INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100

Executive Masters Program in Business Administration (E-MBA)

(Semester I )

Note :- Solve any 4 case study

All case carries equal marks

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100

CASE I

A DIAMOND PERSONALITY

Ask Suraj bhai about the dot-com burst and he may grin at you as if to say,

``What burst?’’ Suraj bhai, a 38-year-old entrepreneur, owns an Internet business that

sells loose diamonds to various buyers. Business is becoming for Suraj bhai. In 2004, he

had sales of INR 3,500 million. Needless to say, Suraj bhai is optimistic about his business

venture.

The future wasn’t always to bright for Suraj bhai, however. In 1985, Suraj bhai

moved from his native town Suraj, to New Delhi, with little ability to speak English. There,

he attended language courses and worked at the local mall to support himself. After

graduation, his roommate’s girlfriend suggested that he work at a local jeweler. ``I

thought she was crazy. I didn’t know anything about jewelry,’’ says Suraj bhai, who took

her advice. Though he worked hard and received his Diamonds and Diamonds Grading

certification from the Gemological Institute, he wasn’t satisfied with his progress. `I

quickly realized that working there, I was just going to get a salary with a raise here and

there. I would never become anything. That drove me to explore other business

ventures. I also came to really known diamonds – their pricing and their quality.’’

In 1997, tired of working for someone else, Suraj bhai decided to open his own

jewelry store. However, business didn’t boom. `Some of my customers were telling me

they could find diamonds for less on the Interest. It blew my mind’’ Surajy bhai

recognized an opportunity and began contacting well-known diamond dealers to see if

they would be interested in selling their gems online. Suraj bhai recalls one conversation

with a prominent dealer who told him, `You cannot sell diamonds on the Internet. You will

not survive.’’ Discouraged, Suraj bhai then says that he made a mistake. ``I stopped

working on it. If you have a dream, you have to keep working harder at it.’’

A year later, Suraj bhai did work harder at his dream and found a dealer who

agreed to provide him with some diamonds. Says Suray bhai, ``Once I had one. I could

approach others. Business started to build. The first 3 months I sold INR 20 million worth

of diamonds right off the bat. And that was just me. I started to add employees and

eventually closed the jewelry store and got out of retail.’’ Although Suraj bhai does have

some diamonds in inventory, he primarily acts as a connection point between buyers and

suppliers, giving his customers an extraordinary selection from which to choose.

Suraj bhai is now a savvy entrepreneur, and his company, Abhisaz.com, went

public in October 2003.

Why is Suraj bhai successful? Just ask two people who have known Suraj bhai over

the years. Yogesh bhai, a realtor who helped build Suraj bhai building, says, ``Suraj bhai

is a very ambitious young man. I am not surprised at all how successful he is. He is an

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100entrepreneur in the truest sense of the world.’’ One of Suraj bhai former real-estate

instructors, Arun Jain, concurs. `I am not surprised at all at his success,’’ says Arun.

``Suraj bhai has always been an extremely motivated individual with a lot of resources.

He has a wonderful personality and pays close attention to detail. He also has an ability

to stick to things. You could tell from the beginning that he was going to persevere, and I

am proud of him.’’

Suraj bhai is keeping his success in perspective, but he also realizes his business’

potential: ``I take a very small salary, and our overhead in INR 25 million a year. I am not

in debt, and the business is breaking ever. I care about the company. I want to keep

everything even until we take off, and then it may be another ball game.’’

Questions:

1. What factors do you think attributed to Suraj bhai’s success? Was he merely

``in the right place at the right time’’, or are there characteristics about him

that contribute to his success?

2. How do you believe Suraj bhai would score on the Big Five dimensions of

personality (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional

stability, openness to experience)? Which ones would he score high on? Which

ones might he score low on?

3. Do you believe that Suraj bhai is high or low on core self-evaluations? On

what information did you base your decision?

4. What information about Suraj bhai suggests that he has a proactive

personality?

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100

CASE II

BULLYING BOSSES

It got to where I was twitching, literally, on the way into work,’’ states Carrie

Clark, a 52-year-old retired teacher and administrator. After enduring 10 months of

repeated insults and mistreatment from her supervisor, she finally quit her job. ``I had to

take care of my health.’’

Though many individuals recall bullies from their elementary school days, some

are realizing that bullies can exist in the workplace as well. And these bullies do not just

pick on the weakest in the group, rather, any subordinate in their path may fall prey to

their torment, according to Dr. Gary Namie, director of the Workplace Bullying and

Trauma Institute. Dr. Namie further says workplace bullies are not limited to men-women

are at least as likely to be bullies. However, gender discrepancies are found in victims of

bullying, as women are more likely to be targets.

What motivates a boss to be a bully? Dr. Harvey Hornstein, a retired professor

from Teachers College at Columbia University, suggests that supervisors may use

bullying as a means to subdue a subordinate that poses a threat to the supervisor’s

status. Additionally, supervisors may bully individuals to vent frustrations. Many times

however, the sheer desire to wield power may be the primary reason for bullying.

What is the impact of bullying on employee motivation and behavior?

Surprisingly, even though victims of workplace bullies may feel less motivated to go to

work every day, it does not appear that they discontinue performing their required job

duties. However, it does appear that victims of bullies are less motivated to perform

extra-role or citizenship behaviors. Helping others, speaking positively about the

organization, and going beyond the call of duty are behaviors that are reduced as a

result of bullying. According to Dr. Bennett Tepper of the University of North Carolina,

fear may be the reason that many workers continue to perform their job duties. And not

all individuals reduce their citizenship behaviors. Some continue to engage in extra-role

behaviors to make themselves look better than their colleagues.

What should you do if your boss is bullying you? Don’t necessarily expect help

from coworkers. As Emelise Aleandri, an actress and producer from New York who left

her job after being bullied, stated, ``Some people were afraid to do anything. But others

didn’t mind what was happening at all, because they wanted my job.’’ Moreover,

according to Dr. Michelle Duffy of the University of Kentucky, coworkers often blame

victims of bullying in order to resolve their guilt. ``they do this by wondering whether

maybe the person deserved the treatment, that he or she has been annoying, or lazy,

they did something to earn it,’’ states Dr. Duffy. One example of an employee who

observed this phenomenon firsthand is Sherry Hamby, who was frequently verbally

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100abused by her boss and then eventually fired. She stated, ``This was a man who insulted

me, who insulted by family, who would lay into me while everyone else in the office just

sat there and let it happen. The people in my office eventually started blaming me.’’

What can a bullied employee do? Dr. Hornstein suggests that employees try to

ignore the insults and respond only to the substance of the bully’s grip. `stick with the

substance, not the process, and often it won’t escalate,’’ he states. Of course, that is

easier said than done.

Questions:

1) Of the three types of organizational justice, which one does workplace

bullying most closely resemble?

2) What aspects of motivation might workplace bullying reduce? For

example, are there likely to be effects on an employee’s self-efficacy? If so,

what might those effects be?

3) If you were a victim of workplace bullying, what steps would you take to

try to reduce its occurrence? What strategies would be most effective? What

strategies might be ineffective? What would you do if one of your colleagues

was a victim of an abusive supervisor?

4) What factors do you believe contribute to workplace bullying? Are

bullies a product of the situation, or are they flawed personalities? What

situations and what personality factors might contribute to the presence of

bullies?

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100

CASE III

THANKS FOR NOTHING

Thought it may seem fairly obvious that receiving praise and recognition from

one’s company is a motivating experience, sadly many companies are failing miserably

when it comes to saying ``thanks’’ to their employees. According to curt Coffman global

practice leader at Gallup, 71 percent of U.S. workers are ``disengaged’’, essentially

meaning that they could care less about their organization. Coffman states. ``We’re

operating at one-quarter of the capacity in terms of managing human capital. It’s

alarming.’’ Employee recognition programs, which became more popular as the U.S.

economy shifted from industrial to knowledge-based, can be an effective way to motivate

employees and make them feel valued. In many cases, however, recognition programs

are doing ``more harm than good’’ according to Coffman.

Take Ko, a 50-year-old former employee of a dot-com in California. Her company

proudly instituted a rewards program designed to motivate employees. What were the

rewards for a job well-done? Employees would receive a badge which read ``U Done

Good’’ and, each year, would receive a T-shirt as a means of annual recognition. Once an

employee received 10 ``U Done Good’’ badges, he or she could trade them in for

something bigger and better—a paperweight. Ko states that she would have preferred a

raise. ``It was patronizing. There wasn’t any deep thought involved in any of this.’’ To

make matters worse, she says the badges were handed out arbitrarily and were not tied

to performance. And what about those T-shirts? Ko states that the company instilled a

strict dress code, so employees couldn’t even wear the shirts if they wanted to. Needless

to say, the employee recognition program seemed like an empty gesture rather than a

motivation.

Even programs that provide employees with more expensive rewards can

backfire, especially if the rewards are given insincerely. Eric Lange, an employee of a

trucking company, recalls the time when one of the company’s vice presidents achieved

a major financial goal for the company. The vice president, who worked in an office best

of Lange, received a Cadillac Seville as his company car and a new Rolex wristwatch that

cost the company $10,000. Both were lavish gifts, but the way they were distributed left

a sour taste in the vice president’s mouth. He entered his office to find the Rolex in a

cheap cardboard box sitting on his desk, along with a brief letter explaining that he

would be receiving a 1099 tax form in order to pay taxes on the watch. Lange state of

the vice president, ``He came into my office, which was right next door, and said, `can

you believe this?’’ A mere 2 months later, the vice president pawned the watch. Lange

explains. ``It had absolutely no meaning for him.

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100Such experiences resonate with employees who may find more value in a sincere

pat on the back than gifts from management that either are meaningless or aren’t

conveyed with respect or sincerity. However, sincere pats on the back may be hard to

come by. Gallup’s poll found that 61 percent of employees stated that they haven’t

received a sincere, ``thank you’’ from management in the past year. Finding such as

these are troubling, as verbal rewards are not only inexpensive for companies to hand

out but also are quick and easy to distribute. Of course, verbal rewards do need to be

paired sometimes with tangible benefits that employees value – after all, money talks. In

addition, when praising employees for a job well-done, managers need to ensure that the

praise is given in conjunction with the specific accomplishment. In this way, employees

may not only feel valued by their organization but will also know what actions to take to

be rewarded in the future.

Questions

1) If praising employees for doing a good job seems to be a fairly easy and

obvious motivational tools, why do you think companies and managers don’t

often do it?

2) As a manager, what steps would you take to motivate your employees

after observing them perform well?

3) Are there any downsides to giving employees too much verbal praise?

What might these downsides be and how could you alleviate them as a

manager?

4) As a manager, how would you ensure that recognition given to

employees is distributed fairly and justly?

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100

CASE IV

WILL GEORGE W. BUSH BE A GREAT PRESIDENT?

What does it take to be a great U.S. president? A survey of 78 history, political science,

and law scholars rated the U.S. presidents from George Washington to Bill Clinton. Here

are the presidents who were rated ``Great’’ and ``Near Great.’’

Great

George Washington

Abraham Lincoln

Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)

Near Great

Thomas Jefferson

Andrew Jackson

James Polk

Theodore Roosevelt

Harry Truman

Dwight Eisenhower

Ronald Reagan

Among recent presidents, Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter were ranked ``Below

Average’’ and Presidents G. H. W. Bush (the first President Bush) and Clinton were

ranked ``Average’’.

So what explains these ratings? The following are some qualities of presidents

who have stood the test of time.

1. Great presidents are transformational leaders who engender strong emotions –

that is, you either love them or you hate them (it’s hard to hate someone who made little

difference). And great presidents enact a vision that may not respond to popular opinion.

Lincoln and FDR were beloved, and hated, by millions.

2. Great presidents are bold and take risks, and almost all great presidents emerge

successfully from a crisis. A great president is perceived as ``being there’’ when a crisis

emerges and taking bold action to lead the nation out of the crisis – for example, Lincoln

in the Civil War and Roosevelt in WWII.

3. Great presidents are associated with a vision. Most people, for example, are able

to associate the great presidents with defining moment where a clear set of principles

was articulated – for example, FDR’s speech to Congress after the attacks on Pearl

Harbor, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

4. Great presidents are charismatic. They are engaging, articulate, and expressive,

which helps capture the public’s attention and rallies people around a president’s cause.

One leadership expert argues that the best presidents create colorful personas with their

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100language by using words with basic emotions – for example, good versus evil or love

versus hate.

So what about President George W. Bush (the second President Bush)? Shortly after his

second inauguration, President Bush embarked on an ambitious agenda of legal reform,

transforming the Social Security system, tax reform, and revising immigration laws. One

writer commented, ``Bush has always thought big, and always believed you earn political

capital by expending it.’’ However, the closeness of the 2004 election (Bush received 51

percent of the vote and Kerry received 48 percent) suggests that Bush may not have

overwhelming support.

Questions

1. How would you rate President George W. Bush on the four

characteristics outlined at the beginning of the case? How would you contrast

his reaction to Hurricane Katrina with his reaction to the terrorist attacks of

September 11, 2001? What do you think his handling of these two events says

about his leadership?

2. Do you think leaders in other contexts (business’, sports, religious)

exhibit the same qualities of great or near-great U.S. presidents?

3. Do you think being in the right place at the right time could influence

presidential greatness?

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100

Case V

A UNIQUE TRAINING PROGRAM AT UPS

Mark Colvard, a United Parcel manager in San Ramon, California, recently faced a difficult

decision. One of his drivers asked for 2 weeks off to help an ailing family member. But

company rules said this driver wasn’t eligible. If Colvard went by the book, the driver

would probably take the days off anyway and be fired. On the other hand, Colvard was

likely to be criticized by other drivers if he bent the rules. Colvard chose to give the

driver the time off. Although he took some heat for the decision, he also kept a valuable

employee.

Had Colvard been faced with this decision 6 months earlier, he says he would

have gone the other way. What changed his thinking was a month he spent living in

McAllen, Texas. It was part of a UPS management training experience called the

Community Internship Program (CIP). During his month in McAllen, Colvard built housing

for the poor, collected clothing for the Salvation Army, and worked in a drug rehab

center. Colvard gives the program credit for helping him empathize with employees

facing cries back home. And he says that CIP has made him a better manager. ``My goal

was to make the numbers, and in some cases that meant not looking at the individual

but looking the bottom line. After that 1-month stay, I immediately started reaching out

to people in a different way.’’

CIP was established by UPS in the late 1960s to help open the eyes of the

company’s predominantly white managers to the poverty and inequality in many cities.

Today, the program takes 50 of the company’s most promising executives each summer

and brings them to cities around the country. There they deal with a variety of problems-

from transportation to housing, education, and health care. The company’s goal is to

awaken these managers to the challenges that many of their employees face, bridging

the cultural divide that separates a white manager from an African American driver or an

upper-income suburbanite from a worker raised in the rural South.

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND STUDIES

SUB: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MAX MARKS: 100Questions

1. Do you think individuals can learn empathy from something like a 1-

month CIP experience? Explain why or why not.

2. How could UPS’s CIP help the organization better manage work-life

conflicts?

3. How could UPS’s CIP help the organization improve its response to

diversity?

4. What negatives, if any, can you envision resulting from CIP?

5. UPS has 2,400 managers. CIP includes only 50 each year. How can the

program make a difference if it includes only 2 percent of all managers? Does

this suggest that the program is more public relations than management

training?

6. How can UPS justify the cost of a program like CIP if competitors like

FedEx, DHL, and the U.S. Postal Service don’t offer such programs? Does the

program increase costs or reduce UPS profits?