Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester 1

MB0038 – Management Process and Organization Behavior

(Book ID: B1127)
Assignment Set- 1

Q.1 Write a note on the characteristics of Management.

Ans: Management by definition means a distinct process consisting of planning,

organizing, actuating and controlling performed to determine and accomplish the
objectives by the use of people and resources.

It has following salient features or characteristics:

1. Goal-oriented: Management is a purposeful activity. It co-ordinates the efforts of

employees to achieve the goals of the organization. The success of management is
measured by the extent to which the organizational goals are achieved. It is imperative
that the organizational goals must be well-defined and properly understood by the
mangers at various levels.
2. Economic Resource: Management is one of the factors of production together with
land, labour and capital. It is the most critical input in the success of any organized group
activity. It is the force which assembles and integrates other resources, namely, labour,
capital and materials. These factors do not by themselves ensure production, they
require the catalyst of management to produce goods and services required by the
society. Thus, management is an essential ingredient of an organization.
3. Distinct Process: Management is a distinct process consisting of such functions as
planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. These functions are so
interwoven that it is not possible to lay down exactly the sequence of various functions or
their relative significance. In essence, the process of management involves decision-
making and putting of decisions into practice.
4. Integrative Force: The essence of management is integration of human and other
resources to achieve the desired objectives. All these resources are made available to
those who manage. Managers apply knowledge, experience and management principles
for getting the results from the workers by the use of non-human resources. Managers
also seek to harmonize the individuals‟ goals with the organizational goals for the
smooth working of the organization.
5. Intangible Force: Management has been called an unseen force. Its presence is
evidenced by the result of its efforts-orderliness, informed employees, buoyant spirit and
adequate work output. Thus, feeling of management is result-oriented. One may not see
with the naked eyes the functioning of management but its results are apparently known.
People often remark of the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of management on the
basis of the end results, although they can‟t observe it during operation.
6. Results through Others: The managers cannot do everything themselves. They
must have the necessary ability and skills to get work accomplished through the efforts
of others. They must motivate the subordinates for the accomplishment of the tasks
assigned to them.
7. A Science and an Art: Management has an organized body of knowledge consisting
of well-defined concepts, principles and techniques which have wide applications. So it
is treated as a science. The application of these concepts, principles and techniques
requires specialized knowledge and skills on the part of the manager. Since the skills
acquired by a manager are his personal possession, management is viewed as an art.
8. System of Authority: Management as a team of managers represents a system of
authority, a hierarchy of command and control. Managers at different levels possess
varying degrees of authority. Generally, as we move down in the managerial hierarchy,
the degree of authority gets gradually reduced. Authority enables the managers to
perform their functions effectively.
9. Multi-disciplinary Subject: Management has grown as a field of study (i.e.
discipline) taking the help of so many other disciplines such as Engineering,
Anthropology, Sociology and Psychology. Much of the management literature is the
result of association of these disciplines. For instance, productivity orientation drew its
inspiration from Industrial Engineering and human relations orientation from Psychology.
Similarly, Sociology and Operations Research have also contributed to the development
of management science.
10. Universal Application: Management is universal in character. The principles and
techniques of management are equally applicable in the fields of business, education,
military, government and hospital. Henri Fayol suggested that principles of management
would apply more or less in every situation. The principles are working guidelines which
are flexible and capable of adaptation to every organization where the efforts of human
beings are to be co-ordinated.

Q.2 Discuss intellectual abilities in detail.

Ans.
Intellectual abilities are those required to perform mental activities.
IQ tests are designed to ascertain ones general intellectual abilities. Examples of such
tests are popular college admission tests such as, the SAT, GMAT, and LSAT. The
seven most commonly cited dimensions making up intellectual abilities are: number
aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive
reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory (Dunnette, 1976).

The intellectual abilities are categorized as:

Intellectual Ability Description Job Example
Dimension
Number aptitude Ability to do speedy and accurate Accountant
arithmetic
Verbal Read write speaking ability Senior managers
Communication
Perceptual Speed Identify similarities and differences Investigators
quickly and accurately
Inductive reasoning Logical sequence drawing Market Researcher
Deductive reasoning Ability to use logic and assess the Supervisors
implications of the argument
Spatial Visualization Ability to imagine Interior decorator
Memory Ability to retain and recall past Sales person-Remembering
experience customers name
Jobs differ in the demands they place on incumbents to use their intellectual abilities. A
review of the evidence demonstrates that tests that assess verbal, numerical, spatial,
and perceptual abilities are valid predictors of job proficiency at all levels of jobs.
In this regard, Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences suggests eight different
intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. It
claims that our intelligence or ability to understand the world around us is complex.
Some people are better at understanding some things than others. For some, it is
relatively easy to understand how an automobile works, but it is immensely difficult for
some to understand and use a musical instrument. For others music might be easy but
playing football is difficult. The several different intelligences are listed below:
1. Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
2. Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
3. Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
5. Musical intelligence ("music smart")
6. Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
7. Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
8. Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")
Q.3 Explain the classification of personality types given by Sheldon.
Ans.
William Sheldon (1940, 1942, cited in Phares, 1991) classified personality according to
body type. He called this a person‘s somatotype.

Sheldon identified three main somatotypes:

Sheldon's Character Shape
Somatotype
Endomorph relaxed, sociable, tolerant, plump, buxom, developed
[viscerotonic] comfort-loving, peaceful visceral structure
Mesomorph active, assertive, vigorous, muscular
[somatotonic] combative
Ectomorph quiet, fragile, restrained, non- lean, delicate, poor
[cerebrotonic] assertive, sensitive muscles

As per Sheldon’s theory on certain body types ("somatotypes") that are associated with
certain personality characteristics, there are three such somatotypes: endomorphy,
mesomorphy, and ectomorphy.
Endomorphy – focused on the digestive system, particularly the stomach (endoderm);
has the tendency toward plumpness, corresponds to Viscerotonia temperament
tolerant, love of comfort and luxury, extravert.
Mesophorphy – focused on musculature and the circulatory system (mesoderm), has
the tendency towards muscularity, corresponds to the Somatotonia temperament
courageous, energetic, active, dynamic, assertive, aggressive, risk taker.
Ectomorphy focused on the nervous system and the brain (ectoderm) – the tendency
towards slightness, corresponds to Cerebrotonia temperament artistic, sensitive,
apprehensive, introvert.
On this basis, Sheldon created his very interesting Atlas of Men (Macmillan Pub Co;
1970) in which all possible body types are graded in a scale from 1 (low) to 7 (high),
based on the degree to which they matched these types; with 4 as average). Each type
is represented by a series of photos, and is given a comical or descriptive name, like
"saber tooth tiger" for extreme mesomorph, "Baluchitherium" (the largest prehistoric land
mammal) for mesomorph and endomorph, "Male Mosquito" for the extreme ectomorph,
and so on. On this scale, the extreme or pure mesomorph has a score of 1-7-1, the pure
endomorph 7-1-1, and the pure ectomorph 1-1-7. Most people of course are a
combination of types.
a. Endomorphic Body Type:
• soft body
• underdeveloped muscles
• round shaped
• over-developed digestive system

Associated personality traits:

• love of food
• tolerant
• evenness of emotions
• love of comfort
• sociable
 • good humoured
• relaxed
• need for affection

b. Mesomorphic Body Type:

• hard, muscular body
• overly mature appearance
• rectangular shaped
• thick skin
• upright posture
Associated personality traits:
• adventurous
• desire for power and dominance
• courageous
• indifference to what others think or want
• assertive, bold
• zest for physical activity
• competitive
• love of risk and chance

c. Ectomorphic Body Type:

• thin
• flat chest
• delicate build
• young appearance
• tall
• lightly muscled
• stoop-shouldered
• large brain

Associated personality traits:

• self-conscious
• preference for privacy
• introverted
• inhibited
• socially anxious
• artistic
• mentally intense
• emotionally restrained
Sheldon measured the proportions of hundreds of juvenile delinquent boys and
concluded that they were generally mesomorphs (Ornstein, 1993).

However, body types have been criticized for very weak empirical methodology and are
not generally used in psychology. The use of somatotyping (using different taxonomies)
is used more often in alternative therapies and Eastern psychology and spirituality.
Q.4 What are the different barriers to perception?
Ans.
Individuals have a tendency to use a number of shortcuts when they judge others. An
understanding of these shortcuts, really the barriers to perception can be helpful toward
recognizing when they can result in significant distortions.

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

2. Halo Effect
The halo effect (Murphy & Anhalt, 1992) occurs when we draw a general impression on
the basis of a single characteristic. For example, while appraising the lecturer, students
may give prominence to a single trait, such as, enthusiasm and allow their entire
evaluation to be tainted by how they judge the instructor on that one trait which stood out
prominently in their estimation of that person. Research suggests that it is likely to be
most extreme when the traits to be perceived are ambiguous in behavioral terms, when
the traits have moral overtones, and when the perceiver is judging traits with which he or
she has had limited experience.

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

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

5. Stereotyping
Stereotyping–judging someone on the basis of our perception of the group to which he
or she belongs. Generalization is not without advantages (Hilton & Hippel, 1996). It is a
means of simplifying a complex world, and it permits us to maintain consistency. The
problem, of course, is when we inaccurately stereotype. In organizations, we frequently
hear comments that represent stereotypes based on gender, age, race, ethnicity, and
even weight. From a perceptual standpoint, if people expect to see these stereotypes,
that is what they will perceive, whether or not they are accurate.

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

The areas where these barriers can seen:

Employment Interview
The interviewers make perceptual judgments that are often inaccurate and they rarely
agree while perceiving the candidates. Different interviewers see different things in the
same candidate and, thus, reach different conclusions about the applicant. Furthermore,
interviewers generally draw early impressions and most interviewers rarely change their
decisions after the first four or five minutes of the interview. Therefore, judgments of the
same candidate can vary widely in an interview situation..

Performance Expectations
It is seen that individuals seek to validate their perceptions of reality, even when those
perceptions are not appropriate. Self-fulfilling prophecy is a very good example of this. It
is the tendency for someone’s expectations about another to cause that person to
behave in a manner consistent with those expectations. Self fulfilling prophecy can be of
two types:
• Pygmalion Effect: A positive instance of the self-fulfilling prophecy, in which
people holding high expectations of another tend to improve that individual‟s
performance.
• Golem Effect: A negative instance of the self-fulfilling prophecy, in which people
holding low expectations of another tend to lower that individual‟s performance.

Performance Evaluation
An employee’s performance appraisal is very much dependent on the perceptual
process. Although the appraisal can be objective, many jobs are evaluated in subjective
terms. Subjective measures are, by definition, judgmental. To the degree that managers
use subjective measures in appraising employees, what the evaluator perceives to be
good or bad employee characteristics or behaviors will significantly influence the
outcome of the appraisal.

We got to be careful of these barriers while we approach not only people but also
situations.
Q.5 Mr. Batra is the General Manager, HR of a leading Automobile company. He is
having a meeting with Mr. Chandan, a leading HR consultant. Mr. Batra is concerned
about creating an environment that helps in increasing job satisfaction among
employees. Assume that you are Mr. Chandan, the HR consultant. What suggestions
will you give to Mr. Batra, for creating an environment that increases job satisfaction?
Ans.
Job satisfaction is the sense of fulfillment and pride felt by people who enjoy their work
and do it well. For an organization, satisfied work force ensures commitment to high
quality performance and increased productivity Job satisfaction helps organizations to
reduce complaints and grievances, absenteeism, turnover, and termination. Job
satisfaction is also linked to a healthier work force and has been found to be a good
indicator of longevity. And although only little correlation has been found between job
and productivity, it has also been found that satisfying or delighting employees is a
prerequisite to satisfying or delighting customers, thus protecting the "bottom line
(Brown, 1996).

Considering the above description of job satisfaction and high level indicators of it, I will
recommend beginning with a simple survey – a set of questions to understand how the
workers find their jobs:
These include:
1. When have I come closest to expressing my full potential in a work situation?
2. What did it look like?
3. What aspects of the workplace were most supportive?
4. What aspects of the work itself were most satisfying?
5. What did I learn from that experience that could be applied to the present situation?
6. What factor of my job that I dislike the most and why?

Another set of questions to the supervisors would include questions like:

1. List down the issues my workers are facing.
2. What aspects of the workplace my people find most supportive?
3. What motivates my people the most?
4. What is the turnover in the last 1 year?
5. How often do I meet my people?
6. How often have my people reached me with their concerns in last 2 months?

This survey will help me understand which of the following areas to make job
more conductive, need development:
i) Mentally Challenging Work: Do my people feel challenged enough? If yes, how am I
able to achieve that? How openly have the employees communicated back the same?
ii) Personality-Job Fit: People with personality types congruent with their chosen
vocations should find they have the right talents and abilities to meet the demands of
their jobs; and because of this success, they have a greater probability of achieving high
satisfaction from their work.
Do I see any of my employees struggle too hard to force fit a job requirement? Can we
realign or even exchanges roles of two such employees if that fits better?
iii) Equitable Rewards: Employees want pay systems and promotion policies that they
perceive as being just, unambiguous, and in line with their expectations.
Are my employees happy with the pay they receive? Do they view performance
management as a transparent and fair system? Are the consistent performers rewarded
and how transparent is that system to all?
iv) Supportive working conditions: Do I find the working conditions supportive for
effective work deliver?
v) Supportive Colleagues: How is the team dynamics? Do they work towards
team’s/organization’s goal or give more importance to the self achievements alone?
vi) Whistle blowing: Is everyone open to conflicts and being picked on if found doing
something unethical by my colleagues?
vii) Social Responsibility: How many of my employees have been warned/fired on
ethical grounds?

How many times did we have the job enrichment exercise?

While the survey is being done, I would also meet with people – on the floor and in
person.

The response to the survey will give a fair idea of majors areas of concern. Meeting
individuals will give a faire idea of commonality of these. It will also help find the ones
that are misfit in the organization itself – either their personal goals do not align to the
organizations’ or they are in the wrong job.

I will ask Management to have job enrichment exercise atleast once a year. This should
be the forum when the employees should also participate, to have right commitment
levels.
We should also have some team building exercises that will help foster the team
environment.
As I submit the report with my recommendations; I will work with the management to
decide and help implement the overall plan.
Q.6 Given below is the HR policy glimpse of “iMagine”, an advertising company
1. It offers cash rewards for staff members
2. It promotes the culture of employee referral and encourages people to refer people
they know, maybe their friends, ex. colleagues, batch mates and relatives.
3. It recognizes good performances and gives fancy titles and jackets to the people who
perform well and also felicitates them in the Annual Day of the company.
What all aspects does it take care of, according to Maslow’s Need Hierarchy ?
Ans.
First let’s understand what is Maslow’s theory:
It states that human beings have wants and desires which influence their behaviour; only
unsatisfied needs can influence behavior, satisfied needs cannot.

As per Maslow there are five needs:

The five needs are:
• Physiological: Includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs
• Safety: Includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm
• Social: Includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship
• Esteem: Includes internal esteem factors, such as, self-respect, autonomy, and
achievement; and external esteem factors, such as, status, recognition, and
attention
• Self-actualization: The drive to become what one is capable of becoming;
includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment
1. It offers cash rewards for staff members
- It touches need of safety, social and Esteem. By cash rewards the employee feels
being recognized. It also adds to the feeling of safety i.e. being able to provide more
protection to the loved ones; social (least) because they can celebrate the achievement.
2. It promotes the culture of employee referral and encourages people to refer people
they know, maybe their friends, ex. colleagues, batch mates and relatives.
- need of social: can connect well with people they know.
3. It recognizes good performances and gives fancy titles and jackets to the people who
perform well and also felicitates them in the Annual Day of the company.
- need of esteem: foster sense of achievement and being recognized for the effort put in.