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APJ ABDUL KALAM TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

SECOND TRIMESTER MBA DEGREE EXAMINATION, MARCH 2016

MBA 21 Organizational Behaviour II

Max. Marks: 60 Duration: 3 Hours

PART A
Write short answers to all questions
(Each question carries two marks)

1. ‘An organization is a united, purposeful system composed of interrelated parts.’ Justify.

2. Shed light on the group dynamics in the ‘norming’ stage
3. Briefly describe the steps to overcome resistance to change in an organization.
4. What are the 3 kinds of communication directions in a formal environment?
5. ‘The lifeblood of the global market is trade.’ Define with examples the economic activities
of importing and exporting.

(5 x 2 marks = 10 marks)

PART B
Answer any three questions
(Each question carries ten marks)

6. Transactional analysis can be used to improve communication and understand your own
way of behaving and communicating. Elaborate.
7. Explain with examples the different conflict resolution strategies.
8. ‘Lapse in communication is the crux of organizational failure.’ What are the various
problems of communication within an organization?
9. What is Organizational Development? Illustrate the steps involved.
10. Highlight the impact of globalization on Organizational Behaviour.

(3 x 10 marks = 30 marks)

PART C
Compulsory Question
(The question carries twenty marks)

11. General Electric Corporation consists of over 186 companies organized into 43 strategic
groups and six business sectors. With over 250 000 employees, it is one of the oldest
consumer and industrial products manufactures in America. For over 50 years it has been
one of the largest defence contractors. For the US armed services it builds jet engines, radar
systems, missile components and a variety of replacement parts. It also builds military
hardware for purchase by friendly countries after the US Departments of Defense and
Commerce have okayed the transactions.

All defence contracting firms in the USA have started efforts to prevent or eliminate
fraudulent and deceptive business practices. These programmes have been stimulated by the
provisions of the 1986 False Claims Act, the Patriot Act of 2001 and the investigative

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practices of the US Justice Department and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, both
components of the US Attorney General. Besides spelling out fraudulent practices, remedies
and penalties, the law specifically protects whistleblowers. A whistle-blower is an employee
who reports corporate wrong-doing such as bribes, kickbacks, false accounting practices or
cheating to federal officials. The law noted above specifically protects such individuals from
retaliation (termination, pay loss, job transfer, demotion, discipline or harassment) by their
employers for informing the federal officials or for giving testimony in government-initiated
suits against defence contractors. Further, whistle- blowers can receive up to 25 per cent of
the fine or penalty assessed against the firm when wrongdoing is proven.

General Electric mounted an ambitious campaign to comply with the laws noted above. In
spite of internal controls and employee training, GE has been charged with fraudulent
defence contracting activities several times in recent years. One such case involved a long-
time employee named Chester Walsh. He blew the whistle on a scheme designed to create
payoffs and kickbacks to a GE manager and an Israeli general. The pair defrauded the US
government of about $42 million. Mr Walsh charged that Herbert Steindler, a GE marketing
official who handled Israeli accounts, conspired with Israeli Air Force General Rami Dotan
to prepare and submit false invoices for payment for military equipment and services which
were never provided by GE. Upon learning of this fraud, GE passed the bills on to the
appropriate US defence agency. The ruse lasted for several years until Mr Walsh detected it.

Rather than report the illegal activities right away, Mr Walsh learned the details of the 1986
law and he gathered irrefutable evidence of the conspiracy. For four years he assembled
documents and recorded conversations. By 1991 he had reported the abuses and he filed suit
against his employer under the False Claims Act. The US Justice Department and the US
Air Force investigated the charges. Eventually 24 GE employees were dismissed or
disciplined, including Mr Steindler. In Israel, General Dotan was convicted of bribery and
related crimes and given a 13- year prison sentence. According to Professors Miceli and
Near, Mr Walsh received $11.5m of the $69m GE had to pay the federal government to end
the case.

a) Do you think that fraudulent business practices are more common in very large
organisations? If so, why?
b) Why did Mr Walsh wait for four years to reveal the conspiracy between Mr
Steindler and General Dotan? In your mind did he gain anything by delaying his
accusation?
c) What are your recommendations to GE for preventing fraudulent practices and
encouraging ethical employee conduct?

(20 marks)

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