Organizational Behaviour

Organizational behavior involves studying individual as well as group performance within an organization. In this area of study, human behavior at the work place is closely studied to see its impact on job structure, performance, communication, motivation, leadership, etc.

Historical Evolution of Organisational Behaviour

Historical Development of Organisational Behaviour, Events Instrumental in the Development of Organisational Behaviour – The Great Depression, The Rise of Trade Unionism, Hawthorne Experiments, Impact of Organisational Behaviour on Organisational Environment, Emerging Concerns in Organisational Behaviour

Understanding Organisational Behaviour

Fundamental Concepts of Organisational Behaviour, Models of Organisational Behaviour

Perception

Significance of Perception, Principles of Perceptual Selection – External Attention Factors, Internal Set Factors, Perceptual Set in Organisational Settings, Characteristics or Perceiver and Perceived

Personality

Definition of Personality, Determinants of Personality, Personality Theories – Intrapsychic Theory, Type Theories, Trait Theories, Social Learning Theory, Self Theory, Personality and Organisation, Personality Structure, Personality and Behaviour

Attitudes

Nature of Attitude, Arousal of Attitude, Attitudes and Values, Attitudes and Opinions, Attitudes, Beliefs and Ideology, Attitudes and Prejudices, Characteristics of Attitude, Attitude Formation, Measurement of Attitude – Problems in Attitude Measurement, Changing Attitudes, Attitudes and Behaviour – Sources of Job Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance, Commitment to Organisation

Motivation: The Driving Forces of Human Behaviour

Characteristics and Classification of Motives, Intrapersonal Conflicts – Defence Mechanism, Money as a Motivator

Work Motivation Theories

Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Need Hierarchy – Criticism of Maslow’s Theory, Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation – Criticism of Herzberg’s Theory, Alderfer’s ERG Theory, Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation, The Porter-Lawler Model, Equity Theory of Work Motivation, Attribution Theory, Theory X and Theory Y, Pygmalion in Management

Morale

Indicators of Morale, Various Aspects of Morale, Improving Employee Morale

Work and Conditions of Work

Relationship among Job Characteristics, Working Performance, Characteristics of Work, Creating a Favourable Work Environment

Conflict Management

Levels of Conflict in Organisational Behaviour, Types of Conflict, Interpersonal Conflict Handling Styles, Intrapersonal Conflict and ways to Manage Intrapersonal Conflict, Negotiations in Conflict Management, Mediation

Group Dynamics

Classification of Groups, Teams and types of teams, Developmental Stages of Groups, Influences on Team Effectiveness, Team Diversity, Groupthink and Remedies to Overcome Groupthink, Group Maturity, Groups: A Sociological View, Effective Team Working

Stress Management

Types of Stress and Stressors, Management of Stress, Ways to Overcome Stress

Leadership

Classic Studies on Leadership, Leadership Skills, Leadership Styles – Managerial Grid, Rensis Liken’s Four Systems Management, Leadership Behaviour Continum, Theories of Leadership.

Management of Organisational Change

Forces for Change, Organisational Resistance to Change, Planning to overcome Change.

Organisational Culture

Development and Levels of Organisational Culture, Types of Corporate Culture – Performance and Organisational Culture, Benefits of a Strong Organisational Culture, Managing Cultural Diversity, How Employees Absorb an Organisational Culture, Matching People with Cultures, Concept of Organisational Socialisation.

Organisational Power and Politics

Dependency Theory of Power, Dependency, Power and Bargaining Outcomes, Bases and Sources of Power, Effective use of Power, Political Behaviour and Organisational Politics, Personality and Political Behaviour.

Academic Questions

Question: Analyzing Organizational Behaviour dimensions
1. As a group, pick a movie/series you would like to study
2. Utilize your knowledge on the various Organizational Behaviour dimensions (OCEAN/EQ/teams etc.) to study for that particular movie (reference material + reference book given).
3. Each student will pick 3 Organizational Behaviour dimensions (refer to Course outline).
4. The student will then map the findings to the theory learnt and put it together as a video to be showcased in class. The video will be accompanied with a 2 page report explaining the concept correlation.

Question: In your current occupation, describe the top 5 abilities that help you perform your role effectively. Based on your analysis, justify with appropriate examples, why the abilities of an employee should match the job requirement.

Question: Is perception management applicable in current times when we are working from home virtually and not interacting personally with our coworkers and managers? Rationalize your opinion with steps and measures that help you manage the process.

Question: Nikita is a Change Manager with Nelson & Murdock. In the view of the way the business landscape is evolving with more reliance on technology, she intends to bring about many new initiatives which require employees to unlearn certain aspects and learn many new approaches. Many learning theories have been prevalent which organizations use from time to time.

• a. If employees need to learn certain model behaviors demonstrated by leaders, which learning theory should Nikita select for faster results?
• b. How does learning through reinforcement bring about behavior modification in employees?

Q. Think about the best job you have ever had. What was it that made it a great job? Can you, as a manager or leader, replicate the environment that made that job so good? How? And more importantly, why would you replicate it? How can the study of organizational behavior help you replicate it and maybe even improve it? This week, compose a 3 to 4 page paper, in APA format, answering these questions and supporting your answers with scholarly evidence from your text and other sources. Compose your paper to include a title page, introduction, headings, conclusion and references in APA format. Please review the rubric for grading criteria.

Q. Explain how GLOBE study has helped managers across the world understand the complex relationship between culture and organizational success.

Q. What problems do you usually encounter in teamwork at your organization? What is your approach to overcome them?

Q. Essex Enterprises is a renowned logistics company which has spread its operations in 7 countries across the globe. They are recognized as the best learning organization due to their policies and processes and systems. One of the reasons for their success is that they have successfully applied the Reinforcement Theory of Learning since their inception.
a. Why is Reinforcement Theory also called as Behaviour Modification Theory?
b. How can reinforcement be administered effectively?

Q. Briefly distinguish between positive and negative reinforcement and provide a job-related example of each.

Q. How can schedules of reinforcement be used in the work situation?

Q. Describe the Performance Management Process

Q. Describe the difference between Theory X and Theory Y employees.

Q. What are 3 Causes of Motivational Problems? Give examples of each.

Q. What are some of the characteristics of high achievers?

Q. Do you believe in 360 Degree Feedback? Explain your answer

Q. Explain classical conditioning

Q. Explain four aspects of group behavior. How can each aspect help or hinder the group’s functioning?

Q. Why are work teams important to organizations today? How and why are work teams formed?

Q. Describe American business culture using Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural differences.

Q. Mention the benefits and problems of diversity.

Q. Briefly discuss the issues an organization would want to understand if it were interested in a business venture within China.

Q. Define organizational behavior and name the organizational variables that affect human behavior at work.

Q. Distinguish between informal and formal organizations. Which of these affects organizational behavior?

Q. Identify the major reasons why managing organizational behavior is challenging during changing times.

Q. There is often a disconnect between personal values and individual behavior. What does this mean?

Q. The changing workforce is one of the emerging trends in organizational behavior. Describe how the workforce is changing and briefly identify two consequences of these changes for organizations.

Q. Telecommuting (working from home) has been identified as an important trend in organizational behavior. Discuss three organizational behavior pros and cons related to telecommuting.

Q. Explain the four types of results (two positive/ two negative) as a result of organizational behavior modifications.

Sample Assignment:

You have applied for a managerial position as a Business Development Manager in a large retail organisation. Following shortlisting you have been asked to attend for interview. Prior to the interview you need to send in a written portfolio which will help the interview panel to establish your suitability for the post.

Task 1 – Written Portfolio

You must prepare a portfolio of evidence which includes:

• an analysis of the characteristics of different organisational structures
• an explanation of how the culture of an organisation can impact on the effectiveness of the organisation
• an assessment of the impact of learning on the effectiveness of employees
• an evaluation of how working in teams can improve employee effectiveness.
• how different leadership behaviours impact on organisations.
• the process and outcomes of change on the effectiveness of employees.

Task 2

You know that questions from the panel will ask for your views on certain management theories. In preparation make detailed notes which:

• evaluate different leadership behaviour theories
• analyse theories relating to work relationships and interactions.
• evaluate the relevance of organisational culture theory in developing organisational effectiveness.

Task 3 – Presentation with accompanying notes

You are to make a presentation to the interview panel as part of the selection process. You should prepare a presentation with accompanying notes which shows how organisations can motivate employees in order to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

In the presentation and the accompanying notes, you must:

• analyse the benefits and issues with involving employees in organisational decision making
• explain different ways to motivate employees.
• analyse how motivational theory can inform employee motivation.
• evaluate how a named organisation of your choice motivates its employees.

Provide a detailed analysis of the characteristics of different organisational structures. Identify the different structures, examining different aspects in detail and using examples to illustrate their work. The explanation of culture must be comprehensive and clearly related to its impact on the effectiveness of organisations.
Demonstrate understanding of a range of pertinent leadership theories and the evaluation should identify the strengths and weaknesses of the different concepts.
When considering how team working can improve employee effectiveness, learners should review the benefits and problems of working in teams and the differing group dynamics.

Q) Case:
M/s Chai ki pyaali is a new startup serving hot tea to customers. The company has 30 different varieties of tea and it also sells food items that adds more revenue to the overall profit. The company has a unique cup design and the store layout and design is vintage. The company has opened 50 stores across India and has a plan to open 100 more stores in another two years. The

expansion plan is in place and the execution needs to be monitored. The Chai ki pyaali head office is in Mumbai.
Mr. Shravan is the person who started the tapri (small road side sales booth) business and is now the owner of Chai ki pyaali chain. All the employees are very happy with Shravan and his managing skills. Before taking any decision he consults all his managers. He shares his ideas with them and also loves to hear their ideas too. He is always keen on learning new modern management principles and practices.
Mr. Shravan hires you as a Business Manager so that the modern day management practices can be implemented properly.

Q. Explain various social responsibilities that this business will have towards interest groups?

Q. Based on the case given:
a. Identify any five Henry Fayol principles that can be implemented in the Chai ki Pyaali business. (5 Marks)
b. Explain any three types of leadership styles and identify the leadership style adopted by Mr. Shravan.

Question: Read the following case carefully and answer the questions.

CASE:

Client: The Danish subsidiary of a UK parent company (which is itself a subsidiary of a major multinational corporation).
Business: A computer equipment manufacturer.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Background: The employee attitude survey was commissioned by the UK parent company of a Danish subsidiary. The Danish subsidiary had been acquired by the UK company two years earlier. Prior to the acquisition, the subsidiary was a privately held exclusive distributor of the parents products in the Danish and broader Scandinavian markets. The subsidiary‟s customers were dealers, not end users. The former owners of the subsidiary had remained in the company in the capacity of Directors for a transition period. Subsequently, the former owners had been replaced by a British Managing Director (who was not fluent in the Danish language) and his senior team. The official operating language of the company worldwide is English. Management is required to be fluent in English, whatever their nationality and mother tongue. It had been identified by the company previously that the Danish staff and, to a somewhat lesser extent the Danish customers perceived the senior management team to be ignorant of Danish business culture, practices, and the nature of the Danish domestic market. Reportedly, it was felt locally also that the UK parent was “remote, unsupportive, and generally unsympathetic to the needs of its subsidiary.”

Whether real or not, these perceptions had taken on a „life of their own‟ and seemed linked to the presence of friction and lessened company performance. The Danish company was ailing financially anyway and these issues did not help the parents objective of turning its subsidiary around. The UK parent had reached the point of considering the closure of its Danish subsidiary company. The UK Board of the parent company decided though to adopt a completely open mind and to fully explore its options before reaching any decision. They decided to find out what the „real issues‟ were. Hence, the UK Board commissioned this study (together with a psychological audit of the capabilities and style of the management, alongside an internal commercial audit of the business).

i) Identify and discuss the reasons for resistance to change as highlighted in the above case study. (ii)Suggest tactics that the Management should be employing to overcome the resistance in each case.

Question: Explain the Action Research Model of change with illustrations and correlate it with any organization as well.

Question: You have been invited by a reputed company dealing with white good to provide them with consultation on team motivation and performance. Outline the procedure you will adopt.

Question: Discuss work designs that optimize technology quoting relevant examples for each group.

What are the contingencies that need to be kept in mind at the time of devising OD interventions?

Question: Write short notes on the following along with the practical examples (i)Management by Objectives and its relevance as an OD intervention (ii)Use of 360 degree as an appraisal method and as an intervention tool.

Question: Reflect on the growth and relevance of Organizational Development as a discipline with special focus on the major trend of globalization and managerial innovation.

Question: Trace the contribution of Normative Approach stem to the evolution of Organizational Development. Justify your answer with the help of two applications as well.

Q. Mario always wanted to establish his own retail company. He had all the financial and physical resources required to begin but he was not aware of the key fundamental elements of an organization. Why do you think these are important? As an HR specialist, help him with this task by designing the main organizational elements. Also, align these with his retail business.

Q. As project leaders, while Julia believes in enhancing each team member’s effectiveness, George believes in focusing on enhancing the overall organizational effectiveness. This difference of opinion always confuses their team members. Now, the senior management has realized that it is high time to get the issue sorted. So, the HR Manager, John Cooper has been assigned the task to devise a standardized and holistic process of measuring organizational effectiveness. Along with this, the management has also asked him to come up with a contemporary effectiveness approach that will replace the traditional approaches. Keeping the above scenario in mind,
Explain how John Cooper will devise a holistic process of measuring organizational effectiveness.
b. Explain which, one, contemporary approach will John choose and why?

Question: Can You Recognise the Need?

Abraham Maslow propounded a theory of human motivation that identified five sets of human needs arranged in a hierarchy of their importance to individuals. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs includes the following: Physiological needs, Safety needs, Social needs, Esteem needs, Self Actualisation needs.

Each of the following work situations stresses the denials of one of the four basic needs:

A. Security, B. Social, C. Self-esteem, D. Self-actualisation.

After each situation write the letter of the need being denied.

1. A rumour of imminent layoffs is being circulated in the company, and employees are upset. ___
2. A new employee felt left out when she was not asked to join her fellow workers for coffee. ___
3. A machine operator developed a way to cut production time. His supervisor adopted the plan for operators on similar machines without giving him credit. The man was resentful. ___
4. A man who had worked hard on behalf of the union wished to be elected shop steward. At the last election he was not nominated by the others and felt let down. ___
5. A worker received £50 extra in his weekly pay packet. He felt ashamed that he had not reported the mistake. ___
6. A group of employees liked to go for coffee together. The boss divided them into two groups and made them go at different times. The employees were unhappy about the ruling. ___
7. An employee who felt he could not work harmoniously with others wanted to take a human relations course. The course required him to leave work 15 minutes early once a week and he offered to make up the loss by coming in early on those days. The supervisor denied this request, thereby causing the employee a setback in his personal planning. ___
8. A store manager set a goal of a 15% sales increase in the next 6 months. She failed to attain her goal, but she did increase sales by 5%. She was keenly disappointed. ___
9. A salesman is worried because he has experienced a substantial drop in sales for no apparent reason. ___
10. A manager resented having to cancel, at the last minute, elaborate plans for a camping trip with his family. ___

Question on Organizational Structure

Write a Report to your Senior Management Team based on the following scenario:

You work for an organisation that has been established for in excess of 100 years. Your manager, who is one of the Senior Management Team, has recently joined the company and is concerned that the current structure, which has changed little in the last twenty years. She feels that the structure is outdated and needs to be revised in order to ensure that it allows the organisation to achieve its Mission and Goals through effective management. The Senior Management team are considering re-structuring the organisation. You have been asked to write a formal report which:

• Identifies and examines the key factors that need to be considered when designing the structure of organisations
• Evaluates the implications of organisational structure for the management and development of people and resources

Q) Explain any 4 types of organizational structures with an example.

Q. As the HR head of a Jubiliant Hospitalities, you have to create an Organizational Structure. Jubiliant has a pan India presence with an employee strength of 5000. They own three-star properties and cater majorly to corporate houses. Their key departments are business development, operations and Guest management teams. The company believes in empowering employee and is looking at creating an inclusive and transparent work culture. Explain the elements to be considered while finalizing the structure.

Question / Assignment: To analyze a team working in a sports facility. A real sports facility willl be selected by each participant. The HR structure will be analyzed following a strucured methodology.

Please follow the methodology explained at ‘Organizational structure’ and ‘HR Management’ notes. When analyzing Job positions and Persons, develop the analysis for only 3 cases of the facility in study. In case of not having all the information of the facility available, make hypothesis of a potential real situation.

Objective is learning to identify the organizational structure suitable for a sports facility based on its management model and to utilize a job position and persons analysis methodology.

Question:

You have recently started a new job in an organisation which is currently considering the possibility of restructuring in the near future. Your manager is aware that you are studying for your degree in Business and Management and feels that you have the knowledge to develop a presentation suitable for delivery to groups of managers across the organisation.

You have been tasked by your manager to produce a PowerPoint Presentation suitable for delivery to a panel of middle managers. You will not be required to verbally present your PowerPoint, but you should ensure that it is suitable for your manager to use to present to their team, when required.

Your PowerPoint should focus on two themes:

• Discusses the historical and theoretical basis of organisational structure
• Analyses the relationship between organisational structure and business strategy

The PowerPoint must be fully referenced using the Harvard Referencing System and a Reference List provided as the final slide of your presentation.

Focus on:

• The importance of organisational structure: links to organisational theory; Henri Fayol, Synergy, specialisation; links made to American and European approaches
• Formal organisational structures: line, line and staff, matrix, team; mechanistic versus organic; centralised versus decentralised; flat versus tall
• Informal organisational structures: difference between formal and informal structure; benefits, e.g. promote communication, provide satisfaction, provide social control; potential drawbacks, e.g. resistance to change, role conflict, lack of control over information of informal structure
• Organisational effectiveness: achievement of objectives, efficiency, sustainability, growth, competitive advantage, reputation, influence, external benchmarking

Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the historical development and theoretical basis relating to organisational structure. Develop a sound analysis and evaluation of the relationship between the structure of organisations and the business strategy.

Application of Theories to the Organisation Structure

• (i) Management Approaches
• (ii) American/European Based Theories
• (iii) Mechanistic vs Organic Structures
• (iv) Galbraith’s Star Structure Model
• (v) Functions of Management (PODC)
• (vi) PESTLE
• (vii) Henry Mintzberg’s 10 Managerial Roles
• (viii) Handy’s shamrock Organisations
• (ix) Mintzberg’s 5 types of Organisations
• (x) Grenier’s Growth Model
• (xi) Porter’s Generic Strategies Model
• (xii) Galbraith’s Growth Model
• (xiii) Treacy and Wiersema’s Value Discipline Model
• (xiv) Impact of IT on Organisational Flexibility

Conclusion- How effective your suggested structure linked to the theories will be successful for the organisation- link to change in PESTLE factors, change in consumer demands etc.

Q. An article published in McKinsey Quarterly June 2015 states;
“Organizational redesign involves the integration of structure, processes, and people to support the implementation of strategy……. it comprises the processes that people follow, the management of individual performance, the recruitment of talent, and the development of employees’ skills. When the organizational redesign of a company matches its strategic intentions, everyone will be primed to execute and deliver them. The company’s structure, processes, and people will all support the most important outcomes and channel the organization’s efforts into achieving them.”
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/getting-organizational-redesign-right

Using the following Case Study, as a focus of your report, write a formal report which addresses the following Learning Outcomes:

• Identifies and examines the key factors that need to be considered when designing the structure of organisations
• Evaluates the implications of organisational structure for the management and development of people and resources
• Relationship between the organisation and individuals

Question: Video surveillance at work place

Employers are increasingly concerned about issues like violence in the workplace, identity and property theft, lowered productivity, and on-the-job accidents and injuries, besides facing the ever-increasing costs of litigation. As a result, many employers now use cameras and video surveillance in the workplace.

However, while guarding against these risks, companies also must balance the business interests of the company with the reasonable expectations of privacy of its employees.

Most employees are okay if retail establishments conduct video surveillance to guard against theft by outsiders. But what about employers that use hidden cameras to try to catch their own employees stealing? What about video surveillance of employees while they’re working? Or cameras in the bathrooms or locker rooms?

Q. The ubiquitous CCTV cameras are everywhere and meant to monitor as well as protect you in your workplace. What according to you are the pros and cons of using video surveillance in work place for monitoring employees (two each)?

Informal groups (behaviour) | Merits & Demerits

While formal groups are formed by the organization to achieve special objectives, informal groups emerge on their own, based on the common interests of employees. The group may focus on issues that improves the workplace/morale or it could even be detrimental to the organization.

Case Study:

In a large office an employee named Rozy may feel like a mere payroll number, but her informal group gives her personal attachment and status. With the members of her group she is somebody, even though in the formal structure she is only one of a thousand employees. She may not look forward to monitoring 750 accounts daily, but the informal group gives more meaning to her day. When she thinks of meeting her friends, sharing their interests, and eating with them, her day takes on a new dimension that makes easier any difficulty or tedious routine in her work. Suddenly Rozy developed some interpersonal and intergroup conflicts with some powerful members of the group. The group did not accept her. Her work became more disagreeable and compelled her to a transfer, to absenteeism and to a resignation.

Questions: Although informal groups may lead to several benefits, can these groups prove harmful?. Suggest some measures for Rozy to check the dysfunctions of informal groups?

Question: Hari Sinha is a marketing executive with Hardbyte Computer Peripherals Ltd. Hardbyte is a company with 10 years of existence and has a sound product range in computer peripherals. It sells its products at a slightly higher price in the market because of its goodwill for quality. Hari Sinha is one of the best marketing executives of the company and enjoys several company benefits for his excellent performance. Hari’s boss Sudhir Pradhan is thoroughly satisfied with his work and likes Hari. Hari likes to sell to institutional buyers rather than small-time domestic customers. Hari also likes to work on challenging customers but not at the cost of wasting too much time on to please them. He constantly keeps himself focused on the targets to be achieved for the month and tries to reach the maximum. For him, it matters to be ahead in the race of selling and therefore he works very hard and smart. Sudhir has always tried to ensure that Hari is given enough scope to explore the potential customers on his own. He of course, feels a little worried about Hari’s attitude towards those marketing executives who sell to small customers. He is at times belittling in his attitude towards them and even ridicules their efforts. However, Sudhir has tried to ignore this because of Hari’s performance.Due to the recent slack in the IT industry, Hardbyte’s business with corporate customers has dipped. Because of this Sudhir, has reallocated the targets to all the marketing executives. However, he knows Hari’s fetish for corporate clients too well. But he also knows that Hari will have to be forced to go to small customers for promoting the products. Sudhir, is aware of the fact that Hari is a man of strong likes & dislikes and hence he is in a fix. He is also apprehensive that if Hari is not given an appropriate assignment then he may even consider leaving his job. Sudhir was fully aware that Hari had no dearth of opportunities. Sudhir knows that the dilemma that he is facing is serious and will have to be resolved suitably.

Questions
a) In a rapidly changing global scenario, what is the contribution of Individual Behavior in Organizations from the perspective of attitude, and perception?

b) How understanding of personality helps in enhancing organization’s effectiveness?

Organizational culture refers to the values, beliefs, and attitudes within a company that guides, informs, and influences the action and behaviour of its employees.

A friendly workplace culture is a positive work environment in which employees are motivated and are enthusiastic towards their job. A positive workplace environment improves teamwork performance and reduces negative experiences at the workplace, such as stress and workplace arguments conflicts. A positive workplace culture develops firm competitiveness as employees motivate each other by sharing their creative ideas that improve employee’s performance and develops firm competitiveness.

On the contrary, unmanaged or ineffective workplace culture has a negative impact on the employees as well as firm productivity because employees get demotivated and decreases the teamwork performance. The workplace culture needs to be aligned with the company’s HR practices.

[MBA] The culture in your company emphasizes making money more than it does safety…

The culture in your company emphasizes making money more than it does safety. However, you know that a safe workplace will save the firm money in the short run and the long run. How would you make a case to senior management that developing a culture of safety would yield high returns for the company? Note: Resources that may provide useful data are: The Safe Workplace, a website of the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program at ASSE and Workplace Injury, Illness and Fatality Statistics at Osha dot gov.

Workplace Safety was not a big topics in previous days. Most companies attempts to get more revenue and use labor to the maximum possible extent. Gradually labor right and safety is being issue for better performance of companies. International organizations like ILO, WTO and many conventions are playing major role in securing employee and employers head. Instead companies are concerned mainly on making money more than it does concern safety. This case attempts to analyze earlier phase and current scenario that to be presented to senior management about developing culture of safety yield high returns for company.

Workplace Safety and performance

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is about protecting safety, health and welfare of workers involved in work for any company or workplace. OHS attempts to protect workers from short term, long term and gradual degradation on health on the course of their daily activities. Many people are suffering of work place hazard and injuries and dies daily in a great number. We get news about blasting of gold mines, coal mines and construction sector where workers are dying in large number due to lack of or insufficient safety measures. A research in Australia revealed that in every 2/3 minutes an Australian workers are being injured seriously. For the single year of 2009/10 567,500 workers were injured but only 30% of them received compensation from employer (Safe at work). Work place hazard kills 7,000 people every year with diseases committed during work place. Australian safe work report reveals that 4.8% of total GDP is expended to compensate, cure those injuries and fatalities.

Benefits of safe workplace and insurance

– Employees are morally up feeling they and their family are secure

– Expense for care is less than for cure

– Many conventions, agreements and release notes are demanding workplace safety

– Good work environment will improve company productivity

– Corporate social responsibility is also fulfilled once workplace and environmental safety is considered

Achieving workplace safety

We cannot achieve workplace safety in a short period and run. For this management should have clear vision of how to perform operations and budgeting on regular basis. Companies are investing certain percentage of annual profit for creating safe workplace as well as rescue fund. Measures to be taken varies from nature of workplace. For example in mines, providing safe equipments, training on emergency will make good sense. For construction and grill factory using spectacles, clothes and helmet is compulsory. Tools and equipments used for construction and/or development sector should be handled carefully for this employer should provide necessary training and instruction for workers involved in those tasks.

[MBA] Case Study : Creating A Safety Culture At Custom Transportation

Custom Transportation, located in Elgin, Illinois, is a company that specializes in the delivery of medical equipment and supplies to hospitals, clinics, and medical supply companies in the Midwest. The majority of employees at Custom Transportation are sales representatives, warehouse staff, and truck drivers. Currently, most of these workers are over age 40.

As a result of ongoing expansion, the company will grow from 225 employees to more than 500 employees in the next three years. Several government contracts have already been signed, and more are anticipated. The company has recently hired you as the warehouse manager. Part of your job is to oversee all safety programs for the company. These duties had been handled primarily informally by the chief financial officer (CFO) prior to your coming onboard.

On your first day, the CFO calls you in and gives you the following directives and information:
• Safety in the warehouse is becoming a real issue. The accident rate has tripled since last year. Something has to be done.
• Absenteeism has increased, especially on Fridays and Mondays.
• The company is spending 25% of its payroll costs on workers’ compensation claims. Many of the claims are related to cumulative trauma disorders.
• You need to get rid of an employee in the warehouse who is reported to have AIDS.

Answer the following questions by applying the concepts learned in Chapter 12. Also, conduct literature reviews on the subject of discussion and use to support your case study answers:

How would you respond to each of the directives from the CFO? What steps would you take to instill a culture of safety in this warehouse?
Do you think a wellness program makes sense for this company? Provide support for your answer.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge in increasing safety and health at this facility?
How will you address the issue of the employee with AIDS?

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Custom Transportation is expanding its coverage thus the employees is increasing from 225 to 500. Among them most are above 40. Agreement on several governmental contracts have increased the size of warehouse. Being hired as Warehouse Manager the main concern be safety programs of company.

Analysis of Case

The Chief Financial Officer have handled list of directives to be achieved. This case is to find ways that could address those issues. The issues are about rise in accident range, absenteeism and health concern too.

Response to each directives

Ongoing expansion of warehouse obviously raises some issues, especially about safety and taking care of. There might be different possible ways to address those same issues but some practical one are listed below:

– To address safety issue and accidental rate, shot term planning solely cannot solve it. A good company should always provide employees with safety tips. Providing training and instruction about handling equipment will make good sense. Moreover company might be using traditional equipment and methodology. Enhancing such methodology and use of latest technology will make our life easy.

– Staffs are absent during weekend and starting of weeks. To address this we may talk staffs for making good regulation. Don’t accept absence request that are drop less than 3 days ago and ask for valid reason for taking leave.

– Cumulative Trauma Disorder CTD that is cause by same nature of work and workplace, fatigue can be addressed by job rotation and change in job workplace. One can manage shifts so that no worker should take long time on same kind of job will be good solution too.

– Actually getting rid of AIDS patient is not a good solution but to be safe on our side as well as taking care of them too will make good sense. Instruction from CFO about getting rid of employee in warehouse reported of having AIDS is not clearly a solution for any existing issues. So being non-transmissible disease we don’t have to worry of the staff but making equal participation and coordination will make them courageous for longer life.

To instill a culture of safety in warehouse we could manage wider space, passage and easy handling of materials. Moreover not placing heavy items over lighter one and not making high pile of stuffs.Safety culture can be achieved by letting employees be serious on security and take concern of personal as well as group safety.

Effectiveness of wellness program

Wellness program is the activities of exercise, weight-loss, seminars and health screening sponsored by company so that employee be nice and tidy. Such programs are useful to certain extents if employees can manage time for it regularly and management can sponsor it. But now a day’s employees have busy time schedule and back to back list of tasks. So they hardly can manage time. Letting employees initiate on their own to go for regular exercise will be good solution too. Companies itself can let few 30 minutes before after work hour will let employees participate regularly. Wellness program have two side benefits one employees being healthy will be beneficial for company because the compensation on health will drop significantly and second healthy employee would perform better increasing revenue of organization.

Biggest Challenge in increasing safety and health

Being a transportation company dealing with medical equipment and supplies the challenge will be to maintain clean and tidy workplace as well as protect materials from contamination. The company is expanding workforce by nearly double. Increasing safety equipment, office space and tools can be done in a short period. The operation could be performed by a budget in a fiscal year only. But what will be real challenge is to train employees think healthy, do healthy and live healthy. The toughest task is to change ones attitude and thinking. People are less likely to change the way they are living. Moreover addition of some safety tools and tips will change the way they treat so they are less likely to adapt new measure. We hardly can change ones attitude and thinking. So biggest challenge in increasing safety and health will be change in employees’ attitude, thinking and way of operating day to day tasks.

Addressing issue of AIDS patient

Employees with air/water transmissible diseases with be real challenge for other employees to avoid. But employees with AIDS will not be a challenge for anyone unless their day to day and sexual behavior is fine. In the given case CFO is asking to get rid of employee with AIDS but having safe on our own and letting him treat as healthy as possible will not harm. We can motivate him for longer life, we should treat him as normal because AIDS patient can live longer with healthy behavior and thinking. If we discriminate them then they will hesitate to open with other and they are morally down. So, to address AIDS patient in warehouse we should be secure on our half, if the employee feels uncomfortable then we may switch him to easier are but there is no point in avoiding him.

References

Lepak, D., & Gowan, M. (2010). Human resource management: Training and Development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall

Osha.gov,. (2015).Workplace Injury, Illness and Fatality Statistics. Retrieved 16 October 2015, from https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/work.html

Safe at work,. (2015). What is OHS?. Retrieved 16 October 2015, from http://www.safeatwork.org.au/about-us/what-ohs

Academic Questions on Organization Culture

Management / MBA questions on Organization Culture:

Question: Based on the concepts of organization culture learnt, analyze the culture in your organization highlighting the positive and negative aspects. Justify your views citing examples.

Q. Organizations such as Intuit, Google believe that Socialization can be an excellent vehicle for promoting and sustaining culture. What are the socialization tactics that can be used by organizations to build and promote their culture?

Q. Prime services, an electricity distribution company, wants to change their somewhat complacent culture to a more agile and customer centric culture. The two organizations are very different in terms of their culture. What steps will you suggest helping Prime services to change their organizational culture? Does a leader have any role to play in organizational change?

Q.a. Amentus, a telecommunications company wants to inculcate the rich culture in their employees. What are the ways by which employees can learn the organizational culture? Justify.

b. Organizational culture is defined by some specific characteristics. Explain the characteristics with examples?

Q. Value for Money is a modern-day Fintech company with a work force of 300 people. The promoters have been stalwarts of the banking sector with a work experience of more than 30 years. The company has a lot of millennials and promoters are worried about creating a sustainable and productive work culture. Which are the factors that would affect organizational culture at Value for Money? What benefit will Value for money derive from a strong culture?

Q. Hojibo and Go-on-tour are the two biggest Online Travel Aggregators in the Indian landscape. Stiff competition and excessive cash burn made them come together by merging both the companies and forming a new entity called Ho-GOT. You are the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) of the Group Company. Founders of Hojibo and Go-on-Tour decided to build a new culture in Ho-GOT which would be different from both the earlier companies and thus entrusted you with this task. Being the CHRO you are aware that this would require huge cultural change in the organization.
Discuss the various phases involved in the cultural change of an organization. Also elaborate some of the factors that facilitate cultural change in an organization.

leadership

Various leadership theories. Evolution of leadership theories. Qualities, skills, traits and behaviour of leaders. Transformational leadership. Global Leadership.

Here’s what to cover in academic work related to Global Leadership.

Mention about Global leadership theories, what research says about Global leadership theories, what global leadership theories leaders are using. Refer to articles with culture, cross-culture leadership.

Various Theories, models and concepts:

Domestic versus Global leadership. The Global leadership capacity wheel, indigenous leadership, Global leadership competency pyramid, empowering leadership. Global mindset, cultural intelligence, multinational teams, bicultural fluency / biculturalism. People oriented leadership in global teams. Cross cultural and global Leadership experience. Challenging perspective and assumptions that stretch their comfort zone.

More topics related to Global Leadership:

Global staffing, inpatriation, Cross cultural adjustments, behavioural differences. Role novelty, pre-departure training. Deep level cultural acceptance – embracing values and beliefs. Requires cultural intelligence – Knowledge, mindfulness, behaviour, cultural flexibility, cultural, intelligence.

Ambiguous teams (due to globalisation). Tolerance to Ambiguity. Work groups to build interdependence within teams for effective team building. Build rapport, then collectively set goals. Performance management – individual rewards, team based reward for higher interdependence.

Perceptual Management skill. Social loafing. Cross cultural communication. Map bridge integrate, de-center and re- center. Intercultural competence (skill), knowledge, value and behaviour, personality orientation. Xenophobia, prejudice, intersectionality, discrimination

Diversity management – social category, informal diversity, value diversity. Diversity inclusion – recruitment practice. Unconscious bias – affinity bias, recruitment, hallow effect ( reviewing candidate application) , nonverbal bias in interviews due to body language.

Assignments, Projects, Questions on Leadership

Management (MBA) Question on this topic:

Question: Explore how leadership & management theory can support managers to develop successful professional teams. Consider how leaders can manage functional and dysfunctional conflict during the group formation process. The presentation requires you to examine the relationships between leadership, conflict, and teamwork. Consider using examples from your previous experience of group work along with examples from professional managers. You can use PowerPoint or other presentation software to design your presentation.

Demonstrate an understanding of leadership and management approaches and the impact they have on the formation and development of successful teams.

How could knowledge of identity and personality assist managers to produce groups with less dysfunctional conflict? By understanding other people can we give them appropriate roles within groups to promote harmony? Would applying Belbin’s team roles during the group formation phase reduce conflict? Are there limitations to identity theories (Myers Brigg) and team roles?

How do different management and leadership styles affect functional and dysfunctional conflict during the group formation stages? Where is dysfunctional conflict most likely to occur during the group formation process? What can managers do to reduce dysfunctional conflict during the group formation processes e.g. storming, performing etc? Would different leadership styles produce functional or dysfunctional conflict? Why? May different leadership styles be more relevant during different stages of the group formation stages? Provide examples of teams from the real world such as from Patrick Lencioni.

What specific kinds of conflict could emerge during team formation and what strategies could group leaders, co-ordinators, and team members use to address the conflict. Types of conflict – accommodating, competing etc. How can managers use the conflict styles to reduce dysfunctional conflict? Patrick Lencioni also addresses these issues which will provide examples from the real world.

What performance management techniques could be used to in order to reduce dysfunctional conflict and enhance performance during the group formation stages? How can managers and other team members manage people to bring the best out of them? Consider: Rewards, Learning & Development plans, how to resolve conflict. Patrick Lencioni also addresses this issue. The Clydesdale Bank Case Study includes many relevant examples.
Conclusions and Recommendations: What you have learnt from your research into the topic. What recommendations can you make to managers who want to reduce dysfunctional conflict and produce high performing teams?

Question: Amar works for an IT company as a project coordinator. His boss, Ajay is very adamant and wants the work to be done according to his way without even considering anyone’s perspective. If Amar commits any minor mistake also he is reprimanded in front of the entire team. Ajay wants Amar to stay late beyond office hours, even when his work is complete. Consider the given situation and explain the pitfalls in leadership shown by Ajay.

Q. Does leadership make a difference to organisational performance?

Q) The Trait theory of leadership asserts that leaders are born not made. According to these theories leaders have common personal or behavioural characteristics accounting for leadership effectiveness. Do you agree with the same? Support your answer with proper justification for the same. Conclude by expressing which theory explains leadership the best.

Q) Politics is said to be an inevitable evil at any workplace, no matter how much one tries to be away from it, would always find to be embroiled in it. It is a proven fact that politics cannot be avoided at any cost but has to be coped. It becomes imperative to be well aware of the elements contributing to politics at workplace. Keeping in view the above statements introduce the concept of workplace politics. Also, list factors contributing to workplace politics. Give concluding remarks on the importance of workplace politics (10 Marks)

Q3) Sanjay and Sam are co-workers. They both are working in the same project but their work values are quite contrast to each other. Sanjay belongs to GenX (The X Generation) and relies a lot on the team-work as well as its (team’s) upliftment, whereas Sam is from GenY (The Y Generation) or the Millennial and for him self-reliance is more important. Though they share a great personal rapport but they always find dissonance at work.

a) Explain the reason for their dissonance? It is natural to have such dissonance, give concluding remarks for the same (5 Marks)

b) Introduce the value system of your generation. Discuss the rest of the generations and their values? (5 Marks)

Q) Karan is an HR Manager and his team comprises of 6 members excluding him. Everyone in his team has extremely congenial relations to the extent that during brainstorming session they blatantly support each other. Though it is a sign of a close knit team but Karan feels that this kind of extreme harmony is killing the creativity of the team. Karan wants some kind of spur in the team’s creativity. Karan is in a dilemma.
a. Suggest any two methods of stimulating functional conflict in Karan’s team.
b. In case the conflict becomes dysfunctional, also suggest two methods through which Karan can manage the same (dysfunctional conflict).

Q: Leadership is said to be a vital quality which is becoming very rare in the organizations. It would not be wrong if we say that it is a progression where an individual solicits the backing of other entities for the completion of mutual objectives. The leaders are the visionaries and also act as a catalyst in terms of influencing and inspiring others. Based on the above statements discuss the significance of leadership in any organization. Conclude by answering that how the organization would fare if leadership is not right? (10 Marks)

Q) Explain with examples, what type of leader is Sundar Pichai (CEO Google). What kind of leadership style does he practice?

Q) A team leader in an organization wants to take feedback about his leadership from his peers, superiors and subordinates. List the various tools of verbal and non-verbal communication that can be developed for this purpose.

Q) What is the role of a leader in motivating his/her subordinates? Explain the impact of leadership styles on subordinates with the help of three different theories of leadership in brief.

Q) M/s Subodh Enterprise is failing to make profit from last five years. The company has no proper vision and direction to follow. The Directors have decided to replace the current leader who shows less concern for people as well as profit. They appoint you as a consultant to guide them on the various types of leader and suggest them one type of leader that will be suitable for this organization with reasons.

Q) Shanaya works as a creative head in the entertainment industry, where she is often required to work for long hours. Her reporting authority Kiran is very inflexible who wants the work to be done according to her liking. Shanaya tried to talk to her on several occasions and explain her as well as other team members’ point of view but in vain, as Kiran would not budge. If anything is not done according to Kiran’s way she reprimands Shanaya in front of her peers and subordinates. Kiran would pile Shanaya with excess work and make her work from home even during holidays. Keeping the above scenario in mind, discuss the pitfalls of leadership as demonstrated by Kiran.

Q) Anay works as a project lead in a pharmaceutical company. He is very famous amongst his team members because of his approach towards them. Whenever his team performs well he always rewards them. This reward comes in many forms like appreciation mail, gift voucher, and acknowledgement certificate. Because of this practice in Anay’s team they are regarded as the best performers in the office. Analyse the situation and explain the elements of reinforcement used by Anay.

Question: Personal Development for Leadership and Strategic Management

You have been a senior manager for a number of years and have decided that your next career move should be to or take responsibility for an aspect of strategic management in an organisation. Some interesting posts have been advertised recently and you have registered with a recruitment agency Harris Hall, which specialises in senior positions.

Task 1

Harris Hall has sent you a guidance pack titled ‘Preparation for Application and Interviews’, which includes some tasks for you to complete. This will provide the foundations for the applications you will make. You are required to produce a file of information. In section 1 you must:

• analyse the knowledge and skills in leadership and strategic management which are required to support the creation and achievement of organisational vision and strategy
• assess the contribution that factors other than skills and knowledge in leadership and strategic management make to the achievement of organisational vision and strategy
• review theories of leadership and management and assess the implications for your personal development.
• provides a justified ranking of the leadership and management knowledge and skills required to successfully create and achieve organisational strategy.
• evaluates the leadership and management knowledge and skills required for the successful achievement of organisational operations versus the creation and achievement of organisational strategy.

Task 2

The second part of the file enables you to manage the development of your own personal knowledge and skills in leadership and strategic management. This will support achievement of personal and organisational vision and strategy. This audit must be done in the context of an organisation where you are employed, where you work in a voluntary capacity, where you wish to gain employment or where you are studying. You must:

• carry out an audit of your own personal leadership and management knowledge and skills. The knowledge and skills identified must facilitate the creation and achievement of organisational vision.
• set objectives to meet your personal development needs in the context of strategic organisational needs
• prepare a personal development plan to develop own leadership and management skills to support the creation of organisational vision and strategy
• justify how objectives and the plan selected for personal development support achievement of organisational vision and strategy.
• carry out appropriate personal development activities to develop knowledge and skills identified in the audit,

Task 3

Harris Hall has sent you an email about an interesting post which is advertised in Management Today and you have decided to apply. As part of the application the organisation wants you to send a CV and a paper on ‘Developing and Communicating Organisational Vision’. The SHR Department in the organisation will use this information in the shortlisting of applicants, who will then be invited to interview.

Prepare a paper which:

• analyses the factors which impact on the creation of organisational vision
• assesses the different approaches to developing vision
• evaluates the key factors which impact on the communication of vision to external stakeholders.
• evaluates the key factors needed to gain the commitment of internal stakeholders when communicating vision
• assesses the benefits of review and explains when this tool can be used in the achievement of personal and organisational strategy.
• evaluates the sources of information needed to review progress with achieving personal development plans.

Task 5

In the guidance pack Preparation for Application and Interviews’, Harris Hall have asked you to review progress to date with your personal development plan. You understand the importance of review in supporting individual and organisational progress.

Produce a report which reviews your progress against the outcomes stated in your personal development plan.

Produce a clear and detailed analysis of the knowledge and skills in leadership and strategic management which are needed to support the creation and achievement of organisational vision and strategy. Produce a detailed review of a range of leadership and management theories linking them to their own personal development and making judgements on the relevance.

The personal development plan should be in a clear format with stated specific objectives, timescales and monitoring points. The plan must be detailed and might include a range of activities such as formal learning or training, as well as informal learning.

The evaluation of key factors impacting on the communication of the vision to external stakeholders should clarify who the external stakeholders might be and how the message might be differentiated. The evaluation should consider the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and lead to judgements.

This should be accompanied by a full explanation of when the tool of review can be used to support achievement of personal and organisational strategy.

Q. Critically evaluate the models theories and concepts related to Global Leadership.

Role of Motivation

Motivation is the driving force that drive individuals to pursue certain goals. It is the intention or reason for an individual’s activities and desires.

It involves pursuing a direction, putting in effort and persistence. It stimulates a person to do things or behave in a definite way. All employees work towards achieving organisational effectiveness but they all have their distinct needs which they would love want to fulfill.

Organisations have to keep the workforce happy and motivated because it is the people which will lead the organization to success (or failure). Employees are often the differentiating factors between organisations so to keep them in high spirits is very important.

Managers have to sense alienation and low morale among employees and do a root cause analysis (usually by talking to employees in different functions). Managers have to understand the reason behind such low motivation; are their certain factors that the organisation is either overlooking?

So managers have to take corrective measure for issues prevailing in the organisation. Addressing such concerns at the earliest helps companies reduce employee turnover.

Theories of Motivation:

There are a variety of theories on motivation:

NEEDS or CONTENT theories

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1954)
• McGregor (1960)
• Herzberg 2 factor theory (1966)
• Clayton Alderfer ERG theory (1972)

COGNITIVE or PROCESS theories

• Expectancy theory – Vroom (1964)
• Equity theory – Adams (1965)
• Goal setting theory – Locke and Latham (1990)

Motivational Techniques:

Companies employ motivational techniques so that the morale of the workforce is revived. These motivational techniques can be:

Monetary and Non-monetary Benefits

The organisation can provide better salary and fringe benefits to the employees. The non-monetary benefits can be some gift vouchers which can be given to employees during festive times. Salary is always a driving force for employees. Equity theory of motivation comes quite handy here as individuals always compare their input with their output. When employees find disparity, it can quickly turn into a huge demotivating factor for them. The employees’ salary should be as per the industry standards as well as their output.

Job enrichment

Lot of employees complain about their jobs being very monotonous. Job enrichment would help the organisation in retaining employee morale as well as reduction in the turnover by empowering of the employees. The employees and their managers would share their responsibilities and when such activity will take place then they (the employees) would feel more involved and committed towards their workplace. Managers should look for ways to make the jobs of the employees interesting. Job enrichment should lead to an increase in organisational effectiveness.

Job Rotation

Another motivational technique that is often used to remove monotony from work is to use job rotation. Since the employees do the same work on a regular basis, they find no challenges in their existing role and therefore monotony sets in. Therefore it is important to propose job rotation wherein the employees would be given different job profiles so that the work stays interesting and challenging. It will help increase employee morale.

Goal Setting

To increase employee involvement and interest it is important that employees sit with their managers while setting up goals. Such involvement will make them more aligned to organisational success and they will be more committed towards achieving the same.

Alternate Work Schedule

Fixed work schedules can also be a major reason why employees are demotivated. Every employee in the organisation may have their own personal commitments apart from the professional ones which one might not be able to fulfill because of the strict work schedules. Opening the perspective of having a flexible work schedule can influence the workforce to yield better performance. The organisation can opt for staggered hours where people/ individuals can work on a shift basis. This will also allow employees to have a better work life balance will in turn will motivate them further. Some companies also allow their employees to work from home once in a while.

To sum it up, it is important that the organisation keep the employees/workforce motivated in order to achieve its goals. A happy and motivated workforce can make the workplace creative and also increase organisational effectiveness. This will also save the organisation time, efforts and money for searching and training the alternatives/replacements. Management can use several motivational techniques to keep the workforce happy and motivated.

Question

Motivating others at work Exercise

A factory makes cardboard spacing inserts which go into boxes which are used to package and post televisions and other similar (fragile) consumer electronic goods. The inserts are made on machines which compress shredded and recycled hot and damp cardboard. There are sixteen machines all doing the same thing. The machines can be altered to manufacture different inserts for the various customers of the firm. The machines are generally reliable and once they are set up they work continuously for a two shift 16 hour a day producing the inserts.

Task:

• You have just started with the organisation after completing your degree in Business Management and your supervisor has tasked you with (as a test of your understanding of motivational processes):
• Assessing and defining the problems in the workplace
• Proposing solutions to the problems which the organisation is currently experiencing.

Question. Ajay had always been an outstanding performer throughout academia. As expected he also got placed at his dream company. This company offered him lucrative compensation, great fringe benefits, job security and encouraging superiors. Two years have passed by at this company and Ajay no longer has the same thoughts about the job; though all has been the same. Ajay seems to have got bored of his mundane job and salary hikes don’t seem to motivate him anymore. He is on the verge of withdrawing.

a. What according to you is wrong with Ajay.
b. Discuss Herzberg’s two factor in the light of the case.

Q. Karan recently joined as manager HR in a leading E commerce company. On the surface itself he could sense that people were quite hostile with each other and the employee turnover was also high. Karan did a lot of rapport building with individuals across functions and understood that it was a clear case where people were demotivated and reasons were like less salary, no appreciation, and monotonous work, fixed and hectic working schedule. What motivational techniques can Karan use to revive the morale of the workforce? Provide concluding remarks to emphasise that why it is important for the employer/ organisation to keep the employees/ workforce motivated.