Principles of Management (MGT 503)

Semester: Fall 2019 Graded Activity 1

Due Date: Nov 21, 2019 Total Marks: 20
Assignment:
Handy proposed a model of organizational culture according to which organizational culture is
categorized into four different dimensions; Role culture, Power culture, People culture and Task
culture. In Role culture more emphasis is given to the organizational hierarchies. Power culture
revolves around a single entity. Individuals possess the supreme worth in Person culture. Task culture
is more task-based and only focuses on the completion of tasks. For more detail check the following
model of Handy’s Culture:

Role Culture: Task Culture:

Such organizations are based on the assumptions
that people are rational; and that roles can be
defined and discharged with clearly defined
procedures. They display stability, certainty and
have great strength in situations marked by
continuity; they often display weakness in adapting
to, or generating, change.
This is found in organizations where management is
concerned with solving a series of problems. The
structure is represented by a net, resources being drawn
from all parts of the organization to meet the needs of
current problems. Working parties, sub-committees, task
forces and study groups are formed on an ad-hoc basis to
deal with problems. This type of culture is seen to
advantage when flexibility is required.

Power Culture: Person Culture:

Revolves around the strong leader who enjoys and
uses power, and is graphically represented by a
spider’s web. All lines of communication lead,
formally or informally, to the leader. Such
organizations display strength in speed of design
making, their potential weakness lying in the caliber
of the “one man bands” running them.
Organizations characterized by these cultures are those
where the organization exists to serve the individual and
where individuals are not servants of the organization.
They consist of groups of professionals, for example
doctors or lawyers, with no “boss”. Co-ordination may
be provided by a committee of peers. Such structures are
becoming more common as more conventional
organizations increasingly contract out work to
professionals and specialists whose services are used
only as and when required.

Recall the McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y and identify which theory (theory X or theory Y)
facilitates each of the culture types (role, power, people and task culture) proposed by Handy. Brief
explanation must be provided to support your answer.
Culture type McGregor’s theory Explanation
(theory X / theory Y)
1. Role culture Theory X
2. Power culture Theory X
3. People culture Theory Y
4. Task culture Theory Y
Note: Solution must be provided in the above format; else marks will be deducted.
 IMPORTANT NOTE
DO NOT COPY MATERIAL FROM ANY SOURCE INCLUDING BOOKS, HANDOUTS,
INTERNETSOURCE ETC. COPIED MATERIAL WILL BE TREATED AS CHEATING & WILL BE
MARKED AS ZERO.
1. IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS:
 Students are advised to study the assignment content carefully
 Try not to include any irrelevant material in the solution
 Try to come up with precise and original answers
 Any act of plagiarism like copy paste from internet will result in ZERO marks
 Assignments reaching after the due date would not be considered
 Make sure to upload the solution file before the due date on VULMS
 Any submission made via email after the due date will not be accepted
 Any submission through email by using any email ID other than your VU email ID will not be accepted
2. FORMATTING GUIDELINES:
 Use the font style “Times New Roman” or “Arial” and font size “12”.
 It is advised to compose your document in MS-Word format.
 You may also compose your assignment in Open Office format.
 Use black font color only.
3. REFERENCING GUIDELINES:
 Use APA style for referencing and citation. For guidance search “APA reference style” in Google and
read various website containing information for better understanding or visit
http://linguistics.byu.edu/faculty/henrichsenl/apa/APA01.html
4. RULES FOR MARKING:
Please note that your assignment will be graded as Zero (0), if:
 It is submitted after the due date.
 The file you uploaded is corrupt.
 It is in any format other than MS-Word or Open Office; e.g. Excel, PowerPoint, PDF etc.
 It is cheated or copied from other students, internet, books, journals etc.

IMPORTANT
24 hours extra/ grace period after the due date is usually available to overcome uploading difficulties.
This extra time should only be used to meet the emergencies and above mentioned due dates should always
be treated as final to avoid any inconvenience.

Good Luck!