Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester 1

MB0022/ MB0038 – Management Process and Organization Behavior -

4 Credits
(Book ID: B1127)
Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)

Q1. Write a note on the characteristics of Management.

INTRODUCTION
A central organ or agency is required to co-ordinate the activities and efforts of the various individual
working together in an organisation so that they can work collectively as a team such an organ is
called management. The term management conveys different meaning depending upon the contest in
which it is used.
Management is applicable everywhere and has become the key to success in the modern
organisation. Every organisation requires making of decision, coordination of activities, handling of
people and control of operation directed towards its objectives, management helps organisation in
that activities.
DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT
It is very difficult to give a precise definition of the term ‘management’. In the management literature,
we find a large number of definitions given by different authors.
However, the different view points may be classified in to the following categories, namely:
1. Management as an art of getting things done.
2. Management as a process.
3. Management as a group of managers.
4. Management as a discipline.

MANAGEMENT AS AN ART OF GETTING THINGS DONE

Mary Parker defines management as “the art of getting thing done through others.” This
definition emphasizes that the manager achieve organisational objectives by getting work done
through the workers. It represents the traditional view of management under which workers are
treated as a factor of production only. This definition is incomplete in the present context; its
deficiencies are as follows:
1. The definition is vague as it does not identify the functions which a manager has to
perform to get result from others.
2. It gives the impression of the manipulative character of the practice of management.
3. The employees are merely treated as means for getting results. In other words, their
position is like a cog in the wheel. This definition ignores the needs of the workers
and does not offer them human treatments.

MANAGEMENT AS A PROCESS
The process of management involves the determination of objectives and putting them into
action. Henri Fayol viewed management as a process consisting of five functions which every
organisation performs. “To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to
coordinate, and to control”. This definition clearly define the four functions of management. But
the modern trend is to classify managerial functions in to five categories:
1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Staffing
4. Directing
5. Controlling

MANAGEMENT AS A GROUP OF MANAGERS

The term management is frequently used to denote a group of managerial personnel. When
one says that ‘management of this company is very efficient’ it is implied that the persons who
 are looking after the affairs of the company are very efficient. Thus, management is the body or
group of people which performs certain managerial functions for the accomplishment of
predetermined goals. These people are individually known as ‘managers’.

MANAGEMENT AS A DISCIPLINE
Management has been widely recognized as a discipline or filed of study. It is taught as a
specialized branch of knowledge in educational institute. As a field of study, the subject
includes management subjects, principles, techniques and skills. Management is a multi-
disciplinary discipline. It has drawn heavily from Anthropology, Psychology, sociology etc. after
obtaining a diploma or degree in management, a person can try for a managerial job.

CHARACTERISTICS
Management is a distinct activity having the following salient features or characteristics.

1. ECONOMIC RESOURCE: Management is an important economic resource together with

land, labour and capital. As industrialization grows, the need for mangers increases. Efficient
management is the most critical input in the success of any organized group activity as it is
the force which assembles and integrates other factors of production, namely, labour, capital
and materials.
2. GOAL ORIENTED: Management is a purposeful activity. It coordinates the efforts of workers
to achieve the goals of the organization. The success of management is measured by the
extent to which the organizational goals are achieve.
3. DISTINCT PROCESS: Management is a distinct process consisting of such functions as
planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. These functions are so interwoven
that it is not possible to lay down exactly the sequence of various functions or their relative
significance. In essence, the process of management involves decision making and putting of
decisions into practice.
4. INTEGRATIVE FORCE: The essence of management is integration of human and other
resources to achieve the desired objectives. All these resources are made available to those
who manage. Managers apply knowledge, experience and management principles for getting
the results from the workers by the use of non human resources. Managers also seek to
harmonize the individual goals with the organizational goals for the smooth working of the
organization.
5. INTANGIBLE FORCE: Management has been called an unseen force. Its presence is
evidenced by the result of its efforts-orderliness, informed employees, buoyant spirit and
adequate work output. Thus, feeling of management is result-oriented.
6. RESULT THOUGH OTHERS: The manager cannot do anything themselves. They must have
the necessary ability and skills to get work accomplished through the efforts of others. They
must motivate the subordinates for the accomplishment of the tasks assigned to them.
7. A SCIENCE AND AN ART: Management has an organized body of knowledge consisting of
well defined concepts, principles and techniques which have wide applications. So it is treated
as science. The application of these concepts, principles and techniques requires specialized
knowledge and skills on the part of the manager. Since the skills acquired by a manager are
his personal possession, management is viewed as an art.
8. SYSTEM OF AUTHORITY: Management as a team of managers represents a system of
authority or a hierarchy of command and control. Manager at different levels possess varying
degrees of authority which gets gradually reduced as you go down in the hierarchy.
9. MULTIDISCIPLINARY SUBJECT: Management has grown as a field of study taking the help
of so many other disciplines such as engineering, anthropology, sociology etc. much of the
management literature is the result of the association of those discipline.
UNIVERSAL APPLICATION: Management in universal in character. The principles and techniques of

management are equally applicable in the field of business, education, military, government and

hospitals.

Q2 Discuss intellectual abilities in detail.

Ability directly influences an employee’s level of performance and satisfaction through the ability-job
fit. Given management’s desire to get a compatible fit, what can be done? First, an effective selection
process will improve the fit. A job analysis will provide information about jobs currently being done and
the abilities that individuals need to perform the jobs adequately. Applicants can then be tested,
interviewed, and evaluated on the degree to which they possess the necessary abilities. Second,
promotion and transfer decisions affecting individuals already in the organization’s employ should
reflect the abilities of candidates. With new employees, care should be taken to assess critical abilities
that incumbents will need in the job and to match those requirements with the organization’s human
resources. Third, the fit can be improved by fine-tuning the job to better match an incumbent’s
abilities. Often modifications can be made in the job that, while not having a significant impact on the
job’s basic activities, better adapts it to the specific talents of a given employee. Examples would be to
change some of the equipment used or to reorganize tasks within a group of employees. A final
alternative is to provide training for employees. This is applicable to both new workers and present job
incumbents. Training can keep the abilities of incumbents current or provide new skills as times and
conditions change.

The following is a list of characteristics commonly displayed by person who are talented or
gifted in Intellectual Abilities:

• Understands complex concepts

• Draws inferences between content areas
• Sees beyond the obvious
• Thrives on new or complex ideas
• Enjoys hypothesizing
• Intuitively knows before taught
• Uses an extensive vocabulary
• Does in-depth investigations
• Learns rapidly in comparison to peers
• 1 - 2 repetitions for mastery
• Manipulates information

Q3 Explain the classification of personality types given by Sheldon.

INTRODUCTION
Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person
that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations. The
word "personality" originates from the Latin persona, which means mask. Significantly, in the theatre
of the ancient Latin-speaking world, the mask was not used as a plot device to disguise the identity of
a character, but rather was a convention employed to represent or typify that character.

DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY
Personality is the outcome of a continuous personal quality development process. The role of
personality becomes clear in a particular situation. Personality is recognized in a situation. It is the
result of personal quality interaction in a particular condition. The major determinants of personality of
an individual are given below:
• Biological Factors
• Cultural Factors
• Family Factors
• Social Factors
• Situational Factors

Biological Factors

Heredity:

• It refers to physical stature, facial attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition

and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are characteristics that are considered to
be inherent.
• It plays an important part in determining an individual's personality.
• Heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual's personality is the
molecular structures of the genes, which are located in the chromosomes.
• Recent research studies shows that young children lend strong support to the power of
heredity and finding shows that some personality traits may be built into the same genetic
code that affects factors like height and hair color.

Brain:

• Brain is the second biological approach to determine personality.

• It plays an important role in determining personality.
• Electrical Stimulation of the Brain (ESB) and Split brain psychology results indicates that a
better understanding of human personality and behavior might come from a closer study of
the brain.
• The definite areas of the human brain are associated with pain and pleasure. Research study
shows that these things are true.

Biofeedback:

• It is third biological approach to determine personality.

• Physiologists and psychologists felt that biological functions like brainwave patterns,
gastric and hormonal secretions, and fluctuations in blood pressure and skin temperature were
beyond conscious control. Recent research shows that these functions can be consciously
controlled through biofeedback techniques.
• For this purpose, individual can learns the internal rhythms of a particular body process
through electronic signals that are feedback from equipment which is wired to body.
• In this process, the person can learn to control the body process through questions.
• It is one of the interesting topics to do future research work in personality.

Physical Features:

• It is third biological approach to determine personality.

• It is vital ingredient of the personality, it focus an individual person's external appearance
which also determined the personality.
• Physical features like tall or short, fat or skinny, black or white. These physical features will
be influenced the personal effect on others and also affect self concept of individual.
• Recent research studies shows that definitely this features influence to individual
personality in an organization. In totally, heredity would be fixed at birth and no amount of
experience can be altering
them through creation of suitable environment. Apart from this, personality characteristics
are not completely dictated by heredity. There are other factors also influenced to
determining personality.

Cultural Factors

"Each culture expects, and trains, its members to behave in ways that are acceptable to the
group. To a marked degree, the child's cultural group defines the range of experiences and
situations he is likely to encounter and the values and personality characteristics that will
reinforce and hence learned". -Paul H Mussen
• Cultural factors are also major factors which influence to determine individual personality.
• It refers to traditional practice, customs, procedure, norms and rules and regulation followed
by the society.
• It significantly influence to individual behavior compare to biological factors.
• Cultural factors determine attitudes towards independence, aggression, competition,
cooperation, positive thinking, team spirit, and a host of the human being and discharge
his/her duties towards valuable responsibilities to society.
• Western culture influence to Indian society. It is best example of the cultural factors also
determine the personality.

Family Factors

• Family factors are also major factors which influence to determine individual personality.
• Family consists of husband and wife and their children's.
• Family role is very important for nurturing and personality development of their children.
• Family will be guided, supervised, take care of all family members, cooperation, 52
Organizational Behaviour coordination and cooperation in work and also explained the role
and responsibilities towards the family, society and real life.
• Family either directly or indirectly influence to person for development of individual
personality.

Social Factors

• Social factors are also major factors which influence to determine individual personality.
• It involves the reorganization of individual's in an organization or society.
• It refers to acquiring of wide range of personality by acquiring and absorbed by themselves
in the society or an organization.
• Socialization process is starting from home and extending to work environment in an
organization or society.
• It focuses on good relationships, cooperation, coordination and interaction among the
members in the society or an organization or a family.
In totally, environment factors consist of cultural factors, family factors, and social factors.

Situational Factors

• Situational factors also influence to determine of personality.

• Situational factors are very important to change the individual behaviour in a different
circumstance at different situations, it also influence to personality of individual person.
• In general term, personality is stable and consistent and it does change in different
situations.
The Interaction of Personality and Situational Factors are outlined:
• Strong situational pressures
• Personality may not predict behaviour
• Example: enforcement of rules
• Weak Situational pressures
• Personality may predict behaviour
• Example: Customer sales representative
• A strong situation can overwhelm the effects of individual personalities by providing strong
cues for appropriate behaviour.
SHELDON’S THEORY
According to Sheldon there is a link between physiological traits and characteristics of an individual
with his behaviour. There are basically three types.

1.Endomorphy - focused on the digestive system, particularly the stomach (endoderm); has the
tendency toward plumpness, corresponds to Viscerotonia temperament tolerant, love of comfort and
luxury, extravert

Endomorphic Body Type:

• soft body
• underdeveloped muscles
• round shaped
• over-developed digestive system

Associated personality traits:

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

2.Mesophorphy- focused on musculature and the circulatory system (mesoderm), has the tendency
towards muscularity, corresponds to the Somatotonia temperament courageous, energetic, active,
dynamic, assertive, aggressive, risk taker
Mesophorph Body Type:

• hard, muscular body

• overly mature appearance
• rectangular shaped
• thick skin
• upright posture

Associated personality traits:

• adventurous
• desire for power and dominance
• courageous
• indifference to what others think or want
• assertive, bold
• zest for physical activity
• competitive
• love of risk and chance

3.Ectomorphy focused on the nervous system and the brain (ectoderm) - the tendency towards
slightness, corresponds to Cerebrotonia temperament artistic, sensitive, apprehensive, introvert

Ectomorphic Body Type:

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

Associated personality traits:

• self-conscious
• preference for privacy
• introverted
• inhibited
• socially anxious
• artistic
• mentally intense
• emotionally restrained

Q4 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.

In comparison to sensation, perception is a much broader concept. Sensation involves simply

receiving stimuli through sensory organs, whereas the process of perception involves
receiving raw data from the senses and then filtering, modifying or transforming the data
completely through the process of cognition. The processes of perception consist of various
subprocesses such as confrontation, registration, interpretation and feedback.

Though people are continuously exposed to numerous stimuli, they tend to select only a few
of them. The principle of perceptual selectivity seeks to explain how, and why people select
only a few stimuli out of the many stimuli they keep encountering at any given time.
Perceptual selectivity is affected by various internal set factors and external attention factors.
Some of the internal set factors are learning, motivation and personality. External attention
factors include environmental influences like intensity, size, contrast, repetition, motion,
novelty and familiarity.

Sometimes, different individuals may perceive the same thing differently. Differences may
arise due to factors associated with the perceiver (attitudes, motives, expectations, etc.) or the
situation (time, place, etc.) or the target (novelty, background, sounds, size, etc.).
Perceptual organization focuses on the subsequent activities in the perceptual process after
the information from the situation is received.

The various principles of perceptual organization consist of figure-ground, perceptual

grouping, perceptual constancy, perceptual context and perceptual defense. The principle of
figure-ground states that perceived objects stand out from their general background.
According to the principle of perceptual grouping, people tend to group several stimuli
together into a recognizable pattern. People usually tend to group stimuli together on the
basis of closure, continuity, proximity or similarity. Even if a person is not able to obtain
sufficient information to arrive at a decision, he tries to close the gap by grouping the
available information with the information from his past experience. This is called the
principle of closure. Sometimes people tend to think only in a particular direction. This is
called principle of continuity. It may also happen that people may group the stimuli based on
their proximity and similarity.

According to principle of perceptual constancy, there are some things which are perceived
alike by all people, irrespective of the factors influencing perception. It provides a person a
sense of stability in this changing world. Perceptual context provides meaning and value to
stimuli with respect to a particular context. According to the principle of perceptual defense,
people tend to resist information that is emotionally disturbing or clashes with their personal
convictions or cultural values.

Social perception is concerned with how individuals perceive one another. The primary
factors that lead to social perception are the psychological processes that lead to attribution,
stereotyping and halo effect. Attribution refers to the way in which people explain the cause
of their own behavior or others' behavior. If a person's behavior can be attributed to internal
factors such as personality traits, motivation or ability, then it is called dispositional
attribution. If a person's behavior is attributed to external factors, such as a machine or being
under the influence of others, then it is referred to as situational attribution.

Stereotyping and the halo effect are common problems in social perception. When an
individual is judged based on the perception about the group to which he belongs, it is termed
as stereotyping. When people draw a general impression about an individual based on a
single characteristic, it is known as the halo effect. The process by which people try to
manage or control the perceptions other people form of them is called impression
management. It is used by employees in organizations to favorably impress their boss and
move up the hierarchy.

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.

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 fulfillment 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 of self-actualization (maximization of the latent[potential] power
and capacity, development of abilities, 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 themselves happy 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 to show the highest performance.
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 Maslow’s 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 of
creativity, the highest reaches of consciousness and wisdom. This has been labeled "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 second has 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 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, an 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 self-actualization.
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 person-growing 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.
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 and the 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.
MB0038

Set- 2

Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.

Q.1 What is emotional intelligence? Explain Goleman’s model of emotional

intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) describes the ability, capacity, skill or, in the case of the trait EI
model, a self-perceived ability, to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of
others, and of groups. Different models have been proposed for the definition of EI and
disagreement exists as to how the term should be used. Despite these disagreements, which
are often highly technical, the ability EI and trait EI models (but not the mixed models) enjoy
support in the literature and have successful applications in different domains.

Goleman's framework of emotional intelligence

Goleman developed a framework to explain emotional intelligence in terms of five elements, he

described as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Each of these
elements has distinctive characteristics, as outlined below:

1) Self-awareness: examining how your emotions affect your performance; using your values to guide
decision-making; self-assessment - looking at your strengths and weaknesses and learning from your
experiences; and being self-confident and certain about your capabilities, values and goals.

2) Self-regulation: controlling your temper; controlling your stress by being more positive and action-
centred; retaining composure and the ability to think clearly under pressure; handling impulses well;
and nurturing trustworthiness and self-restraint.

3) Motivation: enjoying challenge and stimulation; seeking out achievement; commitment; ability to
take the initiative; optimism; and being guided by personal preferences in choosing goals.

4) Empathy: the ability to see other people's points of view; behaving openly and honestly; avoiding
the tendency to stereotype others; and being culturally aware.

5) Social skills: the use of influencing skills such as persuasion; good communication with others,
including employees; listening skills; negotiation; co-operation; dispute resolution; ability to inspire and
lead others; capacity to initiate and manage change; and ability to deal with others' emotions -
particularly group emotions.

Goleman claims that people who demonstrate these characteristics are more likely to be successful in
senior management, citing research from various sources that suggests senior managers with a
higher emotional intelligence rating perform better than those without. He gives several anecdotal
case studies to illustrate ways in which emotional intelligence can make a real impact in the
workplace.

Q.2. Discuss the five stage model of group development proposed by Tuckman.

The goal of most research on group development is to learn why and how small groups
change over time. To do this, researchers examine patterns of change and continuity in
groups over time. Aspects of a group that might be studied include the quality of the output
produced by a group, the type and frequency of its activities, its cohesiveness, the existence
of conflict, etc.

Tuckman's Stages model

Bruce Tuckman reviewed about fifty studies of group development (including Bales' model)
in the mid-sixties and synthesized their commonalities in one of the most frequently cited
models of group development (Tuckman, 1965). The model describes four linear stages
(forming, storming, norming, and performing) that a group will go through in its unitary
sequence of decision making. A fifth stage (adjourning) was added in 1977 when a new set of
studies were reviewed (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977).

Group members learn about each other and the task at hand. Indicators of this stage
Forming: might include: Unclear objectives, Uninvolvement, Uncommitted members, Confusion,
Low morale, Hidden feelings, Poor listening, etc.

As group members continue to work, they will engage each other in arguments about the
structure of the group which often are significantly emotional and illustrate a struggle for
Storming: status in the group. These activities mark the storming phase: Lack of cohesion,
Subjectivity, Hidden agendas, Conflicts, Confrontation, Volatility, Resentment, anger,
Inconsistency, Failure.

Group members establish implicit or explicit rules about how they will achieve their goal.
They address the types of communication that will or will not help with the task.
Norming: Indicators include: Questioning performance, Reviewing/clarify objective,
Changing/confirming roles, Opening risky issues, Assertiveness, Listening, Testing new
ground, Identifying strengths and weaknesses.

Groups reach a conclusion and implement the solution to their issue. Indicators include:
Performing: Creativity, Initiative, Flexibility, Open relationships, Pride, Concern for people, Learning,
Confidence, High morale, Success, etc.

As the group project ends, the group disbands in the adjournment phase. This phase
Adjourning: was added when Tuckman and Jensen's updated their original review of the literature in
1977.

Each of the four stages in the Forming-storming-norming-performing-adjourning model

proposed by Tuckman involves two aspects: interpersonal relationships and task behaviors.
Such a distinction is similar to Bales' (1950) equilibrium model which states that a group
continuously divides its attention between instrumental (task-related) needs and expressive

Q.3 What are the possible sources of organizational conflict? Explain.

Organizational conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of

needs, values and interests between people working together. Conflict takes many forms in
organizations. There is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those
individuals and groups affected. There are disputes over how revenues should be divided,
how the work should be done, and how long and hard people should work. There are
jurisdictional disagreements among individuals, departments, and between unions and
management. There are subtler forms of conflict involving rivalries, jealousies, personality
clashes, role definitions, and struggles for power and favor. There is also conflict within
individuals — between competing needs and demands — to which individuals respond in
different ways.

The ingredients/sources of conflict.

Needs - Needs are things that are essential to our well-being. Conflicts arise when we ignore others'
needs, our own needs or the group's needs. Be careful not to confuse needs with desires (things we
would like, but are not essential).

Perceptions - People interpret reality differently. They perceive differences in the severity, causes and
consequences of problems. Misperceptions or differing perceptions may come from: self-perceptions,
others' perceptions, differing perceptions of situations and perceptions of threat.

Power - How people define and use power is an important influence on the number and types of
conflicts that occur. This also influences how conflict is managed. Conflicts can arise when people try
to make others change their actions or to gain an unfair advantage.

Values - Values are beliefs or principles we consider to be very important. Serious conflicts arise
when people hold incompatible values or when values are not clear. Conflicts also arise when one
party refuses to accept the fact that the other party holds something as a value rather than a
preference.

Feelings and emotions - Many people let their feelings and emotions become a major influence over
how they deal with conflict. Conflicts can also occur because people ignore their own or others'
feelings and emotions. Other conflicts occur when feelings and emotions differ over a particular issue.

Managing Conflict

There are five steps to managing conflict. These steps are:

Analyze the conflict
Determine management strategy
Pre-negotiation
Negotiation
Post-negotiation

Step 1: Analyze the conflict.

The first step in managing conflict is to analyze the nature and type of conflict. To do this, you'll find it
helpful to ask questions.

Answers may come from your own experience, your partners or local media coverage. You may want
to actually interview some of the groups involved. Additional information regarding analyzing conflicts
can be found in the Guide to Information and Resources.

Step 2: Determine management strategy.

Once you have a general understanding of the conflict, the groups involved will need to analyze and
select the most appropriate strategy. In some cases it may be necessary to have a neutral facilitator
to help move the groups toward consensus.

Step 3: Pre-negotiation.
To set the stage for effective negotiation, the groundwork must be laid. The following should occur
prior to negotiation.

Initiation - One partner raises the possibility of negotiation and begins the process. If no one is willing
to approach the others to encourage them to reach an agreement, a trusted outsider could be brought
in as a facilitator.

Assessment - Conditions must be right for negotiation to be successful. Key players must be
identified and invited. Each side must be willing to collaborate with the others. Reasonable deadlines
and sufficient resources to support the effort must exist. Spokespersons for each group must be
identified and involved. Parties need to determine which issues are negotiable and which are not.

Ground rules and agenda - The groups must agree on ground rules for communication, negotiation
and decision making. They should agree on the objectives of the negotiation process. An agenda of
issues to be covered needs to be developed.

Organization - Meeting logistics must be established, including agreed upon times and places.
People must be contacted and encouraged to attend. Minutes must be taken so that information can
be distributed before and after meetings.

Joint fact-finding - The groups must agree on what information is relevant to the conflict. This should
include what is known and not known about social and technical issues. Agreement is also needed on
methods for generating answers to questions.

Step 4: Negotiation.

Interests - When negotiating be sure to openly discuss interests, rather than stated positions.
Interests include the reasons, needs, concerns and motivations underlying positions. Satisfaction of
interests should be the common goal.

Options - To resolve conflicts, concentrate on inventing options for satisfying interests. Do not judge
ideas or favor any of the options suggested. Encourage creativity, not commitment.

Evaluation - Only after the partners have finished listing options, should the options be discussed.
Determine together which ideas are best for satisfying various interests.

Written agreement - Document areas of agreement and disagreement to ensure common

understanding. This helps ensure that agreements can be remembered and communicated clearly.

Commitment - Every partner must be confident that the others will carry out their parts of the
agreement. Discuss and agree upon methods to ensure partners understand and honor their
commitments

Step 5: Post-negotiation.
Once negotiation is complete, the group will need to implement the decisions made. Some key steps
include:

Ratification - The partners must get support for the agreement from organizations that have a role to
play in the agreement. These organizations should be partners and should have been involved in the
previous steps. Each organization will need to follow its own procedures to review and adopt the
agreement.

Implementation - You and your partners' jobs are not done when you've reached agreement.
Communication and collaboration should continue as the agreement is carried out. The partnership
will need to have a plan to monitor progress, document success, resolve problems, renegotiate terms
and celebrate success.
Q.4 The environmental stressors have a great impact on work performance and

adjustment of the individual in an organization. Discuss the different categories of

environmental stressors.

It must be noted that stress factors are subjective and what one person may find stressful, others
may not necessarily experience as negatively. The way in which we experience and react to stress is
described as an emotional condition which triggers physical, psychological and emotional responses
from the individual.
Formally, a stressor is defined as an event or context that elevates adrenaline and triggers the
stress response which results in the body being thrown out of balance as it is forced to respond.

Examples of Stress Triggers

• Environmental stressors (elevated sound levels, over-illumination, overcrowding)

• Daily stress events (e.g. traffic, lost keys)
• Life changes (e.g. divorce, bereavement)
• Workplace stressors (e.g. role strain, lack of control)
Stressors usually fall into one of four categories:
• Internal stressors - these we carry around inside of us. They are self owned stressors.
These stressors may range from the posture we adapt, to addictions and assessment of
life/personal satisfaction or simply not getting enough sleep.
• External stressors - these are the stressors in the environments in which we operate and will
range from parental pressure, to work pressure, to role pressure, to household pressure,
traffic, crime etc.
• Hidden stressors - these are factors which cause stress but where the underlying cause is
difficult to identify. It often results in conflicting feelings and a sense of an inappropriate
reaction or response to a situation. For example underdeveloped emotional intelligence where
self-awareness is not apparent.
• Obvious stressors - there are also those situations which obviously do or are intended to
bring about stress. For example a work deadline would be an imposed obvious stressor
where as the death of a loved one would be un-imposed but an obvious one.

Types of Environmental Stressors

Noise
Research has demonstrated that high levels of background noise can severely impair one’s
ability to concentrate. It has been shown that excessive, intermittent or unpredictable noise
can cause tension and headaches as well as raise people's blood pressure. It can impact
concentration and reduce the ability to perform complex tasks. It can also undermine
teamwork, as people in a noisy environment tend to become more irritable and less willing to
help one another.
Solutions to noise at work can involve:
• Arranging to work from a home office.
• Installing partitions or physical barriers to reduce or deaden sound.
• Scheduling work tasks so that those requiring the most focus can be completed when
the environment is more peaceful.
• Using meeting rooms separate from the main source of noise.
 • If all else fails, using earplugs!

Lighting
Poor lighting, such as insufficient light, light that is too bright or light that shines directly into
one’s eyes can cause eye strain and increase fatigue. In addition to lighting conditions, the
quality of light is also important. Most people are happiest in bright daylight. Daylight which
measures 10,000 lux (equivalent to a bright sunny day) is known to trigger a release of
chemicals in the body that brings about a sense of psychological well-being. Unfortunately,
most types of artificial light do not seem to have the same effect on mood. You will probably
find that improving the quality of light will also improve the quality of your working
environment. Solutions to poor light conditions at work may include:
• Arranging work spaces to be near a window.
• Whenever possible, allowing natural light to shine through open doors and windows.
• Trimming bushes that are in front of windows, painting walls with lighter colours,
checking into the possibility of installing skylights.
• Installing brighter light bulbs in work areas or using full-spectrum bulbs in desk
lamps.

Poor Air Quality

Research has shown that poor air quality at work can trigger headaches and tiredness, as well
as impair one’s ability to concentrate. A variety of factors can contribute to the problem of
poor air quality, including a high concentration of pollutants in the air, poor air circulation or
inadequate ventilation.
Other sources of poor air quality include smoking, heating and air conditioning systems,
ionization by electrical equipment, overcrowding (too many people in a small space),
pollution, solvents or other chemicals from carpets, furniture or paint, and excess humidity or
dryness.
Solutions to poor air quality at work may involve:
• Opening windows.
• Banning smoking indoors.
• Using dehumidifiers when humidity is a problem or humidifiers if it is too dry.
• Introducing plants – not only do plants raise the amount of oxygen in the air and
reduce stuffiness, they also help to absorb pollutants in the air; evaporation of water
from plant pots or the plants themselves will help to raise humidity when the air is too
dry.
• Keeping yourself hydrated by drinking water.

Clutter and Disorganization

Another source of environmental stress can be a work environment that is dirty, messy, or
uncomfortable. The distraction of working in an area that is disorganized, untidy and chaotic
can make it more difficult to achieve your goals.
Solutions to disorganization can involve:
• Contracting with janitorial services to ensure the workplace is kept clean.
• Developing systems for organizing product, information, and equipment.
• Implementing on- or off-site storage systems.
• Storing or discarding unnecessary furniture, equipment and office products.

Furniture and Ergonomics

Poorly designed furniture, or the improper use of quality furniture, generally contributes to a
variety of aches and pains. The most common of these is backache. Prolonged ergonomic
problems can produce serious injuries. Taking the time to arrange one’s working environment
is key to working comfortably and avoiding injury.
Solutions to ergonomic concerns at work may involve:
• Ensuring that office chairs are properly adjusted to reduce the risk of injury to the
body.
• Arranging computer work stations so that correct postures are used when working
with the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and documents.
• Organizing work materials and accessories to improve efficiency and reduce the
distance and frequency of reaches.
• Organizing your workday to include tasks, breaks and exercises that allow you to vary
your posture, rest your muscles and prevent muscle tension or soreness.
• Consulting with a professional who can give you expert advice, as often the ideal
solution may not be immediately obvious.

Stress and performance

For the most part, people view stress as a negative factor. Stress however is only negative when it
is excessive, unmanaged and results in adverse symptoms and experiences. Some of the negative
consequences include:

• Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed • Muscle tension or headaches

• Apathy, loss of interest in work or other • Stomach problems
activities • Social withdrawal
• Problems sleeping • Loss of sex drive
• Fatigue, • Using alcohol or drugs to cope
• Trouble concentrating

It is clear that with these symptoms the individual's performance at work, home and in social settings
will be adversely affected. Negative stress also seems to have a self-building facet where once
stressed, additional factors just keep contributing to the stress and increase the stress levels while
decreasing performance and functioning.

Q.5 Given below are certain instances observed by a summer trainee – Ritu, while
doing an observational study at Phoenix consultants. An organization dealing with
recycling of plastic products waste etc. She makes the following observations about
two key people in the organization.
1. Mr. Shah – He is a very friendly person and encourages his team members by
giving those recommendations and appreciation. This helps HR to decide about
giving a bonus or promotion to employees.
2. Mr. Parhi- He is an aggressive person. He frequently loses his temper. Ritu
observes that he frequently punishes the non-performers and also gives them
warnings regarding suspension etc.
Now explain what base of power Mr. Shah and Mr. Parhi belong to. Explain the type of
power they use often.
Ten Types of Power
1. Position. Some measure of power is conferred on the basis of one’s formal position in an
organization. For example, a marketing manager can influence the decisions that affect the
marketing department. However, the marketing manager has little power to influence the
decisions that affect the finance department.

2. Knowledge or expertise. People who have knowledge or expertise can wield tremendous
power. Of course, knowledge in itself is not powerful. It is the use of knowledge and
expertise that confers power. Thus, you could be an incredibly bright person and still be
powerless.

3. Character or ethics. The more trustworthy individuals are, the more power they have in
negotiations. The big issue here is whether they do what they say they are going to do—even
when they no longer feel like doing it.

4. Rewards. People who are able to bestow rewards or perceived rewards hold power.
Supervisors, with their ability to give raises, hold power over employees. Money can have
power. But money, like anything else, holds very little power if it is not distributed.

5. Punishment. Those who have the ability to create a negative outcome for a counterpart
have the power of punishment. Managers who have the authority to reprimand and fire
employees hold this type of power. State troopers and highway patrol officers who have the
ability to give out speeding tickets also have this power.

6. Gender. Dealing with someone of the opposite sex can confer power. We have videotaped
many negotiation case studies in which the turning point came when a woman casually
touched a man’s hand or arm to make her point.

7. Powerlessness. In some instances, giving up all power can be very powerful. If a kidnapper
threatens a hostage with death enough times, the hostage may just challenge the kidnapper to go
ahead and kill him. At the point that the hostage gives up power, or control over his own death, the
kidnapper actually loses power.

8. Charisma or personal power. When we ask participants in our seminars for examples of leaders
who have had charisma or personal power, invariably the names of Mother Teresa, John F. Kennedy,
and Ronald Reagan come up. When we ask, “What do all three of these leaders have in common?”
participants usually respond, “Passion and confidence in what they believe in.”

9. Lack of interest or desire. In negotiations, as in many other areas of life, the side with the least
interest in what is being negotiated holds the most power. If you are buying a house and you really do
not care if you purchase the house you are currently negotiating for or the one down the street, you
will most likely hold more power in the negotiation—unless, of course, the sellers could care less if
they sell the house today or live in it for another ten years!

10. Craziness. This may sound funny, but bizarre or irrational behavior can confer a tremendous
amount of power. Every organization has someone who blows up or behaves irrationally when
confronted with problems. Those who have been exposed to this type of behavior tend to avoid such
individuals. As a result, these individuals are not given many tasks to accomplish because others are
afraid to ask them.
Leadership style influence level of motivation. However, throughout a lifetime, man’s
motivation is influenced by changing ambitions and/or leadership style he
works under or socializes with. Command-and-control leadership drains off
ambition while worker responsibility increases ambition.

Leadership Style versus Motivation

Motivation is
Leadership Style Motivation Type Personality Type Efficiency
Based on:
Limited Self motivated

superv
ision
Leader of ideas or
Worker with people.

decisi Independent
Creativity High
on Team motivated
Achiever
makin
Thrives on change
g
respon
sibility
Goal motivated Opportunity
Personality type and efficiency depends on
Mixed styles Reward motivated Materialism
leader's skill and/or the work environment
Recognition he's created.
Social status
motivated
High level of Peer motivated To be like others
Authority motivated Follows policy
superv
Status quo
ision
Dependency Low
Command-and- Threat, fear
Reacts to force
motivated Resist change
contro
l

• Self-motivated or visionaries will not accept authority controlled environments.

They will find a way to escape if trapped.
In a team-motivated environment, dependency types will become inspired and strive
to be acceptable with independent thinking coworkers.
Associates influence the level of individual motivation.

Reaction to Change
Command-and-control leadership is the primary style in our society. It is accepted because
efficiency is created by repetitive action, teaching people to resist change. Once acquiring a
skill, they do not want to learn another. The worker adapts to level three with an occasional
trip to level two.

Worker responsibility is just the opposite, it motivates people to thrive on change by seeking
challenges, finding ways to achieve goals. Level one is the leader of changing technology,
finding ways to create efficiency. (Click on image)

Reaction to Efficiency

The efficiency of advancing technology is forcing change. It is up to the individual or

business to decide which side of change they want to be on, the leading edge or trailing edge.
The leading edge is exciting while the trailing edge is a drag. Playing catch-up drains
motivation while leaders of change inspire motivation.

With today’s changing technology, an individual must be willing to abandoned old skills and
learn new ones. The ability to adapt is achieved through self-development programs. Because
level one thrives on change, they adapt to whatever methods gets things done with the least
amount of effort. This brings us to work habits.

In level one, management and front line workers, together, are searching for ways to solve
and prevent problems. Decisions are made on the front line where alternative methods are
analyzed. Being able to prevent problems is a motivating force. In level three management
makes all decision, as a result, management must find ways to solve all problems and find
alternative methods. Front line employees may be aware conflicts, but they don’t have the
authority to take action and have learned not to be concerned. Supervisors are only concerned
with elements that management thinks are important.

Under command-and-control leadership, management considers the opinions or concerns of

people on the front line to be trivial. As a result, management takes action only when
problems become too big to ignore. If workers have conflicts with their supervisors, they will
find ways to increase the magnitude of problems, creating a combative environment. A
downward spiral of management implementing more control and workers resisting control
develop. Under worker responsibility, management and workers unite to prevent or solve
problems.

Team Motivated Dependency ofAbused Workers

Authority
Elementary Lack of leadership
problems areElementary areskills and the desire
prevented or solveddealt with byfor power creates
at the source.management whenelementary problems.
Getting the job donelarge enough to beManagers focus on
is the primary goalrecognized. worker control.
of management and Getting the job done
workers. is down the list.
Workers goal is to
find ways to do little
as possible.
Command and Control Leadership -
Problems are always out of control.

Reaction to Learning Habits

In level two, young workers are establishing work habits, developing attitudes and learning a
professional skill. Out of training and on the job, motivation level will depend on the
leadership style they work under. Under command-and-control leadership, ambitions will be
associated with maintaining the status quo. Under worker responsibility, ambitions will be
associated with opportunity. They will continually expand their skills as the need or as
opportunity arises.

Reaction to Goals

Self-motivated people are goal motivated. Once they conquer one goal, they establish
another. Every goal is a learning process that requires all the elements in level one.
Companies that attract and keep this type of person stay on the leading edge of technology.
The CEO is a visionary in customer service and employee leadership. The employees' goals
are the same as the CEO’s.

If the CEO desires control, then he will lead in such a way that trains subordinates to lead by
control. As a result, the employees' goals are quitting time and payday.

Reaction to Recognition

Recognition is important; it builds positive self-esteem. By itself, its benefits are short lived.
Long-term benefits are achieved when the employee feels the job could not have been done
without them. This means they were faced with a challenge, which means, they had the
responsibility and authority to take action. This environment is found in level one.

Self Motivated Projects

Self-motivated projects' is the ability to start and finish what one has started. Most people,
working alone, do not finish what they start.

The ability to finish challenging projects is the secret to being a winner. First requirement is
interest, then asking questions which inspires' the learning process. With information, a
challenge is presented and a goal set. When action is taken, the barriers of persistence, risk,
fear and failure become a challenge by itself.

Self-motivated projects are difficult because no one cares if they succeed, which is another
barrier. This is why most people quit before they get a good start. People, who find ways to
overcome barriers and hang in there, are the winners. They develop skills and confidence,
which are required steps to larger projects.

Team Motivated Projects

Everyone can be inspired to achievement in a team-motivated environment. With a common

goal, team members support each other until success is achieved. In this environment, others
do care and team members are needed for achieving the goal. For this reason, team
motivation is extremely powerful. The exchange of ideas, information and testing the results,
adds to the motivating force. As a result, each member seeks to be a leader of quality input.

Q.6 “Window to Truth’ is a famous and old magazine. The top management decides to
start the e- edition of the magazine.
They also decide the redefine the policies and culture of “Window to Truth”
To start implementing this change, they frequently call meetings of employees. They
have also formed groups at different levels to clarify doubts and explain the
perspective of change.
Analyze the situation in the context of organizational change and elaborate why the
top management is following the discussed practices and what approach is most
evident in the context.

Typically, the concept of organizational change is in regard to organization-wide

change, as opposed to smaller changes such as adding a new person,
modifying a program, etc. Examples of organization-wide change might
include a change in mission, restructuring operations (e.g., restructuring to
self-managed teams, layoffs, etc.), new technologies, mergers, major
collaborations, "rightsizing", new programs such as Total Quality
Management, re-engineering, etc. Some experts refer to organizational
transformation. Often this term designates a fundamental and radical
reorientation in the way the organization operates.

The levels of organizational change

Perhaps the most difficult decision to make is at what "level" to start. There are four levels of
organizational change:
First let's describe these levels, and then under what circumstances a business should use them.
Level 1- shaping and anticipating the future

At this level, organizations start out with few assumptions about the business itself, what it is "good"
at, and what the future will be like.
Management generates alternate "scenarios" of the future, defines opportunities based on these
possible futures, assesses its strengths and weaknesses in these scenarios changes its mission,
measurement system etc. More information on this is in the next article, "Moving from the Future to
your Strategy."
Level 2 - defining what business(es) to be in and their "Core Competencies

Many attempts at strategic planning start at this level, either assuming that 1) the future will be like the
past or at least predictable; 2) the future is embodied in the CEO's "vision for the future"; or 3)
management doesn't know where else to start; 4) management is too afraid to start at level 1 because
of the changes needed to really meet future requirements; or 5) the only mandate they have is to
refine what mission already exists.
After a mission has been defined and a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
analysis is completed, an organization can then define its measures, goals, strategies, etc. More
information on this is in the next article, "Moving from the Future to your Strategy."
Level 3 - Reengineering (Structurally Changing) Your Processes

Either as an aftermath or consequence of level one or two work or as an independent action, level
three work focuses on fundamentally changing how work is accomplished. Rather than focus on
modest improvements, reengineering focuses on making major structural changes to everyday with
the goal of substantially improving productivity, efficiency, quality or customer satisfaction. To read
more about level 3 organizational changes, please see "A Tale of Three Villages."
Level 4 - Incrementally Changing your Processes

Level 4 organizational changes are focusing in making many small changes to existing work
processes. Oftentimes organizations put in considerable effort into getting every employee focused on
making these small changes, often with considerable effect. Unfortunately, making improvements on
how a buggy whip for horse-drawn carriages is made will rarely come up with the idea that buggy
whips are no longer necessary because cars have been invented. To read more about level 4
organizational changes and how it compares to level 3, please see "A Tale of Three Villages."

Some General Guidelines to Organization-Wide Change

1. Consider using a consultant. Ensure the consultant is highly experienced in organization-

wide change. Ask to see references and check the references.
2. Widely communicate the potential need for change. Communicate what you're doing about
it. Communicate what was done and how it worked out.
3. Get as much feedback as practical from employees, including what they think are the
problems and what should be done to resolve them. If possible, work with a team of
employees to manage the change.
4. Don't get wrapped up in doing change for the sake of change. Know why you're making
the change. What goal(s) do you hope to accomplish?
6. Plan the change. How do you plan to reach the goals, what will you need to reach the
goals, how long might it take and how will you know when you've reached your goals or not?
Focus on the coordination of the departments/programs in your organization, not on each part
by itself. Have someone in charge of the plan.
7. End up having every employee ultimately reporting to one person, if possible, and they
should know who that person is. Job descriptions are often complained about, but they are
useful in specifying who reports to whom.
8. Delegate decisions to employees as much as possible. This includes granting them the
authority and responsibility to get the job done. As much as possible, let them decide how to
do the project.
9. The process won't be an "aha!" It will take longer than you think.
10. Keep perspective. Keep focused on meeting the needs of your customer or clients.
11. Take care of yourself first. Organization-wide change can be highly stressful.
12. Don't seek to control change, but rather to expect it, understand it and manage it.
13. Include closure in the plan. Acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments.
14. Read some resources about organizational change, including new forms and structures