ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Disclaimer
All examples given are to just highlight the concepts and are picked
either from real life or off my imagination. I do not intend to hurt
other’s feelings, beliefs etc. etc. I do apologise if anyone reading
this feels offended. (especially if a faculty reads it)

Undertaking Please note! By

receiving this document, you’ve agreed to an undertaking that
you will not forward this document to anyone without my
permission (to which I’d definitely say NO). I chose to send
this document to you for a reason.*

*Ignore that. I became super generous….forward!!!

Regards
Sandhya Sivamurugan
BBA B
1620280

Definition of OB
“Organizational behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals,
groups and organizational structure have on behaviour within the organization, for the
purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organizational effectiveness”

Evolution of OB
Organizational behaviour (OB) is a relatively new field of study that developed during the
birth of the Industrial Revolution.

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Pre-scientific era: (1000-1880) No formal education & training of managers, poor treatment
of workers (e.g. the construction of pyramids) Natural resources and technological
advancement led to industrial revolution. Money economy replaced barter economy.
Haphazard & unsystematic management led to Classical era. (people left agriculture to work
for urban industries as it paid more wages)
Classical Era: (1880-1930) Evolution of administrative & scientific management (Explain
Henry Fayol’s administrative management)
Scientific Management: the kind of management which conducts a business by standards
established by facts or truths gained through systematic observation, experiment or
reasoning.
Taylor saw human beings as lazy beings, motivated by money.
Behavioural Era: (1930-1960) The human relations movement began in the 1930s and
continued till the 1950s. Raymond Mills states that “Treat people as human beings and not
machines” Huge emphasis is laid on the “human” factor.
Legalisation of union-management, Behavioural scientists conducting on-the-job researches.
Popularised by Elton Mayo from his famous Hawthorne studies.
Modern Era: (1960 onwards) Popularised by Douglas McGregor. (he wrote The Human Side
of Enterprise) He formulated 2 sharp contrasting sets of human nature. (Theory X & Theory
Y)
Theory X (pessimistic)

• People dislike work and avoid it.

• They must be threatened and punished. Requires close direction.
• They need direction & avoid responsibilities.
Theory Y (optimistic)
• Work is natural like play.
• Capable of self-direction and self-control.
• They become committed to the organisation, accept responsibilities.

Sciences that contribute to OB

PSYCHOLOGY: Psychology is the study of behaviour and mind. Organizational
Psychology is a subset of Psychology. It focuses on the motivation and behaviour.
Psychology is a huge part of OB as it explains the external and internal influences on an
individual’s work performance and behaviour.
SOCIOLOGY: The term means the study of society, and this helps researchers understand
group dynamics and how they impact organizations. Roles of the workers and their

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productivity is studied using teamwork. Sociology has had a huge impact in group ethics and
group interaction.
ANTHROPOLOGY: It is the science of human learned behaviour. It has impacted how
organizational culture is understood. Study on cultures on environment has helped
understanding the differences in values, attitudes and behaviour between people in different
countries and within different organisations.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: It’s a combination of psychology and sociology. It focuses on the
influence of people on one another. It focuses on understanding and changing attitudes,
communication patterns, building trust, group decision-making process etc.
POLITICAL SCIENCE: It is the study of the behaviour of individuals and groups within a
political environment. It focuses on structuring of conflicts, allocation of power,
manipulation of power for individual self-interest etc.

Importance of studying OB
• Effective Management
• To understand basis of motivation
• To predict organisational life
• Useful for Marketing field
• To maintain cordial relations
• Efficient use of human factor

Challenges faced by a manager

• Tackling long distance communication
• Technical advancement
• Organisational structure
• Workers having self-entitlement & restlessness
• Emotional stability
• Intrapreneurship (the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a
large organization)
• Reaching out to the customer
• Growth in individualism
• Availability of information (e.g. Scandals)

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 OB Framework! It’s the framework for
understanding the behaviour of employees in an organisation. It’s 5 components are as
follows-
Environmental forces- Changes in environment sector affects all the remaining
components. Winning organisations are those who stay ahead of the change curve and adapt
to the changes faced. They must be capable of changing themselves.
Individual processes- People make assumptions about those around them and these
assumptions tend to influence their behaviour towards others. Individual behaviour is the
foundation of organisational performance. Each person’s psychological system has a number
of sub-systems (attitude, perception, personality etc.) Great emphasis is made on the
psychological system.
Interpersonal processes- Human is a social being. Time is spent in interacting with others.
Most of our personal identity is based on the way our group perceives and treats us. Most
organisational goals can be achieved only with the cooperation of others. It required
understand of dynamics within and between groups. Leaders are required as they can
integrate employee’s & organisational goals.
Organisational processes- On entering an organisation, one must understand the
organisation’s culture which has shared assumptions on how things work. A newcomer is
taught what to do and what not to do on the job. Power is used to achieve goals or
strengthening positions. Decision making is an important activity performed by managers.

Change Process- It includes adapting an organisation to the demands of the environment

and modifying the actual behaviour of the employees. Strategies for achieving change-

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People approaches, Cultural approaches, Technological approaches, Design approaches,
Task approaches and Strategy approaches.

Emerging issues in OB
Globalisation: The world has become a single stage for operating business. Assumptions
cannot be made that people throughout the world cannot hold the same implicit employment
relationship expectations. Globalisation emphasises the need to recognise the contingencies
of effective OB practice while dealing with a diverse workforce. ABB is a company based in
Switzerland but has no national identity of its own.
Trend towards Diversity (Managing different employees from different backgrounds):
Diversity- a mix of people who vary by age, gender, race, religion, lifestyle etc. Diversity is
needed to establish productive relationships at work. Challenges such as Language
differences, National ethnic groupings, Attitude & Cultural differences are faced by
organisations with a diverse workforce
Corporate Social Responsibility: Ethics- study of moral principles or values that determine
whether actions are right/wrong & outcomes are good/bad. Ethical behaviour in business is a
legal component. Ethical dilemma is a situation where an individual must make a decision
that has multiple values. They can arise from competition and peer pressure. Family
influence, religion, personal standards and needs influence ethical conduct.
Economic pressure: In favourable conditions, rewarding and retaining employees matter. In
unfavourable conditions, stress and decision making are considered.
Adaptation to Change: Successful organisations master the art of change. Employees
should have the ability to tolerate change.

Common Mistakes made by Managers

• Too busy to spend time with his subordinates.
• Lack of listening skills
• Lack of Empathy
• No effective feedback
• Demotivation
• Clarity

Important Outcomes of OB
• Improves job satisfaction
• Organisation citizenship behaviour
• Increase in Productivity
• Reducing Absenteeism
• Reducing Deviant workplace behaviour

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 • Employee turnover reduction

Personality
It is the sum total of the ways in which we react and interact with the environment.
Person Job Fit: Degree to which there is a match between the individual’s characteristics and
the requirements of the job.

Determinants of Personality
The determinants of personality are as follows:
• Physical Environment- climate and topography determine physical & mental traits of
a person but they alone, can’t determine behaviour.
• Culture- Culture provides a set of values & beliefs which makes sense of the events
in life. Passed from one generation to another. It also prescribes do’s and don’t’s.
• Hereditary- According to Stephen P Robbins, the hereditary approach argues that the
ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the molecular structure of the
genes located in the chromosomes
• Experience- Human beings have a significantly greater capacity to learn, remember
and think about what happened in the past, is happening in the present and might
happen in the future.
• Family- family influences the behaviour of a person especially in the early stages.

Approaches to understanding personality

The approaches to understanding personality are as follows-

The Big Five Model

Popularised by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae.

It consists of a set of factors that help people observe and understand an individual’s style
and behavioural pattern. The Big Five factors are as follows-
Openness: ability to be open to new experiences, ability to deal with novelty.
Conscientiousness: extent where continuous reliable behaviour is shown. It’s classified
as high & low: High is where a person is reliable and low is where a person is unreliable.
Extroversion: comfort level of an individual in interacting with others. Their degree of
comfort in handling relationships.

Agreeableness: individual’s behaviour towards others while interacting with them. (How
cooperative are you?)

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 Neuroticism: degree to handle pressure & stress.

Myers Briggs Time Indicator

Popularised by Katherine Cooks Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. Most widely used
instrument for personality analysis. 16 types of personality are based on a combination of
4 basic elements of psyche. Sources of Energy-
❖ Extroversion: Draws energy from others. Prefers crowds. Outgoing. Speaks and then
thinks.
❖ Introversion: Draws energy from themselves. Prefers quiet. Thinks first, and speaks.
Collecting Information-
❖ Sensing: prefers to work with facts. Practical. Concrete.
❖ Intuiting: theoretical. Prefers working with possibilities rather than facts.
Decision Making-
❖ Thinking: Analytical, thinks logically rather than personally. ❖ Feeling: Subjective,
relies more on emotions than logic.
Handling Ambiguity-
❖ Judging: Not fine with ambiguity, prefers structure, rigidity.
❖ Perceiving: Fine with ambiguity, prefers flexibility

The DISC Model

Behaviour of people was described on 2 axes: passive versus active response to a hostile
or a favourable environment. The four behavioural patterns which emerged are-
Dominance: (Active X Hostile)
Pros- gets immediate results, self-reliant, quick decision making, accepts challenges
Cons- does not let restrictions come in the way, inflexible, too demanding of others,
insensitive towards others
They are motivated by POWER.
Influence: (Active X Favourable)
Pros- very open to people, very optimistic, persuasive Cons-
Over commitments, misjudges, needs time management They
are motivated by BUILDING RAPPORT.
Steadiness: (Passive X Favourable)

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 Pros- good listener, emotionally stable, desire to help others, loyalty Cons-
takes time to decide, avoids conflicts, not a strong initiator, unreliable They
are motivated by TIME.
Compliance: (Passive X Hostile)
Pros- checks accuracy, diplomatic with people, pays attention to detail, analytical
thinking.
Cons- fault finding, detail-oriented, rigidity, too conscious They
are motivated by INFORMATION.

FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations OrientationBehaviour)

Developed by Will Schutz
A reliable instrument used to find how a person’s personal needs affect his/her orientation
towards others in personal & professional environment. 3 different needs of individuals
which shape their interaction are as follows-

• Inclusion: need for recognition, participation and belongingness

• Control: need to lead and influence others & take taking responsibility
• Affection: need for closeness, warmth and sensitivity towards others
These needs are measured on the dimensions of ‘Expressed’ & ‘Wanted’ behaviour
• Expressed: What action do you initiate with others?
• Wanted: What action do you want others to initiate with you?
Importance of FIRO-B are as follows-

• Facilitate behavioural change by providing insight on people’s needs.

• Helping people overcome issues & prevent issues from forming.
• Helps in team building and development.
• Used for selection and placement.

Types of Problem Solving Behaviour

The four types of problem solving behaviours are as follows-
Sensation Thinkers: Gathers information, wants to analyse and interpret before making
decisions, wants others to also have correct record of information, lacks creativity.
Intuitive Thinkers: Has creativity, analyses quickly, intellectual, insensitive towards others,
has high expectations of others.

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Sensation Feelers: Detailed observation, quick interpretation, gets along with others,
sympathetic, highly receptive to other’s approval, has difficulty in maintaining disciplinary
decisions
Intuitive Feelers: creativity, lacks aptitude for logic, most inventive, needs recognition,

Personality traits
Other personality traits are as follows-
Locus of Control: degree to which people believe that they are the masters of their own fate.
It is classified into-

• Internal- People who believe that they are responsible for what happens to them.
Does not blame others.
• External- People who believe that what happens is an act of fate, luck or other forces.
Blames others.
Authoritarianism: degree to which a person believes that status and power has different
levels in an organisation. People with high authoritarianism are autocratic, demanding and
inflexible.

Dogmatism: degree of flexibility or rigidity in a person’s views. People with high

dogmatism cling to their beliefs. People with low dogmatism are open-minded.
Machiavellianism: the use of manipulation to achieve power. Classified into-

• High Mach- not easily persuaded, successful in reaching goals, thrives in face to face
encounters, driven by logic, doesn’t let emotions get in the way.
• Low Mach- willing to accept direction, thrives in highly structured situations, lets
emotions get in the way
Risk Propensity: willingness to take risk.

• High Risk propensity: make faster decisions, high willingness

• Low Risk propensity: think and take low risk decisions
Self-esteem: degree to which a person appreciates themselves.
Self-monitoring: degree to which people adapt their behaviour to meet the external
expectations. This develops flexibility & effectiveness.
TypeA TypeB personality
TypeA: Impatient, Works rapidly, does things simultaneously, hyper, restless, loves
pressure, can suffer fatigue
TypeB: Patient, relaxed, enjoys themselves, avoids mistakes

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Learning
Learning is the permanent change in behaviour due to direct and indirect experience. It is
completed by acquisition of knowledge and skills which are relatively permanent. It involves
change: it is the result of experience, practise and training.
It is also defined as the process of acquiring and assimilating cognitive, motor or behavioural
inputs for their effective and varied use.
Study is temporary. Learning is permanent.
E.g.- I studied Kannada for third language but I only learned to read Kannada!

Importance of learning
• A constant need to update ourselves.
• Expectations change over time.
• Important source of motivation and job satisfaction.
• A clear idea is formed on what is required of the individual.

Barriers to learning
• Individual barriers
• Groups barriers
• Organisations barriers (know these 3 in detail, you’re good to go)
• Attitude
• Lack of motivation
• Unsuitable Environment
• Lack of reinforcement
• Prior learning
• Personal bias

Types of Learning
The types of learning are as follows-

Classical Conditioning Theory

Popularised by Ivan Pavlov. (done by his famous dog experiment)
In this theory, a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus. Unconditional
stimulus yields an unconditioned response. After a period of conditioning, (pairing CC &
UC) the conditioned stimulus alone ends up yielding the conditioned response.
Conditioned response must be achieved through experience.

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Flaws: Passive form of learning. Man is considered reflexive most of the time. Has a small
scope in OB learning.

Operant Conditioning Theory

Popularised by B.F. Skinner.
Behaviour is a function of the consequences.
It involves learning from your mistakes. Voluntary behaviour is learned.
Positive consequences increase the particular behaviour. Punished behaviour is avoided.

Flaws: only talks about linear experience. (learning from other’s mistake doesn’t count here)

Social Learning Theory

People learn indirectly by observation. Inspiration from a role model. If there’s no
motivation, there’s no learning.
Integrates modelling symbolism and self-control.
Observe-Attention-Retention (retain info. on role model)

Cognitive Theory of Learning

Behaviour is influenced from Prior learning & perceived consequences.
Learning is done through deliberate thinking on a problem based on some facts and
responding in an objective & oriented manner.
A person learns from their own mistakes as well as other’s mistakes. Man is an active
participant in the learning process.

Principles of Learning
Motivation: an internal need to drive human behaviour in the desired direction.
Reinforcement
Punishment
Omission

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Reinforcement
Reinforce: to strengthen a positive behaviour
Reinforcement theory states that behaviour can be changed using reinforcement. Positive
Reinforcement involves providing a motivating item to strengthen desirable behaviour.
Negative Reinforcement withholds all the negative consequences in order to strengthen
desirable behaviour. Rewards is the positive consequence given for a positive behaviour and
punishments are the negative consequences given to prevent the behaviour you do not want.
Extinction refers to withholding positive consequences of a behaviour to prevent it from
occurring.
Reward- strengthens desirable behaviour.
Punishment- weakens undesirable behaviour.
IMPORTANT- Reinforcement encourages action. Punishment suppresses it. Negative
reinforcement aims to promote a desirable behaviour while Punishment wants to stop a
behaviour.

Principles of Reinforcement

• Contingency: Reinforcement must depend on something in order for proper

execution.
• Size: Size of behaviour should be proportionate to effort. The reinforcement should
matter to the learner.
• Immediacy: Reinforcement should be done at the right time.
• Deprivation: When we choose to deprive somebody of something, it should matter to
them for proper execution of reinforcement.

Schedules of Reinforcement
Reinforcement is classified on the basis of-
Time: This states the time elapsed between two reinforcements.
• Fixed Interval: Reinforcement occurs after completion of a fixed period of time.
• Variable Interval: There is no fixed time for reinforcement. An element of doubt
occurs.
Ratio: This states the number of times a behaviour has to be repeated in order for
reinforcement to take place.

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 •

Fixed Ratio: the number of times for a behaviour to take place is fixed. (e.g. sell 100
units to achieve goals)
• Variable Ratio: the number of times for a behaviour to take place is not fixed.

Attitude
An attitude is a way of thinking or feeling about something, a certain state of mind at the time. (What I
like/ What I don’t like) Evaluated Judgements about people, objects and situations.

Behaviour
Behaviour is defined as the way one acts towards themselves and others around them.

Formation of Attitude
• Personal Experience
• Association with others (Being associated with good people ends up creating a
positive attitude about you in someone’s opinion)
• Family & Peers (We shape our attitude to align with our family & peers)
• Neighbourhood (culture, ethnic differences)
• Economic status and occupation

ABC model/CAB model

• Affective Component – feelings of an attitude – For example if a person is scared of spiders or dogs.
• Behavioural Component – Predispositions to act towards an attitude. – For example if the person
scared of spiders sees one, they will react and scream.
• Cognitive Component – Thoughts about an attitude. – For example this is why they justify their
actions against the spider, believing it to be dangerous in some way.
Behavioural component is the only component that can be directly observed.

Cognitive Dissonance
The feeling of discomfort when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting cognitions.
A state of mind experienced when there is a conflict between either 2 components of an
attitude, 2 attitude or attitude and behaviour.
E.g- Knowing that lying is bad but we continue to lie, wanting to spend time at home which
conflicts with the grammar test.

Ways to overcome cognitive dissonance

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 •

Rationalising
• Changing attitude
• Changing behaviour

Changing attitude can be done by ‘Persuasion’.

Persuasion presents arguments that move, motivate or change an audience. It is achieved
through written or spoken communication. The main focus is on the communicator and the
message.
Qualities of a communicator

• Credibility (can be easily trusted)

• Good motivator
• Understanding
• Confidence
• Attachment
• Good listener
Qualities of a message

• Precise
• Clear and crisp
• Understandable
• Should be properly addressed to the receiver

Barriers to changing Attitude

Escalation of Commitment: It is a risk where an individual or a group continues to
rationalise their decisions in hopes of achieving a positive outcome but they still continue to
experience disappointing results. It shows poor decision making. There is no change in
course of action. (Stick to their guns rather than change)
Cognitive Dissonance
Insufficient Information: There is a lack of information regarding what action to take.
Information about the individual or the group is necessary so as to decide how to change
attitude. (easy enough)

Functions/Importance of Attitude
• Adjustment function: adaptability to change in environment
• Ego defence: protection of our sense of self. Reducing anxiety by distorting reality.
• Expressive function: Self-identity (how you evaluate yourself), Self-concept (how
you want others to see you) and expressing values of a group.

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 •

Knowledge function: Attitude helps in structuring our knowledge for decision

making.

Work Attitudes (refer to OB Outcomes)

Organisational Commitment
It is the bond the employees have with the organisation. In short, it’s the loyalty towards the
organisation. It has 3 types/components-

• Affective Commitment: relates to how much the employees want to stay in the
organisation.
• Continuance Commitment: relates to how much the employees feel the need to stay
in the organisation.
• Normative Commitment: relates to how much the employees feel they should stay in
the organisation.

More Work Related Attitudes…

Emotional Intelligence: Awareness on one’s own emotions. Understanding what & why the
other person is feeling. Handling interpersonal relationships judiciously.

e.g.- calling someone “Useless” without bothering to know if they are having a bad day is an
example of poor emotional intelligence. (Low EQ)
Social Intelligence: Understanding & Adapting to the society. Ability to get along with
others and get them to cooperate with you.
e.g.- a silent classroom gives away the fact that something serious is going on. This thought
shows good social intelligence.

Values
Enduring beliefs about what is worthwhile. Principles or standards of behaviour. One’s
judgement about what is important in life.

Milton Rokeach classified values into the following-

• Instrumental: they are the value of objects as a means of achieving something else.
E.g. Hardwork
• Terminal: they refer to desirable end-states of existence. E.g. True friendship, success

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Values are needed for organisation person fit

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Organisation Person Fit: the degree to which individual and organisational characteristics
match.

Value Conflicts
The 3 levels of value conflicts are-

• Personal
• Interpersonal: exist when a person has difficulties in interpersonal relations
• Intrapersonal: when values pull the individual in different directions

Perception-Meaning and definition. Basic stages of Perceptual Process, Perceptual

Selection, Perceptual Organization, Perceptual Interpretation, Attribution Process;
Organizational Applications.

Definition: It is the identification, organization and interpretation of sensory information to

represent and understand the environment.
In other words, the transformation of sensory stimuli into meaningful information.
It is detected by the five senses.
It is detected as a thought, intuition or deduction.

Perceptual Process
The perceptual process is a sequence of steps that begins with stimuli in the environment and
ends with our interpretation of those stimuli. All stages of this process happen unconsciously
and in less than a second.
The steps involved in the perceptual process are-
Selection: It is the process by which people filter out irrelevant information so they can
deal with important matters. It is determined by Internal Factors and External Factors.
Internal: The internal factors contributing to perception are as follows-
• Perceptual Learning: Based on specific training, one learns to emphasise on specific
sensory input and ignore others. E.g. Bling people identify people with their voice or
footsteps.
• Mental set: It refers to the readiness to receive some sensory input. This expectation
keeps an individual prepared. E.g. When expecting a train, one focuses on the horn.
• Motives and needs: When having a need, the perception is influenced. E.g. A hungry
person happens to notice food everywhere.

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 • Cognitive styles: Everyone has their own way of thinking. The most flexible ones will
be less affected by the interfering influences.
External: The external factors contributing to perception are as follows-

• Intensity: More intense the stimulus, more likely it is to be perceived. E.g. Bright
colours, loud noise is recognised quickly.
• Size: size influences attention & recognition in a more efficient manner. Larger the
object, more likely it is to be perceived. E.g. Large newspaper advertisements.
• Contrast: External stimuli which stand out against the background (or which people
don’t expect) will receive attention. E.g. safety signs- black letters in a yellow
background or red letters in a white background.
• Repetition: Repetition has the advantage of catching better attention. E.g.
Advertisements continuously announce the name of the brand to grab attention.
• Movement: This factor implies that individuals attend to changing objects in their
field of vision rather than static objects. E.g. A tiger lies motionless in wait to attack
and it’s prey doesn’t notice, hence gets killed.
• Novelty and Familiarity: A Novel Object in a Familiar Situation or a Familiar
Object in a Novel Situation tends to attract attention.
• Situations: Certain situation influences people’s perception. A favourable work
environment develops a positive attitude because the perception process is easily
channelized and rightly directed.
Organisation: Perceptual Organisation is concerned with the process of organising the inputs
into identifiable whole objects. Establishing a ‘Figure Ground’ is the basic process in
perception. (The perceived object stands out as a separable from their general background)
Perceptual selectivity influences perceptual organisation. It is done on the basis of these
factors-
• Continuity: It is a Gestalt concept that refers to the visual tendency to create
continuous figures (lines/patterns). It is the tendency to connect one thing to another.
Continuity leads to inflexible thinking. Mostly, Continuous patterns are perceived.
• Closure: This occurs when an individual perceives a whole when it actually does not
exist. The person’s perceptual process tends to close the gaps that are left unfilled by
the sensory inputs. E.g. When someone doesn’t tell you the whole story but just parts
of it (censoring), you can’t help but assume what would have happened.
• Proximity: A group of stimuli being close together (physical closeness) is perceived as
a whole pattern of parts belonging together. E.g. Think about the people in our class
who actively perform proximity. (i.e. sending filthy love signals on seeing a boy and
girl standing/walking together)
• Similarity: This concept is almost similar to proximity but is a notch better &
stronger. It states that individual stimuli with similar characteristics are perceived as a
common group. E.g. we tend to perceive some people as a gang when they might not
actually be one.

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Interpretation: It refers to taking the information that is sensed & organised and turn it into
meaningful information that we can categorise. There are various ‘Perceptual Errors’ that
occur during Interpretation. They are-

• Stereotyping: it is a belief that members of a specific group share similar traits and
behaviour. A person is put into a stereotype because the perceiver only knows the
category the person belongs to. This is a perceptual error because the real traits of the
person are generally quite different from those that stereotype would suggest. E.g.
Gunga Din (the hell part.)
• Halo Effect: A person is perceived on the basis of one single positive trait and they are
interpreted as good. The perceiver doesn’t notice the other traits which might be
negative. E.g. If you watched ‘Rowdy Rathore’ (or Siruthai ‘the Tamil version’), I
guess you’ll understand. If you didn’t, ping me back and I’ll explain it to you.
• Horn Effect: Opposite of Halo Effect. A person is perceived on the basis of one single
negative trait and they are interpreted as bad. The perceiver doesn’t notice the other
traits which might be positive. E.g. (NO OFFENCE! Please refer to Disclaimer)
Don’t ever get into any professor’s bad books. In that case, the horn effect will take
place and it goes down south. (a.k.a life becomes hell)
• Perceptual Defence: This refers to people defending the way they perceive things. If
this occurs, a person’s view becomes highly resistive to change. It can also lead to
negative consequences. E.g. When a manager prefers to get things done only in one
way, he doesn’t perceive the need to be creative in solving problems.
• Projection: It is the tendency to see one’s own traits in others. Individuals project their
own feelings, personality characteristics, attitudes, or motives onto others. Projection
may be especially strong for undesirable traits that the perceivers possess but fail to
recognize in themselves. E.g. An unfaithful person can tend to suspect their spouse of
Infidelity.
• Expectancy Effect: Prior Expectation influences perception irrespective of the
characteristics. E.g. Think about a blind date. (Remember that disaster on ‘Blended’?)
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: When an individual has a certain expectation of others, he’ll
treat them in such a way that the others will modify their behaviour to come up to
those expectations. E.g. If you think someone is rude in nature, you would instead
treat them in such a way that they end becoming rude to you. However, they might
have been of a good nature which you did not notice.

Attribution Theory
Attribute- regard something as being caused by

E.g. He attributed the company’s success to the efforts of the MD.

The Attribution Theory is how people interpret events and in their minds, relate them to the
way they think or behave. It is divided into 2 different sections; Internal Attributes and
External Attributes. Internal states that the behaviour is caused by something inside the

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person whereas External states that the behaviour is caused by the situation and not the
person. The 3 determinants of Attribution are Distinctiveness, Consensus and Consistency.
DISTINCTIVENESS: It refers to the behaviour of the same person in different situations. If
the behaviour is the same, then distinctiveness is LOW which is an INTERNAL FACTOR.
Else, the distinctiveness HIGH which is an EXTERNAL FACTOR.

• External: A person feeling bored in class at day and parties out at Bak Bak in the
night. The problem lies in the situation.
• Internal: A person feeling bored in class as well as Bak Bak. The problem lies in the
person.
CONSENSUS: It refers to the behaviour of different people in the same situation. If the
behaviour is the same, the consensus is HIGH which is an EXTERNAL FACTOR. Else, the
consensus is LOW which is an INTERNAL FACTOR.

• External: When majority of day scholars arrive late due to traffic. The problem lies in
the situation.
• Internal: When 1 or 2 day scholars arrive late blaming it on the traffic. The problem
lies in the person.
CONSISTENCY: It refers to the behaviour of the same person in the same situation over a
period of time. If the behaviour is the same, the consistency is HIGH which is an
INTERNAL FACTOR. Else, the consistency is LOW which is an EXTERNAL FACTOR.
• External: A person who scored well in the previous exam has done a poor
performance in the recent paper. The problem lies in the situation.
• Internal: A person who scored badly in the previous exam has done a poor
performance in the recent paper. The problem lies in the person.

Fundamental Attribution Error

People make attributions everyday which may not always be correct. Fundamental
Attribution Error is the tendency of people to overestimate internal factors and underestimate
external factors when assessing someone’s behaviour.
E.g. (Situation is Imaginary. Please refer to Disclaimer) An extremely strict faculty on
noticing a student sitting in the last row would tend to blast them without bothering to know
the whole story. However, the student was in the last row sitting separately because of a viral
infection.

Self-Serving Bias
The nature of an individual to credit one’s own successes to internal factors and one’s own
failures to external factors.

E.g. On success: “I won Vistas because I worked hard.”

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 On failures: “I got eliminated in Vistas because the tasks were hard and the timing was
unreasonable and my team members went AWOL and I got sick in the process……” (Please
refer to Disclaimer)

Application of Perception to OB
• To have right understanding of the work environment….
• Employment Interview: Interviewers can make perceptual judgements that can often
be inaccurate. These perceptual factors can influence a company’s work force.
• Performance Appraisal: An employee’s future is closely tied to the appraisal.
However, the evaluator forms a general impression about the employee’s work but
makes a subjective judgement regarding the appraisal.
• Job Satisfaction: Having the right perception towards the job can improve the job
satisfaction. Individual perception directly influences the behaviour of an individual in
a situation.
• To reduce recency effect: In recency effect, the most recent events are considered
during evaluation. This can lead to an error in judgement.
• Productivity: To influence productivity, the management must know and understand
how the workers perceive their job.

Central Tendency Bias

On evaluation, scoring everyone around the midpoint and not using the extremes results in
Central Tendency Bias. This results in failure to sufficiently differentiate between people.

Leniency Bias
On evaluation, scoring everyone leniently without taking the areas for performance
improvement into consideration results in Leniency Bias. It can occur with all the employees
or even just one.

Motivation- Meaning – Basic Motivation Process, Motivation and Performance; Content

Model of Motivation – Hierarchy model, Two factor theory, David McClelland model,
Alderfer ERG Theory; Process Models of Motivation-Vroom’s expectancy model, Porter and
Lawler model, Types of rewards and their implication.

Definition: Motivation is the stimulation of desire and energy in people to be committed to a

job or role, or to make an effort to achieve a goal.

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Motivation refers to the degree of readiness of an individual or an organisation to pursue a
specific goal.
Factors that stimulate motivation-

• Intensity of desire or need.

• Incentive or reward value of the goal.
• Expectation of the individual and of his/her peers.

Basic Motivation Process

Basic Motivation Process is classified into the following steps-
1. Individual Needs
2. Perceived Environment
3. Wants
4. Motivation
5. Action
Needs create tension which is modified by the environment cause certain wants. Tension is
released depending upon the incentives available.

Content Theories of Motivation

Content theories of motivation focuses on the factors within a person that energizes, directs,
sustains and stops behaviour. It focuses on the specific needs that motivate behaviour. They
focus on ‘what’ motivates. The Content Theories of Motivation are-

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy

ERG Theory
Two Factor Theory
David McClelland Model

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Maslow’s Need Hierarchy

• Developed by Abraham Maslow.

• Every human beings is motivated by needs.
• A need can only be taken into consideration when it’s lower level needs are satisfied.
• At the same time, one is no longer concerned about the lower level needs.
• Describe the needs…...(refer to diagram)
• Disadvantage: Follows Satisfaction Progression (point 3), The hierarchy fails to take
into account individual differences (different individuals have a different hierarchy of
needs), there is no evidence indicating every human being experiencing needs in the
order that Maslow specified.

ERG Theory

• Proposed by Clayton P. Alderfer in 1969.

• It condenses Maslow’s 5 needs into 3 categories: Existence, Relatedness and
Growth.
• Existence: This category includes Maslow’s first two levels of needs. Physiological &
Security is required by an individual for their existence in the environment.
• Relatedness: This category includes Maslow’s third and fourth levels. (Half of
fourth) It includes Social needs & External Esteem. External Esteem refers to the
building up of self-esteem by the contribution of external factors (people around us,
environment etc.)
• Growth: This category includes Maslow’s fourth and fifth levels of needs. (Half of
fourth) It includes Internal Esteem & Self-Actualization needs. Internal Esteem refers
to the building up of self-esteem by the contribution of internal factors (Individual
beliefs, ideas, practices and behaviour)
• It follows Frustration-Regression instead of Satisfaction Progression.
FrustrationRegression states that when an individual is unable to satisfy a higher level

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 need he will regress to over satisfying the lower level needs. A satisfied need becomes
active when it’s higher level need cannot be satisfied.
• Unlike Maslow’s Need Hierarchy, Alderfer’s ERG Theory allows the order of the
needs to differ for different people.

Two Factor Theory

• Also called Motivation Hygiene Theory.

• Proposed by Fredrick Herzberg.
• The theory states that ‘The factors involved in producing job satisfaction are separate
& distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction.” (please excuse the spelling
mistake in the diagram)
• The two factors involved in this theory are: Hygiene Factors and Motivating
Factors.
• Hygiene Factors: These factors relate to conditions under which the job is performed.
Their presence will not motivate individuals but their absence will lead to
dissatisfaction. They produce no growth in workers but restrict loss of growth. E.g.
Physical working conditions, Job security, Payment, Quality of Supervision etc.
• Motivating Factors: These factors relate to job content. Their presence will build
motivation & satisfaction but their absence does not cause dissatisfaction (neutral).
The increase in these factors are essential for creating motivation. E.g. Personal
growth, Chances of promotion, Responsibility, Achievement etc.
• Management should try to reduce dissatisfaction arising out of hygiene factors and
build up satisfaction from motivating factors.

David McClelland Need Theory

• Also called Acquired Needs Theory.

• This theory focuses on 3 needs.
• N-Ach: People with this need are ‘Achievement Motivated’ and seeks achievement
and attainment of realistic goals. They tend to avoid both high-risk and low-risk
situations. Likes to work alone or with other achievers. They thrive on overcoming
difficult problems or situations.
• N-Aff: People with this need are ‘Affiliation Motivated’ and is motivated towards
interaction towards other people. They need harmonious relationships with others

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 and need to feel accepted by others. Doesn’t like high risk or uncertainty. It’s best to
integrate them with a team.
• N-Pow: Power with this need are ‘Authority Motivated’. Need for power can be of 2
types: Personal & Institutional. Personal power refers to directing others which is
often perceived as undesirable. Institutional power refers to organizing the efforts of
others to achieve organisational goals. The work best when they’re in charge and are
good in negotiating.
• Employees are a mix of these characteristics and this mix has to be identified in
order to manage & motivate them in the right way.

Process Theories of Motivation

The Process Theories of Motivation focuses on ‘how’ the process of motivation occurs. The
Process Theories of Motivation are as follows-

Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Porter & Lawler’s Expectancy Theory

Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

This model is based on the belief that motivation is determined by the nature of the reward
people expect to get as a result of their job performance. Man is a rational being, hence he
will try to maximize the perceived value of such rewards.
Victor Vroom stated that effort & performance are linked to a person’s motivation. The
variables used in this theory are Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence.

MOTIVATION= EXPECTANCY * INSTRUMENTALITY * VALENCE

Expectancy: (Effort-Performance Probability) It is the belief that increased effort will lead to
increased performance. Since it is a probability value, it’s value ranges between 0 and 1. If
the value is at 0, the individual wouldn’t even attempt to make an effort.
Instrumentality: (Performance-Reward Probability) It is the belief that a good performance
will lead to a valued outcome i.e. a reward. It is the degree to which a first level outcome will
lead to a second level outcome. It’s value ranges from -1 to +1.
Valence: Valence refers to the value associated with the reward. It states the
attraction/repulsion of an outcome to the individual. It values ranges from -infinity to
+infinity.

As shown in the equation, motivation will be at it’s highest when all three elements are high.
It can be 0 if anyone of the elements are 0.

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Porter & Lawler’s Expectancy Theory

This is a multi variate model. Individual behaviour is determined by a combination of factors

both internal and external. All individuals have different needs and goals and hence, tend to
make conscious decisions.
They decide between alternative behaviours and the decision leads to the desired outcome.
Effort: It refers to the amount of energy a person exerts on a job. The predictors affecting
Effort are-

• Value of Reward: Refers to Valence. The attraction/repulsion of an outcome. If the

reward is valent, efforts would increase.
• Effort leading to performance probability: An individual would try to assess the
probability of a certain level of effort and see if the performance and rewards would
be valent. Based on that, effort is applied.
Performance: Performance is the result of the efforts applied by the individual. The
predictors affecting Performance are-

• Abilities & Traits: This involves the knowledge, skills and intellectual capacity
required to perform the job. Performance increases when these Abilities & Traits are
present.
• Role Perception: It refers to the way in which people define their jobs. Those who
perceive their roles as defined by the organisation will be able to perform better.
Satisfaction: It is the result of Intrinsic & Extrinsic rewards. The predictor affecting
Satisfaction is-

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 • Perceived Equitably Reward: This states that an individual compares the present
reward with the perceived reward and see if it matches. Satisfaction is achieved when
they match.

Types of Rewards
Reward is the result of a proper performance. The types of rewards are-
• Based on Membership & Seniority: Every employee gets these rewards whether they
perform or not. It doesn’t act as a motivator.
• Based on Job Status: The rewards differ based on the job status. Jobs requiring more
skill give more rewards. It has a slight motivating effect as one will be motivated to
move to a higher job position.
• Based on Competency: The rewards are awarded on the basis of the knowledge and
skills possessed by the employees rather than their job status. Motivates the employee
to develop their skills.
• Based on Performance: Theses rewards are awarded on the basis of the performance
of the employee. This acts as a high motivator.

Leadership
The ability to influence others in order to achieve a common objective.
A Leader is one who sets direction, builds an inspiring vision and creates something new.
The five powers which a leader has are-
1. Legitimate Power: It is the power derived from the formal position in the
organisation’s hierarchy.
2. Reward Power: It is the power to reward the followers (subordinates)
3. Coercive Power: It is the ability to change behaviour by imposing punishment.
4. Referent Power: It is the ability of a leader to influence a follower. (People aspire to
be just like the leader)
5. Expert Power: It the possession of in depth knowledge which the other employees
don’t have.

Difference between Leader & Manager

• Leadership deals with change; Management deals with complexity.

• Psychological Work; Operational Work
• Deals in Vision; Deals in how to get there
• Focuses on people; Focuses on systems & structures
• Empowers, Budgets

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Trait Theories
This theory says that traits are used distinguish leaders from non-leaders. Early
trait theories identified-

• Physical characteristics (appearance)

• Personality characteristics (extrovert)
• Skills and abilities (intelligence)
• Social factors (interpersonal skills)
However, recent results on traits have identified the following-

• Achievement Motivation
• Personal Integrity: Consistent behaviour stating honesty, trustworthy.
• Self-confidence
• Emotional Stability
• Power Motivation: need for power
• Affiliation Motivation

Behavioural Perspective of Leadership

They focus on the specific behaviours of a leader.

Ohio and Michigan Studies

Research at Ohio State University identified Consideration and Initiating structure as the
dimensions of leadership behaviour.
Consideration includes friendship, mutual-trust, respect etc. Leaders are friendly and
approachable. Two-communication occurs.
Initiating indicates a concern about defining the roles in an organisation and establishing
well defined norm of organization and trying out new ideas and practices. Plays an active
role in directing.
The Ohio studies found that consideration and initiating structures were independent of
each other. However, it was found that a combination of these 2 behaviours was possible.

Managerial Grid

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Proposed by Blake & Mouton.
This model is based on 2 dimensions: Concern for People & Concern for Production.
(diagram is self-explanatory)

Disadvantage: This model implies that the ‘Team Management Style’ is the only favourable
leadership style. This is not true.
Good Leaders adapt when the situation demands.

• Country Club (1,9): Suitable when the team is new and the task is easy.
• Impoverish (1,1): Suitable when the team is highly experienced & expertised.
• Task Management (9,1): Suitable during a crisis where the core focus is the task.

Contingency Perspective of Leadership

There is no single preferred style of leadership. The task is to identify the leadership style that
is the most appropriate in a specific situation.

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Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory

Developed by Dr. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard.

There are different leadership styles for different situations. This theory focuses on the
Contingent Situations of the followers.
The Contingent Situations refer to Readiness, Maturity and Development of the followers.
The situations are-

• R1- In this situation, the employees are unable & unwilling to do the task. In this
situation, Leadership is done in the Telling (Directing) style. Clear cut instructions are
provided through one-way communication.
• R2- In this situation, the employees are willing to do the task but lack the ability.
Leadership is done in the Selling style where there is focus on task as well as
relationship. Two-way communication is done to provide socio-economic support.
• R3- In this situation, the employees have the ability but are unwilling to do the task.
Leadership is done in the Participative (Supportive) style where shared
decisionmaking is done and fewer tasks are given highly focusing on the relationship.
• R4- In this situation, the employees have the ability as well as the willingness to do
the task. Leadership is done in the Delegating style where the responsibilities are
passed to the individual or group and the leader only supervises the work.
Disadvantage- It focuses on the followers and their Contingent situations while the main
focus in any organisation is task.
Situations like Time Constraints and Task Complexity is not included.

Robert House’s Path-Goal Theory of Leadership

This theory is thought as a process in which a leader clears the path of the subordinates in
order for them to achieve their goals. They select specific behaviours which are best suited to
their employee’s needs.
Obstacles faced by the leader are-

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 1. Employee based concerns: A leader needs to understand the employee’s needs so as to
know what’s best to motivate them. The following are to be kept in concern-
Experience, Ability and Locus of Control.
2. Environment based concerns: In case of obstacles, a leader has to find an alternative
path to direct the employees. These obstacles are-
Task Structures: Whether Simple or Complex, the structure and design of the task
calls for the leader’s support.
Team Dynamics: Whether Structured or Unstructured, the leader has to ensure that
comradeship, enthusiasm and devotion exists among all the team members. Leadership styles
in this model
They are-
1. Directive- Clear cut instructions are provided.
2. Supportive- Being friendly and showing concern for workers.
3. Participative- Consulting with workers before making a decision.
4. Achievement Oriented- Giving challenges to workers and expecting the best from
them.

Transactional, Transformational and Charismatic Leadership

Transactional
Transactional leadership focuses on results and measures success according to the
organisation’s system of rewards and penalties. These leaders have formal authority and
positions of responsibility in an organisation. They work best with employees who know
their jobs and are motivated by the reward penalty system. Transactional is a “telling”
leadership style.
Advantages: Achievement of short term goals; Clear cut definitions for reward and
punishment.
Disadvantages: Creativity is limited; Highly resistant to change.

Transformational
Transformational leadership is where leaders and their followers raise one another to higher
levels of morality and motivation. These leaders challenge existing structure and leads the
organisation to a future that is different from the past. They motivate people to go above and
beyond what is asked.
Advantages: Excellent in communication of new ideas; Ability to balance short-term and
long-term goals.
Disadvantages: An existing structure is required in order to bring change; Not suitable for
bureaucratic organisations.

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Charismatic
Charismatic leadership is when the leader enjoys referent power. It is a leadership style that is
recognised easily. Charisma depends upon interpersonal attraction where a follower develops
respect for the leader whom they admire.
Advantages: They inspire people to work together for a common cause; A catalyst for social
change.
Disadvantages: Organisation can suffer if the leader leaves; Leaders may not learn from their
mistakes.

Leaders as a Mentor
Mentor: An experienced and trusted adviser.
Mentoring: Providing emotional support and guidance to by an older person to younger one
(called protégé). The protégé looks up to the mentor and trusts them.
Leaders have to take the role of a mentor to help subordinates grow and develop. They will
need the following characteristics to make them an effective mentor-

• Mentor-protégé relationship is more open ended when compared to

superiorsubordinate.
• Has to possess more knowledge.
• Has to be a good listener and influencer.
• Should be willing to share expertise with protégé and not be threatened by the
progress of the protégé.
• Should know when to provide criticism.

Ethical Leadership
Ethics is the discipline that deals with moral duties and obligations. Ethical behaviour is the
behaviour that conforms to accepted standards of conduct.
Ethical dilemma occurs when there is conflict of ethical principles. To prevent this, leaders in
the organisations need to prioritize all competing values and standards of behaviour.

Group Dynamics
They deal with the attitudes and behavioural patterns of a group.

Groups are a collection of 2 or more people who are Interacting & Interdependent in order to
achieve a common objective. They are perceived as a distinct entity from the others, sharing
common values.
Reason for formation of groups-

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 • Easier to achieve goals.
• Faster execution of goals
• Benefits of specialisation
• To fulfil social needs

Types of Groups
The types of groups are-
Formal: Groups established by managers to perform well-defined tasks to achieve
organisational objectives. They are formed in a planned effort with a defined role and
authority and responsibility. The types of formal groups are-

• Task Group: A temporary group formed to achieve a specific task. The group
dissolves after the completion of the task.
• Command Group: Formed for the long run (permanent) dictated by the structure of
the organisation.
Informal: Groups established on the basis of need for friendship, affiliation, companionship
and communication. It is unplanned and has no role and no power. The types of informal
groups are-

• Friendship Group: Based on common characteristics which satisfy affiliation needs of

the members.
• Interest Group: Individuals share mutual interests and try to achieve the common
objectives.

Group Functions
Group functions are categorised into the following-
Task Functions: They are focused towards achieving organisational goals.

• Handling complex tasks.

• Acts as a coordination function within the group and between groups • Generating
new and creative ideas
• Acts as a mode of training new employees.
Maintenance Functions: They are focused towards the personal needs and expectations of
the members.

• Fulfils the need for social interaction.

• Provides a sense of identity and self-esteem.
• Emotional support for solving personal problems.
• Reduces anxiety and uncertainty (people can voice out their concerns)

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Tuckman’s Model of Group Development
This model states the 5 stages of Group formation-
1. Forming: People come together to fulfil a common objective. Focus lies on the task
and the resources available. Members being new to each other try to build rapport but
are also cautious at this stage.
2. Storming: When clarity of job is known, conflicts occur on the technique used and the
allocation of resources. However, even personality clashes, ego hassles, interpersonal
relationships and power lead to conflicts among the members. Members are unwilling
to accept the group influence.
3. Norming: Mutual understanding happens and conflicts begin to dissolve. Cohesion
develops at this stage. The group starts to build it’s own set of norms and try to abide
by them. Conflict-producing situations are avoided.
4. Performing: When differences and conflicts are handled, the group is channelized in a
positive direction. Proper norms, interpersonal relationships and solutions to the
problems lead to efficient and effective performance.
5. Adjourning: Present in temporary groups. Membership in the group ceases to exist
once the task is completed. Mixed feelings of excitement and melancholy occur at this
stage.
Disadvantage of this model: The order of group formation can vary. Regression can occur.

Group Processes
Refers to the various characteristics of a group. They are-

Group Norms
They are a set of expectations developed by the group to reinforce the behaviour of people.
Without group norms, individuals would have no understanding of how to act in social
situations. They facilitate the process of management in the group. Compliance with norms
results in a reward. It also gives a unique identity to the group.
The categories of group norms are:
• Performance Norms: They are centred on how hard should a person work in a given
group.
• Appearance Norms: They indicate on how the member’s physical appearance should
be.
• Resource Allocation Norms: This norm focuses on the allocation of resources in an
organisation.

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Group Roles
A Role is an expected set of recurring behaviour associated with a position in the group Task
Roles: Directly focuses on achieving goals and objectives.
Maintenance Roles: Focused on establishing & maintaining good interpersonal relations.
Personal Roles: Roles based on individual needs.
Expected Roles: Refers to the needs of an organisation.
Perceiving Roles: Our understanding of our role.
Role Ambiguity: When there is no clarity in the role.
Role conflict: Occurs when an individual’s performance of one role is disturbed by the
performance of another role.
Role Overload: occurs when too many expectations.

Group Cohesiveness
It is the degree to which people like each other and value their membership. It is a bond that
pulls people towards membership in a particular group and resist separation from that group.
It affects job satisfaction, productivity and turnover.

(How group cohesiveness affects group productivity)

The sources of Group Cohesiveness are-

• Similarity in attitudes & goals.

• Successful achievement of goals.
• Group Size
• Charismatic leader
• Threats towards the group
• Membership to high-status group
• Rewards

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 • Gender
Group conformity and Group Think are the 2 potential hazards to high group cohesiveness.

Group Status
It refers to an aspirational position in the group. Once achieved, a person enjoys power. It is a
key contributor for achieving goals.

Group Size
Refers to the number of members in the group. The ideal group size is 7 members. Pros
of small groups: (<7)

• Faster communication
• Easy control
• Reduces conflicts
• High interpersonal relationships
• Full participation
• Shared leadership
Pros of large groups: (>7)

• Division of work
• More ideas
• Availability of talent and experience

Threats to Group Effectiveness

Groupthink
It is a phenomenon which occurs due to high pressure for conformity that the member’s
concern for alternative courses of action is overpowered. Groups suffering from groupthink
exhibit the following-
Illusion of Invulnerability: Everyone believes in the course of action such that any
information contrary to what was decided is immediately rejected.
Illusion of Unanimity: Everyone believes that their judgements are unanimous as they all
subscribe to the majority view.
Negative Views of the competitor
Sanctity of group consensus
Having a false protective shield keeping away adverse information
In order to avoid Groupthink-

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 • Having smaller groups
• Having brainstorming sessions
• Explore alternatives
• Examine risks of the preferred choice

Groupshift
It is the phenomena in which individual decisions make way for exaggerated group decisions.
Group decisions free any single individual from accountability for the group’s final choice.
Greater risk can be taken as even if the decision fails, no single individual can be held wholly
responsible.

Social Loafing
It refers to the fact that people are prone to exert less effort while working in a group versus
working individually. It has negative consequences to the group as well as the individual. It
affects the group by fostering a lack of cohesion. Members may stop collaborating as they do
not want to feel exploited by those who do not perform. Low levels of Motivation and a large
group size promote social loafing.

Evolution of Groups into Teams

For a group to evolve into a team, it must reach the performing stage. It must also possess
characteristics such as agreement with mission, shared leadership, shared accountability etc.
4 essential conditions for a group to evolve into a team are-

• Supportive Organisational Conditions: Members should be given enough support to

make them feel happy at work in order for them to evolve into a team.
• Engaging skilled team members: Members should possess skills such as technical
skills, problem solving skills, decision making skills and interpersonal skills for
evolution into teams.
• Common Values: In order to cooperate and collaborate, members must have a
common set of values to reinforce accountability.
• Matching team roles and preferences: there has to be perfect compatibility between
the roles performed by individuals and the task in hand.

Organisational Change

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Change
Change is the coping process of moving from the present state to the desired state undertaken
by individuals, groups and organisation in response to dynamic internal and external factors.

Importance of Change
The following factors explain the need for organisational change-

• Technology
• Customer Needs
• Economy
• Growth Opportunities
• Resource Constraints
• Government Regulations

Nature of Work Change

Work change is classified into the following-
(Internal- occurs within the organisation)
• Internal Planned Change
• Internal Unplanned Change
• External Planned Change
• External Unplanned Change

Lewin’s Force Field Analysis Model

(shows similarities to Newton’s Third Law of Motion)
Kurt Lewin stated that organisations seek to be in a state of equilibrium that is not conductive
to change. One side of this model represents the ‘forces for change’ also called driving
forces. The other side of the model represents the ‘forces against change’ also called
restraining forces. Stability occurs when the driving and restraining forces are roughly in
equilibrium.

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 (Examples of driving & restraining forces)
Lewin states that efforts made to bring planned organisational change must be done in 3
steps. They are-

• Unfreezing: the process by which people become aware of the need for change. The
employees most affected by the change must be made aware on why it’s needed.
• Change: defined as anything that alters existing relationships or activities.
• Refreezing: the process of making the new behaviour relatively permanent and
resistant to future change.

Resistance to Change
Resistance to change is the action taken by individuals and groups when they perceive that
a change that is occurring as a threat to them. It is sometimes beneficial as it promotes
functional conflict and debates. Reasons for resistance to change are as follows-
Individual
• Selective Perception: People mostly notice how the change would affect them
personally rather than the bigger picture.
• Lack of Information: When there is lack of information regarding the change, people
tend to fills the gaps (closure) which often assumes the worst.
• Fear of the Unknown: Losing position, having no knowledge on the new techniques,
losing income, status or power leads to resistance making work difficult.
• Habits: Breaking a habit is difficult because it takes hard work and involves giving
up perceived benefits from the habit even if the new behaviour has more desirable
consequences.

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 • Resentment towards the initiator: If the change doesn’t show concern towards the
employee, resentment and anger is directed towards those who are initiating the
change.
Organisation
• Power Maintenance: Changes in decision-making authority tends to affect power in an
organisation which becomes a threat for those losing power.
• Structural Stability: A structure is designed in such a way that the behaviours
associated with it resist change. An organisation is a system of interrelated structures
and subsystems. A small change will cause high resistance.
• Functional sub-optimization: Functional units think of themselves and end up
supporting changes that are beneficial to them.
• Organisational Culture: Organisational culture promotes predictable ways of thinking
and behaving hence resulting in resistance.
• Group Norms: When groups develop their own norms to promote desirable behaviour,
they often resist changes that do not directly benefit them individually.

Overcoming Resistance to Change

This can be done in the following ways-
• Education and Communication: Extensive communication is required so that people
understand what is happening, what will be expected and how they will be supported.
• Participation and Involvement: Participation increases understanding the need for
change, reduces uncertainty and promotes a feeling of ownership directly affecting
people.
• Facilitation and Support: In order to reduce anxiety and help people cope with the
change, managers have to provide encouragement, support, counselling and resources.
• Negotiation and Agreement: Rewards and incentives are given to those who adapt to
change.
• Manipulation: framing and selectively using information and incentives to maximise
the likelihood of acceptance.

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