Q1. Why should every manager study the discipline of OB?
Answer :
Organizations are the grand strategies created to bring order to a concerted effort for the achievement of certain objectives and goals. Since, an individual cannot achieve these objectives or a small group of individuals, there are in the notion of the organization the concepts of division of labour, hierarchy of authority etc.
Since an individual cannot achieve these objectives of the organization, it is necessary that many people be harnessed in the pursuit of an organization.
This is taken care by the manager of an organization. This is achieved by creating a structure. The people in a structure work with the help of technology .In order that this relationship bears fruits, every organization contains a blue print of human behaviour at work. The organization rules, regulations, and procedures are complicated enough. Added to this are technology and structure. Together these
Three facets make understanding of the human behaviour at work complex.
Furthermore, of all the inputs of an organization the people are the most important
Of all. This human behaviour if handled properly by the manager, two plus two can be five. Or else it can be three. It is therefore important for the manager not only to understand human behaviour properly but also to harness that understanding for the good of the organization. It is a fact that no manager can be much more efficient than the sum of the efficiencies of the people working with him. It therefore becomes necessary for him to study human behaviour within the context of an organization,
Having understood it to try predicting the human behaviour and having predicted it to try to control it. The responsibility to do this fell squarely on the shoulders of every manager. In order for the manager to be effective he should understand the behavioral angularities of the employees. In a nutshell to be efficient and to be a effective manager cannot be contended with having the knowledge of his area of work only. It is expected of the manager that he hit the bull’s eye in the first attempt itself. Therefore, every manager irrespective of his specialty the functional area should study the discipline of Organizational behaviour.
Q3. a) Why it is easy to motivate employees?
Answer :
Given this assumption of human behaviour, it is very easy to motivate employees. Whenever certain behaviour is to be encouraged give rewards; whenever certain behaviour is to be discouraged give punishment. This is the theory of “reward & punishment”. Unfortunately this takes a simplistic view of human behaviour. Human is not always motivated either by reward or by punishment or both. Adherence to ‘reward & punishment’ or ‘carrot and the stick’ as it is some times called, dose not cause continuance of desired and sustained behaviour over a longer time.
3.b) Explain “Primary” & “Secondary” motive with few examples of each.
Answer :
Primary Motives are the ones that are unlearned and are physiologically based. Defined this way the most commonly recognized primary motives include hunger, thrust, sleep avoidance of pain, sex etc.
General Motives are the ones that are unlearned but not physiologically based. Primary needs seek to reduce the tension or stimulation. Although not all the psychologists agree the motives such as curiosity, manipulative activity and affection etc. fall in this category.
Secondary Motives develop as a human society develops economically and becomes more complex. The examples of secondary motives are needs for power, need for affiliation, need for achievement, need for security and need for status etc.
3.c) What is coping behaviour?
Answer :
In our discussion of the characteristics of motives we had said that motives are ubiquitous. If that is so the questions arises as to how a human satisfies his motive. The concept of coping behaviour says the human changes his behaviour until he gets what he wants. The behaviour continues on the way leading to need satisfaction.
However human life is not bed of roses. Many a times situations arise in such a way that human being does not understand as to what he should do; or many times his self image is likely to be criticized by the world; or the need fulfillment gets continually blocked. When this occurs a phenomenon known as intra personal conflict arise. Intra personal conflicts are three. They are
Role conflict
Goal conflict
Frustration
Q5. What are interpersonal conflicts? Define and discuss some of the common defense mechanism with illustration.
Answer :
Intra personal conflicts are three. They are
Role conflict
Goal conflict
Frustration
Role conflict arises when a person is performing two different roles having contrary or contradictory expectations at same time. A worker who is also a worker-director is sandwiched between different expectations. On other hand he is a worker and on other hand he is a director in the board of directors. As a director he may have to concur with the decision, which may not be, from his point of view, in the interest of workers as such .If he performs his role as a worker he fails in his role as a director. Conversely if he performs his role as a worker he fails in his role as a director.
Goal conflicts:
There are types of goal conflicts. They are:
Approach – approach
Avoidance – avoidance
Approach –avoidance
Approach – Approach arises when there exist two equally positive but mutually exclusive situations. Both are equally attractive but person can choose only one of them. A person receiving two equally good job offers gets into this kind of conflicts. In life somehow or the other a person makes a choice and settles down with. This kind of conflict is not known to create tensions and stress for a long time.
Avoidance – Avoidance conflict arises when there exist two equally negative situations one of which has to be accepted. For a prisoner continuing in the jail is negative but at the same time if he jail breaks there is a likelihood of his getting caught and increase in the punishment. He detests both but he has to choose either. This conflict also is not known to create stress for a long time. Somehow or the other person makes a choice and settles down with it.
Approach – Avoidance conflict is known to create stress in the mind of a person for a long time. This type of conflict arises when a positive situation is coupled with a negative one, if a person wants positive, he must choose negative too. A person wanting a promotion but not the transfer that comes in its wake faces this kind of conflict.
Frustration occurs when need fulfillment is continually blocked or when one’s self image is in jeopardy. Defense mechanisms are the behaviours occurring to deal with frustration. Before we go to discuss various defense mechanisms the following points to be noted:
We are discussing only some of the defense mechanisms we come across commonly at the work life.
Defense mechanisms are unconscious behaviours. These behaviours are not deliberate behaviours. They just occur.
It is only for the sake of simplicity that they discussed separately. In life there could be a mixture of different defense mechanisms in one behaviour.
In life there is no prioritizing when it comes to defense mechanisms for dealing with frustration.
These defense mechanisms serve an important function of keeping the human personality integrated.
Defense Mechanisms –
Rationalization is giving pseudo justification to explain one’s failures. The common examples are sour grapes or a bad workman quarreling with his tools.
Regression is sliding back in terms of one’s chronological age. Certain patterns of behaviours are learnt during the childhood that are subsequently, in the adult age, replaced by the behaviours acceptable by the society. At an unguarded moment, in the adulthood, in the flush of emotions, however these childhood behaviours take charge of the personality of the person. A superior getting angry with his subordinate and throwing files at him or a person throwing a pen because of the ink not flowing, are the examples of this defense mechanism.
Aggression is also known as emotional transference. This is giving vent to the pent up feelings by an offensive behaviour towards a third object or a person unconnected with a source of frustration. The offensive behaviour is, almost always, against the third object or the person that can not retaliate. A superior scolding his subordinate because of something happening at home is the example of this defense mechanism.
Fantasy is building castles in the air with a view to escaping from the problem situation. Fantasy is temporarily removing oneself, mentally, from the problem situation and losing oneself in the imaginary world where things happen at his best. As long as a person is his imaginary castle he is happy but some time or the other he ahs to come down to mother earth. When he comes out of imaginary world the problem starts pinching him again. The increased frequency of fantasizing is a signal that one had better seek some help from a psychiatrist.
Resignation, flight or withdrawal is a complete surrender to the problem situation. This is accepting a situation and ceasing any effort to deal with the problem.
Q6. “Human needs that spark off on activity can be arranged in hierarchy of prepotency and probability of occurrence”. – Discuss.
Answer :
Physiological Needs:
The fulfillment of physiological needs such as thirst, hunger, sex, etc. and takes precedence over all others needs. Unlike other needs these needs have tendency of recurrence. One may postpone the fulfillment of these needs and adapt his need satisfying to suit the culture and the situation.
Safety Needs:
Once physiological needs are met these needs become important. Unlike physiological needs it looks into future. As need for food, clothing, etc. are satisfied today but what about tomorrow. Till the man is earning he can satisfy his physiological needs but what will happen when he gets old. He must have reasonable safety at that time. Pension plans, gratuity, PF, etc go basically to ensure security for the man in his old age.
Social and belongingness needs:
Man is a social being and has a need to belong and be accepted by various groups. When social needs become dominant, a person will strive for meaningful relationships. Some relationship assures that one is part of society. This needs manifests itself in three forms (1) the need for status (2) the need for power and (3) the need for recognition.
Self-actualization needs:
These needs means “what a man can be should be”. A self- actualized person has a cause, an ideology to fight for the goal set for him. He concentrated on the feedback, which is task oriented and is not taken in by the personal criticism or praise.
Criticism:
In a normal human being all the needs are not always satisfied entirely. There remains an unsatisfied corner of every need in spite of which the person seeks fulfillment of the higher need.
Q8. What do you understand by Personality? Discuss in a nutshell some theories of personality.
Answer : Personality means, “What an individual only appears to be not what he really is”. Personality factors are extremely important in organizational settings. Wrong kind of personality proves disastrous and causes undesirable tensions and worries in organizations. Personality characteristics tend to produce different emotional reactions to stress. Some people tolerate severely stressful situations, tensions and anxieties.
Some theories of personality
Sheldon’s Physiognomy Theory
Sheldon presented a link between anatomic and psychological traits and characteristics of an individual with his behavior. He identifies three body types: Emorphic, Mesomorphic and Ectomorphic
Carl Jung’s Extrovert-Introvert Theory
Extroverts are optimistic, outgoing, gregarious and sociable. They are basically objective, a reality oriented individual who is much more doer than thinker.
Introverts are quite, retiring, enjoying solitude, etc. These two types show extreme situations.
Few people are completely introvert or extrovert. But the mixture of these two determines the kind of overall personality on an individual.
Trait theories
It view personality from the standpoint of understanding traits. These theories included Allport, Cattell and Sheldon.
Allport emphasizes on uniqueness of personality.
Cattell developed factor concepts such as tender-mindedness, somatic anxiety, dominance etc.
Sheldon extending physical structuring that consists of endomorphs, mesomorphs and ectomorphs.
Self Theory
Carl Rogers has developed this theory that places emphasis on the individual as an initiating, creating, influential determinant of behavior within the environmental framework.
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