INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

1. Organization and its characteristics.

Organizations need managers. An organization is a deliberate arrangement of people to
accomplish some specific purpose.
Characteristics:
 Each has a distinct purpose.
 Each is composed of people.
 Each develops some deliberate structure so members can do their work.

Characteristics of new organizations of today include:

 flexible work arrangements.
 employee work teams.
 open communication systems.
 supplier alliances.

2. Definition of organizational behavior.

The field of study concerned with the actions (behaviors) of people at work is organizational
behavior.
Organizational Behavior (OB) is the study and application of knowledge about how people,
individuals, and groups act in organizations.

3. Who is a manager?
A manager is someone who coordinates and oversees the work of other people so that
organizational goals can be accomplished.

4. Define Management:
Mary Parker Follet defines management as, “The art of getting things done through
people

1. Why do we study Organizational Behavior?

 To learn about yourself and others
 To understand how the many organizations, you encounter work.
 To become familiar with team work.
 To help you think about the people issues faced by managers and entrepreneurs.

2. Models of organizational behavior.

Autocratic — The basis of this model is power with a managerial orientation of authority. The
employees in turn are oriented towards obedience and dependence on the boss. The employee
need that is met is subsistence. The performance result is minimal.
 Custodial — The basis of this model is economic resources with a managerial orientation of
money. The employees in turn are oriented towards security and benefits and dependence on
the organization. The employee need that is met is security. The performance result is passive
cooperation.

Supportive — The basis of this model is leadership with a managerial orientation of support.
The employees in turn are oriented towards job performance and participation. The employee
need that is met is status and recognition. The performance result is awakened drives.

Collegial — The basis of this model is partnership with a managerial orientation of teamwork.
The employees in turn are oriented towards responsible behavior and self-discipline. The
employee need that is met is self-actualization. The performance result is moderate enthusiasm.

System Model:
 An emerging model of organizational behavior is the system model. It is the result of a strong
search for higher meaning at work by many of today employees. They want more than a pay-
check and job security from their job.
 This model helps for gowning sense of community among co-workers. Under the system model
managers try to convey to each other that you are an important part of your whole system. We
sincerely care about of you. We want to join together to achieve a better product or service
local community and society at large.
 Make friendly environment, self-motivation of the employee. They take responsibility to achieve
their own goals. Trust to the employee psychology co-operative explain the best model of
organizational behavior.

3. Challenges of organizational behavior.

Improving People Skills:
 Technological changes, structural changes, environmental changes are accelerated at a faster
rate in business field. Unless employees and executives are equipped to possess the required
skills to adapt those changes, the achievement of the targeted goals cannot be achieved on
time.
 There are two different categories of skills
1. managerial skills: eg: listening skills, motivating skills, planning and organizing skills, leading
skills, problem solving skill, decision making skills etc.
2. technical skills.
 These skills can be enhanced by organizing a series of training and development programs,
career development programs, induction and socialization etc.
 Improving quality and productivity
 Quality is the extent to which the customers or users believe the product or service fulfil their
needs and expectations. For example, a customer who purchases an automobile has certain
expectation, one of which is that the automobile engine will start when it is turned on. If the
engine fails to start, the customer’s expectations will not have been met and the customer will
perceive the quality of the car as poor.

Managing Workforce Diversity

 This refers to employing different categories of employees who are different in terms of gender,
race, ethnic, physically disadvantaged, elderly people etc.
 The primary reason to employ a diverse category of employees is to tap the talents and
potentialities, harnessing the innovativeness, obtaining synergetic effect among the diverse
workforce.
 In general, employees want to retain their individual and cultural identity, values and life styles
even though they are working in the same organization with common rules and regulations.
The major challenge for organizations is to become more accommodating to diverse groups of
people by addressing their different life styles, family needs and work styles

Responding to Globalization
 Today’s business is mostly market driven; wherever the demands exist irrespective of distance,
locations, climatic conditions, the business operations are expanded to gain their market share
and to remain in the top rank etc.

Business operations are no longer restricted to a particular locality or region. Company’s

products or services are spreading across the nations using mass communication, internet,
faster transportation etc
For example:
1. More than 95% of Nokia hand phones are being sold outside of their home country Finland.
2.Sri Lankan tea is exported to many cities across the globe.
Executives of Multinational Corporation are very mobile and move from one subsidiary to
another more frequently.

Improving Ethical behavior:

 The complexity in business operations is forcing the workforce to face ethical dilemmas, where
they are required to define right and wrong conduct in order to complete their assigned
activities. For example, do managers give an inflated performance evaluation to an employee
they like, knowing that such an evaluation could save that employee’s job?
 Differentiating right things from wrong behavior has become more blurred. Following unethical
practices have become a common practice such as successful executives who use insider
information for personal financial gain, employees in competitor business participating in
massive cover-ups of defective products etc.
 Empowering People:
 Empowering is to authorize another person, or group, to have the freedom to act, think,
respond, initiate, and make decisions affecting their area of given responsibility.
 Managers empower staff. Leaders empower their followers. Parents empower their children.
Teachers empower their students. Pastors empower their congregations. Those that empower
others do so through educating, resourcing, evaluating, and guiding.
 Dr. Stephen Covey describes empowerment this way-
 “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.”

Individual in an organization
1. Importance of values.
Values are important to the study of organizational behavior because they lay the foundation
for the understanding of attitudes and motivation and because they influence our perceptions.

Individuals enter an organization with preconceived notions of what “ought” and what “ought
not” to be. Of course, these notions are not value free. On the contrary, they contain
interpretations of right and wrong. Furthermore, they imply that certain behaviors or outcomes
are preferred over others.

Where do our value systems come from? A significant portion is genetically determined. The
rest is attributable to factors like national culture, parental dictates, teachers, friends, and
similar environmental influences.

4. There are two types of values INSTRUMENTAL VALUES and TERMINAL VALUES.

Instrumental Values
 Instrumental Values are core values, permanent in nature, comprise personal characteristics
and character traits.
 Instrumental Values refer to preferable modes of behavior and include values like honesty,
sincerity, ambition, independence, obedience, imaginativeness, courageousness,
competitiveness, and also some negative traits too.
 Organizations also have Instrumental Values (which can be ascertained from the
organizational culture) and these are permanent in nature and difficult to change.
 For example, the instrumental values of two companies will differ though both may be in the
same business. Instrumental Values are difficult to change.
 TERMINAL VALUES
 In our personal lives, Terminal Values are those things that we can work towards or we think are
most important and we feel are most desirable – terminal values are desirable states of
existence.
 Eg: self-respect, family security, recognition, freedom, inner harmony, comfortable life,
professional excellence, etc
 In a nutshell, Terminal Values signify the objectives of the life of a person – the ultimate things
the person wants to achieve through his or her behavior (the destination he wants to reach in
life) whereas Instrumental Values indicate the methods an individual would like to adopt for
achieving his life’s aim (the path he would like to take to reach his destination).
 This applies to organizations as well, and organizations too exhibit Terminal Values. However,
Terminal Values can be changed and this can be seen when there is a change of top
management or CEO.

5. What is perception?
 Perception is the process by which an individual select, organizes, and interprets information
inputs to create a meaningful picture the world.
 Perception depends not only on the physical stimuli, but also on the stimuli’s relation to the
surrounding field and on conditions within the individual.
 The key point is that perception can vary widely among individuals exposed to the same
reality.

6. Factors influencing perception!

The Perceiver – attitudes, motives, interests, experiences, expectations
The Target –motions, sounds, size, background, proximity, similarity
The Situation – time, work setting, social situation

7. Positive and negative personality traits.

Some personality traits are positive:
 Being honest no matter what the consequences are, is one personality trait people
should aspire to.
 Having responsibility for all of your actions and being a little bit of a perfectionism are
also personality traits.
 Adaptability and compatibility are great and can help you get along with others.
 Having the drive to keep going, and having compassion and understanding are positive
personality traits.
 Patience is a virtue and also another trait.

Other personality traits are negative. For example:

 Laziness , Arrogant, Rude, unfriendly, Dishonesty, Bossy, Sarcastic, stingy

 INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATION
1. Importance of Values
 Because they lay the foundation for the understanding of attitudes and motivation and because
they influence our perceptions.
 they contain interpretations of right and wrong
 they imply that certain behaviors or outcomes are preferred over others

2. Types of Values with examples

INSTRUMENTAL VALUES

 Instrumental Values are core values, permanent in nature, comprise personal characteristics and
character traits.
 Instrumental Values refer to preferable modes of behavior and include values like honesty,
sincerity, ambition, independence, obedience, imaginativeness, courageousness,
competitiveness, and also some negative traits too
 Organizations also have Instrumental Values (which can be ascertained from the organizational
culture) and these are permanent in nature and difficult to change.

TERMINAL VALUES

 Terminal Values are those things that we can work towards or we think are most important and
we feel are most desirable – terminal values are desirable states of existence.
 Terminal Values include things like happiness, self-respect, family security, recognition,
freedom, inner harmony, comfortable life, professional excellence, etc
 This applies to organisations as well, and organizations too exhibit Terminal Values. However,
Terminal Values can be changed and this can be seen when there is a change of top
management or CEO.

In a nutshell, Terminal Values signify the objectives of the life of a person – the ultimate things the
person wants to achieve through his or her behaviour (the destination he wants to reach in life) whereas
Instrumental Values indicate the methods an individual would like to adopt for achieving his life’s aim
(the path he would like to take to reach his destination).

ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

 Organizational Values are the key to organizational behavior

 So, before you join an organization you must ensure that there is no conflict in your
instrumental values and the organization’s instrumental values, since instrumental values are
difficult to change.
 Any mismatch in terminal values can be corrected by suitable induction training, since terminal
values can be inculcated or realigned or changed.
3. Perception and Factors influencing perception

Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information inputs to
create a meaningful picture of the world.
Factors influencing perception

The Perceiver – attitudes, motives, interests, experiences, expectations

The Target –motions, sounds, size, background, proximity, similarity

The Situation – time, work setting, social situation

4. Positive and negative personality trails

Personality

There are many different personality types, and it is sometimes difficult to classify a person into a single
type as there are many different personality traits you can possess.

Personality traits are simply:

• Actions

• Attitudes

• Behaviors you possess

Some personality traits are positive:

• Being honest no matter what the consequences are, is one personality trait people should aspire
to.

• Having responsibility for all of your actions and being a little bit of a perfectionism are also
personality traits.

• Adaptability and compatibility are great and can help you get along with others.

• Having the drive to keep going, and having compassion and understanding are positive
personality traits.

• Patience is a virtue and also another trait.

• Getting up the courage to do what’s right in those tough situations and loyalty to your friends
and loved ones are also personality traits.

• Other personality traits are negative. For example:

• Laziness, Arrogant, Rude, unfriendly, Dishonesty, Bossy, Sarcastic, stingy

 ATTITUDE AND JOB SATISFACTION
1. What is attitude?

An attitude is a positive; negative or mixed evaluation of an object that is expressed at some level of
intensity. It is an expression of favorable or unfavorable evaluation of a person, place, thing or event.

2. What are the components of attitude?

 Cognitive: This represents our thoughts, beliefs and ideas about something. Typically, these
come to light in generalities or stereotypes, such as 'all teenagers are lazy,' or 'all babies are
cute.'
 Affective: This component deals with feelings or emotions that are brought to the surface about
something, such as fear or hate. Using our above example, someone might have the attitude
that they hate teenagers because they are lazy or that they love all babies because they are
cute.
 Conative: This can also be called the behavioral component and centers on individuals acting a
certain way towards something, such as 'we better keep those lazy teenagers out of the library,'
or 'I cannot wait to kiss that baby.'

3. What are the different types of attitudes?

 Positive Attitude: The Persons, who will be possessing positive behavior, will explore good
things in others and will not go after negativity.
 Negative Attitude: Such type of persons will always be searching weaker elements of others
personality and are not inclined towards positive elements. Their focus remain on bad people
and avoids good People. Also, they are likely to complain about changes, rather than adapting to
the changing environment. Also, they might blame their failure on others.
 Neutral Attitude: Such types of persons are very balanced in their approach. They remain
indifferent to problems and wait for others intervention regarding resolutions. Such type of
persons remains self-satisfied and complacent. Their attitude is composed of indifference and
detachment. Another striking element of their attitude is serene and unemotional type of
posture which makes them very balanced.

4. What is job satisfaction?

 Job satisfaction refers to how well a job provides fulfillment of a need or want, or how well it
serves as a source or means of enjoyment.
 Job satisfaction is the degree to which individuals feel positively or negatively about their jobs.

5. What are the factors affecting job satisfaction?

 Working Conditions: Because employees spend so much time in their work environment each
week, it's important for companies to try to optimize working conditions. Such things as
providing spacious work areas rather than cramped ones, adequate lighting and comfortable
work stations contribute to favorable work conditions. Providing productivity tools such as
upgraded information technology to help employees accomplish tasks more efficiently
contributes to job satisfaction as well.
 Opportunity for Advancement: Employees are more satisfied with their current job if they see a
path available to move up the ranks in the company and be given more responsibility and along
with it higher compensation. Many companies encourage employees to acquire more advanced
skills that will lead to the chance of promotion. Companies often pay the cost of tuition for
employees taking university courses, for example. During an employee's annual performance
review, a supervisor should map out a path showing her what she needs to accomplish and what
new skills she needs to develop in order to be on a track to advancement within the
organization.
 Workload and Stress Level: Dealing with a workload that is far too heavy and deadlines that are
impossible to reach can cause job satisfaction to erode for even the most dedicated employee.
Falling short of deadlines results in conflict between employees and supervisors and raises the
stress level of the workplace. Many times, this environment is caused by ineffective
management and poor planning. The office operates in a crisis mode because supervisors don't
allow enough time for employees to perform their assigned tasks effectively or because staff
levels are inadequate.
 Respect from Co-Workers: Employees seek to be treated with respect by those they work with.
A hostile work environment -- with rude or unpleasant coworkers -- is one that usually has lower
job satisfaction. In an August 2011 survey published by FoxBusiness.com, 50 percent of those
responding said they had personally experienced a great amount of workplace incivility. Fifty
percent also believe morale is poor where they work. Managers need to step in and mediate
conflicts before they escalate into more serious problems requiring disciplinary action.
Employees may need to be reminded what behaviors are considered inappropriate when
interacting with coworkers.
 Relationship with Supervisors: Effective managers know their employees need recognition and
praise for their efforts and accomplishments. Employees also need to know their supervisor's
door is always open for them to discuss any concerns they have that are affecting their ability to
do their jobs effectively and impeding their satisfaction at the office.
 Financial Rewards: Job satisfaction is impacted by an employee's views about the fairness of the
company wage scale as well as the current compensation she may be receiving. Companies
need to have a mechanism in place to evaluate employee performance and provide salary
increases to top performers. Opportunities to earn special incentives, such as bonuses, extra
paid time off or vacations, also bring excitement and higher job satisfaction to the workplace.
 DECISION MAKING
Q1. What is the definition of decision making?

A course of action which is consciously chosen from among a set of alternatives to achieve a desired
result.

-essential aspect of modern management

-primary function of management

-manager's major job is sound/rational decision-making

Q2. Steps involved in decision making process

• Identifying the Problem: It is rightly said that a problem well-defined is a problem half-solved.
Information relevant to the problem should be gathered so that critical analysis of the problem
is possible. Clear distinction should be made between the problem and symptoms which may
cloud the real issue. In brief, manager should search the 'critical factor' at work. It is the point at
which the choice applies. Similarly, while diagnosing the real problem the manager should
consider causes and find out whether they are controllable or uncontrollable.

• Analyzing the Problem: After defining the problem, the next step in the decision-making
process is to analyze the problem in depth. This is necessary to classify the problem in order to
know who must take the decision and who must be informed about the decision taken.

• Collecting Relevant Data: After defining the problem and analyzing its nature, the next step is to
obtain the relevant information or data about it. There is information flood in the business
world due to new developments in the field of information technology. All available information
should be utilized fully for analysis of the problem. This brings clarity to all aspects of the
problem.

• Developing Alternative Solutions: After the problem has been defined, diagnosed on the basis
of relevant information, the manager has to determine available alternative courses of action
that could be used to solve the problem at hand. Only realistic alternatives should be
considered. It is important to take into account time and cost constraints and psychological
barriers that will restrict that number of alternatives.
• Selecting the Best Solution: After preparing alternative solutions, the next step in the decision-
making process is to select an alternative that seems to be most rational for solving the
problem. The alternative thus selected must be communicated to those who are likely to be
affected by it. Acceptance of the decision by group members is always desirable and useful for
its effective implementation.
 • Selecting the Best Solution: After preparing alternative solutions, the next step in the decision-
making process is to select an alternative that seems to be most rational for solving the
problem. The alternative thus selected must be communicated to those who are likely to be
affected by it. Acceptance of the decision by group members is always desirable and useful for
its effective implementation.
• Ensuring Feedback: Feedback is the last step in the decision-making process. Here, the manager
has to make built-in arrangements to ensure feedback for continuously testing actual
developments against the expectations. It is like checking the effectiveness of follow-up
measures. Feedback is possible in the form of organised information, reports and personal
observations. Feed back is necessary to decide whether the decision already taken should be
continued or be modified in the light of changed conditions.

Q3. Decision making styles

Decision making is the selection of a procedure to weigh alternatives and find a solution to a problem. In
addition, certain situations will require different approaches of decision making in order to be effective.

Directive - This form of decision making relies on a rational and autocratic style that results in the
employee using his own knowledge, experience and judgment to choose the best alternative. This type
of leader is very rational, but thinks mostly about the short-term. The biggest issue in this style of
decision making is that rarely does the leader have all of the pertinent information to make an effective
decision.

Conceptual -In this style, the leader is more concerned with long-term results, brainstorming of
alternatives, creative approaches to problem solving and taking higher risks.

Analytical - The leader of this style prefers to use direct observations, facts and data to determine the
best outcome. The only problem using this style is that it is time consuming, since he has to look at every
possible alternative.
 APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP
Q1. What is leadership?

Peter Drucker: “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers.”
Warren Bennis: “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”
Bill Gates “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”
John Maxwell: “Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.”
A process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.

Q2. What are the characteristics of an effective leader?

1. -Inspire action: Try to paint a vision of the future that inspires your people to do whatever it
takes to get there. best leaders clear away the organizational roadblocks that limit employees’
natural creativity and initiative, unleashing a great amount of energy in the process.
2. -be optimistic: Make sure to seek out the positives in your people, helping them overcome their
own feelings of self-doubt and spreading optimism throughout your organization.
3. -have integrity: Be honest, fair, candid and forthright, and treat everyone in the same way that
you yourself would want to be treated.
4. -support and facilitate your team: Support your employees by creating an environment that
supports them by making it safe to take risks, to tell the truth, and to speak up ... without being
punished for doing so. In return you achieve organizational goals.
5. -have confidence: Highly effective leaders know deep down inside that they and their team can
accomplish anything they set their minds to. Tentative leaders make for tentative employees. If
you’re confident, your people will be too.
6. -communicate: In any organization, knowledge is power, and great leaders ensure that every
employee, from the very top to the very bottom of the org chart, is provided with complete and
up-to-date information about the organization’s goals, performance, successes and failures.
two-way communication between employees and managers, should be practiced to actively
asking their ideas for improvement and rewarding employees for submitting them.
7. -be decisive: One of the most basic duties of any leader is to make decisions. Once you have all
the information you need to make an informed decision, then don’t hesitate--make it. And once
you make a decision, then stick with it unless there is a particularly compelling reason for you to
change it.

Q3. What are the differences between leadership and management?

Management normally focuses on work and tasks. These activities fit within the subject of resources:
human, time, money, equipment and anything that involves achieving that task, such as planning,
budgeting, organizing, controlling, coordinating, resource use, time management, decision making,
problem solving.

Leadership focus on achieving task, keeping the team motivated and empowered to achieve that task. It
involves getting the best out of each and every individual for the benefit of the team’s successful
achievement of those goals. It is about leading by example, inspiring, empowerment, creating the most
conducive environment for team’s success through vision, motivation, inspiration, persuasion, team
work, building relationships, listening, counseling, coaching, teaching, mentoring.

Q4. What are the different types of leadership?

Authoritarian leaders make all decisions, independent of member's input. The authority figure dictates
direction, leaving members in the dark about future plans. The authority figure selects which members
will work collaboratively and determines solely the work tasks for the teams. This leader type is very
personal in his praise and criticisms of each member, but does not actively participate with the group,
unless demonstrating to the group. The authority figure is friendly and/or impersonal, but not openly
hostile.

Democratic leader’s welcomes team input and facilitates group discussion and decision making. This
leader type shares plans with the group and offers multiple options for group consideration. Encourages
members to work freely with each other and leaves division of tasks to the group. This leader is
objective in praise and criticism, and joins group activities without over-participating.

Laissez-faire leaders allows the group complete freedom for decision-making, without participating
himself. This leader type provides materials and offers to assist only by request. The laissez-faire leader
does not participate in work discussions or group tasks. This leader does not offer commentary on
members' performance unless asked directly, and does not participate or intervene in activities.

Transformational Leaders: In business, "transformational leadership “is often the most effective style to
use. (This was first published in 1978, and was then further developed in 1985.) Transformational
leaders have integrity and high emotional intelligence. They motivate people with a shared vision of the
future, and communicate well. They're also typically self-aware, authentic, empathetic, and humble.
Transformational leaders expect the best from everyone, and they hold themselves accountable for
their actions. They set clear goals, and they have good conflict-resolution skills. This leads to high
productivity and engagement.

Bureaucratic Leaders: Bureaucratic leaders follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their people follow
procedures precisely. This is appropriate for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with
machinery, with toxic substances, or at dangerous heights), or with large sums of money. Bureaucratic
leadership is also useful for managing employees who perform routine tasks. This style is much less
effective in teams and organizations that rely on flexibility, creativity, or innovation.

Charismatic Leaders: Charismatic leadership resembles transformational leadership: both inspire and
motivate their team members. The difference lies in their intent. Transformational leaders want to
transform their teams and organizations, while charismatic leaders focus on themselves and their own
ambitions, and may not want to change anything. Charismatic leaders might believe that they can do no
wrong, even when others warn them about the path that they're on. This feeling of invincibility can
severely damage a team or an organization, as was shown in the 2008 financial crisis.

Servant Leadership is a leadership approach that defines the leader’s role as serving the needs of
others. The primary mission of the leader is to develop employees and help them reach their goals.
Servant leaders put employees first, understand their personal needs and desires, empower them, and
help them develop in their careers. Servant leaders feel an obligation to their employees, customers,
and the external community. Servant leaders sometimes sacrifice their own well-being to help
employees succeed. Servant leaders are also interested in serving the community. According to historian
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Abraham Lincoln was a servant leader because of his balance of social
conscience, empathy, and generosity. Even though servant leadership has some overlap with other
leadership approaches such as transformational leadership, its explicit focus on ethics, community
development, and self-sacrifice are distinct characteristics of this leadership style. Research shows that
servant leadership has a positive impact on employee commitment, employee citizenship behaviors
toward the community (such as participating in community volunteering), and job performance.

The authentic leadership approach embraces the value “be yourself.” Instead of trying to fit into
societal expectations about what a leader should be, act like, or look like, authentic leaders derive their
strength from their own past experiences. Thus, one key characteristic of authentic leaders is that they
are self-aware. They are introspective, understand where they are coming from, and have a thorough
understanding of their own values and priorities. They have high levels of personal integrity. They say
what they think & behave in a way consistent with their values. As a result, they remain true to
themselves. Instead of trying to imitate other great leaders, they find their own style in their personality
and life experiences. One example of an authentic leader is Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks
Corporation coffeehouses. As a child, Schultz witnessed the job-related difficulties his father
experienced as a result of medical problems. Even though he had no idea he would have his own
business one day, the desire to protect people was shaped in those years and became one of his
foremost values. When he founded Starbucks, he became an industry pioneer by providing health
insurance and retirement coverage to part-time as well as full-time employees. In addition to self-
reflection, feedback from others is needed to gain a true understanding of one’s behavior and its impact
on others. Authentic leadership is viewed as a potentially influential style, because employees are more
likely to trust such a leader. Moreover, working for an authentic leader is likely to lead to greater levels
of satisfaction, performance, and overall well-being on the part of employees.

Transactional leadership

Transactional leaders ensure that employees demonstrate the right behaviors and provide resources in
exchange. transactional leaders use three different methods.

Contingent rewards mean rewarding employees for their accomplishments.

Active management by exception involves leaving employees to do their jobs without interference, but
at the same time proactively predicting potential problems and preventing them from occurring.

Passive management by exception is similar in that it involves leaving employees alone, but in this
method the manager waits until something goes wrong before coming to the rescue.

The tendency to trust in transactional leaders is substantially lower, because they don’t show much care
about the employee.
 POWER POLITICS AND CONFLICT

1. Difference between organizational politics and organizational power?

Organizational politics is known as office politics and organizational politics. It is the use of
power and social networking within an organization to achieve changes that benefit the
organization or individuals within it. Influence by individuals may serve personal interests
without regard to their effect on the organization itself.

Power is the ability to influence someone else. Influence is the process of affecting the thoughts,
behavior and feelings of another person. Authority is the right to influence another person.
Authority is a legitimate right to influence others.

2. Formal power and personal power?

Formal Power
 COERCIVE POWER is conveyed through fear of losing one’s job, being demoted, receiving a
poor performance review, having prime projects taken away, etc. This power is gotten
through threatening others. For example, the VP of Sales who threatens sales folks to meet
their goals or get replaced.
 REWARD POWER is conveyed through rewarding individuals for compliance with one’s
wishes. This may be done through giving bonuses, raises, a promotion, extra time off from
work, etc.
 LEGITIMATE POWER comes from having a position of power in an organization, such as
being the boss or a key member of a leadership team. This power comes when employees in
the organization recognize the authority of the individual. For example, the CEO who
determines the overall direction of the company and the resource needs of the company.

Personal Power

 EXPERT POWER comes from one’s experiences, skills or knowledge. As we gain experience in
particular areas, and become thought leaders in those areas, we begin to gather expert
power that can be utilized to get others to help us meet our goals. For example, the Project
Manager who is an expert at solving particularly challenging problems to ensure a project
stays on track.

 REFERENT POWER comes from being trusted and respected. We can gain referent power
when others trust what we do and respect us for how we handle situations. For example,
the Human Resource Associate who is known for ensuring employees are treated fairly and
coming to the rescue of those who are not.
3. Factors contributing to political behavior are..

Individual Factors

• Researchers have identified certain personality characteristics, needs, and other individual
factors that are likely to be related to political behavior.

• Employees who are authoritarian, have a high-risk propensity, to act politically with less regard
for the consequences to the organization.

• A high need for power, autonomy, security, or status is also a major contributor to an
employee’s tendency to engage in political behavior.

Organizational Factors

• Political activity is probably more a function of the organization's culture than of individual
differences.

• Evidence strongly indicates that certain cultures promote politics.

• Cultures characterized by low trust, role ambiguity, unclear performance evaluation systems,
zero-sum reward allocation practices, democratic decision making, high pressures for
performance, and self-serving senior managers will create opportunities for political activities to
be nurtured.

• The less trust there is within the organization, the higher the level of political behavior.

• The greater the role ambiguity, the more one can engage in political activity with little chance of
it being visible.

• The more that organizations use subjective criteria in the performance evaluation/appraisal,
emphasize a single outcome measure, or allow significant time to pass between an action and
its appraisal, the greater the likelihood an employee can engage in politics

4. Characteristics supposed to be important for gaining and using power:

Articulate, Sensitive, Socially adaptive, Competent, Popular, Extroverted, Self-Confident,
Aggressive, Ambitious

5. How do people obtain power?

 By Doing the right things – being involved in doing Extraordinary Activities, Visible Activities,
Relevant Activities and Cultivating the right people.
 By Empowerment---putting power where it’s needed: Empowerment means giving people
the authority, opportunity, and motivation to take initiative and solve problems.
 By using Influence tactics—Putting power to work
6. What is conflict
The term is widely used to describe important differences between individuals or groups. If
existing differences are not somehow adequately handled, the involved individuals or groups
are unable to come together in understanding and cooperation.

7. What are the causes of conflict?

 Different points of view regarding the priority objectives
 Different points of view regarding the methods used
 Perception differences or differences in the value system
 Lack of communication or wrong communication that leads to the emergence of some
misunderstandings.
 Competition regarding insufficient resources –
 Difference of power, status and culture in the situations in which the parties have a
significant difference in power, status and culture.
 Competition for supremacy
 Invading the territory,
 Ambiguity
 The activity nature and the presence of tasks
 Changing the external environment of the organization
 Aggressiveness and stubbornness

8. What are the 2 Types of conflicts?

Interpersonal conflicts – the main reasons are: the differences in professional training; stress
resistance, effort capacity; non-correspondence of character and behavior; sexual harassment;
sexism.
Intergroup conflicts – the main reasons are: wrong communication; different value systems;
different purposes; organizational ambiguities; dependence of limited resources; mutual
department influence, dissatisfaction to the professional status

9. What is conflict management?

Conflict management is the practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly,
and efficiently.

10. What are the Conflict management styles?

 Accommodating – This is when you cooperate to a high-degree, and it may be at your own
expense, and actually work against your own goals, objectives, and desired outcomes. This
approach is effective when the other party is the expert or has a better solution. It can also
be effective for preserving future relations with the other party.
  Avoiding – This is when you simply avoid the issue. You aren’t helping the other party
reach their goals, and you aren’t assertively pursuing your own. This works when the issue
is trivial or when you have no chance of winning. It can also be effective when the issue
would be very costly. It’s also very effective when the atmosphere is emotionally charged
and you need to create some space. Sometimes issues will resolve themselves, but “hope is
not a strategy”, and, in general, avoiding is not a good long term strategy.

 Collaborating – This is where you partner or pair up with the other party to achieve both of
your goals. This is how you break free of the “win-lose” paradigm and seek the “win-win.”
This can be effective for complex scenarios where you need to find a novel solution. This
can also mean re-framing the challenge to create a bigger space and room for everybody’s
ideas. The downside is that it requires a high-degree of trust and reaching a consensus can
require a lot of time and effort to get everybody on board and to synthesize all the ideas.

 Competing – This is the “win-lose” approach. You act in a very assertive way to achieve
your goals, without seeking to cooperate with the other party, and it may be at the expense
of the other party. This approach may be appropriate for emergencies when time is of the
essence, or when you need quick, decisive action, and people are aware of and support the
approach.

 Compromising – This is the “lose-lose” scenario where neither party really achieves what
they want. This requires a moderate level of assertiveness and cooperation. It may be
appropriate for scenarios where you need a temporary solution, or where both sides have
equally important goals. The trap is to fall into compromising as an easy way out, when
collaborating would produce a better solution.

11. Advantages and disadvantages of conflict?

ADVANTAGE
 Improved Problem Solving
 Improved Relationships

DISADVANTAGES

 Decreased Productivity
 Low Morale.
 GROUP DYNAMICS AND TEAMS
Difference between groups and teams
Group: when two or more individuals interacting and interdependent, come together to achieve
particular objectives.
Group work: Group work is a way to serving individual within and through small face to face
group in order to bring about the desired change.
Work Group: A group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to
help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility. No joint effort
required here to bring out the desired result.
Work Team: A group whose individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than the
sum of the individual inputs. Work team puts joint effort to get a job done what can be done
easily with a team work which might have very difficult to do only with individual effort.
Teamwork has been defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "work done by several
associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of
the whole."

Work Groups Work Teams

Individual accountability Individual and mutual accountability

Come together to share information and Frequently come together for discussion,
perspectives decision making, and problem solving, and
planning.

Focus on individual goals Focus on team goals

Produce individual work products Produce collective work products

Define individual roles, responsibilities, Define individual roles, responsibilities,

and tasks and tasks to help team do its work; often
share and rotate them

Concern with one's own outcome and Concern with outcomes of everyone and
challenges challenges the team faces

Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped
by manager by team leader with team members
Stages of group development
Stage 1: Forming
Team members are reserved and polite, putting on their best behavior to create a good first
impression. Conflict is avoided at all costs because of the need to be accepted into the group.
There may be a sense of excitement and opportunity, but also cautiousness and uncertainty
about the future. Team members reflect not only on the tasks at hand, but also about each

The The Team Dynamic The Questions

Challenge
Creating a Exploring why we are What are we supposed to do
purpose and together? together?
managing Testing to identify the Do I want to get involved in this?
team boundaries of both Is everyone committed to this?
membership interpersonal and task How can I contribute?
behaviors What will you expect of me?
Assessing other team members What are the pros and cons of being
and the commitment on this team?
Evaluating potential risks and Who are these people? Will we get
rewards along?
Establishing relationships with What will you contribute? Can I trust
leaders and other team you?
members
other. Initial ground rules are established as the team begins to discover how to work together.

Stage 2: Storming
Differences in opinion are more common and are expressed more openly. Conflicts emerge
around interpersonal issues and task needs. Power struggles may emerge as leadership is
challenged and factions begin to form. Team members compete for positions, challenge goals,
the group influence and resist task requirements. Note: Many groups commonly stall at this
stage.
The The Team Dynamic The Questions
Challenge
Managing Challenging the team’s purpose Why are we doing this?
expectation Splintering into subgroups What’s the point?
s and roles Struggling for power and control Why are we doing it this
Resisting tasks and authority way?
Avoiding dealing with underlying Why don't we do it that way?
tension and hidden agendas
Stage 3: Norming
A sense of renewed optimism as the team begins to feel a sense of team identity. It experiences
increased cooperation as roles and responsibilities become clearer and agreement on norms and
expectations for behavior are reached.

The The Team Dynamic The Questions

Challenge

Managing Implementing the team’s performance Who does what and when?
relationships expectations How often will we meet?
and task Re-establishing specific roles and How do we resolve problems?
efforts operating procedures How do we make decisions?
Defining rules for problem solving How do we handle conflicts?
Clarifying processes for resolving team What makes our team special?
conflicts
Building team culture

Stage 4: Performing
Reaching this stage is largely dependent upon the successful transition through the previous stages. The
team knows clearly what it is doing and why. Relationships are strong and while disagreements may
occur they are resolved quickly and positively. Roles become flexible and functional, and group energy is
channeled into the task. There is maximum work accomplishment, interdependence, personal insight
and constructive self-change

The The Team Dynamic The Questions

Challenge
Managing Alignment Each person has an
task integral role in the team’s work How can we improve
completion, Accomplishment. People and this?
evaluating the team as a whole are Is there a better way?
results, meeting and exceeding role and What more can we do?
striving for task expectations How can I help?
improvement Cohesion. Feeling like a “team”
Commitment. To each other, the
team and to accomplishing the
team’s goals. Loyalty and trust
 Stage 5: Adjourning
Adjourning is typically related to the end of a project team however, its also relevant when the
purpose and structure of team changes substantially due to sale, merger or a restructuring
process. This stage can be particularly stressful where the dissolution of the team is unplanned.
This stage involves the disbandment of the team, termination of roles and the completion of
tasks. This stage is also referred to as 'mourning' given the sense of loss experienced by some
team members.

The Challenge The Team Dynamic The

Questions

Managing Conflicting emotions (sadness, anger, gratitude, What will I do now?

relationships and happiness)
What will it be like
task efforts Uncertainty about how to end and their future
now?
Grieving Feelings of dislocation and loss
Team members deal with this stage in different ways: Shall I stay (with the
Avoiding tasks, Arguing over minor details or past company) or shall I
arguments resurface, Denying: pretending the team go?
will continue, Pollyanna: focusing only on the positive
experiences
Acknowledging: facing the good, the bad and the ugly,
letting go and saying goodbye
TYPES OF TEAMS
1. Functional teams perform specific organizational functions and include members from
several vertical levels of the hierarchy. In other words, a functional team is composed of a
manager and his or her subordinates for a particular functional area. Accounting, personnel,
and purchasing departments are examples of functional teams.
2. Cross‐functional teams are made up of experts in various specialties (or functions) working
together on various organizational tasks. Team members come from such departments as
research and development, design, engineering, marketing, and distribution. These teams
are often empowered to make decisions without the approval of management. Although
functional teams are usually permanent, cross‐functional teams are often temporary, lasting
for as little as a few months or as long as several years, depending on the group tasks being
performed.
3. Self‐directed work teams, or self‐managed teams, operate without managers and are
responsible for complete work processes or segments that deliver products or services to
external or internal customers. Self‐directed work teams are designed to give employees a
feeling of “ownership” of a whole job. With shared team responsibilities for work outcomes,
team members often have broader job assignments and cross‐train to master other jobs.
This cross‐training permits greater team flexibility.
BENEFITS OF TEAMWORK include synergy and increased skills, knowledge, productivity,
flexibility, and commitment. Among the other benefits are increased job satisfaction,
employee empowerment, and improved quality and organizational effectiveness.
 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
1. What is organizational structure?

Organizational structure is a system used to define a hierarchy within an organization. It identifies each
job, its function and where it reports to within the organization. This structure is developed to establish
how an organization operates and assists an organization in obtaining its goals to allow for future
growth. The structure is illustrated using an organizational chart. Organizational structure is a system
used to define a hierarchy within an organization. It identifies each job, its function and where it reports
to within the organization. This structure is developed to establish how an organization operates and
assists an organization in obtaining its goals to allow for future growth. The structure is illustrated using
an organizational chart.

2. What are the 6 elements of organizational structure?

 Work Specialization: Work specialization ensures that each employee has a set of specific duties
they're expected to perform based on their work experience, education and skills. It prevents
employees from being expected to perform tasks for which they have no previous experience or
training.
 Departmentalization: The departmentalization element breaks down how jobs are grouped
together to create departments. Departments are created based on the types of jobs employees
perform, the products or brands they're assigned to, geographical locations or customer needs.
 Chain of Command: In a company, each employee is expected to report to one manager, rather
than to several. Mangers are responsible for assigning tasks, informing employees of
expectations and deadlines and offering motivation. Managers are also available to answer job-
related questions from employees and handle conflicts within their departments. Employees are
responsible for completing duties assigned to them by their manager accurately and in a timely
fashion.
 Span of Control: Span of control suggests how many employees each manager can handle
within an organization. This element of organizational structure also outlines the number of
mangers an organization needs, which is typically determined based on the number of
employees and departments a company has.
 Centralization and Decentralization: In a centralized organization, all decisions are made by c-
level managers such as the chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief marketing
officer. Centralization leaves department managers with little to no input. This system is typical
in larger, corporate organizations. A decentralized system affords all managers the opportunity
to give input, while bigger decisions are still made by c-level managers.
 Formalization: Formalization is the element that outlines employee roles within a workplace, as
defined by the rules and guidelines developed by management. Formalization determines
whether employees have to sign in and out upon arriving and exiting the office, frequency and
length of breaks, computer usage and dress code.
3. Common Organizational designs
 Simple Structure - a structure characterized by a low degree of departmentalization, wide span
of control, authority centralized in a single person, and little formalization eg small business,
such as corner shops and clothing retailer
 Bureaucracy - a structure with highly routine operating tasks achieved through specialization,
very formalized rules and regulations, tasks that are grouped into functional departments,
centralized authority, narrow span of control, and decision making that follows the chain of
command. Eg, government departments
 Matrix Structure - a structure that creates dual lines of authority and combines functional and
product departmentalization. Eg building contractors, hospitals, universities etc

4. What is organizational culture?

Organizational culture is a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs, which governs how
people behave in organizations.

5. What are the 7 main characteristics of organizational culture?

 Innovation and risk taking: concern the degree to which employees are encouraged to be
innovative and take risks.
 Attention to detail: concerns the degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision,
analysis, and attention to detail.
 Outcome orientation: concerns the degree to which management focuses on results or
outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them.
 People orientation: concerns the degree to which management decisions take into
consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.
 Team orientation: concerns the degree to which work activities are organized around teams.
 Aggressiveness: concerns the degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather
than easygoing.
 Stability: concerns the degree which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status
quo in contrast to growth.