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it.

Verbal Communication from targets also affects our perception of them. Nonverbal communication conveys a great deal of information about the target. The perceiver deciphers eye contact, facial expressions, body movements, and posture all in a attempt to form an impression of the target.

3) Characteristics of the Situation:

The situation in which the interaction between the perceiver and the target takes place, has an influence on the perceiver's impression of the target. The strength of the situational cues also affects social perception.Some situations provide strong cues as to appropriate behaviour. In this situation, we assume that + i.e individual's behaviours can be accounted for by the situation, and that it may not reflect the individual's disposition.

Individuals have a tendency to use a number of shortcuts when they judge others. An understanding of these shortcuts can be helpful toward recognizing when they can result in significant distortions.

These barriers to perception are as follows:

1.Selective Perception:

Any characteristic that makes a person, object, or event stand out will increase the probability that it will be perceived. It is impossible for an individual to internalize and assimilate everything that is seen .Only certain stimuli can be taken in selectively.Selectivity works as a shortcut in judging other people by allowing us to “speed-read” others, but, not without the risk of drawing an inaccurate picture. The tendency to see what we want to see can make us draw unwarranted conclusions from an ambiguous situation.

2. Halo Effect:

The halo effect occurs when we draw a general impression on the basis of a single characteristic. For example, while appraising the lecturer, students may give prominence to a single trait, such as, enthusiasm and allow their entire evaluation to be tainted by how they judge the instructor on that one trait which stood out prominently in their estimation of that person.Research suggests that it is likely to be most extreme when the traits to be perceived are ambiguous in behavioral terms, when the traits have moral overtones, and when the perceiver is judging traits with which he or she has had limited experience.

3. Contrast Effects:

Individuals do not evaluate a person in isolation. Their reaction to one person is influenced by other persons they have encountered recently. For example, an interview situation in which one sees a pool of job applicants can distort perception. Distortions in any given candidate’s evaluation can occur as a result of his or her place in the interview schedule

4. Projection:

This tendency to attribute one’s own characteristics to other people, which is called projection, can distort perceptions made about others. When managers engage in projection, they compromise their ability to respond to individual differences. They tend to see people as more homogeneous than they really are.

5. Stereotyping:

Stereotyping–judging someone on the basis of our perception of the group to which he or she belongs. Generalization is not without advantages. It is a means of simplifying a complex world, and it permits us to maintain consistency. The problem, of course, is when we inaccurately stereotype. In organizations, we frequently hear comments that represent stereotypes based on gender, age, race, ethnicity, and even weight. From a perceptual standpoint, if people expect to see these stereotypes, that is what they will perceive, whether or not they are accurate.

6. First-impression error:

Individuals place a good deal of importance on first impressions. First impressions are lasting impressions. We tend to remember what we perceive first about a person, and sometimes we are quite reluctant to change our initial impressions. First-impression error means the tendency to form lasting opinions about an individual based on initial perceptions.Primacy effects can be particularly dangerous in interviews, given that we form first impressions quickly and that these impressions may be the basis for long-term employment relationships.Thus, barriers to perception create distortion in judging someone.

These four characteristics greatly influence how a person perceives others in the environmental situation.

1.Characteristics of the Target: Characteristics in the target that is being observed can affect what is perceived. Physical appearance plays a big role in our perception of others. Extremely attractive or unattractive individuals are more likely to be noticed in a group than ordinary looking individuals. Motion, sound, size and other attributes of a target shape the way we see it.

The perceiver will notice the target¶s physical features like height, weight, estimated age, race and gender. Perceivers tend to notice physical appearance characteristics that contrast with the norm, that are intense, or that are new or unusual. Physical attractiveness often colours our entire impression of another person. Interviewers rate attractive candidates more favourably and attractive candidates are awarded higher starting salaries. Verbal communication from targets also affects our perception of them.We listen to the topics they speak about, their voice tone, and their accent and make judgements based on this input. Non- verbal communication conveys a great deal of information about the target. The perceiver deciphers eye contact, facial expressions, body movements, and posture all in an attempt to form an impression of the target .As a result of physical or time proximity, we often put together objects or events that are unrelated.

For example:Employees in a particular department are seen as a group. If two employees of a department suddenly resign, we tend to assume their departures were related when in fact, they might be totally unrelated. People, objects or events that are similar to each

other also tend to be grouped together. The greater the similarity, the greater the probability we will tend to perceive them as a group.

2.Characteristics of the Situation: The situation in which the interaction between the perceiver and the target takes place, has an influence on the perceiver¶s impression of the target.

E.g. meeting a manager in his or her office affects your impression in a certain way that may contrast with the impression you would have formed, had you met the manager in a restaurant. The strength of the situational cues also affects social perception. Some situations provide strong cues as to appropriate behaviour.In these situations, we assume thatie individual¶s behaviour can be accounted for by the situation, and that it may not reflect the individual¶s disposition.This is the discounting principle in social perception.

For example: you may encounter an automobile salesperson who has a warm and personable manner, asks you about your work and hobbies, and seems genuinely interested in your taste in cars. Can you assume that this behaviour reflects the salesperson¶s personality? You probably cannot, because of the influence of thesituation. This person is trying to sell you a car, and in this particular situation, he probably treats all customers in this manner.

Q.5 Mr. Solanki is the VP- HR of a leading Financial services company He is having a meeting with Ms. Ramani leading HR consultant. Mr. Solanki is concerned about creating an environment that helps in increasing the job satisfaction amongst employees. Assume that you are Ms. Ramani, the HR

consultant. What suggestions you will give to Mr. Solanki, for creating an environment that increases job satisfaction [10]

Answer: Measuring Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction is the sense of fulfillment and pride felt by people who enjoy their work and do it well. For an organization, satisfied work force ensures commitment to high quality performance and increased productivity Job satisfaction helps organizations to reduce complaints and grievances, absenteeism, turnover, and termination. Job satisfaction is also linked to a healthier work force and has been found to be a good indicator of longevity. And although only little correlation has been found between job satisfaction and productivity, it has also been found that satisfying or delighting employees is a prerequisite to satisfying or delighting customers, thus protecting the "bottom line (Brown, 1996)

The most important factors conductive to job satisfaction are:

i) Mentally Challenging Work:

Employees tend to prefer jobs that give them opportunities to use their skills and abilities and offer a variety of tasks, freedom and feedback on how well they are doing. Under conditions of moderate challenge, most employees will experience pleasure and satisfaction.

ii) Personality-Job Fit:

People with personality types congruent with their chosen vocations should find they have the right talents and abilities to meet the demands of their jobs; and because of this success, they have a greater probability of achieving high satisfaction from their work. It is important, therefore to fit personality factors with job profiles.

iii) Equitable Rewards:

Employees want pay systems and promotion policies that they perceive as being just, unambiguous, and in line with their expectations. When pay is seen as fair based on job demands, individual skill level, and industry pay standards, satisfaction is likely to result.Similarly, employees seek fair promotion policies and practices. Promotions provide opportunities for personal growth, more responsibilities and increased social status. Individuals who perceive that promotion decisions are made in a fair and just manner are likely to experience job satisfaction.

iv) Supportive working conditions:

Employees prefer physical conditions that are comfortable and facilitate doing a good job. Temperature, light, noise and other environmental factors should not be extreme and provide personal comfort. Further, employees prefer working relatively close to

home, in clean and relatively modern facilities and with adequate tools and equipment.

v) Supportive Colleagues:

Employees have need for social interaction. Therefore, having friendly and supportive co-workers and understanding supervisor’s leads to increased job satisfaction. Most employees want their immediate supervisor to be understanding and friendly, those who offer praise for good performance, listen to employees’ opinions and show a personal interest in them.

vi) Whistle blowing:

Whistle-blowers are employees who inform authorities of wrongdoings of their companies or co-workers. Whistle blowing is important because committed organizational members sometimes engage in unethical behaviour in an intense desire to succeed. Organizations can manage whistle blowing by communicating the conditions that are appropriate for the disclosure of wrongdoing. Clearly delineating wrongful behaviour and the appropriate ways to respond are important organizational actions.

vii) Social Responsibility:

Corporate social responsibility is the obligation of an organization to behave in ethical ways in the social environment in which it operates. Socially responsible actions are expected of organizations. Current concerns include protecting the environment, promoting worker safety, supporting social issues, investing in the community, etc. Managers must encourage both individual ethical behaviour and organizational social responsibility.

Job enrichment:

It is a deliberate upgrading of responsibility, scope, and challenge in the work itself. Job enrichment usually includes increased responsibility, recognition, and opportunities for growth, learning, and achievement. Large companies that have used job-enrichment programs to increase employee motivation and job satisfaction include, AT&T, IBM, and General Motors (Daft, 1997).

Workers’ role in job satisfaction

The following suggestions can help a worker find personal job satisfaction:

1. Seek opportunities to demonstrate skills and talents.

2. Develop communication skills.

3. Acquire job related skills and try to implement them.

4. Demonstrate creativity and initiative.

5. Improve team building and leadership skill.

6. Learn to de-stress.