Note for Final Exam

8/7/2019 Note for Final Exam

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DECISION MAKING IN ORGANIZATION

01. What is decision making?

Ans.: Decision Making:

A decision is a choice between two or more alternatives . Decision-making is

the process of choosing what to do by considering the possible consequences

of different choices.

02. Steps/Process of Decision Making?

Ans. Steps of Decision Making:

Decision making is usually defined as the act of making up our mind about

something. However, the process of decision making is not as easy as it

sounds. Decisions have to be made in a careful way. By the way, there are 8

steps to decision making process that can help in clarifying certain things in

our mind before we take the final decision.

1. Defining the Problem: T he first step towards a decision making

process is to define the problem. Obviously, there would be no need to

make a decision without having a problem. So, the first thing one has

to do is to state the underlying problem that has to be solved. We also

have to clearly state the outcome or goal that you desire after we have

made the decision. For example, an executive may identify as a

problem the fact that the company cannot meet its payroll obligations.

T his step isn't always as easy as it sounds . After all, a problem cannot

be solved if it is never recognized.

2. Define Objectives: After a problem is identified, the second step is

defining the objectives to be met in solving it. It is important to

conceive of problems in such a way that possible solutions can be

identified. T he problem identified in our example may be defined as



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"inadequate cash flow." By looking at the problem in this way, the

objective is clear: increase available cash reserves. Any possible

solution to the problem should be evaluated relative to this objective.

3. Make a Pre-decision: T he third step in the decision-making process

is making a pre-decision. A pre-decision is a decision about how to

make a decision. By assessing the type of problem in question and

other aspects of the situation, managers may opt to make a decision

themselves, delegate the decision to ano ther, or have a group make

the decision. Pre-decisions should be based on research that tells us

about the effectiveness of decisions made under different

circumstances.

4. Generate Alternatives: T he fourth step in the process is generating

alternatives, the stage in which possible solutions to the problem are

identified. Whenever possible, in attempting to come up with

solutions, people tend to rely on previously used approaches that may

provide ready-made answers.

5. Evaluate Alternatives: T his can be said to be the one of the most

important stages of the decision making process. T his is the stage

where we have to analyze each alternative we have come up with. Wehave to find out the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

T his can be done as per the research we have done on that particular

alternative. At this stage, we can also filter out the options that we

think are impossible or do not serve our purpose. Rating each option

with a numerical digit would also help in the filtration pro cess.

6. Make a Choice: Next is the sixth step, making a choice. After several

alternatives are evaluated, one that is considered acceptable is

chosen.

7. Implement Choice: T he seventh step calls for implementing the

chosen alternative³that is, carrying out the chosen alternative. T his

is a very crucial step because all the people involved in the

implementation of a solution should know about the implications of



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making the decision. T his is very essential for the decision to give

successful results.

8. Follow Up: Just making the decision and implementing it is not the

end of the decision making process, it is very important to monitordecision regularly. At this stage, we have to keep a close eye on the

progress of the solution taken and also whether it has led to the

results we expected.



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GROUP DYNAMICS IN ORGANIZATION

1. What is Group?

Ans.: Group: A group is defined as two or more individuals,

interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve

particular objects. Groups can be either formal or informal.

2. What is Group Dynamics?

Ans.: Group Dynamics: Group dynamics is the study of groups, and also a

general term for group processes. Relevant to the fields of psychology,

sociology, and communication studies, a group is two or more individuals

who are connected to each other by social relationships. Because they

interact and influence each other, groups develop a number of dynamic

processes that separate them from a random collection of individuals. T hese

processes include norms, roles, relations, development, need to belong,

social influence, and effects on behavior.

3. What is the type of Group?

Ans. Type of Group: T here are 02 (two) types of group i.e. formal groups

and informal groups .

1. Formal Group: Groups created by the organization and that are

intentionally designed to direct members toward some important

organizational goal are known as formal groups. One type of formal

group is referred to as a c ommand group³ a group determined by the

connections between individuals who are a formal part of the

organization. For example, a command group may be formed by the

vice president of marketing, who gathers together her regional

marketing directors from around the country to hear their ideas about

a new national advertising campaign. Command groups are

determined by the organization's rules regarding who reports to



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whom, and they usually consist of a supervisor and his or her

subordinates. Vagrant

A formal organizational group also may be formed around some

specific task. Such a group is referred to as a t ask group. Unlike

command groups, task groups may be composed of individuals with

some special interest or expertise in a specific area regardless of their

positions in the organizational hierarchy. For example, a company

may have a committee on equal employment opportunities whose

members monitor the fair hiring practices of the organization.

2. Informal Group: Not all groups are as formal as those we have

identified; many are informal in nature. Informal groups develop

naturally among an organization's personnel without any direction

from the management of the organization within which they operate.

For example, a group of employees who band together to seek union

representation, or who march together to protest their company's

pollution of the environment, may be called an in te r e s t group.

3. What is the Group Formation/Development Process?

Ans.: Group Formation/Development Process:

All groups change over time as group members come and go; group tasks

and goals change; and group members gain experience in interacting with

each other. One well-known model of group development is Bruce

T uckman·s five-stage model. T he model·s stages are:



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Stage 1: Forming. In the forming stage, group members try to get to know each other and

establish a common understanding.

Group members look to the group leader for guidance and direction. Group

members have a desire for acceptance by the group and a need to be know

that the group is safe. T hey set about gathering impressions and data about

the similarities and differences among them and forming preferences for

future sub-grouping.

Stage 2: Storming.

T he next stage, which T uckman calls st orming , is characterized by

competition and conflict in the personal-relations.

As the group members attempt to organize for the task, conflict inevitably

results in their personal relations. Although conflicts may or may not

surface as group issues, they do exist. Questions will arise about who is

going to be responsible for what, what the rules are, what the reward system

is, and what criteria for evalua tion are. T hese reflect conflicts over

leadership, structure, power, and authority. In order to progress to the next

stage, group members must move from a ´testing and provingµ mentality to

a problem-solving mentality.

Stage 3: Norming.

In T uckman·s norming stage, group members really start to feel that they

belong to the group, and they develop close ties with one another.

T he major task function of stage three is the data flow between group

members: T hey share feelings and ideas, solicit and give fe edback to one

another related to the task.



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Stage 4: Performing.

T he pe rforming stage is not reached by all groups. If group members are

able to develop to stage four, their capacity, range, and depth of personal

relations expand to true interdependence.

In this stage, people can work independently, in subgroups, or as a total

unit with equal facility. Stage four is marked by interdependence in personal

relations. By now, the group should be most productive.

Stage 5: Adjourning.

T uckman·s final stage, adj ourning , the group disband after having

accomplished its goals.

A planned conclusion usually includes recognition for participation and

achievement and an opportunity for members to say personal goodbyes.



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MOTIVATION

01. What is motivation?

Ans: Motivation:

Motivation is the inner power or energy that pushes toward acting,

performing actions and achieving. Motivation has much to do with desire

and ambition, and if they are absent, motivation is absent too.

Often, a person has the desire and ambition to get something done or

achieve a certain goal, but lacks the push, the initiative and the willingness

to take action. T

his is due to lack of motivation and inner drive.

Motivation strengthens the ambition, increases initiative and gives directio n,

courage, energy and the persistence to follow one's goals. A motivated

person takes action and does whatever it needs to achieve his/her goals.

Lack of motivation shows lack of enthusiasm, zest and ambition, whereas

the possession of motivation is a sign of strong desire, energy and

enthusiasm, and the willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve what one

sets out to do. A motivated person is a happier person, more energetic, and

sees the positive end result in his/her mind.

Q2. Describe the Maslow·s Need Hierarchy Theory?

Ans: Maslow·s Need Hierarchy Theory:

Abraham Maslow developed a theory of personality that has influenced a

number of different fields. T his theory accurately describes many realities of

personal experiences. Many people find they can understand what Maslow

says.

Maslow has set up a hierarchy of five levels of basic needs. In the levels of

the five basic needs, the person does not feel the second need until the



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demands of the first have been satisfied, nor the third until the second has

been satisfied, and so on. Maslow's basic needs are as follows:

Physiological needs

For the most part, physiological needs are obvious -they are the literal

requirements for human survival. If these requirements are not met, the

human body simply cannot continue to function.

T hese are biological needs. T hey consist of needs for oxygen, food, water,

and a relatively constant body temperature.

Safety needs

With their physical needs relatively sa tisfied, the individual's safety needs

take preference and dominate behavior. T his safety needs manifest

themselves in such things as a preference for job security, grievance

procedures for protecting the individual from unilateral authority, savings

accounts, insurance policies, reasonable disability accommodations, and the

like.

Safety and Security needs include:

y Personal security, Financial security, Health and well -being, Safety

net against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts

Social Need

After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layer of human

needs are social and involve feelings of belongingness. T his aspect of



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Maslow's hierarchy involves emotionally based relationships in general, such

as:

y Friendship, Intimacy, Family

Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, whether it comes

from a large social group, such as clubs, office culture, religious groups,

professional organizations, sports teams, gangs, or small social connections

(family members, intimate partners, mentors, close colleagues, confidants).

T hey need to love and be loved (sexually and non -sexually) by others. In the

absence of these elements, many people become susceptib le to loneliness,

social anxiety, and clinical depression.

Esteem Needs

When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs for esteem can

become dominant. T hese involve needs for both self -esteem and for the

esteem a person gets from others. Humans have a need for a stable, firmly

based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs

are satisfied, the person feels self -confident and valuable as a person in the

world. When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak,

helpless and worthless.

Self-actualization

When all of the foregoing needs are satisfied, then and o nly then are the

needs for self-actualization activated. Maslow describes self -actualization as

a person's need to be and do that which the person was "born to do." "A

musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write."

T hese needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness.

T he hierarchic theory is often represented as a pyramid, with the larger,

lower levels representing the lower needs, and the upper point representing

the need for self-actualization.



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COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATION

1. What is communication process?

Ans: Communication Process:

Communication can best be summarized as the transmission of a message

from a sender to a receiver in an understandable manner. T he importance of

effective communication is immea surable in the world of business and in

personal life. From a business perspective, effective communication is an

absolute must, because it commonly accounts for the difference between

success and failure or profit and loss. It has become clear that effect ive

business communication is critical to the successful operation of modern

enterprise. Every business person needs to understand the fundamentals of

effective communication.

C ommuni c a t ion is the activity of conveying information. Communication

requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the

receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate

at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast

distances in time and space.

02. What is the communication process and its role in Organizations?

Ans. Communication can be defined as the process by which a person,

group, or organization (the sender) transmits some type of information (the

message) to another person, group, or organization (the receiver). T he

process of communication consists of the steps summarized here. It beginswhen a sender has an idea that he or she wishes to send to a receiver.

Encoding. T he first step the sender is faced with involves the encoding

process. In order to convey meaning, the sender must begin encoding, which

means translating information into a message in the form of symbols that

represent ideas or concepts. T his process translates the ideas or concepts



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into the coded message that will be communicated. T he symbols can take on

numerous forms such as, languages, words, or gestures. T hese symbols are

used to encode ideas into messages that others can understand.

Transmission via Communication Channels. After a message is encoded,

it is ready to be transmitted over one or more channels of communication to

reach the desired receiver. T here are many different pathways through

which information travels, including telephone lines, radio and television

signals, fiber-optic cables, mail routes, and even the airwaves that carry our

voices.

Decoding. Once a message is received, the recipient begins the process of

decoding ² that is, converting the message back to the sender·s original

form. T his can involve many different processes, such as comprehending

spoken and written words or interpreting facial expressions (omit).

Feedback. Feedback is the final link in the chain of the communication

process. After receiving a message, the receiver responds in some way and

signals that response to the sender. T he signal may take the form of a

spoken comment, a long sigh, a written message, a smile, or some other

action. Without feedback, the sender cannot confirm that the receiver has

interpreted the message correctly.

Noise. Although the communication process seems simple, it in essence is

not. Certain barriers present themselves throughout the process. T hose

barriers are factors that have a negative impact on the communication

process. Some common barriers include the use of an inappropriate medium

(channel), incorrect grammar, inflammatory words, words that conflict with

body language, and technical jargon. Noise is also another common barrier.

Noise can occur during any stage of the process. Noise essentially is

anything that distorts a message by interfering with the communication

process. Noise can take many forms, including a radio playi ng in the

background, another person trying to enter your conversation, and any

other distractions that prevent the receiver from paying attention.



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Understanding Individual Behavior in Organization

O1. What is Personality?

Ans: Personality: Personality is the particular combination of emotional,

attitudinal, and behavioral response patterns of an individual.

Personality concerns the most important, most noticeable parts of an

individual's psychological life. Personality concerns whether a person is

happy or sad, energetic or apathetic, smart or dull.

Personality is the entire mental organization of a human being at any stage

of his development. It embraces every phase of human character: intellect,

temperament, skill, morality, and every attitude that has beeen built up in

the course of one's life.

02. What is Trait?

Ans: Trait: A trait is a distinguishing characteristic of a person, which can

also be inherited. Intelligence, athletic, musical, are all examples of traits.

T he trait approach to personality is one of the major theoretical areas in the

study of personality. T rait theory suggests that individual personalities are

composed broad dispositions. Consider how we would describe the

personality of a close friend. Chances are that we would list a number of

traits, such as outgoing, kind and even-tempered. A trait can be thought of

as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in

certain ways.

03. Describe 05 factors of personality trait?

Ans:

Personality researchers have proposed that there are five basicdimensions of personality. Evidence of this theory has been growing over the

past 50 years, beginning with the research of D. W. Fiske (1949) and later

expanded upon by other researchers including Norman (1967), Smith

(1967), Goldberg (1981), and McCrae & Costa (1987).



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SHORT NOTES

01. A Whole Person

Although some organizations may wish they could employ only a person·s

skill or brain, they actually employ a whole person rather than certain

characteristics. Different human traits may be studied separately, but in the

final analysis they are all part of one system making up a whole person.

Skill does not exist apart from background or knowledge. Home life is not

totally separable from work life, and emotional conditions are not separate

from physical conditions. People function as total human being. When

management applies the principles of organizational behavior, it is trying to

develop a better employee, but it also wants to develop a better p e

rson interms of growth and fulfillment. Jobs shape people somewhat as they

perform them, so management needs to care about the job·s effect on the

whole person. Employees belong to many organizations other than their

employer, and they play many roles inside and outside the firm . If the whole

person can be improved, then benefits will extend beyond the firm into the

larger society in which each employee lives.

02. Perceptual Process

Selective Perception: Selective perception is the process of screening out

information with which we are uncomfortable or the contradicts our beliefs.

For example: a manager is exceptionally fond of a particular worker. T he

manager has a very positive attitude about the worker and thinks he is a top

performer. One day the manager notices that the worker seems to be goofing

off. Selective perception may cause the manager to quickly forget what he

observed. Similarly, suppose that a manager has formed a very negativeimage of a particular worker. He thinks this worker is a poor performer and

never does a good job. When he happens to observe an example of high

performance from the worker, he, too, may not remember it for very long. In

one sense, selective perception is beneficial because it allows us to disregard

minor bits of information. Of course, this only holds true if our basic



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perception is accurate. If selective perception causes us to ignore important

information, however, it can become quite detrimental.

Stereotyping: Stereotyping is the process of categorizing or labeling people

on the basis of a single attribute or characteristic. Common attributes from

which people often stereotype are race and gender. Of course, stereotypes

along these lines are inaccurate and can be harmful. On the other hand,

certain forms of stereotyping can be useful and effic ient. For example,- a

manager believes that communication skills are important for a particular

job and that speech communication majors tend to have exceptionally good

communication skills. As a result, whenever he interviews candidates for

jobs he pays especially close attention to speech communication majors. T o

the extent that communication skills truly predict job performance and that

majoring in speech communication does indeed provide those skills, this

form of stereotyping can be beneficial.

03. Organizational Citizenship

Organizational citizenship refers to the behavior of individuals who make a

positive overall contribution to the organization. Consider, for example, an

employee who does work that is acceptable in terms of both quantity and

quality. However, he refuses to work overtime, he won·t help newcomers

learn the ropes, and he is generally unwilling to make any contribution to

the organization beyond the strict performance of his job. Although this

person may be seen as a good performer, he is not likely to be seen as a

good organizational citizen.

Another employee may exhibit a comparable level of performance. In

addition, however, he works late when the boss asks him to, he takes time

to help newcomers learn their way around, and he is perceived as being

helpful and committed to the organization·s success. Whereas his level of

performance may be seen as equal to that of the first worker, he is also

likely to be seen as a better organizational citizen.



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4. Managerial Function

T he four basic managerial functions in organizations are planning,

organizing, leading, and controlling. By applying these functions to the

various organizational resources³human, financial, physical, and

informational³the organization achieves different levels of effectiveness and

efficiency.

Planning T he managerial function of planning is the process of determining

the organization·s desired future position and deciding how best to get there.

T he planning process at Sears, Roebuck, for example, includes scanning the

environment, deciding on appropriate goals, outlining strategies for

achieving those goals, and developing tactics to execute the strategies.

Organizing T he managerial function of organizing is the process of

designing jobs, grouping jobs into manageable units, and establishing

patterns of authority among jobs and groups of jobs. T his process designs

the basic structure, or framework, of the organization.

Leading Leading is the process of motivating members of the organization to

work together toward the organization·s goals. A manger must hire and train

employees. Major components of leading include motivating employees,managing group dynamics, and leadership per se, all of which are closely

related to major areas of organizational behavior.

Controlling A final managerial function, controlling, is the process of

monitoring and correcting the actions of the organization and its people to

keep them headed toward their goals. A manger has to control costs,

inventory, and so on. Again, behavioral processes and characteristics play

an important role in carrying out this function. Performance evaluation and

reward systems for example, are all aspects of controlling.

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