TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION & HUMAN RESOURCE

TUTORIAL 1
General Introduction
1. Ice-breaking session.
2. Self-introduction by tutor and students.
3. Briefing on course requirements.
4. Tutorial expectations and participation.
5. Briefing on Group Report & Oral Presentation (requirements and expectations).
6. Team formation for Group Report. (4 members per group)
7. Tutor assigns question and schedule time for oral presentation & group report for
each group.
** Oral presentation and group report submission will starts from Week 3 to 5**

**Important note**
Students are required to sit for one (1) online test
on Week 3. Please make sure that you are
registered under this course and be able to access
to CEL to take the test.

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION & HUMAN RESOURCE
TUTORIAL 2
Topic 1 : Foundations of Organizational Structure
Part A: Multiple Choice Questions
1) The ________ refers to the number of subordinates that a manager directs.
A) span of control
B) unity of command
C) chain of command
D) decentralization principle
E) leadership web
2) A task that is subdivided into many separate jobs is considered to have ________.
A) a high degree of departmentalization
B) a low degree of decentralization
C) a high degree of work specialization
D) a low degree of structure
E) a high degree of matrix structuring
3) Aeronautics Inc., a parts supplier, has departments for government aircraft and
contracts, large commercial aircraft clients, and small personal aircraft clients. This is an
example of ________ departmentalization.
A) product
B) function
C) geography
D) customer
E) service
4) Stalsberry Company has employees in personnel, sales, and accounting. This division
of an organization into groups according to work functions is an example of ________,
the second element of structural organization.
A) social clustering
B) bureaucracy
C) specialization
D) centralization
E) departmentalization
5) The unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to the
lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom is termed ________.
A) chain of command
B) authority
C) span of control.
D) unity of command

E) web of authority
6) Which one of the following is consistent with a simple structure?
A) high centralization
B) high horizontal differentiation
C) high employee discretion
D) standardization
E) bureaucracy
7) Which of the following is a drawback of a narrow span of control? It ________.
A) reduces effectiveness
B) is more efficient
C) encourages overly tight supervision and discourages employee autonomy
D) empowers employees
E) increases participatory decision-making
8) In an organization that has high centralization, ________.
A) the corporate headquarters is located centrally to branch offices
B) all top level officials are located within the same geographic area
C) action can be taken more quickly to solve problems
D) new employees have a great deal of legitimate authority
E) top managers make all the decisions and lower level managers merely carry out
Directions

Discussion Question
9. How can managers create a boundaryless organization?
Jack Welch coined the term "boundaryless organization" to describe his idea of what he wanted GE to
become. He wanted to eliminate vertical and horizontal boundaries within GE and break down external
barriers between the company and its customers and suppliers. The boundaryless organization seeks to
eliminate the chain of command, have limitless spans of control, and replace departments with
empowered teams. By removing vertical boundaries, management flattens the hierarchy. Status and rank
are minimized.
Today most large U.S. companies see themselves as global corporations and may well do as much
business overseas as in the United States. As a result, many companies struggle with the problem of how
to incorporate geographic regions into their structure. The boundaryless organization provides one
solution because it considers geography more of a tactical, logistical issue than a structural one. In short,
the goal of the boundaryless organization is to break down cultural barriers. One way to do so is through
strategic alliances. These alliances blur the distinction between one organization and another as
employees work on joint projects

10. What are the characteristics of a virtual organization?

The virtual organization is sometimes called the network or modular organization. Typically, a small, core
organization outsources major business functions. In structural terms, the virtual organization is highly
centralized, with little or no departmentalization. Why own when you can rent is the question that
captures the essence of the virtual organization
Typically, a virtual organization is a small, core organization that outsources its major business functions.
The major advantage of the virtual organization is its flexibility, which allows individuals with an
innovative idea and little money to successfully compete against larger, more established organizations.
Virtual organizations also save a great deal of money by eliminating permanent offices and hierarchical
roles. Virtual organizations' drawbacks have become increasingly clear as their popularity has grown.
They are in a state of perpetual flux and reorganization, which means roles, goals, and responsibilities are
unclear, setting the stage for political behavior. Cultural alignment and shared goals can be lost because of
the low degree of interaction among members. Team members who are geographically dispersed and
communicate infrequently find it difficult to share information and knowledge, which can limit
innovation and slow response time.

11. Why do organizational structures differ, and what is the differences between a mechanistic
structure and an organic structure?
A mechanistic model is generally synonymous with the bureaucracy in that it has extensive
departmentalization, high formalization, a limited information network (mostly downward
communication), and little participation by low-level members in decision making. At the other extreme
is an organic model. This model looks a lot like the boundaryless organization. It is flat, uses crosshierarchical and cross-functional teams, has low formalization, possesses a comprehensive information
network and it involves high participation in decision making.
The more scarce, dynamic, and complex the environment, the more organic a structure should be. The
more abundant, stable, and simple the environment, the more the mechanistic structure will be preferred

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION & HUMAN RESOURCE
TUTORIAL 3
Topic 2 : Organizational Culture
Part A: Discussion Question
1) Explain the primary methods of maintaining an organization's culture.
2) Explain how an institutionalized culture can be a barrier to diversity. Describe
how an organization could utilize the three forces at play in sustaining a culture to
help create a diverse workforce.
3) What are the three stages of socialization through which employees become
indoctrinated into an organization's culture?
4) Discuss the difference between strong and weak organizational cultures and
discuss the effect that a strong culture can have on an acquisition or merger.

5) How does organizational culture develop?

Answer: An organization's current customs, traditions, and general way of doing things are
largely due to what it has done before and the degree of success it has had with those endeavors.
The founders of an organization traditionally have a major impact on that organization's early
culture. They have a vision of what the organization should be. The small size that typically
characterizes new organizations further facilitates the founders' imposition of their vision on all
organizational members. The process of culture-creation occurs in three ways.
a) First, founders only hire and keep employees who think and feel the way they do.
b) Second, they indoctrinate and socialize these employees to their way of thinking and feeling.
c) And finally, the founders' own behavior acts as a role model that encourages employees to
identify with them and thereby internalize their beliefs, values, and assumptions.
When the organization succeeds, the founders' vision becomes seen as a primary determinant of
that success. At this point, the founders' entire personalities become embedded in the culture of
the organization.
6) What are the various ways in which the organizational culture can be transmitted to the
employees?

Answer : Culture is transmitted to employees in a number of forms, the most potent being
stories, rituals, material symbols, and language.
a) Stories: Stories contain a narrative of events about the organization's founders, rule breaking,
rags-to-riches successes, reductions in the workforce, relocation of employees, reactions to past
mistakes, and organizational coping. These stories anchor the present in the past and provide
explanations and legitimacy for current practices.
b) Rituals: Rituals are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key values
of the organization, what goals are most important, which people are important and which are
expendable.
c) Material symbols: The layout of corporate headquarters, the types of automobiles top
executives are given, and the presence or absence of corporate aircraft are a few examples of
material symbols. These material symbols convey to employees who is important, the degree of
egalitarianism desired by top management, and the kinds of behavior that are appropriate.
d) Language: Many organizations and units within organizations use language as a way to
identify members of a culture or subculture. By learning this language, members attest to their
acceptance of the culture and, in doing so, help to preserve it. Organizations, over time, often
develop unique terms to describe equipment, offices, key personnel, suppliers, customers, or
products that relate to its business. New employees are frequently overwhelmed with acronyms
and jargon, that, once assimilated, acts as a common denominator that unites members of a given
culture or subculture
7) Explain the concept of organizational climate.
Answer : Organizational climate refers to the shared perceptions organizational members have
about their organization and work environment. This aspect of culture is like team spirit at the
organizational level. When everyone has the same general feelings about what's important or
how well things are working, the effect of these attitudes will be more than the sum of the
individual parts. One meta-analysis found that across dozens of different samples, psychological
climate was strongly related to individuals' level of job satisfaction, involvement, commitment,
and motivation. A positive overall workplace climate has been linked to higher customer
satisfaction and financial performance as well.

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION & HUMAN RESOURCE
TUTORIAL 4
Topic 3: Foundations of Group Behavior & Understanding Work Teams
Part A: Discussion Question
1) List and briefly describe the stages in the five-stage model of group development.
2) Design the most effective team to figure out ways to reduce the number of
preparation hours for shipping products overseas for your company. Choose the
type of team from one of the four principal team types. Describe your team's
context, composition, and process parameters.
3) Explain the difference between groupthink and group shift. Give an example to
support your answer.
4) What are the strength and weaknesses of group versus individual decision making? Give
example to support your answer.
Group decisions are generally more accurate than the decisions of the average
individual in a group but less accurate than the judgments of the most accurate. In
terms of speed, individuals are superior. If creativity is important, groups tend to be
more effective. And if effectiveness means the degree of acceptance the final
solution achieves, the nod again goes to the group. With few exceptions, group
decision making consumes more work hours than if an individual were to tackle the
same problem alone. Because groups can include members from diverse areas, the
time spent searching for information can be reduced. Groups are generally less
efficient than individuals.

5) How does group size affect a group's behavior?

Answer: The evidence indicates that smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than are larger
ones and that individuals perform better in smaller groups. However, if the group is engaged in
problem solving, large groups consistently get better marks than their smaller counterparts.
Translating these results into specific numbers is a bit more hazardous, but we can offer some
parameters. Large groups with a dozen or more members are good for gaining diverse

input. So if the goal of the group is fact-finding, larger groups should be more effective. On the
other hand, smaller groups are better at doing something productive with that input. Groups of
approximately seven members, therefore, tend to be more effective for taking action. One of the
most important findings about the size of a group concerns social loafing, the tendency for
individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than alone. It directly challenges the
assumption that the productivity of the group as a whole should at least equal the sum of the
productivity of the individuals in it.
6) Discuss the impact of brainstorming on the possibility of groupthink.
Answer: Groupthink is related to norms. It represents a phenomena that occurs when the norm
for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses and the full expression of
deviant, minority, or unpopular views. Brainstorming can overcome the pressures for conformity
that dampen creativity by encouraging any and all alternatives while withholding criticism. The
norm for consensus is the cause of groupthink, while brainstorming is focused on unhampered
generation of ideas. Thus, brainstorming as a technique for group decision making reduces the
possibility of groupthink
7) What are virtual teams?
Teams that use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in
order to achieve a common goal.
May suffer because there is less social rapport and direct interaction among members.

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION & HUMAN RESOURCE
TUTORIAL 5
Topic 4: Motivation Concepts
Part A: Discussion Questions
1) Compare and contrast a manager that implements Theory Y and one that
adheres to the expectancy theory. How would each choose to motivate their
employees?
2) Describe Maslow's hierarchy of needs including the types of needs and how they
become dominant.
3) According to Two-Factor Theory, how might a manager motivate employees?
4) What are the similarities and differences between reinforcement theory and goal-setting
theory?
Goal-Setting vs. Reinforcement Theory
Goal-setting is a cognitive approach, proposing that an individuals purposes
direct his action.
Reinforcement theory, in contrast, takes a behavioristic view, arguing that
reinforcement conditions behavior.
The two theories are clearly at odds philosophically. Reinforcement theorists see
behavior as environmentally caused.
Reinforcement theory ignores the inner state of the individual and concentrates solely
on what happens when he or she takes some action.
Operant conditioning theory argues that people learn to behave to get something they
want or to avoid something they dont want.
In its pure form, reinforcement theory ignores feelings, attitudes, expectations, and
other cognitive variables known to affect behavior.
Some researchers look at the same experiments reinforcement theorists use to support
their position and interpret the findings in a framework.

 Reinforcement is undoubtedly an important influence on behavior, but few scholars are

prepared to argue it is the only one.

5) Describe the three key elements in the definition of motivation.

Answer: Motivation is defined as the processes that account for an individual's intensity,
direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal. The three key elements in our
definition are intensity, direction, and persistence. Intensity describes how hard a person tries.
This is the element most of us focus on when we talk about motivation. However, high intensity
is unlikely to lead to favorable job performance outcomes unless the effort is channeled in a
direction that benefits the organization. Therefore, we consider the quality of effort as well as its
intensity. Effort directed toward, and consistent with, the organization's goals is the kind of effort
we should be seeking. Finally, motivation has a persistence dimension. This measures how long a
person can maintain effort. Motivated individuals stay with a task long enough to achieve their
goal.
6) Why are people motivated by challenging goals?
Answer: First, challenging goals get people's attention and thus tend to help them focus. Second,
difficult goals energize workers because they have to work harder to attain them. Third, when
goals are difficult, people persist in trying to attain them. Finally, difficult goals lead employees
to discover strategies that help them perform their jobs or tasks more effectively. If they have to
struggle to solve a difficult problem, people often think of a better way to go about it.
7) According to the equity theory, what are the choices made by employees who perceive
inequity?
Answer: Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity will make one of six choices:
1. Change inputs (exert less effort if underpaid, or more if overpaid)
2. Change outcomes (individuals paid on a piece-rate basis can increase their pay by producing a
higher quantity of units of lower quality)
3. Distort perceptions of self ("I used to think I worked at a moderate pace, but now I realize I
work a lot harder than everyone else.")
4. Distort perceptions of others ("Mike's job isn't as desirable as I thought.")
5. Choose a different referent ("I may not make as much as my brother-in-law, but I'm doing a lot
better than my Dad did when he was my age.")
6. Leave the field (quit the job)
\

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION & HUMAN RESOURCE
TUTORIAL 6
Topic 5: Motivation: From Concepts to Applications
Part A: Discussion Questions
1) List and describe THREE (3) different variable-pay programs. Be sure to include
piece-rate plans, profit-sharing plans, and gainsharing.
2) Compare and contrast the benefits of intrinsic rewards such as recognition and
extrinsic rewards such as pay as forms of motivation.
3) What is employee involvement and why is it important. Give two examples.

4) What is job sharing? Explain.

Answer: Job Sharing allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job.
Approximately 19 percent of large organizations now offer job sharing.Reasons it is not more widely
adopted are likely the difficulty of finding compatible partners to share a job and the historically
negative perceptions of individuals not completely committed to their job and employer.Job sharing
allows an organization to draw on the talents of more than one individual in a given job. Many
Japanese firms are increasingly considering job sharingbut for a very different reason. Because
Japanese executives are extremely reluctant to fire people, job sharing is seen as a potentially
humanitarian means of avoiding layoffs due to overstaffing.From the employees perspective, job

sharing increases flexibility and can increase motivation and satisfaction when a 40-hour-a-week job
is just not practical. The major drawback is finding compatible pairs of employees who can
successfully coordinate the intricacies of one job.

5) List and describe the various flexible benefits plans.

Answer: The three most popular types of benefits plans are modular plans, core-plus options, and
flexible spending accounts.
Modular plans are predesigned packages or modules of benefits, each of which meets the needs
of a specific group of employees. A module designed for single employees with no dependents
might include only essential benefits. Another, designed for single parents, might have additional
life insurance, disability insurance, and expanded health coverage.
Core-plus plans consist of a core of essential benefits and a menu-like selection of others from
which employees can select. Typically, each employee is given "benefits credits" which allow the
purchase of additional benefits that uniquely meet his or her needs.
Flexible spending plans allow employees to set aside pretax dollars up to the dollar amount
offered in the plan to pay for particular benefits, such as health care and dental premiums.

6) Differentiate between bonuses and gainsharing plans.

Answer: Bonuses represent a pay plan that rewards employees for recent performance rather than
historical performance. An annual bonus is a significant component of total compensation for
many jobs and many companies routinely reward production employees with bonuses in the
thousands of dollars when profits improve. However, when times are bad, firms cut bonuses to
reduce compensation costs. Thus, using bonuses as a variable pay program makes employees'
pay more vulnerable to cuts and this is even more problematic when bonuses are a large
percentage of total pay.
Gainsharing is a formula-based group incentive plan that uses improvements in group
productivity from one period to another to determine the total amount of money allocated.
Gainsharing ties rewards to productivity gains rather than profits, so employees can receive
incentive awards even when the organization isn't profitable. Unlike bonuses, gainsharing
incentives do not vary with changes in company profits.