Today Was What Is Management

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Ankit Gaur

Roll No.(s)

GDEC12CMM09

Email Address(s)

[email protected]

Course

Organization Behavior

Faculty

Julia Connell

Assignment

Learning Journal

Due Date

21-Jan-2013

Date Submitted

21-Jan-2013

Submitted by

Ankit Gaur

Learning Journal

Date

Activity

Reflection

10-Dec-2012

Unit 1: Introduction

The first thing that I learned in class today was what is management? Management consists of 4 basic functions ie. Planning, Organizing, Leading & Controlling. Then there is a difference between Manager and Leader. There can be a possibility that a manager who is not a leader and a leader who is not a manager. There are 3 levels of Organizational Analysis, Individual, Group and Organizational. Individual level includes personal values, ethics, emotions etc. Group level includes decision-making, politics, leadership etc. Organizational level includes structure, culture & change. I wanted to know more about various levels at any organization and the skill set that managers should possess. So I got to know about 3 type of skills in any organizations ie. Conceptual, Human & Technical. These skills vary from technical at lower levels to conceptual and human at top level. In addition, I understood the various factors that differentiate a average manager to a successful manager. These are networking, traditional management, communication & HRM. Then I understood about changing trends in organization behavior. There are 5 factors responsible for changing trends for OB

11-Dec-2012

Unit 2:

Individual Behavior and Processes

Individual Behavior is influenced by 2 main factors, namely personal and environmental. The personal factors are Skills and ability, personality, perceptions, attitude, values and ethics. The environmental factors are organization, work group, job & personal life. An individual’s voluntary behavior is affected by ability, motivation, role perceptions, and situational factors represented by the MARS model.

Employee Motivation- Internal forces such as cognitive and emotional conditions affects person’s voluntary behavior. These factors are known as Employee Motivation.

Employee Ability- It is the person’s natural aptitudes and capabilities that are learned that are required to successfully complete a task (aptitudes, learned capabilities, competencies & person’s job matching)

Role Perception- The extent to which people understand the job duties (roles) assigned to or expected of them

Situational Factors- It refers to those environmental conditions that are beyond individual’s immediate control that facilitate behavior and performance.

We studied types of Individual behavior. The various type include task performance, organizational citizenship, counterproductive work behavior, joining/staying with organization and maintaining work attendance.

Personality may be defined as emotional and behavioral response patterns of an individual. It is characterized by various traits namely external, internal and some variability. We studied various personality attributes influencing OB eg. Locus of Control ( internal and external), Self Esteem, Self Monitoring, Emotional Intelligence, Self Efficacy, Risk taking etc.

We studied 4 measures of Personality

Projective test- a projective test is a personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts.

Behavioral Measures- It studies individual’s personality in a controlled situation. There are 3 type of personality namely, Type A, Type B and Type AB

5 Factor Personality Model- Personality traits are factors of personality that are used to describe human personality. Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness and Extraversion are the 5 factors of personality.

MBTI: Its preferences indicate the differences in people based on the following:

Extraversion or introversion

Sensing or intuition

Thinking or feeling

Judgment or perception

Values- can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes.

Ethics- is the study of moral principles or values that determine whether actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad

3 Ethical Principles- Utilitarianism (greatest good for greatest number of people), Individual rights ( fundamental entitlement in society), Distributive justice ( similar people should receive similar benefits)

17-Dec-2012

Unit 3:

Perceptions and learning in organizations

Perception- is defined as the way individual organize their sensory impression to give meaning to their environment.

Factors that influence perception-

Factors in situation ( time, work setting and social setting)

Factors in the perceiver ( attitude, motives, interests, experience and expectations)

Factors in the target ( novelty, motion, sounds, size, background, proximity and similarity)

Stereotyping- It is a perceptual process of assigning traits to people on basis of their membership in social category. Reasons for stereotyping are categorical thinking, innate drive to understand other’s behavior and motivated to enhance self concept..

Factors enhancing stereotyping are categorization, homogenization and differentiation process.

Attribution- is a process by which individual explain the causes of behavior or events. There are 2 types of attribution, Internal attribution (Deciding that an observed behavior or event is caused mainly

by the person e.g. person’s ability or motivation) and external attribution (Deciding that an observed behavior or event is caused by the environment e.g. lack of resources, other people, luck)

Self fulfilling prophecy cycle- Expectations about another person cause that person to act in

a way that is consistent with those expectations

Supervisor forms expectations about the employee

Supervisor’s expectations affect behavior toward employee

Effects of supervisor’s behavior on employee

Employee’s behavior/performance matches expectations

Strategies to improve perception about others

Awareness of perceptual biases

Improving self-awareness ( by applying Johari window)

Meaningful interaction

Emotional Intelligence- EI is the ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of us, of others, and of groups.

18-Dec-2012

Unit 4:

Employee Motivation: Foundations and Practices

Motivation: It can be described as a psychological driving force that compels an action toward a desired goal. Motivation can be divided into 2 types

Intrinsic Motivation (It refers to motivation that is described by internal drive)

Extrinsic Motivation (It refers to motivation that is described by external factors)

Motivation Theories- There are 2 broad classification of motivation theories, Content and Process theories

Content Theories- It explain the specific factors that motivate people

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Alderfer’s ERG theory (Existence, or physiological, needs are at the base. These include the needs for things such as food, drink, shelter, and safety. Next come Relatedness Needs, the need to feel connected to other individuals or a group. These needs are fulfilled by establishing and maintaining relationships. At the top of the hierarchy are Growth Needs, the needs for personal achievement and self-actualization)

McClelland’s acquired needs theory (McClelland proposed a context for understanding needs in people, which holds significance in understanding motivations and behaviors. It is subdivided into three categories: the Need for Achievement, the Need for Affiliation, and the Need for Power)

Herzberg’s two-factor theory (Herzberg felt that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction do not exist on the same continuum, but on dual scales. In other words, certain things, which Herzberg called hygiene factors, could cause a person to become unhappy with their job. These things, including pay, job security, and physical work environment, could never bring about job satisfaction. Motivating factors, on the other hand, can increase job satisfaction. Giving employees things such as a sense of recognition, responsibility, or achievement can bring satisfaction about.)

Process Theories- Process theories are about the kinds of things that managers can do to meet individual needs

Expectancy Theory (It explains why a person will decide to act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over other behaviors due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be.)

Equity Theory (It explains relative satisfaction in terms of distributions of resources within interpersonal relationships.)

Goal Theory

Management by Objectives (It is participative goal setting by individuals, deciding course of actions and finally decision making. Important features and advantages of MBO are motivation, better communication and coordination, clarity of goals)

Job Design / Enrichment Theory (The aims of job design are to improve job satisfaction, to improve through-put, to improve quality and to reduce employee problems)

Behavior modification (BMod) specifies the crucial role of the environment in shaping behavior and states that behavior is a function of its consequences. Positive and negative reinforcement strengthen behavior, and punishment and extinction weaken behavior. Critics of BMod say it dehumanizes employees. Participative BMod programmes improve employee work attitudes and performance.

07-Jan-2013

Unit 5:

Team Dynamics

A team comprises a group of people linked in a common purpose associated with organizational objectives, and perceive themselves as a social entity within an organization.

Advantages of Team

Team members have the opportunity to learn from each other

Potential exists for greater work force flexibility with cross-training

Opportunity provided for synergistic combinations of ideas and abilities

New approaches to tasks may be discovered

Teams membership can provide social facilitation and support for difficult tasks and situations

Communication and information exchange may be facilitated and increased

Teams can foster greater cooperation among team members

Interdependent work flow can be enhanced

Potential exists for greater acceptance and understanding of team-made decisions

Greater autonomy, variety, identity, significance, and feedback for workers can occur

Team commitment may stimulate performance and attendance

Disadvantages of Team

Some individuals are not compatible with team work

Workers must be selected to fit the team as well as requisite job skills

Some members may experience less motivating jobs as part of a team

Organization may resist change

Conflict may develop between team members or other teams

Teams may be time-consuming due to need for coordination and consensus

Teams can stymie creativity and inhibit good decision-making if "group think" becomes prevalent

Evaluation and rewards may be perceived as less powerful

"Free-riding" within the team may occur

Less flexibility may be experienced in personnel replacement or transfer

Team Effectiveness Model- Team effectiveness is defined as extent that the team fulfills organizational purpose, needs of individual members and is able to survive. 4 basic elements of team effectiveness model are a) Organizational and team environment, b) team design, c) team processes and d) team effectiveness.

Team Composition- Competencies of effective team members (5 Cs)

Cooperating (willing and able to work together i.e. sharing resources and being flexible to accommodate others)

Coordinating (actively manage the team’s work i.e. keep the team on track and align work with others)

Communicating (transmit information freely (vs. hoarding), efficiently, and respectfully; listen actively to co-workers)

Comforting (help co-workers maintain a positive and healthy psychological state i.e. show empathy, provide psychological comfort, and build co-worker feelings of confidence and self-worth)

Conflict resolving (have skills and motivation to resolve dysfunctional disagreements i.e. effective diagnostic skills and use various conflict-handling skills effectively)

Stages of team development-

Forming (Period of testing and orientation; Members defer to the existing authority; Expectations learned, and how members fit into the team)

Storming (More conflict as members compete for roles; Members try to establish norms)

Norming (Cohesion develops; Roles established, consensus forms around group objectives; Similar mental models and expectations formed about how goals should be accomplished)

Performing (Team becomes more task-oriented; Efficient work coordination, conflict resolution; Highly cooperative, high trust, committed to goals, identify with the team)

Adjourning (Team is about to disband; Members shift from task to relationship focus)

08-Jan-2013

Unit 6:

Power and Influence at workplace

Power is the ability to influence someone else. There are several sources of interpersonal power. Reward power, coercive power and legitimate power all adhere to the position held by the individual. They are a function of vertical placement in the hierarchy. Referent and expert power are forms of personal power that have little to do with placement in the hierarchy of the organization.

Legitimate Power (It is the person’s position in organization that influences this type of power)

Reward Power (It is the power of one person to control rewards that are valued by others)

Coercive Power (It is control of a person over some actions such as threat of dismissal, suspension, demotion)

Expert Power (It is that power which one exhibits as a result of one's experience, special skill or knowledge)

Referent Power

Contingencies of Power- The dependence of the organization upon external resources that affects power

Substitutability (more the substitute is available more is the substitutability)

Centrality (importance of a person to the organization)

Discretion (the extent of autonomy in your job)

Visibility ( extent of positive value to the company to be seen)

Influence- It is any behavior that attempts to modify someone’s attitude or behavior.

Types of Influence-

Silent Authority

Assertiveness

Information Control

Coalition Formation

Upward Appeal

Persuasion

Impression Management

Exchange

14-Jan-2013

Unit 7:

Leadership in Organizational Setting

Leadership- Leadership is the personality trait of guiding and encouraging people to work towards common objectives.

Formal Leadership

Informal Leadership

Followership

Importance of leadership

A leader should act friendly with the people under him.

A leader must recognize the potentials of people working under him.

A leader should display confidence in people of the organization.

A leader must maintain team spirit.

Discipline within the team is of utmost importance and it is the responsibility of the leader to main the same.

A leader must motivate his people and keep their morale high.

A leader is responsible for ethical working of his people.

Types of Leadership

Autocratic or Authoritarian

Democratic or Participative

Laissez-faire or Free Rein

Bureaucratic Manipulative

Paternalistic

15-Jan-2013

Unit 8:

Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is shared beliefs and values. Large firms have multiple cultures that should be integrated. Organizational culture reflects the personality of the founder or the CEO and is sustained by the socialization/assimilation process. A strong organizational culture drives financial and strategic success as long as it remains adaptable and flexible.

18-Jan-2013

Unit 9:

Organization Change

Planned change unfreezes existing patterns and processes, changes them to better match intended strategy and refreezes the improvements. For change to hold, employees must be dissatisfied, the firm needs a model for the future, and the change process must be objective and orderly. Resistance to change is a widespread belief among employees that the costs of change will exceed its benefits. Resistance springs from employees’ fears of 1) knowledge obsolescence, 2) loss of personal power and 3) altered work relationships.

Overview Summary

The various examples, issues and cases discussed in class made me aware about the subject of organization behavior. OB is a science about the behavior of people at work. It studies the relationship between organization’s performance and employee needs. All aspects of organization performance relate to the former; work attitudes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job involvement relate to the latter. It centers on the technical, conceptual and human components of organizational functioning. The manager’s job in the twenty-first century will focus on his coaching, integration and conflict-resolution skills. Values are enduring beliefs, and they can be instrumental or terminal in nature. Locus of control refers to one’s beliefs about what causes outcomes in life. Extroversion and introversion refer to the strength of one’s need for external sensory stimulation. Introverts avoid external ‘social noise’, and extroverts embrace it. These qualities can influence performance if a job is designed to be either high or low in social stimulation.

A work group is two or more employees who interact, perceive (and accept) the firm’s goals and are brought together to accomplish a task. Cohesiveness means that members value the benefits of membership. Cohesiveness augments performance if the work group’s norms agree with the norms of the organization. Managers can influence cohesiveness by controlling the group’s composition, size and goal clarity and by creating a ‘common enemy’. Team norms streamline the process for controlling member behavior. Without norms, a team would have to deal with each example of behavior as a discrete event. If conformity and cohesiveness are extremely high, a work group may exhibit groupthink, the suspension of critical thinking in the group. The extent of group participation in decision-making (Vroom–Yetton–Jago model) can be determined by analysis of these conditions: 1) the time pressure to make the decision, 2) the importance of decision quality, 3) the importance of subordinates’ commitment to the decision and 4) the extent to which information is available to make the decision.