Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
ORGANISATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR
Dr Faizuniah Pangil
Dr Fais Ahmad
Dr Ooi Yeng Keat
Hanissah A Razak
Naslina Zakaria
Zulkufli Aziz
Ruhana Busu
Assoc Prof Dr Husna Johari
Project Directors:
Module Writers:
Dr Faizuniah Pangil
Dr Fais Ahmad
Dr Ooi Yeng Keat
Hanissah A Razak
Naslina Zakaria
Zulkufli Aziz
Assoc Prof Dr Husna Johari
Universiti Utara Malaysia
Ruhana Busu
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Moderators:
Ruhana Busu
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Prof Dr Shaari Abd Hamid
Prof Dr Wardah Mohamad
Open University Malaysia
Developed by:
Printed by:
Table of Contents
Course Guide
Topic 1
Topic 2
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Introduction to Organisational Behaviour
1.1 Manager and Organisation
1.1.1 Functions of a Manager
1.1.2 Roles of a Manager
1.1.3 Managerial Skills
1.2 The Definition of Organisational Behaviour
1.3 Disciplines that Contribute Towards Organisational
Behaviour
1.4 Challenges and Opportunities in Organisational
Behaviour
1.4.1 Managing Globalisation
1.4.2 Managing a Diverse Workforce
1.4.3 Managing Changes in Technology
1.4.4 Managing Ethics
1.4.5 Managing Downsizing
1.5 Organisational Behaviour Model
1.5.1 Dependent Variables
1.5.2 Independent Variables
Summary
Key Terms
Individual Differences
2.1 Individuals Personal Characteristics
2.2 Capabilities
2.3 Learning
2.3.1 Learning Theories
2.4 Personality
2.4.1 Factors Determining Personality
2.4.2 Personality Traits
2.4.3 Other Personality Traits that Affect
Organisational Behaviour
2.5 Perception
2.6 Factors Influencing Perception
2.6.1 Perceiver
2.6.2 Target
2.6.3 Situation
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.7
Judging Others
2.7.1 Attribution Theory
2.7.2 Fundamental Error in Attribution
2.7.3 Self-serving Bias
2.8 Short Cuts to Assessing Others
2.8.1 Selective Perception
2.8.2 Halo Effect
2.8.3 Contrast Effects
2.8.4 Projection
2.8.5 Stereotyping
Summary
Key Terms
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Topic 5
Work Stress
5.1 Definition of Stress
5.2 Types of Stress
5.3 Sources of Stress
5.3.1 Environmental Factors
5.3.2 Organisational Factors
5.3.3 Individual Factors
5.4 Individual Differences
5.5 Individual and Organisational Consequences of Stress
5.5.1 Individual Consequences
5.5.2 Organisational Consequences
5.6 Managing Stress
5.6.1 Individual Approaches
5.6.2 Organisational Approaches
Summary
Key Terms
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Topic 6
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Topic 7
Leadership
7.1 Leadership and Its Features
7.1.1 Individuals Personal Characteristics
7.1.2 Individuals Expertise
7.1.3 Formal Position (Post/Role)
7.1.4 Reward
7.1.5 Coercion
7.2 Leaders and Managers
7.3 Theories Related to Leadership
7.3.1 Trait Theory
7.3.2 Behaviour Theory
7.3.3 Contingency Theories
7.3.4 Neo-charismatic Theories
7.4 Emerging Leadership Perspectives
Summary
Key Terms
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Topic 8
Communication
8.1 Functions of Communication
8.2 Communication Process
8.2.1 Communication Process Model
8.2.2 Barriers to Communication
8.3 The Basics of Communication
8.3.1 Direction of Communication
8.3.2 Formal and Informal Channels
8.3.3 Non-verbal Communication
8.3.4 Choice of Communication Channel
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Topic 10
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Topic 11
Organisational Change
11.1 Forces for Change
11.1.1 Changes in Workforce
11.1.2 Changes in Technology
11.1.3 Changes in Competition
11.1.4 Changes in Social Trends
11.1.5 Changes in World Politics
11.1.6 Changes in Mandated Pressures
11.2 Types of Change
11.3 What Can be Changed?
11.3.1 Structure
11.3.2 Technology
11.3.3 Physical Arrangement
11.3.4 Employees
11.4 Resistance to Change
11.4.1 Individual Resistance
11.4.2 Organisational Resistance
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
COURSE GUIDE
ii
PANDUAN KURSUS
COURSE GUIDE
xiii
INTRODUCTION
BBGO4103 Organisation Behaviour is one of the courses offered by the Faculty of
Business Management at Open University Malaysia (OUM). This course is worth
3 credit hours and should be covered over 8 to 15 weeks.
COURSE AUDIENCE
This course is offered to students undertaking the Bachelor of Management,
Bachelor of Human Resource Management and Bachelor of Business
Administration. This course begins with an explanation on the meaning of
organisational behaviour, the disciplines that contribute to the study of
organisational behaviour and the challenges faced by managers in managing an
organisation. Students should understand the importance of this subject since
organisational behaviour influences the achievements of organisational objectives
more efficiently.
As an open and distance learner, you should be acquainted with learning
independently and being able to optimise the learning modes and environment
available to you. Before you begin this course, please confirm the course material,
the course requirements and how the course is conducted.
STUDY SCHEDULE
It is standard OUM practice that learners accumulate 40 study hours for every
credit. As such, for a three-credit hour course, you are expected to spend 120
study hours. Table 1 gives an estimation of how the 120 study hours could be
accumulated.
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COURSE GUIDE
Study
Hours
60
10
Online participation
12
Revision
15
20
120
COURSE OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
COURSE SYNOPSIS
This course is divided into 11 topics. The synopsis for each topic can be listed as
follows:
Topic 1 is an introduction of organisational behaviour and centers on the
disciplines that contribute to the study of organisational behaviour. This topic
touches on the discipline, challenges and opportunities of organisational
behaviour.
COURSE GUIDE
xv
Topic 2 focuses on the individual element in greater depth. We will discuss the
differences between individuals, and how their biographical traits are linked to
work attendance, job satisfaction, commitment to the job and productivity.
Topic 3 explains the important aspects of the individual, such as values, emotions
and attitude. This topic aims to clarify how individual values, emotions and
attitude influence employees' actions and behaviour at the work place in order to
achieve job satisfaction. Managers and would-be managers should be aware of
this to effectively manage an organisation.
Topic 4 discusses theories of motivation and their application in the workplace. It
also covers the job characteristics model and factors that need to be considered
when designing work.
Topic 5 explains stress in the workplace. It also covers the causes and the effects
of stress to the employees, and in turn, to the organisation as well.
Topic 6 discuss group and team behaviours. It also explains the differences
between groups and teams and identification of the types of teams and ways of
forming effective teams.
Topic 7 explains the need for the kind of leadership that can positively influence
the performance of an organisation. This topic emphasises on the power of
leaders, the differences between leaders and managers, traits, behaviours,
contingencies and neo-charismatic theories.
Topic 8 elaborates the role of communication in creating a superior work
environment for the group. It starts with the functions of communication,
communication process and the basics of communication. This topic touches on
overcoming communication barriers and contemporary issues in communicating
and how to enhance our communication skills.
Topic 9 discusses organisational structure. Among the things that we will discuss
are elements that shape the structure of an organisation, forms of structure and
factors that influence the organisational structure. This topic looks into
organisational culture and details the role of culture in achieving the goals of an
organisation.
Topic 10 covers in more detail the subject of power, which encompasses the
definition of power, dependence and tactics of power. This topic also includes
discussions on the meaning of political behaviour and how it exists in an
organisation.
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COURSE GUIDE
COURSE GUIDE
xvii
throughout the module. Should you find terms here that you are not able to
explain, you should look for the terms in the module.
References: The References section is where a list of relevant and useful
textbooks, journals, articles, electronic contents or sources can be found. The list
can appear in a few locations such as in the Course Guide (at the References
section), at the end of every topic or at the back of the module. You are
encouraged to read or refer to the suggested sources to obtain the additional
information needed and to enhance your overall understanding of the course.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
There is no prerequisite requirement for learners prior taking this subject.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Please refer to myVLE.
REFERENCES
Collela, A., Hitt, M., & Miller, C. (2006). Organisational behaviour: A strategic
approach. USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Daft, R. L. (2008). The leadership experience (4th ed.). USA: South- Western.
Kohlberg, L. (1976). Moral stages and moralization: The cognitive
developmental approach. In Graham, J. Leadership, moral development and
citizenship behaviour. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5 (1), pp 43-54.
Luisser, R. N. (2010). Human relations in organization: Applications and skills
building (8th ed). Boston: McGraw Hill - International.
Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2008). Managing organisational change (2nd
ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill International.
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2008). Organisational behavior. Prentice Hall.
Schermerhorn, J. R., Hunt, J. G., & Osborn, R. N. (2008). Organisational behaviour
(10th ed.). USA: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated.
Zauderer, D. (1992). Integrity: An essential executive quality. Business forum
(Fall), pp.12-16.
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COURSE GUIDE
Topic
Introduction
to
Organisational
Behaviour
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
INTRODUCTION
TOPIC 1
1.1
Before we take an in depth look at this topic, you should know the definition of a
manager. Based on our discussion in the Principles of Management course in the
previous semester, a manager is defined as:
Someone who accomplishes a particular task via another person and/or a
group of people. A manager is an individual who makes decisions, distributes
the resources of an organisation and directs employees in performing certain
activities in order to achieve the goals of the said organisation.
1.1.1
Functions of a Manager
What are the functions of a manager in ensuring that an organisations goals are
met? Figure 1.1 shows the four functions of management.
Copyright Open University Malaysia (OUM)
TOPIC 1
ACTIVITY 1.1
Based on Figure 1.1, have you performed any of the functions listed? If
yes, how did you do it? Discuss during your tutorial.
1.1.2
Roles of a Manager
After taking into account the functions of a manager, let us now review the roles
of managers.
According to Henry Mintzberg, a manager has three main roles:
(a)
Interpersonal Role
This refers to the need to communicate with the subordinates and/or
colleagues. There are three types of interpersonal roles:
(i)
(ii)
(iii) As a liaison who needs to interact with other parties to establish not
only mutually beneficial work relationships, but also networking
opportunities.
Copyright Open University Malaysia (OUM)
TOPIC 1
(b)
Informational Role
A manager is almost always responsible for obtaining and disseminating
information from within an organisation, as well as externally. This
information is gathered and monitored whille suitable and related
information will be disseminated to staff and other parties in the
organisation. In addition, a manager also acts as a representative or
spokesperson for the organisation when dealing with external parties.
(c)
Decision-making Role
In this role, a manager may contribute ideas to a particular project whilst
displaying his role as an entrepreneur, handling employees in related
problems and making appropriate decisions. A manager is also responsible
for allocating resources and being a negotiator in all business-related
transactions.
SELF-CHECK 1.1
1.
2.
3.
TOPIC 1
1.1.3
Managerial Skills
Explanation
Technical Skills
People Skills
Conceptual Skills
ACTIVITY 1.2
All the three mentioned skills are essential for a manager. Do you think
they are equally important to different managers at various levels of
management? Discuss.
1.2
TOPIC 1
TOPIC 1
1.3
Explanation
Psychology
Sociology
Social Psychology
Anthropology
Political Science
TOPIC 1
ACTIVITY 1.3
The diagram below depicts the various disciplines that contribute to the
study of organisational behaviour. Match the topics on the right to their
respective disciplines on the left.
Discipline
Psychology
Sociology
Anthropology
Political science
Topic
Individual Level Analysis
Individual differences and
personality
Perception
Motivation
Learning
Values and Attitude
Group Level Analysis
Formation of Groups
Group and team effectiveness
Leadership
Conflict
Communication
Organisational Level Analysis
Environment
Strategy and Structure
Culture
1.4
This subtopic will introduce you to the challenges faced by todays managers in
their quest to meet their organisational aims and to remain competitive. The five
main challenges and opportunities in the global arena are as shown in Figure 1.3.
TOPIC 1
We will now have a detailed look at these five challenges and opportunities in
the global arena.
1.4.1
Managing Globalisation
Todays organisations are facing various challenges with local and international
competitors. Thus, an effective management should have at least two types of
people:
(a)
(b)
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1.4.2
TOPIC 1
Figure 1.4: Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia
Source: Bank Negara Malaysia
A manager can no longer afford to assume that his/her staff are similar or
homogeous, but instead needs to appreciate the differences in each individual as
a potential asset to the organisation.
1.4.3
Todays managers must also be able to keep up with the changes in technology,
which have become synonymous with progress.
What is technology? Nelson and Quick (2008) define technology as:
The intellectual and mechanical processes used by organisations to convert
input into products or services that can achieve the objectives of the
organisation.
TOPIC 1
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In view of the fact that technology is experiencing rapid changes, a manager has
to identify the right person for a particular task and choose the most appropriate
technology for his/her organisation. Failure to identify and adapt to the latest
and most appropriate technology may result in the organisation losing out to its
competitor/s.
Accordingly, innovation and technology will almost certainly result in several
changes in the work environment. These changes are considered as a source of
stress since employees generally have a negative view of change; fearing that the
changes are going to adversely affect their career. An effective manager should
consider these difficulties.
1.4.4
Managing Ethics
Managers are not spared from experiencing ethical challenges and dilemmas.
Organisations that have clear-cut policies and work practices are usually very
successful in managing the challenges and dilemmas that involve ethics.
However, some organisations face difficulty in managing their ethics-related
problems. This is because not all individuals or employees have similar
opinion/s on what is right and wrong (refer to Figure 1.5).
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TOPIC 1
1.4.5
Managing Downsizing
TOPIC 1
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wondering whether they are likely to lose their jobs in future downsizings. They
feel disassociated from the organisation particularly when they are not involved
in the planning and goal setting for any subsequent organisational restructuring
programme.
ACTIVITY 1.4
Discuss five challenges faced by managers in organisational behaviour
and explain the opportunities from these challenges.
1.5
The next subtopic will explain the two types of variables involved: dependent
and independent, in order to understand the relationship between components
in the organisational behaviour model. Let us read on.
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1.5.1
Dependent Variables
The dependent variables are the main factors that predict or explain outcomes,
and are strongly influenced by other factors. The main dependent variables are
productivity, absenteeism, turnover, job satisfaction and organisational
citizenship. Let us look at the explanation of these dependent variables in
Table 1.3.
Table 1.3: Dependent Variables
Dependent
Variables
Explanation
Productivity
Absenteeism
Turnover
Job Satisfaction
Are you happy with your present job? Your response to this question
reflects your level of job satisfaction because job satisfaction refers to an
employees general feeling towards his/her career.
The level of satisfaction is increased if an employees tasks and
responsibilities are in line with his/her expectations and the values and
standards that he/she subscribes to. On the contrary, an employee will
have low job satisfaction if his/her expectations are not met and the tasks
and responsibilities that he/she performs contradict his/her values and
belief system.
Organisational
Citizenship
TOPIC 1
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ACTIVITY 1.5
1.
How often were you absent from work this year? What were your
reasons for not going to work? What were the effects of your
absenteeism to your organisation?
2.
1.5.2
Independent Variables
Explanation
Individual Level
Group Level
Organisational Level
With reference to Figure 1.8, try to understand the components involved in the
study of organisational behaviour. These components will be discussed in detail
in the subsequent topic.
Copyright Open University Malaysia (OUM)
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TOPIC 1
SELF-CHECK 1.2
1.
2.
TOPIC 1
ACTIVITY 1.6
Choose the correct answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
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5.
TOPIC 1
This topic discussed the roles of the manager, as well as the numerous
aspects related to organisational behaviour, including the disciplines that
contribute to its study, the challenges involved, and the two variables that
effect organisational behaviour.
TOPIC 1
Conceptual skills
Job satisfaction
Diverse workforce
Productivity
Environmental challenges
Technical skills
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Topic
Individual
Differences
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
INTRODUCTION
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
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2.1
INDIVIDUALS PERSONAL
CHARACTERISTICS
Age
There are few pre-conceptions on the correlation between age and
performance. It is commonly believed that work performance declines with
an increase in age. While the truth of this matter is insignificant, the fact
remains that many people believe that an individuals performance at the
work place decreases as the individual grows older.
A middle-aged employee is said to be reluctant to try anything new
especially when it concerns technology. During a downsizing, the
management of most organisations would often target middle-aged
employees.
In addition, various studies have also indicated that the older a person is
the less likely to leave the job. This does not come as a surprise since an
increase in age reduces an individuals chances of being employed by most
organisations, which prefer to recruit younger individuals who are believed
to be more creative and more motivated.
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INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
A higher drawn salary and fringe benefits that include bigger pensions are
also reasons that deter senior staff members from making a career switch.
Generally, older employees appear to be more of a liability rather than an
asset to an organisation. On the contrary, we should be made to understand
that mature employees are actually an asset to an organisation in view of
their vast work experience, ability to make sound judgments, and better
work ethics and commitment to their work.
ACTIVITY 2.1
1.
Are you able to identify the differences between a middle aged and
a young employee at your workplace? Could you detect any
correlation between their ages and performances?
2.
3.
(b) Gender
Many have questioned whether female employees contribute equally to an
organisation as their male counterparts. Many studies have shown that
women are more willing to receive instructions while men are perceived as
aggressive and success driven.
These differences are insignificant since there are no consistent differences
between the abilities of men and women in aspects of problem solving,
analytical skills, or decision making.
Currently, there are plenty of opportunities for women who either want to
work at home or in an organisation. Women have the choice whether to
telecommute or to have flexible working hours. A caring employer must
understand the magnitude of roles played by their female employees.
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
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(c)
Marital Status
From your experience, do you find any differences in the productivity
levels of a married and unmarried employee? You may find that marriage
has no significant influence on the work performance of the employees.
(d)
Length of Service
It makes sense to think that long service staff would have substantial work
experience. Studies have shown that length of service is positively
correlated with productivity. Turnover rate for these senior staff is also low.
In other words, length of service is negatively correlated with turnover rate.
SELF-CHECK 2.1
Explainthefourbasicdifferencesbetweenindividuals.
2.2
CAPABILITIES
Why cant everyone become a doctor or an engineer? The answer is because our
abilities or capabilities are not the same. A persons capabilities can be seen in
terms of two aspects, which are intellectual and physical, as shown in Table 2.1.
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TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Physical Capability
ACTIVITY 2.2
How can we match a persons capabilities with the job that he does?
Discuss.
2.3
LEARNING
Let us now look at the meaning of learning. Is it possible for a person to pass an
exam with flying colours yet has failed to learn anything? Do you believe that
learning is a continuous process and does not end after we leave school?
Learning, in fact, involves change. The kind of change meant here is a change in
behaviour prompted by an individuals experiences. Learning begins with a
cognitive activity about certain knowledge that subsequently leads to a change in
behaviour. For example, if there is no change in your behaviour at the end of this
course, you have failed to learn.
Whilst the learning process is non-tangible, its effects can be proven. For
instance, someone who has just taken up a post in an organisation may initially
be incompetent or make numerous mistakes. However, with time and proper
guidance, he/she may end up mastering his task/s well.
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
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ACTIVITY 2.3
There are endless examples on the matter mentioned in Subtopic 2.3.
Excluding the mentioned examples, what do you understand from the
expression learning from mistakes?
2.3.1
Learning Theories
Now, let us look at the explanations and examples of the three basic learning
theories (refer to Table 2.2).
Table 2.2: Three Basic Learning Theories
Theories
Explanation
Example
Classical
Conditioning
Operant
Conditioning
Operant
conditioning
involves
behaviour modification by positively or
negatively
rewarding
any
said
behaviour.
Social Learning
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TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
In addition, the experiences of others can also act as reminders to most, if not all,
of us. For instance, when you see a friend who succeeds in his/her business
through hard work and dedication accompanied by a never say die attitude,
you too would be inspired to follow in his/her footsteps. On the contrary, when
we look at drug addicts and the mess they are in, we automatically feel turned
off and try to avoid drugs.
ACTIVITY 2.4
Elaborate on the different types of learning that shape an individuals
behaviour as discussed earlier. How do these types of learning shape an
individuals behaviour?
2.4
PERSONALITY
While we often use the word personality, does it mean the same as the concept
we will discuss next? According to psychologists, personality is:
The way an individual interacts with and responds to his or her environment.
(Robbins, 2008)
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
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SELF-CHECK 2.2
How about your personality? Can you list the features of your
personality?
2.4.1
Why is it that some people are always bubbly and others are more serious and
intimidating? The answer to this question can be seen from the two main
determinants of personality, i.e. nature and nurture. Let us take a look at these
two factors that determine personality (refer to Figure 2.3).
The explanations of these two factors that influence personality are as follows:
(a)
Heredity
We often hear the expression like father like son. There is some truth in
this statement. Research has shown that a persons personality is shaped by
heredity factors. A study of 100 pairs of identical twins showed that despite
being separated since they were young, these twins displayed many
similarities in their personalities.
(b)
Environment
The environment refers to our culture, upbringing, family norms, friends,
social groups and past experiences. The environment plays a significant
role in shaping ones personality.
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TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
2.4.2
Personality Traits
Description
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
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Emotional Stability
Openness to
Experience
SELF-CHECK 2.3
Can you relate your personality to your career choice?
2.4.3
Locus of Control
Locus of control is an aspect of conscientiousness, which is a dimension of
the Big Five Model. An individual may have either an internal or external
locus of control.
(i)
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TOPIC 2
(ii)
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
ACTIVITY 2.5
What do you attribute your success to? Do you think your success is a
result of hard work or luck? Which locus of control supports you?
Discuss during tutorial.
(b)
Machiavellianism
This is a trait that is possessed by individuals who are opportunistic and
manipulative. These people may also be unethical while believing in the
concept of the ends justify the means. For them, winning is everything
and people are there to be manipulated.
(c)
Self-esteem
This is a product of continuous evaluation of oneself. An individual will
assess and form an opinion of his capabilities, the behaviour he displays
and the way he carries himself.
Self-esteem can be observed in ones career choice:
(i)
(ii)
Those with low self-esteem will have lower targets and are generally
lacking in confidence. They are easily influenced by others and are
susceptible to stress and conflict when they face uncertainties and
unpleasant situations, or poor supervision in their workplace.
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
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Self-monitoring
An individuals ability to observe the environment and to react
appropriately reflects his level of self-monitoring.
Individuals with high self-monitoring will behave in a way that is
appropriate to his/her environment/s. They know how to focus on
important aspects of any given situation. Therefore, it is difficult for a
manager to predict the behaviour of employees with high self-monitoring.
Employees with low self-monitoring are not sensitive to their
environment/s, react on impulse and have little consideration for others.
Their behaviour is consistent and can be easily predicted across differing
situations. Thus, a manager is able to easily predict the behaviour of
employees with low self-monitoring.
(e)
(f)
(i)
(ii)
32
TOPIC 2
(ii)
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
ACTIVITY 2.6
In your opinion, who is more successful as a salesperson, the Type A or
Type B personality? Give your reasons.
2.5
PERCEPTION
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
33
We play a variety of roles in life: as a human, friend, manager, father and so on.
Our perceptions will influence our behaviour towards others. Sometimes, our
reaction is based on our interpretation of an event.
It is important to have the right perception so that our assessment of friends,
colleagues, subordinates, superiors and our employees does not greatly differ
from reality.
Perception is important to us, especially in the context of a manager in an
organisation. In assessing performance, for instance, we might make the mistake
of rewarding a person whom we think have performed well in his/her work
when this might not be a true.
2.6
After you have reviewed the definition of perception, there are three factors that
influence perception as shown in Figure 2.5.
34
2.6.1
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Perceiver
When an individual spots a target and attempts to interpret what he sees, his
interpretation will be strongly influenced by his/her personal attributes. For
instance, on a bus, if you spot someone wearing the same outfit as you, you
will be more conscious of the persons presence than anyone else on the bus.
Personal attributes that influence perception are attitude, motive, interest,
past experience and expectations.
If you are highly participative in class and like to ask questions, you are bound to
prefer small classes. Conversely, a friend of yours who is shy and withdrawn
would prefer a bigger class. On the first day of class you discover that there are
500 students in that class. Due to the differing perceptions between you and your
friend, you are going to be unhappy with the class whilst your friend would be
pleased. At least your friend need not worry about having to participate in class.
You and your friend are viewing the same situation with different interpretations.
An unfulfilled wish or motive strongly affects a persons perception. If you
attend class after not consuming food for approximately 36 hours, you might
likely imagine the pen held by your lecturer as food. In this instance, you may
envision the pen to be a sausage. This perception will surely not be shared by
your classmates who are not as hungry as you are.
A plastic surgeon is able to detect what is not right with someones nose; a
carpenter would not. A civil engineer can detect structural faults in a building; a
teacher would not. Similarly if one of your employees is constantly late, you
would be more aware of his pattern compared to the occasional lateness of other
staff.
Past experiences too have an effect on your perception. Objects or events you
have not experienced or gone through will be felt more deeply compared with
those you have experienced in the past. If a fair skinned European woman
arrives at your village, her presence there would be more pronounced than that
of other women in the village. The same goes with expectations. Expectations can
affect your perception. One would expect a policeman to be firm and powerful or
an overseas graduate to be able to communicate well in English. Realities
however, may not meet your expectations, at all times.
2.6.2
Target
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
35
Most of the time, we are not able to distinguish our targets from their
surroundings. The surroundings affect our perception of the target. Objects that
are close to each other are perceived as similar compared to objects that are on
their own. For example, if five people from the marketing department of your
organisation resigned at the same time, other staff members are likely to think
that they left because they have a problem with the head of the marketing
department who is known to be a firm, meticulous and disciplined person.
The reality could be that only one of the five who resigned has a problem with
the head of the marketing department whilst the remaining four left due to other
reasons, i.e. better offer elsewhere, furthering their studies, a new workplace
closer to home or wanting to be a full time home-maker. However, since all five
are considered and generally viewed as a team, people perceive that they have a
similar reason for resigning. This example clearly shows how far off our
perception could be from reality.
2.6.3
Situation
Elements in the environment may influence our perception too. During class, you
may notice a particular classmate. However, at a party you may not easily
recognise the same classmate due to the dim lighting, a different outfit and her
different character.
In this case, the perceiver and target is the same person but the situation and
environment are different. Features of the situation such as location, lighting and
heat, influence your attention.
ACTIVITY 2.7
Explain three factors that influence perception and provide an example
for each. Discuss with your coursemates.
2.7
JUDGING OTHERS
36
2.7.1
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Attribution Theory
The attribution theory was developed to explain the differences in our judgment of
others based on how we make sense of their behaviours. A behaviour prompted by
internal factors is considered voluntary while behaviour prompted by external
factors is not within the control of an individual. For example, you were informed
that one of your staff was late to work due to the faulty engine of the bus which he
was in. In this instance, you could form either an external factor (faulty bus engine)
or internal factor (overslept after attending a late night party) for your staffs
lateness.
According to Robbins (2008), three factors assist in differentiating internal and
external factors and they are:
(a)
Distinctiveness
This refers to the extent an individual displays the same behaviour or a
variety of behaviours in different situations. You are said to have high
distinctiveness if your behaviour varies in different situations. If you are
always late not only for your Organisational Behaviour class but for other
classes, appointments and meetings as well, you are said to possess low
distinctiveness. This reflects the internal factors governing your behaviour.
(b)
Consensus
Consensus refers to whether everyone who faces a particular situation will
react in the same way. For example, thirty of your staff are late for work
today and since this is considered a high consensus, you attribute the
lateness to external factors. However, if only one was late, you would
attribute his/her lateness to factors internal to him/her since the consensus
is low.
(c)
Consistency
This refers to the frequency of the occurrence of a particular behaviour,
whether regular or ad-hoc. If you are often late for lectures, your lecturer is
more likely to attribute it to factors internal to you. On the other hand, if
you have never been late, except for certain days, your lecturer will
attribute it to external factors. Figure 2.6 shows the determiners of
attribution.
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
37
2.7.2
2.7.3
Self-serving Bias
38
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
It is common for individuals to attribute their success to their hard work and
having made the right decisions. However, when the company fails, the very
same person will blame external factors. According to McShane, S. L. and Von
Glinow (2003), 90% of workers who receive low appraisals will choose to blame
their supervisors, the organisation, the appraisal system and other external
factors. Very few individuals will attribute their failure to obtain good or
satisfactory appraisal to their lack of work competencies.
Further examples include the annual report of companies. We will often find a
self-serving bias in the said reports. When a company makes a sound profit, the
management will attribute it to their responsiveness and their abilities to conduct
the business. On the contrary, when the company suffers a loss, external factors
will be blamed. Nevertheless, the concept of self-serving bias differs between
cultures. In Korea, employees accept full responsibility for the failure of their
company by laying the blame on themselves and their respective team/s.
2.8
You may opt to use short cuts to assess others. The five short cuts are shown in
Figure 2.7.
2.8.1
Selective Perception
Selective perception occurs when human beings selectively describe what they
see based on their interests, backgrounds, experiences and attitudes. Selective
perception enables you to describe something very quickly but sometimes you
tend to make mistakes. This is because it is difficult for you to assimilate all that
you see.
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TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
39
2.8.2
Halo Effect
A halo effect happens when we judge a person based on only one characteristic
of the individual. You will consider a loyal staff to be an employee who performs
well at the workplace. A Mathematics teacher may consider her highest
achieving student to not only be a good and ethical child but also a child who
performs well in other subjects. The truth of the matter is that it might not
necessarily be the case. Another example would be how an unfriendly lecturer
negatively assessed his/her students despite being conscientious, knowledgeable
and being dedicated to his/her responsibilities. As a potential manager, you
should avoid being influenced by the halo effect.
2.8.3
Contrast Effects
40
2.8.4
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Projection
In projection, you will compare your characteristics with those of others. You
may be an honest person. You therefore expect your room-mate to be like you.
However, this might not be the case. For example, you would not think twice to
place your wallet in the room when you pay a visit to the restroom since you
believe your roommate would not pilfer your wallet or its contents. You think
along this line since you are an honest person who will not steal or pilfer items
belonging to someone else. Sometimes, however, you might be wrong.
As a future manager, you must face the fact that different employees have
different characteristics, behaviours, personalities and values.
2.8.5
Stereotyping
In stereotyping, you assess someone by the group that he/she belongs to. Such
judgment is sometimes not accurate. Whilst driving, have you ever been stuck
behind a car that is going very slowly? As you overtake the car and discover that
the driver is a lady, how often have you remarked, No wonder, its a lady!?
You are perpetuating the generalisation that all ladies are slow drivers. In reality,
there are ladies who love to speed!
Other common stereotypes are, mature employees not being interested to learn
anything new; men disliking taking care of children and inability of a physically
challenged person to perform task well.
ACTIVITY 2.8
1.
Have you ever judged someone on the basis of the group he/she
belongs to? For example, if your friend were from a particular state
in Malaysia, would you justify this by referring him/her to the
state she belongs.
2.
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
ACTIVITY 2.9
Choose the correct answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
41
42
5.
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
There are three factors which influence perception perceiver, target and
situation.
job
performance,
TOPIC 2
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
43
Distinctiveness, consensus and consistency are three factors which can assist
in differentiating between internal and external attributes.
Capability
Operant conditioning
Classical conditioning
Personality
Contrast effects
Projection
Heredity
Selective perception
Halo effect
Social learning
Locus of control
Stereotype
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
INTRODUCTION
Each individual is different in many ways. While this topic continues to discuss
individual differences, it now emphasises on values and attitudes.
We need to understand the differences between values and attitudes because
they both influence the actions of the individuals who make up the organisation.
The aims of the organisation will be easily achieved if employees share the
values and attitudes that are consistent with the mission and vision of the
organisation. Therefore, to better understand the individual, we need to consider
the values and attitude of employees because this is going to affect their job
satisfaction, commitment to the organisation and degree of work involvement.
TOPIC 3
3.1
45
VALUES
First of all, let us begin with the definition of values. Each person has different
values that they subscribe to. Values are beliefs of what is bad or good and what
should be defended. According to Nahavandi and Malekzadeh (1999):
Values are an individuals view of what is right or wrong, good or bad.
Values also refer to the basic principles that form ones beliefs, attitude and
behaviour.
Just like personality, values are formed at a young age. The values instilled in an
individual are influenced by family background, culture and education level.
It is essential for a manager to have a clear understanding of values because
values influence the attitude and behaviour of employees towards their work.
The value a person places on his work is actually a reflection of the kind of
returns he expects from his career and his belief on how one should behave on
the job. The returns mentioned here refer to the familys comfort and security,
honour and sense of achievement, acknowledgement and a meaningful life. How
one should behave on the job includes thinking creatively, being ambitious,
obeying orders and having respect for colleagues and superiors.
SELF-CHECK 3.1
Values form the basic difference between individuals. You use values
to explain your behaviour as well as that of others.
How do you feel about a worker who is lazy but is given a promotion?
Discuss.
3.1.1
Types of Values
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TOPIC 3
Terminal values or end values are beliefs about the kind of goals or outcomes
that are worth pursuing. For example, some people value security, a comfortable
life and good health above everything else as the important goals to strive for in
life. Others may place greater value on social recognition, pleasure and an
exciting life. Instrumental values are beliefs about the types of behaviour that are
appropriate for achieving goals. According to Daft (2008), instrumental values
include such things as being helpful to others, being honest or exhibiting
courage. Figure 3.1 explains further about the types and examples of values.
ACTIVITY 3.1
1.
2.
List three items that make up your terminal values and state the
instrumental values that can be utilised to achieve them.
TOPIC 3
3.1.2
47
Inter-cultural Values
Explanation
Power Distance
Individualism or
Collectivism
Avoidance of
Uncertainty
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TOPIC 3
Quantity/Quality of
Life
Long/Short-term
Orientation
According to Shermohorn, Hunt and Osborne (2008), values are relatively stable
and can affect work attitudes, emotions and moods. For instance, if a person
values a job challenge, he or she would probably tend to have a negative attitude
towards an assembly line job. Also, attitudes can influence emotions and moods
in much the same way. For example, if a person really likes his or her job, they
are more likely to have positive emotions and moods about it than if they do not.
3.2
EMOTIONS
Emotions have been described as being useful in a persons survival process. For
instance, the emotion of excitement encourages a person to deal with situations
that require high levels of energy, such as those he or she encounters during
school like doing assignments. At the same time, exertion of too much energy can
tire the person out.
In recent years, organisations have realised that employees emotions are
pervasive in the workplace. The emotions are not only a deep-seated part of
work life but play an important role in ones job performance. An employees
emotions and overall temperament have a significant impact on his or her job
performance, decision-making skills, team spirit, leadership, turnover, etc.
Generally, it is believed that employees bring their feelings of anger, fear, love
and respect with them when they come to work. An employees emotions are
essential to what happens in an organisation. Emotions matter because they
drive ones performance.
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TOPIC 3
3.2.1
49
While the categories are distinct from each other, the subcategories within each
are fairly similar. For example, anger may contain disgust and envy, fear may
contain alarm and anxiety; joy may contain cheerfulness and contentment; love
may contain affection, longing and lust.
3.2.2
Emotions at the workplace generally fall into two types: the positive (good) and
the negative (bad). Figure 3.4 shows the two types of emotions.
50
TOPIC 3
ACTIVITY 3.2
Do a research on deep acting and find out what it means. Discuss
during your tutorial.
According to Shermoehorn et al. (2008) the impact of emotions on the job has
been well researched. Studies suggest that negative feelings have adverse effects
on job performance. Anger often leads to aggression towards colleagues while
sadness leads to dissatisfaction with the job. Envy or conflict with peers also
leads to frequent fights, which in turn, result in absenteeism. It is not always that
only bad emotions lead to bad results. An office romance, despite connoting
positive feelings, can have a negative effect on others.
However, emotions can have positive effects as well. Positive emotions increase
creativity, encourage helping behaviour and cooperation, and reduce aggression
both against the organisation and against people. Research suggests that positive
people have better cognitive abilities and tend to do better in the workplace.
3.2.3
Managing Emotions
Emotions can easily influence attitudes and behaviour at the workplace. In this
context, some jobs simply cannot be done if emotions are not dealt with first.
There are two ways of managing emotions at work:
(a)
(b)
Deep acting.
In surface acting, employees are expected to show emotions that they actually
might not feel. For example, an employee may fake a smile for his client even if
he is unhappy because of some personal reason. This method of managing
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TOPIC 3
51
emotions may lead to a discrepancy between what the employee expresses and
what he actually feels, and result in job dissatisfaction. According to
Shermerhorn et al. (2008), this leads to emotional dissonance, which refers to a
state of disagreement between internal expression of emotions and publicly
displayed emotions. Emotional dissonance is often accompanied by low
organisational commitment and low job satisfaction.
SELF-CHECK 3.2
1.
2.
What are the two types of emotions? How does it affect the
organisation?
3.3
ATTITUDE
Explanation
Example
Cognitive
Affective
Behavioural
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TOPIC 3
3.3.1
TOPIC 3
53
SELF-CHECK 3.3
1.
2.
3.3.2
Often, when we talk about staff attitude, we are actually referring to the staffs
level of job satisfaction. Workers with a high level of job satisfaction will have a
positive attitude towards their job. On the other hand, a dissatisfied worker will
project a negative attitude. We will discuss job satisfaction in further detail later
on.
Work involvement refers to how an individual feels on the suitability of
his/her career and how much time and effort he/she is willing to put into the
job.
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TOPIC 3
ACTIVITY 3.3
Please visit this website: http://www.harley-davidson.com.
Identify how values and attitudes are conditioned among the biker fans.
How did the workers commitment here begin?
3.4
JOB SATISFACTION
3.4.1
TOPIC 3
55
Impact
The Work
Itself
Whether a person enjoys performing the work itself has a major effect on
ones overall job satisfaction. In this context, people who view their jobs as
boring, dull, or unchallenging tend to have low levels of job satisfaction.
Many people want to perform work which they believe is important.
Pay
A persons satisfaction with the pay received affects the overall job
satisfaction. Employees who are not satisfied with their pay may not
perform to their full potential. Some employees who are dissatisfied with
their pay may steal organisational resources.
Growth and
Upward
Mobility
Supervision
Coworkers
Whether a person has positive human relations with his or her coworkers
affects job satisfaction. People who like their coworkers often have higher
levels of job satisfaction than employees who dislike their coworkers.
Attitude
towards work
Some people view work (attitude) as fun and interesting, while others do
not. Some people have been satisfied with many different jobs, while
others have remained dissatisfied in numerous work situations. People
with a positive attitude toward work tend to have higher levels of job
satisfaction. Personality is associated with work attitude and behaviour.
People differ in the ways they prioritise the above determinants of job
satisfaction. A person can be highly satisfied in some areas and dissatisfied in
others yet have overall job satisfaction.
We will observe how job satisfaction is measured. The five elements used to
measure a persons satisfaction at work are as shown in Figure 3.6:
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TOPIC 3
The Job Descriptive Index (or JDI) measures job satisfaction by utilising the
above five elements.
An individual may be satisfied with one aspect of his/her career yet is
displeased with the rest of the work factors. For instance, you may be pleased
with the level of responsibility given to you at work but you might be displeased
with your prospects for acquiring a promotion. In addition, individual
characteristics also have a bearing on ones level of job satisfaction.
ACTIVITY 3.4
Reflect and anticipate the level of job satisfaction of an individual with
an internal locus of control.
3.4.2
Now we will look at how job satisfaction affects ones performance and
organisational behaviour. The areas typically affected are productivity,
absenteeism and turnover.
(a)
(b)
TOPIC 3
57
seems. There are other factors that influence an employee to attend work.
The organisations policies, for example, may influence an employees work
attendance.
(c)
In relation to employees who do not have high job satisfaction, what are their
actions? Employees can voice their dissatisfaction in four ways as explained in
Table 3.4.
Table 3.4: Four Ways of Expressing Dissatisfaction
Ways
Explanation
Leave
Voice-out
Employees not satisfied with certain aspects of their work can help
improve the situation by expressing those dissatisfactions. They can do
so by giving suggestions or discussing it with the management.
Loyalty
For certain employees, they will keep silent and hope that the situation
improves. In addition, they will defend the organisation from any
external criticisms.
Ignore
There are employees who do not even try to take any action
whatsoever to improve the working condition that causes their
dissatisfaction. In fact, they allow the situation to deteriorate by
coming late to work, playing truant and working in a couldnt care
less attitude.
SELF-CHECK 3.4
1.
2.
3.
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TOPIC 3
ACTIVITY 3.5
Choose the correct answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
TOPIC 3
5.
59
Values are beliefs of what is good or bad and what should be defended.
You will gather from the discussions in this topic, that we cannot make
general assumptions on satisfaction with productivity, and turnover with
absenteeism.
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TOPIC 3
Absenteeism
Individualism
Affective
Instrumental values
Attitude
Job satisfaction
Cognitive
Terminal values
Emotions
Turnover
Topic
Motivation and
Job Design
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
INTRODUCTION
The term motivation comes from the Latin word movere, which means to
move. In todays context, motivation is something that drives an individual or a
group to do something or to achieve certain goals.
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TOPIC 4
4.1
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
We will now discuss the theories of motivation. The two parts of these theories
are:
(a)
(b)
4.1.1
TOPIC 4
63
(ii)
Higher order needs are met internally whereas lower order needs are met
by factors externally to the individual, such as wages, rapport with
colleagues and union and sufficient food, as shown in Figure 4.4.
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TOPIC 4
Figure 4.4: Higher order needs and lower order needs in Maslows hierarchy of needs
Source: Adapted from Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn (2007).
Organisational behaviour. New York: John Wiley
According to Maslow, when one level of need has been met, an individual
will start to desire for the next level of needs. This goes on until he/she
reaches the highest need, which is self-actualisation. In order to motivate
someone, we need to know which hierarchy of needs he/she is currently at
and to focus on the level higher than the current level. This is due to the fact
that once a need is met, it loses its potential as a source of motivation.
This practice is important for a manager to uncover the unfulfilled needs of
his/her staff as a means to further motivate them.
(b)
TOPIC 4
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Theory Y
Normal
human
beings
with
imagination and ingenuity are
innovative and creative.
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TOPIC 4
Herzberg also found out that dissatisfaction was related to work context
factors or the environment. Company policy, wages and interpersonal
relationship with supervisors and workplace environment were among the
factors responsible for dissatisfaction. Herzberg referred to these as the
Hygiene Factors. According to him, they did not stimulate the individual
but instead reduced his/her job satisfaction. In order to increase
motivation, motivator factors have to be emphasised.
Figure 4.5 shows the differences between motivator and hygiene factors.
ACTIVITY 4.1
Describe the three early theories of motivation using a mind map.
4.1.2
We have so far discussed the early theories of motivation; we will now move on
to the next discussion which is contemporary theories of motivation. Figure 4.6
shows the contemporary theories.
TOPIC 4
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ERG Theory
Clayton Alderfer introduced the ERG (Existence, Relatedness and Growth)
theory in the 1970s. Alderfer revised Maslows hierarchy of needs with
reference to empirical evidence. This theory divides human needs into
three categories:
(i)
Existence
He combined Maslows physiological needs and the need for security
like need for food, protection and a safe work environment. He called
it existence needs.
(ii)
Relatedness
Relatedness needs refer to an individuals need for interaction with
others, acknowledgement from society and feeling safe in public.
(iii) Growth
Growth needs consist of an individuals self esteem, which is attained
through personal achievement and self-actualisation as described in
Maslows model.
Contrary to Maslows hierarchy, the ERG theory maintains that an
individual can at any one time be motivated by elements from two
hierarchies. You may be seeking to meet your need for growth even though
your need for relatedness has not yet been fulfilled.
Unlike Maslows model, the ERG theory includes a frustration-regression
process, whereby an individual who is not able to fulfil a higher level need,
may regress to a lower level need that can be met. For example, a person
will still be frustrated if his growth needs are not fulfilled despite having
fulfilled his existence needs and relatedness needs. In this case, his
relatedness needs will prevail over his needs for growth in terms of
prominence and may be a dominant source of motivation for the
individual.
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68
TOPIC 4
ACTIVITY 4.2
Do you agree that an individual can be motivated simultaneously from
two different levels as suggested by the ERG Theory? Why do you think
so?
(b)
TOPIC 4
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TOPIC 4
expanded their business as compared to those who did not attend the
training.
(c)
TOPIC 4
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Explanation
Goal Specificity
Goal Difficulty
Goal Acceptance
Participation in Goal
Setting
Relevant Goals
Feedback on Goals
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TOPIC 4
(ii)
SELF-CHECK 4.1
Provide two expectations that can be made about an employee based
on the relationship between the need for achievement and work
performance.
(d)
Reinforcement Theory
The reinforcement theory states the result or consequences that determine
the behaviour or attitude of an individual. In this theory, reinforcement
such as salary, promotion, a challenging task or compliments are used to
encourage desired behaviour and reduce or eliminate unwanted behaviour.
(i)
Types of Reinforcement
The techniques of reinforcement will encourage or reduce the desired
behaviours by utilising or reducing reinforcements. Table 4.3 shows
the four types of reinforcements.
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TOPIC 4
73
Explanation
This means giving rewards or feedback when a desired behaviour
takes place with the hope that the behaviour and result will be
repeated.
For example, if a sales person achieved a target of selling 10 cars a
month, then the sales person will be given an incentive of RM2,000
on top of his monthly salary.
Reinforcement through this reward would create an employeebehaviour that encourages them to work harder. A manager may
express compliments every time a sales person gets to sell a car.
However, he may not express compliments when there is no sale.
Negative or
Avoidance
Reinforcement
Extinction
Punishment
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TOPIC 4
(ii)
Schedules of Reinforcement
There are two types of schedules i.e. continuous reinforcement and
intermittent reinforcement. Continuous reinforcement involves giving
rewards every time a desired behaviour takes place. On the other
hand, intermittent reinforcement involves the giving of rewards at
determined times. Table 4.4 shows the four types of intermittent
reinforcement.
Table 4.4: The Four Types of Intermittent Reinforcement
Types
Explanation
Fixed Interval
Variable Interval
Fixed Ratio
Variable Ratio
VARIABLE
Fixed Ratio
Reinforcement given
achieved target.
at
every
Variable Ratio
Reinforcement given after several
behavioural actions were done and
brought results.
TOPIC 4
(e)
75
Equity Theory
The psychologist J. Stacey Adams has introduced the equity theory.
According to Adams, there are two main components involved in the
exchange relationship between an employee and an employer, called input
and results (outcomes). An employees input is work, skills, experience and
education, whilst the result that the organisation can give as an exchange to
the employees input is salary, fringe benefits, promotion and recognition.
According to Adams, when an individual suspects injustice, the individual
will act to reduce that injustice to a level that the individual perceives to be
fair and right.
(i)
Outcomes of Inequities
An employee will feel uncomfortable and emotionally stressed when
he/she perceives that there exist inequities. If this stress becomes
unbearable, it will motivate the employee to take action to reduce the
inequities.
According to Berkowitz (as cited by McShane & Von Glinov, 2006),
there are six ways to reduce the feeling of inequity (refer to Table 4.6).
Table 4.6: Six Ways to Reduce the Feeling of Inequity
Ways
How
Changing Input
Employees who feel that they are below equity will lower their
efforts and performances and just act so that it does not affect their
income. Employees who are overpaid, on the other hand, will
increase their input (very rare) by working harder.
Changing
Results
Employees who feel that they are below equity will start asking for
an increment in their salaries to match their colleagues. If this
strategy does not work, employees would take follow up actions
such as reporting the matter to their union so that the union would
fight for them.
Changing
Perceptions
You will change your perception by saying that the work done by
others is not interesting and very boring.
Leaving Work
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Taking Action by
Comparing with
Others
Changing
Comparisons
You realise that your co-workers are getting a higher pay package.
However, to be comparable, you change your reference by
comparing with others who are earning the same or lower than
you. You might say, at least I am getting higher than what my
father did.
ACTIVITY 4.3
1.
2.
This theory explains how human beings try to obtain justice and
equality by comparing themselves with others. Imagine that you
are an executive accountant and have been working for two years,
and you found out that your coursemate when you were in the
university was offered a job in your company with a salary
package far higher than you for the same position.
How would you feel and what would your actions be?
(ii)
TOPIC 4
77
(f)
Expectancy Theory
The expectancy theory was introduced by Victor Vroom. He developed the
Mathematical Formula of Expectancy Theory in 1964 through his book
Work and Motivation.
In his model, Victor stated:
Motivation = Expectancy Instrumentality Valence
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TOPIC 4
For example, assume that you work very hard to complete a chore with the
expectation that the hard work will bring you RM10,000. You work very
hard because that RM10,000 has an appeal to you. On the other hand, you
will not have the motivation to work hard if the benefit that is given is
RM50. The appeal to the reward will determine the effort you put into the
work.
This theory focuses on three types of relationships (refer to Figure 4.10):
Expectancy theory helps explain why employees are not motivated when
carrying out a task and only put in minimum efforts for that task.
According to Robbins (2008), there are three questions that need to be
answered by employees to maximise their motivation.
(i)
Firstly, if I were to put my heart and soul into the work, would it be
noted in my performance evaluation?
(ii)
TOPIC 4
79
SELF-CHECK 4.2
1.
2.
ACTIVITY 4.4
Consider this situation:
Employees who worked hard and expected rewards were only given a
salary increment, or employees that worked very hard to complete a
task with the hope of being transferred to Kuala Terengganu but instead
were transferred to Johor Bahru.
Would this increase or reduce their motivation? Discuss with your
coursemates.
4.2
You now have adequate information about the theories of motivation. Next, we
will discuss what motivates employees to perform. In addition to learning about
the concepts of motivation, you also have to know about job design and
understand how job environment and work place layout can influence/affect
employees behaviour and motivation. Figure 4.11 shows several questions
related to what motivates employees to perform.
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TOPIC 4
Figure 4.11: Several questions that relate to what motivates employees to perform
Job design is important since it is often related to the quality of work life. Quality
of work life is a management concept that stresses on the physical and emotional
well-being of employees. Job design can also influence performance in certain
jobs, especially those where employee motivation can make a substantial
difference. Lower costs through reduced turnover and absenteeism are also
related to good job design.
Another critical point is that job design can also affect job satisfaction. As people
are more satisfied with certain job configurations than with others, it is important
to be able to identify what makes a good job. Job design can affect both the
physical and mental health of an employee. For example, problems such as
backache or leg pain can sometimes be traced directly to job design, as can stress
which is related to high blood pressure and heart disease.
Therefore, we have to identify the needs of an organisation and its employees
when designing jobs whilst getting rid of barriers that can hinder these needs
from being achieved. As a result, it is hoped that both parties, employer and
employees, are able to achieve their respective objectives successfully.
4.2.1
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81
Skill Variety
Skill variety refers to the various types of activities required to complete a
job and the extent to which an employee will employ a variety of skills and
talents to complete the said job. For example, whilst a tour bus driver only
requires the skill of driving to perform his/her job, a mechanic must be able
to repair various vehicles such as motorcycles, cars and buses while being
able to diagnose the type of damage that occurred to the vehicle.
(b)
Task Identity
Task identity refers to the extent in which the job requires the employee to
complete a whole identifiable piece of work. This might involve different
stages of production, beginning from raw materials to end product or within
certain stages of production only. For example, a tailor has to begin from
cutting a piece of material and sewing the cut pieces to make an outfit that
can be worn by his/her customer. This type of job requires a high degree of
task identity. On another note, a worker or an operator at a television
manufacturing factory may be responsible only for assembling certain parts
of a television. This type of job is described as having a low degree of task
identity.
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TOPIC 4
(c)
Task Significance
Task significance refers to the degree of impact a particular task has on the
lives or work of other people. For example, a medical practitioner has a
high degree of task significance as compared to a janitor at the same
hospital. This is due to the fact that the doctor is responsible for ensuring
the good health of his/her patients.
(d)
Autonomy
Autonomy refers to the degree of freedom given to an individual in
determining his/her work schedule and the procedures in carrying out the
work. For example, a computer programmer is often given a high degree of
freedom in view of the fact that job creativity and imagination are factors
that cannot be forced onto an individual. A production operator, on the
other hand, is limited to pre-determined targets with the ultimate objective
to satisfy customer needs and demands.
(e)
Feedback
Feedback refers to the degree of information an individual obtains on the
effectiveness of his/her work. For example, a production operator who is
assigned to assemble a radio and to test it to ensure good functionality of
all its components is said to have a high degree of feedback. However, the
production operator who assembles the radio is said to have a low degree
of feedback if a quality-control inspector does the testing work.
Referring to Figure 4.12, the first three dimensions, i.e. skill variety, task identity
and task significance are very important to create the feeling that the work done
is meaningful and valuable to the organisation.
In addition, also note that a job that has autonomy gives a feeling of personal
responsibility amongst employees towards results and if the job provides
feedback about work results, employees can be made aware of their level of job
performance.
Figure 4.12 also shows that these three psychological states are very important to
an organisation since they are able to increase motivation, performance quality
and job satisfaction, whilst reducing the rate of turnover and absenteeism.
ACTIVITY 4.5
Does the job of a teacher fulfil the needs of the Hackman and Oldham
Job Characteristics Model? Discuss with your classmates the job
elements of a teacher that satisfy each of those characteristics.
Copyright Open University Malaysia (OUM)
TOPIC 4
4.2.2
83
Workplace Environment
Try and reflect on the environment of your workplace. Are you comfortable in
your work environment? Do you have enough space to efficiently carry out your
tasks? Are the lighting and temperature at your workplace comfortable enough
for you?
The above questions are amongst several matters that should be seriously
considered in determining the workplace environment. According to researchers,
a good workplace environment is important since it affects employees job
performance and satisfaction. In this section, we will discuss the physical
environment and workspace design.
(a)
Physical Environment
The physical environment consists of the elements around us, which we
can see, feel or hear. Table 4.7 explains the physical work environment that
has been widely studied and has been found to affect workers.
Table 4.7: The Physical Environment Elements Found to Affect Workers
Physical Elements
Temperature
Sounds
Lighting
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Air Quality
(b)
Workplace Design
The design of the workspace can affect an individuals work performance.
Among the aspects to be considered in arranging the layout of the
workspace is the size of the workspace and the arrangement of any
equipment.
(i)
Workspace Size
Workspace size refers to the size of the area for someone to do his/her
job. While there are jobs that can be done in a very small space, certain
jobs require a larger area.
However, this is not the sole factor in determining the size of a
workspace. The comfort of employees is also important to ensure high
performance. In fact, in some organisations, the size of the workspace
is determined by the individuals status in the organisation. The size
of an employees workspace is in accordance to an individuals rank
or status at work.
(ii)
TOPIC 4
85
Cultural Expectations
When designing jobs for international operations, uniform designs are
almost certain to neglect national and cultural differences. Hours of
work, holidays, vacations, rest breaks, religious beliefs, management
styles and worker sophistication and attitudes are just some of the
predictable differences that can affect the design of jobs across
international borders. Failure to consider these social expectations can
create social dissatisfaction, low motivation, hard to fill job openings
and a low quality of work life, especially when foreign nationals are
involved, either in their home country or overseas.
SELF-CHECK 4.3
1.
2.
4.3
Next, we will focus on job design alternatives. There are several alternatives in
redesigning jobs to make those jobs more interesting whilst fulfilling the five job
dimensions discussed in the Job Characteristics Model. Only four of them will be
introduced, as shown in Figure 4.13.
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4.3.1
TOPIC 4
Job Rotation
Shifting an employee from one job to another whilst maintaining the level and
skills required for the new job is known as job rotation. A good example is a
management trainee who is transferred from one department to another for the
purpose of gaining different knowledge and skills. In this instance, job rotation is
also known as cross training.
In redesigning jobs, the main purpose of job rotation is to avoid boredom
amongst employees, especially if they have been doing the same tasks for a long
period of time. By implementing job rotation, employees are able to obtain
various skills whilst making it easy for the management to schedule work, fill
vacancies and do required changes.
4.3.2
Job Enlargement
Job enlargement is the horizontal expansion of a job. This refers to the giving of
several additional tasks to an individual that does not require additional skills
from him. In this instance, the individual applies the same skills he has been
utilising for the current job to the new portfolio. For example, a production
operator at a clothing factory that only sews womens clothing is now given a
chance to sew children and mens clothing.
4.3.3
Job Enrichment
4.3.4
Team-based Designs
TOPIC 4
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SELF-CHECK 4.4
1.
2.
3.
4.4
Working hours are typically scheduled for eight hours per day, i.e. from nine
oclock in the morning until five oclock in the evening and for five days per
week. During the mentioned time frame, the employee has to be at the work
place and/or other related places, to carry out their respective duties.
However, there are currently four new alternatives in scheduling working hours,
as shown in Table 4.8.
Table 4.8: Four Alternatives in Scheduling Working Hours
Alternative Scheduling
Explanation
Flexitime
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TOPIC 4
Job Sharing
Telecommuting
SELF-CHECK 4.5
1.
2.
ACTIVITY 4.6
To obtain information on the extent of the implementation of
telecommuting in Malaysia, please visit the following website:
http://mgv.mim.edu.my/MMR/0106/010603.Htm.
After visiting the website, answer the following questions:
1.
What are the opinions of the Malaysian society, the private sector
and the government regarding the execution of telecommuting?
2.
What are the forms of preparation that has to be given to the work
force to carry out telecommuting?
3.
TOPIC 4
ACTIVITY 4.7
Choose the correct answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
89
90
5.
TOPIC 4
A manager needs to also understand the differences between the needs and
necessities of an employee.
There are six contemporary theories of motivation ERG theory, goal setting
theory, equity theory, McClellands theory of needs, reinforcement theory
and expectancy theory.
There are five job dimensions in the job characteristic model skill variety,
task identity, task significance, autunomy and feedback.
There are four job design alternatives job rotation, job enlargement, job
enrichment and team-based designs.
TOPIC 4
91
Alternatives scheduling
Job enrichment
Job rotation
Job sharing
Job design
Motivation
Job enlargement
Team-based design
Topic
Work Stress
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
3.
4.
INTRODUCTION
TOPIC 5
WORK STRESS
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5.1
DEFINITION OF STRESS
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TOPIC 5
WORK STRESS
ACTIVITY 5.1
Visit this website to obtain further information on work stress in
accordance to industry and types of jobs in the United States.:
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils35.pdf
Based on the article, explain in your own words the meaning of work
stress.
5.2
TYPES OF STRESS
Next, we will look into several types of stress. According to Collela, Miller, and
Hitt (2006), stress can be classified in various ways, as explained in Table 5.1.
TOPIC 5
WORK STRESS
95
Explanation
Emotional stress
Physiological stress
Acute stress
Chronic stress
Eustress
Distress
SELF-CHECK 5.1
List six types of stress. Provide an example of each type.
5.3
SOURCES OF STRESS
Now, we will discuss the sources of stress. With reference to Figure 5.3, there are
many factors than can potentially lead to work stress. These factors can be
divided into three categories (see Figure 5.3).
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TOPIC 5
WORK STRESS
5.3.1
Environmental Factors
Environmental factors are events occurring around us. All these are plagued by
uncertainties that can lead to stress. The ups and downs of a business cycle are
normal but this leads to economic uncertainties.
When the economy is down, employees would certainly worry about losing their
jobs or having to accept a pay cut. Political uncertainty also affects people
working in an unstable political climate such as Pakistan and Indonesia, for
instance.
Finally, innovation and technological advancements have rendered many work
skills obsolete or to change form. This causes stress among employees as
technological uncertainty poses a threat to their present jobs.
5.3.2
Organisational Factors
There are many factors in organisations that can potentially cause stress. These
factors can be divided into six factors (refer to Table 5.2).
Table 5.2: Organisational Factors that Can Potentially Cause Stress
Factor
Explanation
Task Demands
The factor that has to do with a persons job, like the design of
the individuals job, working conditions and physical layout.
Role Demands
Interpersonal
Demands
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WORK STRESS
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Organisational
Structure
Organisational
Leadership
Organisations Life
Cycle
ACTIVITY 5.2
In your own words, explain the six organisation factors that can
potentially cause stress. Give examples for each organisational factor
discussed.
5.3.3
Individual Factors
Each employee is a normal human being who has a private life outside the
workplace. The day-to-day experiences and problems that an individual goes
through will invariably affect his/her performance at work. Individual factors
that can potentially cause stress include family problems, financial problems and
the individuals personality.
ACTIVITY 5.3
Recall our previous lesson on personality. In your opinion, which type of
personality is prone to stress?
5.4
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
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TOPIC 5
WORK STRESS
SELF-CHECK 5.2
What is the relationship between individual differences and factors that
can potentially cause stress?
5.5
5.5.1
Individual Consequences
Explanation
Physiological
Symptoms
Psychological
Symptoms
Behavioural
Symptoms
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WORK STRESS
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As depicted in Figure 5.4, studies have found that stress at low levels can
improve work performance. Only high levels of stress or continuous stress over a
period of time leave negative effects on an employees performance.
ACTIVITY 5.4
Based on Figure 5.4, explain the relationship between stress and work
performance. Discuss with your coursemates.
5.5.2
Organisational Consequences
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WORK STRESS
SELF-CHECK 5.3
What is the difference between individual and organisational
consequences of work stress?
5.6
MANAGING STRESS
Next, we will discuss how to manage stress. In view of the negative effects of
stress on ones mental and physical well being and work performance, stress
should be effectively managed. However, it is important to note that stress
should not be altogether eliminated since low levels of stress have proven to be
beneficial to an organisation. In addition, a manager should also take into
consideration that different individuals have different tolerance levels towards
stress.
5.6.1
Individual Approaches
TOPIC 5
Muslims Prayer
WORK STRESS
101
Meditation
Yoga
Figure 5.5: Physical and mental rest; prayer, meditation and yoga
5.6.2
Organisational Approaches
At this point, we have discussed organisational factors that can potentially cause
stress. The management can reduce stress among their employees by supervising
these factors.
Some of the actions that can be taken by the management are ensuring a proper
process of employee selection and placement, taking into consideration factors
like interest, job suitability and personality.
In designing jobs, do not ignore the dimensions discussed in the Job
Characteristic Model. The dimensions include job identity, autonomy and
feedback on goals, which can all reduce stress as they allow employees to have
better control over work activities while reducing dependence on others.
In addition, as discussed in Topic 4, realistic goal setting could be a source of
motivation to employees as well as being able to reduce stress because it
diminishes uncertainty on what needs to be done and the levels of performance
expected. Uncertainties can almost certainly be reduced with improved
organisational communication that lessens role ambiguity and conflict.
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TOPIC 5
WORK STRESS
Figure 5.6: Google acts almost as a self-contained city, offering employees access to many
resources (a gym, for instance) without ever having to leave the workplace
Source: www.money.cnn.com
ACTIVITY 5.5
Discuss two approaches that can be used to manage stress among
employees.
TOPIC 5
WORK STRESS
103
ACTIVITY 5.6
Choose the correct answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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TOPIC 5
WORK STRESS
There are six factors which can potentially cause stress task demand, role
demand, interpersonal demand, organisational structure, organisational
leadership and organisational life cycle.
Despite the fact that low levels of stress can boost employees performance,
it can lead to negative consequences if left untreated over a long period of
time.
This will lead to better mental and physical health, which will benefit the
organisation as a whole.
Hostility
Performance
Managing stress
Sources of stress
Perception
Stress
Topic
Groups and
Teams
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
INTRODUCTION
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TOPIC 6
SELF-CHECK 6.1
Before we discuss groups in detail, ask yourself this question: do you
like doing group activities and what is your motivation for joining a
particular group?
TOPIC 6
6.1
107
Now, we will begin with the definition of groups. A group can be defined as:
Two or more individuals interacting and being interdependent, who have
come together to achieve certain objectives.
Explanation
Example
Formal
Groups
A committee formed
by a university to
study the effectiveness
of the courses offered
by the university.
Informal
groups
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Groups can be further classified by the subgroups; command and task groups are
considered as formal groups while interest and friendship groups are informal
groups. Figure 6.2 depicts the classification of groups.
Characteristics
Command Group
Task Group
TOPIC 6
109
Characteristics
Interest Group
Friendship Group
Explanation
Security
Status
Self-esteem
Affiliation
Power
Goal Achievement
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TOPIC 6
SELF-CHECK 6.2
State the differences between the discussed groups: command, task,
interest and friendship.
6.1.1
The evolution of a group usually undergoes specific stages and these are
depicted in the Five-stage Model of Group Development. However, current
studies have indicated contrary findings pertaining to temporarily formed
groups (formed to accomplish specific tasks within a specific time frames) that
do not go through these stages. We will review these two models, namely FiveStage Model and Alternative Model, with the latter being more suitable for
transient groups.
Tuckmans Five-stage Model states that the development of a group goes
through five stages, which are forming, storming, norming, performing and
adjourning. These stages are depicted in Figure 6.3 which indicates how an
individual measures his level of independence when joining a group. The
duration and intensity of each level are not necessarily the same.
TOPIC 6
111
Forming
This is an ice-breaking stage, which is also known as mutual acceptance.
During this stage, all members of a group meet for the first time.
At this point of time, members usually tend to avoid interacting with one
another and will try to act independently. They will attempt to identify
what needs to be done, what needs to be accepted and things to avoid
within the group. The existing discomfort diminishes when members get to
know each other better and accept their presence as members of a new
group.
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This stage is also a stage of uncertainty (about the purpose of the group,
power relations and interpersonal relations) and emphasis is placed on
orientation and adaptation among group members.
(b)
Storming
During this stage, group members begin to learn to accept each other,
conduct discussions and openly make decisions. Sooner or later, members
will gain confidence to participate in group related activities.
Intra-group conflicts will also occur at this point of time as a result of
members beginning to express their individuality by exercising leadership.
As group rules become more established, members begin to discover their
respective role/s within the group.
Conflict ends when the group structure solidifies via the consensual
appointment of a leader and with each member understanding his/her
respective role, responsibility and authority. This stage will witness
interdependence within members of the group.
(c)
Norming
At the norming level, all conflicts and disagreements are resolved,
relationships develop and members of the group demonstrate cohesiveness.
There will be cooperation among members in order to get the best results.
Cohesiveness develops because the goals, expectations and rules of the
group are now clear. Managers should encourage groups to maintain good
working relations, as the setting of norms and values is instrumental to the
success of a group.
(d)
Performing
At this stage, all issues pertaining to the structure of the group are settled.
The group now functions as one unit. The group will now focus on the task
at hand. The group is now productive as each member goes about his/her
set task.
(e)
Adjourning
Finally, the group gets to the adjourning stage. This is especially so for
groups established for specific purposes or with pre-determined and
limited tasks, i.e. special committees or project teams.
Dissolution or adjournment takes place after the pre-determined tasks have
been accomplished and the goals are achieved. Here members are once
again free to pursue their own work.
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ACTIVITY 6.1
1.
Explain the five stages that each group member will go through.
2.
6.1.2
This model is suitable for temporary or transient groups with specific deadlines.
Studies have shown that these groups have a unique sequence of actions, which
is shown via the Punctuated Equilibrium Model as shown in Figure 6.4.
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TOPIC 6
(b)
(c)
A Transition Takes Place at the End of this First Phase when the Group has
used Up Half of Its Allotted Time
An interesting discovery made in these studies was that despite the fact
that several of these groups spent as little as an hour on their projects while
others took six months, each group experienced its transition at the same
point in its calendar, which is precisely half way between its first meeting
and its official deadline. This transition makes the group appear to have a
mid life crisis. This midpoint appears to work like an alarm clock,
heightening members awareness that their time is limited and that they
need to get moving.
(d)
(e)
(f)
In conclusion, this model cannot be applied to all groups. It is basically meant for
groups that are temporary or transient in nature and with limited time for the
completion of projects.
ACTIVITY 6.2
Compare and contrast the two models of in-group development stages.
You may use a table to show your comparison.
TOPIC 6
6.1.3
115
We will now look into the Group Behaviour Model. Figure 6.5 shows the main
components influencing the performance and satisfaction levels of groups. The
following discussion is based on this model.
6.1.4
Organisation Strategy
The top management of an organisation determines its overall strategies.
The figures of authority are also responsible for setting the goals of the
organisation and the means and ways of achieving the set goals and
objectives. For example, they can instruct an organisation to reduce cost,
improve quality, broaden the share market or streamline operations.
These strategies can influence the power of various work groups especially
in terms of determining the resources needed to accomplish their respective
tasks. For example, when an organisation undergoes downsizing that
results in the organisation being closed down or having a large part of its
operations being sold, anxiety and fear among members of its work groups
will occur and this can potentially lead to internal conflict within the
groups.
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TOPIC 6
(b)
Structure of Authority
Organisations that have a structure of authority are easily able to define
their reporting hierarchy, with individuals or groups being fully aware of
the decision maker/s and types of decisions made. Structure determines
where positions of work groups are within the organisational chart, who
the formal head of a particular group is, and formal relations between
groups.
(c)
Formal Rulings
Organisations set rules, policies, job descriptions and other forms of formal
rulings to standardise employee behaviour. As regulations imposed on all
employees become more formal, employees imposed behaviour becomes
more consistent and predictable.
(d)
Organisations Resources
Resources available in an organisation, i.e. money, time, raw material and
equipment can significantly affect group behaviour. Some organisations
have ample resources so their employees enjoy modern, sufficient and
quality equipment. In contrast, the conduct of group activities is adversely
affected in organisations with limited resources.
(e)
(f)
(g)
Culture
Every organisation has its own culture, which clearly indicates to its
employees, the standard for acceptable or non-acceptable behaviours.
Individuals will begin to understand the culture being practised within an
organisation after having worked for a few months with the organisation.
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While group members might have their respective subculture, they would
also need to conform to the organisations general culture. In this instance,
subculture refers to the culture practiced solely by certain groups within an
organisation.
(h)
Workplace Conditions
Finally, work group behaviour is also influenced by the condition of the
workplace as provided by the organisation. The architect, industrial
engineer and office designer respectively decide on the size and physical
layout of an employees work space, the location of equipment, as well as
lighting and acoustic needs with the main purpose of providing a
pleasant work environment. All these can simultaneously be obstructions
and opportunities for the interaction of work groups.
6.1.5
Personal Capability
Capability refers to an individuals level of knowledge, available skills and
abilities. A significant part of the potential achievement of a group can be
anticipated by assessing the knowledge and abilities of each member.
While it is true that an excellent coach and a high level of team spirit is able
to ensure for its success despite the team having moderate players, this
does not necessarily happen at most times.
Evidence shows that there is a positive correlation between good
interpersonal skills and group achievement. This refers to the management
and resolution of conflict, cooperation in problem solving and
communication skills. For example, group members have to know the
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TOPIC 6
nature and source of any conflict faced by the group and use an
appropriate conflict resolution strategy; they need to identify the situation
that calls for collective problem solving and encourage full participation of
group members. Most importantly, all of them should be good listeners.
(b)
Personality Traits
Numerous studies have also shown a strong relationship between
personality traits and group behaviour and attitude. Characteristics that are
positively related with our culture also contribute positively to
productivity, team spirit and group cohesion or group unity.
These characteristics consist of friendliness, initiative, openness and
flexibility. Conversely, negative characteristics like authoritarianism,
dominant personalities and unconventionality display a negative
relationship with productivity, team spirit and group cohesion. Personality
traits also affect group performance in terms of how individuals interact
with other members within the group.
ACTIVITY 6.3
Explain how the two main resources available to a group can influence
the groups achievement level.
6.1.6
Group Structure
All work groups have their respective structure that shapes the behaviour of
their members and makes it possible to explain and predict a large portion of
individual behaviour within the group as well as the performance of the group
itself.
What defines group structure? Group structure includes the following elements:
(a)
Formal Leadership
Nearly all work groups have a formal leader. The leader is normally known
as a unit or department manager, supervisor, project leader and head of a
particular committee. Leaders play an important role in the success of a
group.
(b)
Roles
Each member of a work group has his/her own role to play with a set of
expected behaviour patterns accompanying his/her position and
responsibilities within the group.
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In addition, each person may have more than one role to play at any given
time within his/her different groups. A simple example is while we may be
a manager at the work place, we are also a member of a particular society
or head of a family. These various roles invariably influence our behaviour.
As a manager, we may behave in a more serious manner as compared to
when we are at our social meetings or with our family.
(c)
Norms
All groups have established norms. These norms, which strongly influence
work behaviour are defined as acceptable standards of behaviour that are
shared by members of the group. Norms provide a guideline to members
on what ought and ought not to be done under certain circumstances.
Usually it has to do with a positive trait like a high degree of commitment
in the organisation, faith in senior management and a high degree of
satisfaction towards the job and organisation.
At most times, the organisation we are in has indirectly clarified what is
expected from us in a particular situation. For example, we come to work at
a specific time and if we fail to do so, our attendance allowance will be
forfeited.
An effective work group will establish norms on quality, punctuality,
absenteeism, safety, honesty in giving ideas and others. However, norms can
also induce negative behaviour when it encourages group members to
damage companys property, offend co-workers and jeopardise the
companys image. An individual will have greater tendency and frequency
to behave negatively if he/she stays for a long time in a group with negative
norms.
(d)
Group Status
Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group
members by others. Awarding of status can influence the behaviour of
groups. Whenever there is inequality in status among members of a group,
the productivity and an individuals desire to continue staying with the
group will be affected. Groups usually reach a consensual agreement on the
status and the position of individuals in a group.
(e)
Group Size
Group size also has an effect on the overall group behaviour with
numerous studies indicating that smaller groups are more productive than
larger ones. On the other hand, larger groups deal better with problem
solving since more ideas are put forth.
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(ii)
(f)
Group Composition
Most group activities require skill and knowledge. When the group consists
of various personalities - gender, age, education level and experiences, the
greater the chances are for that group to accomplish its task successfully.
This shows that heterogeneous groups are more effective compared to
homogeneous ones because they possess more abilities, skills, and
information as a result of having members from a variety of backgrounds.
However, it is also worth noting that both heterogeneous and
homogeneous groups have their own strengths and weaknesses.
(g)
Cohesiveness
Groups differ in their level of cohesiveness, which is the degree of closeness
that members feel towards each other and are motivated to stay in the
group. For instance, some work groups are cohesive because the members
have spent a great deal of time together; the groups small size facilitates
high interaction; or the group has experienced external threats, which has
resulted in its members becoming very close. Cohesiveness is important
since it has proven to be positive towards the productivity of a group.
Cohesion, in the meantime, is able to decrease staff turnover, increase
cooperation among team members and ensure consistent performance.
How do we encourage group cohesiveness? Firstly, ensure that all
members attend activities or meetings. Create opportunities for members to
cooperate. For example, instruct them to redo their work schedule. When a
task is scheduled in a manner that requires interdependence on other group
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ACTIVITY 6.4
Using a mind map, briefly explain the structure of groups.
6.1.7
Group Processes
The Group Behaviour Model also consists of the following processes, as shown
in Figure 6.7:
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Figure 6.8 shows how group processes affect the effectiveness of groups.
6.1.8
Group Task
6.1.9
The conclusion made is based on the Group Behaviour Model with the
implications on performance and satisfaction.
The components in the Group Behaviour Model can lead members of a group to
develop effective groups. Effective groups can improve performance and
satisfaction of its members and ensure success of the organisation. Effective
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groups are groups that have creative ideas, accomplish their tasks and can adapt
to any changes. Group members will be more involved with the group and goals
of the organisation.
So as a manager, we need to see and assess the strategies required to develop
effective groups in an organisation. Elements that need extra attention are those
involving people, organisation and the assigned task/s. A high degree of
understanding between the group leader and his/her members also has a
positive effect on the performance and satisfaction of group members.
6.2
SELF-CHECK 6.3
Before we proceed with our discussion on teams, has it ever occurred to
you that teams are different from groups? On the contrary, are teams
similar to groups? If they are indeed different, what are the differences?
We defined work groups as two or more individuals that interact and are
interdependent on one another in order to achieve an objective. Work groups are
made up of group members that interact with the aim to share information and
to make decisions, enabling each member to perform within his/her area of
responsibility.
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Work groups have neither the need nor the opportunity to be involved in
collective work that requires a joint effort. Its performance is merely the
culmination of each individuals contribution.
Figure 6.9 depicts the differences between work groups and work teams. This
definition explains why many organisations today, which are seeking for a
positive synergy to increase the organisations performance are restructuring
their work processes around work teams.
ACTIVITY 6.5
Do you agree that teams and work groups are different? Why?
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6.2.1
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Types of Teams
Teams can be classified in terms of their objective. In general, there are four types
of teams in an organisation, which are problem solving, self-managed, crossfunctional and virtual (see Figure 6.10).
We will now look at the detailed explanations of these four types of teams.
(a)
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Self-managed Teams
A self-managed team consists of individuals who undertake the
responsibilities of their respective supervisors. The duties of these teams
typically include planning, conducting, influencing and controlling their
work processes with minimum monitoring and instruction from the
management. Team members are usually highly skilled and trained
individuals who have the responsibility and authority to conduct specific
activities.
Activities normally done by the management such as scheduling of work,
leave, performance appraisal, setting of salary scale and reward for each
employee, or placement of orders for raw materials to be used in
production, etc, are passed on to this team.
(c)
Cross-functional Teams
This work team is made up of individuals from a variety of work areas and
functions like marketing, human resource, production, finance and others.
They are usually of the same rank, and focus on one common goal.
Since the team members are from a variety of work areas and functions
with a wide range of experience and knowledge, this team is able to see a
problem from a variety of perspectives and is able to generate a lot of ideas
and alternative solutions. A cross-functional team can also act as a selfmanaged team and coordinate all department activities within an
organisation.
In conclusion, cross-functional teams are an effective way to enable
employees from various work areas to gather and exchange information,
generate new ideas, solve problems and undertake unique projects.
Examples of cross-functional teams are teams that have been formed to
select and introduce new technology in an organisation, to improve
marketing effectiveness or a team formed to control the cost of raw
materials.
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(d)
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Virtual Teams
While all the above-mentioned teams perform their work face-to-face, a
Virtual Team uses computer technology to connect its members (who are
physically dispersed) to achieve a common goal. They allow people to
collaborate online, using communication links like wide-area networks
(WAN), video conferencing, Internet, groupware, e-mail or fax.
Virtual teams are able to perform similar tasks as the other mentioned
teams, such as to share information, make decisions and complete tasks.
Virtual teams are more flexible and efficient because they are guided by
information and skills and not constrained by time or location factors like
the other teams. Anyone who has the information or required skills can be
a member regardless of where they are or when they work. Team members
can either be individuals of the same organisation or people from various
organisations, e.g. suppliers or business partners.
A virtual team is different from other teams due to the absence of paraverbal and non-verbal cues, limited social context and the ability to
overcome time and space constraints.
In face-to-face conversations, we use a lot of para-verbals (tone of voice,
inflection, volume) and non-verbal cues (i.e., eye contact, facial expression,
gestures). These signals help to convey additional information to the other
party. Virtual teams are deprived of these para-verbal and non-verbal cues
since they interact online. Members of virtual teams typically have less
social interaction, more so if they have yet to know each other.
Consequently, virtual teams often report a lack of satisfaction with its team
interaction process as compared to the other teams.
On the contrary, virtual teams can overcome time and space problems since
its members are not required to meet face-to-face to complete their
determined task(s).
ACTIVITY 6.6
Discuss the four types of teams and highlight the differences between
them.
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6.2.2
6.2.3
Work Design
To be an effective team, members of the team must work together whilst taking
collective responsibilities to complete a task. In this instance, work design
includes variables such as freedom and autonomy of team members, the
opportunity given to the members to use their respective skills and talent,
members ability to complete a whole and identifiable task or product whilst
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6.2.4
Composition
Members Abilities
A team requires three different types of skills:
(i)
Technical;
(ii)
(iii) Interpersonal skills, which consist of the ability to listen well, and to
provide sound feedback and superior resolutions to conflicts.
All three of the mentioned skills must be developed to enable a team to
maximise its performance and to achieve success.
(b)
Personality
As we had discussed in Topic 2, personality has a substantial influence on
the behaviour of individuals. Consequently, individual behaviour can
influence the behaviour of a team. Many of the dimensions identified in the
Big Five Personality Model have proven to be relevant towards team
effectiveness. Specifically, a team that possesses higher levels of extroversion,
agreeableness, conscientiousness and sound emotional stability tend to
receive higher managerial ratings for team performance.
Therefore, the existence of a single person with low agreeableness,
conscientiousness or extroversion is more than sufficient to give rise to
tension in the internal process of a team, which will eventually affect its
performance.
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Size of Team
An effective team should not be too large or too small. A large team will
result in problems pertaining to interaction whilst experiencing problems in
reaching an agreement, decline in cohesiveness, efficacy and accountability.
On the contrary, a team that is too small also will lead to a lack of diversity,
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whereas teams having more than ten people will not be able to attend to a
task efficiently. Ideally, a manager can establish an effective team,
consisting between five to twelve persons.
(e)
Flexibility of Members
A team that is made up of flexible individuals greatly improves its
adaptability and makes it less reliant on any single member since team
members are familiar with the tasks of co-members, enabling them to
complete each others tasks with ease. This is an advantage when a
particular member is absent and/or when there is a turnover of team
member(s). In this instance, the management does not have to worry about
finding a suitable replacement nor finding the need to train an existing staff
to complete the task(s) on hand. Therefore, to maintain performance at an
optimum level, managers must select members who are flexible, and
provide them with cross training so they can perform any task assigned to
them.
(f)
Preferences of Members
Not all employees of an organisation are members of teams established by
the organisation. If given a choice, most employees will avoid from
becoming a member of teams within an organisation. Often times, when
individuals who prefer to work on their own are instructed to form a team,
they are unable to give their full commitment to the team, leading to poor
team spirit.
Therefore, the preferences of individuals in an organisation should be
considered on an equal ground as their respective abilities, personality
traits and skills, prior to requesting these individuals to become a member
of a particular team within an organisation. High performing teams are
made up of those who enjoy working in teams since they are fully
committed to their respective teams.
ACTIVITY 6.7
The composition category can increase the effectiveness of teams. In
order to reinforce your understanding of the composition category,
elaborate on how the related variables contribute towards the formation
of an effective team.
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6.2.5
Context
There are three contextual factors that can significantly affect the performance of
teams as shown in Table 6.5.
Table 6.5: Contextual Factors that Reflect the Contribution of Teams
Contextual
Factors
Adequate
Resources
Explanation
The team model discussed earlier has established that teams are part
of a larger organisational system. Therefore, all work teams must be
sustained by the resources available within their respective
organisations. Limited resources will directly affect the ability of a
team to accomplish its task.
A study concluded that among thirteen factors potentially related to
group performance, the most important factor affecting team
effectiveness is the support it receives from its organisation. This
support includes timely information, proper equipment, adequate
staffing, encouragement, and administrative assistance. Teams must
receive the necessary support from management and the larger
organisation if they are to succeed in achieving their goals.
Leadership
and Structure
Teams also need leadership and structure for direction and focus.
Team members must agree on segregation of responsibilities, while
ensuring that all members of a team have an equal share of the
workload. In addition, teams also need to determine work
schedules, development of required skills, resolution of conflicts,
and decision making and modifications to the decisions that have
been made.
Agreeing on the specifics of work and how they fit together to
integrate individual skills require team leadership and structure.
Leadership and structure can also be provided indirectly by
management or even by team members in the process of fulfilling
their roles as listed in Figure 6.12.
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Performance
Evaluation and
Reward
System
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6.2.6
Process
Common Purpose
Effective teams have a common and meaningful purpose that provides
direction, momentum and commitment to members. Members of successful
teams put a tremendous amount of time and effort into discussing,
shaping, and agreeing on a purpose that belongs to them both collectively
and individually since this purpose is the vision of the team and broader
than specific goals.
This common purpose, when accepted by the team, is essential as it
provides the team with direction and guidance.
(b)
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Team Efficacy
Effective teams have confidence in themselves, believing in their ability to
succeed. A teams success will contribute towards its members confidence
and motivation for future successes.
What can the management do to increase team efficacy? There are two
possible options; one of them is assisting the team to achieve small
successes and providing skill training. Small successes build team
confidence and the team will strive even harder to achieve even greater
successes in the future. In addition, managers should consider providing
training to improve the members technical and interpersonal skills. The
greater the abilities of team members, the greater the likelihood that the
team will develop confidence and capability to deliver on that confidence.
(d)
Conflict Levels
When the behaviours or beliefs of a team member are unacceptable to other
team members, conflict occurs. Several types of intra group (within team)
conflict which exists are:
(i)
Personal conflict results when team members simply do not like each
other;
(ii)
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(e)
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Social Loafing
We have learned that individuals could take cover within a group. They
can engage in social loafing and coast on the groups effort because their
individual contributions cannot be identified. Effective teams undercut this
tendency by holding themselves accountable on both the individual and
team levels.
When members are clear on what they are responsible for individually and
jointly, they will give their full commitment to the team.
(f)
Social Facilitation
Research suggests teamwork can lead to increased performance because
others are present. According to Collela, Miller and Hitt (2008), some
reasons for social facilitation have been suggested. The presence of human
beings creates general arousal in other human beings. This general arousal
then leads to better performance. Another explanation is that the presence
of others could arouse evaluation apprehension, so they can perform better
because they think they are being evaluated. Lastly, the presence of others
can actually decrease performance on tasks that are complex or unfamiliar.
For example, someone who is not accustomed to giving speeches is likely to
perform more poorly when speaking in front of others than he/she would
if he/she was practicing alone.
ACTIVITY 6.8
Go to http://www.fastcompany.com/online/40/one.html to obtain
more information on factors that lead to the success of a team.
Fastcompany.com interviewed 15 leaders from various industries to
learn the secrets of team efficacy. List the factors and discuss these
factors during your tutorial.
6.2.7
While research has proven the value and popularity of teams, not many people
are natural team players. Instead these individuals are people who want to be
recognised for their individual achievements.
Organisations too have been known to nurture individual accomplishments.
They have created competitive work environments in which only the strong will
survive. So how does an organisation instil the spirit of teamwork among its
members? There are a few things that managers need to consider in nurturing
team spirit among individuals.
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(a)
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Have an explicit vision and strategic plan that serves as the basis for
determining the desirable team outcomes;
(ii)
Support System
Support systems are aspects of an organisational life that allows a team to
function well. Support systems include:
(i)
Technology
It is important that teams have access to the technology they need to
do their work. This includes the technology necessary to carry out
tasks (such as tools and computer software) and also technology to
help team members coordinate their work. Having appropriate
technology is also essential for the success of virtual teams. In any
case, team members should have input into the adoption or
development of communication technologies.
(ii)
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(iii) Training
There are many forms of training that can be given to team members in
order to enhance the spirit of teamwork. Training specialists conduct
exercises that allow employees to experience the satisfaction provided
by teamwork. This typically comes in the form of workshops that assist
employees to improve their skills on problem solving, communication,
negotiation, conflict-management and mentoring.
(iv) Rewards
If people are working together effectively as a team, they must be
rewarded as a team. The reward system needs to be reworked to
encourage cooperative efforts rather than competitive ones.
Promotions, pay rises and other forms of recognition should be given
to individuals depending on how effective they are as a team player.
This will further encourage cooperation among team members and
improve cohesiveness towards team efficacy. Thus, it is important
that the reward system for teams have multiple components, some of
which reflect team performance. One such reward system is a profit
sharing plan in which associates receive bonuses based on the profits
generated by their team. Furthermore, if the teamwork requires crossfunctional work and knowledge, team members should receive skillbased or knowledge-based pay. Such pay is determined by what skills
and knowledge an associate acquires rather than by how he/she
performs on specific tasks.
(iv) Leader and Building Trust
The manager and team leader have a strong influence over the sense
of trust among team members. Therefore, these individuals have to
nurture a sense of trust between them, the team and among team
members. A strong sense of trust will encourage cooperation and the
spirit of teamwork, which will ultimately ensure the success of the
team. According to Palmer, Dunford and Akin (2009), besides
building trust among team members, team leaders may need to fulfill
few important roles:
The first role needs a team leader to act as a team liaison. In this
context, the leader is required to establish network with
information sources both inside and outside the team. Outside
sources include clients, customers, suppliers and higher level
management. In the liaison role, a team leader also acts as a
representative of the team and watches out for the teams
interests.
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SELF-CHECK 6.4
What are the factors that managers should consider during the process
of training individuals to become team players?
6.2.8
Let us now look at the contemporary issues on teams (see Figure 6.13).
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(c)
(ii)
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SELF-CHECK 6.5
1.
2.
3.
6.3
In this subtopic we will look at the process of decision making and the factors
that influence the decision making-process, which are individual differences,
organisational barriers and cultural differences. Group decision making is said to
produce better results as compared to individual decision making. The last part
of this topic deals with group decision making.
6.3.1
There are a few models on individual decision making. We will discuss three of
these models, which are:
(a)
(b)
(c)
Intuition.
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(i)
(ii)
Setting Objectives
Next, you need to identify goals and objectives. Objectives must be
able to be monitored and measured, for example, to reduce the rate of
absenteeism by 50% for the year 2010. In this instance, you need to be
skilled at setting goals, i.e. the ability to link the percentage of job
satisfaction with the rate of absenteeism or turnover. However,
attitude, involvement, commitment and job satisfaction are difficult to
measure.
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Figure 6.15: The assumptions of the stages in the rational decision-making model
(b)
Bounded Rationality
Herbert Simon, a Nobel Prize laureate, introduced this model in view of his
criticisms towards the rational decision-making model.
The bounded rationality model takes into account various factors prior to
making a decision. These factors are time constraints, need for gathering of
detailed information, and limited abilities in processing the gathered
information. It also takes into account the difficulties of making a decision
in view of the various rapid and sudden changes currently taking place in
the business world.
In the bounded rationality model, individuals make decisions by
developing simplistic models that take into consideration several important
factors only whilst putting aside the total complexity of the problem. For
example, in choosing a university for further studies, do you look at
various aspects of strengths and weaknesses of each university or do you
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TOPIC 6
evaluate several important factors only, i.e. courses offered, fees charged,
and hostel facilities? In this instance, you might not consider factors such as
the number of canteens available, variety of foods and permission to use
private vehicles as important factors to be considered in your decision
making process.
When facing complex problems, most of us will reduce it to a level that can
be easily understood. In most instances, we will choose a solution that is
quite satisfactory and acceptable or sufficient but not necessarily the
optimal or best solution.
According to Simon, there are three steps taken by managers and other
decision makers when making bounded decisions, such as:
(c)
(i)
(ii)
(ii)
Intuition
Contrary to both the models mentioned earlier, there are times when
decisions are made based on intuition that omits the need to review details
of problems and short-listing alternative solutions.
According to Agor as cited in Robbins (2008), there are eight factors that
induce decision making based on intuition. These factors are shown in
Figure 6.16.
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ACTIVITY 6.9
Using a mind map, compare the three models of individual decision
making.
6.3.2
Humans have different styles of decision making. For instance, when you and
your partner have to make a decision based on the same situation, your partner
might take a longer time than you to come up with a decision and the decision
taken might not necessarily be better than yours.
According to Rowe and Boulgarideas as cited by Robbins (2008), humans differ
in two dimensions, which are, the way of thinking and tolerance for ambiguity.
The way we think may either be logical and rational, i.e. we process information
in a singular manner. On the contrary, people who are more creative and who
tend to use more of their intuition will view things holistically whilst making
decisions.
In addition, your faster speed in coming up with decisions as compared to your
partner may be due to your low tolerance for ambiguity. You require little
information to make decisions in comparison to your partner who needs detailed
information prior to making decisions.
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When these two dimensions (way of thinking and tolerance for ambiguity) are
graphically represented, it forms four ways of decision making, i.e. directive,
analytical, conceptual and behavioural. Refer to Figure 6.17 to view the model of
decision-making styles.
(b)
(c)
Similarly, individuals who adopt the conceptual style have a high level of
tolerance for ambiguity. They are more open in terms of their approach
whilst considering more alternatives before making decisions. In addition
to having the ability to produce creative solutions to problems, their
solutions are also long term in nature.
(d)
Managers who subscribe to the behavioural style are those who are able to
cohesively work with others. They are open to suggestions whilst
constantly communicating to solve problems. They require the acceptance
of others and prefer to avoid conflicts.
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SELF-CHECK 6.6
In your own words, briefly explain the four styles of individual
decision making.
6.3.3
Individual Barriers
Confirmation Bias
This type of bias leads decision makers to seek information that confirms
beliefs and ideas they formed early in the decision process. In this context,
individuals subconsciously seek only information that supports their early
thinking. Failing to look for disconfirming information is particularly likely
if a decision maker is revisiting a decision that has already been made.
(b)
(c)
Anchoring Bias
This type of bias leads decision makers to place too much emphasis on the
first piece of information they encounter about a situation. This initial
information then has undue influence on ideas, evaluations and
conclusions. Even when decision makers acquire a wide range of additional
information, the initial information can still have too much influence.
6.3.4
Organisational Barriers
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(a)
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Performance Evaluation
In making decisions, managers are influenced by numerous criteria
determined in the performance appraisal. For example, one of the criteria in
a lecturers performance appraisal is the educational performance or results
of his/her students. If the percentage of failure is high, e.g. exceeding 5%,
the lecturers competence will be questioned. Therefore, a lecturer will
ensure that the failure rate of his/her students does not exceed the predetermined percentage to avoid a negative performance appraisal.
Such a performance appraisal will influence a lecturers decision making.
The same applies to managers who prevent negative information
pertaining to their department from reaching the top levels. In this instance,
managers who assume that by not providing the top levels with accurate
information (negative ones included), the top levels will conclude that he
and his team (department) are doing well. However, this might not
necessarily be the case.
(b)
Reward System
An organisations reward system can also influence the process of decision
making. Organisations that reward (via increments and promotions)
managers who are not involved in any controversy, have low profiles and
are good team players will inevitably produce managers who are afraid to
take risks and pass any controversial decisions to the committee to decide.
(c)
Formal Rules
An organisations rules act as factors that obstruct and limit creativity and
the choices available to the decision maker. Through regulations, policies
and procedures, an organisation has set the degree of obedience and
freedom of its employees.
(d)
Time Constraints
Sometimes a decision has to be made within a determined period of time.
This pressure tends to adversely affect the decision makers abilities to
gather sufficient information and to eventually make proper and beneficial
decisions.
(e)
Past Decisions
Decisions that have been made in the past also influence future decisions.
Bonuses given in previous years will affect the decision on the percentage
of bonus to be given in the current year, despite the poor financial standing
of the company.
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ACTIVITY 6.10
In addition to the organisational barriers discussed in this section, list
other organisation barriers you might know. Discuss with your
classmates.
6.3.5
Cultural differences
The rational decision-making model does not take into account the cultural
differences inherent in Europeans, South Americans, Americans, Canadians and
Asians when it comes to the different styles of decision making. Therefore, we
must take into consideration the cultural factor.
In some places and cultures, decision making normally takes a longer time
compared to others, whilst some require collective decisions. Other cultures
allow only individual decision making.
6.4
6.4.1
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Explanation
Better problem
statements
Group involvement
fosters commitment in
achieving goals
6.4.2
There are several disadvantages of group decision making as shown in Table 6.7.
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Explanation
Time
Constraints
Dominant
Behaviour
Groupthink
ACTIVITY 6.11
Why does groupthink occur and what is its effect on the quality of
decisions that are made?
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6.4.3
There are several techniques or approaches that we can use to reach a decision in
a group (refer to Figure 6.18).
Brainstorming
This technique encourages the generation of ideas from each group
member about the topic of discussion. It is a suitable technique to be used
when new ideas are needed and also to generate as many ideas as possible
for a topic of discussion. The ideal number of group members for optimum
effectiveness is between five to seven people.
(b)
(c)
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Electronic Brainstorming
This technique requires all members of a group to be connected via a
computer since its brainstorming technique uses information technology to
put forth problem-solving ideas.
This is another technique that does not require face-to-face meetings and it
is said to be able to overcome problems faced by other brainstorming
techniques. Through this technique, members can type their ideas and
these ideas are instantaneously displayed to other members of the group.
This technique is fast in its approach since conversations are reduced,
discussions do not veer out of topic and participants can simultaneously
put forth ideas without any barriers. Most meetings conducted now and in
the future are using techniques that involve the application of information
technology.
SELF-CHECK 6.7
Imagine that you and your group are given a problem to be solved.
What are the techniques that you will use? Why?
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6.5
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Lastly, we will look into the value of individual versus group decision making.
Under the proper conditions, group decision-making should increase the number
of ideas generated and improve the evaluation of alternatives. Such outcomes are
desirable because they generally produce better decisions. However, our earlier
discussion on group decision making suggests that these results are not
guaranteed. Other factors that need to be considered include the time needed to
reach the decision, the costs of making the decision, the nature of the problem,
the commitment and the satisfaction of the participants affected by the decision.
All of these points are described in Table 6.8.
Table 6.8: Advantages and Disadvantages of
Individual and Group Decision-Making
Advantages
Disadvantages
TOPIC 6
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ACTIVITY 6.12
Choose the correct answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
156
5.
TOPIC 6
Below are the factors that can influence team effectiveness EXCEPT:
A. Team members personalities.
B.
Team learning and cognition.
C. Team processes include team cohesion, social facilitation and
social loafing.
D. None of the above.
There are two types of groups in an organisation formal groups are formed
to carry out certain tasks in accordance with the requirements determined by
the management and informal groups are formed without the existence of a
formal figure of authority.
Teams are the foundation for a progressive management in the future and are
useful in performing complex tasks.
There are some differences between work groups and work teams.
There are six steps involved in the process of rational decision making
analysing the situation, setting objectives, finding alternatives, evaluating
alternatives, deciding on the best alternative and evaluating results.
Although group decision making has its weaknesses, these can be overcome
through good management.
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TOPIC 6
Cohesiveness
Rational decision-making
Cross-functional teams
Self-managed terms
Work groups
Work teams
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Topic
Leadership
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
INTRODUCTION
Have you been given the task to lead a group, either formally or informally?
Have you been responsible in leading a formal or informal organisation? If you
have experienced either one or both of the said responsibilities, consider the
three questions below and respond to them accordingly.
Firstly, how were you appointed a leader for that group or organisation? Did you
volunteer to lead or did the majority of the members choose you to lead them or
were you appointed through the organisations formal processes, i.e. a
promotion that put you as head of a unit, a division, or even the entire
organisation?
Secondly, how did you lead your subordinates? Did you exercise control over
their behaviours and actions by enforcing rules or did you utilise a diplomatic
approach? Was it a case of alternating between the two, depending on the
situation?
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Thirdly, are you the sort who aspires to be a leader, or a faithful follower who is
committed to the leadership?
In this topic our discussion will focus on these three questions, which are related
to leadership. Some of the aspects that will be emphasised are power of leaders;
the differences between leaders and managers; traits, behaviours and
contingencies of leaders; and neo-charismatic theories.
7.1
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LEADERSHIP
SELF-CHECK 7.1
1.
2.
7.1.1
7.1.2
Individuals Expertise
7.1.3
TOPIC 7
7.1.4
LEADERSHIP
161
Reward
7.1.5
Coercion
ACTIVITY 7.1
1.
2.
3.
7.2
Now that we know the definition of leadership and the five sources of power, the
next part to look at is the concept of leaders and managers. It has already been
established that managers play an important role in driving an organisation
towards meeting its goals. Good managers have a good balance technical,
human, conceptual and motivational skills.
Today, the function of a manager includes planning, organisation, leading and
controlling. The functions can be effectively and efficiently fulfilled when a
manager is able to solicit the cooperation and involvement of all of his/her
employees. In this context, is a manager also a leader?
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LEADERSHIP
Before responding to the above question, it is best that we compare and contrast
the concepts of a manager and a leader:
(a)
Leaders are people who can conceive ideas, ensuring the continuity of their
organisation and meeting all its goals. A leader strives to influence the
people under him/her to accept and implement the ideas that he/she
produces.
(b)
On this basis, we can no longer assume that all managers are leaders. A manager,
due to his/her position in the top rank of an organisation can deliberately or
accidentally become a leader. On the contrary, there are many cases in which a
leader also functions as a manager.
ACTIVITY 7.2
Would you agree if we said that a manager does not necessarily make a
leader? If yes, why?
7.3
Now, we will discuss theories that are related to leadership. The argument that
has been put forward is further related to the question of whether leadership is
inherited or obtained through learning and formal exposure. The theories
discussed will clarify this question. Refer to Figure 7.2.
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7.3.1
LEADERSHIP
163
Trait Theory
This theory relates the characteristics of a person with his/her ability to lead. A
close study of an individuals personality traits will determine whether he/she
makes an effective leader or otherwise.
Figure 7.3 shows the characteristics that separate a leader from a follower and
which can possibly account towards effective leadership.
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In addition, the cause and effect relationship of the trait theory is unclear. For
instance, Robbins argued whether a leader naturally possesses self-confidence or
self-confidence grows in a person as a result of successes in his/her leadership.
Finally, Lord et al. and Smith and Foti as cited by Robbins (2008) also added that
while traits can predict the personal characteristics of a leader, these traits do not
differentiate between an effective and non-effective leader. Consequently, a
leader need not necessarily be successful even though he possesses the traits
mentioned above.
7.3.2
Behaviour Theory
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There have been a few studies specifically on behaviour and its relationship to
leadership. Among them are:
(a)
(b)
(c)
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Based on Figure 7.5, two dimensions are represented in this grid: concern for
employees (people) and concern for production. These are placed along two axes
with each axis being made up of nine positions, beginning from 1 to 9, which is
the highest point. In total, there are 81 positions representing the various
leadership styles practiced by leaders.
For instance, a leader who is at position (1,9) is extremely concerned about
his/her employees welfare at the expense of their respective tasks. A leader who
falls into position (9,1) overly emphasises the task and rates very low pertaining
to his/her concern for employees. Leaders who are at (1,1) are neither concerned
with tasks nor employees whilst a leader who is at (9,9) places equal emphasis on
employees and tasks. What about leaders who are at (5,5)? They place a balanced
and moderate emphasis on tasks and employees.
What is the significance of these studies to our understanding of effective
leadership? Some people are more inclined to say that leaders should emphasise
on tasks and the quality and quantity of tasks performed by an employee over
the employees welfare.
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However, there are others who feel that leaders should ensure that an employees
welfare should take precedence over work matters. In relation to this, the OSU
study found that if the initiating structure is emphasised, there is a possibility of
negative long-term effects, i.e. employee dissatisfaction, absenteeism and/or
resignation.
In the study conducted by UM, it was found that leaders who were employeeoriented experienced higher employee productivity and job satisfaction.
However, the importance of job relations behaviour should not be overlooked.
There are situations that require concern for production to be widely enforced in
an organisation, i.e. when a company is in its infancy stage or when a company is
experiencing problems. In companies such as these, the focus needs to be on
productivity to ensure success and survival, respectively.
On the contrary, there are organisations, e.g. the military or the emergency unit
of a hospital that require leaders who are production-oriented due precisely to
the urgency of the tasks involved. It is absolutely imperative that the tasks
related to units such as these are performed well with the job taking precedence
over the employee.
SELF-CHECK 7.2
1.
2.
7.3.3
Contingency Theories
Until now, our discussion has centred on the characteristics and behaviour of
leaders and their influence on effective leadership. However, the theories that
have been put forward so far lack the ability to account for the various situations
and contexts that affect effective leadership.
Subsequently, contingency theories emerged attempting to fill this void by
looking at the leaders success as situation related. Among the contingency
theories that we will review are the Fiedler Model and Hersey and Blanchards
Situational Theory.
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(a)
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LEADERSHIP
Fiedler Model
This model, developed by Fred Fiedler, highlights the direct relationship
between leaders and situations. It proposes that an effective group
performance depends on the proper match between the style of a leader
and situation. In other words, according to Fiedler, the success of a leader is
dependent on his/her leadership style.
How does Fiedler assess leadership style? He divided the process into two
stages:
(i)
(ii)
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Situational Factors
Leader-member
Relations
Task Structure
This refers to the degree which job assignments are formalised and
properly structured. This means that matters pertaining to a
particular task like goals, tools and quality measurement are
clearly and explicitly stated, i.e. expenses, accounting, tasks for the
operations/production division, etc. On the contrary, there are
tasks that are usually not made explicit, i.e. strategic planning,
research, human resource development, etc.
Position Power
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LEADERSHIP
Can you give reasons why high LPC leaders are effective in favorable
situations, i.e. good leader-member relations, high task structure and strong
power position?
The leader is successful because he/she has no problems to lead members
who place great trust and confidence in him/her whilst respecting him. In
addition, an explicit task structure enables employees to understand the
task at hand, making it easier for a leader to ensure that the task is properly
accomplished.
Finally, equipped with certain powers (strong position power), such as the
power to take disciplinary action, determining salary increment and/or
promotion, forces employees to obey the leader.
What about unfavourable situations, which are characterised by poor
leader-member relations, low task structure and poor position power? At a
glance, we would be inclined to think that the three dimensions do not help
the leader in influencing his/her members. Therefore, how could leaders
with low LPC be effective? This is so if we perceive the situation from a low
task structure situation.
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In this instance, if a leaders leadership style were one that is task oriented,
he/she would attempt to provide clear instructions and explanations for a
task that has been vague and unclear. In this way, employees would
understand why a particular task is assigned to them and how to go about
getting it done. This will turn them into an effective work group.
What are the implications of Fiedlers model on leadership in an
organisation? This model is essentially an attempt to match leaders to
situations because the effectiveness of a leader is dependent on situations.
Therefore, to ensure continuous levels of optimum efficiency of leaders, the
management has to place them in situations they are best suited in, taking
into account their respective leadership styles.
An alternative approach that can be taken by the management is to adapt a
particular situation to suit the style of the said leader. This approach would
only change the situation but not the position of the leader.
While Fiedlers model has helped us to understand suitability and
effectiveness in various situations, it has some weaknesses.
Among the shortcomings of the model are the LPC scores only measure
two extreme situations: high work motivation and high relationship
motivation whilst ignoring moderate scores. In addition, the model is based
on the questionable assumption that LPC scores are stable. Finally, the
contingency dimensions are complex and difficult for practitioners to
assess. It is often difficult in practice to determine how good leadermember relations are since it is a subjective entity that invites varying
interpretations from various individuals in an organisation.
(b)
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This model identifies four specific leadership styles (dependent on task and
relationship orientation): telling, selling, participating and delegating.
These dimensions (refer to Figure 7.7) are placed along the following four
types of behaviour or readiness of the employees:
(i)
(ii)
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Explanation
Telling
(Unable and
Unwilling)
Since members are not only unwilling but also unable to perform the
task, a leader would do well to place emphasis on the work aspect
and downplay aspects pertaining to relationships. In this instance,
the leader has to specifically tell members about the task and conduct
supervision throughout the duration of implementation of task.
Selling
(Unable and
Willing)
Participating
(Able and
Unwilling)
Delegating
(Able and
Willing)
This is the easiest situation for leaders because neither task nor
relationship requires much attention. This is a situation where
members have no trouble receiving orders and accomplishing
assignments. On the other hand, a leaders success may be
compromised if he over emphasises task and relationship aspects on
members. Members may feel stifled or that they are not trusted and
this can adversely affect their job satisfaction. Importantly, in this
situation, leaders need to give members a bit of a freedom or delegate
them their respective tasks.
ACTIVITY 7.3
Choose a government agency or private organisation and proceed to
consider if contingency theories exist within the selected government
agency or private organisation. Provide reasons to your answer.
7.3.4
Neo-charismatic Theories
The study of leadership has developed into studying the behaviour of leaders
that exist in this complex and challenging era. The theories that study patterns of
contemporary leadership are known as Neo-charismatic Theories. Figure 7.8
shows three underlying themes of this theory.
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Now, what happens to the theories that were put forward prior to this, i.e. Trait
Theory and Behaviour and Contingency Theory? Are these theories no longer
applicable today? This is actually not the case because these theories form the
base for the development of neo-charismatic theories. In fact, these theories
complement each other in guiding organisations in their quest towards achieving
their respective goal(s).
This module goes on to elaborate the forms of neo-charismatic leadership, i.e.
transactional, charismatic and transformational.
(a)
Transactional Leadership
Transactional leaders are task and relationship oriented, resulting in their
ability to influence employees to do as they (the leaders) wish in an effort to
achieve organisational goals.
Another feature of this leadership is the exchange process or the use of
reward and punishment to ensure members follow orders. In this context,
legitimate power, reward and coercion powers become necessary attributes
for this type of leaders. It has been said that transactional leadership only
works with followers who have a clear understanding of the organisational
structure and are currently performing specific daily and routine tasks.
(b)
Charismatic Leadership
A leader is considered charismatic if he has qualities that enable him/her to
establish exceptionally good relations with his/her followers.
Anita Roddick (The Body Shop), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Sam Walton (WalMart), Martin Luther King Jr. (American social activist) and Tan Sri Lee
Lam Thye (a local social activist) are all said to have charismatic attributes.
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LEADERSHIP
175
(ii)
Leaders who are open and always ready for criticisms and
constructive suggestions from followers, often acknowledging other
peoples views;
Characteristics
Vision and
Articulation
Personal Risk
They are willing to take on high personal risk, incur high costs and
engage in self-sacrifice to achieve their vision/s.
Environmental
Sensitivity
Sensitivity to
needs of their
followers
Unconventional
Behaviour
(c)
Transformational Leadership
It has already been mentioned that transactional leaders are only effective
in an organisation that operates under average conditions (not complex)
and are stable (as opposed to dynamic).
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Explanation
Inspiration
Intellectual
Stimulation
Influential
Individualised
Consideration
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SELF-CHECK 7.3
Elaborate on the differences between Transactional and Transformational
Leadership.
7.4
At this point, you have learnt several theories of leadership. Now, we will
introduce two styles of emerging leadership perspectives. These are:
(a)
Moral Leadership
Leadership is not merely a set of practices with no association of right or
wrong. All leadership practices can be used for good or bad and thus have
a moral dimension. According to Zaufderer (1992), leaders choose whether
to act from selfishness and greed to diminish others or in ways that serve
and motivate others to develop their full potential as employees and as
human beings.
Moral leadership is about distinguishing right from wrong and doing right,
seeking the just, the honest, the good and the right conduct in practice. In
this context, leaders have great influence over others, and moral leadership
gives life to others and enhances the lives of others. According to Daft
(2008), immoral leadership takes away from others in order to enhance
oneself.
Besides that, Kohlberg (1976) said a leaders capacity to make moral choices
is related to the individuals level of moral development. In this context, the
capacity to normal choices is related to basically three levels of moral
development as shown in Figure 7.9.
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(b)
Servant Leadership
Much of the thinking about leadership today implies that moral leadership
encourages change toward turning followers into leaders, thereby
developing theory potential rather than using a leadership position to
control people. According to Daft (2008), the ultimate expression of this
leadership approach is called servant leadership. This kind of leadership
can be described by comparing the category of leaders to other leaders. This
can be seen according to the stages shown in Figure 7.10.
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Explanation
Stage 1 Authoritarian
Leader
Stage 2 Participative
Leader
Stage 3 Stewardship
Leader
Stage 4
Servant
Leader
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ACTIVITY 7.4
Choose the correct answer.
1.
2.
3.
TOPIC 7
LEADERSHIP
4.
5.
181
Whilst a manager need not necessarily be a leader, he/she should have good
leadership qualities in order to be successful.
182
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LEADERSHIP
Therefore,
the
neo-charismatic
leadership
transformational leadership, may fill this need.
approach,
Behaviour theory
Legitimate power
Coercion
Neo-charismatic theory
Contingency theory
Referent power
Expert power
Trait theory
Servant leadership
Moral leadership
namely,
Topic
Communication
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
INTRODUCTION
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COMMUNICATION
8.1
FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
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185
In its function as a tool for emotional expression, many employees regard their
work group as a primary source of social interaction. This is in view of the fact
that the communication which takes place within the group is a fundamental
mechanism by which members express their frustrations and feelings of
satisfaction. In this instance, communication provides a release for emotional
expression of feelings and fulfilment of social needs.
The final function of communication is related to its role in facilitating decisionmaking by providing information required by individuals and groups in order
for them to make decisions. The data is used to identify and evaluate alternatives
in the decision-making process.
All the mentioned four functions of communication are equally important. For
instance, organisations are able to perform effectively when they are successful
in maintaining some form of control over its members, provide motivation for
members to perform in a good way, provide a channel for members to express
themselves emotionally and allowing members to make decisions.
So we can assume that most communication interaction that takes place within a
group or organisation performs one or more of these four functions.
ACTIVITY 8.1
List other functions that you feel are useful to a group or an
organisation.
8.2
COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Transmission; and
(b)
Feedback.
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8.2.1
There are two phases in the communication process model. These phases are:
(a)
Transmission Phase
Beginning at the transmission phase, the sender (a group or an individual)
who wants to convey a particular information to another group or
individual, transmits the message (information to be shared) utilising either
one or more of the following: verbal (speech), non-verbal (gesture, hand
movement and facial expression) written or drawn.
Next, the sender interprets the various types of transmitted messages either
symbolically or in a form that is understood by him/her. This is known as
the encoding process. Normally the message is encoded in words. The
process of encoding messages can be influenced by the senders skills,
attitude, knowledge and socio-cultural system.
The channel refers to the medium used to transmit the encoded message to
the receiver such as the telephone, letter, memo, e-mail, voice mail, or
conversation (face-to-face).
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The next phase is when the receiver interprets or puts meaning to the
message. This process is known as decoding. The decoding process, on the
other hand, is influenced by the receivers skills, attitude, knowledge and
socio-cultural system. These factors collectively influence the receivers
ability to receive and interpret a message. This is the most critical stage in
communication. Since the receiver may decode the message according to
his/her social and cultural values, it may cause the receiver s failure to
correctly interpret the message; which could lead to a misunderstanding of
the message.
(b)
Feedback Phase
The feedback phase begins with the receiver (now the sender) providing
feedback by sending a message to the initial sender (who now assumes the
role of a receiver), encodes the message, and sends it back via a selected
channel. This feedback is normally for the purpose of obtaining
confirmation on whether the message has been received and correctly
understood or to elicit further information.
The initial sender will then decode the message and ensure mutual
understanding has been achieved. If the initial sender finds that the
message has been misinterpreted, the whole communication process is
repeated until both parties achieve the desired comprehension.
Not all processes of communication run smoothly in view of the possibility
of potential noises that can affect the effectiveness of communication. Noise
is a general term used to refer to something that interrupts the transmission
or comprehension of the message.
Noises occur due to many factors, including: the encoded message is
unclear; the sender is unsure of the message he wants to transmit; the
wrong communication channel is selected, the message is wrongly
decoded; illegible writing; poor hearing or vision; great physical distance
between sender and receiver; the receivers lack of time to properly decode
the message; or lack of experience, knowledge or certain skills. In this
instance, managers can improve communication by minimising noises.
8.2.2
Barriers to Communication
There are several barriers that result in messages being wrongly decoded by
receivers (different from the original intention of the sender). Figure 8.3 depicts
the major barriers to effective communication.
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Filtering
Filtering refers to a senders manipulation of information to enable the
receiver to better understand the intended message. For example, when a
manager tells his boss what he feels his boss wants to hear, the manager is
filtering information.
Does this occur in organisations? Yes, in many instances information
conveyed to superiors are filtered beforehand so they (superiors) only
receive important and relevant information. Filtering is influenced by the
sender s perception and personal interest.
Filtering often occurs in organisations where there are pronounced status
differences among aspiring employees. Large organisations also provide
allowances or space for filtering to occur since large organisations are made
up of many vertical levels. It is natural for larger organisations to have
more filtering incidences as compared to smaller ones.
(b)
Selective Perception
Selective perception is relevant in communication because a receiver has
the tendency to see and hear a message based on the receivers respective
needs, motivation, experience, background and other personal
characteristics. Receivers also project their interests and expectations into
communication as they decode a message.
An example would be an employment interviewer who already has her
expectations of a candidate in view of her present perception, without
being aware of the accuracy of her existing perception or expectation. This
pre-determined perception or expectation might result in the selection of an
unsuitable candidate for the vacant position.
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(c)
COMMUNICATION
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Information Overload
Individuals have limited capacity for processing data. In fact, researchers
have shown that most of us would have problems when we have to handle
more than seven bits of information.
Information overload occurs when the information we have to work on
exceeds our processing capacity. E-mails, faxes, phone calls and meetings
are forms of information that are received on a daily basis by an executive.
What happens when an individual has more information than they can sort
out and use? They will select, ignore, pass over or forget the information. In
addition, they might also delay the processing of the said information until
the overload is settled. This results in lost information and less effective
communication.
(d)
Defensiveness
When an individual feels threatened, they are more likely to withdraw from
the process of reaching a mutual understanding. In this instance, an
individual defends himself by displaying negative behaviour, being cynical
and doubting the motives of others. Therefore, when an individual interprets
messages from others as a threat, the feedback transmitted by him acts as a
barrier to effective communication.
(e)
Language
Words mean different things to different people. The variation in meanings
is a result of the differences in age, level of education and cultural
background. These variables influence the language that a person uses and
the manner in which he defines words that are transmitted and/or
received.
In an organisation, employees usually come from diverse backgrounds.
This factor alone creates many different ways of speaking, in addition, to
the respective jargon or technical language of various work groups.
In large organisations, the frequent and wide geographical dispositions of
members also result in the use of unique terms and phrases according to
ones place of origin. Similar situations also occur when there are multiple
vertical levels in an organisation. In this instance, subordinates might not
easily understand the language used by superiors.
Differences in language used at various levels of the workplace can lead to
misinterpretation and an inaccurate interpretation of messages, which can
affect communication due to the misunderstanding of messages.
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(f)
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Communication Apprehension
Another major barrier to effective communication is communication
apprehension, which is also known as fear of communication. There are
approximately 5% - 20% of the population who suffers from fear of talking
in public. Communication apprehension is a serious problem since it affects
a whole category of communication techniques. Those who suffer from it
experience undue problems and anxiety in oral or written communication
or both. For example, those who fear oral communication may find it
extremely difficult to talk with others face-to-face or even through a
telephone. As a result, they may rely on memos or faxes to convey
messages when a phone call may be faster and more appropriate.
Studies have shown that individuals who fear oral communication would
avoid situations that require them to engage in this type of communication.
These individuals are concerned that their fear to communicate will
prevent them from participating in any discussion that requires their input.
Accordingly, they would avoid careers in which oral communication is the
main requirement, e.g. teaching and marketing. However, there is no
escaping the fact that many careers require oral communication.
So we need to be aware of the fact that there are people who try to avoid
situations which require them to speak and they often feel that oral
communication skills are not necessary for them be effective at work.
In conclusion, communication becomes ineffective when the barriers
discussed above are not handled effectively. In order to improve the
effectiveness of communication, the first step is to raise awareness among
managers and members of an organisation on the importance of
communication skills in meeting organisational goals.
SELF-CHECK 8.1
1.
2.
barriers
that
can
undermine
effective
TOPIC 8
8.3
COMMUNICATION
191
8.3.1
Direction of Communication
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Downward
Communication that flows from one level of a group or organisation to a
lower level is known as a downward communication, i.e. managers
communicating to employees. This type of communication is used by
managers to instruct employees, provide job instructions, inform
employees of policies and procedures, point out problems requiring
attention, provision of feedback on performance, and ensuring the
organisations goals and objectives are clear to all members of an
organisation. Downward communication also takes place to prevent the
spread of rumours on any impending changes.
Downward communication need not necessarily be performed orally or
face-to-face. Memorandums and all forms of written letters prepared by
management to employees are also forms of downward communication.
(b)
Upward
Upward communication flows from employees and/or managers to
superiors of higher levels in a group or an organisation. Upward
communication is used to provide operational feedback, issues and
problems and information on performance and effectiveness of the
organisation to the superiors. This type of communication encourages the
lower management and employees to be involved in decision-making
whilst providing them (employees) with the opportunity to share their
work concerns with top management.
Upward communication also enables managers to discover employees
level of satisfaction with their jobs, work-relationship between colleagues,
and the organisation in general. Managers also rely on upward
communication for ideas on improvement of plans and schemes.
Some examples of upward communication are appraisal reports prepared
by the lower management for the middle and top management, suggestion
boxes, a survey on employees attitudes, a discussion between managers
and employees, giving both a chance to discuss ground-level problems
with the higher managers.
(c)
Lateral
Lateral communication flows between managers or employees at the same
level within the group or organisation. For example, lateral communication
occurs when the morning shift supervisor discusses with the evening shift
supervisor, or when the marketing manager meets the finance manager to
discuss costs and the new marketing strategies.
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8.3.2
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In the chain network, members communicate with one another along the
chain of formal command. This network exists in work groups whose task
is characterised by sequential task interdependence, e.g. an assembly line.
Each task depends on the task before it. This form of network produces
moderate accuracy and speed in completing simple and complex tasks.
This pattern of network also gives little satisfaction to group members. The
chain network is seldom practised in groups because it offers limited
members interaction.
In a wheel network, information flows to or from a team member who
normally acts as a leader. Despite the fact that other members do not
communicate with one another, the team is able to achieve its goals since it
is communicating via the leader.
This type of network exists in groups that practise pooled task
interdependence where each member has to do his/her part in order to
complete a task. It is an ideal network format for simple tasks to be
performed efficiently and accurately. However, this network is not suitable
for complex work. In addition, many individuals do not find this type of
wheel network as attractive and it is not a common choice for many since it
discourages close interaction among members.
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Informal Network
An informal communication network refers to the transmission of
messages from one employee to another without using the formal channel
whilst moving away from the flow of the organisational chart.
The grapevine exists because of human curiosity about what is happening
in an organisation and how it is going to affect other individuals. In order
to satisfy this curiosity, employees need consistent, relevant, accurate and
detailed information about who did what, and the current changes that are
taking place in the organisation. However, is the grapevine an important
source of information? The answer is yes since evidence has shown that
75% of employees usually obtain their first information pertaining to new
issues in an organisation from the grapevine or rumours.
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(ii)
(iii) It is largely used to serve the self-interests of the people within it.
Evidence shows that 75 to 95 percent of grapevine information is accurate
due to the following factors:
(i)
(ii)
How does one manage a grapevine? A manager has to manage grapevines well
because grapevine related rumours could adversely affect the success of an
organisation.
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197
SELF-CHECK 8.2
1.
2.
8.3.3
Non-verbal Communication
198
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Following are the explanations for these two types of non-verbal communication:
(a)
(b)
Paralanguage refers to a persons tone of voice and this includes pitch, tone,
rate, volume, and the way the message is spoken, whether quietly,
hesitantly or stopping abruptly. For instance, when a person is unsure of
what or how to say something, they would normally speak quietly and
when a person is nervous, they usually speak loudly and fast. All these can
affect the receiver s comprehension. Once again, a lawyer is able to use the
power of his/her voice to positively influence a jury.
Open mouthed.
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ACTIVITY 8.2
Non-verbal communication is often said to facilitate better understanding
of a particular message. Provide your opinion as to why non-verbal
communication is important for effective communication.
8.3.4
Oral Communication
Oral communication refers to the transmission and reception of voiced
messages during face-to-face or group discussions; via the telephone or
video conferencing.
Research shows that managers are in favour of oral communication because
it allows them to ask immediate questions or provide immediate feedback
for verification. Oral communication is an effective form of communication
because managers can receive and assess non-verbal communication that
supports the oral message. In addition, oral communication does not
require the use of personal computers or the Internet.
However, not all communication takes place orally. Generally, memos and
e-mails are more effective in transmitting messages that are concise, clear
and simple.
(b)
Written Communication
Written communication includes letters, e-mails and memos. A manager
who prefers oral communication seldom uses written communication. They
also tend to avoid written communication when they have poor writing
and typing skills in addition to having poor knowledge on the usage of the
Internet or e-mail.
Nevertheless written communication is most effective for sending messages
clearly and accurately. In addition, e-mails can be accessed from the office,
at home, whilst travelling using a laptop, or via web-based devices. This
enables a manager to send and receive more messages via e-mail as
compared to oral communication that requires face-to-face interaction.
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8.4
By now you would have adequate information about communication and its
functions. Let us look into ways to overcome communication barriers. There are
actions that both organisations and individuals can take to overcome any
communication barriers that may occur. Some are discussed below:
(a)
Communication Audits
Analysing the organisations communication needs and practices through
periodic communication audits is an important step in establishing
effective communication. This type of audit examines an organisations
internal and external communication to assess communication practices
and capabilities and to determine needs. It can be conducted in-house (for
example, by the Human Resource department) or by external consulting
teams. Communication audits are used to ascertain the quality of
communication and to pinpoint any communication deficiencies in the
organisation. Audits can be conducted for the entire organisation or a
single unit within the organisation.
(b)
Communication Culture
Organisations can also overcome some barriers by establishing a
communication culture where mutual trust exists between senders and
receivers, communication credibility is present and feedback is encouraged.
Managers should also encourage a free flow of downward, upward, and
lateral communication. People must be comfortable in communicating their
ideas openly and in asking questions when they do not understand or want
to know more. Information should be available and understandable.
According to Collela, Miller and Hit (2008), people in organisational units
should be allowed to develop their own communication systems
independently for an effective communication culture.
(c)
Encourage Feedback
Communication is a two-way process. This is to ensure that the received
message is interpreted rightly.
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201
(d)
(e)
Listen Actively
Poor listening skills are common barriers to effective communication.
According to Collela (2006), people tend to hear and understand only
around 25 percent of what is communicated to them verbally. Listening is
not a passive, naturally occurring activity. People must actively and
consciously listen to others in order to be effective communicators.
ACTIVITY 8.3
Which communication channel do you use the most in your workplace?
Discuss with your classmates.
8.5
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN
COMMUNICATION
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Firstly, do not over-generalise that men and women are the same.
There are some men who do not like to brag about their achievements
while there are women who do not like to share their accomplishments
with others; and
(ii)
Cross-cultural Communication
Effective communication is difficult to achieve. Communication as a means
of exchanging meaning is affected by culture. During the encoding process,
ideas that have been translated into a message are represented by symbols
and language whilst the decoding process witnesses the message being
translated back into its intended meaning.
This means messages should be encoded in a form that is understood by
the recipient. However, the symbols and language used depends on the
cultural background of the sender and receiver, which varies from
individual to individual. Individuals from different cultures may encode
and decode messages in different ways depending on their behaviour, style
and the way they interpret a particular thing.
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Communication Technology
Organisations today are extensively utilising information technology as a
vehicle to raise productivity and increase employee and customer
satisfaction. The pattern of communication in the work place is changing
rapidly with fax, teleconferences, the World Wide Web, electronic messaging
system, and other communication technologies being comprehensively used
to enable communication with virtually anyone, anywhere and at any time,
day or night.
Communication technology represents a wide category of communication
and it is continuously changing and rapidly influencing the manner (how,
when and where) in which a manager communicates. For instance, video
recorders and telephones that can take and respond to messages, facsimile
machines, Internet, closed circuit cameras, computers, and electronic mails
are all technological advances that increase the opportunity for
communication whilst advocating flexibility in communication.
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(ii)
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COMMUNICATION
205
SELF-CHECK 8.3
1.
2.
206
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ACTIVITY 8.4
Choose the correct answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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COMMUNICATION
207
Managers should also ensure receivers give relevant and accurate feedback
to avoid any misunderstanding and spreading of rumours.
Managers have to pay close attention, be good listeners and understand the
linguistic style used by employees so that the flow of information is smooth
and unimpeded. A lack of understanding of these aspects will lead to
ineffective communication.
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All-channel network
Communication barriers
Chain network
Defensiveness
Circle network
Filtering
Cluster chain
Gossip chain
Communication
Topic
Organisational
Structure and
Culture
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
INTRODUCTION
210
TOPIC 9
9.1
TOPIC 9
9.1.1
211
Job Specialisation
Job specialisation has long been regarded as the most efficient way to carry out
tasks in a production process. This can be done by breaking up a job into several
smaller tasks, with each employee having to perform only one task repeatedly.
For example, in a car manufacturing process, an employee who is assigned to
install or assemble the front left wheel tyre will only be doing this job throughout
his/her employment.
Therefore, the term job specialisation refers to which levels of tasks in an
organisation can be broken down into smaller job functions.
Naturally, there are jobs that require high levels of specialisation and there are
also jobs that combine several tasks of different types of activities to increase
levels of job satisfaction. An experienced manager will implement this job
specialisation by determining jobs that are suitable to be broken down into
smaller tasks, so that the employee can perform the smaller task more
efficiently.His productivity will therefore increase.
SELF-CHECK 9.1
List the advantages and disadvantages of job specialisation, which are
carried out in organisations such as a car assembly factory.
9.1.2
Departmentalisation
Departmentalisation occurs only after jobs have been formed. For instance,
several types of jobs are divided into groups in order to better facilitate work
coordination. This is known as departmentalisation.
Departmentalisation is done based on several factors, which include function,
product, geography, process and customer. Table 9.1 explains this in more detail.
212
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Description
Function
Product
Geography
Process
Customer
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213
ACTIVITY 9.1
Now that you are aware of the various ways that departmentalisation is
formed, discuss what form of departmentalisation is being practised at
your workplace.
9.1.3
Chain of Command
214
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ACTIVITY 9.2
Looking at current situations and trends, state your opinion on whether
authority concepts and unity-of-command are still relevant. Discuss
with your classmates.
9.1.4
Span of Control
Determining span of control is also very important because it shows the total
number of subordinates that can be efficiently supervised by a manager. In this
case, the span of control can determine the total number of levels and managers
who exist in an organisation.
For example, despite having a similar number of employees, an organisation will
have fewer levels and fewer managers if the managers are given a wider span of
control compared to an organisation that bestows its managers with a narrower
span of control.
As such, organisations with a larger span of control are more cost efficient since
they (the organisations) save on the cost of the managers salaries. However,
since the control scope is large, employees performance can be negatively
affected due to a lack of support and leadership from the supervisor.
Control scope that is too narrow also has its weaknesses. First and foremost,
while many levels of management can increase costs, the narrowness in the span
of control can also make communication, especially vertical communication,
difficult. Thus, resulting in a longer decision-making process.
9.1.5
In some organisations, the top or upper management makes all the decisions
concerning the organisations. Such organisations are said to use the centralised
decision-making method.
The term centralisation refers to the level/stage where decision-making is
focused on one position in an organisation.
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9.1.6
Formalisation
Formalisation refers to the degree in which each job in the organisation has to
be carried out in accordance to pre-determined standards.
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SELF-CHECK 9.2
In a situation where all other factors are the same, is a large span of
control more efficient that a narrow span of control or otherwise?
Discuss.
9.2
9.2.1
(b)
(c)
(d)
9.2.2
(b)
(c)
(d)
Centralised authority;
(e)
(f)
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9.2.3
Another popular structure is the matrix structure. The matrix structure is a dualauthority structure that combines both function and product based
departmentalisation.
Organisations that usually use the matrix structure include building contractors,
advertising agencies, hospitals, universities and several other organisations.
Table 9.2 shows an example of a construction company, which uses the matrix
structure.
Table 9.2: An Example of The Matrix Structure for a Construction Company
Project
Department
5-Storey
Hospital
Building
2 Blocks of
3-Storey School
Building
Bridge Across
Sg. Satu
Bandar Dua
Main Hall
Building
Finance
Human
resource
Sales
Engineering
The example in Table 9.2 clearly shows that while in the matrix structure, the
unity-of-command does not exist since employees have two superiors, i.e. project
manager and department manager, it is a structure which is widely used due to
its flexibility.
SELF-CHECK 9.3
1.
2.
218
9.3
TOPIC 9
9.3.1
In Topic 6, we discovered how widely the word team is used in carrying out
work activities in organisations. When an organisation is based on teams, then a
team structure is formed.
The primary characteristics of a team structure are shown in Figure 9.3.
9.3.2
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219
9.3.3
220
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From the above discussion, we now understand that there exist many types of
organisational structures. However, we need to bear in mind that there are
various forms of organisational structures that are not explained here.
9.4
Now, let us find out why organisations need different kinds of structure. Despite
the fact that there are many organisational structures, these can all be divided
into two extreme structure models: mechanistic model and organic model.
(a)
(b)
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9.4.1
221
Organisation Strategy
Innovation Strategy
This strategy focuses on creating new products or services. An organisation
under this strategy will encourage its employees to be innovative and
produce new items. Normally, organisations under this strategy would
practise a loose structure (organic) with low levels of specialisation and
formalisation. Creativity is further encouraged with a high degree of
employee involvement in decision-making.
(b)
Cost-minimisation Strategy
This strategy focuses on practising strict cost control. For this purpose, all
activities that involve costs such as innovation and marketing are
considered as unimportant. On the contrary, what is considered very
important is the low price offered to costumers.
Therefore, the mechanistic structure is most suitable for organisations such
as this to minimise cost and have strict control from the centralised
leadership. In addition, a high degree of work specialisation is also
required because this can spurt production.
(c)
Imitation Strategy
This strategy encourages the creation of new products and/or moving into
new markets, and will only take place when proven to be profitable and
successful. This strategy tries to minimise risks and maximise profit gains.
Therefore, organisations will only imitate ideas from successful new
products. For this purpose, a combination of mechanistic and organic
structures is suitable because strict control is needed for activities that are
being carried out whilst relaxed control is required to enable organisations
to implement new activities.
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9.4.2
Organisation Size
The size of an organisation also plays an important role in determining the form
of its organisation structure. In Malaysia alone, there are various organisation
sizes with small and large organisations, from only 10 employees to 500, and to
1000 employees. The Malaysian government is the biggest employer in this
country, with more than one million out of eight million working people. They
work in different departments, ministries and also states.
In this instance, the centralised structure is not suitable for the Malaysian
government to manage its employees. On the contrary, a high degree of
formalisation and bureaucracy is important to ensure that its management runs
smoothly. On the other hand, a restaurant that has only ten employees does not
require departmentalisation and decentralised decision-making as compared to
the organisational needs of the Malaysian government.
9.4.3
Technology Used
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223
9.4.4
Organisational Environment
SELF-CHECK 9.4
1.
2.
Innovation strategy.
(b)
Cost-minimisation strategy.
(c)
Imitation strategy.
(b)
ACTIVITY 9.3
Based on the discussion pertaining to the driving forces that determine
an organisations structure, evaluate the structure of the organisation
that you are working for and discuss whether its structure is in line with
the needs of the organisation.
224
9.5
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ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
9.5.1
9.5.2
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225
9.5.3
226
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Description
Attention to Detail
Outcome Orientation
People Orientation
Team Orientation
Aggressiveness
Stability
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227
All the characteristics mentioned exist on a continuum, which means that any
particular organisation can be assessed high or low on any particular
characteristic.
An assessment of the mentioned characteristics reflects the organisational culture
of a company and this assessment helps guide the employees on what are
acceptable and unacceptable behaviours at their respective workplaces.
ACTIVITY 9.4
Based on the seven types of organisational characteristics discussed,
assess the culture of the organisation you are currently working in. Can
you identify the characteristics of your organisation?
9.5.4
Categories of Culture
(b)
228
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SELF-CHECK 9.5
What are the differences between a dominant culture and a subculture
in an organisation? What are the differences between a strong and a
weak culture?
9.5.5
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229
Explanation
Adaptability
Culture
Achievement
Culture
Clan Culture
Bureaucratic
Culture
An organisation may have culture values that fall into more than one category,
or even into all categories. However, according to Daft (2008), successful
organisations with strong cultures will lean more toward one particular culture
category.
230
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9.5.6
Functions of Culture
Explanation
Defining
Boundaries
Providing
Identity
Generating
Commitment
TOPIC 9
Enhances the
Stability of an
Organisations
Social System
231
Serves as a
Control
Mechanism
that Guides
Employees
Behaviour and
Attitude
SELF-CHECK 9.6
List all the five functions of culture in an organisation. Can you think of
other functions apart from those proposed by Robbins?
9.5.7
Culture as a Liability
The functions that were discussed earlier reflect the importance of culture to an
organisation and the individuals working in it.
However, culture can also be detrimental to the effectiveness of an organisation,
especially if it is a strong one. Figure 9.10 depicts how culture can adversely
affect an organisation.
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Barriers to Change
Organisational culture especially a strong one can be a barrier to change if
the values held are not in agreement with those that will contribute to the
effectiveness of an organisation.
Consistent behaviour is beneficial to an organisation in a stable environment
but todays business environment has gone through many changes. In this
situation, a strong organisational culture will prevent the organisation from
effectively handling change.
(b)
Barriers to Diversity
Organisational culture often influences decisions made pertaining to the
employment of individuals. This is done to ensure compatibility between
individuals and an organisation. A strong culture also exerts pressure on
employees to conform to the values subscribed by the organisation.
As a result, all employees of an organisation share the same values and
beliefs, thus denying the organisation with the benefits that come from a
diverse workforce.
(c)
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233
ACTIVITY 9.5
How does culture have a positive or negative effect on an employees
productivity in an organisation? Discuss with your classmates.
9.5.8
234
(b)
TOPIC 9
(c)
Socialisation Methods
An employee who is fairly new in an organisation would normally feel
uncomfortable or out of place in his/her new workplace due to his/her
unfamiliarity with the organisation and its culture. Therefore, socialisation, a
process where the individual adapts himself to the new environment, is an
important process at the time of an individuals entry into the organisation. It
ensures that the individual can easily adapt and successfully perform
his/her job.
The socialisation process can be seen as consisting of three stages: prearrival, encounter and metamorphosis. These are depicted in Figure 9.11.
We will now take a closer look at the three stages in the socialisation
process:
(i)
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(ii)
235
During the selection and recruitment process, the organisation will try
its best to obtain the right individuals who can assist it (the
organisation) to meet its goals since each individual has his/her own
values, attitudes, beliefs and expectations of the job that may differ
from those of the organisations. Therefore, this stage determines who
gets in and who is left out.
ACTIVITY 9.6
Explain how the three factors discussed above, i.e. employee selection
process, actions of top management, and socialisation, can assist in
maintaining the culture of an organisation.
236
TOPIC 9
9.5.9
Learning a Culture
Lastly, there are a variety of ways in which individuals can learn the culture of
an organisation. Studies have shown that there are four effective ways of
transmitting culture:
(a)
Stories
An easy way to teach values in a culture is through stories. This is because
people love stories especially stories pertaining to the success of an
individual or groups. Stories such as this often make their way into
orientation programmes since they serve as excellent lessons to new
employees, i.e. stories about the founder of an organisation and his
struggles to build the organisation. Culture is also transmitted via stories
pertaining to the successes of an organisation in winning various types of
awards from the government or other authorities.
(b)
Rituals
There are specific activities and/or rituals that are conducted in an
organisation to convey the values to be instilled, major goals to be achieved
and the desired type of employee. Some of these activities and/or rituals
are Quality Day, which impresses on the employees the importance of
quality, and Exemplary Award Day, which convey an organisations
appreciation towards employees who perform well in their respective
job/s.
(c)
Material Symbols
Organisational culture can also be transmitted through its dress code, the
layout of an office, and benefits provided. For example, an organisation
that stresses on a formal dress code may want to convey to its employees
on the need to have all its activities conducted in a formal manner, even
when it concerns reprimanding processes. In the meantime, an organisation
that has an open concept for its office layout may want to instil the feelings
of equality, open communication, creativity and flexibility.
(d)
Language
Many organisations as well as certain units within an organisation use
language to differentiate members of a particular culture or subculture. By
learning and using that language, members attest to their acceptance of the
organisation or units culture. For instance, the use of terms like JD (job
description) and KSA (knowledge, skills and abilities) by human resource
practitioners might not be understood by individuals outside of the
department although these are common terms used daily in the human
resource department.
Copyright Open University Malaysia (OUM)
TOPIC 9
237
SELF-CHECK 9.7
Briefly discuss how a newly recruited employee can learn about the
culture of an organisation that he/she has just joined.
ACTIVITY 9.7
Choose the correct answer.
1.
2.
3.
4.
238
5.
TOPIC 9
The answers to questions such as these will shape the attitude and behaviour
of employees and will be able to motivate them to increase their performance.
Despite the fact that two organisations are physically the same and produce
the same products, these organisations do not necessarily have the same
organisational structure.
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239
An individual who has similar values and beliefs with his/her organisation
would normally have a positive perception of the organisations culture.
Categories of culture
Organic model
Chain of command
Span of control
Cultural analysis
Subculture
Job specialisation
Unity-of-command
Mechanistic model
Virtual organisation
Topic
10
Power, Politics
and Conflicts
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
human
relations
and
INTRODUCTION
TOPIC 10
241
Actually, your position and what you have enables you to influence others to
follow your wishes.
In a formal organisation, power is not only needed but is also an important
element to ensure organisational members fulfil the responsibilities needed in
order to achieve the organisational objectives. The existence of power in
organisations, whether on purpose or not, depends on the position and
individual characteristics of the person who gained the power.
This topic explains in more detail the definition of power, as well as the
dependence and tactics of power. Besides that, we will also discuss the meaning
of political behaviour and how it exists in an organisation.
10.1
DEFINITION OF POWER
There are two principles from the general definition that can be put forward:
(a)
(b)
242
TOPIC 10
Based on this explanation, we can say that power brings good to the organisation.
However, some people see power from a negative perspective. In this context,
power is seen as a negative force since it can always be abused.
In organisations, power can be abused by individuals for their self-interests. This
is evident in instances such as financial mismanagement, bringing down other
people whom they do not like, nepotism, or spreading influence and power
domains.
In this aspect, it can be concluded that power does not only bring good, but at
the same time can also bring misfortune to organisations. Nevertheless, power is
still being needed. More importantly, the higher management should ensure that
negative power is not allowed to be a dominant force in an organisation if they
cannot eradicate it totally.
10.2
DEPENDENCE
Now that we understand power, the question is can the power held by an
individual influence other people to follow his or her wishes? Actually, there is a
factor known as dependence that determines the degree of power an individual
has on others.
To further clarify the dependence concept, let us refer to A, B, C and D, the
individuals mentioned earlier. Why did B, C and D follow As instructions?
Their obedience is because they depend on A for something special (either
physical or spiritual), which they do not have. That is why, because of fear or
favour, they follow As instructions in the hope that they get the benefits from
the something special that A has.
With regard to this, recall again what was mentioned much earlier. For example,
in the situation of your position as head of the family; your wife and children
obey your wishes and instructions because there is something in you. Maybe you
are the source of your familys income, the so-called bread-winner, or you are
more matured and more knowledgeable.
Another example is if you have money and you ask a person to do some work
for you; the person will easily follow your wishes. This is because he or she
hopes for financial rewards, which is important to him or her. Therefore, the
person is depending on you and you are more powerful compared to him.
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243
A very important point that you must know about dependence is that, the more
dependent a person is on you, the more power you have over that person. And
the opposite is also true, if a person depends less on you, or does not depend on
you at all because the person does not benefit from what you have, then the level
of power that you have on him or her will be low or none at all.
Another example, if an employee from the marketing department in Company A
is really hoping to get a promotion, then he will abide by the personnel
manager's wishes who has the power to promote him. When the employee
already gets what he wants, his dependence on the personnel manager
diminishes.
The same employee will transfer his dependence to another manager, for
example, the finance manager, if he is expecting an approval for his car loan,
since the finance manager has the power to approve his car loan.
However, his compliance to the marketing manager, who is his direct supervisor
will continue. In this relationship, his dependence on the marketing manager is
consistent because he has a consistent interest as long as the marketing manager
is responsible for that department.
ACTIVITY 10.1
Besides what is explained above, are there any more factors that you can
think of that can create situations where an individual or group is
dependent on another individual or another group?
You may still remember the basic sources of power in Topic 7, where power is
dependent on sources such as individual personal characteristics, individual
expertise, formal position (designation/role), reward and coercion.
The sources mentioned above can create or increase power for an individual or a
leader. The explanation is as shown in Table 10.1.
244
TOPIC 10
Personal
Characteristics of an
individual (Referent
Power)
Individual Expertise
(Expert Power)
Expertise or knowledge of a
chemist is important in the
Research and Development of a
chemical manufacturing company.
Sources of Power
(Note: the sources of power based on position designations, reward and punishment are not
included in the above table because all three are related and have been explained in previous
paragraphs).
10.3
POWER TACTICS
SELF-CHECK 10.1
Based on the sources of power that you have learnt in Topic 7, provide
two examples of situations where there exist an individuals
dependence on his or her supervisor.
TOPIC 10
245
Tactic
This tactic uses facts and data so that ideas and proposals can
be seen as logical and rational.
Friendship
Bargaining
Force or coercion
Reward and
Punishment or Sanction
Higher Authority
Coalition
246
TOPIC 10
ACTIVITY 10.2
In your opinion, which are the tactics most suitable to be used in
organisations today? Explain.
10.4
POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR IN
ORGANISATIONS
You must be familiar with the term politics. The word politics brings to mind the
picture of political parties competing to gain power to rule a country.
Actually, the political phenomenon happening in a country also happens in any
organisation. However, its existence in an organisation needs to be seen from a
different context, that is, from the practices and goals of the people that create a
political situation and those involved in it.
We have learnt about the concept of power in an organisation, especially its
sources and factors that strengthen the degree of dependence. Besides that, we
also know how individuals work hard to gain, maintain, and increase their
power.
These individual efforts can be interpreted as a political behaviour in an
organisation. Therefore, when we talk about organisational behaviour, power
and politics are sources that cannot be separated, and are interdependent. This is
in line with what has been defined by Pfeffer as politics in an organisation (Mc
Kenna,1994), that is, activities performed by individuals to gain, upgrade and use
power and other resources to achieve results in uncertain or ambiguous
situations.
However, this explanation is still not sufficient for us to understand the meaning
of political behaviour in organisations. It is insufficient because the meaning
needs to be seen in a broader context than that.
Political behaviour according to Bacharach and Lawler (Hellriegel, et, al. 2008) is
an effort by certain individuals or groups to influence other peoples behaviours
and normal activities in organisations just to fulfil their needs and protect their
own interest, as well as to achieve their own goals.
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ACTIVITY 10.3
The question now is, how can these behaviours exist in an organisation
and can its existence benefit the organisation?
What does political behaviour look like in organisations? In other words, what
do people do to engage in political behaviour? A great deal of research has
examined political behaviour which can be seen through various political tactics
used within or by organisations. These tactics include the following:
(a)
Rational Persuasion
A rational persuasion involves using logical arguments or factual
information to persuade an individual or group that the persuaders request
will result in beneficial outcomes.
(b)
Consultation
A consultation tactic requires getting an individual or group to participate in
the planning or execution of whatever the politician wants accomplished. For
example, a CEO who wants to implement a specific strategy would consult
associates at every relevant organisational level.
(b)
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TOPIC 10
Negative assumptions arise when they feel that politics in organisations is not
only unjust, but also not good and irrational. On the other hand, under a positive
assumption, they know that politically inclined behaviour is needed to get ahead
in an organisation. In fact, to them, to be a politician is a prerequisite for
success as an employee.
10.4.1
(b)
(c)
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Table 10.3 gives further explanation for the personalities of individuals that
contribute to political behaviour in an organisation.
Table 10.3: Personalities of Individuals that Contribute
to Political Behaviour in Organisations
Personality
Explanation
Machiavellianism
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TOPIC 10
SELF-CHECK 10.2
Choose two organisational factors and two individual factors. Explain
further and provide examples on how these factors could contribute to
the existence of political behaviours in an organisation.
10.5
CONFLICT CONCEPT
Next, we will discuss the conflict concept. Conflict could be a serious problem in
any organisation. Although it may not lead to organisational destruction, it can
affect organisational performance, and may lead to the loss of good employees.
Nevertheless, not all conflicts will bring problems to an organisation. Conflicts
can also bring positive effects. In this section, we will discuss conflict in depth
and you should be able to understand how a conflict begins.
10.5.1
Definition of Conflict
This definition is very broad and it explains when these conflict of interest,
objectives and perception, will arise. It also covers all types of conflict faced by
individuals in any organisation, such as differences in goals, conflict in defining
facts and disagreement in business ideas.
10.5.2
Levels of Conflicts
Conflict happens almost anywhere, and one of the ways to classify conflict is
through the following levels. There are four levels of conflicts that can be
identified, as shown in Figure 10.2.
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TOPIC 10
251
Explanation
At this level, conflicts happen to an individual. Sources of conflicts include
ideas, emotions, thinking, attitude and others. There are three types of intra
personal conflicts:
(i)
(ii)
This second level of conflict happens between two or more individuals. This
type of conflict includes misunderstandings between employer and
employees, husband and wife, relatives, roommates and others.
Intragroup
Conflict
This level of conflict exists in a small group among team members or work
teams and also in a family, class etc. This type of conflict influences a teams
ability to solve the conflict and to reach its goals effectively.
Intergroup
Conflict
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10.6
TOPIC 10
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
According to Robbins (2008) there are three types of conflict perspectives, for
example: traditional, human relations, and Interactionists. The next subtopic
provides a detailed explanation on each of these perspectives.
10.6.1
Traditional View
10.6.2
10.6.3
Interactionist View
This perspective explains that conflict is not only a positive drive that must exist
in a group, but is also needed to ensure the effectiveness of a task that is done. If
the human relations perspective can accept the reality of conflict, this approach
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TOPIC 10
253
SELF-CHECK 10.3
1.
2.
10.7
It cannot be denied that some conflicts that happen can precipitate the drive for
innovation, creativity and adaptation in groups and organisations. Besides that,
conflict can also stimulate the employees work spirit and assist in the decisionmaking process.
A conflict which supports and increases the objective achievement of a group
or organisation is known as a functional conflict or constructive conflict.
This conflict, when in the form of planned competition will encourage employees
to work harder and increase productivity, thus leading to a sense of satisfaction.
A conflict which deters or lowers a group or organisations performance
achievement is referred to as dysfunctional conflict or destructive conflict.
If this type of conflict happens, it will lead to lower working spirit, dissatisfaction,
increase in rate of absenteeism and as a result, productivity will be affected.
For example, a situation which affects productivity can be caused by an individual
who lost in a competition and will feel discouraged, then followed by mistrust and
ends up focusing only on his or her interests rather than working as a group or team.
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TOPIC 10
Explanation
Relationship
conflict
Task conflict
This type of conflict occurs over work content and goals. An example
is the idea to reduce costs between the marketing and finance
departments in an organisation. Each of the departments may have a
different understanding pertaining to costs and expenses. Their
orientation may be different between one another. Task conflicts do
not have to result in poor performance if managed correctly. Moderate
levels of task conflict have actually been shown to increase
performance.
Process conflict
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ACTIVITY 10.4
Have you ever faced a conflict happening in your group? If yes, what
was the type of conflict and how did you successfully solve it?
10.8
CONFLICT PROCESS
Now, we will take a look at the conflict process. A conflict process covers five
stages as shown in Figure 10.3.
10.8.1
Communication
One of the main causes of conflict that can happen is poor communication.
Sometimes we feel that we have clearly stated our message, however other
people wrongly interpret the message.
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TOPIC 10
Structure
Conflicts may arise due to structures of the organisation such as size,
specialisations, job responsibility and goals. Conflicts may occur between
departments or individuals in the organisation. An individual who holds a
high position may have disagreements with people at the lower level of
employment because of communication problems. The more levels that
exist in an organisation, the more a conflict is likely to happen because the
content of the messages sent becomes less clear and vague. There are three
types of structural conflicts, i.e. vertical, horizontal and diagonal conflict
(refer to Figure 10.4).
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(c)
Personal Variable
Individuals have different characteristics and personalities. Thus, conflicts
may arise when two individuals with different characteristics and
personalities, such as type A or type B personalities, work together in a
group.
Besides that, differences in values may also cause some conflict especially
in multinational companies. This phenomenon is caused by employees who
come from various cultures, norms, ethnic backgrounds and values.
Therefore, it is important for everyone in the organisation to understand
personal variables in order to avoid conflicts.
10.8.2
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TOPIC 10
First, stage II is important because this is the stage where conflict issues
begin to be defined. Thus, an individual can identify the sources of conflict
and as a result, find ways to solve it.
(b)
10.8.3
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Competing
An individual who uses this dimension tries to fulfil their self-interest. The
individual is not ready to fulfil other peoples interest, even at a minimal
level. This dimension is very effective especially in emergency situations;
issues which require unpopular actions; or with individuals at a higher
position.
(b)
Collaborating
This dimension stresses on maximum satisfaction for both parties. A
successful co-operation includes looking at conflict as something natural,
displaying trust and honesty towards each other and encouraging
individuals to express themselves.
Thus, it would solve conflict problems by outlining the differences that
exist rather than concentrating on the different views put forward.
According to Schermerhorn et. al. (2007), this is also known as a win-win
conflict.
(c)
Compromising
Compromising is a behaviour between both elements of steadfastness and
cooperation. It includes assertive sharing and positive cooperation but in a
not too obvious way. Therefore, in compromised situations, no parties will
win or lose. Usually, the result will not satisfy the conflicting parties.
(d)
Avoiding
An individual or group may retreat or avoid getting involved in conflicts
and as such, not one of them is able to achieve satisfaction or fulfil their
personal interests. This dimension is extremely effective in a situation
where an individual or group is faced with a small problem, is swayed
from the original goal, or possesses only a small chance to achieve
individual interests.
(e)
Accommodating
An individual or group in this dimension will show willingness to
cooperate in satisfying other parties interests and at the same time act nonassertively in meeting his own needs and goals.
Conflicting parties try to push aside differences that exist and emphasise
the similarities and understanding achieved between both parties. This
condition creates a calm, stable situation, thus making everyone happy.
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10.8.4
TOPIC 10
At this stage, behaviour is assumed as elements that can be noticed. This stage
includes expression, action and reaction by the conflicting parties. This
behaviour conflict is usually an open attempt to carry out the intentions and
goals of each party. However, behaviour has stimulating qualities that
differentiates it from intentions and goals.
Therefore, it is better if this stage is seen as a process of dynamic interactions.
Figure 10.6 shows how conflict behaviour occurs.
Figure 10.6 shows that all conflicts exist along a continuous scale, where at the
bottom we have conflicts categorised as small conflicts. At the top, which is
continuity from the bottom, is no conflict progressing into destructive conflicts.
For example, a walk-out from a job, riot and war belongs to that type of conflict.
Therefore, it can be said that conflict at the higher part of the scale is always close
to a dysfunctional conflict. On the other hand, functional conflict is limited to the
lower part of the scale.
The question is, how does an individual reduce dysfunctional conflict or increase
the low level conflict? The answer is through conflict management techniques
(Robbins, 2008). Both Tables 10.6 and 10.7 show conflict resolution and
stimulation techniques that can enable managers to control conflicting situations.
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Explanation
Problem Solving
Superordinate
Objectives
Avoidance
Smoothing
Compromise
Authoritative
command
Change human
variables
Change structural
variables
Explanation
Communication
Bring an outsider in
Restructuring
organisation
Devils Advocate
increase
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TOPIC 10
From some of the techniques just explained, we find that the intention that
controls conflicts is not unexpected because an individuals intention can change
to logical behaviour under good conditions.
SELF-CHECK 10.4
What techniques are used to lower conflicts in an organisation?
10.8.5
Stage V: Effects
Effects of action reaction often occur between conflicting parties. These effects
are most probably the functional type that can increase a group or organisations
performance or the dysfunctional type that can reduce performance.
(a)
(b)
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SELF-CHECK 10.5
Discuss the five stages involved in a conflict process.
ACTIVITY 10.5
Choose the correct answer.
1.
2.
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TOPIC 10
3.
4.
5.
TOPIC 10
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There are two techniques that can minimise conflicts in organisations conflict resolution techniques and conflict stimulation management
techniques.
Dependence
Influenced individual
Influential individual
Power tactics
Topic
11
Organisational
Change
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
INTRODUCTION
11.1
267
The explanations of the six elements of forces for change will be discussed next.
11.1.1
The current Malaysian workforce has undergone and is still undergoing a host of
changes. At present, more women are joining the workforce both in the public
and private sectors - compared to 20 or 30 years ago. In addition, more and more
women are empowered to hold high positions in various organisations.
The Malaysian workforce today also holds high academic qualifications,
rendering them to be less suitable to fill vacancies in the agriculture and
construction sectors. The resulting influx of foreign labour to fill in the various
job vacancies within these sectors and at various levels also influences the
changes that are taking place in organisations within these sectors.
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11.1.2
Changes in Technology
Technological changes have also altered the way in which employees perform
their respective work and tasks. While the usage of computers and robots has
made it easier for people to perform their respective work and tasks, it has also
forced them to increase and improve their technical and computer skills.
As a result, organisations need to make substantial investments in training and
development for their existing manpower or engage new employees with the
required and relevant skills. In addition, the usage of computers and robots has
also resulted in a more flat organisational structure since the need for
supervision has lessened tremendously.
11.1.3
Changes in Competition
11.1.4
269
There are many differences between the present and past generation. For
example, the present generation of women holds multiple responsibilities,
including being mothers, wives as well as a corporate and business figures. In
addition, opportunities to advance in education have made our present society
more skillful and knowledgeable.
11.1.5
Next, we will look into the changes in world politics. Organisations all over the
world including those in Malaysia are required to make significant adjustments
in line with the changes occurring in the world of politics both locally and at
international levels. For example, the United States War on Terror campaign,
due to the horrific events of September 11, 2001, has to some extent, affected
nations around the world, including Malaysia.
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11.1.6
ACTIVITY 11.1
Can you list the elements in the organisational environment that may
cause organisational change?
11.2
TYPES OF CHANGE
After going through the force for change, the next thing that you have to know is
the types of change. According to Palmer, Dunford and Akin (2009) a common
distinction in change management literature is between the first-order and
second-order changes (refer to Table 11.1).
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Second-Order Change
(Transformational, Discontinuous Change)
11.3
Not all elements in organisations can be subjected to changes. Elements that can
be changed are divided into four categories as shown in Figure 11.5.
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Next, are the explanations of the categories of elements that can be changed in an
organisation.
11.3.1
Structure
11.3.2
Technology
11.3.3
Physical Arrangement
11.3.4
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Employees
Employees are the final element that can be changed by the change agent.
Assisting employees to increase their productivity and efficiency at work, both
individually and in teams, results in change. Employee change refers to positive
changes in work attitude and work behaviour, and these changes can occur
through improvements in communication, decision-making and problem solving
skills.
Can you think of how positive transformations in employees work attitude and
behaviour can occur through improvement in his/her communication, decisionmaking and problem solving skills?
11.4
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
(b)
Resistance that is done subtly, such as low or lack of motivation, low or lack
of loyalty towards an organisation, and absenteeism.
Resistance can take place immediately after changes are introduced or they can
occur after changes have been introduced over a period of time.
SELF-CHECK 11.1
Which of the following types of resistance is harder to overcome?
Discuss briefly.
(a)
Explicit or implicit.
(b)
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While there are various sources of resistance towards change, the two main
sources are individual resistance and organisational resistance.
11.4.1
Individual Resistance
There are five common reasons why an individual resists change. These reasons
are:
Habit;
Security;
Economic factor;
Habit
It is normal for an employee to form and/or to have his or her personal
routine in completing his or her respective tasks. For example, a manager
who shoulders the responsibility of making various decisions in his or her
area of work may have the habit of making the said decisions without
inviting opinion/s from other people. This behaviour, which is known as a
habit, can be very hard to change because the manager is already too
familiar with his or her behaviour.
(b)
Security
A change in an organisation is always seen as a threat to an employees job
security. Employees are afraid of the change because change could result in
a job loss especially if the change brings forth redundancy in their current
position or requires them to learn new skills.
(c)
Economic Factor
An employee may also be afraid of change if he or she believes that the
change may result in a reduction of his or her income. The reduction in
income or lower salary increment (from a negative performance appraisal)
might occur especially if an employee fails to adapt (in terms of job
performance) to the change.
(d)
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elements since they do not know or are uncertain of the effects of this
change on them.
(e)
11.4.2
Organisational Resistance
Organisations too, show resistance towards change. In fact, six reasons for
resistance towards change have been identified and these are:
Structural inertia;
Group inertia;
(a)
Structural Inertia
In almost every organisation, various steps are taken to ensure
organisational stability, e.g. organisational culture, rules and regulations
and management practices. In view of the fact that change can threaten the
stability of an organisation, the above-mentioned structural inertia (that has
been established) reacts to ensure that organisational stability is
maintained.
(b)
(c)
Group Inertia
Sometimes an employee is willing to change his/her behaviour or attitude,
but group norms can become obstacles towards his or her change. For
example, the workers union might not agree to the management decision
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(e)
(f)
ACTIVITY 11.2
Explain briefly why there is resistance against change.
11.5
At this point you have learnt about the resistance to changes. Now, we will look
at how to overcome change resistance. Resistance against change must be
controlled since this resistance can jeopardise the successful implementation of
change. There are six tactics that can be utilised by change agents to overcome
resistance towards change, and these include training and communication,
involvement, negotiation, manipulation, coercion, and providing facilities and
support.
11.5.1
277
11.5.2
Involvement
11.5.3
Negotiation
Resistance may also be reduced by making valuable offers, in the form of tradeoffs, to groups that are identified as possible obstacles towards the planned
change. For example, promising job security to every employee, in line with the
impending change, may result in lessening the employees uncertainty of losing
their current job.
11.5.4
Manipulation
11.5.5
Coercion
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11.5.6
SELF-CHECK 11.2
List all the tactics that can be used by change agents to overcome
resistance towards change. Provide one demerit for each tactic.
11.6
Now, we will look into how to manage and implement a planned change.
Flexibility in implementing suitable changes in a careful and/or well-planned
manner is paramount in ensuring that organisations are able to compete in this
ever-changing environment. This will also assist organisations to avoid negative
effects resulting from implementing poorly planned changes.
A planned change involves the change of activities that is done on purpose to
achieve intended objectives. For example, to increase product quality, a company
proposes to apply the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM). In this
instance, the employees involved in the management and operational levels are
trained on TQM. In addition, a committee is formed to handle matters that may
arise due to the implementation of TQM in the organisation. Hence, the planned
change mentioned here is a form of proactive change.
On the contrary, a change cannot be considered as a planned change if the
managements decision to tighten inspection for quality on its manufactured
products (before they are sent to customers) is due to the rising number of
consumer complaints. This is because these changes are done without prior or
earlier planning, and being done with the main aim of solving a specific problem.
SELF-CHECK 11.3
Can you distinguish a planned change from an unplanned change?
Think of one example for each change that you have done in your life.
11.6.1
279
(b)
Both goals are important because it differentiates between a planned and unplanned
change. In addition, these goals will determine the organisations ability to remain
successfully competitive in the marketplace or business environment.
11.6.2
Change Agent
The change agent is the individual responsible for managing change activities.
Usually, employees of an organisation are selected as change agents. However,
there are numerous instances in which external consultants are engaged by some
organisations to become the organisations change agents. In this instance, the
consultants are engaged in view of their vast knowledge and experience in
carrying out organisational change and their ability to provide more objective
opinions on organisational problems as compared to employees within an
organisation.
11.7
280
11.7.1
According to Kurt Lewin, who was responsible for creating this model, a
successful change requires three steps, which are (Cummings and Worley, 2008):
(a)
(b)
(c)
Increase forces that drive behaviour out of the existing status quo;
(b)
Decrease forces that obstruct movement out of the existing status quo; and
(c)
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Desired
Situation
Status Quo
Time
Employees are ready to accept change after the status quo condition is defrosted
or thawed. To ensure longevity of the implemented change, the new condition
needs to go through a refreezing process.
11.7.2
Action Research
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The description for each step of Action Research is shown in Table 11.2 below:
Table 11.2: Steps in Action Research
Step
Description
Diagnosis
Analysis
Feedback Solicitation
Taking Action
Conducting Evaluation
11.7.3
Organisational Development
Sensitivity training;
Survey feedback;
Process feedback;
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Sensitivity Training
This refers to the use of unstructured group interactions to change the
current behaviour of employees. In the unstructured group interactions,
employees are provided with the freedom to give their opinions and to
discuss the changes that are to be implemented.
A professional facilitator for these interactions is usually engaged by an
organisation. The facilitator will ensure that all employees are given the
opportunity to present their ideas on the organisations current culture/s
and on the change that is to be implemented. In addition, the facilitator will
also raise awareness amongst employees on their positive and negative
qualities and ways of improving their current qualities. The main goal of
this training (or unstructured group interactions) is to increase the
employees awareness on their behaviour whilst highlighting the
perception of their colleagues towards them.
Unstructured group interactions are also meant to increase employees
understanding on group process whilst highlighting the significance of
improving their individual listening skills. Employees are also encouraged
to note the importance of having an open attitude, as well as conflict
resolution and tolerance skills to better manage individual differences.
(b)
Surveys Feedbacks
Feedback from surveys conducted in an organisation is another method
that can be utilised to evaluate the attitude of its members, identify
differences in perception among them and narrow the gap between these
differences.
In general, survey questions usually focus on employees perception and
attitude on various topics, which include decision-making practices, the
effectiveness of the organisations current communication process,
coordination among units and employees satisfaction pertaining to work,
co-workers and immediate supervisors.
The collected data will be used to identify the current problems of the
organisation including employees grievances. In addition, these data can
also be utilised by the management to provide employees with a clear
feedback on other issues that are ambiguous to them. Survey results are also
tools to encourage employees to hold discussions amongst themselves with
the hope that via these discussions, employees can reach a mutual agreement
and/or solution to the problems that are highlighted through the surveys.
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(c)
Process Consultations
Consultants are engaged by the organisations to provide managers with
better feedback and understanding about themselves, their surroundings
and other aspects of the organisation. With the assistance of a consultant,
the manager will gain skills to diagnose management processes that require
change and identify alternative solutions to selected problems and/or
misgivings.
(d)
Team Building
Team building is a method that uses group interaction activities to increase
trust and openness among members of a team. This is done via goal setting
activities, interpersonal development among team members, role analysis
to clarify the responsibilities of each team member and analysis of the team
process. In addition, activities to analyse the main process of the team tasks
are also conducted. These activities would be able to identify current
weaknesses whilst highlighting improved work process techniques that
would increase team effectiveness.
(e)
(ii)
(iii) The perception list of Team A and Team B of each other (What are the
opinions of Team A about Team B and vice versa?).
Upon completion of these three lists, both teams will discuss their internal
(within a team) and external (between teams) similarities and differences. Most
importantly, both teams MUST discuss their differences of opinions about each
other and ways to resolve these differences. In addition, negative perceptions
and prejudices must be identified and clarified. As soon as these are done, the
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teams will move into the integration phase, in which they will find ways to
rectify and improve their internal and external relationships.
SELF-CHECK 11.4
1.
2.
ACTIVITY 11.3
How does the Lewins Three-Step Model manage resistances towards
change?
11.8
SUSTAINING CHANGE
This subtopic will introduce ways to sustain changes. One of the greatest
challenges for those involved in managing change is to try to ensure that change
is not just for a short period only. Hence, what can be done to increase the
probability that change initiatives do not falter and instead become embedded in
organisations as normal practice? Table 11.3 shows the explanations of the
actions that can help organisations to sustain change.
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Explanation
Redesign Roles
Redesign Reward
System
Link Selection
Decisions to Change
Objectives
Encourage
Voluntary Acts of
Initiative.
Measure Progress
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ACTIVITY 11.4
Choose the correct answer.
1.
2.
3.
4.
288
5.
There are several forces for change which can influence an organisation
workforce, technology, competition, world politics and mandated pressures.
A planned change involves the change of activities that are done on purpose
to achieve intended objectives.
In addition, managers should also play their role as agents of change whilst
being a role model to their subordinates.
There are six tactics that can be utilised by change agents to overcome
resistance towards change, and these include training and communication,
involvement, negotiation, manipulation, coercion, and provision of facilities
and support.
Change resistance
Structured inertia
Group inertia
Sustaining change
Planned change
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