You are on page 1of 16

National Institute of Business Management

Chennai - 020
FIRST SEMESTER EMBA/ MBA
Subject: Organizational Behaviour
Enrollment No - MBA1/OCT15N/93171446117645F
Attend any 4 questions. Each question carries 25
marks
(Each answer should be of minimum 2 pages / of 300
words)
2. Why is perception important? Explain the factors
influencing perception.
Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes,
and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture the
world. Perception depends not only on the physical stimuli, but also on
the stimulis relation to the surrounding field and on conditions within
the individual. The key point is that perception can vary widely among
individuals exposed to the same reality. One person might perceive a
fast-talking salesperson an aggressive and insincere another, as
intelligent and helpful. Each will respond differently to the salesperson.
Perception is our sensory experience of the world around us and
involves both the recognition of environmental stimuli and actions in
response to these stimuli. Through the perceptual process, we gain

information about properties and elements of the environment that are


critical to our survival. Perception not only creates our experience of
the world around us; it allows us to act within our environment.
Perception includes the five senses; touch, sight, taste smell and taste.
It also includes what is known as proprioception, a set of senses
involving the ability to detect changes in body positions and
movements. It also involves the cognitive processes required to
process information, such as recognizing the face of a friend or
detecting a familiar scent.
The study of perception is concerned with identifying the process
through which we interpret and organize sensory information to
produce our conscious experience of objects and object relationship.
Perception is the process of receiving information and making sense of
the world around us
Factors Influencing Perception:
How do we explain that individuals may look at the same thing, yet
perceive it differently? A number of factors operate to shape and
sometimes distort perception. These factors can reside in the perceiver
in the object or target being perceived, or in the context of the
situation in which the perception is made.
Factors that influence perception:
1. Factors in the perceiver
Attitudes
Motives

Interests
Experience
Expectations
2. Factors in the situation
Time
Work setting
Social setting
3. Factors in the target
Novelty
Motion
Sounds
Size
Background
Proximity
Similarity
When an individual looks at a target and attempts to interpret what he
or she sees that interpretation is heavily influenced by the personal
characteristics of the individual perceiver. Personal characteristics that
affect perception included a persons attitudes, personality motives
interest, past experiences, and expectations. For instance if you expect
police officers to be authoritative, young people to be lazy, or
individuals holding office to be unscrupulous, you may peeve them as
such

regardless

of

their

cultural

traits.

Characteristics of the target being observed affect what is perceived.


Loud people are more likely to be noticed in a group than quiet ones.
So, too, are extremely attractive or unattractive individuals. Because
targets are not looked at in isolation, the relationship of a target to its
background also influences perception, as does our tendency to group
close things and similar things together. For instance, women people of
colour or members of any other group that has clearly distinguishable
characteristics in terms of features or colour are often perceived as
alike

in

other,

unrelated

characteristics

as

well.

The context in which we see objects or events is also important. The


time at which an object or event is seen can influence attention, as can
location, light, heat, or any number of situational factors. For example,
at a nightclub on Saturday night, you may not notice a 22 year old
female dressed to the nines. Yet that same woman so attired for your
Monday morning management class would certainly catch your
attention (and that of the rest of the class). Neither the perceiver nor
the target changed between Saturday night and Monday morning, but
the situation is different.
____________________________________________________________________

3. Describe the contemporary theories of motivation.


Motivation is the result of the interaction of the individual and the
situation.

The level of motivation varies both between individuals and within


individuals at different times.
Motivation: The process that account for an individuals intensity,
direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.
Early Theories of Motivation 1950s:
Hierarchy of needs theory
Theories X and Y
The two-factor theory.
They represent a foundation from which contemporary theories have
grown. Practicing managers still regularly use this theories and their
terminology in explaining employee motivation.
Contemporary theories of motivation
ERG Theory: Alderfer (1972) classifies needs into three categories
1) The existence category that provides our basic material
existence requirements (akin to Maslows physiological and safety),
2) Relatedness category which provides relationship and social
status (akin to Social) and
3) Growth category which refers to personal development (akin to
esteem and self-actualization).
McClellands Theory of Needs: McClellands (1961) theory focuses
on three needs: achievement, power, and affiliation. This actually
describes the predominance of disposition of various types of people.

All people have all these needs but the predominant need drives them.
These are discussed below:

Need for achievement (nAch): Those predominant in this


derive satisfaction from reaching goals. To do that, they generally
undertake tasks of moderate difficulty rather than very easy or

very difficult ones.


Need for power (nPow): Those predominant in this derive
satisfaction from ability to control others and goal achievement is
secondary.
Need for affiliation (nAff): Those predominant in this derive
satisfaction from social and interpersonal activities. Those high in
this tends to compromise task orientation for personal relations
and often tend to be ineffective managers.
Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Some people do not get motivated by
extrinsic rewards.
Goal-Setting Theory: This theory proposes that challenging goals
produce a higher level of output than do the generalized goals. A goal
serves as a motivator, because, it causes people to compare their
present capacity to perform with that required to succeed at the goal.
Hence, feedback is also required.
This proposes the following:
Goal commitment i.e., an individual is committed to the goal
Adequate self-efficacy i.e. Individuals belief that he or she is
capable of performing a task

Task characteristics i.e., tasks are simple, well-learned, and


independent
National culture inadequate, performance will be negatively
affected and that an employee needs opportunity to perform and
prove his/her worth.
Nitin Nohria Model: He proposed in one of the latest articles that
there are four drives with which an individual grapples. These are:
Drive to acquire: This drive makes us acquire things which are not
strictly needs. The drive comes because of comparison with
others. Thus, even if we have a good house, we need a better
one.
Drive to bond: All of us need families to fulfill this drive.
Drive to comprehend: We want to make sense of the world around
us, understand the phenomenon, making meaningful contribution,
and are demoralized by monotonous work.
Drive to defend: We have a drive to defend ourselves and hence
though we may have all the physical and emotional security, we
will do all we can to defend ourselves.
Motivational Language Theory: Sullivan JJ, (1988) explained that it
is language that motivates people. At least to some extent this is true.
We motivate people through talks, explanations and instructions. We
have seen this happen and this is perhaps the reason why some
motivational speakers are so popular.
Equity Theory: Employees make comparison of their job inputs and
outcomes relative to those of given payment by: Motivation is

influenced significantly by others rewards as well as by ones own


rewards
Expectancy Theory: The strength of a tendency to act in a certain
way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be
followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that the
outcome to the individual. The theory focuses on three relationships:
1. Effort-performance.

2. Performance-reward.

3. Rewards-personal

goals.
_____________________________________________________________________

5. Write an essay on Organizational Structure.


For an organization to be successful it needs a strong organizational
structure. How the organization is set up will directly impact the
success or failure of said company. They need to be structured and
organized in a way that will best meet their goals and needs. Even
though the organizational structure is focus on the companys goal it
also dictates how to report priorities and strategies of upper
management. By understanding a companies organizational structure
it can also reveal cross-functional relationships to coordinate work
efforts and optimal results.
An organizational

structure consists

of

activities

such

as

task

allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards


the achievement of organizational aims. It can also be considered as

the viewing glass or perspective through which individuals see their


organization and its environment.
Organizations are a variant of clustered entities. An organization can
be structured in many different ways, depending on their objectives.
The structure of an organization will determine the modes in which it
operates and performs. Organizational structure allows the expressed
allocation of responsibilities for different functions and processes to
different

entities

such

as

the branch, department, workgroup and

individual.
Organizational structure affects organizational action in two big ways.
First,

it

provides

the

foundation

on

which

standard

operating

procedures and routines rest. Second, it determines which individuals


get to participate in which decision-making processes, and thus to
what extent their views shape the organizations actions
Organizational structures developed from the ancient times of hunters
and collectors in tribal organizations through highly royal and clerical
power structures to industrial structures and today's post-industrial
structures.
Types of Organizational structure:
1. Pre-bureaucratic structures
Pre-bureaucratic (entrepreneurial) structures lack standardization of
tasks. This structure is most common in smaller organizations and is
best used to solve simple tasks. The structure is totally centralized.
The strategic leader makes all key decisions and most communication
is done by one on one conversations. It is particularly useful for new

(entrepreneurial) business as it enables the founder to control growth


and development.
They

are

usually

based

on traditional

domination or charismatic

domination in the sense of Max Weber's tripartite classification of


authority.
Bureaucratic structures
Weber (1948, p. 214) gives the analogy that the fully developed
bureaucratic mechanism compares with other organizations exactly as
does the machine compare with the non-mechanical modes of
production.

Precision,

speed,

unambiguity,

strict

subordination,

reduction of friction and of material and personal costs- these are


raised to the optimum point in the strictly bureaucratic.
The Weberian characteristics of bureaucracy are:
Clear defined roles and responsibilities
A hierarchical structure
Respect for merit.
Post-bureaucratic
The term of post bureaucratic is used in two senses in the
organizational literature: one generic and one much more specific. In
the generic sense the term post bureaucratic is often used to describe
a range of ideas developed since the 1980s that specifically contrast
themselves

with

Weber's

ideal

type bureaucracy.

This

may

include total quality management, culture management and matrix


management, amongst others. None of these however has left behind
the core tenets of Bureaucracy.

Functional structure
Employees within the functional divisions of an organization tend to
perform a specialized set of tasks, for instance the engineering
department would be staffed only with software engineers. This leads
to operational efficiencies within that group. However it could also lead
to a lack of communication between the functional groups within an
organization, making the organization slow and inflexible.
Divisional structure
Also called a "product structure", the divisional structure groups each
organizational function into a division. Each division within a divisional
structure contains all the necessary resources and functions within it.
Divisions can be categorized from different points of view. One might
make distinctions on a geographical basis (a US division and an EU
division, for example) or on product/service basis (different products
for

different

customers:

households

or

companies).

In

another

example, an automobile company with a divisional structure might


have one division for

SUVs, another division for subcompact cars,

and another division for sedans.


Each division may have its own sales, engineering and marketing
departments.
Matrix structure
The matrix structure groups employees by both function and product.
This structure can combine the best of both separate structures. A
matrix organization frequently uses teams of employees to accomplish

work, in order to take advantage of the strengths, as well as make up


for the weaknesses, of functional and decentralized forms. Matrix
structure is amongst the purest of organizational structures, a simple
lattice emulating order and regularity demonstrated in nature.
Weak/Functional Matrix: A project manager with only limited
authority is assigned to oversee the cross- functional aspects of
the project. The functional managers maintain control over their
resources and project areas.
Balanced/Functional Matrix: A project manager is assigned to
oversee the project. Power is shared equally between the project
manager and the functional managers. It brings the best aspects
of functional and projectized organizations. However, this is the
most difficult system to maintain as the sharing power is delicate
proposition.
Strong/Project Matrix: A project manager is primarily responsible
for the project. Functional managers provide technical expertise
and assign resources as needed.

6. Why do people work? What is the motivational force


behind people to work?

Every individual has both emotional and financial needs, and


working helps to take care of those needs. Every individual has
various reasons because peoples need differ. But one thing is
certain we want to attain something from it. It impacts our
morale and quality of our lives. Following are some of the
reasons why we work
Livelihood- People work to provide themselves and their
families with the basic essentials or life--food, clothing and
shelter. Once these basic essentials are met, other needs and
wants become important. Human relationships- People basically
like companionship. People seek companionship with persons who
have interests similar to their own. Working is a means of associating
with people who have similar interests. Being part of a group gives
people a feeling of belonging. Your work can provide companionship
and associations with other persons.
Personal Development- A persons work can provide and opportunity
to learn and grow intellectually and socially. It is a means of attaining
new goals in life by developing new skills and learning new things.
Work allows people to reach their fullest potential. Your work can grow
and reach your potential.
Job Satisfaction-Since most or your adult waking life will be spent
working, it is important to choose and occupation that will bring job
satisfaction. You, as well as your family will be happier if the
occupation you choose is satisfying.

Service- Service may be defined as the things which a person does


which are beneficial or useful to others. People like to make quality
products, provide useful services and in general, make a contribution
to society. In addition, people like to feel that the work they do is
important and of value to others. Your work can be a service to others.
Security- People look for security in their occupations. We need to
know that when tomorrow comes, there will be work for us so that
money may be earned. People want stability in their lives in order to
make realistic and effective plans for the future. Your work can provide
you with this security.
Success- All ambitious young people are interested in securing a
beginning job that offers an opportunity for advancement. Employers
are interested in employing persons who like a challenge and who want
to be successful in life. Your work can give you success.
Happiness-Last, but not least, is happiness with one's work. Thomas
Edison, the great inventor, was once encouraged by his wife to take a
vacation. He responded by stating that he "couldn't think of anything
he would rather do that work in his laboratory." Most people who
choose their occupations wisely thoroughly enjoy their work. This
contributes to their overall happiness.
The 3 key factors that are the building blocks of the motivation.
Factor #1 Security. Humans are driven, even Maslow agrees, to
first fulfill basic needs which include food, shelter and safety. In the
context of the workplace, security is identified by 2 sub-factors:
compensation

and

job security.

If compensation needs are

adequately met, then you can check this box. If it is not fully met, it is
a source of motivation for people. If you want better performance, you
may want to offer stronger incentives and bonus. Nextjob security.
Regardless of the shape that the economy is in, we are all motivated to
work for a company that is thriving and not going under and motivated
by knowing that our performance is adequate enough that we have job
security. If your employees are getting paid enough and know they
have job security, then youve met 2 of their 6 needs.
Factor #2 Identity. Humans are social creatures and driven by the
need to affiliate with things they care about. Given that we spend
most of our lifetime working, we are motivated by working for a
company, department or team we feel proud to tell about friends and
family about a winning team. How cool is it that Joe works
for Facebook or Twitter? We want to have an affiliation for the
companies and teams we work with and the change they are making in
the world. The second sub-factor related to identity is title. Some of
us are motivated by that next promotion to get the title that we
deserve and to be recognized for that. It will become part of a new
identity we strive to embody.
Factor #3 Stimulation. Humans desire to be challenged and
stimulated. In the workplace, we are looking for new and exciting
opportunities that keep us engaged and stretch us to grow.
Specifically, we like to work on new and cool projects/initiatives or to
be put on task force that will change how we operate internally. Who
doesnt want to be on the project that will change the way we
experience mobile apps? Chances are that some of your direct reports,

particularly the ones who are high performers need that level of
stimulation in order to stay engaged and continue their career with the
company. The second factor related to stimulation is mastery in a new
domain. We all want to learn new skills and gain mastery, and then
move onto to learn something else. It not only keeps our skills fresh,
but keeps us relevant and more marketable in the world of work. It is
only when we have mastery over an area that we feel we are
performing at our best and can have a sense of autonomy and not a
need to rely on others.

You might also like