Assignment Set 1 (one)

1. “Today Managers need to perform various function:, elaborate

the Statement?

Definition:- “Follett (1933) defines management as the art of getting

things done through people”. One can also think of management
functionally, as the action of measuring a quantity on a regular basis
and of adjusting some initial plan.

The management functions have been grouped in four categories

Management Functions

Planning Organizing Leading Controlling

Planning: It involves the process of defining goal, establishing

strategies for achieving these goals, and developing plans to integrate
and strategies for activities. Every organization needs to plan for
change on order to reach its set goal. Effective planning enables an
organization adapt to change by identifying opportunities and
avoiding problems. It provides the direction for the other functions of
management and for effective teamwork.
Therefore, planning is often referred to as strategic in nature and also
termed as strategic planning.

Strategic planning: Top level managers engage chiefly in strategic

planning or long range planning strategic planning is the process of
developing and analyzing the organizations mission, overall goals,
general strategies and allocating resources.
A mission is the process of the organization. Thus planning begins
with clearly defining the mission of the organization. The mission
statement is board, concise, summarizing what the organization does.
SWOT Analysis: A situation or SWOT( Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats)
Analysis is vital for the creation of any strategic plan. The SWOT
analysis begins with a scan of the external environment.

Monitor the Plan: A systematic method of monitoring the

environment must be adopted to continuously improve the strategic
planning process. To develop an environment monitoring procedure,
short term standards for key variables that will tend to validate and
support the long range estimates must be established.
Organizing: It involves designing, structure, and co coordinating the
work components to achieve organizational goal. It is the process of
exterminating what tasks are to be done, who is to do, how the tasks
are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to
be made. A key issue in accomplishing the goals identified in the
planning process is structuring the work of the organization.
Organizations are groups of people, with ideas and resources working
towards common goals.

The formal organization can be seen and represented in chart form.

And organization chart displays the organizational structure and
shows job titles, lines of authority, and relationship between
departments.

The steps in the organizing process Include.

Review plans
List all tasks to be accomplished
Divide task into groups’ one person can accomplish a job
Group related jobs together in a logical and efficient manner
Assign work to individuals
Delegate authority to establish relationship between jobs and groups
of jobs

Leading: An organization has the greatest chance of being successful

when all of the employees work towards achieving its goal. Since
leadership involves the exercise of influence by one person over
others, the quality of leadership exhibited by supervisors is a critical
determinant of organizational success. Supervisors can learn about
leadership through research. Leadership Studies can be classified as
trait, behavioral, contingency, and transformational.
Earliest theories assumed that the primary source of leadership
effectiveness lay in the personal traits of the leaders themselves, yet
traits alone cannot explain leadership effectiveness.

Teambuilding: Rigid department boundaries and fixed teams are

giving way to ad hocsquads whose membership changes with every
project. Flexible networks of team-based statures are occurring with in
and between companies, as well as across national borders.

Consensus Building: Top performance demands the joint of many

people, working together towards a common goal. When an individual
works together with others, effectiveness grows, creating grater
productivity for all involved. Together, employees can do more than
the collective efforts of each individual working alone.

Selecting: Selecting competent, high performance employees capable

of sustaining their performance over the long run is a competitive
advantage. The selection process consists of forecasting employment
needs, recruiting candidates, interviewing applicants, and hiring
employees.

Training: After employees are selected, they enter an orientation

program to be formally introduced to their jobs. Orientation sets a
tone for new employees work be describing job related expectations
and reporting relationship. Employees are informed
about benefits, polices and procedures.

Controlling: it involves monitoring the employees behavior and

organizational processes and take through necessary actions to
improve them, if needed control is the process through which
standards for performance of people and processes are set,
communicated, and applied. Effective control systems use
mechanisms to monitor activities and take corrective action,

There are different types of controlling

feed forward controls

concurrent controls
feedback controls
 2. “Skills are the tool for performance” explain various management
skills”?

Katz (1974) has identified three essential management skills

Management Skills

Technical Skills Human Skill Conceptual Skill

Technical Skills: The ability to apply specialized knowledge or

expertise all jobs require some specialized expertise, and many people
develop their technical skills on the job. Vocational and on the job
training programs can be used to develop this type of skill.

Human Skill:- This is the ability to work with, understand and

motivate other people( both individually and a group). This requires
sensitivity towards others issues and concerns, people, who are
proficient in technical skill, but not with interpersonal skills, may face
difficulty to manage their subordinates. To acquire the human skill, It
is pertinent to recognize the feeling and sentiments of others, ability
to motivate others even in adverse situation ,and communicate own
feelings to others in a positive and inspiring way.

Conceptual Skill: This is an ability to critically analyze, diagnose a

situation and forward a feasible solution. It requires creative thinking,
generating options and choosing the best available option.

3. What is negotiation? Explain the process of negotiation?

Definition: A process in which two or more parties exchange goods

or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them
example. Mangers negotiate with employees, peers, and bosses, sales
people negotiate with customers, Purchasing agents negotiate with
suppliers.
Process of Negotiation:- Negotiation as made up of fives steps
namely

Preparation and planning

Definition of ground rules
Clarification and justification
Bargaining and problem solving and
Closure and implementation

Preparation and planning: once you have gathered your

information, use it to develop a strategy. For example, expert chess
players have strategy. They know ahead of time how they will
respond to any given situation. As part of your strategy, you should
determine yours and the others sides best alternative to a negotiated
agreement(BATNA) your BATNA determine the lowest value
acceptable to you for a negotiated agreement. Any offer you receive
that is higher than your BATNA is better than an impasse.

Definition of Ground Rules: Once you have done your planning and
development a strategy you are ready to begin defining the ground
rules and procedures with the other party over the negotiation itself.
Who will do the negotiating, where it will take place, what time
constraints, during this phase; the parties will also exchange their
initial proposals or demands.

Clarification and justification: when initial positions have been

exchanged, both you and other party will explain, amplify, clarify,
bolster, and justify your original demands. This need not
confrontational. Rather it is an opportunity for educating and
informing each other on the issue, why they are important, and how
each arrived at their initial demands. This is the point at which you
might want to provide the other party with any documentation that
helps support your position.

Bargaining and problem solving: The essence of the negotiation

process is the actual give and take in trying to hash out an agreement.
It is here where concessions will undoubtedly need to be made parties

Closure and implementation: The final step in the negotiation

process is formalizing the agreement that has been worked out and
 developing any procedures that are necessary for implementation and
monitoring. For major negotiations which would include everything
from labor management negotiations to bargaining over lease terms to
buying a piece of real estate to negotiating a job offer for e senior
management position.

4. Explain Classical Conditioning Theory?

There are three theories of learning namely

Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Social Learning

a) Classical Conditioning: It is a form of associative learning process

proposed by Pavlov (1927). This process involves presentations of a
natural stimulus along with a stimulus of some significance. The
neutral stimulus does not lead to an overt behavioral response from
the organism. This is called as conditioned stimulus (CS) significant
stimulus evokes an innate, often reflexive response. This is called
unconditioned stimulus (US) and unconditioned response (UR)
respectively id the CS and the US are repeatedly paired, eventually the
two stimuli become associated and the organism begins to produce a
behavioral response to it.

It is the conditioned response (CR) classical conditioning was first

experimented by Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlon to teach dogs to
salivate in response to the ringing of the bell. During his research on
the physiology of digestion in dogs, Pavlov used a bell before giving
food to his dog, rather than simply salivating in the presence of meat
(a response to food –unconditioned response) after a few repetitions,
the dog started to salivate in response to the bell. Thus a neutral
stimulus(bell) become a conditioned stimulus(CS) as a result of
consistent pairing with the unconditioned stimulus(US –meat) Pavlov
referred to this learned relationship as a conditioned response.

5. How are culture and society responsible to build value system?

Following are the most important research with regard to establishing

relationship between national culture and values.
Hostede’s (1980, 1991) in order to find the common dimensions of
culture across the countries, gather data from surveys with 1, 16,000
respondents working from IBM from more than 70 countries around

a) Power Distance: This dimension measures the social equality i.e to

what extant a society accepts unequal distribution of power in
families, institutions and organization. Inequality of power in
organization is generally manifested in hierarchical superior +
subordinate relationship.

b) Uncertainty avoidance: This is a representation of a society’s

tolerance for uncertain situations. It measures to what extant a society
manages those situations by providing specific and conventional rules
regulations and norms, by rejecting aberrant ideas or behavior, by
accepting the possibility of absolute truths and the accomplishment of
expertise. Countries, which score high in uncertainty avoidance,
discourage risk – taking behavior and innovation.

c) Individualism Vs Collectivism: Individualism gauges to what

extent individuals in a country consider themselves as distinct entries
rather than as members of cohesive groups. Collectivism, on the other
hand, emphasizes on social ties or bonds between individuals.
Individualistic society considers self – interest as more important than
the group goal.

d) Masculinity Vs Femininity: This dimension refers to what extent

dominant values in a emphasizes masculine social values like a work
ethic expressed in terms of money, achievement and recognition as
opposed to feminine social role which show more concern for people
and quality of life.

There are nine cultural dimensions as follows:

Uncertainty – Avoidance: globe project defined this dimension as he

extent to which a society or an organization tries to avoid uncertainty
by depending heavily on prevalent norms, rituals and bureaucratic
practices.
Power Distance: It is the degree to which power is unequally shared
in a society or an organization.
 Collectivism I: Societal collectivism it is the degree to which society
and organization encourages, and recognizes collective performance.
Collectivism II: In group Collectivism it is the degree to which
individuals take pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organizations
and families.
Gender Egalitarianism: Globe has defined this as an extent to which
a society or an organization minimizes gender differences and
discrimination.
Assertiveness: It is the degree to which individuals, both in
organizational and social context are, assertive and confrontational.
Future Orientation: It is the degree to which individuals are
encourages in long – term future – oriented behaviors such as
planning, investing etc.
Performance orientation: This dimension encourages and rewards
group members for Performance improvement.
Humane orientation: It is the degree to which organization or
society encourage or reward for being fair, altruistic, friendly,
generous and caring.

6. Write short notes on?

a) Locus of control
b) Machiavellianism

Locus of control: A Person’s perception of the source of his / her fate

is termed locus of control. Locus of control was formulated with in
the framework of Rotter’s (1954) social learning theory of personality.
Rotter (1975) pointed out that internality and externality represent two
ends of a continuum, not an either / or typology. Internals tend to
attribute outcomes of events to their own control.

External attribute outcomes of events to external circumstances For

Example, college students with a strong internal locus of control may
believe that their grades were achieved through their own abilities and
efforts, whereas, those with a strong external Locus of control may
believe that their grades are the results of good or bad luck, or to a
professor who designs bad tests or grades capriciously, hence they are
less likely to expects that their own efforts will result in success and
are therefore less likely to work hard for high grades.
Machiavellianism: The term that some social and personality
psychologists use to describe persons tendency to deceive and
manipulate others for personal gain, the concept is named after
renaissance diplomat and writer Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote II
Principe( The Prince). Christie and Geis (1970) developed a test for
measuring a persons level of Machiavellianism. This eventually
became the MACH IV test, a twenty – statement personality survey
that is now the standard self assessment tool of Machiavellianism. An
individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains
emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means. High
machs manipulate more, win are persuaded less, and persuade others
more. High mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors and
flourish when they interact face to face with others, rather than
indirectly, and when the situation has a minimum number of rules and
regulations, thus allowing room for improvisation. High machs make
good employees in jobs that require bargaining skills or that offer
substantial rewards for winning.
 Assignment Set 2 (Two)

1. “Halo effect and selective perception are the shortcuts in judging

others”. Explain?

Individuals have a tendency to use a number of shortcuts when they

judge others. An understanding of these shortcuts can be helpful
toward recognizing when they can result in significant distortions

Selective Perception: Any characteristic that makes a person, object,

or event stand out will increase the probability that it will be
perceived. It is impossible for an individual to internalize and
assimilate everything that is seen. Only certain stimuli can be taken in
selectively. Selectively works as a shortcut in judging other people by
allowing us to “Speed-read” others, but, not without the risk of
drawing an inaccurate picture. The tendency to see what we want to
see can make us draw unwarranted conclusions from an ambiguous
situation

Halo effect: The halo effect (Murphy and Anhalt, 1992) occurs when
we draw a general impression on the basis of a single characteristic.
For Example, while appraising the lecturer, students may give
prominence to a single trait, such as enthusiasm and allow their entire
evaluation to be tainted by how they judge the instructor on that one
trait which stood out prominently in their estimation of that person.
research suggests that’s it is likely to be most extreme when the traits
to be perceived are ambiguous in behavioral terms, when the traits
have moral overtones, and perceiver is judging traits with which he or
she has had limited experience.

2. Explain “Emotional Intelligence”?

The importance of both emotion and intelligence in making decisions

and achieving success in life was – accepted in ancient India. A
concept of “Sthitha-prajna” (emotional stability), similar to the
concept of emotional intelligence, can be traced in the second chapter
of ‘Srimad Bhagavad-Gita’. Bhagavad Gita is a specific conversation
between Lord Krishna and Arjuna (third Pandava prince) in a specific
situation of Kurukshetra battlefield. Pandavas were fighting against
the Kauravas, the cousin brothers to restore their kingdom from
Kauravas in Kurukshetra, Before the battle started, Arjuna, with deep
sorrow and pity, found his relatives, friends and respected ‘gurus’ in
enemy’s side.
To win the battle he was supposed to kill those beloved ones. He got
confused about his rightful duty. Due to this hriday-durbalata (heart-
non-strength), he refused to join the battle. In this context, Lord
Krishna who played the role as the driver of Arjuna’s chariot
enlightened him about the eternal truth of life. According to Lord
Krishna advised Arjuna to become ‘Sthitha-prajna’ (the steady
minded person). He also told that an individual achieved his/her goal
only when the mind became steady, poised and balanced. Evidently,
the concept of “Sthitha-prajna” (the steady-minded person) talked
about a unique interdependence between emotion and intelligence for
effective decision-making which was most essential in excelling in
every sphere of life. Gita, as a whole, advises all to balance between
intelligence and emotion.
Similar views on the role of emotional intelligence as a learning
process for achieving a balanced personality in different stages of life
on an intergenerational basis has been depicted in the Vedas. In
particular, Dr. Radhakrishnan, in his book, ‘The Hindu View of
Life’(1927) opined that the attitude of the Vedas is one of trust
tempered by criticism because, however, plausible the testimonies of
the old views may be, it cannot deny the present of its right to enquire
and sift the evidence’. This view aptly points out the need for
emotional intelligence in everyday life to become more emotionally
balanced and functional individuals in society.

‘Emotional intelligence is an aggregate of individuals’ cognition of

own and others’ emotions, feeling, interpretation and action as per
environmental demand to manipulate the consequence which in turn
result in superior performance and better human relationship’
(Bhattacharya, 2003). Emotional intelligence is a measure of the
degree to which a person makers use of his/her reasoning in the
process of emotional responses (both positive and negative) in a given
situation. So having high emotional intelligence doesn’t mean that the
person never panics or loses his/her temper. It does mean that he/she
brings own feelings under control and channels them into productive
behaviors. The ability to bring out-of-control emotions back into line
results in what earlier generations called emotional maturity.
 Goleman’s Emotional intelligence model (1995)

Personal Competence Social Competence

Self- awareness Empathy

Self-regulation motivation Social Skills

3. “Group formation passes through various stages”, explain the

various stage of group formation?

Stages of Group Formation: Groups generally pass through a

standardized sequence in their evolution. We call this sequence the
five stage model of group development. Although research indicates
that not all groups follow this pattern, it is a useful framework to
understand group development. This section describes the five-stage
general model and an alternative model for temporary groups with
deadlines.

The Five Stage Model:-

There are five stage group development model characterizes groups as

proceeding through five distinct stages:

Forming,
Storming,
Norming,
Performing and
Adjourning.

Forming: is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the

groups purpose, structure and leadership. Members are “testing the
waters” to determine what types of behaviors are acceptable. This
stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves as
part of a group.

The storming: stage is one of intragroup conflict. Members accept

the existence of the group, but there is resistance to the constraints
that the group imposes on individuality. Furthermore, there is conflict
over who will control the group. When this stage is complete, there
will be relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within the group.

Norming: Is one in which close relationships develop and the group

demonstrates cohesiveness. There is now a strong sense of group
identity and camaraderie. This norming stage is complete when the
group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set
of expectations of what defines correct member behavior.

Performing: The structure at this point is fully functional and

accepted. Group energy has moved from getting to know and
understand each other to performing the task at hand.

For permanent work groups, performing is the last stage in their

development. However, for temporary committees, teams, task forces
and similar groups that have a limited task to perform.

Adjourning: In this stage, the group prepares for its disbandment.

High task performance is no longer the group’s top priority. Instead,
attention is directed toward wrapping up activities. Responses of
group members vary in this stage. Some are upbeat, basking in the
groups accomplishments. Others may be depressed over the loss of
camaraderie and friendships gained during the work group’s life.

Many interpreters of the five-stage model have assumed that a group

becomes more effective as it progresses through the first four stages.
Although this assumption may be generally true, what makes a group
effective is more complex than this model acknowledges. Under
some conditions, high levels of conflict may be conducive to high
 group performance. So we might expect to find situations in which
groups in Stage II outperform those in Stage III or IV. Similarly,
groups do not always proceed clearly from one stage to the next.
Sometimes, in fact, several stages go on simultaneously, as when
groups are storming and performing at the same time. Groups even
occasionally regress to previous stages. Therefore, even the strongest
proponents of this model do not assume that all groups follow its five-
stage process precisely or that Stage IV is always the most preferable.

4. Explain “Organizational Development” Process?

A typical Organizational Development Process can be divided into the

following phases:

Problem Identification: The first step in OD process involves

understanding and identification of the existing and potential
problems in the organization. The awareness of the problem includes
knowledge of the possible organizational problems of growth, human
satisfaction, the usage of human resource and organizational
effectiveness.

Data Collection: Having understood the exact problem in this phase,

the relevant data is collected through personal interviews,
observations and questionnaires.

Diagnosis: OD efforts begin with diagnosis of the current situation.

Usually, it is not limited to a single problem. Rather a number of
factors like attitudes, assumptions, available resources and
management practice are taken into account in this phase. According
to Rao and Hari Krishna (2002), four steps in organizational diagnosis
can be identified:

Structural analysis: Determines how the different parts of the

organization are functioning in terms of laid down goals.

Processes analysis: Process implies the manner in which events take

place in a sequence. It refers to the pattern of decision-making,
communication, group dynamics and conflict management patterns
 within organizations to help in the process of attainment of
organizational goals.

Function analysis: This includes strategic variables, performance

variables, results, achievements and final outcomes.

Domain analysis: Domain refers to the area of the organization for

organizational diagnosis.

Planning and implementation: After diagnosing the problem, the

next phase of OD, with the OD interventions, involves the planning
and implementation part of the change process.

Evaluation and feedback: Any OD activity is incomplete without

proper feedback. Feedback is a process of relaying evaluations to the
client group by means of specific report or interaction.

5. Write short note on “Stress Management” Process?

High or low levels of stress sustained over long periods of time, can
lead to reduced employee performance and, thus, require action by
management.

Individual approaches: Effective individual strategies include

implementing time management techniques, increasing physical
exercise, relaxations training and expanding the social support
network.

Practicing time management principles also leaves as an important

element in managing stress, such as:-

Making daily lists of activities to be accomplished.

Prioritizing activities by importance and urgency.
Scheduling activities according to the priorities set.
Knowing your daily cycle and handling the most demanding parts of
your job during the high part of your cycle when you are most alert
and productive.

Non-competitive physical exercise has long been recommended as a

way to deal with excessive stress levels.
 Individuals can teach themselves to reduce tension through relaxation
techniques, such as, meditation, hypnosis and biofeedback.

Having friends, a family or work colleague to talk to provides an

outlet for excessive stress.

Organizational approaches: Strategies that management might want

to consider include:

Improved personnel selection and job placement leading to right

person-job-fit thereby reducing chances of non-performance and
stress level.
Use of realistic goal setting, redesigning of jobs can help in aligning
the individuals and job effectively and reduce stress.
Training in stress management techniques can be helpful.
Increased employee involvement improves motivation, morale,
commitment and leads to better role integration and reduction in
stress.
Improved organizational communication helps in creating
transparency in organizations and reduces confusion, thereby
decreasing stress level at work.
Establishment of corporate wellness programs is an important
component in managing stress among organizational members by
rejuvenating and refreshing them from time to time leading to
increased productivity with renewed energy.

6. “Power is the ability to make things happen in way an individual

wants, either by self or by the subordinates. The essence of power
is to control over the balance of others”, explain what the various
basis of power are?

These can be divided the basis or sources of power into Two general
groupings namely:-
Basis of Power

Formal Personal

Coercive Power Reward power Legitimate Power Expert power Referent

Power

Formal Power: Formal Power I based on an individuals position in

an organization. Formal power can come from the ability to coerce or
reward, or from formal authority.

Coercive Power: The coercive power base is dependent on fear. One

reacts to this power out of fear of the negative results that might occur
if one failed to comply. It rests on the application, or the threat of
application, of physical sanctions such as the inflictions of pain, the
generation of frustration through restriction of movement, or the
controlling by force of basic physiological or safety needs.

At the organizational level, A has coercive power over B if A can

dismiss, suspend, or demote B, assuming that B values his or her job.
Similarly, if A can assign B work activities that B finds unpleasant or
treat B in a manner that B finds embarrassing, A possesses coercive
power over B. Coercive power also can come from withholding key
information. People in an organization who have data or knowledge
that others need can make those others dependent on them.

Reward Power: The opposite of coercive power is reward power.

People comply with the wishes or directives of another because doing
so produces positive benefits, therefore, one who can distribute
rewards that others view as valuable will have power over those
others. These rewards can be either financial such as controlling pay
rates, raises and bonuses or no financial including recognition,
promotions, interesting work assignments, friendly colleagues and
preferred work shifts or sales territories.

Coercive power and reward power are actually counterparts of each

other. If you can remove something of positive value from another or
inflict something of negative value, you have coercive power over that
person. If you can give someone something of positive value or
remove something of negative value, you have reward power over that
person.

Legitimate power: In formal groups and organizations, probably the

most frequent access to one or more of the power bases is one’s
structural position. This is called legitimate power. It represents the
formal authority to control and use organizational resources.
Positions of authority include coercive and reward powers.
Legitimate power, however is broader that the power to coerce and
reward. Specifically, it includes acceptance by members in an
organization of the authority of a position. When school principals,
bank presidents or army captains speak (assuming that their directives
are viewed to be within the authority of their positions), teachers,
tellers, and first lieutenants listen and usually comply.

Personal Power: You don’t have to have a formal position in an

organization to have power. Many of the most competent and
productive chip designers at Intel, for instance, have power, but they
aren’t managers and have no formal power. What they have is
personal power – power that comes from an individual unique
characteristic. In this section, we look at two bases of personal power-
expertise and the respect and admiration of others.

Expert Power: Expert Power is influence wielded as a result of

expertise, special skill or knowledge. Expertise has become one of the
most powerful sources of influence as the world has become more
technologically oriented. As jobs become more specialized we
become increasingly dependent on experts to achieve goals.

Referent Power: Is based on identification with a person who has

desirable resources or personal traits. If I like, respect and admire you,
you can exercise power over me because I want to please you.
Referent power develops out of admiration of another and a desire to
be like that person. It helps explain, for instance, why celebrities are
paid millions of dollars to endorse products in commercials. Market
research shows that people like Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin
Tendulkar have the power to influences your choice of chocolates and
soft drinks.