OUM Organisational Behaviour Revision Q&A

7/25/2019 OUM Organisational Behaviour Revision Q&A

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Topic 5

1) What are the types of stress?

Type of stress Explanation

Emotional stress This stress results when people consider situations difficult orimpossible to deal with.

Physiological stress It is the bodys reaction to certain physical stressors.Acute stress It is a short term reaction to an immediate threat.

Chronic stress This results from ongoing situations.Eustress Eustress is a positive stress resulting from meeting challenges and

difficulties with the expectation of achievement. This kind of stress isenergising and motivating.

Distress As stress increases, it reaches a point at which the effects becomenegative. If a high level of stress continues for a prolonged period,distress or bad stress occurs.

2) What are the pros and cons of each type of stress?

Pros;

-

Stress at low levels can improve work performance.

Cons;

-

Potential Heart Attacks; high levels of pressure including changes in metabolism, increase ofheartbeat and breathing rate and an increase in blood pressure may lead to headaches and

potential heart attacks.

- Dissatisfaction; employees who experience high levels of stress are those who are least satisfiedwith their jobs.

- Tension, Anxiety, Boredom, Irritability and Procrastination.-

Rapid Speech-

Sleep disorders

-

Low productivity and performance.


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3) Give examples of each type of stress?

- Emotional Stress; Stress from being observed and monitored closely.

- Physiological Stress:Apersons body can become stressed when he or she fails to get enough

sleep.

- Acute Stress: An assciate might experience acute stress when being reprimanded by a

supervisor or when not able to meet a deadline.

- Chronic Stress:It can result from living in fear of future layoffs or having continuous problems

with a supervisor.

- Eustress:A student may get stressed as there are many assignments and home works which are

to be due in short period of time. However, as a result of all these efforts he/she may do very well

on the exams.

- Distress:A student cramming for final exam when he/she does not know anything.

Topic 6

1) What are the stages of Group Development?

Forming

This is an ice-breaking stage, which is also known as mutual acceptance. During this stage, allmembers of a group meet for the first time.

At this point of time, members usually tend to avoid interacting with one another and will try toact independently. They will attempt to identify what needs to be done, what needs to be acceptedand things to avoid within the group. The existing discomfort diminishes when members get toknow each other better and accept their presence as members of a new group.

This stage is also a stage of uncertainty (about the purpose of the group, power relations andinterpersonal relations) and emphasis is placed on orientation and adaptation among groupmembers.

Storming

During this stage, group members begin to learn to accept each other, conduct discussions andopenly make decisions. Sooner or later, members will gain confidence to participate in grouprelated activities.


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Intra-group conflicts will also occur at this point of time as a result of members beginning toexpress their individuality by exercising leadership. As group rules become more established,members begin to discover their respective role/s within the group.

Conflict ends when the group structure solidifies via the consensual appointment of a leader andwith each member understanding his/her respective role, responsibility and authority. This stagewill witness interdependence within members of the group.

Norming

At the norming level, all conflicts and disagreements are resolved, relationships develop andmembers of the group demonstrate cohesiveness. There will be cooperation among members inorder to get the best results.

Cohesiveness develops because the goals, expectations and rules of the group are now clear.

Managers should encourage groups to maintain good working relations, as the setting of normsand values is instrumental to the success of a group.

Performing

At this stage, all issues pertaining to the structure of the group are settled. The group nowfunctions as one unit. The group will now focus on the task at hand. The group is now productiveas each member goes about his/her set task.

Adjourning

Finally, the group gets to the adjourning stage. This is especially so for groups established for

specific purposes or with pre-determined and limited tasks, i.e. special committees or projectteams.

Dissolution or adjournment takes place after the pre-determined tasks have been accomplishedand the goals are achieved. Here members are once again free to pursue their own work.

Whilst not all groups necessarily undergo the stages mentioned, an understanding of these stageswill assist managers to form effective and productive groups. In addition, managers should notethat there are differences between new and mature groups with the challenge being in settingproductive targets for mature groups.


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2) What are the concerns of organisation and the people in each of

these stage?

Forming

-

Group members' roles and responsibilities aren't clear.

Storming

-

Group members may challenge their leaders authority, or jockey for position as theirroles are clarified.

-

Group members may resist taking on tasks.

Norming

-

As new tasks come up, the group may lapse back into behavior from the storming stage.

Performing

-

Adjourning

-

Group members who like routine, or who have developed close working relationshipswith colleagues, may find this stage difficult, particularly if their future looks uncertain.

3) What is an alternative model to this?

Punctuated Equilibrium Model

This model is suitable for temporary or transient groups with specific deadlines.

(a) The First Meeting Sets the Groups Direction

During the first meeting, a framework for behavioural patterns and assumptions made bythe group is made known. Behaviour patterns can appear as early as the first few secondsafter the group is formed.

(b) The First Phase of Group Activity is One of Inertia

After goals have been set, they will be written down and normally would not be revisedthroughout the first phase. This is a time of inertia, when the group is more static,focusing on the set goal.

(c) A Transition Takes Place at the End of this First Phase when the Group has used

Up Half of Its Allotted Time


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An interesting discovery made in these studies was that despite the fact that several ofthese groups spent as little as an hour on their projects while others took six months, eachgroup experienced its transition at the same point in its calendar, which is precisely halfway between its first meeting and its official deadline. This transition makes the groupappear to have a midlife crisis. This midpoint appears to work like an alarm clock,

heightening members awareness that their time is limited and that they need to getmoving.

(d) A Transition Initiates Major Changes

This transition ends Phase 1 and is characterised by concentrated changes via thedropping of old patterns and adoption of new perspectives. The transition sets a reviseddirection for Phase 2.

(e) A Second Phase of Inertia Follows the Transition

Phase 2 is a new equilibrium or period of inertia. In this phase, the group executes the

plans created during the transition period.

f) The Groups Last Meeting is Characterised by Accelerated Activity

The final meeting is the last activity in accomplishing the task.


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Topic 7

1) What is the difference between a manager and leader? Examples?

Leaders are people who can conceive ideas, ensuring the continuity of their organisation and meeting all

its goals. A leader strives to influence the people under him/her to accept and implement the ideas thathe/she produces.

A manager, in view of his/her authoritative position within an organisation, instructs subordinates to carryout tasks in order to meet organizational goals.

Examples:

-

A manager ensures that things are done right. A leader ensures that the right things are beingdone.

-

A manager magnifies corporate policies, processes and procedures. A leader magnifies theperson, their capabilities and their purpose.

-

A manager administrates. A leader envisions.-

A manager maintains. A leader develops.

2) Types of leaders?

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leaders are task and relationship oriented, resulting in their ability to influenceemployees to do as they (the leaders) wish in an effort to achieve organisational goals. Anotherfeature of this leadership is the exchange process or the use of reward and punishment to ensuremembers follow orders. In this context, legitimate power, reward and coercion powers becomenecessary attributes for this type of leaders. It has been said that transactional leadership onlyworks with followers who have a clear understanding of the organisational structure and arecurrently performing specific daily and routine tasks.

Charismatic Leadership

A leader is considered charismatic if he has qualities that enable him/her to establishexceptionally good relations with his/her followers.

Charismatic attributes refer to:

(i)

Leaders who provide opportunity for employees or subordinates to develop theircareer;

(ii)

Leaders who are open and always ready for criticisms and constructivesuggestions from followers, often acknowledging other peoples views;

(iii)

Leaders who encourage two-way communication with their followers and oftenshare useful information with their followers; and


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(iv)

Leaders who are prepared to take personal interest for the benefit of theirfollowers and organisations.

Transformational Leadership

It has already been mentioned that transactional leaders are only effective in an organisation that

operates under average conditions (not complex) and are stable (as opposed to dynamic).

For complex and dynamic organisations, transformational leadership is more appropriate. What istransformational leadership? While all the charismatic attributes embodied above are alsoavailable in transformational leadership, leaders belonging in this category have a more extensiveintent and ambitions as compared to charismatic leaders. Transformational leaders are able toinspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organisation. Thisresults in followers being prepared to put in the extra effort to achieve organisational goals.

Transformational leaders are also able to encourage their followers to generate ideas to handle oldproblems with novel approaches. In addition, according to Avolio and Bass as cited by Robbins

(2008), transformational leaders desire more than what is expected by the charismatic leader. Thetransformational leader expects his/her followers to be able to question any views, including thoseof the leader.

It is now clear that while transactional leaders are suitable for matters relating to the dailymanagement of an organisation, transformational leaders are needed to manage complex, unstableand uncertain environment/s. However, both types are needed to ensure the smooth running andstability of an organisation.

Moral Leadership

Leadership is not merely a set of practices with no association of right or wrong. All leadershippractices can be used for good or bad and thus have a moral dimension. According to Zaufderer(1992), leaders choose whether to act from selfishness and greed to diminish others or in waysthat serve and motivate others to develop their full potential as employees and as human beings.

Moral leadership is about distinguishing right from wrong and doing right, seeking the just, thehonest, the good and the right conduct in practice. In this context, leaders have great influenceover others, and moral leadership gives life to others and enhances the lives of others. Accordingto Daft (2008), immoral leadership takes away from others in order to enhance oneself.

Servant Leadership

Much of the thinking about leadership today implies that moral leadership encourages changetoward turning followers into leaders, thereby developing theory potential rather than using aleadership position to control people. According to Daft (2008), the ultimate expression of thisleadership approach is called servant leadership. This kind of leadership can be described bycomparing the category of leaders to other leaders.


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3) Behavior model of leaders?

Behaviour theory studies the behaviours of effective leaders, emphasising the fact that there are certaintypes of actions that contribute to successful leadership. To nurture effective leaders in an organisation,the management should select those on the basis of the appropriate actions that they undertake whilstleading their respective followers. The behaviour theory advocated that effective leaders can be groomedwith the right kind of exposure by practicing the right types of behaviours. What do the right types ofbehaviour mean? Generally, there are two types of behaviours.

There have been a few studies specifically on behaviour and its relationship to leadership. Among themare:

The Ohio State Studies (OSU)

Studies conducted at The Ohio State University divided the behaviours of a leader into twodimensions: consideration and initiating structure.

In order to understand these two dimensions you need to re-look the two forms of behaviour:consideration and work relations. Consideration is a behaviour that has to do with beingconsiderate. This study identified the behaviours of certain leaders and how the said behavioursaffect the relationship between leader and subordinates. These include maintaining a two-waycommunication, showing appreciation for the ideas that were put forward by the employees, not

being prejudiced whilst taking an interest in employee welfare and having empathy towards them.

What about the initiating structure dimension? This initiating structure, which shares the samecharacteristics with Task Relationships, is job oriented. In this instance, a leader tries to structureand provide detail explanation about the job and the role played by employees in accomplishingtheir respective tasks to ensure that organisational goals are met.


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The University of Michigan Studies (UM)

Leadership studies at UM share similar objectives with those at OSU. The behaviouralconsideration and job relationship are expressed as employee oriented and production-oriented. Inthis study, leaders who were employee oriented tended to emphasise on interpersonal relations bytaking a personal interest in the needs and welfare of their employees.

On the contrary, leaders who are production-oriented were more concerned with the completionof tasks and employees quality of work.

The Managerial Grid

Blake and Mouton as cited by Robbins (2008) developed a graphic representation of a two-dimensional view on the styles of leadership. It is similar to the dimensions put forward by OSUand UM. Figure 7.5 shows Blake and Moutons managerial grid.

Based on Figure 7.5, two dimensions are represented in this grid: concern for employees (people)and concern for production. These are placed along two axes with each axis being made up ofnine positions, beginning from 1 to 9, which is the highest point. In total, there are 81 positionsrepresenting the various leadership styles practiced by leaders.

For instance, a leader who is at position (1,9) is extremely concerned about his/her employeeswelfare at the expense of their respective tasks. A leader who falls into position (9,1) overlyemphasises the task and rates very low pertaining to his/her concern for employees. Leaders whoare at (1,1) are neither concerned with tasks nor employees whilst a leader who is at (9,9) placesequal emphasis on employees and tasks. What about leaders who are at (5,5)? They place abalanced and moderate emphasis on tasks and employees.


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3) What are the Direction of communication? And its use?

Communication flows either vertically or laterally. The vertical dimension can go in two directions;upward and downward.

Downward

Communication that flows from one level of a group or organisation to a lower level is known asa downward communication, i.e. managers communicating to employees. This type of

communication is used by managers to instruct employees, provide job instructions, informemployees of policies and procedures, point out problems requiring attention, provision offeedback on performance, and ensuring the organisations goals and objectives are clear to all

members of an organisation. Downward communication also takes place to prevent the spread ofrumours on any impending changes.

Downward communication need not necessarily be performed orally or face-to-face.Memorandums and all forms of written letters prepared by management to employees are also

forms of downward communication.

Upward

Upward communication flows from employees and/or managers to superiors of higher levels in agroup or an organisation. Upward communication is used to provide operational feedback, issuesand problems and information on performance and effectiveness of the organisation to thesuperiors. This type of communication encourages the lower management and employees to beinvolved in decision-making whilst providing them (employees) with the opportunity to sharetheir work concerns with top management.

Upward communication also enables managers to discover employees level of satisfaction withtheir jobs, work-relationship between colleagues, and the organisation in general. Managers alsorely on upward communication for ideas on improvement of plans and schemes.

Some examples of upward communication are appraisal reports prepared by the lowermanagement for the middle and top management, suggestion boxes, a survey on employees

attitudes, a discussion between managers and employees, giving both a chance to discuss ground-level problems with the higher managers.

Lateral

Lateral communication flows between managers or employees at the same level within the group

or organisation. For example, lateral communication occurs when the morning shift supervisordiscusses with the evening shift supervisor, or when the marketing manager meets the financemanager to discuss costs and the new marketing strategies.

Lateral communication facilitates and expedites coordination and cooperation between variousdivisions in an organisation and enables colleagues to share related information. It also helpsthose at the same level to resolve conflicts and overcome problems without intervention from thetop management.


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However, lateral communication is not without its problems. Firstly, it could lead to conflictbetween the lower and upper management when the former fails to adhere to proper procedurespertaining to issues that occur beyond the knowledge of the latter.

Topic 9

1) Importance of Organisational Culture? (Functions)

Organisational culture is a system of actions, values and beliefs that are developed in an organisation andshared by all members of the organisation.

Function Explanation

Defining Boundaries An organisational culture differentiates one organisation from another. Thisis due to the fact that each organisation has its own culture that is practised

by its members.Providing Identity Culture also provides members of an organisation with an identity that they

can call their own. For example, a culture that encourages employees tocome up with something new will promote creativity and innovation, inaddition to making employees feel that they stand apart from employees ofother organisations because of the values that they hold.

Generating

Commitment

Organisational culture that consists of specific values can increasecommitment among members. For instance, when an organisation makesemployee welfare an important agenda, this will lead to the provision ofvarious benefits like medical insurance, scholarship and housing.

Enhances the Stability

of an Organisations

Social System

The stability of an organisations social system is reflected in the degree to

which the work environment is considered positive and conducive foroptimum performance in addition to how well conflicts and changes arehandled. This is due to the fact that organisational culture provides astandard for the kinds of permissible actions that can be implemented whilsthandling all sorts of problems.Social stability can result in a positive working environment, in whichproblems and conflicts are amicably overcome.

Serves as a Control

Mechanism that

Guides Employees

Behaviour and Attitude

Culture can influence an employees behaviourand attitude because itdetermines what is acceptable and unacceptable in terms of behaviour andactions. In addition, a strong culture would provide employees with a single

direction and/or guidelines on what to do. In fact, an employee-organisationfit which is reflected in employee behaviour and organisational culturecompatibility, strongly influences decisions on who to employ, who isappraised as a high performer and who is promoted.


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2) What describes an organisational culture? (Characteristics)

Characteristics Description

Innovation and Risk

Taking

This refers to the extent an organisation encourages its employees to beinnovative and to take risks. Organisations that rank high on this

characteristic strongly encourage their employees to try something new, suchas making decisions by intuition, irrespective of the fact that theseorganisations are uncertain of whether the intuitions will be profitable to thecompany.

Attention to Detail This refers to the degree to which employees are expected to give attentionto detail in the course of their work. Organisations characterised this wayplace a lot of emphasis on details and expect their employees to conductdetailed analysis on any decision prior to implementing those decisions.

Outcome Orientation In this characteristic, the management focuses on results rather than on thetechniques and processes. In this instance, the management believes that if

the process is good, the outcome will be equally good. However, there arealso organisations that concentrate more on the quality of their products andservices rather than on techniques and processes.

People Orientation This refers to the level in which an organisation is concerned over the effectof its decisions on its employees. A management that is people-orientedwould always obtain the participation of its employees in the decision-making processes.

Team Orientation This refers to the number of teamwork activities in an organisation. Anorganisation ranks high on this characteristic if it stresses on teamwork.

Aggressiveness This refers to the degree in which members of the organisation areaggressive and competitive. Organisations which emphasise onaggressiveness like to encourage their employees to compete with one

another whilst offering merit based rewards.

Stability Organisations with this characteristic prefer to maintain its status quo whilsttrying to avoid changes. Organisations such as this would most probably findit difficult to adapt to changes occurring around them.


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3) What are the categories of culture?

Category Explanation

Adaptability Culture This culture is characterised by strategic leaders encouraging values thatsupport the organisations ability to interpret and translate signals from the

environment into new behavioural responses. In this context, employeeshave autonomy to make decisions and act freely to meet new needs; andresponsiveness to customers is highly valued. For example, leadersencourage experimentation and risk taking as an everyday way of life.

Achievement Culture An achievement culture is characterised by a clear vision of theorganisations goals, and leaders focus on the achievement of specific targets

such as sales growth, profitability, or market share. This is associated with aresult oriented culture that values competitiveness, aggressiveness, personalinitiative, and the willingness to work long and hard to achieve results.

Clan Culture This culture has an internal focus on the involvement and participation of

employees to meet changing expectations from the external environment.Companies with a clan culture are generally friendly to work with, andemployees may seem almost like a family. The leaders emphasis on

cooperation and consideration of both employees and customers can avoidstatus differences.

Bureaucratic Culture The bureaucratic culture has an internal focus and consistency orientation fora stable environment. The culture supports a rational and orderly way ofdoing business. Following the rules and being thrifty are valued. Theorganisation will normally succeed by being highly integrated and efficient.


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Topic 10

1) Explain power principle?

Power refers to a phenomenon that enables an individual to influence or force others to follow his/her

individual wishes or requests.There are two principles from the general definition that can be put forward:

(a) The influential individualor the one exerting influence; and

(b) The influenced individualor the person who is being influenced.

In this matter, the individual who influences (identified as A) definitely has power. Whereas individual orindividuals who are influenced (B, C, D) are those who lack or are without power, unlike A, who is withpower. If B, C and D are influenced and follow the directions or wishes that A gives, this means A haspower over them.

Organisations are created to achieve certain objectives. For that purpose, human resources need to becombined synergistically. This will only happen if there is power that can ensure human resources areused optimally.

Powers that are created will enable individuals (power holders) to perform tasks for the good of theorganisation, such as taking disciplinary actions, giving rewards, implementing change, making decisionsand resolving conflicts.

Based on this explanation, we can say that power brings good to the organisation. However, some peoplesee power from a negative perspective. In this context, power is seen as a negative force since it canalways be abused.

In organisations, power can be abused by individuals for their self-interests. This is evident in instancessuch as financial mismanagement, bringing down other people whom they do not like, nepotism, orspreading influence and power domains.

In this aspect, it can be concluded that power does not only bring good, but at the same time can alsobring misfortune to organisations. Nevertheless, power is still being needed. More importantly, the highermanagement should ensure that negative power is not allowed to be a dominant force in an organisation ifthey cannot eradicate it totally.

2) What is functional conflict and dysfunctional conflict?

A conflict which supports and increases the objective achievement of a group or organisation is known asa functional conflictor constructive conflict.

This conflict, when in the form of planned competition will encourage employees to work harder andincrease productivity, thus leading to a sense of satisfaction.


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A conflict which deters or lowers a group or organisations performance achievement is referred to asdysfunctional conflictor destructive conflict.

If this type of conflict happens, it will lead to lower working spirit, dissatisfaction, and increase in rate ofabsenteeism and as a result, productivity will be affected.

For example, a situation which affects productivity can be caused by an individual who lost in acompetition and will feel discouraged, then followed by mistrust and ends up focusing only on his or herinterests rather than working as a group or team.

Besides that, a dysfunction conflict can also cause workplace aggression.

Workplace aggressionrefers to actions taken by an individual with the intention to hurt or injure othersin the organisation, such as sabotaging work, stealing organisational properties, and taking legal actionagainst the organisation.

A conflict that arises in a group at a workplace can be functional or dysfunctional depending on the types

of conflict, the job characteristics performed and group norms. Therefore, an effective manager will try tomanage any dysfunctional conflict by suppressing it and at the same time, learn how to create functionalconflict, which is beneficial. He can introduce and apply certain techniques to overcome the dysfunctionalconflict, then change it into a productive force in the organisation.

3) What is structural conflict?

Conflicts may arise due to structures of the organisation such as size, specialisations, job responsibilityand goals. Conflicts may occur between departments or individuals in the organisation. An individualwho holds a high position may have disagreements with people at the lower level of employment because

of communication problems. The more levels that exist in an organisation, the more a conflict is likely tohappen because the content of the messages sent becomes less clear and vague. There are three types ofstructural conflicts, i.e. vertical, horizontal and diagonal conflict.


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Topic 11

1) What is mandated pressure to change?

Organisations today are faced with a dynamic business environment, which forces them (organisations)

to adopt changes in their quest to have a competitive business edge.

Organisations are forced to take on activities similar to those of other organisations because of outside

demands placed on them to do so. These mandated pressuresor requirementsmay be either formal or

informal.

2) What can be changed?

Structure

Changing an organisational structure involves activities that affect many issues, such asorganisational design, authority relationship and a monitoring mechanism.

For example, an organisational structure that is simple and lean can be changed with team-basedstructures. In fact, altering the structure to new alternatives such as telecommuting or job sharingcan also change job design. These are done to ensure that the needs of todays employees arefulfilled by the organisations development while making certain that the organisation can

successfully remain competitive in the market place.

Technology

The introduction of new technologies in an organisation usually refers to the introduction of newmachineries or usage of robots and computers. This change is vital in the development of an


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organisation since it brings forth a vast improvement in productivity while simultaneouslyreducing manpower cost in the long run.

Hence, technological changes play an important role in making certain that an organisation hasthe vital competitive edge in the market place. These advancements assist an organisation toobtain better and faster profits compared to competitors who are slow in embracing thetechnological advancements.

Physical Arrangement

In addition to structure and technology, physical arrangements in an organisation can also bechanged. This change is usually done to ensure the ease and comfort of employees whilst at work,thus increasing the employees productivity. Therefore, management needs to take into

consideration factors such as work stress, formal interaction needs and employees socialising

needs prior to making decisions on the workspace, arrangement of work tools and office interiordesign.

Employees

Employees are the final element that can be changed by the change agent. Assisting employees toincrease their productivity and efficiency at work, both individually and in teams, results inchange. Employee change refers to positive changes in work attitude and work behaviour, andthese changes can occur through improvements in communication, decision-making and problemsolving skills. Can you think of how positive transformations in employees work attitude andbehaviour can occur through improvement in his/her communication, decision making andproblem solving skills?

2) What are organisational development techniques?

Organisational development is a term used to refer to a collection of change interventions that areplanned. These planned change interventions have a specific goal of increasing organisationaleffectiveness while improving the welfare and wellbeing of employees.

Sensitivity Training

This refers to the use of unstructured group interactions to change the current behaviour ofemployees. In the unstructured group interactions, employees are provided with the freedom togive their opinions and to discuss the changes that are to be implemented.

A professional facilitator for these interactions is usually engaged by an organisation. Thefacilitator will ensure that all employees are given the opportunity to present their ideas on theorganisations current culture/s and on the change that is to be implemented. In addition, the

facilitator will also raise awareness amongst employees on their positive and negative qualitiesand ways of improving their current qualities. The main goal of this training (or unstructuredgroup interactions) is to increase the employees awareness on their behaviour whilst highlightingthe perception of their colleagues towards them.


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Unstructured group interactions are also meant to increase employees understanding on group

process whilst highlighting the significance of improving their individual listening skills.Employees are also encouraged to note the importance of having an open attitude, as well asconflict resolution and tolerance skills to better manage individual differences.

Surveys Feedbacks

Feedback from surveys conducted in an organisation is another method that can be utilised toevaluate the attitude of its members, identify differences in perception among them and narrowthe gap between these differences.

In general, survey questions usually focus on employees perception and attitude on various

topics, which include decision-making practices, the effectiveness of the organisations currentcommunication process, coordination among units and employees satisfaction pertaining to

work, co-workers and immediate supervisors.

The collected data will be used to identify the current problems of the organisation including

employees grievances. In addition, these data can also be utilised by the management to provideemployees with a clear feedback on other issues that are ambiguous to them. Survey results arealso tools to encourage employees to hold discussions amongst themselves with the hope that viathese discussions, employees can reach a mutual agreement and/or solution to the problems thatare highlighted through the surveys.

Process Consultations

Consultants are engaged by the organisations to provide managers with better feedback andunderstanding about themselves, their surroundings and other aspects of the organisation. Withthe assistance of a consultant, the manager will gain skills to diagnose management processes that

require change and identify alternative solutions to selected problems and/or misgivings.

Team Building

Team building is a method that uses group interaction activities to increase trust and opennessamong members of a team. This is done via goal setting activities, interpersonal developmentamong team members, role analysis to clarify the responsibilities of each team member andanalysis of the team process. In addition, activities to analyse the main process of the team tasksare also conducted. These activities would be able to identify current weaknesses whilsthighlighting improved work process techniques that would increase team effectiveness.

Inter Group Development

Inter Group Development refers to the techniques used to bring forth changes in the attitudes andperceptions of teams towards other teams. For example, employees in the human resourcedepartment would have a stereotypical assumption of employees in the finance department asbeing overly prudent when resources are required for the purpose of human resourcedevelopment. A negative perception such as this will make coordination efforts between thesedepartments difficult.

OUM Organisational Behaviour Revision Q&A

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