Core Paper – III : ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

UNIT – I
Introduction:
Organizational behavior is the study of both group and individual performance and activity
within an organization. This area of study examines human behavior in a work environment
and determines its impact on job structure, performance, communication, motivation, leadership,
etc.
Contributing disciplines to the field of organisational behavior:
Contributing disciplines to the OB field. Organizational behavior is an applied behavioral
science that is built on contributions from a number of behavioral disciplines.

6 Contributing Disciplines to the Organization Behavior Field are:

1. Psychology.
2. Sociology.
3. Social Psychology.
4. Economics.
5. Anthropology.
6. Political Sciences.

Challenges and opportunities for ob:

Main challenges and opportunities of organizational behavior are;

1. Improving Peoples’ Skills.

2. Improving Quality and Productivity.
3. Total Quality Management (TQM).
4. Managing Workforce Diversity.
5. Responding to Globalization.
6. Empowering People.
7. Coping with Temporariness.
8. Stimulating Innovation and Change.
9. Emergence of E-Organisation & E-Commerce.
10. Improving Ethical Behavior.
11. Improving Customer Service.
12. Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts.
13. Flattening World.

Improving People’s Skills:

Technological changes, structural changes, environmental changes are accelerated at a faster rate
in the business field.
Unless employees and executives are equipped to possess the required skills to adapt those
changes, the targeted goals cannot be achieved in time. These two different categories of skills –
managerial skills and technical skills.
Some of the managerial skills include listening skills, motivating skills, planning and organizing
skills, leading skills, problem-solving skill, decision-making skills etc.
These skills can be enhanced by organizing a series of training and development programs,
career development programs, induction, and socialization etc.

Improving Quality and Productivity:

Quality is the extent to which the customers or users believe the product or service surpasses
their needs and expectations.
For example, a customer who purchases an automobile has a certain expectation, one of which is
that the automobile engine will start when it is turned on.
If the engine fails to start, the customer’s expectations will not have been met and the customer
will perceive the quality of the car as poor. The key dimensions of quality as follows.

▪ Performance: Primary rating characteristics of a product such as signal coverage, audio

quality, display quality etc.
▪ Features: Secondary characteristics, added features, such as calculators, and alarm clock
features in hand phone
▪ Conformance: Meeting specifications or industry standards, workmanship of the degree to
which a product’s design or operating characteristics match pre- established standards
▪ Reliability: The probability of a product’s falling within t a specified period of time
▪ Durability: It is a measure of product’s life having both economic and technical dimension
▪ Services: Resolution of problem and complaints, ease of repair
▪ Response: Human to human interfaces, such as the courtesy of the dealer « Aesthetics:
Sensory characteristics such exterior finish
▪ Reputations: Past performance and other intangibles, such as being ranked first.

Total Quality Management (TQM):

It is a philosophy of management that is driven by the constant attainment of customer

satisfaction through the continuous improvement of all organizational process.

The components of TQM are;

(a) An intense focus on the customer,
(b) Concern for continual improvement,
(c) Improvement in the quality of everything the organization does,
(d) Accurate measurement and,
(e) Empowerment of employees.
Managing Workforce Diversity:

This refers to employing different categories of employees who are heterogeneous in terms of
gender, race, ethnicity, relation, community, physically disadvantaged, elderly people etc.
The primary reason to employ heterogeneous category of employees is to tap the talents and
potentialities, harnessing the innovativeness, obtaining synergetic effect among the divorce
workforce.
In general, employees wanted to retain their individual and cultural identity, values and life
styles even though they are working in the same organization with common rules and
regulations.
The major challenge for organizations is to become more accommodating to diverse groups of
people by addressing their different life styles, family needs, and work styles.

Responding to Globalization:

Today’s business is mostly market driven; wherever the demands exist irrespective of distance,
locations, climatic Conditions, the business
operations are expanded to gain their market share and to remain in the top rank etc. Business
operations are no longer restricted to a particular locality or region.
Company’s products or services are spreading across the nations using mass communication, the
internet, faster transportation etc.
More than 95% of Nokia (Now Microsoft) hand phones are being sold outside of their home
country Finland.
Japanese cars are being sold in different parts of the globe. Sri Lankan tea is exported to many
cities around the globe.
Garment products of Bangladesh are exporting in USA and EU countries. Executives of
Multinational Corporation are very mobile and move from one subsidiary to another more
frequently.
Empowering People
The main issue is delegating more power and responsibility to the lower level cadre of
employees and assigning more freedom to make choices about their schedules, operations,
procedures and the method of solving their work-related problems.
Encouraging the employees to participate in work related decision will sizable enhance their
commitment to work.
Empowerment is defined as putting employees in charge of what they do by eliciting some sort
of ownership in them.
Managers are doing considerably further by allowing employees full control of their work.
ovement implies constant changeAn increasing number of organizations are using self-managed
teams, where workers operate largely without a boss.
Due to the implementation of empowerment concepts across all the levels, the relationship
between managers and the employees is reshaped.
Managers will act as coaches, advisors, sponsors, facilitators and help their subordinates to do
their task with minimal guidance.

Coping with Temporariness

In recent times, the product life cycles are slimming, the methods of operations are improving,
and fashions are changing very fast. In those days, the managers needed to introduce major
change programs once or twice a decade.
Today, change is an ongoing activity for most managers.
The concept of continuous improvement implies constant change.
In yesteryears, there used to be a long period of stability and occasionally interrupted by a short
period of change, but at present, the change process is an ongoing activity due to competitiveness
in developing new products and services with better features.
Everyone in the organization faces today is one of permanent temporariness. The actual jobs that
workers perform are in a permanent state of flux.
So, workers need to continually update their knowledge and skills to perform new job
requirements.
Stimulating Innovation and Change
Today’s successful organizations must foster innovation and be proficient in the art of change;
otherwise, they will become candidates for extinction in due course of time and vanished from
their field of business.
Victory will go to those organizations that maintain flexibility, continually improve their quality,
and beat the competition to the market place with a constant stream of innovative products and
services.
For example, Compaq succeeded by creating more powerful personal computers for the same or
less money than EBNM or Apple, and by putting their products to market quicker than the bigger
competitors.
Amazon.com is putting a lot of independent bookstores out of business as it proves you can
successfully sell books from an Internet website.

Emergence of E-Organisation & E-Commerce

It refers to the business operations involving the electronic mode of transactions. It encompasses
presenting products on websites and filling the order.
The vast majority of articles and media attention given to using the Internet in business are
directed at online shopping.
In this process, the marketing and selling of goods and services are being carried out over the
Internet.
In e- commerce, the following activities are being taken place quite often – the tremendous
numbers of people who are shopping on the Internet, business houses are setting up websites
where they can sell goods, conducting the following transactions such as getting paid and
fulfilling orders.
It is a dramatic change in the way a company relates to its customers. At present e-commerce is
exploding. Globally, e-commerce spending was increasing at a tremendous rate.

Improving Ethical Behavior

The complexity in business operations is forcing the workforce to face ethical dilemmas, where
they are required to define right and wrong conduct in order to complete their assigned activities.
For example,
▪ Should the employees of chemical company blow the whistle if they uncover the discharging
its untreated effluents into the river are polluting its water resources?
▪ Do managers give an inflated performance evaluation to an employee they like, knowing that
such an evaluation could save that employee’s job?

The ground rules governing the constituents of good ethical behavior has not been clearly
defined, Differentiating right things from wrong behavior has become more blurred.
Following unethical practices have become a common practice such as successful executives
who use insider information for personal financial gain, employees in competitor business
participating in massive cover-ups of defective products etc.

Improving Customer Service

OB can contribute to improving an organizational performance by showing drat how employees’
attitude and behavior are associated with customer satisfaction.
In that case, service should be the first production oriented by using technological opportunities
like a computer, the internet etc.
To improve the customer service need to provide sales service and also the after sales service.

Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts

The typical employee in the 1960s or 1970s showed up at the work place Monday through Friday
and did his or her job 8 or 9-hour chunk of time.
The workplace and hours were clearly specified. That’s no longer true for a large segment of
today’s workforce.
Employees are increasingly complaining that the line between work and non-work time has
become blurred, creating personal conflict and stress.
A number of forces have contributed to blurring the lines between employees’ work life and
personal life.
First, the creation of global organizations means their world never sleeps. At any time and on
any day, for instance, thousands of General Electric employees are working somewhere.
Second, the communication technology allows employees to do their work at home, in their cars,
or on the beach in Cox’s Bazar.
This lets many people in technical and professional jobs do their work anytime and from any
place.
Third, organizations are asking employees to put in longer hours.
Finally, fewer families have only a single breadwinner.Today’s married employee is typically
part of a dual-career couple. This makes it increasingly difficult for married employees to find
the time to fulfill commitments to home, spouse, children, parents, and friends.
Today’s married employee is typically part of a dual-career couple.
This makes it increasingly difficult for married employees to find the time to fulfill commitments
to home, spouse, children, parents, and friends.
Employees are increasingly recognizing that work is squeezing out personal lives and they’re not
happy about it.
For example, recent studies suggest that employees want jobs that give them flexibility in their
work schedules so they can better manage work/life conflicts.
In addition, the next generation of employees is likely to show similar concerns.
A majority of college and university students say that attaining a balance between personal life
and work is a primary career goal. They want a life as well as a job.

Flattening World
Thomas Friedman’s book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century makes
the point that the Internet has “flattened” the world and created an environment in which there is
a more level playing field in terms of access to information.
This access to information has led to an increase in innovation, as knowledge can be shared
instantly across time zones and cultures.
It has also created intense competition, as the speed of business is growing faster and faster all
the time.
In his book Wikinomics, Don Tapscott notes that mass collaboration has changed the way work
gets done, how products are created, and the ability of people to work together without ever
meeting.
 UNIT – II

Definition of personality:

According to Stephen P. Robbins, personality is the sum total ways in which an individual
reacts and interacts with others. It may be defined as those inner psychological characteristics
that both determine and reflect how a person responds to his environment.

Personality can be defined as those inner psychological characteristics that both determine and
reflect how a person responds to the environment.
 Concept and determinants of personality:

Personality means how a person affects others and how he understands and views himself as
well as the pattern of inner and outer measurable traits and the person-situation interactions (Fred
Luthans).

Determinants:

1. Heredity : Human behaviour is partly affected by heredity. The parent's qualities are passed
on to the children through the molecular structure of genes located in the chromosomes. In our
day to day life, so many times we use the term "Like father like son" as "Like Mother like
daughter".

2. Environment : All personality traits are not determined by heredity. Environment also
plays a very important role in the development of personality of a person. Environment
comprises of culture, family, social and situational factors.

(a) Culture : Culture is sum total of learned believes, values and customs. Cultural factors

determine now a person acts whether independently or dependently. Culture establishes

norms, attitudes and values that are passed along from generation to generation.

(b) Family : Families influence the behaviour of a person especially in the early stages. The

nature of such influence will depend upon the following factors :

(i) Socio-economic level of the family

(ii) Family size

(iii) Birth order

(iv) Race

(v) Religion

(vi) Parent's educational level and Geographic location.

(c) Social : Socialization is a process by which an infant acquires customary and acceptable

behaviour. Social life has a considerable impact on the individual's behaviour. A man is known
by the company he keeps. Social groups influence the behaviour of the individuals.
 (d) Situational : Situational factors also play a very important role in determining the
personality of a person. Life is a collection of experiences. Some of the events and experiences
can serve as important determinants of his personality.

The Nature of Personality:

Three distinct properties are of central importance in the study of the nature of personality:

1. Personality reflects individual differences: For instance, some people can be described as
"high" in venturesomeness, e.g., willing to accept the risk of doing something new or different,
such as skydiving or mountain climbing, whereas others can be described as "low" in
venturesomeness, e.g., afraid to buy a really new product.

2. Personality is consistent and enduring: Even though consumers' personalities may be

consistent, their consumption behavior often varies considerably because of the various
psychological, socio-cultural, environmental and situational factors that affect behavior. For
instance, although an individual's personality may be relatively stable, specific needs or motives,
attitudes, reactions to group pressures and even responses to newly available brands may cause a
change in the person's behavior. Personality is only one of a combination of factors that
influence how a consumer behaves.

3. Personality can change: For instance, an individual's personality may be altered by major
life events, such as the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, a divorce, or a significant career
promotion. An individual's personality changes not only in response to abrupt events but also
part of a gradual maturing process.

Theories of Personality:
 Psychoanalytic Theory:

Definition: The Psychoanalytic Theory is the personality theory, which is based on the notion
that an individual gets motivated more by unseen forces that are controlled by the conscious and
the rational thought.

Sigmund Freud is closely related to the psychoanalytic theory. According to him, the human
behavior is formed through an interaction between three components of the mind, i.e. Id, Ego
and Super Ego.

Id: Id is the primitive part of the mind that seeks immediate gratification of biological or
instinctual needs. The biological needs are the basic physical needs and while the instinctual
needs are the natural or unlearned needs, such as hunger, thirst, sex, etc. Id is the unconscious
part of the mind; that act instantaneously without giving much thought to what is right and what
is wrong.

Example: If your Id passed through a boy playing with a ball, the immediate urge to get that
ball will drive you to snatch it by any means, this is irrational and may lead to the conflict
between the boys. Thus, Id is the source of psychic energy, a force that is behind all the mental
forces.

Super-Ego: The Super-Ego is related to the social or the moral values that an individual
inculcates as he matures. It acts as an ethical constraint on behavior and helps an individual to
develop his conscience. As the individual grows in the society, he learns the cultural values and
the norms of the society which help him to differentiate between right and wrong.

Example: If the super-ego passed that boy playing with a ball, it would not snatch it, as it
would know that snatching is bad and may lead to a quarrel. Thus, super ego act as a constraint
on your behavior and guides you to follow the right path. But if the Id is stronger than super-ego,
you will definitely snatch the ball by any means.
 Ego: Ego is the logical and the conscious part of the mind which is associated with the reality
principle. This means it balances the demands of Id and super-ego in the context of real life
situations. Ego is conscious and hence keep a check on Id through a proper reasoning of an
external environment.

Example: If you pass through the same boy playing with the ball, your ego will mediate the
conflict between the Id and super-ego and will decide to buy a new ball for yourself. This may
hurt you Id, but the ego would take this decision to reach to a compromise situation between the
Id and super-ego by satisfying the desire of getting a ball without committing any unpleasant
social behavior.

Hence, these are the fundamental structures of the mind, and there is always a conflict between
these three. The efforts to attain the balance between these defines the way we behave in the
external environment.

Socio-Psychological Theory

Definition: The Socio-Psychological Theory asserts that individual and society are interlinked.
This means, an individual strives to meet the needs of the society and the society helps him to
attain his goals. Through this interaction, the personality of an individual is determined.

The Socio-Psychological theory is the contribution of Adler, Horney, Forman and Sullivan.
This theory is also called as Neo-Freudian Theory because it differs from the Freud’s
psychoanalytic theory in the following respects:

According to this theory, the social variables and not the biological instincts, are the important
determinants in shaping the individual’s personality.
 Here, the motivation is conscious, i.e. an individual knows what are his needs and wants and
what kind of behavior is required to meet these needs.

Thus, the theorists believe that socio-psychological factors, i.e. the combination of both the
social (family, society, wealth, religion) and the psychological factors (feelings, thoughts,
beliefs) play an important role in shaping the personality of an individual.

It is the society from where the individual inculcates the cultural values and the social norms,
which helps him in shaping his personality and influences his behavior according to the external
situations.

Trait Theory:

Definition: The Trait Theory asserts that an individual is composed of a set of definite
predisposition attributes called as traits. These traits are distinguishable and often long lasting
quality or a characteristic of a person that makes him different from the others.

The two most common trait theories are:

Allport’s Trait Theory: This theory is given by Gordon Allport. According to him, the
personality of an individual can be studied through a distinction between the common traits and
the personal dispositions.

The common traits are used to compare the people on the grounds of six values, such as
religious, social, economic, political, aesthetic and theoretical. Besides the common traits, there
are personal dispositions which are unique and are classified as follows:

Cardinal Traits: The cardinal traits are powerful, and few people possess personality
dominated by a single trait. Such as Mother Teressa’s altruism.
 Central Traits: These traits are the general characteristics possessed by many individuals in
the varying degrees. Such as loyalty, friendliness, agreeableness, kindness, etc.

Secondary Trait: The secondary traits show why at times, a person behaves differently than
his usual behavior. Such as a jolly person may get miserable when people try to tease him.

Cattell’s Trait Theory: This trait theory is given by Raymond Cattell. According to him, the
sample of a large number of variables should be studied to have a proper understanding of the
individual personality.

He collected the life data (everyday life behaviors of individuals), experimental data
(standardizing experiments by measuring actions), questionnaire data (responses gathered from
the introspection of an individual’s behavior) and done the factor analysis to identify the traits
that are related to one another.

By using the factor analysis method, he identified 16 key personality factors:

Abstractedness – Imaginative Vs Practical

Warmth – Outgoing Vs Reserved

Vigilance – Suspicious Vs Trusting

Tension – Impatient Vs Relaxed

Apprehension – Worried Vs Confident

Emotional Stability – Calm Vs anxious

Liveliness – Spontaneous Vs Restrained

Dominance – Forceful Vs Submissive

Social Boldness – Uninhibited Vs Shy

Perfectionism – Controlled Vs Undisciplined

Privateness – Discreet Vs Open

Sensitivity – Tender Vs Tough

Self Reliance – Self sufficient Vs Dependent

Rule-Consciousness – Conforming Vs Non-Conforming

 Reasoning – Abstract Vs Concrete

Openness to Change – Flexible Vs Stubborn

The trait theory is based on the assumption that the traits are common to many individuals and
they vary in absolute amounts. Also, the traits remain consistent over a period of time, and thus
can be measured through the behavioral indicators.

Self Theory

Definition: The Self Theory emphasizes on the set of perceptions an individual has for himself
and the perceptions of the relationships he has with others and the other aspects of life. Carl
Rogers has contributed significantly towards the self theory.

The self theory comprises of four factors that are explained below:

Self-Image: Self-image means what an individual thinks about himself. Everybody has certain
beliefs about themselves, such as who or what they are, these beliefs form the self image and
identity of a person.

According to Erikson, identity is formed through a lifelong development usually unconscious

to the individual and his society, i.e. an individual forms perception about himself unconsciously,
according to the social circumstances.

Ideal-Self: The ideal-self means, the way an individual would like to be. It is very much
different from the self-image, as it shows the ideal position perceived by an individual, whereas
the self-image is the reality that an individual perceives.Thus, there could be a gap between these
two.

The ideal-self-acts as a stimulus to motivate an individual to undertake those activities that are
in compliance with the characteristics of his ideal self.
 Looking-Glass-Self: The looking-glass self means, an individual’s perception of how others
are perceiving his qualities or feeling about him. Simply, it is the perception of other’s
perception, i.e. perceiving what others perceive about yourself and not see what actually you are.

Real-Self: The real-self is what others show you with respect to your self-image. An
individual’s self-image is confirmed when others responses to him and shares their beliefs or
perception, about what they actually feel about him.

This is taken as feedback from the environment that helps an individual to adjusts his self-
image accordingly and be in line with the cues he had received.

Thus, according to Carl Rogers, the self theory is composed of several perceptions of “I” or
“me” and the perception of relationships of “I” and “me” to others.

Erickson’s 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development:

Erikson also added to Freud’s stages by discussing the cultural implications of development;
certain cultures may need to resolve the stages in different ways based upon their cultural and
survival needs.

Trust vs. Mistrust

From birth to 12 months of age, infants must learn that adults can be trusted. This occurs when
adults meet a child’s basic needs for survival. Infants are dependent upon their caregivers, so
caregivers who are responsive and sensitive to their infant’s needs help their baby to develop a
sense of trust; their baby will see the world as a safe, predictable place. Unresponsive caregivers
who do not meet their baby’s needs can engender feelings of anxiety, fear, and mistrust; their
baby may see the world as unpredictable. If infants are treated cruelly or their needs are not met
appropriately, they will likely grow up with a sense of mistrust for people in the world.

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

As toddlers (ages 1–3 years) begin to explore their world, they learn that they can control their
actions and act on their environment to get results. They begin to show clear preferences for
certain elements of the environment, such as food, toys, and clothing. A toddler’s main task is to
resolve the issue of autonomy vs. shame and doubt by working to establish independence. This is
the “me do it” stage. For example, we might observe a budding sense of autonomy in a 2-year-
old child who wants to choose her clothes and dress herself. Although her outfits might not be
appropriate for the situation, her input in such basic decisions has an effect on her sense of
independence. If denied the opportunity to act on her environment, she may begin to doubt her
abilities, which could lead to low self-esteem and feelings of shame.
 Initiative vs. Guilt

Once children reach the preschool stage (ages 3–6 years), they are capable of initiating
activities and asserting control over their world through social interactions and play. According
to Erikson, preschool children must resolve the task of initiative vs. guilt.By learning to plan and
achieve goals while interacting with others, preschool children can master this task. Initiative, a
sense of ambition and responsibility, occurs when parents allow a child to explore within limits
and then support the child’s choice. These children will develop self-confidence and feel a sense
of purpose. Those who are unsuccessful at this stage—with their initiative misfiring or stifled by
over-controlling parents—may develop feelings of guilt.

Industry vs. Inferiority

During the elementary school stage (ages 6–12), children face the task of industry vs.
inferiority. Children begin to compare themselves with their peers to see how they measure up.
They either develop a sense of pride and accomplishment in their schoolwork, sports, social
activities, and family life, or they feel inferior and inadequate because they feel that they don’t
measure up. If children do not learn to get along with others or have negative experiences at
home or with peers, an inferiority complex might develop into adolescence and adulthood.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

In adolescence (ages 12–18), children face the task of identity vs. role confusion. According to
Erikson, an adolescent’s main task is developing a sense of self. Adolescents struggle with
questions such as “Who am I?” and “What do I want to do with my life?” Along the way, most
adolescents try on many different selves to see which ones fit; they explore various roles and
ideas, set goals, and attempt to discover their “adult” selves. Adolescents who are successful at
this stage have a strong sense of identity and are able to remain true to their beliefs and values in
the face of problemsand other people’s perspectives. When adolescents are apathetic, do not
make a conscious search for identity, or are pressured to conform to their parents’ ideas for the
future, they may develop a weak sense of self and experience role confusion. They will be unsure
of their identity and confused about the future. Teenagers who struggle to adopt a positive role
will likely struggle to “find” themselves as adults.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

People in early adulthood (20s through early 40s) are concerned with intimacy vs.
isolation. After we have developed a sense of self in adolescence, we are ready to share our life
with others. However, if other stages have not been successfully resolved, young adults may
have trouble developing and maintaining successful relationships with others. Erikson said that
we must have a strong sense of self before we can develop successful intimate relationships.
Adults who do not develop a positive self-concept in adolescence may experience feelings of
loneliness and emotional isolation.
 Generativity vs. Stagnation

When people reach their 40s, they enter the time known as middle adulthood, which extends to
the mid-60s. The social task of middle adulthood is generativity vs. stagnation. Generativity
involves finding your life’s work and contributing to the development of others through activities
such as volunteering, mentoring, and raising children. During this stage, middle-aged adults
begin contributing to the next generation, often through childbirth and caring for others; they
also engage in meaningful and productive work which contributes positively to society. Those
who do not master this task may experience stagnation and feel as though they are not leaving a
mark on the world in a meaningful way; they may have little connection with others and little
interest in productivity and self-improvement.

Integrity vs. Despair

From the mid-60s to the end of life, we are in the period of development known as late
adulthood. Erikson’s task at this stage is called integrity vs. despair. He said that people in late
adulthood reflect on their lives and feel either a sense of satisfaction or a sense of failure. People
who feel proud of their accomplishments feel a sense of integrity, and they can look back on
their lives with few regrets. However, people who are not successful at this stage may feel as if
their life has been wasted. They focus on what “would have,” “should have,” and “could have”
been. They face the end of their lives with feelings of bitterness, depression, and despair.

Perception:

Definition of perception

Perception means perceiving, i.e., giving meaning to the environment around us. It can be
defined as a process which involves seeing, receiving, selecting, organising, interpreting and
giving meaning to the environment.

Nature of perception

(1) Perception is the intellectual process.

(2) Perception is the basic cognitive or psychological process.

(3) Perception becomes a subjective process and different people may perceive the same event
differently.

Perception and Sensation

There is a distinction between sensation and perception. Sensation is the response of a physical
sensory organ. The physical senses are vision, hearing, tough, smell and taste. These senses are
bombarded by stimuli and reactions in particular sense organ take place because of these, e.g., of
sensation may be reaction of eye to colour, ear to sound and so on. Sensation percedes
perception. Perception is much more than sensation. Perception depends upon the sensory raw
data. The perceptual process adds to or/and subtracts from the sensory world. Perception is
determined by both physiological and psychological characteristics, of the organism. However,
sensation only activates the organs of the body and is not affected by such psychological factors
as learning and motives. Activation of eyes to see an object is sensation and the inference what is
being seen is perception. For managerial action, it is the latter which is important.

Perceptual Process:

Perception is a process of receiving, selecting, organising, interpreting, checking and reacting

to stimuli. This is like an input-through put-output process in which the stimuli can be considered
as 'inputs' transformation of 'input' through selection, organization and interpretation as 'through
puts' and the ultimate behaviour/action as 'output'. The whole perceptional process can be
presented as follows : These are explained one by one

1. Receiving Stimuli : The first process in the perception is the presence of stimuli. The
stimuli are received from the various sources. Through the five organs. It is a physiological
aspect of perception process. Stimuli may be external to us (such as sound waves) and inside us
(such as energy generation by muscles).

2. Selection of Stimuli : After receiving the stimuli or data, some are selected. Others are
screened out. Two types of factors affect selection of stimuli for processing : external and
internal factors. External factors relate to stimuli such as intensity of stimuli, its size, movement,
repetition, etc. Internal factors, relate to the perceiver such as his/her age, learning, interest, etc.
Normally, he will select the objects which interest him and will avoid that for which he is
indifferent. This is also called 'selective perception'.

3. Organization of Stimuli : Organising the bits of information into a meaningful whole is

called "organization". There are three ways by which the selected data, i.e., inputs are organised.
These are :

(i) Grouping, (ii) Closure and (iii) Simplification.

(i) Grouping : In grouping, the perceiver groups the various stimuli on the basis of their
similarity or proximity. For example, all the workers coming from the same place may be
perceived as similar on the basis of proximity.

(ii) Closure : When faced with incomplete information, people fill up the gaps themselves to
make the information meaningful. This may be done on the basis of past experience, past data, or
hunches. For example, in many advertisement, alphabets are written by putting electric bulbs
indicating the shape of the concerned alphabets but broken lines. In such cases, people tend to fill
up the gap among different bulbs to get meaning out of these.
 (iii) Simplification : People identify main stimulus features and assesses how they are
organized. He interprets a stimulus situation, the perceiver simples the information.

Factors Influencing Perceptual Set External Factors:

1. Size : Bigger size attracts the attention of the perceiver

2. Intensity : A loud sound, strong odor or bright light is noticed more as compared to a soft
sound, weak odour or dimlight.

3. Repetition : A repeated external stimulus is more attention getting than a single one.
Advertisers use this principle.

4. Novelty and Familiarity : A novel or a familiar external situation can serve as attention
getter.

5. Contrast : It is a kind of uniqueness which can be used for attention getting. Letters of bold
types, persons dressed differently than others, etc., get more attention.

6. Motion : A moving object draws more attention as compared to a stationary object.

Advertisers use this principle.

Internal Factors

➢ Self-concept : The way a person views the world depends a great deal on the concept
or image he has about himself. The concept plays an internal role in perceptual
selectivity.
➢ Beliefs : A person's beliefs have profound influence on his perception. Thus, a fact is
conceived not on what it is but what a person believes it to be.
➢ Expectations : These affect what a person perceives. A technical manager may expect
ignorance about the technical features of a product from non-technical people.
➢ Inner Needs : The need is a feeling of tension or discomfort, when one thinks he is
missing something. People with different needs experience different stimuli. According
to Freud, wishful thinking is the means by which the Id attempts to achieve tension
reduction.
➢ Response Disposition : It refers to a person's tendency to perceive familiar stimuli
rather than unfamiliar ones.
➢ Response Salience : It is the set of disposition which are determined not by the
familiarity of the stimulus situations, but by the person's own cognitive predispositions.
Thus, a particular problem may be viewed as a marketing problem by marketing
personnel, a control problem by accounting people and human relations problem by
personnel people.
 ➢ Perceptual Defence : It refers to the screening of those elements which create conflict
and threatening situation in people.

1. Denying the existence or importance of conflicting information.

2. Distorting the new information to match the old one.

3. Acknowledging the new information but treating it as a non-representation exception. The

factors that influence perception may be broadly divided into three categories :

1. Factors that reside in the 'Perceiver' (i.e., attitude, motives, interests, past experiences and
personality, expectations)

2. Factors of the 'situation' and-factors connected with the 'Target'.

3. Factors that determine the preferred location of a brand on each of the relevant dimension in
perceptive mapping.

Learning Process in OB:

Learning is a process of acquiring skills, knowledge, attitude and behavior.

Major Learning Theories in OB:

. Classical Conditioning theory;

Classical conditioning theory is developed by Ivan P. Pavlov (1849-1936), Russian

physiologist in the early 1900s. This is called classical because this is the first theory in the area
of learning. Pavlov was trying to discover the fact regarding digestive system but he obtained the
theory of learning. Later than, he worked out to uncover and establish underlying principles of
classical conditioning.

Classical conditioning theory has introduced a simple cause and effect relationship between
stimulus and response. This theory states that learning a conditioned response involves
association between conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus. It explains simple
reflexive behavior which is unlearned behavior.

Contributions and limitations of classical conditioning:

Classical conditioning theory is simple explanation of relation between stimulus and response.
This explains that for learned behavior, there should be motivating factor (stimulus). It also
makes the reflective or involuntary after the stimulus-response relationship has been established.
In many situation, this theory explains the human behaviors.

But, this theory has some important limitations as well. Some of the limitations are as follows:

Human behavior and behavior of dogs cannot be similar.

Behavioral environment in organizations is complex in comparison to the experiment

conducted by Pavlov.

It does not provide significant part of total human learning.

It explains the passive approach.

Decision making process is complex in nature. Thus, simple conditioning cannot always
work.

Operant Conditioning Theory

Operant conditioning theory or model is developed by B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), a

psychologist. Skinner suggested that learning of complex human behaviors can be explained or
better understood with the help of operant conditioning. Operant conditions are explained for
voluntary behaviors. Voluntary behaviors have some influence on the environment or they
operate in the environment. Thus, the word operant is coined with operate. This theory can be
used to explain complex human behavior.

Operant conditioning theory states that behavior is function of its consequences. According to
this theory, habits can be learnt through reinforcement. After long experiment, Skinner has
identified three types of responses or operant that can be follow behavior. He identified neutral
operant, reinforcers, and punishers. Neutral operant is the responses from environment which
neither increases nor decreases the changes for repeating the behavior. Reinforcer is the
responses from environment which increases the changes for repeating the behavior. Reinforcer
can be positive or negative. Punisher is the responses from environment which decreases the
chances of repeating the behavior. As people do not wish to get punishment, punishment
weakens behavior. Operant conditioning model, also called Behavior Modification is based on
Response-Stimulus. People learn to behave to get something they want or to avoid something
they don't want. This means, this theory explains that learning involves reinforcement for desired
behavior as a central process in learning. Reinforcement strengthens behavior which increases
the probability of repeating the behavior whereas punishment weakens the behavior and reduces
the probability of repeating behavior.
 Different between Classical conditioning and Operant conditioning Model

Classical conditioning

A change in stimulus elicits particular response.

The strength and frequency of classically conditioned behavior are determined mainly by the
frequency of eliciting stimulus.

The stimulus serving as reward is present every time.

Responses are fixed to stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

Stimulus serves as a clue for a person to emit the response.

The strength and frequency of operant conditioned behaviors are determined mainly by the
consequences.

The reward is presented only if the organism gives the correct response.

Responses are variable both in types and degrees.

Cognitive Mapping Theory

Cognitive mapping theory was established by Edward Tolman (1886-1959), an American

psychologist. This theory is primarily based on how events and objects are related to each other.
This theory relates two stimuli i.e. describes stimulus-stimulus. Irrespective to classical
conditioning and operant conditioning theories, cognitive theory considers the learning as the
outcome of deliberate thinking about the problem. Cognition is the process of acquiring
knowledge. Cognitive is the individual's thought, knowledge, level of understanding and
interpretation of any event, object or person. This theory states that learning involves a
relationship between cognitive cues (hints about how to choose the right way) and expectations.
Learning is the outcome of thinking and knowing.
 ATTITUDE

According to G.W. Allport, “Attitude is a mental and neutral state of readiness

organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon

individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related.”

Krech and Crutchfield defined “attitude as an enduring organization of

motivational, emotional, perceptual and cognitive processes with respect to some

aspect of the individual’s world”

According to Katz and Scotland, “Attitude is a tendency or predisposition to

evaluate an object or symbol of that object in a certain way”. In effect attitude is

used in a generic sense, as to what people perceive, feel and express their views about a

situation, object or other people. Attitude cannot be seen, but the behaviour can be seen as

an expression of attitude.

Components of Attitude

(a) Cognitive component: Cognitive component of attitude is related to value

statement. It consists of belief, ideas, values and other information that an individual

may possess or has faith in. Quality of working hard is a value statement or faith

that a manager may have.

(b) Affective component: Affective component of attitude is related to person’s feelings

about another person, which may be positive, negative or neutral. I do not like

Maya because she is not hard working, or I like Mina because she is hard working.

It is an expression of feelings about a person, object or a situation.

(c) Behavioral component: Behavioral component of attitude is related to impact of

various situations or objects that lead to individual’s behaviour based on cognitive

and affective components. I do not like Maya because she is not hard working is an

affective component, I therefore would like to disassociate myself with her, is a

behavioural component and therefore I would avoid Maya. Development of

favourable attitude, and good relationship with Mina is but natural. Individual’s

favourable behaviour is an outcome of the fact that Mina is hardworking. Cognitive

and affective components are bases for such behaviour. Former two components

cannot be seen, only the behaviour component can be seen. Former is important because it is a base for
formation of attitude.

Motivation:

Motivation in Organizational Behavior. All of us have had a job where its seemingly impossible to get
motivated. Maybe you're not getting paid enough, not seeing success, or not getting recognition from
your boss. Motivation is essentially the underlying drive of individuals to accomplish tasks and goals.

Theories of Motivation

➢ Hierarchy of Needs Theory by Maslow,

➢ Theory X and Theory Y by Mcgregor, and
➢ Two-factor theory of Herzberg.
➢ ERG Theory; developed by Clayton Alderfer.
➢ Acquired Needs Theory by McClelland’s.
➢ Goal Setting Theory by Edwin Locke.
➢ Theory of Self Efficacy by Albert Bandura.
➢ Reinforcement Theory by B.F. Skinner and his associates,
➢ Cognitive Evaluation Theory,
➢ Expectancy Theory by Victor H. Vroom,
➢ Equity Theory of J. Stacy Adams.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory shows that an individual has a hierarchy of five needs
that shape his reaction to any particular situation.
 Human has a hierarchy of 5 needs;

➢ Physiological.
➢ safety needs.
➢ Social.
➢ Esteem
➢ Self-actualization.

Here the Physiological and safety needs are described as lower-order and Social, esteem, and
self-actualization are higher-order needs. After satisfying one need will the person will move to
satisfy next one.

The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory proposed by Abraham Harold Maslow in his
1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”.

Maslow, a famous psychologist tried to understand human motivation. Abraham Maslow’s

hierarchy of needs is the most well-known theory of motivation.

Here A.H. Maslow has shown that an individual has a hierarchy of needs that shape his
reaction to any particular situation. Maslow advanced the following important propositions about
human behavior;

The man is a wanting being: Man always wants and he wants more. But what he wants
depends upon what he already has. As soon as one of the man’s needs is satiated, another
appears in the place. This process is unending and continuous from birth to death.

A satisfied need is not a motivator: A satisfied need is not a motivator of human behavior.
Only the unsatisfied needs motivate behavior.

A Need can be arranged in a number of levels: When a need can be arranged in a number of
levels a hierarchy is formed. The satisfaction of lower level needs demands the fulfillment of the
next level. That is, human needs move in an ascending order, from the lowest to the highest
levels.

According to Maslow, each person had a different set of needs at the different point of time in
his life.

He said that all needs of humans could be arranged in a hierarchy. Each person is said to move
through the hierarchy by fulfilling each level of needs.

Some people may have dominant needs at a particular level and thus never move through the
entire hierarchy.

He hypothesized that within every human being there exists a hierarchy of five needs.
 Hierarchy of Needs: 5 Needs of Human

Physiological Needs

These are the basic needs for the maintenance of human life. These are the basic needs of the
organism—food, water, shelter, clothing, sexual satisfaction and the like.

Maslow took the positions that until these needs are satisfied to the degree necessary to
maintain life other needs will not motivate people.

Safety Needs

These are the needs to be free from physical danger and the fear of loss of a job, property,
food, or shelter.

Social Needs

Since people are social beings, they need to belong and to be accepted by others. Social needs
are; physical association and contact, belongingness, love and affection, acceptance by fellows
and the like.

Esteem Needs

If other needs are reasonably satisfied then ego needs become a motivator. People want to be
held in esteem both by themselves and by others.

This kind of need produces such satisfactions as power, prestige, status, and self-confidence.

It includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement; and
external esteem factors such as status, recognition, and attention

Self-Actualization Needs

Maslow regards this as the highest need in his hierarchy. It is the desire to become what one is
capable of becoming—to maximize one’s potential and to accomplish something.

It is apparent that it is impossible to motivate workers by satisfying all of the above-mentioned

needs. It is not valid for the workers in developing countries. It may be somewhat true for
developed countries.

The levels are presented in the form of a triangle or a pyramid with the largest and most
fundamental levels of needs at the bottom tier, and the need for self-actualization at the top.
 As a need becomes substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. No need is ever
fully gratified; a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates.

According to Maslow physiological, security, social, and esteem needs are deficiency needs or
D-needs that arise because of deprivation.

The highest level of the pyramid is called the growth needs or B-needs. Maslow separated the
five needs into higher and lower orders;

Physiological and safety needs are described as lower-order.

Social, esteem, and self-actualization arc as higher-order needs.

Higher-order needs are satisfied internally.

Lower-order needs are predominantly satisfied externally

Theory X and Theory Y of Motivation by McGregor

Douglas McGregor expressed his views of human nature in two sets of assumptions. They are
popularly known as ‘Theory X’ and ‘Theory Y’.

Theory X stands for the set of traditional beliefs held, while Theory-Y stands for the set of
beliefs based on researchers in behavioral science which are concerned with modern social views
on the man at work.

These two theories represent the extreme ranges of assumptions. The managerial attitudes and
supervisory practices resulting from such assumptions have an important bearing on employees’
behavior.

Theory X assumptions are negative;

Employees inherently dislike work and, whenever possible, will attempt to avoid it.

Since’ employees dislike work, they must be coerced, controlled, or threatened with
punishment.

Employees will avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction whenever possible.

Most workers place security above all other factors and will display little ambition.

Managers who accept theory-X assumptions have a tendency to structure, control and closely
supervise their employees. These managers think that external control is clearly appropriate for
dealing with unreliable, irresponsible and immature people.
 Drawing heavily on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, McGregor concluded that theory-X
assumptions about the nature of man are generally inaccurate and the management practices that
develop from these assumptions will often fail to motivate individuals to work toward
organizational goals.

Management by direction and control may not succeed as it is a questionable way of

motivating people whose physiological and safety needs are reasonably satisfied and whose
social, esteem and self-actualization needs are becoming predominant.

In view of the drawbacks of theory-X, McGregor developed an alternative theory of human

behavior called Theory-Y.

Theory Y assumptions are positive;

Employees can view work as being as natural as rest or play.

People will exercise self-direction and self-control if they are committed to the objectives.

The average person can learn to accept, even seek, responsibility.

The ability to make innovative decisions is widely dispersed throughout the population.

Managers who accept theory-Y assumptions about nature of man do not attempt to structure,
control or closely supervise the employees.

Instead,

these managers help their employees mature by subjecting them to progressively less external
control and allowing them to assume more and more self-control.

Employees derive the satisfaction of social, esteem and self-actualization needs within this
kind of environment.

Thus theory-Y aims at the establishment of an environment in which employees can best
achieve their personal goals by consulting, participating and communicating themselves to the
objectives of the organization. In this process, employees are expected to exercise a large degree
of internal motivation.

Theory X assumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals. Theory Y assumes that
higher-order needs dominate individuals. McGregor himself held to the belief that Theory Y
assumptions were more valid than Theory X.

There is no evidence to confirm that either set of assumptions is valid. Either Theory X or
Theory Y assumptions may be appropriate in a particular situation.
 Theory-X and Theory-Y Management Application-Business Implications for Workforce
Motivation.

If Theory-Y holds true, an organization can apply these principles of scientific management to
improve employee motivation:

Decentralization and Delegation: If firms decentralize control and reduce the number of levels
of management; managers will have more subordinates and consequently will be forced to
delegate some responsibility and decision-making them.

Job enlargement: Broadening the scope of an employee’s job adds variety and opportunities to
satisfy ego needs.

Participative management: Consulting employees in the decisions making process taps their
creative capacity and provides them with some control over their work environment.

Performance appraisals: Having the employee set objectives and participate in the process of
evaluating how well they were met.

If properly implemented, such an environment would result in a high level of workforce

motivation as employees work to satisfy their higher level personal needs through their job.

In a nutshell, it may seem that Maslow, McClelland, Herzberg, and McGregor view
motivation from a different perspective. But basically, they emphasize similar sets of
relationships.

Maslow stresses the rarely satisfied higher level needs as the motivating force. McClelland
mentioned that the drive for achieving varies in individuals according to their personality and
cultural background.

Herzberg views “satisfiers” as motivators after the “hygiene factors” have done away with
dissatisfaction. McGregor’s theory, which is based on assumptions concerning the motives of
individuals, views motivation from the perspective of managerial attitude.

Two-Factor Theory of Motivation – Hygiene and Motivational Factor

Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation is based on two types of factors. These factors are
satisfiers (motivational) and dissatisfy (maintenance or hygiene).

Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory is also known as the motivation-hygiene theory.

 Frederick Herzberg a well-known management theorist developed a specific content theory of
work motivation; developed his theory by interviewing 200 accountants and engineers employed
by firms in and around Pitsburg in the 1950s.

The purpose of his study was to find out what people want, and what motivates them. He
asked them to recall occasions when they had been satisfied and motivated and occasions when
they had been dissatisfied and unmotivated.

Surprisingly, he found that different sets of factors were associated with satisfied and with
dissatisfaction that is, a person might identify “low pay’’ as causing dissatisfaction but would not
necessarily mention “high pay” as a cause of satisfaction.

Instead, different factors such as recognition or accomplishment-were cited as causing

satisfaction and motivation.

Proposed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg when he investigated the question, “What do

people want from their jobs?”

He asked people to describe, in detail, situations in which they felt exceptionally good or bad
about their jobs.

These responses were then tabulated and categorized.

Herzberg’s motivation theory is based on two types of factors. These factors are satisfiers
(motivational) and dissatisfy (maintenance or hygiene).

Dissatisfied include the factors of company policy and administration, salary, supervision,
working conditions, interpersonal relations, status, job security, and personal life.

However; dissatisfies are not motivators.

The satisfiers are motivators and therefore related to job content. They include the factors like
achievement, recognition, challenging work, advancement, responsibility and growth in the job.
Their existence yields feelings of satisfaction.

To summarize the Two-factor theory;

Intrinsic or satisfiers (motivational) factors, such as advancement, recognition, responsibility,

and achievement seem to be related to job satisfaction.

Dissatisfied respondents tended to cite extrinsic or hygiene (maintenance) factors, such as

supervision, pay, company policies, and working conditions.

The opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction.

 Removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying.

Job satisfaction factors are separate and distinct from job dissatisfaction factors. Managers
who eliminate job dissatisfaction factors may not necessarily bring about motivation.

When hygiene factors are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied; neither will they be
satisfied. To motivate people, emphasize factors intrinsically rewarding that are associated with
the work itself or to outcomes directly derived from it.

What Is Self-Determination Theory:

In psychology, self-determination is an important concept that refers to each person's ability to

make choices and exert control over their own life. This ability plays an important role in
psychological health and well-being. Self-determination allows people to feel that they have
control over their choices and lives.

Self-determination theory suggests that people are motivated to grow and change by innate
psychological needs. The theory identifies three key psychological needs that are believed to be
both innate and universal:

➢ The need for competence

➢ The need for connectedness
➢ The need for autonomy

The concept of intrinsic motivation, or engaging in activities for the inherent rewards of the
behavior itself, plays an important role in self-determination theory.

According to self-determination theory, people need to feel the following in order to achieve
psychological growth:

Competence: People need to gain mastery of tasks and learn different skills.

Connection or Relatedness: People need to experience a sense of belonging and attachment to

other people.

Autonomy: People need to feel in control of their own behaviors and goals.

What is Goal-Setting Theory?

Goal-setting theory refers to the effects of setting goals on subsequent performance. Researcher
Edwin Locke found that individuals who set specific, difficult goals performed better than those
who set general, easy goals. Locke proposed five basic principles of goal-setting: clarity,
challenge, commitment, feedback, and task complexity.
 Effective goal-setting principles:

Clarity. A clear, measurable goal is more achievable than one that is poorly defined. In other
words, be specific! The most effective goals have a specific timeline for completion.

Challenge. The goal must have a decent level of difficulty in order to motivate you to strive
toward the goal.

Commitment. Put deliberate effort into meeting this goal. Share your goal with someone else
in order to increase your accountability to meet that goal.

Feedback. Set up a method to receive information on your progress toward a goal. If losing 30
pounds in four months turns out to be too hard, it is better to adjust the difficulty of your goal
mid-way through the timeline than to give up entirely.

Task complexity. If a goal is especially complex, make sure you give yourself enough time to
overcome the learning curve involved in completing the task. In other words, if a goal is really
tough, make sure you give yourself some padding to give you the best chance at succeeding.

What is self efficacy theory?

Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to
produce specific performance attainments (Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997). Self-efficacy reflects confidence
in the ability to exert control over one's own motivation, behavior, and social environment.

Reinforcement Theory of Motivation

Reinforcement theory of motivation was proposed by BF Skinner and his associates. It states
that individual’s behaviour is a function of its consequences. It is based on “law of effect”, i.e,
individual’s behaviour with positive consequences tends to be repeated, but individual’s
behaviour with negative consequences tends not to be repeated.

Reinforcement theory of motivation overlooks the internal state of individual, i.e., the inner
feelings and drives of individuals are ignored by Skinner. This theory focuses totally on what
happens to an individual when he takes some action. Thus, according to Skinner, the external
environment of the organization must be designed effectively and positively so as to motivate the
employee. This theory is a strong tool for analyzing controlling mechanism for individual’s
behaviour. However, it does not focus on the causes of individual’s behaviour.
 The managers use the following methods for controlling the behaviour of the employees:

Positive Reinforcement- This implies giving a positive response when an individual

shows positive and required behaviour. For example - Immediately praising an employee
for coming early for job. This will increase probability of outstanding behaviour occurring
again. Reward is a positive reinforce, but not necessarily. If and only if the employees’
behaviour improves, reward can said to be a positive reinforcer. Positive reinforcement
stimulates occurrence of a behaviour. It must be noted that more spontaneous is the giving
of reward, the greater reinforcement value it has.
Negative Reinforcement- This implies rewarding an employee by removing negative /
undesirable consequences. Both positive and negative reinforcement can be used for
increasing desirable / required behaviour.
Punishment- It implies removing positive consequences so as to lower the probability
of repeating undesirable behaviour in future. In other words, punishment means applying
undesirable consequence for showing undesirable behaviour. For instance - Suspending
an employee for breaking the organizational rules. Punishment can be equalized by
positive reinforcement from alternative source.
Extinction- It implies absence of reinforcements. In other words, extinction implies
lowering the probability of undesired behaviour by removing reward for that kind of
behaviour. For instance - if an employee no longer receives praise and admiration for his
good work, he may feel that his behaviour is generating no fruitful consequence.
Extinction may unintentionally lower desirable behaviour.

Equity Theory:

Everyone in the workplace is motivated by something. This motivation could be external in

nature, such a money, and status, or internal, such as a desire to do a good job. Leaders and
managers have sought to understand theories of motivation and then test them in the workplace
to increase the productivity and effectiveness of their workforce.

Adam’s Equity Theory, also known as the Equity Theory of Motivation, was developed in
1963 by John Stacey Adams, a workplace behavioral psychologist.

Equity Theory is based on the idea that individuals are motivated by fairness. In simple terms,
equity theory states that if an individual identifies an inequity between themselves and a peer,
they will adjust the work they do to make the situation fair in their eyes. As an example of equity
theory, if an employee learns that a peer doing exactly the same job as them is earning more
money, then they may choose to do less work, thus creating fairness in their eyes.

Extrapolating from this, Adam’s Equity Theory tells us that the higher an individual’s
perception of equity (fairness), then the more motivated they will be. Conversely, an individual
will be demotivated if they perceive unfairness.
 Understanding Equity

To understand Adam’s Equity Theory in full, we need to first define inputs and outputs. Inputs
are defined as those things that an individual does in order to receive an output. They are the
contribution the individual makes to the organization.

Common inputs include:

The number of hours worked (effort).

The commitment shown.

The enthusiasm shown.

The experience brought to the role.

Any personal sacrifices made.

The responsibilities and duties of the individual in the role.

The loyalty the individual has demonstrated to superiors or the organization.

The flexibility shown by the individual, for example, by accepting assignments at very short
notice or with very tight deadlines.

Outputs (sometimes referred to as outcomes) are the result an individual receives as a result of
their inputs to the organization. Some of these benefits will be tangible, such as salary, but others
will be intangible, such as recognition.

Common outputs include:

✓ Salary
✓ Bonus
✓ Pension
✓ Annual holiday allowance
✓ Company car
✓ Stock options
✓ Recognition
✓ Promotion
✓ Performance appraisals
✓ Flexibility of work arrangements
✓ Sense of achievement
✓ Learning
 Now that we understand inputs and outputs, we’re in a position to define equity. Equity is
defined as an individual’s outputs divided by that same person’s inputs.

Adam’s Equity Theory goes a step further and states that individuals don’t just understand
equity in isolation, instead they look around and compare themselves to others. If they perceive
an inequity then they will adjust their inputs to restore balance. This is illustrated in the
following equity theory equation.

What is Expectancy Theory?

Expectancy Theory of Motivation was developed by Victor H. Vroom in 1964 and extended
by Porter and Lawler in 1968.

The theory is based on the assumption that our behavior is based on making a conscious
choice from a set of possible alternative behaviors. According to Expectancy Theory, the
behavior we choose will always be the one that maximizes our pleasure and minimizes our pain.

As a manager, this means that one of your team members will only choose the right behavior
(to work hard) if they perceive the outcome of choosing this option is the most desirable for
them. In simple terms, that could mean that they might gain someone or that they might not lose
something.

Within the theory there are three variables at play:

Expectancy. Effort -> Performance (E -> P)

Instrumentality. Performance -> Outcome (P -> O)

Valence. Outcome -> Reward (V(R))

All three factors must be present to motivate employees effectively.

Note

The terminology and symbols used are a little clunky and can be difficult to make sense of at
first.

Don’t despair. The examples at the bottom of this article should make things clear.
 Let’s examine each variable in turn from the point of view of an employee or team member.

1. Expectancy

Expectancy is the belief that if you work hard (effort) you will be able to hit the targets
(performance) that have been set for you by your manager.

You make this judgment based on a number of factors, including:

Your past experience.

Your confidence in your ability.

How difficult you perceive the target is to achieve, and whether or not the target is under your
control.

An example of expectancy is thinking, “If I work hard I can achieve the targets my boss has
set for me”.

2. Instrumentality

In this variable, you’re assessing how likely you are to receive a reward if you hit the targets
that have been set for you.

Again, you make this judgment based on a number of factors, including:

Is the relationship clear between performance and reward (outcome).

How much you trust the person who decides on the reward.

How transparent is the decision-making process around who gets what reward?

An example of instrumentality is thinking, “If I achieve all of the targets set for me then I
believe I will get promoted”.

3. Valence

So far we have a goal to hit and we understand the reward we’ll get if we hit it. The final piece
of the motivation puzzle is valence. Valence is simply the perceived value of the reward to you.

This could be negative if you actively want to avoid the reward, zero if you are unmotivated
by the reward, or one if you’re motivated by the reward.
 When it comes to valency, an employee will have to weigh up the pros and cons, for example,
“Do I want to be promoted? Will the extra work result in even less time with my family? Is it
really worth putting in a serious effort for a whole year to receive a promotion and a 10% pay
rise?”

Expectancy Theory Formula:

MF simply means Motivation Force, which you can think of as being someone’s motivation to
do something.

This formula is simply stating what we’ve already covered. That is, to be motivated you must
think your targets are achievable, you must clearly understand any reward you might receive, and
you must actually value the reward.

UNIT – III

What is Group Dynamics?

Group dynamics deals with the attitudes and behavioral patterns of a group. Group dynamics
concern how groups are formed, what is their structure and which processes are followed in their
functioning. Thus, it is concerned with the interactions and forces operating between groups.

Group dynamics is relevant to groups of all kinds – both formal and informal. If the UPA
government has set up Group of Ministers for every governance issue, the Supreme Court of
India has 27 Group of Judges committees overseeing all manner of non-judicial work in the apex
court. In an organizational setting, the term groups are a very common and the study of groups
and group dynamics is an important area of study.

Stages of Group Development/Evolution:

Group Development is a dynamic process. How do groups evolve? There is a process of five
stages through which groups pass through. The process includes the five stages: forming,
storming, forming, performing, and adjourning.

Forming:

The first stage in the life of a group is concerned with forming a group. This stage is
characterized by members seeking either a work assignment (in a formal group) or other benefit,
like status, affiliation, power, etc. (in an informal group). Members at this stage either engage in
busy type of activity or show apathy.

Storming:

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The next stage in this group is marked by the formation of dyads and triads. Members seek out
familiar or similar individuals and begin a deeper sharing of self. Continued attention to the
subgroup creates a differentiation in the group and tensions across the dyads / triads may appear.
Pairing is a common phenomenon. There will be conflict about controlling the group.

Norming:

The third stage of group development is marked by a more serious concern about task
performance. The dyads/triads begin to open up and seek out other members in the group. Efforts
are made to establish various norms for task performance.

Members begin to take greater responsibility for their own group and relationship while the
authority figure becomes relaxed. Once this stage is complete, a clear picture will emerge about
hierarchy of leadership. The norming stage is over with the solidification of the group structure
and a sense of group identity and camaraderie.

Performing:

This is a stage of a fully functional group where members see themselves as a group and get
involved in the task. Each person makes a contribution and the authority figure is also seen as a
part of the group. Group norms are followed and collective pressure is exerted to ensure the
Process of Group effectiveness of the group. The group may redefine its goals Development in
the light of information from the outside environment and show an autonomous will to pursue
 those goals. The long-term viability of the group is established and nurtured.

Adjourning:

In the case of temporary groups, like project team, task force, or any other such group, which
have a limited task at hand, also have a fifth stage, This is known as adjourning.

The group decides to disband. Some members may feel happy over the performance, and some
may be unhappy over the stoppage of meeting with group members. Adjourning may also be
referred to as mourning, i.e. mourning the adjournment of the group.

The readers must note that the four stages of group development mentioned above for
permanent groups are merely suggestive. In reality, several stages may go on simultaneously.
 Factors Affecting Group Behaviour:

The success or failure of a group depends upon so many factors. Group member resources,
structure (group size, group roles, group norms, and group cohesiveness), group processes (the
communication, group decision making processes, power dynamics, conflicting interactions,
etc.) and group tasks (complexity and interdependence).

1. Group Member Resources:

The members’ knowledge, abilities, skills; and personality characteristics (sociability, self-
reliance, and independence) are the resources the group members bring in with them. The
success depends upon these resources as useful to the task.

2. Group Structure:

Group Size:

Group size can vary from 2 people to a very large number of people. Small groups of two to
ten are thought to be more effective because each member has ample opportunity to take part and
engage actively in the group. Large groups may waste time by deciding on processes and trying
to decide who should participate next.

Evidence supports the notion that as the size of the group increases, satisfaction increases up to
a certain point. Increasing the size of a group beyond 10-12 members’ results in decreased
satisfaction. It is increasingly difficult for members of large groups to identify with one another
and experience cohesion.

Group Roles:

In formal groups, roles are always predetermined and assigned to members. Each role shall
have specific responsibilities and duties. There are, however, emergent roles that develop
naturally to meet the needs of the groups.

These emergent roles will often substitute the assigned roles as individuals begin to express
themselves and become more assertive. Group roles can then be classified into work roles,
maintenance roles, and blocking roles.

Work roles are task-oriented activities that involve accomplishing the group’s goals. They
involve a variety of specific roles such as initiator, informer, clarifier, summarizer, and reality
tester.

Maintenance roles are social-emotional activities that help members maintain their
involvement in the group and raise their personal commitment to the group. The maintenance
roles are harmonizer, gatekeeper, consensus tester, encourager, and compromiser.
 Blocking roles are activities that disrupt the group. Blockers will stubbornly resist the group’s
ideas, disagree with group members for personal reasons, and will have hidden agendas. They
may take the form of dominating discussions, verbally attacking other group members, and
distracting the group with trivial information or unnecessary humour.

Often times the blocking behaviour may not be intended as negative. Sometimes a member
may share a joke in order to break the tension, or may question a decision in order to force group
members to rethink the issue. The blocking roles are aggressor, blocker, dominator, comedian,
and avoidance behaviour.

Role conflicts arise when there is ambiguity (confusion about delegation and no specific job
descriptions) between the sent role and the received role which leads to frustration and
dissatisfaction, ultimately leading to turnover; inconsistency between the perceived role and role
behaviour (conflict between work roles and family roles); and conflicting demands from
different sources while performing the task.

Group Norms:

Norms define the acceptable standard or boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour,
shared by group members. They are typically created in order to facilitate group survival, make
behaviour more predictable, avoid embarrassing situations, and express the values of the group.

Each group will create its own norms that might determine from the work performance to
dress to making comments in a meeting. Groups exert pressure on members to force them to
conform to the group’s standards and at times not to perform at higher levels. The norms often
reflect the level of commitment, motivation, and performance of the group.

The majority of the group must agree that the norms are appropriate in order for the behaviour
to be accepted. There must also be a shared understanding that the group supports the norms. It
should be noted, however, that members might violate group norms from time to time.

If the majority of members do not adhere to the norms, then they will eventually change and
will no longer serve as a standard for evaluating behaviour. Group members who do not conform
to the norms will be punished by being excluded, ignored, or asked to leave the group.

Group Cohesiveness:

Cohesiveness refers to the bonding of group members or unity, feelings of attraction for each
other and desire to remain part of the group. Many factors influence the amount of group
cohesiveness – agreement on group goals, frequency of interaction, personal attractiveness, inter-
group competition, favourable evaluation, etc.
 The more difficult it is to obtain group membership the more cohesive the group will be.
Groups also tend to become cohesive when they are in intense competition with other groups or
face a serious external threat to survival. Smaller groups and those who spend considerable time
together also tend to be more cohesive.

Cohesiveness in work groups has many positive effects, including worker satisfaction, low
turnover and absenteeism, and higher productivity. However, highly cohesive groups may be
detrimental to organizational performance if their goals are misaligned with organizational goals.

Highly cohesive groups may also be more vulnerable to groupthink. Groupthink occurs when
members of a group exert pressure on each other to come to a consensus in decision making.
Groupthink results in careless judgments, unrealistic appraisals of alternative courses of action,
and a lack of reality testing.

Evidence suggests that groups typically outperform individuals when the tasks involved
require a variety of skills, experience, and decision making. Groups are often more flexible and
can quickly assemble, achieve goals, and disband or move on to another set of objectives.

Many organizations have found that groups have many motivational aspects as well. Group
members are more likely to participate in decision-making and problem-solving activities
leading to empowerment and increased productivity. Groups complete most of the work in an
organization; thus, the effectiveness of the organization is limited by the effectiveness of its
groups.

3. Group Processes:

Decision-making by a group is superior, because group generates more information and

knowledge, generates diverse alternatives, increases acceptance of a solution, and increases
legitimacy. But it is also true, that decision making is like ‘munde munde matirbhinna’.

Decisions take longer time, minority is dominated, pressure is applied to conform to group
decisions, and none is responsible for the decisions. Group processes also include
communication, conflict management, and leadership that we shall discuss in details in the
chapters to follow hereafter.
 Group Decision Making

Definition: The Group Decision Making is the collective activity wherein several persons interact
simultaneously to find out the solution to a given statement of a problem. In other words, group
decision making is a participatory process wherein multiple individuals work together to analyze
the problem and find out the optimum solution out of the available set of alternatives.

In group decision-making, the number of participants often ranges from two to seven. It is not
necessary that all the group members agree with each other and hence most of the times, the
decision is taken on the basis of a majority if no other mode of a majority is prescribed. The
majority means the number of votes in favor or against the proposed alternative.

There are several techniques that can be used to increase the efficiency of group decision
making. These are as follows:

✓ Nominal group Technique

✓ Delphi Technique
✓ Brainstorming
✓ Dialectic Decisions Method
 The concept of group decision making is based on the proverb that two heads are better than
one. This means when the decisions are taken jointly, the expertise or experience of each
member could be capitalized to reach to an optimum solution. Thus, the synergy gets created
when the decisions are made in a group as more ideas and opinions pop up during the discussion
session.

But however, the group decision making can be time-consuming and often leads to the conflict
between the group members. Also, no single member is held accountable in case of a failure of
such decision, since it is the whole group that agrees with that decision.

Nominal Group Technique

Definition: The Nominal Group Technique is a form of brainstorming, wherein a structured

meeting is held among the group members where they are required to find solutions to the
problem identified for the discussion.

In other words, a systematic and an organized group meeting held among the members to
facilitate decision making by properly identifying the problems and generating the solutions
thereof. The nominal group technique helps in preventing the discussion being dominated by a
single person and hence, allow the silent members, who are quite shy, to speak out their ideas in
the group.

The objective of nominal group technique is to resolve the opinion conflicts among the group
members by enabling each individual to pen down his/her thoughts about the problem and later
discuss it with the entire group to reach the consensus solution. Generally, the nominal group
training is comprised of the following steps:

First of all, the facilitator welcomes all the participants and then briefs about the problem
requiring decision.

The participants are given time to pen down their ideas that come to their minds in reference to
the problem being discussed. During this period, each member writes his/her ideas silently
without discussing anything with each other.

Once all the members have written, their ideas are required to share them in front of all the
group members. At this stage, the facilitator chalks down the ideas of each group member on the
flip chart, thereby giving all the members equal opportunity to share what they feel.

Once the key points are written on the chart, the members are asked to discuss the points
which hey feel requires an explanation. Each member explains his/her mind to the other
members and in the meanwhile, the facilitator tries to maintain the discussion as neutral as
possible, thereby avoiding the criticism and judgement.
 Once all points are explained, the members are asked to give vote or rank various ideas by
prioritizing these in relation to the basic problem, for which the meeting is held.

If the group does not reach a consensus decision, then again the ranks are assigned to the
recorded ideas and this process continues till the final decision is arrived.

One of the main advantages of nominal group technique is that it gives all the group members
an equal opportunity to speak out their minds. Also, some group members are quite and shy, this
method helps them to write down their ideas and discuss with the group members. The major
disadvantage is that this technique consumes a lot of time to arrive to a final conclusion and also
only one problem can be addressed at a time.

Delphi Technique

Definition: The Delphi Technique refers to the systematic forecasting method used to gather
opinions of the panel of experts on the problem being encountered, through the questionnaires,
often sent through mail. In other words, a set of opinions pertaining to a specific problem,
obtained in writing usually through questionnaires from several experts in the specific field is
called as a Delphi technique.

In a Delphi technique, the group facilitator or the change agent aggregates all the anonymous
opinions received through the questionnaires, sent two or three times to the same set of experts.
The experts are required to give justification for the answers given in the first questionnaire and
on the basis of it, the revised questionnaire is prepared and is again sent to the same group of
experts.

The experts can modify their answers in accordance with the replies given by other panel
members. The objective of a Delphi technique is to reach to the most accurate answer by
decreasing the number of solutions each time the questionnaire is sent to the group of experts.
The experts are required to give their opinion every time the questionnaire is received, and this
process continues until the issues are narrowed, responses are focused, and the consensus is
reached.

In a Delphi technique, the identity of the group members is not revealed, and they are not even
required to gather for a physical meeting. Each member is free to give his opinion with respect to
the problem, thereby avoiding the influential effect that a powerful or authoritative member can
have on the other group members.

This technique is quite advantageous as diverse opinions can be gathered from the large pool
of experts who might be geographically separated. Also, the quality of decision gets improved as
the expertise of each group member is capitalized to reach to a final solution.
 Brainstorming

Definition: The Brainstorming is a technique to stimulate creative ideas and solutions through a
group discussion. Simply, a process wherein a group attempts to find a solution for the specific
problem by aggregating all the spontaneous opinions or suggestions given by each group
member individually is called as brainstorming.

In a brainstorming session, a group of 10-15 persons is constituted who are directly or closely
related to the problem of discussion irrespective of their fields of disciplines. During this session,
the group members are just required to share their ideas or speak out the mind in front of other
members and need not worry about how realistic or feasible the solution is.

Generally, the brainstorming is carried on in the following ways:

First of all, the group leader/facilitator outlines the problem requiring a decision. The problem
is clearly stated such that the members can easily understand it and focus their direct attention on
it.

Once the problem is defined, the participants are asked to share their opinions through which
the problem can be tackled. Here the aim is to get as many ideas as possible; its feasibility is
checked later.

The participants are required to give away their ideas freely without considering any financial,
legal or organizational limitations.

The evaluation of ideas is done in the later stage. Therefore, any criticism, judgement, or
comment is strictly prohibited during the brainstorming session, and the participants are told not
to indulge in these.

Once the brainstorming session is over, all the recorded ideas are analyzed, discussed and
criticized during the evaluation session, during which the actual feasibility of an idea is checked.

Dialectic Decisions Method

Definition: The Dialectic Decisions Method is a technique used to overcome the problem in the
group-decision making, wherein the group members quickly agree to one alternative proposal
and might overlook more promising solutions than the chosen one. Thus, it ensures a full
consideration of alternatives.

The reason behind such a quick converge on a single alternative may be, the participant’s
unwillingness to meet and get indulged into the tough discussions. Thus, in order to overcome
such problem, the dialectic decisions method came into existence.

The dialectic decisions method comprises of following steps:

 First of all, a clear statement of a problem is stated.

Then, all the possible alternative proposals are generated.

Once the set of alternatives is listed, the group members identify all the implicit and explicit
assumptions central to the proposals.

Then each alternative is broken into subgroups to study all the pros and cons of the proposals
in the light of a problem.

Once these steps are completed individually, the group members meet and decide on a
proposal to be chosen on the basis of its ultimate results (pros and cons).

Thus, through a dialectic decisions method, every group member participates equally in
finding out the most promising alternative proposal in the context of a given problem.
 Concept and Meaning of Communication in Organizational Behavior (OB)

The word communication is derived from Latin word "communis" which means "in common".
This meaning gives the concept of communication as the means of sharing ideas, views,
opinions, facts and information which are common to the concerned individuals or groups or
organizations. Communication is an indispensable element in human behavior. People in
organization interact with each other through communication. Either to command or to report,
either to seeking information or to share, either for discussion while making decisions or to
deliver the decision, either to deal with client or share ideas, in each case, people from different
responsibilities, communicate each other in the organization.

Communication is one of the most important basic function management. It is one of the most
frequently discussed dynamics is the entire field of organizational behavior as it is one of the
indicator of human behavior in the organization. It is one of the requisite for employee
satisfaction. "Perfect communication, if it existed, would occur when a thought or idea was
transmitted so the receiver perceived exactly the same mental picture as the sender". It should
sum sum up of all things what a person (sender) want to create understanding (message) in the
mind of other person (receiver). It consists of systematic process of telling, listening and
understanding.

Process of Communication OB

Communication is process of transiting information from sender to receiver. It is a two way

process in which a sender of message and receiver of message and receiver of message exchange
their information and meaning of message. This process, basically involves eight elements i.e.
sender, encoding, message, channel, decoding, receiver, noise and feedback. This process can be
shown as follows:

1. Sender

Sender is the main source of information. The person who sends the message commonly is
known as sender. He generates message to convey to receiver, encodes the message in
understandable form and selects media for its transmission. The sender may be departmental
manager, supervisor or department or whole organization itself.

2. Encoding

It is the act of changing information into code in order to make it understandable. Encoding is
done in different forms like words, symbols, voices or in other forms to which receiver could
understand. Encoding is done by sender.
 3. Message

It is the subject matter of communication i.e. message. It consists of facts, opinions, ideas etc.
of the sender formed into a package. It is prepared in clear and understandable form as far as
possible. It is the fact that receiver understands. Thus, encoded information is known as message.

4. Channel

Channel is the medium through which the message is transmitted. Proper media or channel is
selected by sender through which message is conveyed. Channel can be formal or informal.
Formal channels are established by organization for transmitting formal i.e. organizational
message to employees. But, informal medium are set by individual employee to convey personal
information or message. Audio-visual, print media, electronic media, personal medium, symbol,
etc. are different channels used in organization to transmit message.

5. Receiver

Receiver is a person or group of people to which the message is directed. The receiver may be
listener, reader or viewer. The receiver decodes i.e. translates message in understandable form. It
enables receiver to understand the meaning of message.

6. Decoding

Decoding means to receive message conveyed by sender and translating that message into own
meaning or language. Wrong interpretation of message creates misunderstanding between the
encoder and decoder causing false meaning.

7. Noise

Noise is barrier for communication process which distorts the flow of message. Noise reduces
clarity of message. Perceptual problems, information overload, semantic barriers, or cultural
differences are the source of noise.

8. Feedback

Finally, the effectiveness of communication is measured through feedback. Feedback is the

mechanism of providing response whether the message is understood properly or not. Positive
response indicates the communication is successful. If the response is not appropriate, then the
sender has to change the message or the channel so as the message can be understood properly.
 Barriers to Effective Communication in OB

Communication is one of the bases of employee's behavior in the organization. It is source of

employee satisfaction, means of coordination, leadership, supervision, direction and control.
Thus it is essential for effective management and success of organization. Several obstruction,
bottleneck hurdles or blockades hinder the process of communication which reduces
effectiveness of communication. These hurdles or obstacles for effective communication are the
barriers to communication. There can be following types of barriers to effective communication:

1. Physical

The greater distance between the sender and the receiver reduces the effectiveness of the
communication. Similarly, noise and environmental disturbances are also common physical
barriers.

2. Individual

Individual factors like personal, judgment, emotions and social values create a psychological
distance between the sender and the receiver. The other personal factors like prejudice,
inferiority/superiority complex, attitude, time pressure also affect interpretation of messages.
Likewise, differences in mutual trust and confidence between sender and receiver also effects
effectiveness of the communication.

3. Filtering

"Filtering refers to a sender's purposely manipulating information so the receiver will see it
more favorably. A manager who tells his boss what he feels the boss wants to hear is filtering
information." Such tendency of individual increases the chances of communication
ineffectiveness. Individual can choose filtering to distort information because of various reasons
like pleasing boss, fear of conveying bad news, etc.

4. Language

People may have different interpretation of same word and symbols in terms of their own
experience and thinking. When the sender and the receiver interpret differently, this creates
misunderstanding. Thus, harsh language, difficult and double meaning words, and more
technical words reduce the effectiveness of communication.

5. Selective perception

Receiver may have limited attention i.e. selective perception as on their needs, motivations,
experience, and personal characteristics. Interpretation of the message in such selected attention
may have incomplete or wrong.
 6. Status

Status is the organizational hierarchy is also one of the important fundamental barriers of free
flow of information. Most of managers may provide only the selected information to their
subordinates so as to maintain status difference. This also reduces effectiveness of
communication.

7. Emotions

People often interpret message according to their emotions. They interpret positively if they
are happy but negatively when they are sad or angry. Individual in positive moods are more
confident about their opinions after reading a persuasive message, so well-crafted argument have
stronger impacts on their opinion.

8. Organizational Structure

Long and complex organizational structure may breakdown or distort the message. Due to
lengthy communication network, flow of information gets delayed and distorted.

9. Premature evaluation

Some of the receivers may be habitual of making judgment before reading or listening the
message completely. Such premature evaluation regarding message also distorts message
completely. Such premature evaluation regarding message also distorts message and decreases
the understanding.

10. Communication apprehension

It is the tendency of experiencing anxiety or tension in oral communication, written

communication or both. They feel uncomfortable in taking with other or may become extremely
anxious while making a memo while phone call becomes easy and faster. Studies show oral
communication anxious, frightful and uneasy or avoiding situations, but for some cases such as
teaching, oral communication is a dominant requirement.

11. Information overload

Individual has limited capacity to capture information within the fixed time under certain
situation. But, if they get more information than their capacity, situation becomes information
overload. In this situation, individual mostly does not understand the information completely or
skips the information. This also leads for communication ineffectiveness.
 Guidelines for Effective Communication:

Effective communication is the minimum requirement to have good human relation in

organization. Effective communication means understanding the complete meaning of message
by the receiver what the sender intended to deliver. The easy answer of the question how
communication can be effective is that we should remove the barriers of effective
communication. This means that to improve the effectiveness of the communication, there
should be no any barriers of communication. Following methods can be suggested to secure the
effective communication.

1. Culture of open communication

Open communication between managers and employees is the best way to improve quality of
communication. There should be two way communication. Receivers should feel comfortable to
share their feeling openly. Any suggestions or complaints should be welcomed by managers in
the organization. Openly door policy encourages employees to be participated in communication
process.

2. Reducing physical barriers

Physical distance between sender and receiver need to be reduced. Managers must consider the
effect of noise in the communication process. Problems in mechanical devices must be removed
timely. These efforts reduce the chances of distortion of message by physical barriers so that the
effectiveness of communication can be improved.

3. Use of information technology

Means of information technology facilitate in communication. Telephone, e-mail, and internet

have changed the speed and involvement of person in communication. Use of internet is being
popular means of communication in the organization both for formal and informal
communication. Such communication can be more beneficial in case receiver and sender cannot
meet face to face. Thus, by using information technology, effectiveness of communication can be
improved.

4. Improving climate of trust

For effectiveness of communication, receiver and senders should trust to each other. This
increases the chances of effective listening. This further improves the climate of openness in
communication. Structural barriers must be reduced to create trust in the organization.
 5. Employee participation

Participating employees in the decision making also reduces the barriers in communication.
This helps to encourage employees for participating actively in communication process. They
listen other ideas and information and share their. This facilitates in making communication a
two way communication.

6. Employee counseling

Counseling to employees is the process of psychotherapy. Employees try to change the

mentality through this process and try to be more open to express their feelings.

7. The ombudsperson

This is a very rarely used technique to participating employees specially who are treated
unfairly. This technique provides means i.e. outlet for such persons to communicate their
feelings. This improves the upward communication.

8. Getting the message across

Sender must be concerned regarding making the communication more effective. For this,
senders must consider the receivers. They must think the ability of receivers to understand and
their feelings. For this, sender must have the sense of humor to understand receivers. Sender
must empathize, repeat message, use timing effectively, and should focus on problem. This helps
to make downward communication more effective.

UNIT – IV

✓ Leadership
✓ Top 4 Theories of Leadership:
✓ Trait Theory of Leadership:

In the 1940s, most early leadership studies concentrated on trying to determine the traits of a
leader. The trait theory was the result of the first systematic effort of psychologists and other
researchers to understand leadership. This theory held that leaders share certain inborn
personality traits.

The earliest theory in this context was the “great man” theory, which actually dates back to the
ancient Greeks and Romans. According to this theory, leaders are born, not made. Many
researchers have tried to identify the physical, mental, and personality traits of various leaders.
However, the “great man” theory lost much of its relevance with the rise of the behaviorist
school of psychology.
 In his survey of leadership theories and research, Ralph M. Stogdill found that various
researchers have related some specific traits to leadership ability.

These include five physical traits (such as appearance, energy and height); four intelligence
and ability traits; sixteen personality traits (such as adaptability, enthusiasm, aggressiveness, and
self-confidence); six task-related characteristics (such as achievement, drive, initiative and
persistence), and nine social characteristics (such as interpersonal skills, cooperativeness, and
administrative ability).

More recently, researchers have identified the following key leadership traits: leadership
motivation (having a desire to lead but not hungry for power), drive (including achievement,
energy, ambition, initiative, and tenacity), honesty and integrity, self-confidence (including
emotional stability), cognitive ability, and an understanding of the business.

In general, the study of leadership in terms of traits has not been a very successful approach
for explaining leadership. All leaders do not possess all the traits mentioned in these theories,
whereas many non-leaders possess many of them.

Moreover, the trait approach does not give one an estimate of how much of any given trait a
person should possess. Different studies do not agree about which traits are leadership traits, or
how they are related to leadership behavior. Most of these traits are really patterns of behavior.

Theory of Leadership # 2. Behavioral Theories:

When it became evident that effective leaders did not seem to have a particular set of
distinguishing traits, researchers tried to study the behavioral aspects of effective leaders.

In other words, rather than try to figure out who effective leaders are, researchers tried to
determine what effective leaders do – how they delegate tasks, how they communicate with and
try to motivate their followers or employees, how they carry out their tasks, and so on.

In this section, we review major efforts to identify important leadership behaviors. This
research grew largely out of work at the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, and the
Ohio State University. We also discuss about Likert’s four systems of management and the
Managerial Grid.

Theory of Leadership # 3. Contingency Theories:

The use of the trait and behavioral approaches to leadership showed that effective leadership
depended on many variables, such as organizational culture and the nature of tasks. No one trait
was common to all effective leaders. No one style was effective in all situations. Researchers,
therefore, began trying to identify those factors in each situation that influenced the effectiveness
of a particular leadership style.
 They started looking at and studying different situations in the belief that leaders are the
products of given situations. A large number of studies have been made on the premise that
leadership is strongly affected by the situations in which the leader emerges, and in which he or
she operates. Taken together, the theories resulting from this type of study constitute the
contingency approach to leadership.

Situational or contingency approaches obviously are of great relevance to managerial theory

and practice. They are important for practicing managers, who must consider the situation when
they design an environment for performance.

The contingency theories focus on the following factors:

a. Task requirements.

b. Peers’ expectations and behavior.

c. Organizational culture and policies.

 The 5 Sources of Power in an Organization

Legitimate Power. Power that is given to a person based on their position or role is known as
legitimate power (or positional power). ...

✓ Reward Power. ...

✓ Coercive Power. ...
✓ Referent Power. ...
✓ Expert Power. ...
✓ Cultivate Your Own Powers
✓ Legitimate Power

Power that is given to a person based on their position or role is known as legitimate power (or
positional power). It’s determined by the hierarchy of the organization; junior managers report to
senior managers and senior managers report to directors. Other than being promoted, there’s not
much you can do directly to get more legitimate power. Increasing some of your other types of
power – mainly referent and expert power – leads to having more legitimate power. Legitimate
power can’t be faked: in order for it to be wielded, the person claiming the power has to have
earned it legitimately.

Reward Power

Tied in closely with legitimate power, reward power is the ability that one holds to dole out
incentives and compensation in an organization. This includes salary raises and bonuses, praise,
recognition, and promotion. Reward power that is used fairly can be highly motivating to
employees. They’ll do more and better things by going for the rewards with the knowledge that
they are achievable. However, if the rewards are given out unfairly and favoritism is used, this
will demotivate them and make reward power less legitimate.

Coercive Power

Coercive power can be scary: it’s what sets in the fear of being punished for poor performance
and keeps us coming in early and staying at the office late. People who wield coercive power can
influence others’ behavior by their ability to threaten and punish others. These actions might
include demotion, firing, and reprimanding, but can also be less concrete and abusive in the form
of social ostracizing and shaming. A good dose of coercive power keeps employees in line, and
with good management doesn’t need to be used often or severely. The mere knowledge that it’s
there is usually enough.
 Referent Power

Even if you don’t have any granted power in an organization, you can still influence others’
behavior and decision-making. Referent power is the ability to influence others because they
respect, admire, or like you. There are many ways to earn referent power at work. Especially if
you are new to an organization, you can start building social capital right away by saying “yes”
when people ask you to do things. Never say, “No, that’s not my job” – especially to your boss.
It’s OK to say no when you really can’t do something – just say, “no, but…” and give another
solution. Also, befriend others with referent power – find the influential people in your
organization, be part of the “in” crowd, and others will respect you.

Expert Power

Expert power is another way to earn respect and influence independently of the hierarchy of
your organization. With expert power, you have the ability to influence others because of
recognized talent, abilities, and knowledge. The key to gaining expert power is to know your job:
be conscious of what you need to know to do your job well and build those skills. Cross-training
is another way to gain expert power – you won’t just know your job, but others’ jobs as well.
Look for opportunities in your skillset and offer to do things in areas that you’re skilled in to gain
more expert power.

Cultivate Your Own Powers

As you can see, the different types of power come from different sources – some are inherent
in the hierarchy of an organization, while others are earned by demonstrated social and practical
skills. Anyone, even the lowest on the totem pole, can gain influence and power in an
organization. Building your referent and expert powers leads to respect and influence, and can
also lead to promotion and sources of legitimate, reward, and coercive powers. In this sense,
referent and expert powers are the building blocks of organizational influence.
 What is conflict in organizational behavior?

Organizational conflict, or workplace conflict, is a state of discord caused by the actual or

perceived opposition of needs, values and interests between people working together. ... There is
also conflict within individuals – between competing needs and demands – to which individuals
respond in different ways.
 What causes workplace conflict?

Conflict in the workplace could be the result of:

✓ poor management
✓ unfair treatment
✓ unclear job roles
✓ inadequate training
✓ poor communication
✓ poor work environment
✓ lack of equal opportunities
✓ bullying and harassment

significant changes to products, organisational charts, appraisals or pay systems

Definitions and Guidelines

Negotiation facilitates agreement when some of your interests are shared and some are
opposed

Negotiation is the process of evolving communication to get from opposition to consensus,

manage conflict and reach agreement

Negotiation principles apply as much to your internal team as they do to an outside party
 UNIT – V

Work Stress

What are organizational stressors?

Stress is the psychological strain or distress resulting from exposure to unusual or demanding
situations, known as stressors [4]. Occupational stress, specifically, is the response to
organizational stressors in the workplace environment that pose “a perceived threat to an
individual's well-being or safety”
 What is the concept of Organisational climate?

Organisational climate influences to a great extent the performance of the employees because
it has a major impact on motivation and job satisfaction of individual employees. Organisational
climate determines the work environment in which the employee feels satisfied or dissatisfied.
 What is Organisational culture and climate?

Organizational culture is a system of shared assumptions, values and beliefs that governs how
people behave in organizations. ... The climate of an organization is subject to change frequently
and can be shaped by the upper management of an organization.

DEFINITION OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:

Salovey & Mayer (1990, p. 189) defined EI as “the subset of social intelligence that involves the
ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and
to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.” They later revised and extended
their definition, proposing that EI consists of “the ability to perceive emotions, to access and
generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and
to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth”.

Definition of Intelligence:

Intelligence is typically defined as ability or capacity. Wechsler (1958, p. 7) defined intelligence

as “the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and
to deal effectively with his [or her] environment.”

Emotional Intelligence in Organisational Behaviour:

People

People are the living beings who thinks and feels. They created the organizations to serve
people.Organizations exist to achieve their objectives. Human Resources are the important work
force in an organisation. Individual employee, superior-subordinate relationship, teams inside,
officials everyone are “THE PEOPLE”. A smart working environment provided by an
emotionally intelligent manager in an organisation leads to enthusiastic team who are excited to
do work and get involved because they wanted to