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ASSIGNMENT-01 Name Registration No. Learning Center Learning Center Code Course Subject Semester Module No. Date of submission Marks awarded : Pradeep.G : 531010823 : Al Hikma- IAGS, RAK FTZ, : 02541 : MBA : Management Process and Organization Behavior : 1st Semester : MB0038 : 25/08/2010 : UAE

Directorate of Distance Education Sikkim Manipal University II Floor, Syndicate House Manipal- 576 104

Coordinator

Center

Evaluator

PRADEEP G.

MB0038 (SET-1)

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MB0038 - Management Process and Organization Behaviour Assignment Set 1

1. Write a note on the characteristics of Management.

Management characterizes the process of planning, organizing, leading, controlling and directing all or part of an organization, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible). It is an art of getting things done through other people. Some important characteristics of management are listed below.

1. Goal Oriented Management is a critical activity which co-ordinates the efforts of the employees to achieve the goals of the organization. Goal Setting is critical to constantly improve personal performance, employees' performance and the overall performance of the company. Goal Settings focus towards constant improvement. The success of the management is measured by the extent of the achievement of organizational goals which are well defined and properly understood by the managers at different levels.

2. Economic Resource Management is one of the factors of production, together with land, labour and capital. It is the most important and critical input for the success of any organization, acting as a force or catalyst in integrating the resources such as labour, capital and material, which otherwise cannot perform independently.

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3. Distinct Process Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. These functions are so important and inter- related that it is not possible to specify their sequence or relative significance. The process of management involves decision making and putting them into practice. 4. Integrative Force The main objective of management is integration of human and other resources for achieving the desired goals. Managers are provided with the resources, together with which, they apply their own knowledge, experience and management principles to extract results from the employees. Managers also seek to harmonize the individuals goals with that of the organization for smooth working of the establishment.

5. Intangible Force Management has been called an unseen force. The orderliness of the efforts, informed and motivated employees, buoyant spirit and adequate work output provides the evidence of its presence. 6. Results through Others The managers cannot do everything themselves. One of their most challenging responsibilities is to keep the employees motivated to do the best job they can. The key for managers is the ability to assess motivational levels and to understand what they can do to get the work accomplished by others. 7. A Science and an Art Management is a science that has an organized body of knowledge consisting of well-defined concepts, principles and techniques which have wide applications. The application of this science requires the specialized knowledge and skill of the manager, which depends on his personal capability, thus making it an art.
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8. System of Authority An organization is an hierarchy of team of managers possessing different degrees of authorities of command and control. Generally the degree of authority reduces as we move down the managerial hierarchy. Authority enables the managers to perform their duties effectively. 9. Multi-disciplinary Subject Management study has evolved from various other disciplines such as Engineering, Anthropology, Sociology and Psychology. For instance, Industrial engineering helped in productivity orientation, Psychology gave rise to human relations orientation and so on. 10. Universal Application Management is universal in character. The principles and techniques are applicable in all fields of life where human efforts are required such as business, education, military, hospital, etc.

2 Discuss intellectual abilities in detail

Intellectual abilities are those required to perform mental activities. Our intelligence tests are formulated to assess candidates intellectual ability to suit the job profile. This helps to hire and retain the top performers. Thus increase the organizations productivity, reduce employee turn- over and recruitment time. Intelligence test is a measure of general intellectual ability and is measured by assessing abilities on seven dimensions. The seven intelligence dimensions are: a. Mathematical Ability It requires a person, for e.g an accountant, to do speedy and accurate arithmetic.

b. Verbal Ability It is a measure of communication capabilities consisting of reading, writing and speaking and is measured by assessing abilities on six dimensions. The
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sub-dimensions

contained

within

the

communication

skills

are:

Communication Process Command on Vocabulary Assertive Communication Interpersonal Skills Persuasive Communication Critical Thinking Ability These are the abilities required for Senior Managers. c. Perceptual Speed Perception is the insight, intuition, or knowledge gained by perceiving. It helps to identify similarities and differences quickly and accurately. However, perception is not limited to the physical act of seeing. It encompasses all the senses that are used to gather facts or observations. This is seen when we are given a new problem to work on, with incomplete facts. We jump to a conclusion on the basis of the facts we have, and then put our minds to work trying to justify that conclusion. Actually we frequently block ourselves from even solving the problem satisfactorily because the jump to the conclusion that was made carried us to the wrong conclusion. These are the abilities required to aspire for a career in investigation.

d. Inductive Reasoning (the ability to derive general rules from examples) Logical strength is defined as the property of an argument whose premises, if true provide support for its conclusion. Inductive and deductive arguments are also distinguished based on the point that logical strength is a matter of degree. Inductive arguments are those whose premises make it reasonable to accept the conclusion though do not absolutely guarantee its truth. A market researcher uses inductive reasoning.

e. Deductive Reasoning (the ability to derive examples from general rules) Deductive arguments are those whose premises guarantee the truth of the conclusion.
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Deductive reasoning is somewhat different from an inductive argument for the conclusion cannot possibly be false if the premises are true. Consider the following example. If you like listening to Metallica then you prefer rock music.If you prefer rock music then you are a rocker. Therefore, if you like listening to Metallica then you are a rocker. In this argument, it can be said that the truth of the conclusion is guaranteed if its premises are true, unless at least one of the premises is false. Deductive arguments are able to guarantee their conclusions because the logical strength doesn't depend upon the specific content but on their form or structure. A supervisor uses deductive reasoning since he follows the sequence of the work closely. f. Spatial Ability Spatial cognition is the processing of visual info in terms of their spatial relationships. Spatial visualization, spatial orientation, and object and location memory comprise the three categories of spatial cognition. Female superior spatial ability regarding objectlocation memory arises from the presumption that during human evolution, women gathered food and men hunted for it. Conversely, males have better understanding of spatial visualization and spatial orientation because hunting requires both of those skills. For example, our ancestral males used way finding in the woods while hunting and therefore have honed their skills in areas of spatial visualization and orientation. Interior decorators require spatial visualization skills. g. Memory

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Memory is defined as the ability by which sense impressions and information are retained in the mind and subsequently recalled. A person's capacity to remember and the total store of mentally retained impressions and knowledge also formulate memory. A sales person must remember the name of the customer, quality of his poduct etc.

Different jobs demand different levels of intellectual abilities for various positions in the organization. Various theories of intelligence were developed. Among them Gardeners theory suggests eight different intelligences in children and adults. The level of understanding things vary from person to person. The eight different intelligences are listed below. 1. Linguistic 2. Logical- mathematical 3. Spatial 4. Bodily- Kinesthetic 5. Musical 6. Interpersonal 7. Intrapersonal 8. Naturalistic

The advantages of these tests are Highly reliable. Verbal reasoning and numerical tests are valid for wide range of jobs. Validity rises with increasing complexity of the job.

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Combination of aptitude tests have higher validities than individual tests. May be administered in group settings where many applicants can be tested at the same time. Scoring of the tests may be completed by computer scanning equipment. Lower cost than personality tests.

4 What are the different barriers to perception?

Perception can be defined as a process by which individuals select, organize and interpret their sensory impressions, so as to give meaning to their environment. Perception is a complex cognitive process and differs from person to person. People's behavior is influenced by their perception of reality, rather than the actual reality. Perceptions have a crucial role in individual decision-making in organizations, by affecting both the decisions as well as the quality of the decision. The decision taken by an individual is a complex process involving the intake of data, screening, processing, and interpreting and evaluating of data, based on the perception of the individual.

a. Selective Perception :

Selective perception refers to a number of cognitive biases that relate to the way expectations, beliefs, etc. influence our judgment. People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interests, background, experience and attitudes. This shows that we tend to react to something depending on what we believe or are made to believe other than the actual reality. Previously-held beliefs about objects influence an individuals perceptions of similar objects. For example, a manager may have developed a general belief and attitude that workers are lazy and shirkers, and they want to gain whatever is possible from the organization without giving their best to it. His subsequent perception will be influenced by this set when he meets a group of workers. The manager tends to interpret the behaviour of the workers according to his mental set. This can lead to an inaccurate conclusion.

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Roll No.531010823 b. Halo Effect:

Halo effect is a cognitive bias where the perception of a particular characteristic influences our decisions or judgment about an individuals other characteristics. The halo effect refers to the tendency of perceiving people in terms of good and bad, and ascribing all good qualities to one who is liked and all bad qualities to another who is disliked. It, therefore, is a wrong basis for judging others. A typical example of the halo effect is a professor awarding more marks to a well-liked student. Another example in communication is the tendency for a receiver to evaluate information on the basis of its source. Information emanating from a VIP tends to be overrated and the same coming from an ordinary individual is likely to be discounted. In organizations, the halo effect often occurs when supervisors rate subordinates in a formal appraisal. In this context, a manager evaluating one of his employees on certain dimensions may assume that someone who is good in one dimension must also be good at other things and rate the person highly on other aspects. Halo effect need not always mean overrating positive characteristics. An individual may be downrated based on the negative evaluation of his or her behaviour. This process is called rusty halo or horn effect. c. Contrast Effects We do not evaluate a person in isolation. Our reaction to one person is influenced by other persons we have recently encountered. For example, an interview situation in which one sees a pool of job applicants can distort perception. Distortions in any given candidates evaluation can occur as a result of his or her place in the interview schedule d. Projection Under certain conditions, people tend to see in another person traits that they themselves possess. That is, they project their own feelings, tendencies, or motives into their judgment of others. This may be particularly true regarding undesirable traits, which the perceiver possesses but fails to recognize in himself. For example, an individual who himself is not very energetic may see others as lazy or may explain their lack of achievement as resulting from their unwillingness to work hard. One who is dishonest may be suspicious of others and may perceive dishonest intentions in others where they do

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not exist. People who are afraid may interpret others behaviour as fearful or anxious. e. Stereotyping It is the tendency to assign attributes to someone solely on the basis of category of people to which that person belongs. The process of stereotyping helps individuals assign meaning to a mass of data. Some examples of common stereotypes are gender, doctors, professors, artists, software engineers, executives, workers, and the like. At a broader level, there are Americans, Indians, British, and Africans. Though stereotype is understood as wrong or bad, this is not the case always. It is a useful process that greatly increases ones efficiency in making sense out of his or her environment. Nonetheless, stereo- typing can lead to inaccuracies and negative consequences. To an extent, stereotyping can create social injustice, result in poor decision-making, stifle innovation, or cause underutilization of human resources, and hence contribute to ineffectiveness and inefficiency. f. First- impression Error A good deal of importance is placed on the first impression of an individual. It has a lasting effect and sometimes we are reluctunt to change our initial impression. Primary effects can be dangerous in interviews and may be the basis for long- term employment relationship. g. Perceptual Context The context in which an object is placed influences perception. The organizational culture and structure provide the primary context in which workers and managers do their perceiving. Thus, a verbal order, a memo, a new policy, a suggestion, a raised eyebrow, or a pat on the back takes on special meaning and value when placed in the context of a work situation.

h. Perceptual Defence

According to the principle of perceptual defense, an individual is likely to put up a defence when confronted with conflicting, unacceptable, or threatening stimuli. The defence mechanisms put up by the perceiver may assume any of four forms: outright denial, modification of the data received, change in perception but refusal to change, and change in perception itself.
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i. Attribution Attribution refers to the process by which the individual assigns causes to the behaviour he or she conceives. People are interested not only in observing behaviour in organization but in determining its causes. Their evaluation of and reactions to others behaviour may be heavily influenced by their perception that the others are responsible for their behaviour. For example, a nurse who drops a tray of medicine will be excused if the incident is perceived as caused by a slippery floor, rebuked if it is viewed to be caused by her clumsiness, and perhaps fired if it is viewed as a deliberate act. Q5 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? Job satisfaction can be influenced by a variety of factors, e.g. the quality of one's relationship with their supervisor, the quality of the physical environment in which they work, degree of fulfilment in their work, etc.. Numerous research results show that there are many factors affecting the job satisfaction. There are particular demographic traits (age, education level, tenure, position, marital status, years in service, and hours worked per week) of employees that significantly affect their job satisfaction. Satisfying factors motivate workers while dissatisfying ones prevent. Motivating factors are achievement, recognition, the job conducted, responsibility, promotion and the factors related to the job itself for personal development. Motivating factors in the working environment result in the job satisfaction of the person while protective ones dissatisfy him/her. Maslow connects the creation of the existence of people's sense of satisfaction with the maintenance of the classified needs. These are: physiological needs (eating, drinking, resting, etc.), security needs (pension, health insurance, etc.), the need to love (good relations with the environment, friendship, fellowship, to love and to be loved), need to self esteem(self-confidence, recognition, adoration, to be given importance, status, etc.) need ofselfPRADEEP G. MB0038 (SET-1) Page 11

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actualization (maximization of the latent[potential] power and capacity, development ofabilities, etc.) . Insufficient education, inability to select qualified workers for the job, lack of communications, lack of job definitions, all affect job satisfaction negatively. It has been asserted that participating in the management, having the decision making power, independence on the job and the unit where the individual works, have positive impact upon the job satisfaction. The job itself (the work conducted), and achievement and recognition at work result in satisfaction while the management policy, relations with the managers and colleagues result in dissatisfaction. Factors related to the job itself such as using talents, creativity, responsibility, recognition have influence on the job satisfaction. Age is one of the factors affecting job satisfaction. Studies conducted in five different countries prove that the elder workers are more satisfied . Kose has also found a meaningful relation between the age and job satisfaction. There is a strong connection between feeling secure and saying one is satisfied with a job. People who state their job is secure have a much larger probability of reporting themselveshappy with their work. Similarly, by some researchers, sex is also found to have an influence on job satisfaction. Besides, Wahba has found out that male librarians give more importance to personal development and free decision making in their jobs than the female librarians, and the female librarians are more dissatisfied than the male librarians. Job satisfaction and devotion to the job, affected each other reciprocally, and they have great impact upon performance. The most significant of the factors affecting performance are economical, technical, socio-political, cultural and demographical ones . However, most efforts to improve performance seem to center on improving the conditions surrounding the work. These are worthwhile efforts, but they usually result only in short-term improvements in attitudes and productivity, and the situation often returns quickly to normal . There is no strong acceptance among researchers, consultants, etc., that increased job satisfaction produces improve job performance -- in fact, improved job satisfaction can sometimes decrease job performance. For example, you could let workers sometime sit around all day and do nothing. That may make them more satisfied with their "work" in the short run, but their performance certainly doesn't improve. The individual's willingness to get a result, his/her endeavour and expectation of maintaining the result will push him/her toshow the highest performance.
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Job satisfaction varies a lot. (Researches suggests, the higher the prestige of the job, the greater the job satisfaction). But, many workers are satisfied in even the least prestigious jobs. They simply like what they do. Most workers like their work if they have little supervision. The least satisfied workers are those in service occupations and managers that work for others. Ethnic and religious orientation is associated to work attitudes, and job satisfaction is related to education. The difference between the results that the individual desire and those s/he maintained will affect his/her satisfaction . There is a consistent relationship between the professional status and the job satisfaction. High levels of job satisfaction are observed in those professions which are deemed of good standing in the society. The workers usually compare their working conditions with the conditions of the society, under the variable of social conditions. If the social conditions are worse than the individual's working conditions, then this will result in satisfaction of the individual, as the workers deem themselves relatively in good position. No meaningful relationship between the job satisfaction and age, professional experience, education level, level of wage, sex and professional group was found. On the contrary, professional experience has been claimed to increase job satisfaction. 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 Maslows Need Hierarchy? Maslow is a humanistic psychologist. Humanists do not believe that human beings are pushed and pulled by mechanical forces, either of stimuli and reinforcements (behaviorism) or of unconscious instinctual impulses (psychoanalysis). Humanists focus upon potentials. They believe that humans strive for an upper level of capabilities. Humans seek the frontiers
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of creativity, the highest reaches of consciousness and wisdom. This has been labelled "fully functioning person", "healthy personality", or as Maslow calls this level, "self-actualizing person." Maslow has set up a hierarchic theory of needs. All of his basic needs are instinctoid, equivalent of instincts in animals. Humans start with a very weak disposition that is then fashioned fully as the person grows. If the environment is right, people will grow straight and beautiful, actualizing the potentials they have inherited. If the environment is not "right" (and mostly it is not) they will not grow tall and straight and beautiful. Maslow has set up a hierarchy of five levels of basic needs. Beyond these needs, higher levels of needs exist. These include needs for understanding, esthetic appreciation and purely spiritual needs. In the levels of the five basic needs, the person does not feel the second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied, nor the third until the secondhas been satisfied, and so on. Maslow's basic needs are as follows: Physiological Needs These are biological needs. They consist of needs for oxygen, food, water, and a relatively constant body temperature. They are the strongest needs because if a person were deprived of all needs, the physiological ones would come first in the person's search for satisfaction. Safety Needs When all physiological needs are satisfied and are no longer controlling thoughts and behaviors, the needs for security can become active. Adults have little awareness of their security needs except in times of emergency or periods of disorganization in the social structure (such as widespread rioting). Children often display the signs of insecurity and the need to be safe. Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness When the needs for safety and for physiological well-being are satisfied, the next class of needs for love, affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. This involves both giving and receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging. Needs for Esteem When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs for esteem can become dominant. These involve needs for both self-esteem and for the esteem a
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person gets from others. Humans have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world. When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless. Needs for Self-Actualization When all of the foregoing needs are satisfied, then and only then are the needs for self-actualization activated. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person's need to be and do that which the person was "born to do." "A musician must make music, can artist must paint, and a poet must write." These needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness. The person feels on edge, tense, lacking something, in short, restless. If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem, it is very easy to know what the person is restless about. It is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization. The hierarchic theory is often represented as a pyramid, with the larger, lower levels representing the lower needs, and the upper point representing the need for selfactualization. Maslow believes that the only reason that people would not move well in direction of self-actualization is because of hindrances placed in their way by society. He states that education is one of these hindrances. He recommends ways education can switch from its usual person-stunting tactics to persongrowing approaches. Maslow states that educators should respond to the potential an individual has for growing into a self actualizing person of his/her own kind. Ten points that educators should address are listed: 1. We should teach people to be authentic, to be aware of their inner selves and to hear their inner-feeling voices. 2. We should teach people to transcend their cultural conditioning and become world citizens. 3. We should help people discover their vocation in life, their calling, fate or destiny. This is especially focused on finding the right career and the right mate. 4. We should teach people that life is precious, that there is joy to be experienced in life, and if people are open to seeing the good and joyous in all kinds of situations, it makes life worth living. 5. We must accept the person as he or she is and help the person learn their inner nature. From real knowledge of aptitudes and limitations we can know what to build upon, what potentials are really there.

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6. We must see that the person's basic needs are satisfied. This includes safety, belongingness, and esteem needs. 7. We should refreshen consciousness, teaching the person to appreciate beauty andthe other good things in nature and in living. 8. We should teach people that controls are good, and complete abandon is bad. It takes control to improve the quality of life in all areas. 9. We should teach people to transcend the trifling problems and grapple with the serious problems in life. These include the problems of injustice, of pain, suffering, and death. 10. We must teach people to be good choosers. They must be given practice in making good choices.

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