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Human Behavior in Organization
1.1 Introduction 7
1.7 OB Model 16
1. 9 Meaning of Learning 19
1.14 Chapter S u m m a r y 24
2.1 Introduction 26
2.11 Chapter S u m m a r y 40
3.1 Introduction 42
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
3.13 Chapter S u m m a r y 56
4.1 Introduction 58
4.8 Performance A p p r a i sa l 74
4.9 Chapter S u m m a r y 78
5.1 Introduction 80
5. 7 Types of Teams 89
5.10 Chapter S u m m a r y 95
6. Communication 96
6.1 Introduction 97
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Human Behavior in Organization
7. Leadership 112
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
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Human Behavior in Organization
Chapter 0 1
An Overview a n d L e a r n i n g
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1 . 1 Introduction
Why is it that certain individuals remain regularly absent, or reach late for work, while
a fact that no two i n d i v i d u a l s can display the same behaviors, even if they are exposed
path to attain goals. Every challenge would be of different nature and thus, there is no
predefined solution to every problem that an organization would face. But, the intensity
of these c h a l l e n g e s and issues faced can be reduced to a great extent by increasing the
u n d e r s t a n d i n g of h u m a n behavior in organizations.
Factors, such as job design and organizational culture, do affect employee behaviors.
But, to have a better understanding about the other factors that influence behaviors,
how to increase motivation levels, i n d i v i d u a l and group behaviors, emotions, the nature
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Human Behavior in Organization
1 . 2 D e f i n i t i o n of O r g a n i z a t i o n a l Behavior
and employee job satisfaction. It would also help in reducing absenteeism and employee
toward the o r g a n i z a t i o n .
1 . 3 N a t u r e of O r g a n i z a t i o n a l Behavior
behavior explores individual, as well as group behavior and the factors that influence
them. H i g h e r job satisfaction reduces absenteeism and employee turnover. It also helps
behaviors i n :
goals through group efforts." This makes you look at organizations as a carefully
organized social entity that comprises two or more individuals, who work toward the
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
To m a x i m i ze profits
important features:
Coordination
Proper d i v i s i o n of labor
The human relations context of organizational behavior can be studied through the
following aspects.
Individual Perspective
Interpersonal Perspective
work teams. To attain organizational goals, it is of great importance that the employees
behavior.
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Human Behavior in Organization
Organizational perspective
employees are members of work groups, committees, teams, etc. Even a small
conflicts and attain group objectives, managers need to continuously use creative
Integrative Perspective
by competitors, diversity among the workforce, and so on. Organizations must instill in
them, a culture that helps to integrate with the environment, much more easily.
1 . 4 What M a n a g e r s Do
A. Vohra as, "a consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more
employees.
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
1.4.1 M a n a g e m e n t Functions
Planning
Controlling Organizing
Leading
Planning
Under this function, a manager has to determine the organizational goals, formulate a
feasible strategy to attain those goals, and develop plans to organize and coordinate
work activities.
Organizing
Leading
Every management has to direct its employees and create coordination among them. A
tasks better, directs activities, and resolves conflicts among work g r o u p members.
Controlling
Managers supervise work activities to ensure that the tasks are performed efficiently.
They also take u p corrective actions if there are any changes to be incorporated.
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Human Behavior in Organization
1 . 4 . 2 M a n a g e m e n t Roles
as they carry out legal and social duties and act as role models to other employees.
They also establish the principles of behavior in the organization. As leaders, managers
motivate, direct, train, and coach their employees and make important decisions. A
m a n a g e r should always act as a liaison, that is, coordinate work between managers of
various departments, and also maintain contact within and outside the organization.
monitors and act as the 'nerve center' of internal and external communication of the
information with others in the organization. Managers also share information with
Managers are entrepreneurs and problem solvers. They identify opportunities and
corrective measures, and handling unexpected disturbances, are functions that make
manage budgets, and cut costs. Managers also need to be negotiators and represent
Thus, along with management functions, a manager must also perform the various
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
Source: Based on F. Luthans, R. M. Hodgetts, and S. A. Rosenkrantz, Real Managers (Cambridge, MA:
Ballinger, 1988)
Fred Luthans and his associates studied more than 450 managers. As per their
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Human Behavior in Organization
Over the years, most organizational behavior mentors have observed that students
concentrate more on subjects related to particular jobs like that of marketing, and
finance. But, it has also been noticed that students with some experience in the industry
These students have observed that the study of OB does make a difference to the
employees of any firm. The following points indicate why it is important to study
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l behavior.
Understanding Behavior
The study of organizational behavior helps in understanding people who work with you
and why individuals behave in a certain way in a particular situation. This very
knowledge helps managers in channeling efforts and getting work done t h r o u g h others.
Influencing Behavior
Employees spend a lot of their time at their workplaces. OB helps in understanding how
work environments, work g r o u p s , j o b descriptions, work group conflicts, etc. can affect
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
Predicting Behavior
behaviors of employees. This would help managers to have an idea as to how their
This helps managers in planning in advance and taking corrective measures accordingly.
Learning
Motivation
Personality
Emotions
Perception
Training
Leadership effectiveness
Job satisfaction
Individual decision
1
Psychology
making
I
Performance appraisal
Attitude measurement
Employee selection
Work design
Work stress
Individual -
Behavioral change
Attitude change
Communication
Group processes
Social psychology
Group decision making
Organizational
Power
--+ Behavior
Conflict L______,
Sociology
t- _
- Intergroup behavior
Formal organization
theory
Organizational technology
Organizational change
-
Oraanizational culture
1 -
Comparative values Organization
Anthropology t- -
Comparative attitudes
Cross-cultural analysis
Organizational culture
-
- system
---l
Organizational -
environment
Power
Source: Organizational Behavior, 14th Edition- Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge, Neharika Vohra
(Page 12)
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Human Behavior in Organization
such a s :
Psychology
Psychology focuses on the way in which individuals think and behave. Psychology
attempts to measure and explain the behavior of human beings and animals.
Social Psychology
Social psychology is a branch of psychology that combines the concepts taken from
another.
Sociology
Sociology is a study of people's behavior with regard to their society and culture.
Anthropology
Anthropology is a study of human beings, and the development of their societies and
cultures.
1 . 7 O B Model
i n d i v i d u a l s in three levels.
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
Personality
personality.
Perception
Values
Attitudes
Motivation
Learning
Job Satisfaction
When people are satisfied about their jobs and are motivated to work, it refers to
job satisfaction.
1 . 7 .2 Group Level
Group Dynamics
Teamwork
Power
The capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B, such that, B acts in
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Human Behavior in Organization
Communication
Leadership
set of goals.
According Schein and Becker, an organization's culture refers to, "a system of
organization can attain its goals, only if it adapts to the environment and
job tasks in an organization. In other words, it is the way in which jobs are
organizations are the simple structure, the matrix structure, and the bureaucracy.
There are also certain new design options like that of the virtual organization, and
1 . 8 C h a l l e n g e s a n d Opportunities for OB
The challenges that organizations face today can be turned into opportunities by
managers, if they use the concepts of organizational behavior. One of the most
globalization. Today, organizations are not confined within the boundary of a country.
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
The world has transformed into a global village. Thus, the functions of managers, today,
have also c h a n g ed to a great extent. Another aspect that organizations should look into
the products produced by organizations, but also the services rendered by them to
customers.
Other major challenges include, responding to labor shortage and taking corrective
maintaining a work-life balance, which will in turn, reduce the stress levels. For
employees to be motivated and perform better managers must try and bring into
1 . 9 M e a n i n g of L e a r n i n g
others, in an organization.
1 . 1 0 Characteristics of L e a r n i n g
permanent.'
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1 . 1 1 Theories of L e a r n i n g
Theories of
Learning
The concept of classical conditioning has been developed by classical behaviorists like
Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson. According to them, learning takes place as a result
neutral signal is placed before a reflex occurs naturally. In Pavlov's classic experiment
with dogs, the neutral signal was the sound of a bell ringing, and the reflex that
occurred naturally was the dogs salivating in response to food. He associated the neutral
stimulus with the environmental stimulus (here, the presentation of food), and so, the
important. For example, if an organization pays employees for every extra hour that
they work, it is most likely that the employees would repeat this behavior. This is
because the extra pay, which is the stimulus, motivates them to work for additional
hours.
1 . 1 1 . 2 Cognitive Theories
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For example, if employees learn that they can attain their goals if they put in extra
efforts, then they would work accordingly. This very understanding is the result of a
cognitive event.
taking white rats as his subjects. He observed that the white rats could run through a
complex maze, in order to attain their goal, which was food. His experiments relate
Stimulus to Stimulus (SS). This means that, here, learning is the relation between
When individuals learn from various observations, experiences, and from various other
Modeling Behavior
avior acquired b ob
The social learning theory combines the principles of both, classical as well as operant
conditioning.
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Attention Processes
Retention Processes
Reinforcement Processes
s i m i l a r situation.
Positive Reinforcement
behavior. The most motivating form of positive reinforcement is money. For example,
that takes place when a threatened negative consequence is withheld, when a certain
behavior occurs. For example, students study hard and appear for examinations in order
Punishment
desired.
Extinction
behavior to g a i n attention and if attention is paid to the child, he/she may continue to do
so. On the other h a n d , if the child is ignored continuously, this behavior may reduce and
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share, and use knowledge to respond and adapt to internal and external changes. This
would help in a t t a i n i n g organizational success. The three keywords in the definition are,
Knowledge acquisition is the process of drawing out information from the external
The final concept of knowledge use includes putting to use the knowledge that has
been gained (acquired), and shared, in a way that adds value to the organization as a
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1 . 1 4 Chapter Summary
M a na ge r s must study OB with the organizational context and the Human Relations
The four main functions of a manager are planning, organizing, controlling, and
directing.
The challenges that organizations face today can be turned into opportunities by
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Personality
and Values
Human Behavior in Organization
2 . 1 Introduction
Have you noticed that w h i l e many people are quiet, shy, and laid-back, many others are
loud, aggressive, and energetic? Are particular job types meant for specific personality
types? The term personality is usually used when you refer to an individual's personal
narrow sense of viewing the concept of personality. The personality of a person does not
refer to the charm, smiling face, or positive attitude of the person toward life.
system.
Personality shapes the behavior of employees at the workplace and also determines the
success of the i n d i v i d u a l , along with that of the organization. The concepts of personality
and values, are certainly related, but are not the same. Values are more about beliefs of
individuals, rather than their personality. Values require judgments, they lay a
foundation for the better understanding of people's attitudes. Values also influence
personality
E x p l a i n the Big Five Personality Model and how it predicts behavior at work
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2 . 2 W h a t is Personality?
The qualities that together make a person's distinctive character can be referred to as
In s i m p l e words, personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and
Organizational behavior studies these traits and facilitates a much more efficient
2.3 P e r s o n a l i t y Determinants
There are two main factors that determine an individual's personality within an
organization, namely, nature and nurture. These refer to heredity and environmental
factors, respectively.
Research in t h i s field indicates that the heredity of an individual and the environmental
factors are the main determinants of personality. This means that, while many
characteristics in an individual are inborn, many other traits are developed during
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Human Behavior in Organization
Personality Determinants
I I I
Situational
Fig.
2.3a: Personality Determinants
2.3.1 Heredity
personality. Various studies conducted on identical twins (wherein both the individuals
were separated at birth), indicated that it was not just aspects like physical shape, eye
color, and skin tone those are influenced by heredity. Heredity also has a significant
2 . 3 . 2 En v ir on mental Factors
with the e n v i r o n m e n t . The following are important factors of the environment that also
Cultural Factors
One of the factors that influence personality is the culture in which one is brought up.
Culture is the sum total of the learned behavior traits, which are expressed and shared
by members of a society. Every culture has its own set of norms, principles, and beliefs.
For example, individuals belonging to the western culture would have a different
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Human Behavior in Organization
Family Factors
family that selects and interprets, and also hands-over the culture. Therefore, family has
the most important impact on an individual's personality. For example, a child who is
brought up in a cold and dull environment would face much more problem in adjusting
socially and emotionally, as compared to a child who is nurtured in a much more warm
and loving e n v i r o n m e n t .
Social Factors
Situational Factors
Individuals come across a number of situations in their daily lives. People tend to
when people go to religious places, they are composed and wear s i m p l e clothes. O n the
other hand, the same people would dress up in formal attires and d i s p l a y confidence in
t h e i r attitude while attending an interview. Thus, different situations bring out different
been designed by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers to measure the
psychological preferences of people and to understand how people perceive and make
decisions.
individuals are quiet and shy. Extroverts gain their energy from people and things
surrounding them. On the other hand, introverts gain their energy from their personal
view of thoughts and ideas. While introverts would be comfortable being alone,
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The sensing types have been observed to be practical and prefer routine and order,
the big picture. Sensing type individuals prefer to collect information in a systematic
and orderly manner. On the other hand, the intuitive types collect information
unsystematically. They believe and rely more on their thoughts and intuitions.
T h i n k i n g versus Feeling
Thinking types generally use reason and logic. On the other h a n d , the feeling types rely
on personal values and emotions. Thinking types use systematic collection of data while
making decisions. The feeling types however, think about how their decisions affect
others. They consider their personal values more than rational reasoning.
J u d g i n g versus Perceiving
They are also known to prefer their world to be systematic and structured. As opposed
The MBTI q u e s t i o n n a i r e merges the four pairs of personality traits into 16 definite types.
For example, ESTJ is one of the most observed types for managers, w h i c h indicates that
they are Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging types. It must be noted that each
of these 16 types has their own strengths and weaknesses. However, these
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Human behavior researchers believe that there are five core personality traits. These
five traits put together, form The Big Five Personality Model.
Emotional Stability Thinks much more positively Enhanced job and life satisfaction
emotionally
determining
planned
Note:
interactions.
Emotional Stability
stress. Individuals with positive emotional stability are usually calm and confident.
Conversely, those with a negative score are usually anxious and depressed.
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Extraversion
talkative, sociable, assertive, and are considered to have positive emotions. Introverts
Openness to Experience
This dimension addresses the range of interests of a person and reflects the degree of
intellectual curiosity. Persons with a high score in this factor are inventive, open to a
variety of experiences and curious. On the other hand, people who score low on
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
have a tendency to display self-discipline, and are planned, rather than spontaneous.
Those who score low are easily distracted, careless, and tend to be u n r e l i a b l e .
Core Self-evaluation
This measures the degree to which a person likes or dislikes oneself. Those who score
h i g h on core self-evaluation are capable and confident. Those who have low scores tend
to have negative feelings and are low on confidence. People with positive core self
Machiavellian ism
This factor, which has been named after Niccolo Machiavelli, indicates that those who
Narcissism
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Self-monitoring
This factor refers to a person's ability to adjust to situational factors. Persons with a h i g h
have high sensitivity to external cues. However, persons with a low score cannot
Risk Taking
Individuals differ in their willingness to take risks. Risk taking is a quality that affects
how much time and information managers need to take decisions. Whether risk taking is
right or wrong and the degree to which it must be taken depends on the i n d u s t r y and
Type A Personality
Such personalities are involved in a struggle to achieve more in less time and with less
information. They do not take into consideration factors such as the opposition's efforts
or other people.
Proactive Personality
proactive personality. They create work situations in their favor. Certain actions of
well as the s i t u a t i o n .
2 . 7 V a l u e s i n the Workplace
existence."
Value, in other words, refers to the basic conviction of a person, on a moral or ethical
issue. For example, a person with strong family values may believe that families should
always eat meals together. Employees tend to perform well and attain better job
satisfaction when t h e i r values match with that of the organization. For example, it would
be difficult for a person who stresses on freedom to adjust in a work environment that
looks for conformity from its employees. A value system, on the other hand, is a
hierarchy of preferences.
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Human Behavior in Organization
Values are considered as the basis for studying attitudes, motivation, perception, job
Thus, in today's organizations, managers seek candidates who not o n l y have the a b i l i t y
to perform job tasks, but also possess value systems that are well-matched with the
organization.
2 . 8 Types of V a l u e s
Milton Rokeach developed the Rokeach Value System (RVS). The RVS comprises
two sets of values. Each value includes 18 items each. One set of values, which is
terminal values, is also called desirable end-states. This refers to the goals that
individuals would like to attain in their lifetime. The other set is that of instrumental
values, which talks about the means of attaining terminal values. For example, the
instrumental value that can help in attaining the terminal value of true friendship is by
comfortable life, the instrumental value of being ambitious helps in the attainment.
Several studies indicate that people belonging to different groups have different RVS
values. It has been observed that individuals belonging to the same occupations d i s p l a y
the same type of values. For example, a study compared corporate executives,
g r o u p . T h o u g h many values were similar, there were a lot of significant and considerable
differences. While the activists ranked the terminal value of equality as the most
important one, the executives and the union members ranked this value as twelfth and
thirteenth, respectively. For activists, the instrumental value of helpful was of second
highest importance. But for the other two groups, this value was at rank fourteen.
Table 2.8.la displays the mean value ranking of executives, union members, and
activists.
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security
peace
security
Source: Based on W. C. Frederick and J. Weber, "The Values of Corporate Managers and Their Critics: An
Empirical Description and Normative Implications," in W. C Frederick and L. E. Preston (eds.), Business
Ethics: Research Issues and Empirical Studies (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1 9 9 0 ) , pp. 123-144.
Researchers have combined different analyses of work values into groups. These
analyses try to include particular work values of the different cohorts or generations.
Workforce of the U.S., for example, has been classified into four cohorts, namely,
Veterans (those who entered the workforce in the 1 9 5 0 s or the early 1960s), Boomers
(those who entered the workforce between 1965 and 1985), Xers (those who entered
the workforce between 1985 and 2000) and the Nexters (those who entered the
workforce after 2 0 0 0 ) . These cohorts have been found to have different work values.
The I n d i a n workforce too can be analyzed with regard to similar cohorts, as displayed in
Table 2.8.2a. While referring to this, one needs to depend on intuitive framework too.
It should be noted that values do change across generations, and you can gain some
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Source: Organizational Behavior, 14th Edition - Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge, Neharika Vohra
(Page 1 3 9 )
Workplace
The efforts taken to match the demands of a job with a person's personality and
characteristics are best articulated in John Holland's Person-job Fit Theory. Holland
has introduced six personality types and also has put forward that an employee's job
satisfaction and the inclination toward leaving a job depends on how well the person's
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Realistic: Prefers physical Shy, genuine, persistent, stable, Mechanic, drill press
clerk
activities in which there are energetic, domineering Lawyer, real estate agent,
People who can match their personality with their jobs are more likely to be
Person-organization Fit
employees to change tasks and move between teams. Managers consider it important
that the personality of the employee fits with the organization's culture than the
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Human Behavior in Organization
A couple of decades ago, the main concern of organizations was to e m p l o y people who
concern is to know how well an individual would match up to the organization's culture.
Managers in today's organizations focus more on the flexibility of the employees rather
2 . 1 0 V a l u e s across Cultures
Geert Hofstede put forth a framework for assessing variations among cultures. He found
that employees vary on five value dimensions of national culture. In the most recent
Power Distance
that large inequalities of wealth and power are being tolerated. On the other h a n d ,
a low score indicates that more emphasis has been given to equality and
opportunity.
I n d i v i d u a l i s m versus Collectivism
them.
rating in masculinity means that the society considers males as the dominating
g e n d e r and has separate roles for males and females. A high rating in femininity
means that the society sees hardly any difference while assigning roles between
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Uncertainty Avoidance
This relates to the extent of anxiety that members feel when faced with an
where members are anxious about uncertainty and ambiguity. A low score in this
dimension would mean that the members of such cultures are lesser rule-oriented
and are ready to take risks. They also accept changes without m u c h reluctance.
People belonging to a culture with a long-term orientation look to the future, value
oriented society, which emphasizes more on here and now. Also, such societies
extent to which it is alright for people to enjoy life and have fun. On the other
hand, restraint refers to the degree to which societal standards and norms govern
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Human Behavior in Organization
2 . 1 1 Chapter Summary
as personality.
The Big Five Model is a personality assessment model that taps five basic
dimensions.
Today's managers take into consideration the person-job fit and the person
organization fit while selecting a person to work in their organizations, and not
Geert Hofstede put forth a framework for assessing variations among cultures. He
Recent studies indicate that countries are ranked on six d i m e n s i o n s for assessing
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Perception a n d
Individual
Decision Making
Human Behavior in Organization
3 . 1 Introduction
The real world is the same for all of us. But, it is not interpreted or perceived in the
same way. The interpretation differs from one person to another. What is considered as
a favorable and satisfactory situation to one person may seem to be a problem for
another person. It is due to this difference that people react differently in different
Every organization has individuals with varied perceptions, working together to attain
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Human Behavior in Organization
3 . 2 W h a t is Perception?
different way. What is perceived may be different from reality. It is the way in which
people interpret various situations that makes them different from one another.
Individuals may look at the very same thing but they may perceive it differently. There
are a n u m b e r of factors that may shape up, as well as alter the way in w h i c h a t h i n g or
situation is perceived. These factors can exist in the perceiver or in the object. It can
Attitudes, Motives,
Interests, Experience,
Expectations
Novelty, Motion,
Proximity, Similarity
While looking at a target, your judgment of the object is influenced to a great extent by
interests of the perceiver, have an influence on perception. For example, if you expect
teachers to be strict, young people to be carefree, etc. you may perceive them to be so,
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Human Behavior in Organization
Factors in the target are also important. Loud people are usually noticeable in a crowd,
and so are individuals with peculiar characteristics. The main reason for this is,
individuals usually do not look at objects in isolation. The relationship between the
target and its environment also influences perception. There is also a tendency for
The background or the environment also influences an individual's perception. The time
at which an object or event is perceived can influence the perceiver's attention. In the
same way, location, heat, light, and many other situational factors can also have an
flashy clothing may not catch your attention. However, an individual dressed up in the
same way at your workplace may catch your attention. Here, as you can see, neither the
perceiver nor the target has changed. The only change was in the situation of the event.
3 . 4 Attribution Theory
Human beings try to attach meaning to their own behavior and also to that of others
through beliefs, intentions, and thoughts. People try to explain why certain things are
the way they are and why individuals behave in the way they do. An individual's
behaviors are behaviors that are believed to be in control of the i n d i v i d u a l . For example,
if an employee is late for work, on a daily basis, others might attribute it to poor time
i n d i v i d u a l to behave in the way he/she d i d . For example, if an employee is late for work,
d u e to heavy rains, it is perceived that it is the heavy rains that caused the person to be
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Individual behavior
Distinctiveness
Distinctiveness refers to the degree to which individuals behave in the same way in
different situations.
Consensus
The extent to w h i c h persons behave in the same way in same situations is referred to as
consensus.
Consistency
This element concentrates on to what degree individuals behave in the same way or
consistently over t i m e .
It has also been found that errors and biases tend to distort a t t r i b u t i o n s . The following
fails to complete homework given by the teacher, the teacher considers that the student
was lazy, rather than considering the situation that the student was actually i n .
Self-serving Bias
to internal factors. On the other hand, unfavorable and negative conditions are
attributed to external factors. For example, if an employee gets promoted, the employee
feels that it is because of his/her ability and hard work. On the other hand, if the
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Human Behavior in Organization
employee does not get a promotion, the employee feels that it is because the manager
d i s l i k e s h i m or her.
Other than internal and external factors that influence perceptions, there are certain
Stereotyping
already has a perception about a particular group and judges a person belonging
Halo Effect
Selective Perception
Contrast Effects
When an individual compares two things that are close to one another, while
making a decision, rather than on the basis of set standards, it refers to contrast
effects.
Self-fulfilling Prophecy
This attribution error stresses on the point that people's expectations are related
to the actual performances. For example, when a manager feels that he/she has a
great team to work with, and expects a high level of performance from them, it is
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Improving self-awareness
Engaging in m e a n i n g f u l interactions
One of the effective ways to reduce perceptual biases and let them not effect decisions
3 . 6 . 2 Improving Self-awareness
Another efficient way is to become aware of one's personal biases while making
decisions and also understand how these biases affect their behaviors. Knowing
oneself, that is, knowing your own beliefs and values surely helps in reducing
perceptual biases. The Johari Window, which is explained below, h e l p s in improving self
awareness.
In the year 1955, Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham created a model called the
Johari Window. This helps in improving your relationship with yourself and with others.
The main aim of the Johari Window is to increase the open area and lessen the blind,
h i d d e n , and u n k n o w n areas.
Feedback
Known to Unknown to
self self
Known to
others
Ill
ii:
ci
Unknown to
others
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Open area
This area symbolizes the information about oneself, which is known to you as well
as known to others.
B l i n d area
That information about you that is known to others, but not to yourself is
H i d d e n area
This refers to the information about you, which is only known to you and not to
others.
Unknown area
The u n k n o w n area represents your values and beliefs those are u n k n o w n to both,
3 . 6 . 3 E n g a g i n g in Meaningful Interaction
understanding can also improve through meaningful interaction. This can be stated
Contact Hypothesis
This is a theory that states that the more you interact with someone, the lesser
perceptually biased you would be toward that individual. Meaningful interaction thus, is
Making
Individuals in organizations make various decisions. They also need to make choices
from the various options. Managers at various levels need to make decisions d u r i n g t h e i r
actions need to be taken to meet a request by the boss. Also, today, organizations are
authority, which was earlier only a part of a manager's functions. Thus, individual
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means that decision making occurs when there is incongruity between the current state
and the desired state of a situation. However, not everybody views a particular situation
as a ' p r o b l e m ' . For example, while one manager may view a 5 percent reduction in sales
important or as acceptable. This indicates that the awareness that a 'problem' exists and
relevant to the problem in hand, would depend on the perception of the decision maker.
This also means that and the decision maker's perception would have a direct impact on
the final outcome. It must also be kept in mind that during the overall decision making
process, there are common perceptual distortions and biases too. These influence a
Management students are usually educated about the rational d ec i s i o n making models,
as a decision maker is always thought to be rational. Explained below are the three
The rational decision making model has six steps that aid in taking the best decisions in
organizations. This model relies on a few assumptions, like there is complete information
a v a i l a b l e with the decision maker; there is no bias from the side of the decision maker
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The following are the steps involved in the rational decision making model.
However, it must be understood that in real life situations it is not always possible to
follow the rational model, as a decision maker may find an acceptable solution to a
problem being faced, rather than adopting an optimal solution. In the book, J u d g m e n t
in Managerial Decision Making, 3rd Edition (New York; Wiley, 1994), an expert in
Bounded Rationality
Human beings have limited information processing capability. This makes it difficult to
is not easy to translate certain problems into the framework of the rational decision
making model.
rationality is a process, wherein decisions are made by constructing simple models that
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take out the essential features of problems without concentrating on the complexity of
the issues.
Intuition
This is the least rational way of making a decision in any organization, because it is a
non-conscious process, which has been created from distilled experiences. Earlier,
relying on intuition for decision making was considered as ineffective. Today, it is also
taken as a way to improve decision making, in certain situations. But one must not rely
instinct is r i g h t or wrong.
Overconfidence Bias
Persons with weak intellectual and interpersonal abilities are most likely to overrate t h e i r
performances as compared to others. This also means that managers and employees
who are more knowledgeable about a particular issue are less likely to be overconfident
about their a b i l i t i e s .
Anchoring Bias
In this bias, an individual is too dependent on one single trait or on the first piece of
Confirmation Bias
Also called as confirmatory bias, this bias takes place when individuals tend to favor
Availability Bias
The availability bias refers to the tendency of people to make judgments and make
decisions based on information that is recent, memorable, and readily available. The
Escalation of C o m m i t m e n t
'escalation of commitment'.
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Randomness Error
The randomness error occurs because of the tendency of i n d i v i d u a l s to believe that they
Risk Aversion
When an individual prefers a sure thing over a riskier outcome, it is considered as risk
aversion. It must be noted that though the riskier outcome may have a higher reward,
H i n d s i g h t Bias
In certain situations, the outcome of an event is already known and has been accurately
' H i n d s i g h t bias'.
3 . 1 0 I n f l u e n c e s on Decision M a k i n g
There are certain factors that affect the overall decision making of individuals in
organizations. The two main factors are individual differences and organizational
constraints.
divergence from the process of rational decision making, those are as explained below.
Personality
escalate t h e i r commitment to fulfill a task much more effectively than others. They also
hate to fail. On the other hand, dutiful people are more likely to stick to performing
Gender
Considerable a m o u n t of study has found that women spend much more time on t h i n k i n g
and analyzing than men. Women usually overanalyze a problem. This increases the
attention paid to an issue. But at the same time it also makes it difficult to solve
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problems and increase regret over past decisions. This may also lead to depression.
Mental Ability
People with higher levels of mental ability are good at processing information. They
solve problems faster and much more accurately than others. Mental ability usually
intelligence matters, too. Once they are informed or warned about the possible decision
3 . 1 0 . 2 Organizational Constraints
Even organizations can affect decision making. The organizational constraints that can
Performance Evaluation
Managers are affected and influenced by the grounds on which they are evaluated in an
organization. For example, a few division managers may have a view that the groups
that report to them are working well, if they do not receive any negative comments from
the g r o u p members. This may result in the group leaders trying t h e i r best to ensure that
Reward Systems
The reward systems have an impact on individual decision making as it puts forward
Formal Regulations
Managers in many jobs need to make decisions only from the a v a i l a b l e decision choices.
This is a p p l i c a b l e to many organizations because there are certain rules and policies that
decision choices.
In organizations, there are usually deadlines for important decisions that need to be
made. This makes it difficult for managers to collect the necessary information that they
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Historical Precedents
Decisions made in the past are always used as a model by managers while making
current decisions. For example, in most organizations, it is seen that it is the previous
year's budget that determines the current year's budget. This indicates that choices
made in the past have a great influence on the decisions made by managers, today.
The first measure for taking decisions ethically is that of utilitarianism. Under this,
decisions are made by considering the outcomes. This view concentrates more on
efficiency and the overall productivity. A negative aspect of utilitarianism is that it can
One more measure that would help in taking decisions in an ethical manner is by
injury. A negative aspect, however, could be that it may create a judicial environment
The third measure is to establish and implement rules and policies in a way that it
ensures justice to all the individuals. Though this criterion may represent the less
powerful people in an organization, it may also reduce risk t a k i n g , innovation, and the
overall productivity.
Man ag e r s of today's organizations surely find it useful to put into practice the rational
decision making model as it helps in improving the decisions being taken. But as a
manager, it is important for you to not only be rational, but also be creative and look
Generation of new ideas, innovations and creativity are all important to the decision
making process. These help in empathizing with others and at the same time to spot
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The Three-component Model of Creativity addresses this very aspect of how to bring
Source: Copyright 1997, by The Regents of the University of California; Organizational Behavior, 14"
Expertise
This can be considered as the base for creativity. The potential of i n d i v i d u a l s is certainly
further improved when they have the ability, knowledge, and expertise in their
respective fields.
to use analogies and to think differently about things that are usual. Various studies
have found that positive moods help in enhancing creativity, in comparison with other
moods.
When people work on something because they find it interesting, challenging, and
personally motivating, it surely helps in bringing forth creative ideas. This very aspect is
called as intrinsic task motivation. It is what converts creativity potential into real and
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3 . 1 3 Chapter Summary
Errors and biases, such as fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias,
The Johari Window is a model that helps in improving your relationship with
The rational decision making model has six steps that aid in taking the best
decisions in organizations.
The most common biases in decision making are overconfidence bias, anchoring
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Motivation:
Concepts a n d
Applications
Human Behavior in Organization
4 . 1 Introduction
important function of managers in every organization. When managers give out orders
and directions, they have to make sure that the employees have the very interest to
ensured by u n d e r s t a n d i n g the needs of the employees and providing them with financial
Motivation is certainly a complex aspect in any organization. The main reason is that,
the needs and expectations of employees change from time to time. Also, an
Successful organizations have adapted themselves in such a way that they encourage
and motivate their employees to perform better and at the same time increase the
overall productivity. This in turn, helps the organizations to meet their goals while
Define motivation
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4 . 2 W h a t is M o t i v a t i o n ?
Stephen P. Robbins has defined motivation as, "the processes that account for an
goal." According to him, the three key elements in the definition are intensity, direction
and persistence. Intensity describes how hard a person tries. Direction refers to an
4 . 3 . 1 Content Theories
with various individuals. Content theories have been made from the 'content'
perspective and they concentrate on 'why human behavior changes with t i m e . '
Content
Theories
David
Maslow's Herzberg's
Alderfer's ERG McClelland's
Hierarchy of Two-factor
Theory Acquired Needs
Needs Theory theory
Theor
The Hierarchy of Needs Theory is a theory that was proposed by Abraham Maslow
in 1943. This theory is represented as a pyramid with the most basic needs at the
bottom of the pyramid and the self-actualization needs at the top. Through this theory
Maslow suggested that the most basic levels of needs must be fulfilled, o n l y then would
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Esteem Needs
...
Lower-level
needs
Physiological Needs
Safety
The next level of requirements for human beings, according to Maslow, is physical
Social Needs
It is at t h i s level that the higher order needs of humans beg i n . These needs refer
Esteem Needs
The need to feel respected, acquiring status, recognition and attention are the
Self-actualization
This is the final stage or level in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. This level includes
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Hierarchy of N ee d s Theory.
Existence (E)
This element addresses the physiological needs of individuals like that of food,
water, and shelter; and also physical working conditions along with job security
needs.
Relatedness ( R )
Growth (G)
This theory proposes that a human being can have more t h a n one need activated at the
same time, as opposed to the hierarchy of needs theory. The main aspect which
differentiates this theory from Abraham Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs Theory' is that,
there is no rig id hierarchy in which a lower level need must be satisfied before an
This theory was proposed by David McClelland and his associates. The Acquired Needs
Individuals with a high need for achievement avoid situations that are of both,
high risk or low risk. They do not like to work in low risk situations as they believe
U n d e r t h i s element, people have a high need for affiliation, desire for friendly and
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Such individuals tend to do well in customer service related jobs and jobs that
Power could be of two types-personal and institutional. The need for power
involves making other people behave in a way that they usually would not. This
achieve.
the factors that brought about both-satisfaction and dissatisfaction to the employees.
d issatisfiers as hygiene factors, and the satisfiers as motivators. The table below
gives a list of the motivators and the hygiene factors, according to the theory.
Supervision Recognition
Salary Advancement
. .
Table 4 . 3 . 1 a : Herzberg's Hygiene Factors and Motivators
conditions are present in an organization, they may not motivate the employees to
perform better. But if they do not exist, it will certainly lead to dissatisfaction.
On the other hand, the motivators, as the name suggests, are required to ensure that
the employees are motivated. If these conditions are not present in an organization, it is
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4 . 3 . 2 Process Theories
Process theories are concerned with the thought processes of i n d i v i d u a l s , which change
t h e i r behavior over t i m e . It deals with the process of motivation. Here, the concentration
is on how behavior changes and the process theories have been made with a process
perspective.
Equity Theory
When the results of an examination are out, students tend to compare their scores with
others. Why? This very a n g l e has been discussed in the Equity Theory.
The Equity Theory was introduced by J. Stacy Adams in 1963. The basic foundation of
fairness. As per the Equity Theory, individuals compare their inputs and outcomes to
that of others and then respond in ways to eliminate inequities. Employees might
compare t h e i r current jobs with their previous ones. The theory also states that people
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Equity Theory
0 0
Equity
0 0
*Wher-e - represents the employee; and - r-epresents relevant others
IA IB
Source: Organizational Behavior, 14th Edition- Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge, Neharika Vohra
(Page 2 1 1 )
Based on the theory, employees who perceive inequity tend to make one of the following
choices:
Change their inputs (may put in less efforts in their jobs, if paid less, or if
overpaid).
Change their outcomes (individuals who are paid on the basis of piece-rate, can
Distort perceptions of self ("I used to think that I work at an average pace, but
now I realize that I work much harder than everyone else at my workplace.").
Choose a different referent ("I may not earn as much as my brother-in-law, but I
Recent researches have expanded the study of equity. Earlier, Equity Theory
the concept of organizational justice, which is a larger perception of what is fair in the
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d i s t r i b u t i v e justice, how much you get paid with regards to what you perceive, should be
paid to you. T h i s is very important. But how you get paid is of e q u a l importance. This is
why procedural justice has also been included in the model of o r g a n i z a t i o n a l justice,
which is 'the perceived fairness of the process used to determine outcome'. A recent
add it ion to this model is that of interactional justice. This refers to the degree to
w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s feel that they are treated with dignity, concern, and respect.
The diagram below represents the model of Organizational Justice and summarizes
these d i m e n s i o n s .
Informing me about my
Example: I t h i n k this
Example: While Informing me
Is a fair place to work.
about my promotion, my boss was
towards me.
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Expectancy Theory
attractiveness.
The theory comprises three factors. The first factor is expectancy. This is the state in
which an individual 'expects' and believes that the efforts put in, will lead to the
This state is concerned with the quality of serving the purpose. Here, the individual has
the belief that the performance displayed will lead to the desired outcomes, and that it
would lead to rewards. Valence is the third factor of this theory. It refers to the value
Relationship between
Relationship between
Relationship between
Goal-setting Theory
The Goal-setting Theory is one of the most utilized and established theories of
motivation. According to the theory, specific and difficult goals with feedback lead to
higher performance. The theory indicates that human actions are purposeful, and that
they are directed by certain conscious goals. Usually, i n d i v i d u a l s set g o a l s when they are
dissatisfied with their current performance levels. A systematic way to utilize goal
Balanced Scorecard
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these actions. The balanced scorecard translates the organization's vision and
mission into specific and measurable performance goals related to the finances,
o Timely
o Sufficiently frequent
o Credible
lower-level also feel that there is greater fairness and a much more open
of t h e i r boss' performance.
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The following model indicates that any job can be described in terms of the following five
core d i m e n s i o n s .
1 J
I
Skill Variety refers to the extent to which a job requires a range of activities to
be performed.
Task Identity is the degree to which a job requires performing a complete and
Task Significance refers to the degree to which a job is important and has an
a particular j o b .
about the efficiency of the individual's performance, after the work activities
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The core dimensions can be combined into a single predictive index, called the
At times, jobs become monotonous. Many jobs lack variety and the power to make
decisions individually, and as a result, the employees are less motivated. M a n y of them
even quit t h e i r jobs due to this. This can be avoided to a great extent by redesigning
jobs. This would seem to be challenging and much more interesting to the employees. In
return, t h i s would not only motivate the employees, but also reduce the rates of attrition
in organizations.
Job Rotation
which employees are assigned to various jobs and even departments over certain
periods. This increases motivation and helps the employees to have a better
organization.
Job E n r i c h m e n t
them more responsibilities and offering them a variety in the jobs that they
and communication, employee satisfaction levels increase and even the level of
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hours. This gives the employees a choice to choose their work t i m i n g s , according to t h e i r
preferred working time slot. Job Sharing is another possible work arrangement. Job
sharing allows the d i v i s i o n of a full-time job among two or more employees, as per the
is an arrangement that allows an employee to work either from home or from remote
4 . 5 Employee Involvement
decision making. Under participative management, subordinates are also a part of the
decision making process along with their immediate seniors. This method is used in
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It has been noticed that organizations that institute participative management have:
H i g h e r stock returns
But, these effects are not typically large, and also, this is not a sure method of
4 . 5 . 2 Representative Participation
g r o u p of representative employees.
Work councils
Board representatives
employees.
minimal.
balancing the internal equity and the external equity. The internal equity of a company
is established through job evaluation and job analysis. It refers to the worth of a
particular job to the employer or the organization. External equity on the other hand,
structure.
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organization:
Piece-rate Pay
Merit-based Pay
Bonuses
Skill-based Pay
Profit-Sharing Plans
Gainsharing
Piece-rate Pay
U n d e r piece-rate pay, the employees are paid for every unit of production that has been
completed.
Merit-based Pay
Bonuses
Bonuses refer to an extra pay to employees for good performances. Here, employees
are paid for t h e i r current good performances and not the performances in the past.
Skill-based Pay
This is a pay system that pays individuals depending on the number of skills that an
i n d i v i d u a l can perform.
formula designed around a company's profitability. This plan, when executed at the
Gainsharing
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This refers to a benefit plan that allows individuals to put together a benefits
package prepared to match their needs and satisfaction. The three most popular
o M o d u l a r Plans
Modular plans are predesigned units of benefits, each of these meeting the
o Core-plus Plans
These plans include important and essential benefits and also another list of
Such plans help employees to pay for particular benefits, such as healthcare
benefits, by setting aside pretax money up to the amount that has been
Rewards are intrinsic in the form of employee recognition programs and extrinsic
procedures for attaining recognition are clearly identified. Despite this being
increasingly popular, critics argue that they are highly prone to political
m a n i p u l a t i o n by the management.
4 . 7 Performance M a n a g e m e n t
out activities to ensure that the goals of an organization are being met, both, efficiently
pay and other significant human resource management decisions. If the performance
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pay or reward systems. The following image gives a clear picture about the performance
management process.
decision
Measure Performance to
assess progress
Provide feedback
and coaching on
performance results
Identify clear and
measurable performance
goals
4 . 8 Performance Appraisal
Ranking
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Paired Comparison
In this method, each individual is directly compared to the others who are being
rated. This method, however can turn out to be much more tedious than the
Forced Distribution
'Poor'. Here, raters are asked to rate a specific amount of employees into these
percent as Very Good, and so on. This method could prove to be difficult, if most
of the employees are superior performers or if most of the employees perform the
same.
These are scales that list different types of dimensions, w h i c h are considered to
expected to demonstrate).
peer evaluations, other team members and also members doing s i m i l a r jobs rate
the i n d i v i d u a l s .
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360 Evaluation
Peers Subordinates
Managers
Others
Group Evaluation
reliable. It must provide persistent and valid results each time it is used. But a number
of measurement errors can interfere with the reliability and v a l i d i t y of the performance
Halo Error
Halo error is a tendency to rate an individual either high or low on a l l the aspects, d u e to
When a rater has a tendency to give a high rating to almost everyone, it is called as a
leniency error. On the other hand, when a rater generally rates a l l the employees low, it
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Some raters avoid extremes and tend to rate the employees in the m i d d l e of the scale.
Recency Error
When a rater tends to rate the performance of individuals, based on the information
Personal bias errors occur when raters are influenced by certain biases, such as race,
It is very important for managers to avoid the criticism of employees based on their
c u l t u r a l differences.
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Motivation is the process that accounts for an individual's intensity, direction, and
The two main types of motivation theories are content theories and process
theories.
Any job can be described in terms of five core dimensions-skill variety, task
Job rotation and job enrichment can be used to r ed e s i g n jobs and motivate
employees.
Flextime, job sharing, and telecommuting are alternate work arrangement options
for employees.
decision making processes that decide the degree to which employees are a part
of decision m a k i n g in organizations.
personal bias error, cultural bias error are the various common measurement
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F o u n d a t i o n s of
Group and
Team Behavior
Human Behavior in Organization
5 . 1 Introduction
Groups are a fundamental part of organizations. Groups are formed through natural
interaction of i n d i v i d u a l s , such as personal and social interactions. They are also formed
in organizations to accomplish tasks much more efficiently and effectively. Groups affect
the behavior and the levels of motivation of the members and have an impact on the
organizations as a whole. According to studies, the goals of organizations are met much
more effectively and efficiently through groups. When members have high levels of
the other hand, hostility and unresolved conflicts within groups lead to disheartenment
of employees. Thus, the understanding of groups, their functioning, and how they are
Along with groups, teams are also an integral part of any organization. Teamwork is in
practice in industries, today. Teams have been found to enhance the overall productivity
in o r g a n i z a t i o n s . They help in making better decisions and settle on the best solution to
a problem, with the members supporting each other. There is also a better
process. Like groups, teams too affect employee attitude, culture, and commitments.
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5 . 2 D e f i n i n g a n d Classifying Groups
Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge, and Neharika Vohra, define a group as,
Formal Groups
For example, the six members of an airline's flight crew can be called a formal g r o u p .
Informal Groups
as an informal group. Such a group appears in response to the need for social contact.
Four or five employees from various departments in an organization who have l u n c h and
Command Group
Task Group
Here, the group is established for the completion of a particular job task or
activity. In a task group, the boundary is not limited to only the hierarchical
superior, but it can also cross the command relationships. For example, if a college
issue may require consultation with the dean of academics, the director of
Interest Group
Each member of this group has a 'specific aim' which is 'common' to all the
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F r i e n d s h i p Group
Members or individuals of this group are brought together as they share one or
more common characteristics. Social alliances that extend even after the working
5 . 3 Stages of G r o u p Development
Adjourning:
Wrapping-up
action,
performance,
matunng m
Norming: Reaching relationships,
at an agreement organized
and working
with conflicts
Forming: Getting
to know each
other
Every group, be it a formal unit or a temporary task force, usually goes through a
The first stage, forming, is that of orientation. Forming is concerned with the initial
entry of the group's members. Here, the individuals identify themselves with other
tensions and emotionality between the members, and the obstacles that come in way of
a t t a i n i n g the g r o u p ' s g o a l .
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The next stage, norming, is a level wherein the members have reached an agreement
and consensus. The i n d i v i d u a l s of the group have now found harmony and a sense of
closeness among themselves. This stage is mainly concerned with the group's
effectiveness.
The fourth stage in the five stage model is, performing. By this stage, the g r o u p is fully
functional, matured, and organized. Performing is concerned with getting the work done
Adjourning is the final stage. In this stage, more importance is given to the
w r a p p i n g - u p action, than to the task performance. After adjourning, the g r o u p s may get
(High)
(Low) A (A+B)/2 B
Time
It has been observed that temporary groups with deadlines do not u s u a l l y follow the five
The initial meeting among the members of the group decides on the direction of
the g r o u p .
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A change or transformation occurs at the end of the first stage and takes place
exactly when the group has used half of the allotted time for the completion of the
activity.
5 . 4 G r o u p Properties
shape and influence the behavior of groups, as a whole. Some of the most important
The term role refers to a set of expected behavioral patterns that an individual, who
communicate with each other through verbal as well as behavioral messages. Individuals
are expected to play various roles, within and outside the organization. To understand
the present roles played by a member in a group, it is important to understand the other
and behavior of i n d i v i d u a l s is what results in role identity. The belief of others as to how
expectation. An individual's own view on how he/she must act in a given situation is
Norms refer to certain standards of behavior those are accepted and shared by the
members of a group. Every group has certain norms, which are followed by the
members. This ensures smooth functioning of the group. Norms can be considered as
measures, w h i c h are used to evaluate the behavior of the group members. These reflect
the culture followed by a group. Norms may vary from group to group. Another aspect
workplace behavior is a type of behavior that does not comply with the standards of
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A rank or position given by others to the groups or its members is known as status.
According to the Status Characteristics Theory, status tends to be derived from one of
have a ' h i g h e r status'. Also, an individual who possesses much more positive attributes
(such as a pleasing personality, friendly nature, intelligence, and so on) than others w i l l
The size of g r o u p s definitely affects the behavior of the members as also the behavior of
faster, larger groups are considered to be more efficient when it comes to problem
solving. Also researches suggest that groups with odd numbers are preferred to those
with even numbers. Another finding suggests that ideal size of a g r o u p is five to seven
members, as it would utilize the benefits of both, a small group and also of a large
group.
When the members of a group have a collective identity and are motivated to stay as a
part of the group, the group is said to be cohesive. In other words, it refers to the
norms and interactions. Usually cohesiveness is more in groups where members spend
more time with one another, and in small groups, where interaction among the
5 . 5 G r o u p Decision M a k i n g
In organizations, these days, decisions taken by groups are preferred over individual
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A benefit of g r o u p decision making would be that groups produce much more complete
g r o u p decision making results in more input and brings in more variety into the process.
A very important benefit is that groups have greater acceptance of a solution. The
Group decision making also has certain drawbacks. A major drawback is that the entire
It has been observed that decisions made by a group are much more precise than
decisions made by an average i n d i v i d u a l in a group. But they are less accurate than the
decision or conclusion made by the most accurate member of the group. While,
decisions made by individuals are much faster, groups are superior and much more
making a decision, groups would take up more working hours than if an individual was
Two results of g r o u p decision making have the potential to affect the overall d e c i s i o n . In
addition, the results make the group consider other alternatives and arrive at the best
Vohra, groupthink is, "a phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides
that attacks many groups and can dramatically hinder their performances."
Groupshift is, "a change in decision risk between the group's decision and an
individual decision that a member within the group would make; the shift can
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techniques. The most common way in which decision making takes place is through
interacting groups. It refers to typical groups in which the members interact with each
ideas. It encourages all alternatives and does not include criticism. Brainstorming
emphasizes on the innovation and creativity of the group members. The n o m i n a l group
meet, pool their judgments, and take a decision in a systematic way. Every member
responds individually and this technique too, like brainstorming, does not include
criticism. The nominal group technique is adopted to minimize and avoid intergroup
conflicts. Electronic meetings are among the latest trends in group decision making.
distances, using computers. This is done with the help of group decision support
systems. This t e c h n i q u e proves to be helpful for groups in which members find it difficult
Type of Group
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Human Behavior in Organization
D
D D
D D
Share information
Individual - - Accountability - -
Individual
The terms 'work g r o u p s ' and 'work teams' are used interchangeably. But it is important
effort is not found. On the other hand, in work teams, the emphasis is on
there is a lack of positive synergy in many groups. But in work teams, the
objectives of a team depends on each team member and they must interact
regularly.
shared or i n d i v i d u a l .
Similarly, in a work group, leadership is usually individual but work teams may
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5 . 7 Types of Teams
While many teams evolve naturally in organizations, few of them are created by the
management. Due to this, there are various types of teams at the workplace. The four
Cross-functional
Problem-solving Teams
These are creative problem-solving groups in which the members meet for a few hours
the same department. They collectively take decisions related to quality and
productivity.
allocations of work are taken. Precisely, such teams deal with improving the quality of
work.
Cross-functional Teams
Here, employees from various hierarchical levels and work areas come together to
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Virtual Teams
In the past, people in organizations met face-to-face to discuss issues and to take
important d ec i s i o n s . But today, with the advent of technologies and various computer
programs, individuals who are in different parts of the globe are able to meet
electronically. This is surely a very big benefit for geographically dispersed individuals
Many researchers have tried to identify the factors that create an effective team. The
following model represents the factors influencing team effectiveness. While referring to
this model, there are two main points that must be kept in mind. The first point is that
teams differ in t h e i r form and structures. The second point is that the model assumes
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Context
The four contextual factors that are related to team performance are:
Adequate Resources
The availability of adequate resources would help team members to work more
A team can function well, only if the members have the tasks allocated and
decided on who has to carry out what task. Also, it must be ensured that all
Climate of Trust
When a team is effective, it means that the members trust each other. Teams that
and rewards, it would surely motivate teams to perform better and attain goals
faster.
Composition
This d i m e n s i o n deals with factors that are related to how the members in a team should
Abilities of Members
The knowledge, skills, and abilities of a team's members is what determines the
team's performance.
Personality
Diversity
than their similar thoughts and take advantage of their creative potential, it will
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Size of Teams
The most effective teams have five to nine members. When there are excess
M e m b e r Preferences
W h i l e many i n d i v i d u a l s prefer to work as a part of teams, and fair well in it, many
others prefer working individually. So, while creating teams, a m a n a g e r must not
only consider the skills and abilities of the employees, but also t h e i r preferences.
Allocating Roles
Supplies structure
Organizer
Every sing le team has different sets of needs and requirements. Managers, who
build teams, must keep these requirements in mind and select members
should pay attention to this factor while assigning roles and allocating tasks to
team members. Fig. 5.Sb suggests the various roles that could be assigned to the
members in a team.
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Human Behavior in Organization
Processes
The third dimension of the Team Effectiveness Model is that of team processes and it
Common Purpose
Effective teams analyze their mission, develop goals, and create strategies to
achieve them. When teams define what is to be done and how it is to be done,
Specific Goals
Teams must convert their purpose into specific and measurable goals. This will
result in proper communication between the team's members and help them in
Team Efficacy
Conflict Levels
considered to be a bad sign. On the contrary, conflicts can actually improve the
effectiveness of teams.
Social Loafing
individually responsible for and in which areas they are accountable, collectively.
Social loafing refers to when members deliberately put in lesser efforts to reach
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As discussed above, teams also form an integral part of organizations. However, not a l l
i n d i v i d u a l s are inherently team players. Managers can make use of a n y of the following
Selecting
players. If managers face candidates who lack team skills, they have three
options. The candid ates could be trained to be efficient team players. Another
option is to hire them for roles that would not require the c a n d i d ate to possess
Training
solving abilities, communication, coaching skills, etc. Biocon has observed that to
be a successful company, it must be staffed with employees who are not only good
with t h e i r knowledge but who are also team players. Creating a team and training
the members to make the team efficient cannot happen overnight, it w i l l certainly
take t i m e . But once developed, these teams will make positive contributions to the
organization as a whole.
Rewarding
encourage them to continue performing well. These refer to members who support
their team in its functions, ensure proper communication, and help in resolving
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5 . 1 0 Chapter S u m m a r y
Groups can be further divided into: command groups, task groups, interest
The stages in the Five Stage Model of group development are: forming stage,
The four most common types of teams are problem-solving teams, self-managed
effectiveness.
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Communication
I T M
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
6 . 1 Introduction
Communication happens every time, all around us. Since the existence of mankind,
human beings have used varied methods to communicate. Earlier, communication was
mainly through writing. Later, it advanced with the development of language and
not only plays an important role expressing opinions and suggestions in personal lives,
but also in doing the same professionally. Thus, communication is the backbone of any
As a manager, you must understand that communication is not only verbal, but also
The body language, facial expressions, and gestures of i n d i v i d u a l s portray the attitudes
keen observation power. Communication is the basic necessity for the functioning of any
ideas, etc. between and among employees. The only way t h r o u g h w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s can
organization.
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Human Behavior in Organization
6 . 2 D e f i n i t i o n of C o m m u n i c a t i o n
more persons."
place to another."
6 . 3 M e a n i n g of C o m m u n i c a t i o n
The word 'communication' has been derived from the Latin word communis, which
expectations, feelings, and emotions can be possible only t h r o u g h the means of effective
communication. Over the years, it has been observed that the success of any
important that the receiver understands the message in the context in w h i c h it was sent,
and also sends back feedback to the sender. For example, if a member speaks Spanish
and the others do not have any knowledge about the language, the message would not
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
6 . 4 Objectives of C o m m u n i c a t i o n
sessions.
persuading prospective employees to apply for job openings. It also helps the
through communication.
jobs.
communication.
communication. The superiors also address and handle these grievances through
communication.
communication process.
understanding and managing their work environment. For example, they will get
an idea about how to complete work procedures in the rig ht manner, how to
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Human Behavior in Organization
6 . 5 Characteristics of C o m m u n i c a t i o n
Two-way Process
process.
Short-lived Process
received and encoded by the receiver and also understood in the context in which the
sender had sent the message. The main purpose of communication is to ensure the
Continuous Process
Clears Misunderstandings
As mentioned above, the main aim of communication is to create and enhance mutual
Once the organizational goals are communicated effectively to the employees, there is
much more clarity about the goals to be attained. This will in turn direct the
Circular Flow
The flow of c o m m u n i c a t i o n is always circular. This is because the process starts when
the sender transmits the message to the receiver, and the process is complete only
when the receiver decodes the message and sends a feedback to the sender.
6 . 6 S i g n i f i c a n c e of Communication
Information function
Integrative function
Communication is significant in every organization, mainly for three reasons. The first
managerial functions which are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are
possible in a manager's working day only through communication. The second reason is
absence of effective communication, it may so happen that two individuals in the same
organization may work toward the attainment of two different goals due to the lack of
clarity.
It a i d s in planning in organizations.
other co-workers.
6 . 7 The C o m m u n i c a t i o n Process
Communication is a process. The sender is the one who starts the process of
The message is the most important component of the process, and it is the physical
product meant to be sent to the receiver. A message is the subject matter of the
process. The message to be sent across to the receiver is expressed in the form of
words, symbols, signs, and so on. This is done for the understanding of the receiver.
written form, through phone calls or face-to-face. The choice of the channel purely
depends on the situation of both, the sender and the receiver at the time of message
transmission.
Here, another important factor to be considered is noise. Noise can distort the actual
message. Few examples of noise are poor hearing and eyesight, network issues, usage
of wrong words w h i l e conveying the message, and so on. After the message is received
This means that, here, the receiver interprets the message sent by the sender.
If the message is interpreted near its actual meaning, then the communication is
effective. The final component in the communication process is feedback to the sender.
Feedback must be necessarily taken to understand and confirm how accurately the
6 . 8 Direction of C o m m u n i c a t i o n
Downward Communication
Assign g o a l s
An important aspect of this type of communication is that the employees accept the
message transmitted to them with much more readiness if they are explained about the
Upward Communication
feedback about job tasks, problems that employees face while performing a task, any
Employee engagement
Employee newsletters
Open-door policy
Suggestion schemes
If managers listen to their employees carefully and respond to them, it would help in
slowly, d u e to f i l t e r i n g .
Lateral Communication
When communication occurs between two or more individuals who are subordinates,
working under the same manager or who are working at the same level in an
lateral c o m m u n i c a t i o n .
Lateral communication provides emotional and social support to employees. The main
conflicts.
6 . 9 F o r m s of C o m m u n i c a t i o n
and written c o m m u n i c a t i o n .
Verbal Communication
use of symbols that usually have a universal meaning to all the participants in the
takes place in various forms, such as letters, memos, notices, e-mails, and other forms
Non-verbal Communication
Non-verbal c o m m u n i c a t i o n does not involve the use of speech or words. The process of
distance maintained, and other physical gestures. These body movements are referred
understanding the attitudes and feelings of the speaker. For example, a good
salesperson would understand the level of acceptance of a product from the eyes of a
communicating. For example, during a meeting if a person keeps looking at his or her
wrist watch, it indicates that the individual is in a hurry. In such a situation, it is best to
hurry may not concentrate on what you are talking, as he or she is in a hurry to end the
understood.
6 . 1 0 O r g a n i z a t i o n a l Communication
into three forms-chain, wheel, and all channel-which are represented in the following
diagram.
Fig. 6 . 1 0 a : Common Small-Group Networks
The chain network strictly follows the formal chain of c o m m a n d . This network can be
found mostly in organizations with rigid three-level hierarchies. This network can be
The wheel structure is known for acting as an aid for the emergence of leaders. It relies
The all channel network is of importance, if the main concern of the members of a
group is 'high member satisfaction'. This network facilitates all the group members to
communicate with each other actively. This structure is usually adopted by self-managed
teams, where all the members are free to contribute and there is no single leader who
6 . 1 0 . 1 The Grapevine
grapevine. Though the grapevine is informal, it is still a very important source for
hierarchy who can informally communicate with one another with perfect
ease."
6 . 1 0 . 2 Electronic Communications
texts and documents. The growth in the use of e-mails has been stunning, and
Biogs
Biogs refer to a website wherein information or entries are written and are
displayed in reverse chronological order. Biogs provide news and events and
d i s p l a y personal d i a r y entries.
Instant Messaging
Instant messaging uses the electronic media to send and receive information.
Networking Software
Video Conferencing
6 . 1 1 C h o i c e of C o m m u n i c a t i o n Channel
Low High
channel channel
richness richness
Telephone Face-to-face
Memos, letters Electronic mail Vmce mail
conversation coversanon
Source: Based on R. H. Lengel and R. Daft, "The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive S k i l l , "
Academy of Management Executive, August 1988, pp.225-232; and R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel,
"Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design," Managerial Science,
May 1996, pp. 554-572. Reproduced from R. L. Daft and R. A. Noe, Organizational Behavior (Fort Worth,
TX: Harcourt, 2 0 0 1 ) , p . 3 1 1 .
Channel refers to the medium or the means through which the message travels.
very rich and have the ability to handle several signals at a time. They also facilitate
main reason is that this allows oral communication along with gestures. The rapid
feedback is also positive here. It has been observed that letters, memos, formal reports
they are considered impersonal. When the message to be conveyed is routine and
simple, a c h a n n e l that is low on richness could be used. However, when the message to
be transmitted is complex and could lead to ambiguity if not conveyed properly, a rich
communication channel must be used. Researches also indicate that managers who
perform well are much more media-sensitive than managers who are low performers.
Thus, the choice of the communication channel is very important as it affects the
6 . 1 2 Barriers to Effective C o m m u n i c a t i o n
Filtering
Filtering refers to when the sender deliberately keeps back or manipulates the
information to be sent. This could be either because the sender tells the receiver
what the receiver wants to hear or believes that the receiver does not require all
the information.
Information Overload
When individuals have more information than they can manage, they tend to
ignore or select information. Due to a large number of e-mails, phone calls, and
messages, managers may mark the information to be processed later on, and may
thus lose out on the important information. This may result in the c o m m u n i c a t i o n
Selective Perception
Perception refers to the way in which individuals receive and interpret information.
Various individuals may perceive the same situation differently. This means that
selective perception.
Language
The same words may have different meanings to different individuals. This is d u e
to the context in which a word is used. For example, the words 'point', 'present',
and 'type' have different meanings each. In an organization, the term 'profit' may
mean efficiency to the managerial staff. However, the other employees may
understand it to be the excess of funds for the organization through paying less
Silence
example, silence from employees means that the manager lacks information
misconduct means that the top management cannot work towards a v o i d i n g these
k i n d s of behavior.
Emotions
Emotions also affect the effectiveness of a message. For example, if the receiver is
angry, the message maybe interpreted differently than what is would have been if
the receiver was happy. When emotions are strong, it is very difficult to know the
Gender Differences
the other hand men speak to maintain a status. Men usually tend to hear a
problem and offer a so l u t i o n . This is done by them to maintain their status in the
hierarchical order. However, women mostly want to be just listened to. This
Communication Apprehension
Many words that are commonly used may be 'politically incorrect'. Hence, it is of
great importance to keep in mind the diversity of the workforce and understand
how the usage of certain words may offend others. For example, it is always
6 . 1 3 Chapter S u m m a r y
individuals.
Communication is the means through which individuals relate to one another and
so o n .
Communication is a process. The sender encodes the message and sends it across
Formal group networks can be classified into three forms-chain, wheel, and all
channel.
I T M
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Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
7 . 1 Introduction
The success of any organization today would be impossible without effective leadership.
Good leaders bring with them a positive difference to business organizations. The
concept of leadership has never remained constant. It advances and develops according
to the requirements of organizations with the changing times. Though the concept has
been constantly evolving and there are many new ideas being written about leadership,
it has been observed that there are three aspects of leadership that are prominent.
These three aspects are people, influence, and goals. Leadership can take place only
among people and it involves influencing people. Moreover, leadership is done to attain
organizational g o a l s .
Leadership is concerned with the people in an organization. It is vibrant and leaders also
make use of power to influence people and get the tasks done from t h e m . The very role
of leadership can be carried out only when there is an appropriate leadership pattern
followed. This makes it important for managers to understand the different leadership
styles a v a i l a b l e .
Define leadership
7 . 2 D e f i n i t i o n of Leadership
The resource for such an influence may be formal (such as what is provided by h o l d i n g a
t h e i r followers are motivated to work toward the attainment of g o a l s and are clear about
what needs to be attained. Strong leadership and good management are essential for
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l effectiveness.
Man ag e r s at all levels in organizations must influence and motivate their subordinates
continuously. It has been observed that the most important factor that differentiates a
Leadership i n c l u d e s people.
Leadership includes uneven distribution of power among the leader and the
followers.
7 . 3 P u r p o s e of L e a d e r s h i p
an organization. A leader is known for not only motivating the employees, but also for
developing and motivating teams. Leaders encourage teamwork and help the teams to
set their g o a l s . An effective leader essentially improves the overall decision making
process too.
According to Peter F. Drucker, "An effective leader is one who can make ordinary
7 . 4 L e a d e r s h i p Theories
The term trait refers to the distinguishing personal characteristics of an individual, such
traits. The trait theory of leadership seeks to determine the personal characteristics that
Various trait theories suggest that the following traits are possessed by successful
leaders in o r g a n i z a t i o n s :
Intelligence
Sociability
Edwin Ghiselli conducted the trait study in detail and concluded that there are certain
characteristics that are common to effective and successful leaders, but are not essential
for success. Ghiselli identified the following six traits (in order of importance), as
Supervisory ability (the ability to get job tasks done from others)
Initiative (getting job done with minimal supervision from the boss)
that determine the effectiveness of leaders, but it is their behavior displayed towards
be trained to become leaders, unlike the trait theories. In other words, the behavioral
individuals. Two classic research programs, which were conducted at the University of
Michigan and the Ohio State University, provide useful insights related to leadership
behavior.
The two basic leader behaviors that were identified were employee-centered and
Similarly, when the Ohio University conducted studies, there were two d i m e n s i o n s
structure. Consideration refers to the extent to which leaders are sensitive to the
leaders define the role structures of the employees. It has been observed that
Contingency theories emphasize that every leader displays different styles in different
situations. It believes that leaders must be intuitive and flexible. Contingency theories
believe that the most appropriate leadership style to be adopted by a leader would
depend on the situation. But, mostly every leader has a preferred style.
Fiedler developed the first contingency model for leadership, in detail. Fied le r's
proper relation between a leader's style and the extent to w h i c h a certain situation
gives control to a leader. The theory states that a group performs effectively if
According to Fiedler, a tool called the Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) can be used
LPC has a relationship-oriented style. On the other hand, a low LPC leader would
o Leader-member relations
o Task structure
o Position structure
Task-oriented leader
Unfavorable
Favorable situations Moderate-control situations
situations
1J
cc
ro Leader-member relations
-@ Task structure
&
posmon power
I II III VIII
Relattonshlp-onented leader
willingness for the completion of a task. The theory states that successful
depending on the readiness of the followers or the degree to which they are
o Path-Goal Theory
The path-goal theory has been developed by Robert House. This theory
t h e i r goals and also guide them and provide them with a direction.
o Leader-Participation Model
Personal ccmpatlbihty,
-------1 : i
Formal
I r I
I I Trust r---------- relations
Source: Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge, Neharika Vohra, Organizational Behavior, Pearson
The next important leadership theory is the leader-member exchange theory. This
theory addresses the work relationship quality between leaders and their followers. It
refers to the extent to w h i c h the leaders and the members have a m u t u a l respect, trust,
The theory has also identified two types of groups-the in-group and the o u t - g r o u p . The
in-group members are those individuals who are closer to the leader. They usually
hand le higher responsibilities and administrative roles. They are much more committed
The out-group members, as opposed to the members of the in-group, are less loyal,
Charismatic Leadership
than they would normally do. Followers tend to rise above t h e i r personal interests
for the team or organization's sake. Charismatic leaders are known to be lesser
adapts to change and may possess visionary ideas that motivate employees to
work harder towards the attainment of goals. They have a strong vision of the
future. They have a n emotional impact on the employees and present t h e i r ideas
in a way that seems real and personal to the followers. A few examples of
charismatic leaders are Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr.
Transformational Leadership
recognizing the needs of their followers. They encourage their followers to view
the old problems through a new angle altogether. Transformational leaders are
i n t a n g i b l e aspects, such as vision, values, and ideas that facilitate the building of
of transformational leaders are Bill Gates of Microsoft and Steve Jobs of Apple.
7 . 5 L e a d e r s h i p Styles
implementing plans, and motivating individuals to complete a task. It can be said that
there are as many styles of leadership, as the number of leaders. In other words, it can
be said that every leader has a preferred style of leadership. As a manager, when you
understand these leadership styles, it helps you in becoming an effective leader. The
This indicates that leaders must adopt various styles, depending on the situation that
they face. Given below are the various leadership styles based on traditional theories
Autocratic Style
Under this style, leaders have a lot of power over their followers. Autocratic
leaders tend to assume the power of decision making within them. Under the
leader. They do not have any say in the decision making process or even in the
implementation. Autocratic leaders are the ones who take up the entire authority
generally made q u i c k l y , and tasks get done efficiently too. However, t h i s style may
implemented quickly.
Democratic Style
during the decision making process. They are also invited to voice their opinions
during the implementation stage. The final decisions, however, are made by the
leader. Team members are known to have high job satisfaction under the
democratic style, because they are considered as a part of the decision making
process. This style also helps in the development of people's skills. Though the
process of decision making may take time under democratic leadership, the
Participative Style
Under the participative style, decisions are made either by the leader or by the
subordinates. This style enhances the creativity of team members as they are
always involved in some kind of project or activity. This approach is best suited for
teams, because in teams the quality of the outcome is more important than the
This style refers to leaders who allow their subordinates to work on their own.
They prefer to avoid any kind of responsibility or authority. Such leaders rely on
the group to formulate and implement goals, policies, and programs within an
set their own deadlines. This leadership style can be effective only if the leaders
style may lead to high levels of job satisfaction as well as motivation, among the
Envisioning
picture of the future or that of a desired situation in the future with which the
followers can identify themselves. This leadership style causes excitement. The
Energizing
The leader u n d e r this style directs the energy generated toward the motivation of
Enabling
Here, leaders empathize with the followers and help them psychologically. They
motivate the followers emotionally to face challenging goals and create positive
7 . 6 Leader's Power
Power can be defined as the ability that A has to influence the behavior of B in
such a way that, B behaves in accordance with the wishes of A. The key term
As mentioned above, leadership is the ability to influence people. For this to happen,
leaders have to make effective use of power. At times, the terms power and influence or
power and leadership are used interchangeably. But all the three concepts are different.
Power resu Its from interactions between leaders and their followers. At times, power is
gained from the position that one holds in an organization. Power may also come from
7. 7 Bases of Power
The bases or sources of power can be divided into two categories-formal power and
Coercive
Power
Reward
Formal Power
Power
Legitimate
Power
Bases of Power
Expert Power
Personal Power
< Referent
Power
Formal Power
For a t r a d i t i o n a l manager, power comes from the organization. It is the position held by
the manager that gives the authority to reward or punish the subordinates and to
influence their behavior. The three forms of position power used by leaders in
Coercive Power
Under this power, a manager has the power to punish or suggest punishment.
Managers possess coercive power when they have the power to withdraw pay
perform well, the manager possessing coercive power has the right to criticize that
Reward Power
In reward power, the leader has the authority to reward others. Managers may
have access to the formal rewards in organizations, such as pay increments and
Legitimate Power
supposed to follow the orders of the supervisor. The employees consider this
Personal Power
of great importance to a leader because it is not only a leader's position that matters,
even the special knowledge or certain characteristics possessed by the leader are of
Expert Power
Power that occurs due to a special skill of the leader is referred to as expert
the leader's superior knowledge and skills. At top management, leaders may lack
expert power as their subordinates would know much more about technical details
than them.
Referent Power
followers' respect and attention. This type of power does not depend on the
the way in which he/she interacts with them, it can be referred to as referent
Charismatic leaders gain respect from followers and have a lot of followers, mainly
d u e to personal power.
7 . 8 Power Tactics
Another area to be noted is how managers make use of their power to lead. For this,
According to various researches that have been conducted, nine distinct influence tactics
Legitimacy
Rational Persuasion
considered as reasonable.
Inspirational Appeals
Consultation
Exchange
Exchange means rewarding the target with benefits in return for following a
request.
Personal Appeals
loyalty.
Ingratiation
U n d e r this power tactic, a leader makes use of flattery, praise or friendly behavior
before m a k i n g a request.
Pressure
Under this tactic, a leader makes use of warnings and threats to ensure the
fulfillment of request.
Coalitions
Coalition refers to enlisting the aid or support of others to persuade the target to
agree.
The terms leadership and power are often used interchangeably. Though the terms are
related, both the concepts are different from one another. While leadership is concerned
with influencing others, power is used as a tool by leaders to influence others. The
important points of difference between the two concepts are represented in Table 7 .9a.
Leadership Power
between the goals of the leaders and compatibility between the goals of the
followers.
Effectively
Given below are the characteristics of managers who make use of power effectively in
organizations:
M a na ge r s who use power effectively are usually sensitive to the source of their
power. They do not apply expert power from one area to another area.
These managers understand the costs, risks, and the advantage of the various
bases of power. They make appropriate use of the various types of power,
Such managers realize that each power source has different uses and benefits.
They attempt to use the method that best suits the situation.
M a na ge r s who use power effectively have certain career goals too. These goals
7 . 1 1 Chapter S u m m a r y
set of g o a l s .
qualities.
The four traditional leadership styles are autocratic style, democratic style,
The words power and leadership are used interchangeably many times. This is
Negotiation
Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
8 . 1 Introduction
every human being has different points of view on everything. When individuals fail to
agree with each other's opinions and do not share similar viewpoints, it results in
companies. Conflicts are usually considered to be negative. But it must be noted that
conflicts in organizations can have positive and constructive outcomes like clarification of
issues and facilitating change along with negative effects, like lower productivity from
wasteful conflicts. Conflicts are mainly caused due to lack of proper c o m m u n i c a t i o n and
personality conflicts.
solve them quickly and successfully, in an effective way. This can be done through
negotiations. However, the timing of the negotiation is critical for success. It must also
be understood that whether good or bad, conflicts are inevitable in any organization.
constructively.
Define conflict
8 . 2 Conflict
Timothy A. Judge, and Neharika Vohra, "Conflict is a process that begins when
one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to
Robert Kreitner and Angelo Kinicki define conflict as, "a process in which one
party perceives that its interest are being opposed or negatively affected by
another party." It must be understood that not all conflicts that take place in an
organization are negative. Some types of conflicts bring in new solutions and also
conflict might take the form of a constructive argument, a dysfunctional conflict may
address the issues in an organization and facilitate in bringing about positive changes. It
helps in producing new ideas and learning among employees. A dysfunctional conflict
includes interactions among groups, which would cause harm to the organization and
8 . 2 . 1 Types of Conflicts
Task Conflict
conflict takes place at the peer level, that is, between two managers working at
Process Conflict
This is a type of conflict that occurs when individuals agree on the goals to be
achieved, but disagree on the way in which the goals must be achieved. While
they are working towards the same goals, they perceive different processes to be
Relationship Conflict
issues. These would result in differences and personality conflicts between them,
According to researches, it has been found that relationship conflicts are mostly
dysfunctional. This is because it causes personality clashes and would reduce mutual
understanding between the parties. This would also hinder the effective completion of
job tasks that lead to organizational goals. It has also been noticed that task conflicts
and process conflicts are usually functional when they occur at low levels. This is
because they encourage the employees to think more and come up with the best
Release Tension
When individuals put across their opinions, they clear the confusion and release
employees. On the other hand, expressing opinions and releasing tension can
Enhance Creativity
Group Cohesiveness
Conflicts also result in enhanced group loyalty, which in turn increases the
Adapting to Changes
When faced with conflicts, people may have change in attitude and thinking. They
Realizing Weakness
Conflicts also help work groups and individuals realize their weaknesses. Thus,
Conflicts result in creative thinking and the generation of various ideas. This helps
Awareness
Conflicts help in realizing the problems as well as becoming aware of the best
solutions to them.
Increased Tension
lead to frustration and anxiety among the members facing the conflicts.
Declined Productivity
Once members face conflicts, the attention would be more on the conflicts and less
Goal Conflict
Due to conflicts, employees who are high performers may leave the organization,
Atmosphere of Distrust
among employees and they may stop interacting with others working in the
organization.
8 . 3 T r a n s i t i o n s i n Conflict Thought
It can be rightly said that there has always been a conflict on whether conflicts are
the traditional view. Another school of thought proposed the exact opposite of the
traditional view. It believed that conflicts are not only a positive force, but are also
necessary for the effective functioning of groups. This is called the interactionist view.
The resolution focused view of conflict argues that instead of focusing on whether a
conflict is good or bad, the focus must be on resolving them. These views are explained
in d e t a i l , below:
organizations was destructive and harmful and that they must be avoided.
Conflicts were considered to be a negative force and were always discussed with
the usage of words like violence and destruction. The traditional view of conflict
was consistent with the attitudes related to group behavior that existed in 1930s
and 1940s. According to this view, a conflict was a dysfunctional outcome that
managers.
supports only the constructive form of conflict. This view states that a certain
minimum level of conflict within organizational groups can make them creative. It
constructive form of conflict. But the view also believes that dysfunctional conflict
These days, researchers pay more attention to the context in which the conflict
opportunities for conflicts to take place. Such conditions can be caused by various
arise when there is too much or too little communication. Also, barriers like noise and
conflicts. Similarly, the structure in an organization can influence conflicts. For example,
if there are role ambiguities, diversity in goals among group members or improper
reward systems, these could lead to conflicts. Another important factor to be considered
i n d i v i d u a l s in organizations.
The second stage of cognition and personalization leads to the awareness of factors
or conditions that can result in conflicts. In this stage, effective communication can
avoid any further conflict. But if any of the first-stage factors comes into picture, the
outcome would be a conflict. Since a conflict is a 'perceived conflict', it does not make it
personalized. Conflict is felt by individuals in various forms like tension, animosity, and
anxiety, in t h i s stage.
that the issues causing the conflict are defined. With the two dimensions of
cooperativeness and assertiveness, it is able identify five conflict hand ling intentions
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(Page 446)
The parties are actively involved in the conflict in the fourth stage, which is behavior.
This stage includes the actions and reactions of the parties involved, such as open
aggression and at times, destructive behavior. Also, parties who are not involved in the
conflict become aware of it. In this stage, the members or managers try to m a n a g e and
The final stage in the conflict process is that of outcomes. The aftermath could be
either positive or negative, depending on how the conflict was resolved. It must be
noted that if the conflict is solved at an earlier stage, there would be better cooperation
conflict is not resolved in the earlier stage, it can aggravate and become serious. The
improvements in innovation and creativity. On the other hand, if a conflict is not handled
8 . 5 Negotiation
negotiation can be defined as, "A process in which two or more parties exchange
goods or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them." T h i s can
preferences. In the simplest form, negotiation occurs between two individuals who are
deciding what to do. A much more complicated form of negotiation would be when a
m a n a g e r and an employee are deciding on performance goals for the forthcoming year,
and the standards to measure them. There are two approaches to negotiation, namely,
Distributive Bargaining
Take an example where you see a used bike for sale o n l i n e . You like it and go to
see it too. Once you have personally seen it, you wish to purchase it, but at a
much lesser price than what the seller is asking for. Both of you negotiate over the
over 'who gets what share of the fixed pie'. Fixed pie refers to a certain fixed
a m o u n t of goods that needs distribution. When a pie is fixed, the parties negotiate
LOSE situation.
Integrative Bargaining
jointly. This form includes forming of a long-term relationship that would bring
situation.
8 . 6 The N e g o t i a t i o n Process
The process of negotiation, which is used for conflict resolution in organizations, goes
understand what the problem is about. The main aim of this stage is to collect
information regarding the conflict, such as the nature of the conflict, the reasons
that lead the parties to the negotiation, the parties involved, and so on. This
better than receiving nothing at all. While you decide on the strategy and BATNA,
it is necessary and important to know the other party's BATNA. This w i l l help you
in offering the other party a BATNA that would be considered as much more
attractive than his/her own BATNA. This would also make your position much
the ground rules and procedures for the negotiation process. Even the time and
After deciding the ground rules, the parties justify, clarify, and explain their
an added advantage if both the parties present each other with documentation
Under this stage, both the parties attempt to arrive at a so l u t i o n to resolve the
But, both the parties would have to undoubtedly make a concession during this
stage.
This is the final stage in the negotiation process. It involves finalizing the
up.
There are a n u m b e r of factors that affect the effectiveness of negotiations and influence
t h e m . They are:
Situational Factors
location, the physical setting and the time at which the negotiation takes place.
The power that both the parties bring to the negotiation table has an impact on
the final outcome of the negotiation. The more power a party has, the better the
Behavioral Factors
prepare themselves for it. This is where behavioral factors play an important role.
The negotiators must foresee what the other party wants from the negotiation.
They must be good listeners and collect important information, which would help
them in d e v e l o p i n g proposals for the other party. The parties must also effectively
communicate with each other during the negotiation process. Another point to be
Personality
individuals tend to share more information than they should, and these
because such individuals are interested in their own outcomes and do not
Moods/ Emotions
Both, integrative as well as distributive negotiations are affected by the moods and
emotions of the negotiators during the process. It has been noticed that
negotiators who are angry are better negotiators, in terms of the outcome. T h i s is
because anger would result in compromises from their opponents. This would
Gender Differences
Research evidences indicate that women and men negotiate differently. The
stereotypes suggest that women are much more cooperative and agreeable than
men during negotiations and men tend to negotiate better. The main reason for
'tough'. Evidences indicate that women are usually hurt by their own attitudes and
confidence while negotiating than men. They even tend to be less satisfied with
the outcomes of the negotiations, even if they are equal to those achieved by
men. It has been observed that women are less likely to consider an ambiguous
situation as an opportunity, while men do. Also it has been observed that women
8 . 7 T h i r d - p a r t y Negotiations
such cases, they may approach a third party to help them in resolving the conflicts.
Mediator
forced.
Arbitrator
Whether there would be a negative side or not, would depend on how coercive the
arbitrator is.
Conciliator
between the negotiator and the opponent. The effectiveness of conciliation and
mediation are difficult to compare as it has been observed that both of them
Consultant
facilitates creative problem so l v i n g . Unlike the rest of the third parties, consultants
problems, consultants encourage both the parties to understand and work with
each other. This is an approach that has a long-term focus. The main focus of
consultants is to create and build a positive attitude and relationship between the
conflicting parties.
8 . 8 Chapter S u m m a r y
unit.
3. Intentions
4. Behavior and
5. Outcomes
Distributive bargaining can resolve disputes, but it often negatively affects the
The four basic third-party roles are mediator, arbitrator, conciliator, and
consultant.
Structure a n d
Culture
Human B e h a v i o r in Organization
9 . 1 Introduction
Organizations are social and economic bodies that comprise employees who perform
various tasks to attain the organizational goals. Though employees have personal goals,
Organizational design may appear to be just a structural aspect. But the design and
relationships. This is done so that the organization would be able to attain its specific
goals effectively. An organization is not just a place of work; it is much more than that.
as important as all the other aspects needed for the effective functioning of an
organization. O r g a n i z a t i o n s with strong cultures are stable and tend to perform well.
Organizational structure and culture decisions must be planned before being executed,
because they influence various significant factors like the attitudes and behaviors of
9 . 2 W h a t Is O r g a n i z a t i o n a l Structure?
organizational structure is defined as, "the way in which job tasks are formally
organizational structure refers to the formal division of work and tasks and the formal
McShane and Hill define organizational structure as, "the location of decision
making responsibilities in the firm, the formal division of the organization into
managerial functions like planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. The formal
the o r g a n i z a t i o n .
9 . 3 E l e m e n t s of O r g a n i z a t i o n a l Structure
The organizational structure determines how jobs are divided among employees. There
are six elements that help in defining the organizational structure, which are explained
below:
Work Specialization
into separate jobs. Instead of one individual carrying out a job, every step in the job is
performed by separate i n d i v i d u a l s .
Chain of Command
The next element, chain of command, is the unbroken line of authority from the top
level of a n organization to the lowest level. This also defines who reports to whom in an
organization.
Departmentalization
After the various jobs have been divided under work specialization, they also need to be
9 . 1 3 S p i r i t u a l i t y a n d O r g a n i z a t i o n a l Culture
life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the
context of c o m m u n i t y . "
Values creativity
H u m a n i s t i c work methods
The first question in regards to the scientific foundation is, "What really is
not known.
religion and god in the work environments. However, this criticism is seen as less
valid when the main aim is just limited to helping individuals to find meaning in
t h e i r work lives.
The third question is, "Are the concepts of spirituality and organizational
profits, compatible?"
9 . 1 4 Chapter Summary
Organizational structure is defined as the way in which job tasks are formally
Simple structure, matrix structure, and the bureaucracy are the common
organizational designs.
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l structure.
Stories, rituals, material symbols, and language are the ways in which employees
learn culture.
Workplace spirituality refers to the recognition that people have an inner life that
nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of
community.
C h a n g e a n d Stress
Management
Human Behavior in Organization
1 0 . 1 Introduction
Organizations are dynamic entities and hence, change is inevitable. Today, even the
organizations is to identify these changes and incorporate them. But there may be
resistance to these changes from the workforce. Managers must work on reducing the
adapts to changes quickly and appropriately. Change takes place at various levels and
cope with them. Thus, the challenge is not in deciding the strategy to be adopted, but in
all walks of life. While stress affects psychological systems, as time progresses, it
reflects on the behaviors and physical systems of the employees. Thus, today change
and stress management are major challenges in organizations. Managers must be able
1 0 . 2 Forces for C h a n g e
work environment that affects the ways in which employees must act."
Adjustments between people, technology, and even the structural setup take place when
organizations operate for a long time. Similarly, organizations also create a relation with
The response to the external forces must be fast, so that organizations can capitalize on
Nature of Workforce
This changing aspect of the workforce increases the need for organizations to be
much more focused on workforce diversity. These differences in the nature of the
Economic Conditions
The economic situation determines the supply and demand for capital, labor, and
raw material. Other economic factors like global recession, collapse of the financial
Competition
important for organizations to innovate, come up with new ideas, and launch new
products into markets. The political and economic developments and the
more competitive than before. Companies who adapt quickly also require equally
responsive personnel.
Technology
The nature of jobs has changed to a great extent with technological innovations
Consumer Preferences
The choices and preferences of customers have changed a lot over time a n d also
They expect organizations to offer them high quality products at low prices with
Political Scenario
The regulations of the government and also the existing political scenario
Behavior of M a n a g e m e n t
The behavior of the management in organizations can be one of the internal forces
Interpersonal Conflicts
Extreme conflicts between a manager and his/her subordinates could also lead to
o r g a n i z a t i o n a l changes.
Perceptions of Employees
When there is work role ambiguity and also lack of clarity about managerial
Change in organizations refers to making things different. For example, the waiters of
They inform the manager that it is difficult for them to stick to the same rigid
timing every day, due to their personal commitments. They also let the manager know
that if these timings prevail, they would have to search for other job opportunities.
The manager contemplates for a while and comes up with the favorable solution of
flextime. This refers to flexible working hours. This was thus, considered as an ideal
1 0 . 4 Resistance to C h a n g e
of organizations.
Internal Sources
Generally, there are certain characteristics of the employees or internal sources that
Employees would have already been habituated with the existing processes.
Differences related to the work routine may lead to changes in the payment
patterns as w e l l .
situation.
if it leads to open discussions. Change agents could utilize the resistance to understand
the preferences of the organization's members and improvise on the changes to match
t h e i r convenience.
External Sources
Structural inertia
The already existing processes and techniques give rise to inertia. This leads to
Group inertia
Conformance to the norms of the group may act as a constraint for individuals
Threat to expertise
decision m a k i n g authority is done. This may make them resist the changes.
as a threat. They may want to continue managing these resources and may as a
If the reason or the logic behind the change is communicated to the organization's
members, it would help in reducing resistance. This is because it would fight the
would also aid in making the employees understand 'why' the change is essential.
Participation
Allowing and making employees participate in the process change decision could
commitment.
The phase of organizational change may give rise to anxiety among employees.
The management can help them in overcoming this through counseling and
therapy sessions, enabling training for new skills or by providing employees with a
short leave.
A research suggests that those employees who have a positive relationship with
t h e i r seniors and co-workers and those who feel that they work in a positive and
supportive environment are usually much more positive about the c h a n g e process
than others.
I m p l e m e n t i n g changes fairly
If organizations make sure that the changes are implemented fairly, it can surely
M a n i p u l a t i o n and cooptation
Manipulation and cooptation are inexpensive methods to receive support from the
opposition party. However, this method will only work if the targets are unaware
of these intentions.
It is always beneficial for the organization to hire individuals who are flexible in
newcomers, managers who have been removed from the main power structure
1 0 . 5 Approaches to M a n a g e O r g a n i z a t i o n a l C h a n g e
Action Research
Organizational Development
Kurt Lewin's three-step model of change. According to him, change involves three
important stages, the first one being unfreezing the status quo. Lewin's model
the change is necessary and also the factors that make this change essential in
that the change will bring to the employees. This will motivate them further to
accept the c h a n g e .
Desired
state
Restraining
forces
Status
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- - - - - - - - -
quo
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Driving
forces
Time
The second stage in the model is of movement to a desired state or level. This
stage involves adopting new methods and procedures in the organization and
doing away with the old ones. This refers to moving from the stage of e q u i l i b r i u m
and overcoming any kind of resistance. Movement to a desired state can be done
both of these.
The third and final stage in Lewin's three-step model of c h a n g e is refreezing the
go back to the practices and methods that existed before the change process. This
stage integrates or incorporates the change into the organization. In other words,
refreezing aids in sustaining the change and creating a balance between the
step model. E i g h t sequential steps are listed by Kotter after studying the common
aim of the steps was to help managers in overcoming these problems. The e i g h t
3. Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for achieving the
vision.
6. Plan for, create, and reward short-term 'wins' that move the organization
Action Research
collection of data, followed by the selection of a change action on the basis of what
the analyzed data specifies. This method helps the change agents in
understanding the improvements that are needed. Action research has two main
benefits. The first one is that, it is problem focused. Next, it ensures that the
employees are involved thoroughly in the process, which helps in reducing the
According to French and Bell, the five steps of the process of action research are
as follows.
1. Diagnose
2. Analysis
Under analysis, the problem areas are determined and it also involves
3. Feedback
The feed back step includes determining the extent to which the goal or
4. Action
The fourth step deals with setting the action into motion.
5. Evaluation
The final step includes evaluation and reviewing the initial data.
O r g a n i z a t i o n a l development has been defined by Stoner and others as, "a long
organizational culture."
o OD Techniques
improvement.
Team building refers to carrying out such activities that ensure high
culture for c h a n g e . The two methods for this are suggested below:
Structured Variables
innovation.
Idea Champions
promote the idea, build support, and overcome the resistance to change. They
with the aid of past routines and present policies. Double-loop learning refers to the
Individuals adopt new ways of thinking for solving problems or carrying out work
The organization's members perceive all the activities, functions, and interactions
Individuals put together their as well as the department's interests and work
1 0 . 7 Stress
A few researchers have put forward that challenge stressors are related to individual
workload, work pressure, and time urgency. Hindrance stressors refer to those
stressors that restrain you from attaining your goal. Stress is related to demands and
employees. Resources refer to aspects that are within an individual's control, which
Environmental Factors
Employees are affected by the changes in the environment, which are caused
because organizations are open systems. These changes could be the economic,
during recession, employees may feel insecure about their j o b s . New innovations
may make the skills of employees obsolete. This would also make them feel
threatened.
Organizational Factors
There are a lot of reasons in organizations that could cause stress among
cause stress among employees. Most of these factors, however, are outside the
control of employees.
Personal Factors
Though the standards of living of employees may have improved, their general
well-being has been noticed to be deteriorating due to work pressure. Other than
to job transfers, a new relationship, the sudden death of a loved one, the birth of a
child, etc. can cause stress among employees. This is because it would take them
1 0 . 9 C o n s e q u e n c e s of Stress
Certain levels of stress can have positive effects like motivating the workers to complete
their work on time and perform better. However, some of the consequences could be
potentially dangerous, not only to the individuals, but also to the organization as a
Physiological Symptoms
Stressful demands of the job could lead to outcomes that may range from
increased heart rates, high blood pressure, increased glucose levels in blood, and
employees.
Psychological Symptoms
One most seen and obvious psychological symptom of stress among employees is
Behavioral Symptoms
The consequences of stress depend on how long the stress persists and the
recovery power of the individuals. However, severe stress may lead to effects like
trauma and burnout. Trauma is caused due to situations like natural calamities,
personal job loss, etc. Burnout, on the other hand, refers to the physical and
The potential sources and the consequences of stress are summarized in Fig. 10.9a.
Phvsiclcqical symptoms
Behavioral symptoms
Researchers have studied the relationship between stress and employee performance.
High
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1 0 . 1 0 M a n a g i n g Stress
Managing stress refers to understanding what stress is, what the potential sources of
stress are, and trying out stress reduction techniques to reduce stress levels. Every
individual has different ways of coping with or managing stress. Meditation and listening
to one's favorite music are positive ways of coping with stress. Whereas, indulging in
excessive consumption of hard drinks, smoking, overeating, etc., are negative ways of
dealing with stress. T h o u g h these negative ways may provide relief to stress for a short
important for individuals to find out and try such stress management tools that are
positive and beneficial for their health. There are individual as well as organizational
I n d i v i d u a l Approaches
Organizational Approaches
and job placement, proper training, realistic goal setting, redesigning of jobs,