Organizational behavior

Solutions for frequently asked questions.

Chapter 1 What is organizational behavior.

1.Who is a manager? What is an organization? (2 marks)

Ans:

Managers: Individuals who achieve goals through other people.

They make decisions, allocate resources, direct the activities of others to attain goals.

Managers do their work in organizations.

Organization: A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people,

that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.

2.What are the functions of a manager? (2 marks)

Ans:

All managers perform 4 management functions

1. Planning,
2. Organizing,
3. Leading,
4. Controlling.

1.Planning: A process that includes defining goals, establishing strategies, and

developing plans to coordinate activities.

2.Organizing: Designing an organizational structure.

3.Leading: Motivating employees, directing others, selecting the most effective

communication channels and resolving conflicts among members.
4.Controlling: monitoring the things whether they are taking place as they should,
comparing with the set goals, correcting if any significant deviations.

3. What are the roles of a managers.

Ans:

Managers perform 10 different highly interrelated roles attributable to their jobs. They
can be grouped under 3 heads

1. Interpersonal roles,

2. Informational roles,

3. Decisional roles.

1.Interpersonal roles: 1. Figure head,

2. Leader,

3. Liaison.

2.Informational roles: 1.Monitor,

2. Disseminator,

3. Spokesperson.

1.Monitor: Collecting information from out side organizations and institutions by

reading magazines, talking with other people to learn of changes in the public tastes, what
competitors may be planning, and the alike.

2.Disseminator: Managers act as conduits to transmit information to organizational

members.

3. Spokesperson: When they represent the organization to outsiders.

3.Decisional roles: 1. Entrepreneur,

2. Disturbance handler,

3. Resource allocator,

4. Negotiator.
1. Entrepreneur: Managers initiate and oversee new projects that will improve their
organization’s performance.

2. Disturbance handlers: Managers take corrective action in response to unforeseen

problems.

3. Resource allocators: Managers allocate human, physical and monetary resources.

4. Negotiator: Managers discuss issues, bargain with other units to gain advantages for
their own units.

4. What are management skills.

Ans:

They are the competencies they need to achieve their goals.

There are 3 essential management skills.

1. Technical skills,

2. Human skills,

3. Conceptual skills.

5. Define OB? Describe why managers need the knowledge of OB?

Ans:

Organizational behavior (OB)

Definition: A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and
structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such
knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

Why managers need the knowledge of OB?

1. Organizations exist to achieve goals. Organizations include people who work

towards the common goals of the organization. Managers achieve goals through
other people.

So in the highly competitive environment managers require people skills also apart
from the basic technical managerial skills to manage control and coordinate with people
in the organization.
 2. Retaining high performing employees is very much essential for generating
superior financial performance of the organizations which requires quality of the
employee’s job, supportiveness of the work environment to influence organizational
events which in turn depends on manager’s interpersonal skills to communicate
effectively with people.

3. An effective and successful manager is defined in terms of the quantity and

quality of their performance, satisfaction and commitment of their employees,
socializing politicking and interacting with outsiders which requires the development
of people skills. Study of organizational behavior helps managers in achieving these
goals.

4.OB is a field of study, a distinct area of expertise which studies the three
determinants of behavior in organizations the individual, the group and the
structure of the organization and applies the knowledge so gained in order to make
organizations work more effectively.

5.It complements intuition with a systematic approach to uncover important facts

and relationships and provides a base from which more accurate predictions of
behavior can be made.

This is based on the fact that behavior is not random. There are certain fundamental
consistencies underlying the behavior of all individuals that can be identified and then
modified to reflect individual differences which is very important for motivating the
organization’s work force towards achieving the goals.

6. Helps managers in identifying and resolving conflicts and problems with in the
individuals or groups in the organizations.

Problem prevention

Understanding Predicting Controlling

How strong are they? What patterns of behavior What solutions are possible? are present?

How do they interrelate?

What is the cause effect Which

variables can be

relationship? influenced?

How can they be influenced?

7. Helps managers in effective decision making.

6. Identify the contributions made by major behavioral disciplines to OB?
Describe why managers require the knowledge of OB?

Ans:

Behavioral Science Contribution Unit of analysis Output

4 major behavioral disciplines contribute to the science of OB.

Psychology

Psycho sociology

Sociology

Anthropology.

Why managers require the knowledge of OB

Refer question no 6.

7. Describe the major challenges faced by managers for which OB offers

solutions briefly.

or

What are the opportunities for managers to use OB concepts? Describe in

brief.

Ans:

Because of the improved macroeconomic factors, environmental social issues, business

and industry developments shaping the corporate landscape managers are facing major
challenges and have got opportunities to apply OB concepts.
 The major challenges faced by managers are

1. Responding to globalization

2. Managing work force diversity

3. Managing demographic compatibility

4. Improving quality and productivity

5. Responding to the coming labor shortage

6. Responding to outsourcing

7. Improving customer service

8. Improving people skills

9. Stimulating innovation and change

10. Empowering people

11. Coping with temporariness

12. Working in networked organizations

13. Helping employees balance work- life conflict

14. Creating a positive environment

15. Improving ethical behavior

Work force diversity – Organizations are becoming a more heterogeneous mix of people
in terms of

Globalization focuses on differences between people from different countries, work force
diversity addresses differences among people within given countries.

Eg: Managers in Canada and Australia finding necessary to adjust to the large influxes of
Asian workers.

Embracing Diversity: Organizations has to make themselves more accommodating to

diverse groups of people by addressing their different lifestyles, family needs, and work
styles recognizing their values and differences.
Changing U.S. demographics

1. Rapid increase in the number of female workers.

2. Labor force mainly the baby boom generation (those who were born between
1946 – 1965) will be aging.
3. Changes in racial and ethnic composition. Increase in Hispanics, blacks and
Asians in the labor force.

Managerial implications: Managers have to recognize the differences and respond to

these differences in ways that ensure employee retention and greater productivity while at
the same time not discriminating.

Provide

o Diversity training
o Benefit programs to accommodate different needs of different employees.

Diversity

o If positively managed

Increase creativity and innovation

Improves decision making by providing different perspectives on

problems.

o Not managed properly

Potential for higher turnover

More difficult communication

More interpersonal conflicts.

3. Managing demographic compatibility between India and East Asia

- India entered the phase of demographic gift, share of working population will be
increasing for the next 3 to 4 decades.

- Work force in China will be declining by 2015

- Rapid individual population aging is taking place in Japan, Singapore and Korea.
This compatibility provides Japan, Korea and Singapore to utilize India’s knowledge
based human resources and partnering India.

4. Improving quality and productivity

o Today almost every industry suffers from excessive supply

o Excess capacity translates in to increased competition.
o Increased competition is forcing managers to

Reduce costs

Improve quality and productivity of their products and services.

o To achieve these managers are implementing quality management and

process reengineering which require extensive employee involvement.
o These employees will not only be a major force in carrying out changes
but will actively participate in planning those changes.

OB offers important insights into helping managers work through these changes.

5. Responding to the coming labor shortage

o Major exodus of baby boomers and fewer Gen-xers to replace them.

o The huge skilled woman work force has now been tapped.
o Many employees started retiring early.

Managers should have sophisticated recruitment and retention strategies.

o Should modify organizational practices to reflect the need for an older

work force
o Motivate younger workers who feel stuck when older colleagues don’t
retire.

OB can help managers to solve these problems.

6. Responding to outsourcing

o cost effective and provide value to their client.

o Biggest challenge facing this sector is training and retaining its work
force.

7. Improving customer service

 o OB can help managers to achieve this goal and more generally can
contribute to improving an organizations performance by showing
managers how employee attitudes and behavior are associated with
customer satisfaction.

8. Improving people skills

- OB presents relevant concepts and theories that can help explaining and
predicting the behavior of people at work.

- gain insights into people skills that can be used on job eg: designing motivating
jobs, Techniques for improving listening skills, creating more effective teams.

9. Stimulating innovation and change

- Victory will go to the organizations that maintain their flexibility, continually

improve their quality, and beat their competition to the market place with a constant
stream of innovative products and services.

- The challenge for managers is to stimulate their employee’s creativity and

tolerance for change.

- OB provides ideas and techniques to aid in realizing these goals.

10. Empowering people

-managers are putting employees in charge of what they do, and in so doing managers
are forced to learn how to give up control while employees are being forced to learn how
to take responsibility for their work and make appropriate decisions.

11. Coping with temporariness

-Jobs are continuously being redesigned

-Tasks are being done by flexible teams rather than individuals.

-Companies are relying more on temporary workers

-Jobs are subcontracted.

-Pensions are being redesigned to move with people as they change jobs.

-Workers need to continuously update their skills and knowledge to perform new job
requirements

-Organizations themselves are in a state of flux.

Today’s managers and employees must learn to cope with temporariness, have to learn to
live with flexibility, spontaneity and unpredictability.

OB provides insights into understand continual change, overcome resistance to change

and create an organizational culture that thrives on change.

12. Working in networked organizations

-Computerization, internet, and the ability to link computers with in organizations and
between organizations created a different work place.

-Connects people over time and space.

-Managing people online requires different techniques than are needed in dealing with
individuals who are physically present in a location.

13. Helping employees balance work- life conflict

-Creation of global organizations the world never sleeps

-Communication technology allows employees to do their work at home, in their cars

or on the beach.

-Organizations are asking employees to put in longer hours.

-A married employee is a dual-career couple.

This is making it increasingly difficult for married employees to find the time to fulfill
commitments to home, spouse, children parents and friends.

Organizations has to facilitate employees a job and “a life” that is help their people to
achieve work life balance to attract and retain the most capable and motivated employees.

14. Creating a positive environment

-“ in this time of turmoil and cynicism about business, you need to be passionate,
positive leaders”.

-Positive organizational relationship (also called positive organizational behavior),

concerns how organizations develops human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and
unlock potential.

-We all have things at which we are unusually good, think about how to exploit our
strengths.
 15. Improving ethical behavior

-Writing and distribution of codes of ethics to guide employees through ethical

dilemmas. They are offering seminars, work shops and training programs to try to
improve ethical behavior.

-Providing in house advisors assisting in dealing ethical issues.

-creating protection mechanisms for employees who reveal internal unethical

practices.

Managers need to create an ethically healthy climate for his or her employees, where they
can do their work productively and confront a minimum degree of ambiguity regarding
what constitutes right or wrong behaviors.

8. Describe the roles and skills of a manager? What are the 3 levels of
analysis in OB model.

Ans:

Ref above for roles and skills.

The 3 levels of analysis of an OB model are the individual level, the group level and the
organization system level analysis.

-Model is an abstraction of reality.

-A simplified representation of a real world phenomenon.

-There are 3 levels of analysis in OB model. As we move from individual level to

org.system level,we add systematically to our understanding of behavior in organizations.

The three basic levels are analogous to building blocks each level is constructed on the
previous level.

Group level grow on the foundation laid in the individual section, we overlay
structural constraints on the individual and group in order to arrive at OB.

-The OB model explains OB by explaining two variables.

-The dependant variables

-The independent variables

Dependent variable – A response that is affected by an independent variable.

 Independent variable – The presumed cause of some change in the
dependent variable.

The independent variables are individual level variables, group level variables and
organization system level variables.

Individual level variables – People enter organizations with certain intact

characteristics that will influence their behavior at work.

More obvious of these are personal or biographic characteristics

- Personality characteristics

-An inherent emotional framework

-Values and attitudes

-Basic ability levels

These characteristics are essentially in place when an individual enters the work force
and there is little management can do to alter them.

The other important variables that affect employee behavior are

- Perception

- Individual decision making

- Learning

- Motivation

Group level variables – People’s behavior when they are in groups is different
from their behavior when they are alone. The behavior people in groups are more than the
sum total of all the individual acting in their own way. The characters which affect
behavior at group level are

 Group dynamics
 Group cohesiveness
 Groups to the design of effective work teams
 Communication patterns in the group
 Leadership
 Power and the politics
 Levels of conflict
 Organization system level variables – OB reaches highest level of
sophistication when we add structure to our previous knowledge of individual and group
behavior.

Groups are more than the sum of their individual members

Organizations are more than the sum of their member groups.

 The design of the formal organization

 The organization’s internal culture
 The organization’s human resource policies and practices

All have an impact on the dependant variables namely

 The organization’s productivity

 The employee absenteeism
 The employee turnover
 The deviant work place behavior
 The organizational citizenship behavior
 The employee job satisfaction.

9.Explain OB by one OB mode

-Model is an abstraction of reality.

-A simplified representation of a real world phenomenon.

-There are 3 levels of analysis in OB model. As we move from individual level to

org.system level,we add systematically to our understanding of behavior in organizations.

The three basic levels are analogous to building blocks each level is constructed on the
previous level.
Group level grow on the foundation laid in the individual section, we overlay structural
constraints on the individual and group in order to arrive at OB

The 3 levels of analysis of an OB model are the individual level, the group level and the
organization system level analysis.

-The OB model explains OB by explaining two variables.

-The dependant variables

-The independent variables

Dependent variable – A response that is affected by an independent variable.

Independent variable – The presumed cause of some change in the

dependent variable.

The independent variables are individual level variables, group level variables and
organization system level variables.

Individual level variables – People enter organizations with certain intact

characteristics that will influence their behavior at work.

More obvious of these are personal or biographic characteristics

- Personality characteristics

-An inherent emotional framework

-Values and attitudes

-Basic ability levels

These characteristics are essentially in place when an individual enters the work force
and there is little management can do to alter them.

The other important variables that affect employee behavior are

- Perception

- Individual decision making

- Learning
 - Motivation

Group level variables – People’s behavior when they are in groups is different
from their behavior when they are alone. The behavior people in groups are more than the
sum total of all the individual acting in their own way. The characters which affect
behavior at group level are

 Group dynamics
 Group cohesiveness
 Groups to the design of effective work teams
 Communication patterns in the group
 Leadership
 Power and the politics
 Levels of conflict

Organization system level variables – OB reaches highest level of

sophistication when we add structure to our previous knowledge of individual and group
behavior.

Groups are more than the sum of their individual members

Organizations are more than the sum of their member groups.

 The design of the formal organization

 The organization’s internal culture
 The organization’s human resource policies and practices

All have an impact on the dependant variables namely

 The organization’s productivity

 The employee absenteeism
 The employee turnover
 The deviant work place behavior
 The organizational citizenship behavior
 The employee job satisfaction.

Dependent variables – A key factor that you want to explain or predict and that is
affected by some other factor.
 1.Productivity – An organization is productive if it achieves its goals and does so by
transferring inputs into outputs at the lowest cost.

Productivity includes

 Effectiveness
 Efficiency

Effectiveness – When an organization successfully meets the needs of its clientele.

Efficiency – When it can do so at a low cost.

One of the OBs major concern is productivity. We want to know what factors will
influence the effectiveness and efficiency of individuals, of groups, and of the overall
organization.

2. Absenteeism – Failure to report to work. Absenteeism is a disrupt to employers. Its

difficult for an organization to operate smoothly and to attain its objectives if employees
fail to report to their jobs.

 Work flow is disrupted.

 Imported decisions delayed.
 Can result in drastic reduction in the quality of output.
 Sometimes complete shutdown of the production facility.
 Levels of absenteeism have direct impact on the effectiveness and
efficiency of organizations.
 All absences are not bad. In jobs in which employees need to be
alert eg., pilots and surgeons if ill it is better for the organizations
the employees do not turn up to work.

3. Turnover – Voluntary or involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization.

A high turn over rate results in increased recruiting, selection, and training costs.

A high rate of turn over disrupt the efficient running of an organization when
knowledgeable and experienced personnel leave and replacements must be found and
prepared to assume positions of responsibility.

If right people are leaving the organization – the marginal and sub marginal
employees – turn over can actually be positive.

o It creates an opportunity to replace an underperforming individual with

someone who has higher skills and motivation.
o Opens up opportunities for promotions.
 o Add new and fresh ideas to organizations
o Facilitate organizational flexibility and employee independence.
o Lessen the need for management – initiated layoffs.

4.Deviant work place behavior – A voluntary behavior that violates significant

organizational norms and in doing so, threatens the well being of the organization
or its members.

It is also called antisocial behavior or work place incivility.

Eg., Stealing, playing loud music irritating coworkers or

customers.

 Managers need to understand deviant work place behavior

in order to avoid a chaotic environment.
 It’s a response to employee dissatisfaction, and employees
express this dissatisfaction in many ways.
 To solve the problem one has to get to the root cause of the
problem.

5.Organizational citizenship behavior – Discretionary behavior that is not a part of an

employee’s formal job requirements but that nevertheless promotes the effective
functioning of the organization.

These are the employees who engage in good citizenship behavior and provide
performance that is beyond expectations.

Good citizenship in the sense

 helping others in their team,

 Volunteering extra work
 Avoiding unnecessary conflicts
 Respecting the spirit as well as the letter of
rules and regulations.
 Gracefully tolerating occasional work
related impositions and nuisances.

6. Job satisfaction – A positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an evaluation of
it’s characteristics.

A satisfied employee is more productive than the dissatisfied employee.

10.Describe the dependent and independent variables of OB model.

Refer above.

11.What is contingency approach to the study of OB. Explain the value of systematic
study of OB.

12.Distinguish between organizational behavior and behavior of the organizations. Why

is OB studied? Also discuss in brief the nature and scope of OB in India.