Assignment on Management process and Organization Behaviour

Ans1. Strategies of an organisation are divided into three parts. They are given as follows:

a) Corporate Strategyb) Business Strategyc) Functional Strategy

a) Corporate Strategy: Company’s like Reliance and Bajaj will have several businesses and a corporate headquarters which controls the activities. Each of the business may run by an independent company i.e. Reliance communication runs the telecommunication service and Bajaj Finance runs the insurance services. The Corporative headquarter will have a grand plan on how each business will operate. For example Reliance Communication might say to expand their business by providing Wireless internet dongles or Bajaj Finance should provide new innovative insurance schemes. The “Grand Plan” provided by the corporate headquarters is called “Corporative Strategy”. It lays down the grand plan to be followed by each business under a corporative headquarter.

b) Business Strategy: Every business has a business strategy. This is the grand plane for doing business. For example Reliance communication as being a telecom service provider would focus on providing telecommunication service at a lower rate than other telecommunication service providers or even providing its services in foreign countries at a lower rate by which business could expand and it would get more customers. This is what business strategy is.

c) Functional Strategy: One there is a business strategy each independent department will need its own strategy. For example Reliance communication will need a strategy different from Reliance insurance and Reliance fresh. So the operation, marketing, finance etc. of each business will make their own grand plan or strategy. This is called Functional Strategy.

Ans2. Decision making can be defined as the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision-maker. Since no action can be taken without any decision, planning will not go any further without decision. The process leading to decision is as follows:

Premising (making a decision on what is right and what is wrong and acting on it)

1 | P a g e

Assignment on Management process and Organization Behaviour

Identifying alternatives Evaluating alternatives Choosing an alternative.

Decision making under certainty, uncertainty and risk:Decision under Certain: Some decisions can be taken under certainty. For example you can take a decision on buying a car after you know its price, features and reliability.Decision under uncertainty: In the case of uncertainty For example you plan to expand your business of food chain in different states of the country but you uncertain whether your cuisine will be liked in the other parts of the country. This is Decision under uncertainty .While taking decision under uncertainty we usually use experience, experimentation rather than research or analysis.Decision under risk: Risk is not as same as uncertainty, it is meant to be estimated. For example people in the stock market bid on shares. There is a risk in this as the price of share sometimes declines and sometimes rises. The stock holder makes a decision under risk on which share to bid. If the share market is high enough he gets double of what amount he bid on the share or sometimes can also bear a loss when the share price declines. The decision of bidding on the share is taken under risk.

The steps in creative decision making are as follows:a) Incubation: To make creative decision first we allow a problem to

simmer in our mind. We have observed how a question without an answer keeps circulating in our mind and eventually we figure out an answer to it. This happens because we incubate the problem enabling our brain to connect to various aspects and then find a possible solution.

b) Intuition: After we have incubated it for some time we get an intuition, what is in the conscious mind is connected to the conscious mind. There is no clear explanation to this process but this happen in most of the cases.

c) Insight: It is something evidential about the nature of the problem and its solution comes to us often when we are not thinking of the problem. The brain connects to the need of solution with the intuition and gives a possible answer. The answers may or may not work

d) Logical formulation or verification: Here the insight is verified and we see its potential and then take a decision.

2 | P a g e

Assignment on Management process and Organization Behaviour

Ans3. The term span of control indicates the number of employees or managers who work under one head. It helps to indicate the number of people working under each head of every department in an organisation. Span of control may be narrow or broad.The difference between narrow span of control and wide span of control are as follows:

Narrow span of control Wide span of controlIn narrow span of control a department may have three or four heads and could be two or three sub heads too

In wide span of control there may be twenty or thirty more subordinators under a head

Close supervision of work and faster communication can take place as the gap between the head and the employee is less

Close supervision of work is only possible by superiors due to a large gap (different departments and number of employees)between the head and the employee

There is a level of close control in operations and management by any head of department

Requires high quality managers for close control on operations and management

Factors that affect the span of control are as follows: Training: Wide span demands high level of training while in narrow

span one can manage with less Task definition and delegation: Wide span demands clear task

definition and delegation while this can be much less in narrow span Well defined plans and repetitive process: If the business has these a

wide span is viable if not a narrow span is preferred Verifiable objectives: Wide span demands verifiable objectives and this

is much less in narrow span Speed of change: When the speed of change is high a wide span may not

be practical from a communication perspective but may be practical if such change needs close control

Organisation structure, written and oral communication: When this is of high order wide span can work well

Effective interaction and meeting: Wide span demands both more than narrow span

3 | P a g e

Assignment on Management process and Organization Behaviour

Specialists: When there is a greater number of specialist’s at the upper level a wide span is preferable. If the number of specialists is more at the lower level then a narrow span can work better.

Task simplicity: If the task is simple a wide span is viable. Competence of managers: With highly competent managers a wide span

works well. Subordinate readiness: If the subordinators are mature and are willing

to assume responsibility a wide span works well.

Ans4.Organisational behaviour (OB) is the study of the way people interact among each other in an organisation. Normally this study is applies in an attempt to create a more efficient business organisation. Organisational behaviour theory is used for human resource purpose to maximise the output from individual group members.There are four main approaches to organisational behaviour. They are as follows:

1. Human Resource approach: The Human resource approach deals with the growth and development of the people towards higher level of competency, creativity and fulfilment. People are the main resource in an organisation, Hence it tries to create a work environment for improved abilities. This approach is also known as “Supportive approach” because the manager’s role over here changes from control of employees to providing an active support for the growth and performance of employees.

2. Contingency approach: This approach implies different situations require different behavioural practises for effectiveness, hence each situation must be analysed carefully to determine the significant variables that exist in order to establish the more effective practises.

3. Productivity approach: In this approach the output per unit input is considered. Besides economic inputs and outputs we need to have human and social inputs and outputs in workplace, id the premise of this approach.

4. System approach: This approach means that the organisation people employ technology in performing the task that they are responsible for, while the structure of the organisation serves as a basis for coordinating all their different activities. This approach also looks at the organisation

4 | P a g e

Assignment on Management process and Organization Behaviour

and its broader environment i.e. social, economic, culture and politics within which they operate.

Ans5. Perception is the process by which individuals organise and interpret sensory impression in order to give meaning to the environment. It is the most important factor of organisational behaviour. The importance of perception is as follows:

While creating vision for an organisation, our perception for the future and the way things should be is a deciding factor.

While making strategy out perception for opportunities and threats makes us see the situation differently.

Perception helps us to seek more information to make a more rational decision.

Perception effects planning because the goal/target set depends on our perception of the world and the employees and their ability to achieve them.

The way we select staff is also based on perception and also the way we treat, reward, promote them also depends on perception.

The controls that we put in a place are based on perceptions of the competence and sincerity of the employees.

The Factors affection perception is as follows:a) Perceiver related factors: Peoples attitude, motives, interests,

experiences affect perception. Attitude and motives: Attitudes are evaluation statements

(wheatear spoke in words or otherwise) about objectives, people and events. Motives are strong drives that we have for taking an action.

Interests: Interest is a natural inclination to talk, participate or perform a task.

Experiences: Experiences are something that one gains over a period of time. It hard wires our brain. For e.g. An HR would hire a new recruit only by knowing his/her previous experience in the place that they worked before.

Expectations: Expectation is anticipating with confidence of fulfilment. It is a belief or feeling of something about to happen as expected.

5 | P a g e

Assignment on Management process and Organization Behaviour

Self-concept: Another factor that affects perception is self-concept.an individual with a positive self-concept tends to notice positive attributes in another person.

Moods: It is a prevailing psychological state that an individual behaves in. Moods can have a strong influence on the way we perceive someone.

Cognitive structure: It is an individual pattern of thinking of an individual. Some people tend to perceive physical traits such as height, weight, appearance etc. And some central traits such as personality disposition.

b) Target related factors: These are novelty, motion, sound, size, background and proximity. We see them being used in business especially advertisement’s.

c) Situation related factors: This factor affects perception depending on the situation of the place, time and other factors of an activity. Time, work setting, work tradition, nature of word and social setting are important factors in a work situation that affects perception.

Ans6. Motivation is a process that boosts an individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal. Motivation in an organisation can be by the employer praising the employee for his good work or by giving the employee promotion or by organising events to cool the working environment down a bit, etc.The importance of motivation is as follows:

Motivation helps to achieve personal goals Motivation gives job satisfaction Motivation helps in self-development of individuals An individual would always gain by working with a dynamic team

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory:According to this theory, human beings have wants and desire which influence their behaviour. Only dissatisfied needs can influence behaviour. The needs follow an order of importance (called hierarchy) and when a lower need is satisfied, he had a need to satisfy a higher level need. Maslow created the following five hierarchies:

6 | P a g e

Assignment on Management process and Organization Behaviour

1. Physiological: This includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex and other bodily needs. So if the work place does not fulfil these an individual will not be motivated.

2. Safety: Includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm and therefore he looks for safer working place and does not want to be threatened or abused in the workplace.

3. Social: Includes affection, belongingness, acceptance and friendship in the work place and if he gets this he will be happier to work harder.

4. Esteem: Includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy and achievement and external esteem factors such as status, recognition and attention. So when we set goals, supports him to achieve it and rewards him for it, it fulfilled hid esteem needs and also other needs because of the money he gets as a result which he can used to fulfil his other needs such as buying a house(safety) giving a party (social)..etc.

5. Self-actualisation: The drive to become what one is capable of becoming includes growth, achieving ones potential and self-fulfilment.

7 | P a g e