ms 1 imp questions ignou management functions and behaviour

Q 1 : GROUPA group is any number of people who:• have a common purpose or objective • interact with eachother to accomplish their objective • are aware of one another • perceive themselves to be part of thegroup This is the way Huse and Bowditch (1977) defined a group. You were asked at the beginning asto how many different groups you belong to. You may see, from the above definition that throughoutour lives, we belong to many different groups. Families are groups, a cricket team is a group, a club is agroup, drama and music organisations are all groups. You can thus apply the concept of group tovarious examples of religion, politics, consumer, sports, etc. as the case may be. Types of Groups i)Formal Groups : These groups are established by the organisation to accomplish specific tasks.According to Cartwright and Zander (1974) these groups include command groups which consist ofmanagers and their direct subordinates; and committees and task forces which are created to carry outspecific organisational assignments or activities. Example: In an educational institution there are threebroad formal groups of teachers, students and administration. ii)Informal Groups These groups areformed within the structure of the organisation but by the members themselves rather than by theorganisation. Sometimes they do not have the, approval )f the management. Basically, informal groupsare formed to satisfy social needs on the job. Sometimes they are formed to perform a task better,sometimes they are formed to hold production at a certain level. In a rigid system of organisation, theseinformal groups meet fairly regularly to cut short the rigid bureaucratic practices of the management.iii) Primary Groups :Cooley (1911) defined and analysed primary groups as those characterised byintimate, face-to-face association and cooperation. They are primary in several senses, but chiefly inthat they are fundamental in forming the social nature and ideals of the individuals. Example ofprimary group is family and the peer group. Many people use the term small group interchangeablywith primary group iv)Membership Groups : These are the ones to which the individual actuallybelongs. Examples: clubs, cooperative societies, workers unions, etc. v) Reference Groups These arethe ones with which an individual identifies or to which he would like to belong. Examples: socially orprofessionally prestigious groups with which the individual would like to, belong. vi) The In-groups :The in-groups represent a clustering of individuals holding prevailing values in a society or at leasthaving a dominant place in social functioning. Examples: Member of a team, family members. vii) TheOut-groups : The out-groups are the conglomerates looked upon as subordinate or marginal in thefuture, Examples: street performers for an office worker, a hawker for a surgeon. Whenever there is awin-lose situation in a competitive task, members of win or lose group show tremendous in-groupfeelings within themselves. Their group, in relation to the other group, is also called an out-group.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE WORK GROUPS

in managing the organisation, you have to understand how groups can be made into effective workgroups. The factors that influence the work group effectiveness are norms, cohesion and leadership. Letus see how each one of them contributes to making the group effective to achieve the objectives of theorganisation.i) Group norms When the group functions for a period of time, to attain certainobjectives, it develops norms or standards of behaviour. A norm is a rule. This tells the individual howto behave in a particular group. An individual may be a member of a welfare group, a chess club, hisfamily and his work group. You may like to watch his behaviour in various groups. You will see thedifferent kinds of behaviour of the same individual in different groups. You may also notice thatsometimes the norm is formal and is accepted by the group that way. For example all members of aparticular work group wear safety glasses while operating on a particular machine. All of them woulddo so by accepting this norm. On the other hand, a norm can be informal arising out of interactions andfeelings of the people. All the members of a task group decide to keep their output high by regulatingtheir pace of work. For example, a number of typists decide to attain a target of fifty pages of neat

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typing everyday. So they do it. The last characteristic of norms is that they allow possible deviations.An individual who deviates too far gets punished. When the union is on strike, its member attending towork is punished by being boycotted by the group. Ask yourself the following questions in the positionof a manager.1.What have you understood about norms when you are a formal leader of a group andwhen you are a member of other group? 2.Have you understood what the norms of various groups are?3.Do you know which are the central norms? 4.Do people conform to norms completely? 5.Do peoplewait for their leader to speak first in a meeting? 6.Do people come in time for meetings? 7. Isdisagreement allowed? 8.Do people have a common style of clothing? ii) Group cohesiveness Thismeans the degree to which group members are motivated to remain within the group and consequentlybehave in similar ways. A cohesive group also helps the members in their satsifaction of needs andattainment of goals. Cohesiveness develops out of the activities, interactions and sentiments of thepeople. The cohesive group acts as one man to attain its goal. iii) Group leadership As you havestudied in unit 13, leadership is the ability to influence the behaviour of others. Any effective workgroup wanting to accomplish its task gaining some sort of social satisfaction and having some sense ofcontribution and growth should like to look up to a leader to help reach these goals. Informal leadersoften emerge from the activities, interactions, sentiments of the ongoing group. They may help thegroup to accomplish its task or fulfil its social goals. You will always notice that formal task instructioncomes from the supervisor, but informal help comes from the informal leader. Managing GroupProductivity In your role as a manager you will do well to remember some useful ways to make your work groupeffective. As O'Donnel (1961) suggests you must know the following to manage your group of peopletowards attaining the goal.i) Content While having a meeting with your group members try tounderstand the subject matter of the task to be performed by the committee. This will help you to seethe problem clearly and solve it to:1.decide about the size of the commitee (having about five to fifteenmembers) and include experts in the committee to solve your problem 2.distribute the agenda beforethe meeting is held to all the members 3.specify the timings of the meeting 4.encourage persons topresent their ideas and do not encourage them to pick up the first feasible solution to a problem. Allowthem to think of various alternative solutions 5.periodically summarise the discussion and restate thecurrent position of the committee as to whether the committee has to finally decide on a solution oronly recommend a solution to a higher authority/advise the higher authority. ii) Process This involveshow the content is handled or discussed by the members. Benne and Sheats (1948) describe threeeffective ways to approach the group processes. One of the ways the content is handled is by group taskactivities. You may initiate, orient the group to its goals, coordinate, give and seek information aboutthe problem.Q2 :MANGERIAL VALUES AND ETHOS :Ethos refers to habitual character and values ofindividuals, groups, races, etc. Managerial ethos is concerned with the character and values ofmanagers as a professional group. Contemporary managers hold some specific values which affectwork and some of these are: autonomy, equity, security and opportunity. Equity refers to justice inrewarding performance. Here again, modern managers strongly feel that a person must get a rewardproportionate to his input. Another highly rewarded value is security, both economic and emotional.Keeping a person on his toes by making him feel insecure is slowly but steadily getting discredited as amanagement philosophy. Even the societies which have practised "hire and fire" policy areunmistakably shifting towards providing security of job. Providing enough career advancementopportunities to employees is yet another contemporary managerial value. For several reasons it maynot be possible for many organisations to create enough vacancies for everybody to advance in theircareer. However, modern managers encourage themselves and others to continue growing throughvarious modes of education, although, it does not necessarily lead to career advancement. Besides these


four values which affect a manager's work, the manager may have a strong "Work Value". Work Valuerefers to the worth a person ascribes to the opportunity of work. If you have a "strong" work value youare going to identify the worth or value of work to you in more ways than one. You may view work asan opportunity to: (a) accept challenges, (b) serve others, (c) earn money, (d) enjoy prestige and status,(e) be creative, or (f) be independent, etc. Managerial Ethos and its characteristics : Apart fromthese values, the managerial ethos of high order requires certain other characteristics as well. Let usdescribe these very briefly to you. Action goal orientation: Persons with high sense of adequacy haveclear goals about their future and are directed by these goals. They usually do not think their goals instatus terms (i.e., what they would like to be) but in activity terms (i.e., what they would like to do). Forexample, when a junior manager thinks that he would like to be the "Chief of Marketing" he is status-goal oriented; but when he thinks that he would like to be influenced the marketing policies of thecompany, he is action-goal oriented. Pro-action: Proactive people do things on their own withouthaving to be told by any one. Such initiative taking behavior leads to a high level of activity andexperimentation. As contrasted to these people are reactive persons or conformists who spend most oftheir lives in doing things that others expect them to do. Reactive people are other-directed, whereasproactive ones are inner-directed. A superior managerial ethos requires more of pro-action thanreaction. Internal resources: Managers with high sense of adequacy are aware of their internal'strength and are guided by these strengths. They are aware of their weaknesses but this awareness doesnot deter them from acting positively or to look for opportunities for continuous self-improvement.They are open to feedback and ready to learn from experience. Problem-solving attitude: A superiorethos requires that managers view themselves as problem solvers, rather than problem-avoiders. Thesemanagers have a positive orientation to problem situations and do not want to run away from problems.They tend to approach problem situations with optimism because they have internal locus of control,i.e., a strong belief that they can change the environment through their own efforts. Q3 : THE PREREQUISITES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE CONTROLSYSTEMS The major prerequisites of control are two: a plan and a structure.a) Plan: controls must bebased on plan. The more clear and complete the plans are the more effective controls can be; plansbecome the standards by which the actions are measured. b) Structure: There is need for a structure toknow where the responsibility rests for deviations and corrective action, if any needed. As in the caseof plans, the more clear and complete the organisation structure is, the more effective control can be.Controls, to he effective, should share the following basic characteristics: Appropriate: Controls shouldcorrespond to an organisation's plans. Controls designed for a general manager are inappropriate for asupervisor. Similarly, control systems suitable for a line department may be inappropriate for a staffdepartment. Strategic: Control should serve a stretegic purpose and provide spotlight on positive andnegative exceptions at critical points. Acceptable: Controls will not work unless people want them to.They should be acceptable to those to whom they apply. Reliable and objective: Controls should beaccurate and unbiased. If they are unreliable and subjective, people will resent them. Cost-effective:The benefit from control should be greater than the costs. Control devices should yield tangiblebenefits. METHODS OF CONTROL : Arthur Bedeian discusses nine methods of control andclassifies them into three categories based on their frequency, of use: Constantly used controls: Self-control, group control and policies, procedures and rules. Periodically used controls: ManagementInformation Systems, External Audits and Budgets. Occasionally used controls: Special reports,personal observation and project control. The nine methods of control mentioned above (see Fig. III)are briefly discussed hereunder. Constant Controls Self-control: Managers need to exercise more self-control to minimise the need for other control methods and making control in the organisationacceptable and effective. Self-control means giving a fair day's work for a fair day's pay, reporting towork on time, discharging duties and responsibility properly and respecting the rights of others in the


organisation. Self-control is more in tune with Theory Y discussed later in the unit on Leadership Stylesand Influence Process in Block 5. Respect for self-control in an organisation can be a motivating factor.A sense of appreciation for self-control can be promoted among employees through training inbehaviour modification. Group Control: Work groups are a source of control. Group-defined normsexert greater influence in organisations than the norms that managements may choose to set unilaterallyand thrust on groups. Group norms and group control can aid or hinder formal authority. Organisationswould do well to develop and use group control processes to reinforce formal authority. While in someorganisations group control processes helped increase output and improve quality,, in others theyresulted in restricting output. For group norms to contribute to organisational goals there should be aclimate of trust and openness, a culture of cooperation than confrontation. Quality circle, quality ofworklife programmes and work redesign experiments being taken up in some organisations areexamples that point to organisational thrust toward reinforcing group control processes for achievingorganisational goals through integration of members' interests with those of the organisation.Policies/Procedures/Rules: These are essentially bureaucratic control mechanisms referred to in thediscussion on control strategies. They reflect past managerial experience and include a variety ofaspects concerning how to make certain decisions, deal with resources, etc.

Periodic Controls : Management Information Systems: A Management Information System is amechanism designed to collect, combine, compare, analyse and disseminate data in the form ofinformation. External Audits: The annual financial audit by an outside accounting firm is one form ofexternal audit, mainly of the finances of an organisation. In the case of public sector units, such anaudit is performed by Comptroller and Auditor General also. Budgets: Budgets are plans that deal withthe future allocation and utilisation of various resources to different enterprise activities over a givenperiod of time. Occasional Controls : Special Reports: These have a special role. Special reports canbe commissioned by an organisation when its normal control systems point to the need for detailedinvestigation or study of a particular operational aspect. When major policy decisions of strategicimportance are taken, special reports may be commissioned. These include situations where theorganisations find the need for overcoming the existing difficulties, modernisation, expansion,diversification, merger, acquisition etc. Personal Observation: Managers can know what is happening


in an organisation by relying on information provided by others as also by finding out for them. Firsthand knowledge has to be critical to be effective. Project Controls: Various methods have beendeveloped for controlling specific enterprise projects. The best example is the network analysis usingthe PERT tool. PERT is an acronym for Programme Evaluation and Review Technique. Q4 :Book 1 – Unit 4. MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Planning skills: * being able to think ahead;* ability to forecast future environmental trendsaffecting the organization; * ability to state organizational objectives;* ability to choose strategies thatwill help in attaining these objectives with respect to future trends; * ability to arrive at performancestandards or yardsticks for monitoring the implementation of these strategies.Use computer to plan.

Organizing skills: * Ability to analyses and describe various organizational jobs. * Ability toselect, train and induct people in jobs. * ability to draw working links i.e define authority and span ofcontrol amongst people. * ability to change these working links when ever there are major changes inthe environment and technology or strategy in the organization.

Leading skills:(PIC)Leading people requires that the leader must understand the values,personality, perception and attitudes of these people. As an individual you act differently fromanother individual because of your values, personality, perception and attitudes. This is a veryimportant factor to be understood in relation to the other person who may be your superior orsubordinate. Let us carry out the following activity in order to understand each of these factors.

Controlling skills:The skill of controlling consists of actions and decisions which managersundertake to ensure that the actual results are consistent with desired results.

Decision making skills:Decision-making skills are present in the planning process. Theypervade all other areas such as organizing, leading and controlling. Whether it is a routine or non-routine decision you have to (1) identify and define the problem (2) develop alternative decision (3)select the decision which will solve the problem and (4) implement that decision.

Book 1 – Unit 4. MANAGEMENT SKILLS AT Various Levels(PIC)These skills refer to the personal ability put to use by the manager in specific position that he or she


holds in the organizational hierarchy. Katz (1974) talks of three types of skills that are recognized by allmanagers. These are the technical, the human and the conceptual skills. The use of these skills differsfor various levels of managers. Let us understand the skills first and then see how much each skill isused at various levels of managerial hierarchy and what importance each has in the career growth of amanager. 1.Technical skills:It is the ability to work with resources in a particular area of expertise. Asurgeon. Technical skill implies an understanding of, and proficiency in, a specific kind of activityparticularly the one involving methods, processes, procedures or techniques 2.Human Skills:Humanskill is the manager's ability to work effectively as a group member and to build cooperative effortwithin the team he leads. Every managerial level requires managers to interact with other people,whereas technical skill is primarily concerned with working with things (processes or physical objects).The human skill can be developed without any formalized training for some. Many others to beindividually aided by their immediate superiors who themselves should possess the human skill inorder to be able to impart that. An important part of the procedure is the self-examination of theindividual's own concepts and values which may enable him to develop more useful attitudes abouthimself and about others. With this change in attitude, there may also develop some active skill indealing with human problems. 3.Conceptual Skills:This skill means the ability to see the organizationas a whole and it includes recognizing how the various functions of the organization depend on oneanother. It also makes the individual aware how changes in any one part of the organization affect allthe others. It extends to visualizing the relationship of the individual business to the industry, thecommunity and the political, social and economic forces of the nation as a whole. Thus the managergains insight into improving the overall welfare of the total organization. Like human skill, conceptual skill must be a part of the executive's make-up of the personality.Conceptual skill compared to technical and human skills is more important at the top level ofmanagement. At the first level, one has relatively few factors to consider. Technical skill is responsiblefor many of the great advances of modem industry. It is indispensable to efficient operation. It has thegreatest importance at the lower level of administration.


Q5 : Book 2 – Unit 5 - TECHNIQUES USED IN DIFFERENT STEPS OF DECISION MAKINGIn the models of decision making, you must have observed that any systematic approach to decisionmaking starts with a proper definition of the problem. You will often experience that a problem welldefined is a problem half-solved because the proper definition helped you to search at relevant place forpromising alternatives. You would also agree that a "fair" approach to decision-making demands thatparameters (for judging alternatives which are sometimes referred to as "criteria", "level of aspiration","decision rules", etc.) should be explicitly developed before the alternatives are generated and not after.Identification of Alternatives :Generation' of a reasonable number of good alternatives is usually noproblem. Occasionally, however, developing a variety of good alternatives can be a complex matterrequiring creativity, thought, and study. Three means for generating alternatives are particularly well-known. These are brainstorming, syntactics, and nominal grouping. Brainstorming: Developed by Alex F. Osborn, brainstorming is the oldest and best known techniquefor stimulating creative thinking. A group process, where the members are presented with a problemand are asked to develop as many solutions as possible in a free environment. Brainstorming isgoverned by four important rules: 1.Freewheeling' is welcome. The wilder the idea the better. It iseasier to `tame down' than to `think up' ideas. 2.Quantity is wanted. The greater the number of ideas,the greater the likelihood of an outstanding solution. 3.Combination and improvement are sought. Inaddition to contributing ideas of their own, group members suggest how ideas of others can beimproved, or how two or more ideas can be combined into still another idea. Brainstorming, however,is not without limitations. It is usually most effective when a problem is simple and specific. Inaddition, brainstorming sessions are time-consuming and, therefore, can be costly. Finally,brainstorming often produces superficial solutions. This latter limitation, of course, can be overcome byselecting group members who are familiar with at least one aspect of the problem being considered. Synectics: Developed by William J.J. Gordon, synectics is a more recent and formalised creativitytechnique for the generation of alternative solutions. A method of generating alternatives by combiningdiverse and apparently irrelevant ideas. The term synectics is derived from a Greek word meaning "thefitting together of diverse elements." The basic intent of synectics is to stimulate novel and even bizarrealternatives through the joining together of distinct and apparently irrelevant ideas. Nominal Grouping: Developed by Andre Dellbecq and Andrew-Van de Ven, nominal grouping differsfrom both brainstorming and synectics in two important ways. Nominal grouping does not rely on freeassociation of ideas, and it purposely attempts to reduce verbal interaction. From this lattercharacteristic a nominal group derives its name; it is a group "in name only". Stage 1: Seven to tenindividuals 'with different backgrounds and training are brought together and familiarised with aselected problem such as, "What alternatives are available for achieving a set of of ,objectives?"Stage2: Each group member is asked to prepare a list of ideas in response to the identified problem, workingsilently and alone. Stage 3: After a period of ten to fifteen minutes, group members share their ideas,one at a time, in a round-robin manner. A group facilitator records the ideas on a blackboard or flipchart for all to see. The round-robin process continues until all ideas are presented and recorded. Stage4: A period of structured interaction follows in which group members openly discuss and evaluate eachrecorded idea. At this point ideas may be reworded, combined, deleted, or added.Stage 5: Each groupmember votes by privately ranking the presented ideas in order of their perceived importance.Following a brief discussion of the vote, a final secret ballot is conducted. The group's preference is thearithmetical outcome of the individual votes. This concludes the meeting.


Creative Thinking: There are many ways of searching for information and alternatives in problemsolving. Effective managers use all of their capacities-analytic and creative, conscious andsubconscious-and seek both individual and group involvement in this stage of decision making process.Like the decision' making process itself, the creative process also has three stages .

Evaluation of Alternatives :Evaluation of various identified possible courses of action constitutes thesecond step of decision-making. Having identified a `reasonable' number of alternatives as a manageryou should now be in a position to judge the different courses of action which have been isolated. Eachalternative must be evaluated in terms of its strengths and weaknesses, benefits and costs, advantagesand disadvantages in achieving organisational goals. Since there are usually both positive and negativeaspects of every alternative, most evaluations involve a balancing or trade-off of anticipatedconsequences. Needless to say, such assessments should be as objective as possible. Selection of an Alternative :Once appropriate alternatives have been identified and evaluated, youmust select the one alternative with the greatest perceived probability of meeting organizationalobjectives. Of course, it is entirely possible that the decision maker may be made to go back andidentify other alternatives if none are judged to be acceptable.Implementation of Decision :Once a plan (course of action) has been selected, appropriate actionsmust be taken to assure that it is implemented. Implementation is crucial to success of an enterprise.Indeed, it is considered by some to be the key to effective planning. The best plans in the world areabsolutely worthless if they cannot be implemented. The activities necessary to put plans into operationmust be skillfully initiated. In this respect, no plan is better than the actions taken to make it a reality.With selection of a course of action, you must make detailed provisions for its execution. You mustcommunicate the chosen course of action, gather support for it, and assign resources to see that it iscarried out. Development of a sound means of implementation is every bit as important as the decisionas to which course of action to pursue. All too often, even the best plans fail as a result of beingimproperly implemented. INDIVIDUAL VERSUS GROUP DECISION MAKING You are perhaps aware that in recent timesmost of the decisions in any large organisation are usually taken by a group of people (e.g., Board ofDirectors, Committees, Task-force, etc.) rather than by a single individual manager, however, brilliant,bright or powerful the manager may be. Perhaps from your own experience, you are also aware ofsome of the obvious advantages and disadvantages of group decision making like the one given below:(PIC)However, what we know about the impact of the groups in decision making process has been


summarised by Harrison (1975) in the following way: In establishing objectives, groups are typicallysuperior to individuals in that they possess greater cumulative knowledge to bring to bear on problems.In identifying alternatives, individual efforts are important to ensure that different and perhaps uniquesolutions are identified from various functional areas that later can be considered by the group. Inevaluating alternatives, group judgement is often superior to individual judgement because it bringsinto play a wider range of viewpoints. In choosing an alternative, involving group members oftenleads to greater acceptance of the final outcome. In implementing the choice, individual responsibilityis generally superior to group responsibility, Regardless of whether decisions are made individually orcollectively, individuals perform better in carrying out the decision than groups do.

Based on a series of studies on managerial decisions making behaviour, Vroom and Yetton (1973)found evidence in support of the following propositions:

� Managers tend to be more participative when the quality of the decision is important. � Managers tend to be more participative when subordinate acceptance of the decision is critical

for its effective implementation. � Managers tend to be more participative when they trust their subordinates to focus on

organisational rather than personal goals and when conflict among subordinates is minimal. � Managers tend to be less participative when they have all the necessary information to make a

high quality decision. � Managers tend to be less participative when the immediate problem is well structured or where

there is a common solution that has been applied in similar situations in the past. � Managers tend to be less participative when time is limited and immediate action is required.

Risky Shift Phenomenon:Contrary to the popular belief that groups are usually more conservativethan individuals there is abundant evidence to support the proposition that groups make riskierdecisions than individuals do. There are four possible reasons. First, risk takers are persuasive ingetting more cautious companions to shift their position. Second, as members of a group familiarisethemselves with the issues and arguments they seem to feel more confident about taking, risks. Third,the responsibility for decision making can be diffused across members of the group. Fourth, there isthe suggestion that in our culture people do not like to appear cautious in a public context.


Groupthink:Closely related to the risky-shift, but more serious, is the phenomenon known as`groupthink'. This phenomenon, first discussed by Janis (1971), refers to a mode of thinking in a groupin which the seeking of concurrence among members becomes so dominant that it over-rides anyrealistic appraisal of alternative course of action. The concept emerged from Janis' studies of high levelpolicy decisions by government and business leaders. By analysing the decision process leading up toeach action, Janis found numerous indications pointing to the development of group norms thatimproved morale at the expense of critical thinking. One of the most common norms was the tendencyto remain loyal to the group by continuing to adhere to policies and decisions to which the group wasalready committed, even when the decisions proved to be in error.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING

Elbing (1978) has identified several roadblocks that can impede managerial effectiveness in arriving atthe most suitable decision:1.The tendency to evaluate before one investigates. Early evaluationprecludes inquiry into a fuller understanding of the situation.2.The tendency to equate new and oldexperiences. This often causes managers to look for what is similar rather than what is unique in a newproblem.3.The tendency to use available solutions, rather than consider new or innovative ones.4.Thetendency to deal with problems at face value, rather than ask questions that might illuminate reasonsbehind the more obvious aspects of the problem.5.The tendency to direct decisions toward a singlegoal. Most problems involve multiple goals that must be handled simultaneously.6.The tendency toconfuse symptoms and problems.7.The tendency to overlook unsolvable problems and insteadconcentrate on simpler concerns.8.The tendency to respond automatically or to act before thinking. In case you are a member or leader of any decision making group, you would like to overcome theemergence of a groupthink mentality in groups and organisations. Taking your cue from Janis you cannow formulate several strategies to overcome the barriers:1.Group leaders can encourage each memberto be a critical evaluator of various proposals. 2.When groups are given a problem to solve, leaders canrefrain from stating their own position and instead encourage open enquiry and impartial probing of awide range of alternatives. 3.The organization can give the same problem to two different independentgroups and compare the resulting solutions. 4.Before the group reaches a final decision, members canbe required to take a respite at intervals and seek advice from other wings of the organization beforereturning to make a decision. 5.Outside experts can be invited to group meetings and encouraged tochallenge the views of group members. 6.At every group meeting, one member could be appointed as adevil's advocate to challenge the testimony of those advocating the majority position: 7.Whenconsidering the feasibility and effectiveness of various alternatives, divide the group into two sectionsfor independent discussions and compare results. 8.After deciding on a preliminary consensus on thefirst choice for a course of action, schedule a second meeting during which members of the groupexpress their residual doubts and rethink the entire issue prior to finalizing the decision and initiatingaction. -In other words, if groups are aware of the problems of groupthink, several specific andrelatively simple steps can be taken to minimise the likelihood of falling victim to this problem. As youalready know, recognising the problem represents half the battle in the effort to make more effectivedecisions in organizational settings.Q6 : MANAGEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLLICTS:Conflict is a theme that has occupied the thinking of man more than any other with the exception ofGod and love. Conflict has always been widespread in society but it is only recently that it hasgenerated a lot of interest and has been the focus of research and stud We are living in the age ofconflict. Everyday the choices available to us regarding any decision are increasing in number. Youmay have wanted to become a manager, an entrepreneur or a computer scientist. On the other hand,your father might have wanted you to become a doctor, a lawyer or a chartered accountant. Thus you


faced a conflict not only at an intra personal level, in terms of the various choices confronting you, butalso at an interpersonal level-your choice vs. your father's choice of a career for you. Types of Conflicts : Conflict within an Individual : You can locate conflict at various levels. Therecould be conflict within oneself-the intrapersonal conflict. Basically, there are three types of suchconflicts. You may have an excellent job offer in a city you are not willing to go to. Conflict betweenIndividuals : Conflict can also take an interpersonal form. Conflict between individuals takes placeowing to several factors, but most common are personal dislikes or personality differences. When thereare only differences of opinion between individuals about task-related matters, it can be construed astechnical conflict rather than interpersonal conflict. Conflict between an Individual and a Group :These types of intragroup conflicts arise frequently due to an individual's inability to conform to thegroup norms. For example, most groups have an idea of a "fair day's work" and may pressurise anindividual if he exceeds or falls short of the group's productivity norms. If the individual resents anysuch pressure or punishment, he -could come into conflict with other group members. Conflictbetween Groups within an Organisation Intergroup conflicts are one of the most important types of conflict to understand, as typically, anorganisation is structured in the form of several interdependent task-groups. Some of the usuallychronic conflicts in most of the organisations are found at this level, e.g., Union vs. Management, oneUnion vs. another Union; one functional area like production vs. another functional area likemaintenance; direct recruits vs. promotees, etc. Conflict between Organisations Conflict betweenorganisations is considered desirable if limited to the economic context only. The laissez-faire economyis based on this concept. It is assumed that conflict between organisations leads to innovative and newproducts, technological advancement, and better services at lower prices. IMPACT OF CONFLICTS : conflict can have both positive and negative impact on individuals,groups and organisations. Edgar Schein (1980) who has compiled a list of changes on the basis ofresearch findings. As a result of intergroup conflict some changes that may occur within the groups


involved are: 1 Group cohesiveness increases. The group becomes more closely knit; its membersshow greater loyalty. 2 The group becomes task-oriented. Group climate changes from informal totask-oriented in order to deal with the external threat. 3 Leadership becomes more directive. As thegroup becomes more task-oriented, the leader becomes more authoritarian. 4 Organisational structurebecomes more rigid. Authority and responsibility relationships among and between members becomemore clearly defined. 5 Group unity is stressed. The group demands increasing loyalty and conformityfrom its members. Prolonged group conflicts cause the following changes in relationship betweengroups: 1 Groups become antagonistic toward each other. Each group sees the other as an enemywho interferes with its goal-oriented behaviour. 2 Perceptions are distorted. Each group developspositive perceptions about its own group and negative perceptions toward the other. 3 Communicationceases to exist. When in conflict members of one group avoid interaction with members of the other. Ifthey are forced to interact, they tend to show hostility and aggression towards each other. 4 Groupsapply a double standard. Each group clearly sees all the vicious acts of the other party whileremaining blind to the same acts performed by their own group. From the above two lists of changes within and between groups in conflict, you can spot a number ofnegative effects. What about some potential benefits of intergroup conflicts? Here is such a list: 1Conflict clarifies the real issue. When people of groups express their concerns and differences, ithelps sharpen the real issue involved in a problem. Without conflict, many organisational problems gounnoticed and remain unresolved. 2 Conflict increases innovation. Conflict generates a greaterdiversity of ideas and viewpoints. Such a diversity can stimulate innovation in organisational practices.3 Intergroup conflict solidifies the group. When members of a group are faced with an externalenemy, they tend to work together more closely to deal with it. A manager may use this new cohesionto reduce internal conflicts. 4 Conflict serves as a catharsis. Conflict can provide an outlet throughwhich organisational members can ventilate their feelings without damaging organisationalfunctioning. 5 Conflict resolution solidifies intergroup relationships. Once group conflict issuccessfully resolved, it can solidify the relationships between groups and it may even make the groupsfeel closer to each other.Looking into some of the effects of conflicts you can take a balanced view to conclude that conflict isinherently neither good nor bad but simply has the potential to improve or impair an organisation'sperformance through its consequences. Conflicts that result in increased organisation performance andhelp an organisation to attain its goals may be termed as Functional. On the other hand, conflict thathinders an organisation's growth and prevents it from achieving its goals can be termed asDysfunctional. Thus conflict in certain forms can be functional or dysfunctional depending upon itsnature, intensity, duration and the manner in which it is handled. MODES OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT : We can now move on to examine the modes through which conflict can be handled so as to result inoptimal unit performance. You have already seen that when conflict level is too low, the unitperformance is also likely to be low and there is a scope for a perceptive manager to stimulate conflictin order to enhance the performance of the group. Stimulating Productive Conflict Most of us sincechildhood have been taught to avoid conflict and even disagreement, How many times have you heardthe statements "Don't Argue", "Stop fighting" or "It's better to turn the other cheek"? However, thistendency to avoid conflict is not always productive and there are times when there is a need tostimulate conflict. The presence of one or more of these signs is usually an indication of the need forconflict stimulation. Once the need has been identified you may adopt one or more of the followingtechniques:1 Manipulate Communication Channels a) Deviate messages from traditional channels b)Repress information c) Transmit too much information d) Transmit ambiguous or threateninginformation 2 Alter the Organisation's Structure (redefine jobs, alter tasks, reform units or activities)


a) Increase a unit's size b) Increase specialisation or standardisation c) Add, delete or transferorganisational members d) Increase interdependence between units 3 Alter Personal BehaviourFactors a) Change personality characteristics of leader b) Create role conflict c) Develop roleincongruence These are only a few of the suggestions possible. Depending upon your values and theorganisation's value-system, some of the suggestions may even sound unethical as you may feel that adesirable end-state does not always justify the questionable means (like transmitting threateninginformation). Resolving Interparty Conflict: How and When ? You have seen that stimulatingconflict is a required mode of conflict management when groups are characterised by apathy,complacency, non-responsiveness to needed change, lack of enthusiasm for generating alternatives, etc.Though these symptoms are very much present in a number of work-units in Indian organisations (andhence calls for appropriate conflict stimulation interventions), the more commonplace are heightenedmanifest conflicts. So, for most practical purposes, you should not only possess the knowledge ofdifferent strategies of conflict-resolution hut should also know when to use which strategy. The primarydimension along which intergroup conflict-resolution strategies vary is how openly you as a managershould address the conflict. CONFLICT-AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES : Ignoring the Conflict Thisstrategy is represented by the absence of action. You, as a manager, have often avoided dealing withdysfunctional aspects of conflict. Unfortunately, when you avoid searching for the causes of theconflict, the situation usually continues or becomes worse over time. Although ignoring the conflictgenerally is ineffective for resolving important policy issues, there are some circumstances in which itis at least a reasonable way of dealing with problems. Imposing a Solution This strategy consists offorcing the conflicting parties to accept a solution devised by a higher-level manager. Imposing asolution does not allow much conflict to surface, nor does it leave room for the participants to air theirgrievances, so it also generally is an ineffective conflict-resolution strategy. Any peace that it doesachieve is likely to be short-lived. CONFLICT-DEFUSION STRATEGIES : Smoothing One wayyou can deal with conflict is to try to "smooth it over" by playing down its extent or importance. Youmay try to persuade the groups that they are not so far apart in their viewpoints as they think they are,point out the similarities in their positions, try to "pat" group members whose feelings have been hurt,or play down the importance of the issue. By smoothing the conflict, you can hope to decrease itsintensity and avoid escalation or open hostility. Like forcing a solution, smoothing generally isineffective because it does not address the key points of conflict. Appealing to Superordinate GoalsYou can defuse conflicts by focusing attention on the higher goals that the groups share or the long-range aims that they have in common. This tends to make the current problem seem insignificantbeside the more important mutual goals. Finding superordinate goals that are important to both groupsis not easy. Conflict-containment Strategies : Using Representatives : One of the strategies you canuse to contain conflict is the use of representatives. In order to decide an issue, you can meet withrepresentatives of the opposing groups rather than deal with the groups in their entirety. Structuringthe Interaction Some managers assume that one way to decrease conflict is to increase the amount ofcontact between the groups (if the groups interacted more, they would like each other better and fightless). In reality, increased interaction can merely add fuel to the fire; the two groups spend their timelooking for additional reasons to reinforce their negative stereotypes of each other:There are manyways to structure the interaction between groups to deal with conflict; some of the most effectivestrategies include: (a) decreasing the amount of direct interaction between the groups in the early stagesof conflict resolution; (b) decreasing the amount of time between problem-solving meetings; (c)decreasing the formality of the presentation of issues; (d) limiting the recitation of historic events andprecedents and focusing instead on current issues and goals and (e) using third-party mediators. Allthese strategies allow some conflict to surface but prevent it from getting out of hand and reducehardening of the groups' positions. Bargaining :Bargaining is the process of exchanging concessions


until a compromise solution is reached. Bargaining can lead to the resolution of a conflict, but usuallywithout much openness on the part of the groups involved and without much real problem solving.Typically, in bargaining each side begins by demanding more than it really expects to get. Q7 : Book 2 – Unit 8 – MBO Processes :The term MBO was coined by Peter Drucker more than 25 years ago. Drucker used the term. in a verybroad sense to connote not just a specific tool, but rather an approach or philosophy of management.There are three steps involved in the MBO process. These are setting objectives in each key resultarea, action planning, and performance review. Setting Objectives : Key result areas are usually moredurable than objectives. While KRAs delineate the' broad areas within which the organisation mustfocus its. attention, the objectives represent the specific results expected to be' achieved within theseKRAs. Thus the first step is to identify the KRAs and pin responsibility for results with specificmanagerial positions. Making people responsible for KRAs is a very critical step for translating MBOtheory into practice. KRAs and the persons responsible for them must be identified at the level of theentire organisation as well as each functional area. Having identified KRAs, the next step is to setobjectives within them. At the organisational level, these will be the corporate objectives. ActionPlanning: Planning enables the objectives to be turned into reality. If objectives describe the `what',plans describe the `how' or the way in which the objectives are to be achieved. Managers are paid toachieve certain objectives. The objectives can be achieved only if the manager converts them intospecific action plans spelling out the various steps or activities to be performed and the specific timewithin which these must be performed. 1.There are four broad steps involved in every action plan: 2Choosing strategies which are appropriate to the objectives 3. Assigning responsibility for achievingthe objectives 4. Allocating resources for achieving the objectives 5. Scheduling specific activities toachieve maximum utilisation of resources. There are many techniques which are extremely useful inplanning. Some of the more common ones are Activity Networks, Decision Trees, Milestone Charts,Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), and Critical Path Method (CPM). Dependingon the specifics of your plan you can use the appropriate technique to make them more useful.Performance Review : Regular performance review is one of the main features of MHO. In theabsence of a review system the MBO system cannot function. In the MBO process, the focus of theperformance review is on: 1. performance 2. improvement 3. future corrective 4.action 5. frequency ofreviews 6. self-appraisal.(PIC)

ENSURING SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION of MBO:MBO is not a managerial techniquewhich can simply be introduced at a moment's notice. MBO involves people who have their own fixedideas, attitudes, values and perception which can make the MBO implementation a very complex affair.The prerequisites of a successful MBO are:• Evaluation:[The first step is to evaluate what you expectfrom MBO. The most commonly made mistake is that MBO is visualised either very narrowly as a justanother appraisal system or as merely another way of tackling the problem of writing job descriptionsor it is visualised as a solution to all problems. This leads to unrealistic expectation from MBO. Toavoid this, it is best, first of all, to evaluate the existing organisational performance, culture,management style, systems of planning, controlling and monitoring and then decide upon the specific


needs which can be fulfilled by MBO. It must be remembered that MBO is a powerful tool which canbe used for improving the entire organisational performance, provided there is clarity about theexpected results. ]• Preparation:[The next step is to prepare the people for accepting MBO. Humannature always resists change. The best way to overcome this resistance is to disseminate maximuminformation about M130 and educate the concerned key people about its expected benefits. ]• Topmanagement support[For MBO to be successfully implemented it is important that it has the fullbacking and support of the top management. In the process of implementation, there may be someredefining of objectives which in turn may lead to jobs being redefined, restructured or even totallyscrapped in some cases.]• Time horizon and[MBO means change which implies upheaval anddisturbances. Just as some people can accept and adapt to change quicker than others; similarly oneorganisation's adaptability to change is different from that of another. Depending on its personality andattitude towards change (whether it is resistant or highly flexible) each organisation has to decide uponthe rate of change which it can withstand ]• Proper entry point

The benefits of MBO : accruing from MBO can be discussed in terms of the specific benefits to thesubordinate, the superior and the organisation:i) Benefits to subordinates include greater role clarity,measurement of performance and increased job satisfaction. W hen specific objectives have beenagreed upon, the subordinate knows exactly what he has to achieve and can plan his various activitiestowards this end. Role and goal clarity ensure that there is no wastage of scarce organisationalresources, on the one hand and single minded dedication to achievement of objectives on the other."Job satisfaction emanates from the feelings of having done a job well to the best of your capability aswell as public recognition and approval for it. The former is possible only when there are specificobjectives while the latter can occur only if there is a system of review and reward. A worker ormanager who derives satisfaction from his job will work harder in order to improve his performancewhile a dissatisfied, discontented manager will make a negative contribution. Thus MBO can serve tobring about a change and put people on the self-propelling cycle of role clarity, increased jobsatisfaction and increased productivity. ii)Benefits to Superiors: The benefits accruing to thesubordinate will, of course, also accrue to the superiors. But besides these, the other specific benefitsfor superiors are that MBO motivates subordinates, strengthens superior-subordinate relationship, andprovides an objective appraisal method. MBO is based on the concept of participation and this leads togreater motivation. Setting objectives implies that both the superior and the subordinate have to sitacross the table and openly discuss their respective roles, work, obstacles and competencies. Suchcandid discussion always leads to increased mutual trust and confidence in each other and provides anenduring bond to the relationship. The only thing that matters is results. People are retained byorganisations to produce results and not because they are sociable, soft spoken, introverted or possessany other such personality characteristic which has no bearing on their competence or capability. iii)Benefits to the organisation: MBO focuses on managerial effectiveness as a central value in the entireorganisation. And this emphasis permeates down to the lowest level, influencing each manager andworker. This shows up in all the decisions which each manager makes and the overall performance ofthe organization is improved. Secondly, MBO with its focus on objectives improves concentration andcoordination of managerial effort. There is maximum utilisation of resources and conflicting pulls inopposite directions are avoided. Thirdly, the periodic review in MBO helps identify advancementpotential of workers and managers. It also helps in identifying workers-who are under-utilised or notmaking the full contribution. Lastly, MBO creates many centres of accountability as against onecentralized accountability point. It is not only the managing director or proprietor who is accountablefor producing the desired results but each manager is responsible for achieving the agreed-uponobjectives. Thus MBO leads to greater decentralization in terms of setting and achieving objectives.


Q 8 : Mangerial processes Book 1 – Unit 3.MANAGEMENT PROCESSESPlanning :1.Making choices 2.Committing resources 3. A time horizon .Planning is the most

basic and pervasive process involved in managing. It means deciding in advance what actions to takeand when and how to take them.Planning is needed, firstly for committing and allocating theorganisation's limited resources towards achieving its objectives in the best possible manner and,secondly for anticipating the future opportunities and problems.To ensure that a plan is effective and succeeds in achieving its objectives, it must have the followingcomponents: 1.Planning must start from the top. 2.Planning must be flexible. 3.In the short-run 4.Plansare good Organizing :Organizing refers to the formal grouping of people and activities to facilitateachievement of the firm's objectives. Issues for discussion here are the types of organizationstructure[Structure refers to the specific manner in which people are grouped. An organisation cangroup its people on the basis of the various functions (such as production, personnel, finance,marketing), geographical territories or around specific products or product lines (such as detergents,toiletries, basic chemicals, agro-products, as in case of Hindustan Lever Limited) ], degree ofcentralization[Centralisation refers to the point or level where all decision-making authority isconcentrated. One-man enterprises; such as a small bread and butter stores, vegetable vendor, ], levelsof management, span of control, delegation of authority, unity of command, line and staff relationship,and staffing.

Staffing: Directing: Co-Ordinating: Motivating and Leading : Decision MakingControlling:Planning and controlling go hand in hand. There can be no control without a plan

and plans cannot be successfully implemented in the absence of controls. Controls provide a means ofchecking the progress of the plans and correcting any deviations that may occur along the way. Thereare three basic steps involved in designing a control process. 1.Establishment of standards:2.Measurement of performance: 3.Correcting deviation is a traditional and widely used control process.Apart from this a company may use historical statistical data, or break-even analysis to control itsoperations. By the use of mathematics, many sophisticated control techniques are also possible. Thesepertain to implementing control for inventory management, distribution logistics and project orprogramme management. Some of these such as Programme Evaluation and Review Technique(PERT), Critical Path Method (CPM) will be dealt with in detail in the subsequent units.Q 9: UNDERSTANDING THE DETERMINANTS OF INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOUR Self-Concept: What am I? Mankind is unique because only a human being has the capacity forthinking about hi or her behaviour and appearance. Each person has an attitude toward himself orherself and this attitude comprises the self or self-concept. The self-concept has three aspects-beliefs,feelings and behaviours. The belief component represents the content of the self. This is illustrated bysuch thoughts as "I am intelligent, sociable, sincere, overweight" etc. The feeling component aboutone's self is reflected in feelings of self-worth or in general as `I'm O.K.' or `I'm not O.K.' Finally, thebehavioural component is the tendency to act toward one's self in a self-deprecating c self-enhancingmanner. you achieve a stable interpersonal environment by maintaining a consistent relationshipbetween your self-concept and your beliefs about how others behave and feel toward you with regard toyour self-concept. In order to maintain your interpersonal environment and to maximise congruence orharmony, you (like any other individual) actively use certain mechanisms to stabiliseinteractions:1.Misperception: When the actual expectations of others are not congruent with your self-concept or behaviour, you may simply misperceive how others see you.2.Selective Interaction: Youmay choose to interact with those persons with whom you can most readily establish a congruent state.3.Selective Evaluation of the Other Person: You maximise congruency by favourably evaluatingthose who behave congruently towards you and devaluate those who do not. 4.Selective Evaluation of


Self: You maximise congruency by altering the values placed on various aspects of your self-concept sothat the aspects that are in agreement with the perception of your own behaviour and those of others arcmost highly evaluated. 5.Response Evocation: You, intentionally or unintentionally, behave in a waythat results in others' behaving toward you in a congruent fashion. A person in interaction controls thecues provided to others to ensure that he or she will be categorised in certain ways and not in anyunexpected way. The mechanisms, mentioned above, are some of the means used by any person toprotect one's self-concept and maintain an interpersonal environment. Interpersonal Needs: What doyou want from me? People need people, but for what? Schutz (1966) maintains that there are threeinterpersonal needs-inclusion, control and affection-that cause one, to establish and maintain relationswith others. These needs are defined as follows: Inclusion--the need for interaction and association.1.Control --the need for control and power. 2.Affection--the need for love and affection. Individualsdiffer, however, in the strength of their interpersonal needs. For each interpersonal need, there are twobehavioural aspects--expressed and wanted. Expressed behaviour is the behaviour that we initiatetoward others., whereas wanted behaviour is the behaviour we want or prefer from others toward us.DEVELOPINGINTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP The development of successful working relationships takes time. No one can cultivate such arelationship with another person without going through a long arduous process that usually takesmonths or years to develop. The development of a working relationship occurs in the followingsequences:1.The initial contact produces a set of impressions and attitudes in each towards the other. Afavourable mutual impression is needed to develop a long-term relationship. 2.A positive impressionopens the door for a long-term working relationship. When this occurs, the interacting parties develop aset of mutually agreeable expectations regarding their roles, performance and relationships. 3.Theinteracting parties make continuous attempts to meet each other's expectations. Failure to carry out thispsychological contract will probably terminate the relationship. 4.Mutual trust and influence develop asa result of meeting the psychological contract, and these ensure the continuation of the relationship. four stages of developing interpersonal relationship: 1. Forming first impressions 2. Developing mutualexpectations 3. Honouring psychological contracts 4. Developing trust and influence.Forming First Impressions First impressions, though often inaccurate, are lasting impressions. Firstimpressions are lasting because they influence the way in which people see subsequent data about theperceived object or person. So, whether or not first impressions are correct, it is important for us tomake favourable impressions on other people. Initial impressions do not guarantee long-termrelationships, but they are essential for entering into enduring relationship with others. Many studieshave shown that much of the groundwork for subsequent relationships with others is laid in the veryfirst stage of socialisation 1.Poise: One should maintain composure by being diplomatic andpersonable. Nervousness disturbs one's poise. 2.Articulation: One should speak naturally and fluently,use proper language and add deep tones in the voice to create an impression of maturity.3.Conservative Dress: Conservative dress in classic styles are appropriate for a business engagementsuch as job interview. Extremes in fashion should be avoided. 4.Positive Attitude: Without being anaive optimist, one should show a positive outlook towards life, for people generally prefer a prudentoptimist to a pessimist. 5.Knowledgeability: Learning something about the organisation and itsproducts, services and people before an interview demonstrates one's interest. 6.Thoughtfulness: Oneshould be alert and responsive, yet weigh each question before responding. A hasty response can beseen as indicative of immaturity or lack of wisdom. 7.Self-confidence: In order to make other peoplehave confidence in him or her, the person needs to appear self-confident. An erect posture, head heldhigh and an assertive tone of voice can help show self-confidence with requisite humility. DevelopingMutual Expectations : When people are mutually impressed, they are more likely to enter into a long-term relationship.' When this happens, they develop certain expectations about each other. In work


organisations, managers may expect new employees to be competent, productive, reliable and loyal andto conform to organisational norms. New employees, on the other hand, expect their superiors to befair, supportive and considerate of their needs. Honouring Psychological Contracts : An effectiveinterpersonal or work relationship cannot develop and be maintained unless the participants are willingto honour their psychological contracts. Each party expects the other to be faithful in the relationship,not to take arbitrary actions and to be honest with him or her. The character-based expectationsinclude: 1.Integrity: Maintaining personal and moral honesty in the relationship. 2. Motive: Havinggood intentions and acting in good faith. 3.Consistency: Showing consistency in behaviour. 4.Openness: Levelling and being honest with another person. 5.Discretion: Maintaining confidences. --The competence-based expectations include: 1. Technical competence: Having the ability to performthe assigned task. 2. Interpersonal competence: Being able to maintain effective interpersonalrelationships. The judgment-based expectations include: 1. Business sense: Making good businessjudgment. 2. Interpersonal judgment: Making an accurate perceptual judgment of other people.Developing Trust and Influence :The result of meeting the psychological contract is an increasedlevel of trust and influence. When the parties to the contract are able to meet their mutual expectations,the relationship produces mutual trust and favourable sentiment. The more satisfactory the associationbecomes, the greater the influence the parties have on each other. Since the relationship is fulfilling, theparties will continually rely on it to satisfy their needs. This dependency permits them to exertinfluence on each other.Q 10 : THE PROBLEMS IN DELEGATION We shall examine here four key problems in delegation:• What to delegate?• How much to delegate? • How far down to delegate? • How to deal withemployees resistance to accept delegation? What to Delegate? If a manager does not delegate, hewill end up doing what his subordinates must be doing. If he delegates what he should be doinghimself, his leadership position would be in jeopardy and there would be conflict among subordinates.The first step in effective delegation is for the manager to analyse his job and to determine, in principle,what he should or should not delegate.A large part of the work in every. management position consistsof activities that are routine and repetitive. These lend themselves readily to delegation. Once delegatedthese form the main tasks that the subordinates perform. How much to Delegate? Usually the dilemmais how much authority to delegate than that of responsibility. A salesman appointed to sell the productsof the company should have the authority to approach customers in the name of the company, offerthem the products for sale at certain price and assure growth and delivery. There is a popularmisconception that "authority should always be delegated equal to responsibility". But people withresponsibility for coordination and control, usually withhold a part of the authority and delegate onlysuch authority as is commensurate with responsibility. How far down to Delegate? To what levels ina hierarchy can responsibility and authority be delegated? People who do the work should have theresponsibility. Those with responsibility should have commensurate authority. Taken together, it meansthat it is necessary to delegate authority to all those who do the work at the operating levels.How to deal with Employee Resistance? Employee may resist accepting delegated authority for avariety of reasons: 1.lack of proper job information 2 .lack of skills, training, supportive tools andequipment or self-confidence 3. uncertain about the authority vis-a-vis responsibility 4.lack of properreward or sense of personal gain for the individual 5. inertia and avoidance .PREREQUISITES FOR EFFECTIVE DELEGATION Delegation is an art, not a science. It depends on the personality, skills and attitudes concerning twoactors: delegator (one who delegates) and delegatee (one who was delegated). The following are someof the essential prerequisites for effective delegation.a) Climate of openness, trust and confidence among employees at all levels and a culture of team work


and cooperation.b) The two psychological hurdles in delegation, namely lack of faith in thecompetence of subordinates and fear that the subordinates may outshine them deter managers fromdelegating. The managers should not have any feeling of insecurity that by delegating they would bemaking themselves redundant. c) Goals should be established and made clear: Every person in anorganisation should know what his contribution to the organisation is. In accomplishing his goals, hecan formulate the objectives of delegation too so that delegation is done with a purpose and becomeseffective. The machine operator may not be happy with running the machine. He would be happy toknow how the outcome of his effort contributes to organisational purpose. d) People who carry outwork should have clearly defined responsibility and authority: Job descriptions or position guidesshould clearly state the objectives, responsibilities, relationships and limits of authority of eachposition. Clear definition of responsibility and authority at each position eliminates the scope forconfusion that duplication and overlap in entrustment of duties would cause. e) Motivation isimportant because the manager who wants to delegate should be able to motivate people to do what hewants done, willingly and enthusiastically. As Louis Allen puts it, "Motivation is the moving force indelegation". f) Make delegation complete: Delegation is supposed to reduce a manager's workload.But, if not properly done, it may increase the workload. There are often problems as to whether, at whatstage and how often should the subordinate check back with his boss. The problem can be resolved if(i) the assignment is clear cut, (ii) subordinate is told how the assignment will be coordinated andmotivated by the boss, (iii) the boss specifies to the subordinate at what stage, in what form and howoften he should provide him with feedback on the progress and (iv) the boss provides counselling andguidance. Once an assignment is delegated the boss should intervene only to provide guidance but notwithhold his approval for specific actions involved in completing the task. To delegate completeassignment or task requires certain sense of faith and self-control on the part of boss in not interveningbut giving counsel and advice. Likewise, the subordinate should exercise discipline in making choice ofa course of action in carrying out the task. Delegating complete tasks relieves managers from detail andprovides opportunities to subordinates to learn to be independent and feel a sense of fulfilment inwork.g) Train: Managers should help in preparing their subordinates to accept delegation. Such' needis all the more felt in case of subordinates who show a tendency to depend on the bosses than beindependent. Managers should, therefore, carefully identify the weaknesses; develop potential andattitudes conducive to accepting and making a success of delegated authority. Training in delegationshould include appraisal of current performance, counselling for improvement and coaching on the job.h) Establishment controls: Even after delegation the manager continues to be accountable. So there isneed for him to control without limiting the effectiveness of delegation. The more complete is thedelegation the more comprehensive should the system of control be.Q 11 : LEADERSHIP STYLES :The word style is the way in which the leader influences followers. Let us have a look at the variousstudies that help us to understand the leadership styles. Hawthorne Studies :Mayo and Roethlisbergerdid a series of studies from 1924 to 1932 in an electricity company, at Illinois, in USA. These studiesare known as Hawthorne Studies. One phase of these studies aimed at finding out if changes inillumination, rest period and lunch breaks can affect the productivity of the workers. It was found to thesurprise of the researchers that less light, shorter and fewer rest periods and shorter lunch breaksresulted in increased productivity. And once all these changes; were eliminated and the normal workingconditions were resumed, it was also seen that the workers' productivity and the feeling of beingtogether went up. Theory X and Y : McGregor (1960) categorised leadership styles into two broadcategories having two different beliefs and assumptions about subordinates. He called these Theory Xand Theory Y. The Theory X style of leaders believe that most people dislike work and will avoid itwherever possible. Such leaders feel they themselves are a small but important group, who want to lead


and take responsibility, but a large majority of people want to be directed and avoid responsibility.Therefore, this style of leadership exercises strong controls and direction and wherever necessarypunish people if they do not do the work. If people do the work as desired, they may even get monetaryor other rewards. Theory Y leaders assume that people will work hard. and assume responsibility ifthey can satisfy their personal needs and the objectives or goals of their organisation. Iowa LeadershipStudies

In 1939 Lippitt and White under the direction of Lewin, did a study on three different styles ofleadership in the task performance of ten-year old boys in three groups. The authoritarian leader of thegroup was very directive. He did not allow any participation. He was concerned about the task and toldthe followers what to do and how to do it. He was friendly while praising the performance of theindividual member and was impersonal while criticising the individual member. In the other group, thedemocratic leader encouraged discussion with the group and allowed participation in making decisions.Michigan Studies on Leadership Styles : Likert (1961) at University of Michigan Survey ResearchCentre identified two major styles of leadership orientations-employee orientation and productionorientation. The employee oriented style of the leader emphasises the relationship aspect of the jobs ofthe individual. Such a leader takes interest in every one and accepts the individuality and personalneeds of the individual. He has complete confidence and trust in all matters in his subordinates. Hissubordinates feel free to discuss things about their jobs with their superior. He always asks subordinatesfor ideas and opinions and always tries to make constructive use of them. Ohio State Studies onLeadership Styles : Stogdill (1957) at the Bureau of Business Research at Ohio State Universityinitiated ‘a series of researches on leadership in 1945. He, along with his colleagues, studied leaderbehaviour in numerous types of groups and situations by using a Leader Behaviour DescriptionQuestionnaire (LBDQ). The studies were conducted on Air Force Commanders and members ofbomber crews, officers, non-commissioned opersonnel, civilian administrators in the Navy Department,manufacturing supervisors, executives, teachers, principals and school superintendents and leaders ofvarious civilian groups. They did not have any satisfactory definition of leadership. They also did notthink leadership is synonymous with `good' leadership. The LBDQ was administered in a wide varietyof situations and surprisingly two dimensions of, leadership continually emerged from the study: one is`consideration' and the other is ‘initiating structure’. Scientific Manager's Style : Taylor (1911)stressed the best way of doing a job. He emphasised the importance of having management and labourwork in harmony to maximise profits. The basis of his scientific management was technological innature. It was felt that the best way to increase output was to improve the techniques or methods usedby workers. Therefore, profit can be maximised by using a systematic and scientifically based approachto the study of jobs. Taylor was not trained as a manager He relied on scientific study of time andmovement spent and used for a job to improve the performance of the worker. According to thescientific managerial style, management of a work organisation must be divorced from human affairsand emotions and people have to adjust to the management and not management to the people. Variousstudies reflecting different styles of functioning of a leader have been stated above, which highlighthow the leader simultaneously pays attention to the: a) task to be accomplished by the group, and b)needs and expectations of the group and its individual members. Q 12 : Channels of communications and controll systems: CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION : An organisation structure provides channels for the flow ofinformation on which the decisions of the organisation will be based. As such an organisation can bedescribed as the network of communication channels. These channels can be either intentionallydesigned, or they may develop of their own accord. When a channel is intentionally prescribed for theflow of communication in the organisation, we call it a formal channel, and the communication passing


through that channel as formal communication. Formal CommunicationAn organisation chart shows the direction of formal communication flow in an organisation. Itidentifies the various transmitters and receivers, and the channels through which they mustcommunicate. The authority relationships indicate the direction of communication flow in anorganisation. Networks in Formal Communication (PIC : Wheel , Y , chain and circle): You haveseen earlier how the formal organisational structure prescribes the channels through whichcommunication flows take place. These channels are designed to keep the flow of information in anorderly manner and to protect the higher level managers from an overload of unnecessary information.However, the way in which these channels are designed and work can affect the speed and accuracy ofinformation as well as the task performance and satisfaction of members of the group. As such,managers have to think of how best to design the organisational structure and the communicationnetwork which meets the requirements of the situation. Informal communication : Communicationthat takes place without following the formal lines of communication is said to be informalcommunication. This channel is not created by management and is usually not under the control ofmanagement. An informal system of communication is generally referred to as the `grapevine' becauseit spreads throughout the organisation with its branches going out in all directions in utter disregard ofthe levels of authority and linking members of the organisation in any direction. The informalcommunication arises as a result of employee needs for information which are not met by the formalchannels. It has been observed that problems relating to work and unfavourable reactions to variousorganisational practices are transmitted through informal communication. Since the channels areflexible and establish contacts at personal levels among members of organisation at differenthierarchical levels, the grapevine spreads information faster than the formal system of communication.The characteristics of grapevine have been summarised by Keith Davis as follows: a) People talk mostwhen the news is recent. b) People talk about things that affect their work. c) People talk about peoplethey know. d) People working near each other are likely to be on the same grapevine.e) People who contact each other in the chain of procedure tend to be on the same grapevine.THE PREREQUISITES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS The major prerequisites of control are two: a plan and a structure.a) Plan: controls must be based onplan. The more clear and complete the plans are the more effective controls can be; plans become thestandards by which the actions are measured. b) Structure: There is need for a structure to knowwhere the responsibility rests for deviations and corrective action, if any needed. As in the case ofplans, the more clear and complete the organisation structure is, the more effective control can be.Controls, to he effective, should share the following basic characteristics: Appropriate: Controlsshould correspond to an organisation's plans. Controls designed for a general manager are inappropriatefor a supervisor. Similarly, control systems suitable for a line department may be inappropriate for astaff department. Strategic: Control should serve a stretegic purpose and provide spotlight on positiveand negative exceptions at critical points. Acceptable: Controls will not work unless people want themto. They should be acceptable to those to whom they apply. Reliable and objective: Controls should beaccurate and unbiased. If they are unreliable and subjective, people will resent them. Cost-effective:The benefit from control should be greater than the costs. Control devices should yield tangiblebenefits.METHODS OF CONTROL : Arthur Bedeian discusses nine methods of control and classifies theminto three categories based on their frequency, of use: Constantly used controls: Self-control, groupcontrol and policies, procedures and rules. Periodically used controls: Management InformationSystems, External Audits and Budgets. Occasionally used controls: Special reports, personalobservation and project control. The nine methods of control mentioned above (see Fig. III) are brieflydiscussed hereunder. Constant Controls Self-control: Managers need to exercise more self-control to


minimise the need for other control methods and making control in the organisation acceptable andeffective. Self-control means giving a fair day's work for a fair day's pay, reporting to work on time,discharging duties and responsibility properly and respecting the rights of others in the organisation.Self-control is more in tune with Theory Y discussed later in the unit on Leadership Styles andInfluence Process in Block 5. Respect for self-control in an organisation can be a motivating factor. Asense of appreciation for self-control can be promoted among employees through training in behaviourmodification. Group Control: Work groups are a source of control. Group-defined norms exertgreater influence in organisations than the norms that managements may choose to set unilaterally andthrust on groups. Group norms and group control can aid or hinder formal authority. Organisationswould do well to develop and use group control processes to reinforce formal authority. While in someorganisations group control processes helped increase output and improve quality,, in others theyresulted in restricting output. For group norms to contribute to organisational goals there should be aclimate of trust and openness, a culture of cooperation than confrontation. Quality circle, quality ofworklife programmes and work redesign experiments being taken up in some organisations areexamples that point to organisational thrust toward reinforcing group control processes for achievingorganisational goals through integration of members' interests with those of the organisation.Policies/Procedures/Rules: These are essentially bureaucratic control mechanisms referred to in thediscussion on control strategies. They reflect past managerial experience and include a variety ofaspects concerning how to make certain decisions, deal with resources, etc.

Periodic Controls : Management Information Systems: A Management Information System is amechanism designed to collect, combine, compare, analyse and disseminate data in the form ofinformation. External Audits: The annual financial audit by an outside accounting firm is one form ofexternal audit, mainly of the finances of an organisation. In the case of public sector units, such anaudit is performed by Comptroller and Auditor General also. Budgets: Budgets are plans that deal withthe future allocation and utilisation of various resources to different enterprise activities over a givenperiod of time. Occasional Controls : Special Reports: These have a special role. Special reports canbe commissioned by an organisation when its normal control systems point to the need for detailedinvestigation or study of a particular operational aspect. When major policy decisions of strategic


importance are taken, special reports may be commissioned. These include situations where theorganisations find the need for overcoming the existing difficulties, modernisation, expansion,diversification, merger, acquisition etc. Personal Observation: Managers can know what is happeningin an organisation by relying on information provided by others as also by finding out for them. Firsthand knowledge has to be critical to be effective. Project Controls: Various methods have beendeveloped for controlling specific enterprise projects. The best example is the network analysis usingthe PERT tool. PERT is an acronym for Programme Evaluation and Review Technique. Q 13 : Johari Window and Bounded Rationality : A Johari window is a cognitive psychological tool created by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955[1]in the United States, used to help people better understand their interpersonal communication andrelationships. It is used primarily in self-help groups and corporate settings as a heuristicexercise.When performing the exercise, subjects are given a list of 56 adjectives and pick five or sixthat they feel describe their own personality. Peers of the subject are then given the same list, and eachpick five or six adjectives that describe the subject. These adjectives are then mapped onto agrid.Charles Handy calls this concept the Johari House with four rooms. Room 1 is the part ofourselves that we see and others see. Room 2 is the aspects that others see but we are not aware of.Room 3 is the most mysterious room in that the unconscious or subconscious part of us is seen byneither ourselves nor others. Room 4 is our private space, which we know but keep from others. Theconcept is clearly related to the ideas propounded in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator program, whichin turn derive from theories about the personality first explored by psychologist Carl Jung.

BOUNDED RATIONALITY: A decision-maker has neither the time and space nor the ability toarrive at an optimal solution and many individuals may not seek to optimize at all. The idea of boundedrationality is that individuals strive to be rational having first greatly simplified the choices available.Thus, instead of choosing from every location, the decision-maker chooses between a small number.The result may be that decision-makers become satisficers; they accept a satisfactory solution which isgood enough for their purposes rather than finding the optimum answer. Early work on the theory ofbounded rationality is associated with H. A. Simon (1956). Bounded rationality is a school of thoughtabout decision making that developed from dissatisfaction with the “comprehensively rational”economic and decision theory models of choice. Those models assume that preferences are definedover outcomes, that those outcomes are known and fixed, and that decision makers maximize their netbenefits, or utilities, by choosing the alternative that yields the highest level of benefits (discounted by


costs). The subjective expected-utility variant of rational choice integrates risk and uncertainty into themodel by associating a probability distribution, estimated by the decision maker, with outcomes. Thedecision maker maximizes expected utility. Choices among competing goals are handled byindifference curves— generally postulated to be smooth (twice differentiable)—that specifysubstitutability among goals. A major implication of the approach is that behavior is determined by themix of incentives facing the decision maker. A second implication is that adjustment to these incentivesis instantaneous; truemaximizers have no learning curves. Like comprehensive rationality, boundedrationality assumes that actors are goal-oriented, but bounded rationality takes into account thecognitive limitations of decision makers in attempting to achieve those goals. Q 14 : Culture and climate : Book 3 – CULTURE or CLIMATEEvery organisation has some characteristics which are common with any other organisation. At thesame time, each organisation has its unique set of characteristics and properties. This psychologicalstructure of organisation and their sub-units is usually referred to as Organisational Culture. For alayman, culture is a commonly experienced phenomenon and many words like, climate, atmosphere,environment and milieu are often used interchangeably to describe it. In fact, most of the studies whichhave tried to measure an organisation's "Culture" have operationalised it in terms of "OrganisationClimate". A couple of formal definitions of organisation climate are given below for your perusal:Organisational climate is a relatively enduring quality of the internal environment that is experiencedby the members, influences their behaviour, and can be described in terms of values of a particular setof characteristics of the organisation (Renato Tagiuri, 1968). Organisational climate is the set ofcharacteristics that describe an organisation and that (a) distinguish one organisation from otherorganisations; (b) are relatively enduring over time and (c) influence the behaviour of the people in theorganisation (Forehand & Gilmer, 1964). Just as any culture has some do's and don'ts in the form oftotems and taboos which dictate how each member should behave with a fellow member or an outsider,similarly each organisation has a culture that influences the behavior of employees towards clients,competitors, colleagues, supervisors, subordinates and strangers. In this Unit, we shall be concernedwith this relatively stable perceived internal environment of an organisation, called OrganisationalClimate or Organisational Culture (OC).It should be noted that Organisational Culture orOrganisational Climate (OC) is the perceived aspects of an organisation's internal environment, butwithin the same organisation there may be very different OCs. ANTECEDENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE Changing Forces in Internal and External Environment. An organisation changes its structure andpractices as a result of the forces from internal origins as well as from external pressures arising in theenvironment. There are two primary aspects of organisational structure-differentiation and integration.Differentiation is the division of the organisation into subsystems, e.g. research, sales, production etc.Each differentiated subsystem develops particular attributes in responding to the requirements posed byits relevant external environment. However, differentiation requires the integration of thesesubsystems to achieve unity of effort and the accomplishment of the organisation's goals. The moreturbulent environment would be associated with a higher degree of differentiation among theorganisation's sub-parts and also a correspondingly high degree of integrative effort. Similarly, anorganisation faced with a stable environment would have less differentiated subsystems and requirefewer integrative procedures. The success of an organisation depends upon an appropriate amount ofdifferentiation to cope with the environment and also the right amount of integrative or coordinatingeffort. Researches by Lawrence and Lorsch (1967) provide evidence for such a generalisation. Theyrepresent the external environment forces which influence organisations. Organisations face the needfor both to adapt internally to external forces and to initiate changes in the external environment.


These needs explain, for example, why companies engage in lobbying for legislation they favour(external influence, proactive change), but comply when laws not favoured are passed (internaladaptation, reactive change). Growth and Decay : You have seen that an organisation's growthpresents many problems and opportunities for change. Decay too poses change problems. It leads todefensive, restorative changes aimed at survival and the es; ntial resumption of growth. When growthoccurs through internal vigour of pro' 'act lines, services or market penetration, change is gradual.Change is more extensive when growth occurs from mergers, acquisitions or exceptionally rapidsuccess of organizational activities. New Personnel : Some change is inevitable because of internalfactors such as death, retirement, transfer, promotion, discharge, or resignation and constantly changingelements in the external environment. No two managers, you will agree, have the same styles, skills, ormanagerial philosophies, or the same personal needs. Managerial behaviour is always selective, so thata newly appointed manager may favour different organisational designs, objectives, tasks, proceduresand policies than a predecessor. The new, executive will not be exactly like the previous one, nor evenlike those already present. Change Agents :Change Agent is the technical term for an organisationalmember whose role involves the strategies and procedures for bringing about change. Any individualcan be a change agent at one time or another, but many people have positions, tasks, or formal roles inwhich their main assignments involve dealing with change. A change agent's formal role is primarily toplan and initiate changes rather than to implement them. Barometers of Declining Effectiveness:Organisations have a number of ways of "taking their pulse" by looking at indicators from their owninformation systems. A business firm monitors data on sales, absenteeism, turnover, scrap rates,manufacturing costs and numerous ratios of financial measures. Change in Corporate Strategy : Anorganisation may undertake comprehensive changes even when no indicators would suggest immediateproblems in its performance. However, current and past performance have been based on conditionsthat organisation officials believe to be changing. Forecasts of long run trend may prompt a decisions toenter new markets, to pursue a strategy of growth, to become less dependent on government, to switchfrom a centralised to a decentralised structure, or to adopt new technologies. Crises :Not infrequently, the occasion for organisational change is an unforeseen crisis which makescontinuation of the status quo unthinkable. The sudden death of a Chief Executive Officer, theresignation of key members of a top management team, a strike by a critically important group ofspecialised workers, loss of major client or suppliers on whom the company has been dependent, adrastic cutback in budget, even spontaneous civil disturbances directed against an organisation force areorientation of the corporate posture and initiate a total revamping of policy, practice and behaviour.Personal Goals : Leaders, interest groups and coalitions have their own goals: to see the companybecome more aggressive, to shape the organisation around some distinctive theme, to cast a particularcorporate image, to further some ideology or philosophy. Seldom are these goals stated in preciselythose forms, at least for the record or for public consumption. THE DOMINO EFFECT : The lastmain source of change is change itself. There is often a domino effect in which one change touches offa sequence of related and supporting changes, e.g., creating a new department may cause the creationof a new managerial or non-managerial positions or change in assignments within other departments,budgeting reallocations and office space. Other departments may need to realign their missions,structure, tasks and staffing. It is quite common for people to fail to consider the domino effect. Suchan oversight Task refers to the job, which can vary in several ways or dimensions such as variety,autonomy, task identity, feedback, and significance. People includes individuals who perform or fillvarious jobs within the organisation. Individuals vary in their attitudes, motivations and values whichinfluence their perception and evaluation of change. This can complicate the implementation of change.


THE PROCESS OF ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE : People change their knowledge, attitude andbehaviour when they become dissatisfied with status quo or when there is a more desirable substitute. Asuccessful change involves (1) recognising the need for it. (2) learning a new behaviour or substituteand, (3) feeling comfortable with the "new situation". This change process was best described by KurtLewin when he described the three stages of change-Unfreezing, Moving and Refreezing (PIC).

The three stages of changes will be described shortly, but before you proceed to look into the phases,you need to become familiar with three more terms which Kurt Lewin gave us to understand the


processof change. These are the concepts of quasi-static equilibrium, driving forces and restrainingforces. At any given point of time, any pattern of behavior is a result of equilibrium between two setsof forces-driving and resisting. The "Present" position is achieved because the strength of drivingforces and resisting forces is equal. A clear analysis of what are the driving ("Push forward") orresisting ("Pull backward") forces will help you manage a change better. Unfreezing : As a practicalmatter, change does not occur in a vacuum of no prior perspective. To the extent the new is differentfrom the old and the old-had value to the individuals, the old patterns of perspective implies aquestioning and doubting of existing assumptions and feelings. Recognizing the Driving Forces :Recognizing major changes in the environment and problems within the organisation is the first steptoward organisational change. Institute managers may recognise these pressures for change and takecorrective action. Increasing the Driving ForcesOnce the need for change is identified, it has to he communicated to people who w he involved in thechanging process. As noted earlier, if members know why the change is needed, they are more likely toadopt it. You can employ the following strategies to increase the - acceptance of a change. 1.Expressthe need for change People who will be affected by the change have to y the change is needed. If theydo not, they will hesitate to cooperate in the change process. 2. Communicate the potential benefitPeople have a tendency to ask, "what's in it for me?" Unless they feel that the change will benefit themor that failure to change will hurt them substantially, they are less likely to cooperate. If no benefits canbe identified, the costs of not changing must at least be understood. 3. Protect the interest of concernedpeople People fear change because it may cause them to lose their jobs, income or status. Assurances ofjob security, income protection and maintenance of status can increase the acceptance of change. 4. Getpeople involved in the process Participation can help people accept change. Some individuals have apositive outlook on change and when they participate, the progress of change is facilitated. 5Communicate the progress of change In order to minimise fear of the unknown, the content andprogress of change must be communicated to employees. It is often difficult to know all the potentialconsequences and influences of a given change, but, by keeping employees informed of its progress,management can at least maintain a climate of trust. 6. Use a respected change agentThe credibility and power of the change agent can facilitate the process of change. The change agentmust be familiar with the technical and behavioural aspects of a given change and must be someonewith an influence on organisational functioning. 7.Reinforce earlier changesWhen an organisation undertakes a large scale change involving a series of continual modification, it isimportant for people to see that earlier changes have been successful. 8. Managing the ResistingForces Most of the strategies designed to increase the driving forces are equally applicable for reducingresisting forces to change. Moving :In the moving or changing phase the individual is ready for newbehaviour and a change in perspective. It is important that he or she have an opportunity to build byexperimentation new patterns of behaviour and new assumptions, perceptions and feelings. Refreezing: The final phase involves the establishment of a new perspective compatible with and leading to thenew desirable behaviour. In effect, the new part of one's total perspective is now established andintegrated so that it fits the whole. This makes it possible for the new behaviour to be accomplished asa matter of course. This is the period in which the individual or group begins to enjoy the rewards forthe new behaviour, either extrinsically in the form of social approval, monetary reward and the like orintrinsically in the form of ego satisfaction, sense of mastery and self-fulfillment. FORMAL AND INFORMAL ORGANISATIONS : If you and your colleagues decide to meet everySaturday evening for one hour and form a recreation club to play chess and carrom, you are meeting inan informal organisation. However, when the same group of your colleagues meets to review tilt lastquarter's performance and plan for the next three months it is in the context of a formal organisation.Thus, while the informal organisation is spontaneous, the formal organisation is the result of a


deliberate and planned effort to pattern activities and relationships in a specific manner to facilitateachieving the specified objectives. A formal organisation is the result of explicit decision-making,deciding how people and activities should be related to one another. However, there is no suchdecision-making involved in an informal organisation which may simply evolve over time. In thecontext of a business organisation, both the formal and the informal organisations operate together toform the total organisation. The formal structure delineates specific departments, activities, people andtheir reporting relationships. The informal structure refers to the social groups or friendships whichpeople working together may form. A most important aspect of the informal organisation is theinformal communication network or `grapevine' as it is more commonly known. Similarly, you wouldfind informality evolved values operating within the parameters of the formal organisation. Thesevalues may relate to dress, employment of women, employment of members of a minority community,etc., In understanding the structure of an organisation, you must understand the important role playedby the informal organisation within the formal organisation. MATRIX STRUCTURE : The matrix structure is a combination of the product and functionalorganisation and is usually created for executing a project which requires the skilled services of afunctional man as well as the specialised knowledge of a product man. Large turnkey projects inspecialised fields require a matrix structure. Figure IX illustrates a matrix structure. The distinguishingcharacteristic of a matrix structure is that it operates under a dual authority. A person is accountable totwo bosses at the same time, one his usual boss and the other his boss for the duration of the project.Obviously the problems emanating from this type of structure relate to conflicting roles and authorityarising out of an ambiguous demarcation of authority and responsibility. COMMUNICATION PROCESS The simplest model of the communication process can be:Sender ……… > Message………………..>Receive. The model indicates the essential elements of communication, viz., the sender and 1 receiver,and the message that is exchanged between them. If any one of the three elements is missing,communication does not take place.However, the process of communication is a much more complexphenomenon consisting of at least five elements which are subject to various influences. The mod canbe put as follows:

Source : In this model the first element is the source of the communication from where thecommunication originates. The source or sender can be a person, a number of persons, or even amachine. The sender initiates communication because he has sc need, thought, idea or information thathe wishes to convey to the other person, persons or machine. If, for example, an accidental fire hasbroken out in a part of godown of the factory, the security officer (source) will need to convey themessaee immediately to the fire station, (receiver). Fire alarm (machine) will do the same ur place ofthe security officer. Encoding Message : The next element in the process is that of encoding theinformation to be transmitted Encoding enables the thoughts to be put in the form of symbols.Normally language provides the symbols that are used in the transmission of thoughts to anotherperson. However language is not the only means to convey the thoughts, needs or information.Channel : The next element in the process of communication is the channel through which thecommunication is transmitted. It is the link that joins the sender and the receiver. The most commonlyused channels are sight and sound. In the organisational environment, the channel could take the formof face-to-face conversation, written memos, telephonic exchanges, group meetings, etc. Decoding :Decoding and understanding the message constitute the last two elements in the process ofcommunicating from sender to receiver. The receiver in the first instance receives the message anddecodes it, that is to say, interprets and translates it into thoughts, understanding and desired response.A successful communication occurs when the receiver decodes the message and attaches a meaning to


it which very nearly approximates the idea, thoughts or information the sender wished to transmit.Feedback : Response and feedback complete the two-way process of communication. It is through thefeedback that the source (sender) comes to know if his message was correctly received and understood.In case it is found that the message has been received incorrectly, it is possible to make correctionssubsequently if response is timely. Noise : Surrounding the entire spectrum of communication is thenoise that affects the accuracy and fidelity of the message communicated. Noise is any factor thatdisturbs, confuses or otherwise interferes with communication. It can arise at any stage in thecommunication process. The sender may not be able to encode the message properly or he may not beproperly audible. Book 2 – Unit 5 – MISSION AND OBJECTIVESMission:The mission is the very reason and justification for the existence of a firm. Mission is alwaysdefined in terms of the benefits the firm provides to its customers and not in terms of any physicaldimensions of the firm or its products. If there were no customers there would be no firm. Thus thestarting point for, defining the mission of any business is its customer. Since the customer exists outsidethe business, the mission must be defined from the outside. The firm must ask the questions "What isour business?" and "What should it be?" but seek the answer from the customer's viewpoint. Theimportant thing is to identify the not-so-obvious, but the perceived benefit or value which the customeris actually seeking when buying the product. Correct identification of the real benefit or value to thecustomer will help the firm to answer the question "What is our business?"However, long a definitionof mission may remain valid without any change, it must be remarked that the concept of mission isdynamic and not static. It must change over time with changes occurring in the environment. Thesemay relate to changes in technology, social structure, tastes, fashion, etc. Objectives:Once the mission and scope of a firm have been defined by the top management the nextlogical step is to translate them into action. This can be done by breaking down the business missioninto smaller, workable objectives for managers down the line. These objectives relate to the long-runand are described as open ended attributes (described in terms of maximizing or optimizing orminimizing rather than in any specific quantitative terms) which a firm seeks to fulfill in pursuance ofits mission. Objectives reflect the `action' orientation of the mission which, in contrast, is expressed inrelatively abstract terms. Objectives form the basis for work and provide a yardstick for measuringperformance. Objectives may be set for different levels: for the corporate level, business level,divisional level and individual level. Obviously, objectives set for one level will not be identical withthose set for another level, but they must certainly be compatible .with each other and seek thefulfillment of the firm's mission. In certain government and public sector undertakings, profit issometimes ignored and the emphasis is laid on providing an essential service at a subsidized rate. Mosttransport corporations providing bus and train facilities within a city usually run at a loss.


ms 1 imp questions ignou management functions and behaviour

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