PAPER II

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

UNIT I:

Definition, need and importance of

organizational behaviour - nature and

scope -frame work - organizational

behaviour models.

UNIT II:

Personality - types factors

influencing personality - theories -

learning - types of learners - the

learning process - learning theories

- organizational behaviour

modification. Attitudes -

characteristics - components -
formation - measurement.

Perceptions - importance - factors

influencing perception - interpersonal

perception. Motivation - importance -

types -effects on work behavior.

UNIT III:

Organization structure - formation -

groups in organizations - influence

- group dynamics - emergence of

informal leaders and working norms

- group decision making techniques

- interpersonal relations -

communication - control.

UNIT IV:

Meaning - importance - leadership

styles - theories - leaders Vs

managers -sources of power - power

centers - power and politics.

UNIT V:

Organizational climate - factors

affecting organizational climate -

importance. Job satisfaction -

determinants - measurements -

influence on behavior. Organizational

change - importance - stability Vs

change - proactive Vs reactive

change - the change process –

resistance to change - managing

change. Organizational development

- characteristics - objectives - team

building. Organizational effectiveness

- perspective - effectiveness Vs

efficiency - approaches - the time

dimension - achieving organizational
effectiveness.
 SCHEME OF LESSONS

Lesson
Title of Lesson
No.

1 Introduction and Definition

2 Personality and Motivation

3 Organization Structure

4 Leadership

Organizational climate and

5
Effectiveness
 CHAPTER–I

ORGANISATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

INTRODUCTION:

Each organization consists of people.

For any organization to function, to

produce its particular goods and

services, the members must perform

their assigned duties. They must

behave in certain ways so that the

organization achieves its goals.

Organizational behaviour is a

specialized field of study concerned

with understanding and describing

human behaviour in an organization.

It is- the study of why people behave

as they do in organizations.
It is the comprehensive study of

behaviour of individuals, and groups

in organizations, and organizations

themselves, as they act and interact

to achieve the specified, desired

results or objectives- Organizational

behaviour (in short form OB)

therefore, involves three levels of

analysis; it is concerned with

individual behaviour, group

behaviour, and the behaviour of the

organization itself. In the words of

Keith Davis/ “OB is an academic

discipline concerned with

understanding and describing human

behaviour in an organizational

environment. It seeks to shed light

on the whole complex human factor

in organizations by identifying causes

and effects of that behaviour.

IMPORTANCE OF

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR:

The justification for studying OB as

a discipline can be found in the

following cardinal points:

1. The rules of the work are

different from the rules of play.

The uniqueness of rules and the

turbulent environment of

organizations compel managers

to study OB to learn about

normal and abnormal ranges of

behavior.
2. More specifically, OB serves

three purposes: what causes

behaviour? Why particular

antecedents cause behaviour?

Which antecedents of behaviour

can be controlled directly and

which are beyond control?

3. A more specific and formal

course in OB helps an individual

to develop a more refined,

workable set of assumptions

more directly relevant to his

work interactions. It helps in

demolishing

‘incorrect’assumptions one may

hold about behaviour Employees

in an organization are both

individuals and members of

 groups. OB helps in predicting

human behaviour in the

organizational setting by drawing

a clear distinction between

individual behaviour and group

behaviour.

4. OB does not provide a fund of

knowledge which is an easy

answer to all complex and

multifarious behavioural puzzles

of organizations. There is not

and there will never be any

substitute for the JUDGEMENT of

the practicing manager in dealing

with a specific issue. OB only

assists in formulating an

informed judgment that derived

from tenable assumptions;

 judgment that takes into account

the important variables

underlying the situation;

judgment that assigns due

recognition to the complexity of

individual or group behaviour;

judgment that explicitly takes

into account the manager's own

goals, motives, hang-ups, blind

spots and frailties.

All the speculation and speeches

about launching into the new

millennium have come and gone.

Now trying to effectively manage

21st century organizations has

become the harsh reality. Ask anyone

today—management professors,

practitioners, or students— what the

major challenges are in this new

environment, the answer will be very

consistent: advanced information

technology and globalization. As an

afterthought, managing diversity and

trying to solve ethical problems and

dilemmas may also be mentioned.

These are unquestionably major

issues facing the management of

today's organizations and are given

major attention in this text. However,

the field of organizational behavior in

general, and the basic premise and

assumptions of this text in particular,

is that managing the people—the

human resources of an

organization—have been, are, and

will continue to be, the major

challenge and critical competitive

advantage.
Information technology,

globalization, diversity, and ethics

serve as very important

environmental or contextual

dimensions for organizational

behavior. However, as Sam Walton,

the founder of Wal-Mart and richest

person in the world when asked what

was the answer to successful

organizations—“People are the key!”

The technology can be purchased and

copied, it levels the playing field. The

people, on the other hand, cannot be

copied. Although human bodies may

be cloned in the future, their ideas,

personalities, motivation, and

organization cultural values cannot

be copied. Becoming recognized as

1
“human capital” or “intellectual

capital,” the human resources of an

organization and how they are

managed represent the competitive

advantage of today's and tomorrow's

organizations. As the ultimate

“techie” Bill Gates astutely observed:

“The inventory, the value of my

company, walks out the door every

evening.”

Interestingly, whereas the

technology dramatically changes,

sometimes monthly or even weekly,

the human side of enterprise has not

and will not change that fast. As

recently noted by well-known

international management scholar

Geert Hofstede, “Because

management is always about people,

its essence is dealing with human

nature. Since human nature seems

to have been extremely stable over

recorded history, the essence of

management has been and will be

equally stable over time.” The nature

of work and the workplace itself, the

traditional employment contract, and

the composition of the workforce are

all dramatically changing and given

attention in this text.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOR
IN ACTION
A powerful, charismatic leader is
having problems. A well-known
consultant is called in to help. The

consultant notices that the leader

tries to handle all problems and

conflicts of his people himself. People

queue up before his office; because

he is overwhelmed, he cannot handle

all the business. So the consultant

has a private talk with the leader and

tells him to structure his organization

by delegating authority, empowering

subordinates to handle the workload.

These subordinates should be

selected not only on their leadership

abilities, but also on their character:

They should be truthful, not driven

by material gain. The new structure

should resolve all daily issues at the

lowest possible level; only the big

and difficult issues should be brought

before the leader. He should focus on

strategy—on dealing with the higher

authority, on establishing new

approaches and teaching these to the

people, on showing them the way to

go and the work to be done. The

case states that the leader listens to

the consultant and carries out the

reorganization which is a success,

and the consultant returns home.

DEFINITION:

According to Robbins, “OB is a field

of study that investigates the impact

that individuals, groups and structure

have on behaviour within

organisations for the purpose of

applying such knowledge towards

improving an organisation's

effectiveness.”

The field of organizational behavior is

now an accepted academic discipline

as with any other relatively new

academic endeavor, however, there

have been some rough spots and

sidetracks along the way. Besides the

healthy academic controversies over

theoretical approach or research

findings, perhaps the biggest

problem that organizational behavior

has had to face is an identity crisis.

Exactly what is meant by

organizational behavior? Is it an
attempt to replace all management

with behavioral science concepts and

techniques? How, if at all, does it

differ from good old applied or

industrial psychology? Fortunately,

these questions have now largely

been answered to the satisfaction of

most management academicians,

behavioral scientists, and

management practitioners.

Above figure shows, in very general

terms the relationships between and

emphases of organizational behavior

(OB) and the related disciplines of

organization theory (OT),

organization development (OD), and

human resource management (HRM).

As shown, OB tends to be more

theoretically oriented and at the

micro level of analysis. Specifically,

OB draws from many theoretical

frameworks of the behavioral

sciences that are focused on

understanding and explaining

individual and group behavior in

organizations. As with other sciences,

OB accumulates knowledge and tests

theories by accepted scientific

methods of research. In summary,

organizational behavior can be

defined as the understanding,

prediction, and management of

human behavior in organizations.

THE RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER

FIELDS

Although the above figure is not

intended to portray mutually

exclusive domains for the related

fields, because the lines are

becoming increasingly blurred and

there is no universal agreement of

what belongs to what among

academics or practitioners, most

people in the field would generally

agree with what is shown.

Organization theory tends to be more

macro-oriented than OB and is

concerned primarily with organization

structure and design. Yet, as in this

text, OT topics are included in the

study and application of OB.

Organization development, on the

other hand, tends to be both more

macro and more applied than OB. But

also like OT, as in this text, OD topics

are included in the study and

application of OB. Finally, as shown,

HRM tends to have a more applied

focus than OB. The human resource

management function is a part of

practicing organizations as much as

the marketing, finance, or operations

functions are.
Human resource managers are hired

and found with this title in practicing

organizations; organizational

behaviourists are not. Yet, somewhat

confusingly, those managers who

apply and draw from the field of

organizational behavior (whether

they be marketing managers, finance

managers, hospital administrators,

operations managers, store

managers, academic administrators,

office managers, or human resource

managers) are called “human

resource managers.” They are called

human resource managers and have

a human resource management role

(in addition to their other technical,

functional role) because they all

manage people. Thus, all managers,

regardless of their technical function,

are human resource managers in this

view because they deal with human

behavior in organizations. All

managers need to have an

understanding and perspective of

organizational behavior.

THE BEHAVIORAL APPROACH

TO MANAGEMENT

Organizational behavior represents

the human side of management, not

the whole of management. Other

recognized approaches to

management include the process,

quantitative, systems, knowledge,

and contingency approaches. In

other words, organizational behavior

does not intend to portray the whole

of management. The charge that old

wine (organizational psychology) has

merely been poured into a new bottle

(organizational behavior) has proved

to be groundless. Although it is

certainly true that all the behavioral

sciences (anthropology, sociology,

and especially psychology) make a

significant contribution to both the

theoretical and the research

foundations of organizational

behavior, it is equally true that

organizational psychology should not

be equated with organizational

behavior. For example, organization

structure and management processes

(decision making and

communication) play an integral,

direct role in organizational behavior;

but have at most an indirect role in

organizational psychology. The same

is true of many important dynamics

and applications of organizational

behavior. Although there will

probably never be total agreement

on the exact meaning or domain of

organizational behavior—which is not

necessarily bad, because it makes

the field more dynamic and

exciting—there is little doubt that

organizational behavior has come

into its own as a field of study,

research, and application.

This text on organizational behavior

attempts to provide the specific,

necessary background and skills to

make the managers of today and

tomorrow as effective with the

conceptual and human dimensions of

management as they have been in

the past with its technical, functional

dimensions.

NATURE AND SCOPE OF OB

Learning about OB is more than

simply storing up facts about people.

The field of OB is bewilderingly

complex. To understand ‘WHYS’of

behaviour it is essential to probe

deep into the organizational

relationship, patterns of behaviour

etc. It is necessary to document the

organizational factors influencing

workers, it is necessary to

understand the nature of this

‘soft’discipline, its strengths, its

weaknesses etc.

1. OB is a rational thinking, not an

emotional feeling about people.

The major goals of OB are to

explain and predict human

behaviour in organizations. It is

action-oriented and goal-

directed.

2. OB seeks to balance human and

technical values at work; it seeks

to achieve productivity by

building and maintaining

employee's dignity, growth and

 satisfaction, rather than at the

expense of these values.

3. OB is not a discipline in the usual

sense of the term but rather an

eclectic field of study that

integrates behavioural sciences

(psychology, sociology,

anthropology, and social

psychology etc.). It is a part of

the social sciences.

4. OB is both a science and an art.

The knowledge about human

behaviour in organizations lies

toward the science end of the

continuum; the skill in applying

that knowledge clearly leans

toward being an art, recognizing

that individual differences in

managerial style can vary
considerably.
5. OB is an inexact science. This is

perhaps due to the fact that it

is a young field of enquiry (in

terms of the use of scientific

techniques); comparatively little

progress has been made in

providing specific answers to

specific organizational problems

as such very little can be

prescribed and it is very difficult

to consistently predict the

behaviour of people in

organizations. It is possible to

predict relationships between

variables on a broad scale but

 it is difficult to apply predictive
4
models on an individual basis.

6. OB exists at multiple levels.

Behaviour occurs at the

individual, the group, and the

organizational systems level.

Behaviour that is attributable to

each of these levels can be both

identified and isolated. But at the

same time these three levels

interact with each other and OB

being affected by the behaviour

of individuals, group level

behaviour is affected by the

organizational level phenomena

and so on.

7. OB does not exist in vacuum.

Organizations are made-up of

both social and technical

components and therefore

characterized as socio-technical

systems. The operational

implication of this is that any

approach to looking at behaviour

must also take into account the

technical component of

organization—especially such

issues as the nature of the work

and the technology.

Organizations at the same time,

must take into account the

constraints of the working

environment— for example the

extent to which the market is

changing, the extent to which

the product is changing etc.

CONTRIBUTING DISCIPLINES

TO THE OB FIELD

The attempts to codify organizational

behaviour as a separate and

distinctive field of study are relatively

recent. It has been only during the

twentieth century that efforts have

been made to develop a general

theory. The contributors to this

development consist of a

heterogeneous group of

practitioners, psychologists,

academic generalists and specialists.

According to Fred Luthans, “As a

widely recognized and respected field

of study, Organizational Behaviour

has arrived. It has replaced the study

of human relations as being most

representative of the behavioural

approach to management.”

The traditional approaches to OB

emphasized the development of

certain, universal principles that

were appropriate to all organizations

and tasks. Much of the early

management thought came from

practicing executives and

administrators who distilled their

observations in the form of universal

truths and set them forth as general

guidelines for others.

When industrialism emerged in the

latter half of the eighteenth century,

the owner, and managers were more

interested in efficient production than

in their employees. This concern for

efficiency continued through the

nineteenth century and was

vigorously promoted by the scientific

managers. Employing their

engineering skills in a work setting,

these managers studied plant design,

plant layout, machine feed and

speed, and a host of other factors

that could bring about increases in

productivity.

The greatest weakness of the

scientific managers, however, was

that they knew very little about the

management of people. As scientific

management movement progressed,

an interest in the behavioural side of

management began to grow. It was

increasingly realized that concern for

production brought about people-

related problems and that the

effective manager had to take care of

both the personnel and the work.

The Hawthorne studies revealed the

work organization to be a social

system and indicated the need for

consideration of psychological and

sociological aspects of organisational

behaviour. The Hawthorne studies

revealed that work group norms,

beliefs, sentiments had a tremendous

impact in influencing individual

behaviour than did the economic

incentives offered by the

management. The studies dramatized

the fact that a worker is not a

glorified machine, an inert

instrument in the production process.

People do not work for bread alone.

They have multifarious

needs—physical as well as

psychological. Satisfaction of

psychological needs is as important

as satisfaction of physical needs.

Moreover, behaviour is a product of

sentiments, beliefs, work group

norms and to draw an equation

between productivity and

organizational incentives is a gross

understatement of the problem.

Money is less a factor in determining

output than group standards, group

sentiments and security

The scientific management's one best

way philosophy has to be moderated

to recognize the effects of work

groups. An organization should be

viewed, therefore, as a social system

which has both economic and social

dimensions. The work environment

must be so designed as to provide

for the restoration of man's dignity.

These experiments helped light the

way for much behavioural research.

Managers began contemplating in

terms of group norms, standards and

group rewards to support their

former preoccupation with individual

behaviour. They began to appreciate

the fact that group behaviour is

intertwined with individual

behaviour. The movement has also

helped in understanding the

therapeutic value of allowing workers

to air their opinions regarding

working conditions freely. In spite of

the fact that the human relations

movement had a major impact on

management thought, there has been

substantial dissent.

Fig. Showing Contributions to the OB field

In fact, the movement has come

under blistering attack ever since its

birth as a management philosophy. It

is pointed out that human relations

are nothing but ‘Cynical puppeteering

of people, a moral concern with the

emotional aspects of human

behaviour’ It is an attempt to exploit

workers in organization, an

infringement on the personal lives of

workers. It is merely an alibi for

practising ‘inhuman relations’ One

unfortunate limitation of the

movement was the equation between

happiness and job satisfaction.

The Hawthorne studies suggested

that happy employees are productive

employees. This, of course, is a naive

and simplistic assumption regarding

human behaviour. In an organization,

it is quite possible to have a lot of

happy but unproductive employees.

Moreover, human relations puts all

the emphasis on people-crientation,

and people management. The

psychological aspects are

overemphasized at the cost of

structural and technical aspects.

Further, as pointed out by Kast and

Rosenzweig, “One of the major

shortcomings of the early human

religionists was inadequate

consideration of the role of unions

in industrial societies. The impression

from many of Mayo's writings is that

he thought unions were rather

unnecessary if management was

performing its functions effectively.

This coincides with another criticism

that Mayo was authoritarian and

really was bent on the maintenance

the hierarchical structure but with

the manager giving greater

consideration to human factors in

order to maintain the traditional

system.”

Thus, human relations movement

lacks adequate focus on work. It puts

all emphasis on inter-personal

relations and on the informal group.

It tends to neglect the importance

of economic incentives. It it primarily

concerned with the behaviour of

operative employees and as such

labeled as ‘short sighted ventilation

therapy’ In addition to managerial

pressures for maintaining production

standards, employees are now

compelled to observe the work group

norms also. The discipline of the boss

is simply replaced by the discipline

of the group forcing the individual

to sacrifice his personal identity and

dignity.

Thus, the human relations approach

was “Often guilty of attempting to

provide simple, practical solutions to

complex human problems in

organizations.” Unfortunately, there

are no easy solutions to problems

such as the elimination of poverty,

the way to peace and the protection

of the environment. It is necessary

to understand the variables affecting

these problems, the causes not the

symptoms, before attempting to find

out simple solutions.

The same is true for humans in

organizations. Organizational

Behaviour is primarily concerned with

the study of what people do in an

organization and how that behaviour

influences the performance of the

organization. It focusses on the

understanding of human behaviour,

and, therefore, is much more

relevant than human relations. Keith

Davis, while attempting to

summarize these developments,

advanced four models for

understanding the gradual evolution

of modem OB. The field of

Organizational Behaviour has

undergone dramatic changes over

the years. Traditional thinking has

been modified and enriched by

informational inputs from a variety of

underlying disciplines. The following

table captures the important

contributions made by psychologists,

sociologists, social psychologists,

anthropologists and others toward

the field of organizational behaviour.

OB MODELS

OB represents a combination of

Human Relations and Management.

Additionally, as the above table

reveals, it has received substantial

contributions from other disciplines,

especially from psychology and

sociology. These contributions have,

undoubtedly, helped in enriching the

subject but, at the same time, made

it more difficult to understand. As a

result most writers are compelled to

make use of models which certainly

help in clarifying complex topics.

These models can be conveniently

classified into four categories:

1. Subjective versus objective

models. Subjective models are

devoid of formal methods and

they are primitive in nature.

While managing people, for

example, a manager often

resorts to subjective judgment,

based on intuition, expressed in

such statements: people are

basically lazy, you can't teach an

old dog new tricks, everyone is

motivated by money, a job is just

a means of survival, there is very

little challenge and excitement in

managing male employees and

so on, On the other hand, most

formal models are based on an

objective analysis of facts and

situations. They replace

systematic analysis for intuition.

1. Static versos dynamic

models.- Dynamic models

try to deal with

environmental challenges
 ‘head-on’, recognize the

complexities involved and

meet the requirements in an

effective manner. Static

models place premium on

status quo arrangements.

2. Physical versos abstract

models. Physical models are

real, tangible and can be

easily understood, as the

model of an aero plane in a

museum. Abstract models, in

contrast, are intangible and

symbolic. The accountant's

model of balance sheet

—Assets — Liabilities =Net

worth—is abstract.
3. Normative versos

descriptive models.

Normative models provide a

theoretical framework and

determine actions that lead

to an optimal solution. For

example, management

textbooks construct a

theoretical edifice for

witnessing the optimum

functioning of managers.

Descriptive models capture

the reality and try to show

what is really going on. For

all practical purposes, OB is

based on descriptive models

only, since it is concerned

 with real, not idealized

behaviour in organizations.

TABLE

Relation to
Autocratic Custodial Supportive Collegial
other ideas

TMcGregor
Mas low
X Security Y Middle
Herzberg High order
Physiological Maintenance order
W.H. Motivational
Maintenance Organization Motivational
Whyte 8,8
9,1 man 3,5 6.6
Blake and

Mouton

Depends on
Depends on Values
leadership
economic employee
focus on
resources needs
‘Depends on participation
rewards dignity
power rules in
Basic govern growth
govern life organizational
Features employee satisfaction
premium on tasks
actions seeks to
obedience employees
employee balance
work in a
depends on human and
supportive
organization technical
environment

for security and are better value at

and welfare motivated work.

Double click this page to view clearly

 Adapted from Keith Davii:
Source:
Human Behaviour at Work

(New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill

1975),

Model Used in This Textbook

All models have some common

elements, namely, objective,

variables and relationships (Fig.).

The basic objective of any OB model

is to explain and predict the way

people behave in organizations.

Figure showing variable in the OB model

Variables can be classified into three

categories: dependent variables,

independent variables, and

moderating or intervening variables.

Independent variables

Casual variables are those which

employees have no control, but their

behaviour is influenced by them.

However, management has full

control over independent variables.

Popular independent variables in OB

include personality, attitudes,

motivation, leadership style,

rewards, selection methods etc.

Independent variables affect the

dependent variables, often, in an

indirect way. For example, if we can

identify the leadership style

employed in an organization—close,

moderate, loose. We can measure

various levels in a dependent

variable, like productivity /

absenteeism.

Dependent variables

Dependent variables such as

productivity, absenteeism, turnover

and job satisfaction are affected by

independent variables. Often, they

are the crucial factors determining

the effectiveness of an organization.

A transport organization, for

example, is effective when it

successfully meets the needs of its

passengers. It is efficient when it can

perform this at a low cost. Similarly

a business firm is effective when it

attains its market share goals and

is efficient when it meets its return

on investment criteria. Apart from

productivity, which is a major

concern of OB, absentee* ism is also

an important factor having a direct

influence on an * organization's

effectiveness and efficiency.

A high rate of absenteeism disrupts

workflow, slows down decision

making process, and an even result

in a drastic reduction in quality of

output. Similarly, a high rate of

turnover implies additional

recruitment, selection and training

costs. Finally, organizations should

take care of not only the material

requirements of employees but also

the psychological requirements. To

this end, they must provide jobs that

are challenging and intrinsically

rewarding to employees. Thus job

satisfaction, though reflects an

attitude, is an important dependent

variable in OB,

Moderating or intervening variables.

Moderating variables, as the name

suggests, reduce the effects of the

independent variable on the

dependent variable. If employees, for

example, are supervised closely

(independent variable), then there

will be a change in worker

productivity (dependent variable),

but this effect will be moderated by

the complexity of the tasks handled

by the employees.

Figure given below reveals the model

employed in this textbook. The model

begins by looking into the variables

affecting individual behaviour. The

knowledge acquired at the individual

level will enable us to analyze the

behaviour at the group level and in

the organization as a whole. These

three levels of analysis in OB will

enable us to unravel the complexities

involved in OB in a systematic and

organised fashion. The variables

affecting behaviour at each level

have been picturised in the earlier

figure and taken together these two

should enable the student to perform

the journey to the wonderland of OB

in a smooth manner.

Figure showing basic OB model

QUESTIONS

1. What is meant by organizational

behaviour (OB)?

2. Why we have to study

organizational behaviour? Can

you provide some justification?

3. Elaborately explain OB models as

provided by Keith Davis?

4. Discuss the nature and scope of

organizational behaviour?
 CHAPTER – II

PERSONALITY

Organizations are collections of

individual human beings who have

united to accomplish certain goals

and objectives- The basic building

blocks of an organization are

individuals. It becomes imperative to

study the individual behaviour in

studying the organization. The

scientific management advocates,

unfortunately ignored the human

element beyond considerations of

skills they possess. Human relations

adherents similarly over simplified

the importance and complexity of

individual personality differences.

The study of personality and its

development provides an opportunity

to consider the individual as a unique

entity. Psychologists, long back, have

focused on perception, judgment,

motivation, learning reinforcement

and imagination, personality traits

and such factors that constitute the

world of an individual. The objective

of this chapter is to describe,

evaluate, compare personalities

through different theories of

personality.

Any discussion of human behaviour

should logically begin with the

concept of ‘personality.’Personality of

an individual is unique. Behaviour is

influenced by personal and

environmental factors. It is therefore

essential to study the individual and

his personality concepts before

proceeding to see how he behaves in

work organizations.

B=f (Personality, Environmental

factors) or B~f(P t E)

Basic understanding of human

personality is vital to the study and

analysis of organizational behaviour.

Because of differences in personality,

individuals differ in their manner of

responding to organizational

environments.

In the words of D. E. James “it is

better to consider the individual

aspects of a person's make-up as

bricks, and personality as the whole

house built of without which an

individual would have no meaning

bricks, but held together with

cement” Personality is an organized

whole

Personality Defined

Allport has defined personality as:

“the dynamic organisation within the

individual of those psycho-physical

systems that determine his unique

adjustment to his environment.”

The term ‘personality’is derived from

Latin word person are which means

“to speak through”. The Latin term

was used to denote the masks the

actors used to wear in ancient Rome

and Greece. Personality thus

traditionally referred to how people

influence others through their

external appearances (actions). But

for an academician personality

included

i. External appearance and

behaviour,

ii. The inner awareness of self as a

permanent organizing force and

iii. The particular organization of

measurable traits, both inner and

outer.

Thus, a thoroughly complete

definition of personality becomes a

jigsaw puzzle because human being

operates as a whole, not as a series

of distinct parts. Though

psychologists and social scientists

unanimously agree to the importance

of personality, they are unable to

come out with an unanimous

definition. Persona-lity has been

defined by many people in different

ways. Let us consider some of them:

1. Personality is a broad,

amorphous designation relating

to fundamental approaches of

persons to others and

themselves. To most

psychologists and students of

behaviour, this term refers to the

study of the characteristic traits

of an individual, relationships

between these traits, and the

 way in which a person adjusts to

other people and situations.

2. Personality is a pattern of stable

states and characteristics of a

person that influences his or her

behaviour toward goal

achievement. Each person has

unique ways of protecting these

states.

3. Personality is a very diverse and

complex psychological concept.

The word ‘Personality’may mean

something like outgoing,

invigorating interpersonal

abilities. But we must also

recognize and explain the fact

that development results in man

acquiring a distinctiveness or
 uniqueness which gives him

identity which enables him and is

to recognize him as apart from

others. These distinguishing

characteristics are summarized

by the term personality.

In using individual personality traits

to enrich our understanding of

personality we may land in

difficulties. It is because there are

so many traits and it is almost an

impossible task to use them all.

Allport and odbert have found that

there are three thousand to five

thousand words that describe

personal qualities. Gordon Allport, in

fact, found more than fifty different

definitions of personality and

categorized these definitions into five

major areas labeled as follows:

a. Omnibus. These definitions view

personality as the ‘sum total’,

aggregate or constellation of

properties or qualities.

b. Integrative and

configurational. Under this

view of personality the

organization of personal

attributes is stressed.

c. Hierarchiah These definitions

specify the various levels of

integration or organization of

personality.

d. Adjustment. This view

emphasizes the adjustment

 (adaptation, survival, and

evolution) of the person to the

environment.

e. Distinctiveness. The definitions

of this category stress the

uniqueness of each personality.

After analysing all these definitions,

Allport has advanced an interesting

and comprehensive definition where

he states ‘personality is the dynamic

organization within the individual of

those psychological systems that

determine his unique adjustment to

his environment’

The definitional problem of

personality becomes staggering from

the point of view of its meaning.

Laymen tend to equate personality

with social success, or dominant style

characteristic of a person, for

example; height, strong, weak etc.

If we go like this there may be

thousands of words that represent

personality. The descriptive-

adjective approach used by layman

plays only an insignificant part in

understanding human personality.

Scholars and social psychologists

operate from altogether different

angle i.e., theoretical base. The trait

names such as honesty or aggression

are nothing but short-hand fictions

which enable us to describe

economically someone's

characteristic and somewhat

consistent patterns of responding to

certain classes of situations.

Therefore, people try to choose a

small number of traits which they

think are more important than the

rest, or they choose some dimensions

which are so broad in meaning that

each subsumes a greater number of

surface traits-Kluckhohan and Murray

have beautifully concluded this

puzzling issue of ‘personality’by

stating that “to some extent, a

person's personality is like all other

people, like some other people, like

no other people.”
DETERMINANTS OF

PERSONALITY

People are enormously complex;

their abilities and interests and

attitudes are diverse. The drama of

life unfolds in fantastically broad

intricate patterns from nursing infant

to the lonely, senile adult; from the

rebellious teens to the stable fifties;

from the idealistic to realistic; from

tragedy to comedy; from the birth to

death. The journey of an individual

through life can take infinite number

of paths. But the question arises

“what are the determinants of

individual personality? We often

notice personality characteristics

such as extroversion, assertiveness

and warmth etc. greatly contribute to

success of an individual in his jobs.

Most failures on job, however, are

not attributable to a person's amount

of intelligence alone but also to

certain personality characteristics.

We frequently hear such comments

as, “He is very intelligent but lazy”,

“He is mediocre but hard-working”

etc. The most pertinent and relevant

question then is how personality

originates and develop? The major

determinants of personality of an

individual can be studied under four

broad headings biological, cultural,

family and situational.

Biological Factors

Biological factors may be studied

under three heads—the heredity the

brain, and the physical stature.

1. Heredity. The relative effects of

heredity comprises an extremely

old argument in personality

theory. Certain characteristics

primarily physical in nature, are

inherited from one's parents,

transmitted by genes in the

chromosomes contributed by

each parent Research on animals

has showed that both physical

and psychological characteristics

can be transmitted through

heredity. Bu research on human

beings is inadequate to support

this viewpoint However,

 psychologists and geneticists

have accepted to the fac that

heredity plays an important role

in one's personality. The

importance of heredity varies

from one personality trait to

another For instance, heredity is

generally more important in

determining \ person's

temperament than values and

ideals.

2. Brain. Another biological factor

that influences personality is the

role of brain of an individual.

Though some promising inroads

are made by researchers, the

psychologists are unable to

prove empirical the contribution

 of human brain in influencing

personality. Preliminary results

from the electrical stimulation of

the brain (ESB research gives

indication that better

understanding of human

personality and behaviour might

come from the study of the

brain.

3. Physical features. Perhaps the

most outstanding factor the

contributes to personality i.e.,

the physical stature of an

individual an individual's

external appearance is proved to

be having a tremendous effect on

his personality. For instance, the

fact that a person i short or tall,

fat or skinny, handsome or ugly,

black or whitish will undoubtedly

influence the person's effect on

others and in turn, will affect the

self-concept. According to Paul

H. Mussen a child's physical

characteristics may be related to

his approach to the social

environment, to the expectancies

of others, and to their reactions

to him. These in turn may have

impacts on personality
10
development.” Similarly, a

rapidly maturing girl or boy will

be exposed to different physical

and social situations and

activities than will a slowly

maturing boy or girl.

 Psychologists contend that the

different rates of maturation will

also influence the individual's

personality.

Cultural Factors

Culture is traditionally considered as

the major determinant of an

individual's personality. The culture

largely determines what a person is

and what a person will learn. The

culture within a person is brought

up, is very important determinant of

behaviour of a person. Culture is the

“complex of these beliefs, values,

and techniques for dealing with the

environment which are shared among

contemporaries and transmitted by

one generation to the next.” Culture

required both conformity and

acceptance from its members. There

are several ways of ensuring that

members comply with %the dictates

of the culture. Such socialization

takes place through the early training

given to the young of a culture,

through establishing mores and

through informal pressure to obey

certain ways of behaving. The

personality of an individual to a

marked extent determined by the

culture in which he is brought up.

According to Mussen “...each culture

expects, and trains, its members to

behave in the ways that are

12
acceptable to the group.” In spite
of the importance of the culture on

personality, researchers were unable

to establish linear relationship

between these two concepts

‘personality’and ‘culture’

Family and Social Factors

Family and social factors also are

important in shaping personality of

an individual. In order to understand

the effect of a family on individual's

personality, we have to understand

1
the socialization process and

identification process.

1. Socialization process. The

contribution of family and social

group in combination with the

culture is known as socialization.

In the words of Mussen

“socialization is the process by

which an individual infant

acquires, from the enormously

wide range of behavioural

potentials that are open to him

at birth, those behaviour

patterns that are customary and

acceptable according to the

standards of his family and social

13
group.” It initially starts with

the contact with mother and later

on the other members of the

family (father, sisters, close-

relatives) and the social group

plays influential role in shaping

an individual's personality.
2. Identification process.

Identification is fundamental in

understanding personality.

Identification starts when a

person begins to identify himself

with some other members of the

family. Normally a child tries to

behave as his father or mother.

He tries to emulate certain

actions of his parents. According

to Mischel identification process

can be examined from three

angles: (a) it can be viewed as

the similarity of behaviour

between child and the model,

and (b) it can be looked as the

child's motives or desires to be

like the model and (c) it can be

viewed as the process through

which the child actually takes on

14
the attributes of the model.

Apart from the socialization and

identification processes, the

personality of an individual is

influenced by the home

environment. There is a

substantial empirical evidence to

indicate that the overall

environment at home is created

by parents is critical to

personality development.

Family background a part, social

class also influences a person's

perception, perception of self

and others, and perception of

work, authority and money etc.

Situational Factors

Human personality is also influenced

by situational factors. The effect of

environment is quite strong.

Knowledge, skill and language are

obviously acquired and represent

important modifications of behaviour.

Learned modifications in behaviour

are not passed on to children, they

must be acquired by them through

their own personal experience,

through interaction with the

environment. In one research by

Milgram it was found that situation

plays a vital role in human

personality. According to Milgram

‘'situation exerts an important press

on the individual. It exercises

constraints and may provide push.

In certain circumstances it is not so

much the kind of person a man is,

as the kind of situation in which he

is placed, that determines his

15
actions’* Milgram certainly does

not completely rule out the

importance of the developmental

aspects of personality. He rather

demonstrated that the situation may

potentially have a very big impact

on the behavioural expression of

personality.

THEORIES ON PERSONALITY

Let us now make a historical trip

through different theories of

personality. Over time researchers

have developed a number of

personality theories and no theory, at

the outset, it must be pointed out, is

complete in itself. Many personality

theories can be conveniently grouped

tinder the five heads as given below:

Intra-psychic Theory of

Sigmund Freud

The grand-daddy of many personality

theories is the one originated, by

Sigmund Freud as a result of his

psycho-analytical explorations

Though other prolific theorists such

as Karen Horney, Carl Jung, Erich

Fromm have also made a significant

additional contributions Freud

remains the most influential theorist

in the area of personality.

According to Freud the human mind

is composed of three elements (i) the

preconscious, (ii) the conscious, (iii)

the unconscious. The items in the

mind that can be recognized only

through I Freud’s association method

are “preconscious’ The conscious

element is concerned with thoughts,

feelings beliefs and desires that we

can learn about ourselves through

introspection. The final component

“'unconscious” is basically concerned

with ideas and wishes that cannot

be learned through introspection nut

can be determined Tom hypnotism,

dreams, and Freidiam therapeutic
techniques.
According to Freud the conscious” is

guided by a “reasoned reality”

principle and the “unconscious” is

guided by the famous ‘hedonistic

principle’of pleasure. Freud

developed an organization of

personality consisting of three

structures within the human mind—

:he id, the ego, and the superego.

These parts of the mind are primarily

responsible for originating human

actions and reactions and

modifications.

1. The id. It is the original and

most basic system of human

personality. It consists of

everything psychologically that is

inherited and present at the time

of birth. At the base of the

Freudian theory lies the id that

is primitive, instinctual and

governed by the principles of

greedy and pleasure. Id

represents a storehouse of all

instincts, containing in its dark

depths all wishes, desires that

unconsciously direct and

determine our behaviour. Id is

largely childish, irrational,

never- satisfied, demanding and

destructive of others. But id is

the foundation upon which all

other parts of personality are

erected.
Like a newly bom baby (infant)

id has no perception of reality.

It is primitive, immoral, insistent

and rash. Id is the reservoir of

the “psychic energy” which Freud

calls “Libido”. According to Freud

id is totally oriented increasing

pleasure and avoiding pain, and

it strives for immediate

satisfaction of desires.

One notable characteristic of id

is that it cannot tolerate

uncomfortable levels of tension

within it and seeks to release the

tension as soon as it develops.

The methods for dealing with

tension by id are noteworthy.

They are (/) primary processes

and (w) reflex actions. The

former attempts to discharge a

tension by forming a mental

image of desirable means of

releasing the tension. But this

kind of tension release is

temporary and mental, and

would not satisfy the real need.

For instance, if a person is

hungry the id deals with the

situation by creating a mental

image of desirable and good food

that is palatable* The later

method (reflex actions) of

tension release is reflected in the

behaviour of individuals such as

 blinking of eyes, raising

eyebrows, rubbing the cheeks

etc. Id, in fact, is capable of

resolving the tension in reality.

Thus, id encompasses the most

primitive and ancient aspects of

human and mental make-up. It

is instinctive, often unconscious

and unrecognized, and is

unaffected by socially or

culturally determined

restrictions. Id basically

represents an individual's natural

urges and feelings.

2. Ego. As an individual learns to

separate the unreality from

reality in childhood, the ego

develops. The ego is reality-

oriented part of thinking; it is

largely practical and works in an

executive capacity. Ego is

rational and logical and in

essense it is the conscious

mediator between the realities of

world and the id's demands Its

constantly works to keep a

healthy psychological balance

between id's impulsive demands

and superego's restrictive

guidance. Ego is rational master.

The ego is said to be the

executive part of the personality

because it controls the gateway

to action, selects the features of

the environment to which it will

respond, and decides what

instincts will be satisfied.

One essential feature of ego is

that it regulated and integrates

the inner motives and conflicting

demands, defends the person by

using defense mechanism, and

masters the person's goals. The

ego develops by creating an

effective perceptual mechanism

that enables a person to adjust

to the reality principle viz.

tolerance of tension, expectation

of punishment, awareness of

things and associated inhibitions

of actions. The most important

characteristic of ego is that it has

the ability to distinguish between

mental images and actual

sources of tension release, and it

responds to the real sources of

tension reduc-tion.

The ego performs this task by (i)

observing accurately what exists

in the outside world (perceiving),

(ii) recording these experiences

carefully (remembering) and (iii)

modifying the external world in

such a way as to satisfy the

instinctual wishes (acting).

Although ego contains no

energy. Freud is of the view that

it controls behaviour by means of

the approach-avoidance conflict,

turning the energy of id against

itself. It governs how people act,

 what they say and think

consciously. It attempts to find

acceptable ways or solution to

many demands and problems of

an individual. If the ego

succeeds, the individual is

content, otherwise he will be

dissatisfied and have a mental

stress, ambivalence and burnout.

3. Superego. Superego represents

noblest thoughts, ideals, feelings

that are acquired by a person

from his parents, teachers,

friends, religion, organization

and colleagues etc. As a child

grows and absorbs parental and

cultural attitudes and values, he

develops a superego. It is also

labelled as “ago-ideal” that tells

an individual what is acceptable.

Superego is the moralistic

segment of the human

personality. The primary concern

of superego is to determine

whether the action proposed by

“ego” is right or wrong so that

the individual acts in accordance

with the values and standards of

the society. If people violate the

prohibition of superego they may

feel guilty (by cursing

themselves they have self-

punishment).

The superego acts as a sensor on

the individual and as a sensor a

too strong superego is likely to

be in constant and pronounced

battle with the id. Freud says

that the ego's role was to

mediate between the id and

superego. A personality becomes

disorderly when either the id or

superego becomes dominant. At

the same time, it should be

noted that when too much

energy is consumed by ego in

mediating between the id and

superego, an individual's

personal development will suffer

(or adversely affected).

The superego, in some respects,

is the antithesis of id.

Psychologist Duane Schult notes

that the id is pressing for

satisfaction, the ego is trying to

delay it; and the superego urges

morality above all. Freud's

human being is therefore

described as “basically a

battlefield.” He is a dark celler

in which well-bred spinster lady

(the superego) and a sex-crazed

monkey (the id) are forever

engaged in mortal combat and

the struggle being re-forced by

rather a nervous bank clerk (the

ego).

In Freudian theory of personality

the instinctual drives of id and

superego are constantly battling

each other and seeking to break

out of bonds of reason the ego.

As a person becomes tom

between this conflict, a friction

develops and results in anxiety,

an ominous feeling that all is not

well Anxiety creates tension and

as such a person resorts to

defensive mechanism in order to

reduce tension.

Defense mechanisms. The id,

ego and superego will always be

in conflict. Conflicts among the id

(the pleasure seeking element),

the superego (the noble and

idealistic element) and the ego

(the compromising element)

results in defensive mechanisms

that are necessary to reduce the

tension and anxiety caused by

conflict. These defense

mechanisms may be aggression,

repression, Nationalization,

reaction, projection, and

introjection.

Aggression. People become

aggressive and attack a person

or situation when conflict arises.

A pure case of aggression results

when the perceived source of

tension and anxiety is attacked

by the person who is affected.

Sometimes, the aggression may

be directed toward some

innocent or uninvolved party. For

instance, after confronting the

dissatisfied customer, a manager

may be aggressive toward a

subordinate when he meets first

after the aforesaid confrontation

with the customer.

Repression. Sometimes people

resort to repression i.e.,

deliberately forgetting the issue.

Through absenteeism he is

avoiding at lei a part of the

threatening situation. But the

problems cannot be solve, by

repressive defense, they simply

be postponed.

Rationalization Here the

individual resorts to redefinition

of the situation that is anxiety

or conflict producing. Ego tries

to find excuses for the problem,

and therefore, not conducive to

problem solving and personality

development of the individual.

For instance, a professor who is

unable to deliver lecture

effectively resorts to defensive

mechanism by stating that there

are some problems caused by

non-serious students or may say

“due to the unavailability of

modern teaching aids I could not

do much justice.”

Reaction formation. If an

individual is uncomfortable with

existing problem the ego may

repress the problem and

substitute it opposite. For

instance, if an individual dislikes

American lobby but is upset by

this feeling, he may later on

claim to like Americans.

Projection and introjections. The

ego denies sometimes that he

has a particular emotions,

feelings, actions especially when

it causes the other person

serious anxiety. Projection is a

safety valve where to blames

something else without admitting

the feelings or actions. Under

projection a person imputes his

feelings and actions to someone

else. Introjections, the opposite

function, is one where ego takes

in something from outside. (For

example, my professor, my

roommate, my bench-mate etc.)

 and sees it as a part of himself.

Socio-logists label this process

“internalization” which occurs

when people start growing.

Evaluation of Jntrapsychic

Theory

The psychoanalytical theory has had

an enormous impact on psychological

and philosophical conceptions of

people. Liebert and Spiegler contend

that there are four major

characteristics of the theory that

make this theory unique and bring

specific identity. They are:

a. It is deterministic. Behaviour

is assumed to be caused.
 Surprisingly, even unconscious

‘slips’are considered to ‘exbibit

or reveal a certain meaning.

b. It is dynamic. It assumes that

human action results from

psychic energy called libido (i.e.,

life maintaining and pleasure-

seek i* « energy that becomes

attached to or withdrawn from

various goals and objects).

c. It is developmental. Human

development begins at birth a

‘progresses through life.

d. It is structural. The three basic

structures of personality are id,

ego and superego.

Psychoanalytic theory is also known

as ‘metapsychology’because it

attempts to extend human behaviour

and actions beyond conscious

elements i.e., by placing emphasis

on unconscious motivations of
21
behaviour.

Psychoanalysis while acknowledged

as having a powerful influence has

been seriously questioned as a

scientific theory. This theory will

criticized on methodological grounds.

It is pointed out that it is the more

empirical inferential of behaviour in

general rather than being purely

historical reflection. Further Freud's

theory is criticized because it is

largely un-testable (since his

constructs are difficult to define and

are ambiguous).

Type Theories

The type theories represent an

attempt to scientifically describe

personalities by classifying

individuals into convenient

categories. Sheldon's physiognomy

theory, Carl Jung's extra vert and

introvert theory are some examples

of type theories.

Sheldon's Physiognomy

Theory

William Sheldon has presented a

unique body-type-temperamental

model that represents a link between

anatomical/psychological traits and

characteristics of an individual with

his behaviour. Sheldon identifies

some relationship between the

physique types of individuals and

their personality temperaments. He

identifies three body types and

emorphic, mesomorphic and

ectomorphic

Endomorph. He is bulky and

beloved. Sheldon contends that the

endomorph to be rather fat, thick in

proportion to his height. His

personality temperament is

viscertonic i.e., the person seeks

comfort, loves fine food, eats too

much, jovial, affectionate and liked-

by-all person.
Mesomorph. He represents

absolutely category two type people.

He is basically strong, athletic and

tough. His physique is appreciated by

all, in fact; it is this personality all

other “morphs” wish for. According

to Sheldon he will tend to be

somatotonic temperament i.e., he is

fond of muscular activity; he tends

to be highly aggressive, and self-

assertive. He can run faster, smile

brighter, and beats alone the other

two ‘morphs’together.

Ectomorph. The final category of

people according to Sheldon's

classification is the ectomorphs.

These people are thin, long and

poorly developed physically. Though

physically weak, he leads the league

in the intellectual department. His

temperament is Cerebrotonic i.e.

excessive inhibition, restraint, and

avoidance of social contacts etc., He

is labeled as absent-minded, shy, but

brilliant university professor

stereotype.

Sheldon contends that most

physiques are mixture of three

components, He has developed a

mathematical technique to describe

each particular combination of these

sets of body types. A person's sonoa

to type is composed of three numbers

each on a seven point scale. The first

number represents endomorphic

traits, the second number

representing mesomorphic and the

third, ectomorphic. For instance, a

perfect ectomorph would be 0—0—7;

and a perfect mesomorph would be

0—7—0 etc. To take real-life

situations, Abraham Lincoln was

J—5—6; and Muhammad Ali is

2—7—1.

One potential pitfall of this theory is

the inherent generalization. There is

almost unfailing tendency on the part

of many people to pigeonhole every

person into one category or another.

Though down- to-earth classification

of real people is unreliable and

impossible Sheldon's theory provides

a rough sketch of extreme forms of

personality traits on the basis of

which generalizations can be done,

though not with cent per cent

accuracy.

Carl Judges Extrovert-

introvert Theory

A common type theory is Carl Jung's

introversion-extroversion scheme.

Carl Jung, one of Freud's students

in the emerging science of

psychoanalysis, proposed his own

two-part theory of personality. Jung's

approach is also termed as analytical

psychology. Extroverts are

optimistic, outgoing gregarious and

sociable. Id the extrovert feelings

dominate an individual's thinking his

decisions and actions are determined

by objective relationships and not by

pure opinion. Extrovert is basically

objective, a reality-oriented

individual who is much more doer

than a thinker.

Introverts, by contrast, are more

inward-directed people. They are less

sociable, withdrawn and absorbed in

inner life. They will be guided by their

own ideas and philosophy. They are

rigid and less flexible and subjective-

oriented. Normally, a person who has

few friends, avoids social contacts,

and rarely speaks to others unless

they speak first might be

characterized as being introverted or

withdrawn. Extroverts, on the other

hand, are friendly, enjoy interaction

with others, crave excitement and

dislike solitude. Introverts, however,

are being quite, retiring, enjoying

solitude etc. These two cases thus,

represent extreme situations.

Few people are completely introverts

or extroverts. But the mixture of

these two ingredients determines the

kind of overall personality on an

individual.

Jung, at the base of his theory,

explains that the personality has four

dimensions as follows,

1. Thinking. It includes logical

reasoning (rational, analytic)

 2. Feeling. It refers to the

interpretation of a thing or event

on a subjective/scale (emotional,

effect)

3. Station. It deals with perception

of thing in general sense (factual

and concrete)

4. Intuition. It is based on

unconscious inner perception of

the potentialities or events or

things (associative or gestalt)

Type I person is a sensation thinking

individual, and is basically analytic,

oriented toward the present. He is

primarily interested in facts, and

extremely practical. Type II persons

are intuition-thinking and the type III

individual is sensation- feeling and

finally type IV people are intuition-

feeling.

The Jungian theory has been applied

by some researchers to the problem

of implementation of management

science. The intuition- feeling type is

hypothesized as being more able to

successfully implement change and

innovation in the organization. On

other hand, managers who are

characterized by sensation thinking

types are hypothesized as being

more willing to build and accept

management science tools and

techniques than are managers who

are predominantly trait-characterized

by intuition-feeling types.
But the question can arise as to what

is the importance of extroversion-

introvert- dimension to the study of

behaviour in organizations? On

repetitive tasks or on tasks

performed in environments that offer

very little sensory stimulation, the

introvert will usually do better; the

extrovert will spontaneously engage

in task-irrelevant behaviours

designed to provide necessary

variation to increase stimulation On

the other hand, on tasks performed

in environments in which sensory

overload threatens (for example,

random stimulus changes, that

require unpredictable shifts in the

focus of attention, variable notice

distractions etc.), the extrovert will

get along better. But to date,

extroversion has received very little

attention in studies investigating

such topics as motivation, leadership

performance of the organization.

Trait Theories

Another useful way of looking at and

understanding the structure of

human personality is by considering

the traits he possesses. A personality

trait can be defined as “an enduring

attribute of a person that appears

constantly in a variety of situations”.

The trait theory makes certain

fundamental assumptions:
 i. Traits distinguish one personality

from another

ii. Individuals can be described in

terms of construction of traits

such as affiliation, achievement,

anxiety, aggression and

dependency.

iii. Traits can be quantifiable and do

not defy measurement.

iv. Traits and the amount of each

trait that a person has is

assumed to be stable fairly, and

the differences in personality and

behaviour between two

individuals is assumed to be the

result of differences in the

amount of each that each person

has.
Trait theory is, in fact, an extension

of type theory. It is rather a multiple

model of type theory. Instead of

trying to sort people into types, trait

theories assume that an individual's

personality can be described in terms

of traits. A trait is any characteristic

in which one individual differs from

another in relatively permanent and

consistent way. We frequently use

such terms as friendly, cautious,

excitable, aggressive, kind, hard-

hearted and anxious etc. All these

are “trait terms”. Normally people

abstract these from their behaviours.

Thousands of words in English

language refer to the characteristics

of behaviour of traits. But the

fundamental question is how to

reduce them to a small number of

meaningful traits? One useful

approach is the factor-analysis. It is

a complex statistical technique for

reducing a large number of

personality traits into a small number

of independent traits or dimensions.

This technique has the advantage of

reducing several hundred test

responses. For example Norman

provides the different descriptive-

objective pairs of words for the same

kind of trait.

The two most commonly known trait

theories are that of Gordon Allport's

and Raymond Cattel's.

Allport's Trait Theory

One of the most exciting versions of

trait theory is provided by Allport

wherein he mentions common traits

that are used to compare one

personality with other. For such

comparison he has identified six

categories of values social, political,

religious, theoretical, economic, and

aesthetic in his theory. Besides these

common traits Allport also made use

of some unique traits the individuals

possess. He calls these unique traits

as personal dispositions. They can be

cardinal (most pervasive), central

(unique and limited in number) or

secondary (periphery). Allport thus

recognizes the complexity of human

personality. Each individual has

values that emphasize these six

orientations (common traits). Some

individuals may be high in economic

and low in others. It is the profile of

an individual's values that is useful in

defining his personality.

Cattel's Trait Theory

From out of several different and

sometimes overlapping words

representing personality Cattel has

selected one hundred and seventy

one words that can be used to

describe personality. Using the factor

analytic approach, he has identified

two categories of traits and labeled

them ‘surface traits’and ‘source

traits’ In all he identified thirty

surface traits and ten source traits.

A surface trait is something like a

medical cause of the diverse

symptoms. An example of surface

trait is affectionate versus cold. An

example of source trait is dominance

versus submissiveness.

Evaluation of Trait Theories

When compared to type theories,

trait theories have some sense.

Instead of making unrealistic attempt

to place personalities into discrete,

discontinuous categories, trait

theories give recognition to

continuity of personalities. But the

trait theories suffer from the

following limitations:

i. Traits may be too abstract. For

example, the scale of

‘measuring* ‘anxiety’may be

abstract,

ii. Traits approach focuses on

isolated traits without specifying

how these traits are organized

within the personality. Without

knowing which traits are more

important and how they are

related to other traits of an

individual, it is not possible to

make adequate description of an

individual's personality. For

instance an individual who scores

high on a measure
 ‘'compulsiveness” may engage in

useless repetitive rituals,

thereby interfering with the

expression of other traits or

show dogged Determination to

stay with a productive task, thus

capturing advantage of other

personality traits also.

iii. Another fundamental problem

(or drawback) of trait theories

is that they are essentially

descriptive rather than

analytical.

SOCIAL LEARNING APPROACH

As against the trait theory that

assumes the personality to be

consistent so that a person can be

characterized according to the

enduring traits, social learning theory

considers the situation as an

important determinant of behaviour.

In nut shell an individual's actions

in a given situation depend on the

specific characteristics of the

situation, individual's appraisal of the

situation, and post reinforcement to

behaviour in somewhat similar

situations. When the situations they

encounter are relatively stable,

individual's behaviour will be more or

less consistent.

The main focus of social learning

approach is on the patterns of

behaviour the individuals learn in

coping with environment. Some

behaviour patterns are learned or

acquired through direct experience.

Responses can also be acquired or

learned without direct reinforcement.

For instance, people make use of

complex symbolic processes to code

and store these observations in

memory, and learn by observing the

actions of others and by noting the

consequences of these actions. Thus,

social learning theorists believe that

reinforcement is not necessary for

learning but they accept the view

that reinforcement facilitates

learning by focusing attention.

According to social learning school,

much of human learning is vicarious

or observational.
Reinforcement, though not necessary

for learning, is very crucial for the

performance of learned behaviour.

The notable assumption of social

learning theory in this connection is

that people behave in ways likely to

produce reinforcement. An

individual's repertoire of learned

behaviors is extensive; the particular

action chosen for specific situation

depends on the expected outcome.

The reinforcement that controls

the expression of learned

behaviour may be (i) direct, (w)

vicarious, or (m) self-

administered.

Direct: Itrefers to the social approval

or disapproval or alleviation of
aversive conditions, and other

tangible rewards.

Vicarious: It refers to observation

of someone else receiving reward or

punishment for similar behaviour.

Self administered. It refers to

evaluation of one's own performance

with self-praise or reproach of all

these, self-administered

reinforcement theory plays a vital

role in social learning theory.

Evaluation of Social Learning

Theory

Through its emphasis on precision in

the determination of environmental

variables that elicit specific

behaviours, social learning theory

has made a significant contribution to

personality theory. It enables us to

look more clearly at human actions

as reactions to specific conditions or

circumstances rather than merely

symbolic manifestations of internal

and unconscious forces. But social

learning theory has been criticized on

two solid grounds:

1. It overemphasizes the

importance of situational factors

in behaviour and neglected the

individual differences.

2. The experimental methods used

by social learning theorists are

particularly sensitive to the impact of

situational variables and are apt to

emphasize change in behaviour.

But scientists cannot ignore the hard

fact that the way the person

perceives the situations is the most

important factor in determining

behaviour.

Self Theory

The intra psychic, physiognomy and

trait theories represent the

traditional approaches to

understanding the complex human

personality. Of many contemporary

theories the one that has received

the most recent emphasis is the self-

theory of personality. Self theory

rejects both psychoanalytic and

behaviouristic conceptions of human

nature as too mechanistic portraying

people as creatures helplessly

buffeted about by internal instincts or

external stimuli. Carl Rogers is most

closely associated with this approach

of selftheory. Rogers and his

associates have developed this

personality theory that places

emphasis on the individual as an

initiating, creating, influential

determinant of behaviour within the

environmental framework. According

to Rogers there are three basic

ingredients of personality the

organism, the phenomenal field, and

the self. To understand the Roger's

theory we have to see (i) the self

concept, (ii) the organism and (iii)

the development of self.

Self- Concept: The most important

concept in Roger's theory is the self.

The self consists of all the

perceptions, ideas, values, and

characteristics that characterize ‘I or

Me’characteristics of the ‘I or me’and

the perceptions of the relationships

of I or me to these perceptions”. Here

T refers to the personal self and

‘me’refers to the social self. Personal

self consists of a person's

psychological processes such as

perception, motivation and attitudes

etc., that result in a composed whole.

On the other hand, the social self

is the way an individual appears to

others and the manner this person

thinks he appears to others.

The perceived self influences both

the person's perception of the world

and his behaviour. An individual with

a strong, positive self-concept is

quite likely to view world quite

differently from one whose self-

concept is weak. One important thing

to remember here is that self-

concept does not necessarily mean

or reflect reality; an individual may

be highly successful or respected yet,

views himself as failure. As Rogers

said, “the basic nature of the human

being when functioning fully is

constructive and trustworthy. The

self generally takes the initiative in

improving the conditions in its

environment so that the values of the

self can be achieved,” The essence

of this theory is that individuals

normally are active creators and

initiators, experience rather than

passive reactors to the pressures of

the environment. There is yet

another self in Rogers self theory.

That is the ideal self. It represents

the type of person an individual likes

to be. This concept is similar to

Freud's ego-ideal. If the ideal self

is closer to the real self, then the

individual will be more fulfilled and

happy on the other hand, if large

discrepancy exists between these two

then it results in an unhappy,

dissatisfied individual.

The organism: The organism is

essentially the locus of all

experience. The totality of experience

is the phenomenal field. This field

is known to the person himself and

is frequently referred to as frame of

reference. Behaviour of an individual

is largely determined by the

phenomenal field not by the

stimulating conditions, of events in

the external field or environment.

The individual evaluates every

experience in relation to his self

concept. The experiences may be

symbolized or unsymbolized. When

they are symbolized they become

part of individual's consciousness.

Conversely, when they are

unsymbolized they remain outside

the confines of the awareness or

consciousness of an individual. The

important thing here is that distorted

symbolization gives rise to

inappropriate behaviour.

i. The development of self

personality. Rogers feels that

the fundamental force motivating

the human organism is self-

actualization. i.e., “a tendency

toward fulfillment, toward

actualization, toward the

maintenance and enhancement

 of the organism.” The tendency

to self-actualization of both the

organism and the self is subject

to the profound influence of the

social environment, right from

childhood. Actually, in the

childhood itself, when the child's

behaviour is evaluated

continuously by their parents, he

will be in a position to

discriminate between thoughts

and actions that are considered

‘worthy’ and ‘unworthy.” He will

be able to exclude the unworthy

experiences from his self-

concept.

Rogers maintains that the innate

tendency toward self-actualization

often runs into conflict with two

needs the need for self-regard, and

the need for positive reward. It is

true that the latter need is universal

whereas the former one is the

internalization of those actions and

values that others approve. The

regard may be conditional or

unconditional. Ideally, the more

completely the individual is given

positive regard—acceptance that is

not conditional to specific

behaviors’the more congruence there

will be between his self-concept and

his actual experiences, as well as

between his self- concept and ideal

self.
Evaluation of the Self Theory

Self-concept is the result of one's

perceptual process. It is a cognitive

factor and maintained through

thinking-related activities. The self-

theory is appreciated on the ground

that it is organized around the

concept of self. It is the one in which

personality and behaviour are largely

determined by the individual

whereas, in other theories, the

individual is the only medium through

which behaviour is elicited after

having been acted on by elements

over which he has no control.

Another positive point in favor of self

theory is that the ‘best vantage point

for understanding is from the internal

frame of reference of the individual

himself: To Rogers the individual is

the centre of experience. To

understand one's behaviour one

should understand how that person

views about himself.

In analyzing organizational

behaviour, it would be beneficial for

the manager to understand the self-

concept because this unique concept

influences the way he should apply

various reinforcement motivation and

leadership techniques in the process

of maintaining these required amount

of output. For instance, monetary

rewards for performance,

authoritarian leadership style and

motivational strate-gies when applied

to an intelligent, independent,
confident, worker may be ineffective.

These techniques may prove to be

effective when are applied to the

unintelligent, insecure, indecisive

workers.

The self theory focuses on the

person's world as he perceives it. It

is the individual's perception and

interpretation of the experiences that

determine behaviour. But the trouble

with the self theory is that it vaguely

defines the terms such as self-

actualization, self concepts etc., and

such vague concepts will not be of

much value in making t precise

predictions of behaviour of

individuals. Of several other

troubling criticisms are the accurate

measurements of subjective

experiences and the revealing of self.

SIMILARITIES OF

INDIVIDUALS

Every person is unique; no one else

has the same body, no one else has

had the same learning experiences.

Even the identical twins upon closer

observation tend to be different. But

there are some similarities in

individuals. The major similarities

38
among individuals are as follows.

1. Intelligence. Almost all human

beings have intelligence.

Difference is a matter of degree

only. People can determine

 cause-and- effect relationships,

deduce, infer, have*fantasies,

and make generalizations from

insights and experiences. Almost

all individuals apply intelligence

to adapt to wide range of

environmental conditions—such

as climate, weather, new

atmosphere, new topography

etc.

2. Self-reflexiveness: Another

apparently unique characteristic

of all individuals is self-

reflexiveness. People not only

know so much, but they are also

aware of their knowledge. It

gives people the power of

making choices; they can set

 goals and objectives and also can

determine how they can reach

the preset targets.

3. Language. Another interesting

similarity of people is the

communication.Human beings

have by far the most effective

audio languages and the only

written ones. Communication is

one of the major building blocks

organization. Though people

make use of different languages,

the purpose of all the languages

is same i.e., to communicate.

4. Tool making. People have

inherent innovative abilities.

They have the power to make

tools that are essential for their

 livelihood. From the viewpoint of

an organization, they innovate

new systems to increase

productivity and to maintain the

complex exchange process in

modem society. (For example,

currency)

5. Externally registered gains.

Almost all people have the ability

to carry forward the accumulated

gains. This is how the whole

fabric of civilization is passed

into new ones. Libraries are

eloquent testimony of this

ability.

6. Miscellaneous. People have

family structures, social

relations; they can bind and plan

 time. Many people try to

understand their very existence

through religion. People

generally do not wait until

random events produce what

they want.

Difference among Individuals

People are alike, yet different. One

undeniable fact in light of several

decades of research on individuals is

that “individual differences moderate

the way the people respond to

various aspects of organizations and

to the practice of organizations”.

People differ in the importance they

attach to intrinsic rewards to the job.

People with different psychological

make-ups do indeed respond

differently to challenging versus

routine joss. Some people prefer

challenging jobs that afford scope for

the extension of higher- level and

skilled abilities. Under this

assumption sometime back, it was

felt that job enrichment was touted

as a prescriptive panacea for

increasing productivity and morale.

In organizations, however, | there

exist a substantial minority of people

who seek job security | routine

operations in their jobs, material

benefits from the jobs etc.!

Therefore, people in work

organizations attach different

degrees of importance to rewards for

performance and the kind of job they

would like to perform.

a. People differ in the style of

supervision. In organizations,

some people welcome

opportunities for providing

necessary input into important

decisions and like to be their own

boss to the maximum extent.

Some individuals, on the other

hand, may like to extend i helpful

guiding hand to others if they are

loaded with work.

b. People differ in the type of

compensation plan they want

of desire. Some people in work

organizations prefer a straight

salary system and appear to

 work hard and harder under such

a system. Paradoxically, in

organization some other types of

people respond enthusiastically

to wage-incentive schemes

based on piece-rate or quality of

work etc.

c. People differ in their

tolerance for stress, their need

for stimulation. Some people

cannot bear stress for long.

Surprisingly some other people

possess resistance power to

tolerate the stress in task for

longer periods.

d. People differ in their

preferred schedules of work

hours. No two individuals are

alike with respect to their

preferred schedules of work.

Some people, as we notice in

day-to-day life, are early birds

who start work as early as 6 A.M.

and some other kind of people

who become panic to work before

10 A.M. Similarly some people

prefer doing serious studies

during night time whereas some

other people prefer doing it early

in the morning. For instance, to

take the real life example, the

author of this book is an early

bird who likes to start work

before 6'0 clock in the morning;

the co-author likes to work

midnight and panics at the

thought of beginning the day

before 11 A.M.
PERSONALITY AND
ORGANIZATION

Let us study briefly the personality

theory and its implications with

reference to the organizational

structure. Chris Argyrisis thesis of

personality development in an

organization needs no reiteration

here. A major conclusion of Argyris

theory is that traditional

organizational forms are restrictive,

failing to allow members to develop

psychologically and encouraging

innovative behaviour patterns.

Argyris cited feelings of passiveness,

subordination and dependence as

creating conflict and frustration

among organizational members.

Thereby he fell prey to the same

oversimplifications and over

generalizations about personality

characteristics as earlier

practitioners and researchers did for

instance, the application of human

relations-school, rational-economic

person model and so on.

But in organizations, the differences

in personalities of individuals are

aggregated and lost when they are

regarded as having somewhat

identical patterns of behavioural

tendencies. Some people in

organizations respond most

favourably to rule-conscious,

conformity demanding, security

laden and most protective principles.

In other words there is a passion

for bureaucracy for these people. On

the extreme side some other people

prefer autonomy, flexibility in

operations and jobs dynamism etc.,

in the organization. Therefore a good

match between individual personality

and organization is essential.

Unfortunately, mismatches between

personality and organizational

requirements may also be buried to

happen sometimes. For instance,

bureaucratization may be associated

with the people characterize by

greater intellectual flexibility, higher

valuation of self, direction, greater

openness to new experience and

more personally rewarding moral

standards etc. Such mismatch

between personality and organization

structure may lead to confusion and

chaos, and loss of interest by the

members in the organization, low

morale and job satisfaction. The

organization inevitably collapses in

due course.

LEARNING

INTRODUCTION:

The common phenomenon that we

tend to overlook its very occurrence

is ‘Learning’ Learning is a

prerequisite for behaviour. For

example, an employee's skill, a

supervisor's attitude, and a typist's

manners are all learned. In fact,

every aspect of human behaviour is

responsive to learning experiences.

WHAT IS LEARNING?

There seems to be a general

consensus among social scientists

that learning can be defined as

“relatively permanent change in

behaviour that occurs as a result of

experience or reinforced practice”.

This definition contains the following

points.

1. Learning involves a change,

though not necessarily

 improvement in behaviour.

Learning may be good or bad

from organization's point of

view. For example, bad habits,

prejudice, stereotype and work

restrictions also can be learned.

2. Change must be relatively

permanent. Temporary changes

may be only reflexive and fail to

represent any learning.

3. Some form of experience is

necessary for learning to

occur.

4. The practice of learning must

be reinforced in order that

learning occurs. If

reinforcement does not

accompany the practice or

 experience the behaviour will

eventually disappear.

Learning is, therefore, acquisition of

knowledge, skills, and expertise etc.,

and reinforcement strengthens and

intensifies certain aspects of

ensuring behaviour. Learning is very

important because it gives insight

into how best to develop the talents

and skills that employees need to

perform effectively.

Learning can be viewed as the

process of conditioning. Conditioning,

in fact, is often used as a synonym

for learning. More precisely

conditioning refers to the process of

acquiring a particular pattern of

behaviour. There are two types of

conditioning—classical and

operant. But before we proceed to

explain the types of conditioning, it

is necessary to understand learning

process.

LEARNING PROCESS

Most human behaviours are acquired

through learning. Rewarded

behaviours are learned and repeated,

and unrewarded behaviours are

discontinued. Reinforcement is an

important concept in the learning

process. Individuals tend to retain a

behaviour or practice for which they

are given reinforcement.

Reinforcement increases the strength

of response and tends to induce

repetitions of the behaviour that

precedes the reinforcement.

Reinforcement generates a

reproducible behaviour process in

time and usually it intensifies and

enhances that behaviour afterwards.

The positive reinforcement model is

based on two principles:

i. People perform in ways that’

they find most rewarding to

them.

ii. By proper reinforcement it is

possible to improve

performance.

The positive reinforcement model

tries to link specific behaviours to

specific rewards; it uses rewards

than punishment to influence

behaviour.

People learn new behaviours through

one or more of the four learning

processes classical conditioning,

operant conditioning, observational

learning, and cognitive learning.

1. Classical Conditioning

The work of the famous Russian

Physiologist Ivan Pavlov

demonstrated the classical

conditioning process. When

Pavlov presented a piece of meat

to the dog in the experiment

Pavlov noticed a great deal of

salivation. He termed the food

and unconditioned stimulus (food

automatically caused salivation)

and the salivation an

unconditioned response. When

the dog saw the meat, it

salivated. On the other hand,

when the Pavlov merely rang a

bell (neutral stimulus), the dog

did not salivate. Pavlov

subsequently introduced the

sound of a bell each time the

meat was given to the dog. The

dog eventually learned to

salivate in response to the

ringing of the bell even when

there was no meat. Pavlov had

conditioned the dog to respond

to a learned stimulus. Thorndike

called this the “law of exercise”

which states that behaviour can

be learned by repetitive

association between a stimulus

and a response (S—k

association).

Classical conditioning has a

limited value in the study of

organizational behaviour. As

pointed out by Skinner, classical

conditioning represents an

insignificant part of total human

learning. Classical conditioning is

passive. Something happens and

we react in a specific or

particular fashion. It is elicited

in response to a specific,

identifiable event and as such it

 explains simple and reflexive

behaviors’ But behaviour of

people in organizations is

emitted rather than elicited, and

it is voluntary rather than

reflexive* The learning of these

complex behaviors’can be

explained or better understood

by looking at operant

conditioning.

2. Operant Conditioning

Operant is defined as behaviour

that produces effects. Operant

condoning, basically a product of

2
Skinnerian psychology,

suggests that individuals emit

responses that are rewarded and

will not emit responses that are

either not rewarded or are
8
punished. Operant conditioning

is voluntary behaviour and it is

determined, maintained and

controlled by its consequences.

In contrast, respondent

behaviour is an involuntary

response to an environmental

stimulus.

Operant conditioning acts on the

environment to produce

consequences. It is basically

assumed that man's behaviour is

determined by environment and

individuals learn by producing

alterations in their environment.

Operant conditioning

presupposes that human beings

explore their environment and

act upon it. In classical

conditioning the sequence of

events is independent of

subject's behaviour. Again, in

operant conditioning

reinforcement is given only when

the correct response is made. For

example, if a passenger waiting

for the train in a railway station

puts a ten paisa coin (JR) in the

weighing machine (S) nothing

happens (consequence) In

operant conditioning, behaviour

is instrumental in determining

consequence which accrues to

him. As pointed out by Skinner,

the consequences determine the

likelihood that a given operant

will be performed in the future.

To change behaviour, the

consequences of that behaviour

must be changed.

Operant conditioning is a

powerful tool for managing

people in organizations. Most

behaviours in organizations are

learned, controlled and altered

by the consequences; i.e.

operant behaviours.

Management can use the operant

conditioning process successfully

to control and influence the

behaviour of employees by

manipulating its reward system.

If one expects to influence

behaviours, he must also be able

to manipulate the consequences.

In general, it can be concluded

that the behavioural

consequences that are rewarding

increase the rate of response,

while the aversive consequences

decrease the rate of a response.

Reinforcement is anything that

both increases the strength of

response and tends to induce

repetitions of the behaviour that

preceded the reinforcement. A

reward can be a reinforcer when

it increases the rate of response.

Four types of reinforcement

strategies can be employed by

managers to influence the

behaviour of employees, viz.,

positive reinforcement, negative

reinforcement, extinction, and

punishment.

1. Positive Reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement

strengthens and increases

behaviour by the

presentation of a desirable

consequence (reward). In

other words, a positive

reinforcer is a reward that

follows behaviour and is

capable of increasing the

frequency of that behaviour.

Effective reinforcers must

meet two conditions: First,

the reward should be

contingent upon the rate of

performance. Second, the

reward should be matched

with the need or desire of

the performer.

There are two types of

positive reinforcers:

primary and secondary.

Primary reinforcers such as

food, water and sex are of

biological importance in that

they are innately satisfying

and have effects which are

independent of past

experiences. For instance, a

primary reinforcer like food

satisfies hunger need and

reinforces the food-

 producing behaviour.

Secondary reinforcers like

job advancement,

recognition, praise and

esteem result from previous

association with a primary

reinforcer. Primary

reinforcers must be learned.

In order to apply

reinforcement procedures

successfully, management

must select reinforcers that

are sufficiently powerful and

durable.

2. Negative reinforcement.

The removal of punishment

of the threat of punishment

rather than the presentation

of a reward is known as

negative reinforcement.

Negative reinforces also

serve to strengthen desired

behaviour responses leading

to their removal or

termination. Negative

reinforcement is employed

to increase the frequency of

a response by removing a

noxious consequence. A

student, for example, is

negatively reinforced to step

into the class room before

the arrival of professor.

People learn a negatively

reinforced behaviour

through an avoidance
 learning process. Avoidance

learning techniques can be

used to strengthen desired

behaviour but Skinner's

approach is primarily based

on the principles of positive

reinforcement only.

3. Extinction. Extinction is an

effective method of controlling

undesirable behaviour. It refers

to non-reinforcement. It is based

on the principle that if a

response is not reinforced, it will

eventually disappear. If a

teacher ignores a noisy student

the student may drop the

attention-getting behaviour.

Extinction is less painful that

punishment because it does not

involve the direct application of

an aversive consequences.

Students who perform well are

praised quite often by the

teachers. If they begin to slack

off and turn out poor

performance, the teacher may

try to modify their behaviour by

withholding praise. Here, the

teacher is not trying to punish

the students by imposing fines

or rebuking openly in the class

or expelling them. The student

is simply denied any feedback.

Extinction is a behavioural

strategy that does not promote

desirable behaviours but can

 reduce undesirable behaviours.

If the students eventually show

good work, the teacher may

again praise them (positive rein-

forcement) but if poor

performance is again resulting

in, extinction will be re-

employed.

4. Punishment. Punishment is a

control device employed in

organizations to discourage and

reduce annoying behaviours

others. It can take either of two

forms: there can be withdrawal

or termination of a desirable or

rewarding consequence or there

can be an unpleasant

consequence after behaviour is

performed. Punishment reduces

the response frequency; it

weakens behaviour. The use of

aversive control is the most

controversial method of

modifying behaviour because it

produces undesirable by-

products.

Punishment reduces the

frequency of undesired

behaviour, but it does not

promote desired behaviour. I call

Joe in, give him heck for goofing-

up, and he goes right back out

and goofs-up again. Punishment

in such cases reinforces

behaviour rather than reducing

it. The frequency of undesirable

behaviour is reduced only when

the punishing agent is present.

Punishment causes anxiety and

suppresses the response which

reappears when the punishing

agent is absent. When the cat is

away, the mice Will Play.

Punishment frustrates the

punished and leads to

antagonism toward the punishing

agent. As a result the

effectiveness of the punishing

agent diminishes over time,

administering punishment. The

question often arises as to when

to administer punishment? The

following points suggest answer

to the question. Punish the

specific, undesired behaviour,

not the person. If it Is directed at

the person, punishment receives

revenge. The purpose of

punishment should not be to

undermine a person's confidence

or sense of adequacy as a

person.

Punishment should quickly follow

the undesirable behaviour. It is

more effective when applied at

the time the undesirable

behaviour is actually performed

than at a later time. Moreover,

punishment should follow every

occurrence of the undesirable

behaviour. Punishment is

effective in modifying behaviour

if it forces the person to select

a desirable alternative behaviour

that is then reinforced. If this

is not provided, the undesirable

behaviour tends to re-appear

causing fear and anxiety in the

person being punished.

To avoid a feeling of resentment

toward the punishing agent,

punishment should be

administered by an agent other

than the rewarder. The use of

punishment should be coupled

with the use of reinforcement.

Finally, punishment must be

administered carefully sp that it

does not become a reward for

undesirable behavior.
Schedules of Reinforcement.

So far the discussion centered around

two points: What causes behaviour

and why it is important information

for managers. The various issues

concerning the scheduling or

administering of positive

reinforcement will be discussed now

Reinforcement schedules indicate the

timing of reinforcement. The

effectiveness of the reinforcer

depends as much upon it's scheduling

as upon any of its other features like

magnitude, quality and degree of

association with the behavioural act.

Essentially there are two types of

reinforcement schedules: continuous

and inter-mittent. Under continuous

reinforcement, the individual

receives a reward every time he or

she performs a desired behaviour.

With this schedule behaviour

increases very rapidly but when the

reinforcer is removed performance

declines rapidly. Another difficulty

here is that it is not possible for a

manager to reward the employee

continuously for emitting desired

behaviour. It is administratively

impractical because employees

cannot be rewarded each time they

produce something.

Under intermittent reinforcement,

the rewards (pay, praise,

recognition, promotion etc.) are

administered on a random basis

because it is not possible to reinforce

desirable behaviours each time they

occur. Intermittent reinforcement

leads to slower learning but stronger

retention of a response than

continuous reinforcement. Forster

11
and Skinner have pointed out four

ways of arranging intermittent

schedules:

Fixed internal schedule. This

schedule demands that a fixed

amount of time has to elapse before

reinforcement is administered. In

many organizations monetary

reinforcement comes at the end of

a period of time- Most workers are

paid hourly, weekly or monthly for

the time spend on their jobs. This

method offers the least motivation

for hard work among workers

because pay is tied to time interval

rather than actual performance.

Variable interval schedule. Under

this schedule reinforcers are

dispensed unpredictably. The reward

is given after a randomly distributed

length of time. This is an ideal

method for administering praise,

promotions and supervisory visits.

Variable interval schedules produce

higher rates of response and more

stable and consistent performance.

Suppose the plant manager visits the

production department at 11 A.M.

approximately each day (fixed

interval) performance tends to be

high just prior to his visit and

thereafter it declines? Under variable

intervalue dule the manager visits at

randomly selected time intervals and

no one knows for sure when the

manager will be around. As a result

performance tends to be higher and

have less fluctuation that under the

fixed interval schedule.

Fixed ratio schedule, in this schedule,

reinforcement is given after a certain

number of responses. This is

basically the piece-rate schedule for

pay. This schedule tends to produce

high rate of response which is both

vigorous and steady. Workers try to

produce as many pieces as possible

in order to pocket the monetary

rewards. Therefore, the response

level here is significantly higher than

that obtained under an interval

schedule.

Variable ratio schedule. In this

schedule, reinforcement is given in

an irregular manner. The reward is

given after a number of responses

but the exact number is randomly

varied. Individuals playing slot

machines (gambling) are operating

under a variable ratio schedule.

These machines pay off after

swallowing a number of coins. Since

gamblers never know when they will

be lucky, they often respond at a

very high rate. Another example of

this type of schedule might be

provided by the actions of workers

in an oyster processing plant. Every

so often (no one can predict when)

an oyster being opened is found to

contain a pearl.” Here the workers

never know when fate will smile upon

them in this way, they work at a high

rate, striking as many oysters as they

can each day.

Observational Learning

Observational learning results in as

a result of watching the behaviour

of another person and appraising the

consequences of that behaviour. It

does not require an overt response.

When Mr. X observes that Y is

rewarded for superior performance,

X learns the positive relationship

between performance and rewards

without actually obtaining the reward

himself. Observational learning plays

a crucial role in altering behaviours in

organizations.

Cognitive Learning

Here the primary emphasis is on

knowing, how events and objects are

related to each other. Most of the

learning that takes place in the class

room is cognitive learning. Cognitive

learning is important because it

increases the change that the learner

will do the right thing first time,

without going through a lengthy

operant conditioning process.

LEARNING THEORY AND

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR

Traditional literature dealing with

learning is interesting to read but the

relevance of the material to the

explaining and predicting of

organizational behaviour is marginal.

This does not mean that learning

theories are totally irrelevant.

Learning concepts provide a basis for

changing behaviours that are

unacceptable and maintaining those

that are acceptable. When individuals

engage in various types of

dysfunctional behaviour (late for

work, disobeying orders, poor

performance), the manager will

attempt to educate more functional

behaviours. Learning can also be

employed as a basic explanation of

why employees prefer to hire people

with college degrees and sufficient

job experience. The basic

presumption is that employees with

learning can give insights into how

best to develop the skills and talents

that employees need to perform most

effectively. Learning can result in

higher job performance.

Learning theory can also provide

certain guidelines for conditioning

organizational behaviour. Managers

know that individuals capable of

turning out superior performance

must be given more reinforcers than

those with average or low

performance. Managers can

successfully use the operant

conditioning process to control and

influence the behaviour of employees

by manipulating its reward system.

The application of positive

reinforcement at Emery Air Freight

clearly pointed out the need and

benefits of using a systematic

approach to reinforcement. The

positive reinforcement programme

saved the company $ 2 million in

three years. At 3M Company, a

conservative estimate of cost savings

in 1977 alone is $ 3-5 million, and

that is not including employee

morale, which is difficult to quantify.

Hamner and Hamner listed out three

essential components in a correct

positive reinforcement programme:

1. Reinforcers selected must be

sufficiently powerful and durable

to establish and strengthen

behaviour.

2. The manager must design the

contingencies in such a way that

the reinforcing events are made

contingent upon the desired level

of performance.

3. The programme must be

designed in such a way that it

is possible to establish a reliable

 training procedure for inducing

the desired response patterns.

ORGANIZATIONAL

BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION

Meaning

Organizational behaviour

modification (briefly called OB Mod)

is a sophisticated .quantitative tool

that is frequently employed to

improve the organizational

effectiveness. It contributes to the

better understanding of human

behaviour in organizations and can

be thought of as a powerful technique

of human resource management. It is

derived from B.F. Skinner's operant

conditioning. Behaviour modification

is a technique which may enable

manpower management to modify or

eliminate undesirable behaviour and

replace it with behaviour that is more

18
compatible with goal attainment.

Behaviour modification is the

application of behaviouristic

conditioning principles to practical

problems. It is a systematic

management of contingencies. For

example, an employee's specific

behaviour of standings at the pay

window will lead to the consequence

of being paid only if it is a pay day.

Hence, a payday sets the occasion for

the behavioural response of standing

in front of pay window and that, in

turn, leads to the consequence of

being paid. Tracing the dependent

relationships backward, being paid is

contingent upon its being pay day.

The three elements necessary for the

existence of a behavioural

contingency are present. Occasion,

response, and consequence.

Behaviour modification concentrates

on a person's overt behaviour and

this allows a manager to realistically

try to observe and deal with outward

manifestations of behaviour.

Behaviour modification is f basically

built around the use of rewards for

observable behaviour.
Steps in Applying the

Organization Behaviour
Modification Process

Effective use of OB Mod involves

careful attention to a number of

different steps.

Identification of critical

behaviours: The first step in

behaviour modification is for

management to specify exactly what

behaviour is wanted or needs to be

changed. This is a question of

identification of critical behaviours

that make a significant impact on

performance. Here only observable

and comparable behaviours are

included. To be identified as a critical

behaviour demands definite answer

to two questions (a) can it be seen,

(b) can it be measured? Several

other factors should be considered

when selecting the target behaviours.

These other factors are:

What is the change efforts

probability of success?

Distribution of benefits to

organization and employees?

If managers fail to identify the critical

behaviour or performance they may

unwittingly reinforce unintended

behaviours. In such an unfortunate

situation, they may mistakenly

reward one behaviour while hoping

for behaviour to occur. For example,

management normally wants their

employees to work closely together;

yet often use highly competitive

reward systems that discourage

cooperation to motivate these

employees.

Measurement of behaviours.

Without measurement of the rate at

which the identified critical

behaviours are occurring, there can

be no way to determine whether OB

Mod has actually been effective in

changing job related behaviours.

Measurement involves collection and

analysis of data before, during and

after the behavioural change. The

data before the beginning of the

change process are called baseline

data. Data collection removes

ambiguity about the current level of

the critical behaviour (absenteeism

for example). It also helps managers

to communicate the results of change

process. Usually the data collected

are pointed on a simple graph.

Baseline data identifies the precise

extent of the problem and gauge the

extent of behavioural change. This

step involves the determination of

the rate at which critical behaviours

are occurring. This information is

necessary for evaluating the success

of the OB Mod programme used. The

observational data will be gathered

as inconspicuously as possible- For

this purpose straightforward

observational techniques can be
employed.
Functional analysis: This step

involves a detail d examination of

present behaviours being shown by

employees to determine what

consequences each produce, what

conditions lead m their occurrence

etc. The functional analysis brings

out the problem solving nature of OB

Mod.

This involves analyzing the

contingencies that are reinforcing the

critical behaviour and understanding.

Workers taking unscheduled breaks

and frequently wandering off the job

may be a critical behaviour which

needs to be changed. Upon the

functional analysis it was found that

clock serves as the cue for the critical

behaviour, (for example, 8 A.M. to

10 working hours, 12 noon lunch, 1-3

P.M. break and 5 P.M. exit).

Development of an intervention

strategy: This involves development

of specific steps for modifying the

critical behaviours. Intervention

strategies are designed to strengthen

desirable critical behaviours and

weaken undesirable critical

behaviours. There are lour learning

interventions or strategies (discussed

earlier) positive reinforcement,

negative reinforcement, extinction

and punishment. The strategy

selected must be appropriate to the

situation and should produce the

desired result. Normally employees

are rewarded with positive incentives

for demonstrating desired behaviours

and punished with unpleasant

consequences (loss of pay and

criticism of their work) for

demonstrating undesirable ones.

Systematic evaluation: Here an

evaluation of the overall

effectiveness of a particular

contingency intervention strategy.

Behaviour prior to the start of the

programme is compared with its

conclusion in order to find out if the

goals sought have actually been

achieved. The basic purpose of OB

Mod is to see that people using the

approach should like it learn the

concepts and change the undesirable

behaviours and contribute to

performance improvement.

OB MODIFICATION IN

PRACTICE

22
Hamner and Hamner had surveyed

ten organizations to find out the

success or failure attributed to the

use of behaviour modification. The

organizations surveyed included

Emery Air Freight, General Electric,

Standard Oil of Ohio, Michigan Bell

Operation services etc. Many firms

have credited this approach with

improving morale” and increasing

profits. An investigation by Fred
23
Luthans, Paul and Baker to improve

the job performance of retail clerks

working in a large departmental

stores also pointed out that OB Mod

can produce dramatic results

improving on the job performance.

Controversies Surrounding

the Behavioural Approach

The behavioural approach has met

with resistance and criticism. While

applying behaviour modification in

organizations, it is necessary to keep

the following criticisms in mind:

Ethical Objections

Behaviour modification tends to

equate rats with human beings.

Skinner's operant conditioning

principles were developed after a

series of experiments on white rats.

It is said “organizations are more

complex than Skinner's boxies”.

Operant conditioning techniques

ignore the individuality of man and

constitute a threat to the concept of

personal autonomy. These

techniques are employed to

manipulate and control participants

into another person's concept of ideal

person.

Behaviour modification restricts

freedom of choice, behavioural

freedom and utilization of human

capabilities. It tries to exaggerate the

powers of behavioural control by

psychological methods.

Behaviour modification insults

the intelligence of the average

worker. A worker reporting late

continuously will understand the

relationship between being late for

work and docked pay if he walks to

the pay section—where he observes

the clerk calculate and subtract the

pay adjustment. F.L. Fry pointed out

that this is an absurd and fallacious

argument because most workers are

well aware of the relationship

between lateness and docked pay.

Walking the individual to the pay

section will do little if anything to

increase the awareness of the

relationship. Again, this may give

chance for workers to take additional

time off to meet the payroll clerk and

manipulate.

Behaviour modification

emphasizes external rewards

(money, praise, administered by

someone other than the employee

himself) and a contingent profit plan

and ignores the importance of task

environment and internal rewards.

Relating tasks either to punishment

or reward actually reduces the

intrinsic pleasure of the task. For

example, a professor who desires

satisfaction from the intrinsic

challenge of doing research in

addition to teaching away actually

get less—not more—satisfaction

when performance is tied to extrinsic

rewards.

Theoretical Objections

a. Behaviour modification

disregards employee's

perceptions, beliefs, and

expectations and it is an exercise

in over-simplification.

b. Behaviour modification is not an

innovative management

technique. It is in actuality a

revival of Tayloristic

management and has some of

the same problems as scientific

 management Both are inherently

autocratic methods of

management. In both the cases,

responses are made without

cognitive attention given to the

workers.

c. Behaviour modification is neither

new nor behaviouristic. The

specific technique employed by

OB Mod advocates have long

been used in industry and other

fields.

Practical difficulties. Behaviour

modification is labeled as grossly

overrated management technique

and is said to be applicable to

animals and other humans who

cannot make full use of their

intelligence. OB Mod is said to be

an impractical tool because managers

are forced to psychoanalyze workers,

tie rewards to performance

continuously. It is basically a

univariate method applied to a

multivariate organization. Quite often

it is too difficult to measure the

complex behaviours most employees

engage in. It may be difficult to teach

reinforcement principles to lower

level managers, design reward

systems that help creatively and are

not manipulative.

Conclusion. OB Mod should not be

treated as a panacea for all

organizational ills. OB Mod requires

significant administrative effort in

managing reward contingencies. The

criticisms will help managers in

applying OB Mod carefully and in

designing effective reinforcement

strategies that will encourage

creative, productive and satisfied

work force. OB Mod does not consist

of a bag of tricks to be applied

indiscriminately for the purpose of

coercing unwilling people. Instead, it

is a practical tool for shaping,

improving and motivating behaviour

of organizational participants. These

days it is being used quite

extensively in mental asylums,

clinics, group therapy, school rooms

and even in the homes. The strengths

and weaknesses of behaviour

modification are tabulated here

under.
ATTITUDES

INTRODUCTION

Developing a salutary social climate

in organization calls for predicting

and estimating the individual's

responses or reactions for certain

changes. Predispositions to react on

the basis of learned preferences are

fundamental in individual behaviour.

What is the mechanism that triggers

off when an individual is influenced?

We are here referring to attitudes

a person possesses. Attitude is an

internal state of person that is

focused on objects, events, people

that can exist in the person's

psychological world. An individual's

behaviour is also a function of

attitudes. An attitude is also a

cognitive element; it always remains

inside a person. Everyone's

psychological world is limited and

thus everyone has a limited number

of attitudes. In business

organization, employees have

attitudes related to world

environment, job security or

uncertainty, prestige of the product

or department and plant location etc.

The individual's attitudes toward

these factors are indicative of his

apathy or enthusiasm “toward the

activities and objectives of the
organization.
 i. An attitude is the predisposition

of the individual to evaluate

some object in a favourable or an

unfavorable manner.

ii. The most pervasive phenomenon

is “attitude”. People at work

place have attitudes about lots of

topics that are related to them.

These attitudes are firmly

embedded in a complex

psychological structure of beliefs

8
and other attitudes and values.

iii. Attitudes are different from

values. Values are the ideals—

abstract ideals, positive or

 negative, not tied to any specific

object or situation that

represents our beliefs about ideal

conduct. Whereas attitudes are

narrower, they are our feelings,

thoughts and behavioural

tendencies toward a specific

4
object or situation.

iv. Attitude is a predisposition to

respond to a certain set of facts.

v. Attitudes are evaluative

statements—either favourable or

unfavorable, concerning the

objects, people, or events.

An attitude is “a mental state of

readiness, organized through

experience, exerting a specific

influence upon a person's response

to people, objects, and situation with

which it is related”. Attitudes thus

state one's predispositions toward

given aspects of world. They also

provide an emotional basis of one's

interpersonal relations and

identification with others.

The definition of attitude entails a

much less controversy than any other

cognitive element (such as

perception, morale, belief, value

etc.). In the language of the layman,

we may describe an attitude. As the

way we feel about something. This

may be a feeling toward college,

football team, church, democracy,

parents, supervisor or organization.

The object may be anything—people,

things, ideas, policies and so on. The

notable feature of attitude is that it

varies in direction (favourable and

unfavourable), intensity (how

strongly they are held), and the

extent of consciousness (awareness

of individual concerning his attitude).

Managers in work organizations need

to know and understand employee's

attitudes in order to manage

effectively. Attitudes do influence

behaviour of people and their

performance in organizations.
Characteristics of Attitudes

Attitudes can be distinguished in

terms of (characterized by) their

valence, multiplicity; relation to

7
needs, and centrality.

Valence. It refers to the magnitude

or degree of favorableness or

unfavourableness toward the object/

event. While measuring the attitudes

we are basically concerned with the

valence. If a person is relatively

indifferent toward an object then his

attitude has low valence. On the

other hand, if a person is extremely

favourable or unfavorable toward an

attitude object, then his attitude will

have a high valence.

Multiplexity lt refers to the number

of elements constituting the attitude.

For example, one student may show

interest in studies, but another shows

interest, in addition works hard,

sincere, and serious. Similarly an

employee may feel simply loyal to

an organization, but another may feel

loyal, respectful, fearful and

dependent.

Relation to needs. Attitudes can

also vary in relation to the needs

they serve. For instance, attitudes of

an individual toward the pictures may

serve only entertainment needs. On

the other hand, attitudes of an

individual toward task may serve

strong needs for security,

achievement, recognition, and

satisfaction.
Centrality. One salient characteristic

of the attitude refers to the

importance of the attitude object to

the individual. The centrality

indicates the importance of the

object. The attitudes which have high

centrality for an individual will be less

susceptible to change.

Components of an Attitude

The structure of a person's attitude

comprises, of three vital

components— affective, cognitive

and overt.
Affective component. The affective

or feeling component refers to the

emotions associated with an attitude

object. It basically consists of the

“feeling” a person has toward an

attitude object. According to

McGinnies “it is an emotional

component that develops as a

conditioned response by association

with stimuli that have either

punishing or rewarding effects”. This

component is concerned with the

evaluation and emotion and is often

expressed as like or dislike, good or

bad, pleasing or displeasing,

favourable or unfavourable. The

expression of warmth, love, hate,

and other emotional expressions are

also belonging to the affective

component. It is this affective feature

that is most commonly associated

with the idea of attitude.

In work organizations, the examples

of affective components of a person X

attitude toward Y may be:

X dislikes Y on personal grounds

X dislikes Y because he is liked

by employer

X dislikes Y because he makes

more money than X

X dislikes Y because he takes

good decisions despite the lack

of experience,and training.
In one research study by Dickson and

McGinnies about the attitudes of a

sample university student towards

church, it is revealed that both pro-

church and anti-church students

responded with greater emotions to

statements that

contradicted their attitudes than to

those that reflected the reasons

behind a person's feelings of good or

bad, likes or dislikes.

Cognitive component. Cognitive

component represents the beliefs of a

person about an attitude object. The

beliefs may be based on a variety

of learning experiences, ‘rumors,

misunderstandings, or any other

information. You may believe that the

manager is intelligent or stupid,

ethical or unethical, good or bad, or

autocrat or democrat. Therefore,

cognitive component is very

important and consists of the

individual's perceptions, beliefs, and

ideas about an object. According to

10
Krecb, Crutchield, Ballachery the

most critical cognitions incorporated

into the system of attitudes are the

“evaluative beliefs” that take account

of good/bad, desirable/undesirable,

favourable/ unfavourable qualities of

object. The cognitive component of

attitude is sometimes referred to as

“opinion”.

It is important to note that there may

be in congruency between the

affective and cognitive components.

The affective component (feeling)

may be positive and the cognitive

component (beliefs) may be

negative. For instance, you may have

a positive feeling toward a person

but still believe that he has negative

characteristics.

The overt component. It is also

known as “behavioural” component

or “cognitive” component. This overt

component is concerned with the way

one intends to behave toward a

particular attitude object. Both the

affective and cognitive components

(feelings and beliefs) influence the

way a person intends to behave

toward an attitude object. For

instance, if a person has a negative

feeling or belief toward an object, he

will be likely to behave negatively

toward the object. In other words,

the behavioural component of

attitude consist of the tendency to

act or react toward an attitude object

in certain specified ways

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR

The relationship between attitudes

and behaviour is highly controversial.

On one side, cognitive theorists

believe that changes in attitudes

affect the behaviour of individuals.

That is, to say, to change behaviour

of an individual the attitudes he

possess must be subject to change

initially. In other words, change in

behaviour calls for a change in

attitudes of individuals.

On the other side of argument, some

theorists like Bern and other

reinforcement theorists, believe that

one would have to change behaviour

initially to change attitudes. Bern's

self perception theory, for instance

indicates that people are generally

aware of their cognitions. According

to non motivational interpretation of

Bern, an individual who wants to

know his own feelings or beliefs will

study his own behaviour and ask

“what must my attitude be if I am

willing to behave in this particular

fashion in this situation. This kind

of dispute between the theories

(Cognitive theories and

reinforcement theories) is trivial for

the beginner students at this level

but it would be suffice if they notice

the fundamental difference between

these two opinions.

Perhaps the most famous research on

this topic “behaviour and attitudes”

was conducted by Richard La Piere.

Long back (from 1930 to 1932) La

Piere and a Chinese couple travelled

around the entire States (USA) by

car. These people have received

warm welcome and were treated

magnificently well. La Piere reported

that only once was the couple not

treated hospitably (out of two

hundred and fifty one establishments

they visited). But after six months

whea La Piere has sent letters to the

restaurants asking whether Chinese

clientele would be accepted,

surprisingly over ninety three per

cent of the responses said “no”—i.e.,

Chinese would not be accommodated.

The essence of La Piere's work is that

people acted in one way i.e., friendly

and hospitably, whereas they

respond to Chinese in a different way

i.e., negative affects and beliefs

about Chinese. In other words,

clearly there was discrepancy

between the actual behaviour and

reported attitude. The results of this

research has created an uproar

among social scientists who then

attempted to define, redefine,

measure and develop new theories of

attitudes. Out of the refinement came

some generalizations about attitudes

and behaviour.

1. First of all, the more specific the

measurement of attitude, the

more it is to be related to the

behaviour. La Piere has obtained

extremely discrepant information

about the prejudice toward

 Chinese people in America. He

simply asked about Chinese

people in general. He did not

actually measure the attitude.

2. Attitudes are related to

behaviour. There is no doubt

about it, but they are influenced

by situational factors such as

pressures by union, top

management etc.

Functions Served by Attitudes

Organizations spend millions of

currencies to measure the attitudes

of the employees. It is because

attitudes influence other important

psychological processes, such as the

perception and interpretation of

stimuli, the learning and retention of

controversial material, receptivity

and openness to new knowledge and

message. Furthermore, attitudes

confer substantial consistency and

stability to behaviour. For instance,

knowing that an individual holds a

certain attitude enables a manager to

anticipate and predict his behaviour

with a fair amount of accuracy. An

administrator, who is seeking to

influence the behaviour of others-

superiors, subordinates or colleagues

in the organization, soon becomes

aware of the importance of their

attitudes. Attitudes serve a number

of functions.
According to Katz, attitudes serve

four important functions—

adjustment, value, expression,
knowledge and ego-
defensiveness.

Adjustment function. This function

recognizes the famous hedonistic

principle—people strive to maximize

the rewards and minimize the

penalties in their external

environment. Attitudes are the

means for reaching desired goals or

for avoiding undesirable results.

Attitudes are the associations of

sentiments based on experiences in

attaining the motive satisfaction.

The ego-defensive function.

People normally expend a great deal

of their energies in the process of

learning to five with themselves.

Many of our attitudes serve the

function of defending our self-image.

For instance, when people cannot

admit their inferiority feelings they

project their feelings over some

convenient minority group and

bolster their egos by attitudes of

superiority toward this minority

group.

The value-expressive function.

Many attitudes serve another, yet

very important, function in terms of

positive expressions of an individual

in the minds of other people. Value-

expressive attitudes, according to

Katz, not only give clarity to the self-

image but also mold that self-image

closer to the heart's desire.

The knowledge function. Another

main purpose served by attitudes is

the knowledge function. This function

is based on the need for

understanding and making sense of

the world. Some attitudes that are

appropriate to the situations will be

retained and those that are outdated

are discarded by an employee. In

other words, attitudes that are

inadequate for dealing with new and

changing environment will be thrown

out by an individual because they

lead to contradictions and

inconsistency.
Attitude Formation

The question often arises “Where do

attitudes come from?” Attitudes are

basically learned. People are not born

with specific attitudes; rather they

acquire them through the “process of

learning”. Attitudes reflect a person's

previous reinforcement history. The

determinants of a person's attitudes

are personal experience, association,

family, peer groups, and society.

Most of the attitudes are a mixture of

the above determinants-

Experience. People gain experience

in forming (developing) attitudes by

coming in direct contact with an

attitude object. Through job

experiences, individuals learn

attitudes. They develop attitudes

about such factors as salary,

performance reviews, job design,

work group affiliation and managerial

capabilities. But by the time a person

goes for work in a specified

organization, he holds many

attitudes toward the type of job

which is acceptable to him, the

expected pay, working conditions and

supervision etc.

Previous work experience can

account for the individual differences

in attitudes such as loyalty,

commitments, and performance.

These differences in attitudes are

frequently noticed by many

managers in work organizations. For

15
instance, David and Werling have

surveyed a West Coast plant

employing two hundred and fifty

clerical and administrative personnel

and roughly four hundred operating

personnel. They have found that the

company success, self-improvement

and improvement in operations

formed the interests of skilled

workers whereas semiskilled workers

lacked concern for the company goals

and attached insignificant importance

to the job content.

Association. People are highly

influenced by the major groups or

associations to which they belong.

Our geographic region, religion,

educational background, race, sex,

age and income-class-all strongly

influence our attitudes. The influence

of groups on the attitudes of the

individual is inversely proportional to

the distance of the group from the

individual.

Family. Family exerts influence on

the initial core of attitudes held by

an individual. Individuals develop

certain attitudes from their family

members— parents, brothers, sisters

etc. The family characteristics

influence the individual's early

attitude patterns and control to which

he is initially exposed. Family is

primary to the group which an

individual belongs- According to

Newcomb and Svehla there have

been found high correlation between

parents and children with respect to

attitudes in many specific areas. This

investigation has found a high degree

of relationship between parents and

children in attitudes than they found

between children and their peers.

They also empirically observed low

correlation between attitudes of the

children and their teachers.

Peer groups. As people approach

their adulthood, they increasingly

rely on their peer groups for

approval/attitude. How others judge

an individual largely determines his

self-image, and approval- seeking

behaviour. “We often seek out others

who share attitudes similar to our

own, or else we change our attitudes

to conform to the attitudes of those

in the group (fraternity, dorm, and

club) whose approval is important to

us.

Society. Social class and religious

affiliation also play a vital role in

forming attitudes of an individual.

The culture, language and the

structure of society, all provide an

individual with the boundaries of his

initial attitudes. At the very early age

an individual is taught that certain

attitudes are acceptable and certain

others are non- acceptable in the

society. For instance, the attitudes

of Russian toward communism are

radically different from those held by

an average American. That is to say,

what seem to be appropriate in one

individual's culture and society may

be totally unacceptable in another

culture.

Personality factors. Personality

differences between individuals

appears to be a very important

concomitant of the formation of

attitudes. This particular area has

been the subject matter of great

interest and it carries a great deal of

weight in organizational behaviour.

An outstanding study by Adorno at

al sketched the “authoritarian

personality” and tried to study the

personality differences between

people. They found a coherent

pattern of ethnocentric attitudes

including anti-Semitism. The

ethnocentric stuck to the straight and

narrow, holding conventional values,

not being able to accept certain

ordinarily unacceptable social

impulses as part of their systems.

The authors also traced a relationship

between the personality differences

and the differences in the childhood

training experiences.

In another study by McClosky of the

personality correlates between

conservatism and liberalism, it is

revealed that conservative attitudes

characterized those at the lower end

of the intelligence scale with less

education and with less awareness

of current events. However, McClosky

did not find the correlation between

conservatism and political party

20
preferences. It is Campbell who

has confirmed the lack of relationship

between party preference and

conservatism or liberalism with

respect to attitudes. Personality

factors thus also influence the

formation of attitudes.
Measurement of Attitudes

According to Gordon Allport the

concept of attitude is probably the

most distinctive and indispensable

concept in contemporary social

psychology. With reference to

organizational setting, attitudes are

tied to one's individual personality

and motivation. Attitude is related to

behaviour. It is onedimensional

variable in the sense that it is tied to

one's feelings about an object/event.

Though attitude is a hypothetical

construct (that is, it is something

which one carries around inside), it is

also subject to measurement.

Attitudes may be defined

operationally, from the viewpoint of

measurement, by describing
measurement systems that social

psychologists use to measure the

attitudes. The most common and

frequently used measures of

attitudes are the questionnaires

which ask the respondents to

evaluate and rate the attitude toward

a particular object directly and to

respond favorably or unfavorably

about his belief regarding the

attitude object. Generally, bipolar

scales are used to assess the

attitudes of individual employees in

an organization. Different types of

scales are in use with respect to

measurement of attitudes

viz.,Thurstone's scale, Likert's scale,

Bogardus's social distance scale,

Guttman's scale etc. Let us throw a

dim light on these scales.

Thurstone's scale.

About five decades back Thurstone

collected a large number of

statements relating to the area in

which attitudes were to be measured.

The statements may be relating to

any object—for example, religion,

education, war, peace etc. The

statements, both favourable and

unfavourable, are placed into eleven

piles; 1 representing the most

favourable one and “if’representing

the unfavourable. Individuals will

then be asked to check those

statements with which they agreed.

The average of the scale values of

the items which they accepted will

give an indication of the placement

of a person along the attitude

continuum. For example, if the

average happens to be low, this

would indicate high degree of

favourableness in attitudes in this

particular area of field and if the

average happens to be high, this

indicates low degree of

favourableness in attitudes in the

area.

Likert's scale.

Another scale that is relatively easy

when compared earlier Thurstone's

scale is the one that is developed by

Rensis
Strongly Undecided Strongly
Agree Disagree
agree (neutral) disagree

5 4 3 2 1

Likert's scale is consisting of five

boxes ranging from strongly agree

to strongly disagree. Under each

statement of attitude the respondent

will be given a chance to check one of

five boxes and finally all the ratings

will be summed up. The Likert's scale

is also called a summed-rating

measure, because several statements

are collected in an attitude area, such

as one's attitude about a job, and

the scales are added up or summed

to obtain a person's attitude toward

his job. The summed-rating scale

provides a means of measuring the

intensity of one's attitude toward a

particular object/ event in addition to

the direction. Likert's scale is more

reliable than Thurstone's scale and it

is more valid.

Bogardus's social distance

scale-

Perhaps the most simplest scale of

measuring attitudes was the social

distance scale developed by

Bogardus in 1925. The scale is

composed of a large number of

statements regarding national, racial

or ethnic groups. Bogardus used a

seven point scale ranging from the

most favourable acceptance picture,

that of acceptance to close kinships

by marriage, to termination or

exclusion from the country, as the

other extreme end of scale.

Guttman's scale.

Guttman in 1950has developed a

cumulative scaling technique to

measure attitudes. If a person gets

a higher scale than another person

on a particular set of items, we can

easily determine his position for

every single item. For example, let

us consider three items referring to

weight that is to be tested...No-

 1. My weight is more than 45 kgs.

No.

2. My weight is more than 50 kgs.

and No.

3. We know that he has already said

“yes” to Nos. 2 and I also.

Similarly, in the case of one's

attitude toward work, an employee

might be presented with six

statements displaying successively

higher degrees of dissatisfaction. It is

assumed that the employee will reach

some point beyond which he can no

longer agree. The main threshold is

considered to be the degree of

satisfaction.
There are good many other scales

to measure attitudes. Edward and

Kilpatrik” in 1948, have attempted to

synthesize and integrate the Likert's,

Guttman's and Thurstone's

approaches, with a technique called

“scale discrimination”. Here are six

response categories ranging from

strongly agree, agree, mildly agree,

mildly disagree, disagree and

strongly disagree.

From a practical standpoint, one

should either use a standard

questionnaire or consult an expert to

obtain a valid estimate of attitudes of

the employees in an organization.

ATTITUDES AND
PRODUCTIVITY

One of the most perplexing questions

concerning employees attitudes is

the extent of their relationship with

employee efficiency and productivity.

A number of studies have attempted

to analyse this relationship but to

date no close correlation has been

established. The results, at best, are

inconclusive. Let us analyse briefly

the important studies.

Attitude toward Employees

and Operating Efficiency

Let us take up this question first

“what is the relationship between the

employees’productivity and their

attitude toward the organization that

5
employs them?' . On this subject,

research was conducted by the

University of Michigan (Institute for

Social Research). In one study of a

big company it has been found that

employees in high producing sections

were found to have no more

favourable attitudes toward the

organization than those in low-

producing sections engaged in the

same kind of work. The distribution

of employees into the various

attitude groups is as follows.

Percentage of employees whose

satisfaction with company is High

Average Low
 High producing
37% 39% 24%
sections

Low-producing
40% 40% 20%
sections

Rensis Likert, New Patterns of

Management, New York: McGraw Hill

Book Company, 1961,

The figures reveal no correlation

between the general attitudes and

productivity. When the study was

repeated in other situations once

again it revealed the similar results.

Surprisingly, these studies shows

that the employees with favourable

attitudes toward the organization are

unlikely to be more productive

employees than are those with

natively unfavourable attitudes.

Likert, however, suggested that the

nature of work seems to affect this

relationship. He contends that in the

case of varied tasks, a positive

correlation exists between

productivity and their attitudes. Most

of the research studies have

considered only repetitive tasks and

probably that is the reason why there

is no correlation between attitudes

and productivity. By varied work we

mean the type of work involved in

engineering, research, marketing

etc.— (other than producing and

manufacturing sections).

Another important factor is time.

Some research evidence reveals a

positive connection between

attitudes and employee's productivity

when the data are analyzed over an

appreciable period of time. The

essence is that some time span is

required for a change in managerial

behaviour to show up in employee

attitudes and in productivity. In other

words, evaluation of the relationship

between attitudes and productivity at

a particular point of time often

misleads the relationship and give

biased results.

Specific Job Attitudes and

Productivity

Often we assume that a happy

employee is a productive employee.

But this is highly questionable as has

been seen above. However, it is quite

likely that some specific attitudes

might have a direct and positive

correlation with employee

performance and productivity. Robert

L. Kahn has conducted a research

to see such relationship in insurance

company and another study in

maintenance -of-way of railroad.

Both the studies revealed a lack of

correlation. In the matter of

productivity and satisfaction, the

results of the railroad study were

identical with those of the work in

the insurance company. There was

no systematic relationship if n

productivity and such morale

variables as intrinsic job satisfaction,

financial and job status satisfaction,

and satisfaction with the company.

The trouble with these studies is that

they have concentrated only on

routine jobs. It is possible that these

studies might have discovered

positive relationship between specific

employee attitudes (such as morale,

job status, etc.) and productivity had

they concentrated on non-routine

jobs.

In some other study by Bray field

and Crockett, it is revealed that

statistically low positive relationships

between job satisfaction and job

performance existed in two of the

fifteen comparisons of homogeneous

occupational groups. However, in one

study that is conducted more recently

by Frederick Herzberg, Bernard

Mausner,and Barbara Bloch Snyder

man, it is concluded that there is

relationship between job attitudes

and output of productivity.

The researchers unanimously felt

that the relationship between job

satisfaction and job performance is

not a simple one. Since the work

quite often is standardized the

individual employees have little

opportunity to distinguish themselves

other than by performing f

satisfactorily their assigned duties. It

can be concluded that given certain

congenial conditions performance

and attitudes can have a positive

correlation between them.

I It must Be noted that most studies

of the relationship between attitudes

and productivity have measured

general attitudes. But the actual job

occurs in a specific, particular

situation or context of job

requirement environmental regards

and punishments. Therefore that

attitudes become useful to the

managers in understanding and

predicting employee's behaviour

toward the job, the knowledge must

be about specific behaviour in a

specific situation.
CHANGING THE ATTITUDES

Managers are often confronted with

the problem of changing attitudes of

individual employees. When the

previously structured attitudes of the

employees are believed to be

hindering the task performance, a

manager must attempt to change

their attitudes. “To know how

attitudes change or can be made to

change it a theoretical and practical

problem of great moment... perhaps

the most urgent psychological

problem in our world today.” But the

most important thing to remember

about attitude change is that a need

to change must be existing.

Attitude changes may be roughly

classified into congruent and

incongruent changes. By congruent

change we mean a movement in the

same direction; a mild pro-war

attitude may become, under changed

conditions, even more prowar. To

take an example, a less serious

student maybe converted into a more

serious student by resorting to

attitude change. On the other hand,

an incongruent attitude change

involves a change toward the other

end of the continuum. For example,

conversion of a dull and non-

intelligent student into an interesting

and intelligent student constitutes

this in congruent attitude change.

Similarly turning dislike into like,

unfavorable into favourable etc. are

also examples of incongruent attitude

changes.

A manager attempting to change an

individual employee's attitudes

should keep in mind the following

factors:

The characteristics of the

communicator.

The method of communication.

The characteristics of the person

to be influenced.

Situational factors.
PERCEPTION

One of the important cognitive

factors of human behaviour is

perception. It is essentially a

psychological process. It is the chief

mechanism by which people come to

know about their surrounding milieu.

Perception is the process whereby

people select, organize, and interpret

sensory stimulations into meaningful

information about their work

environment. There can be no

behaviour without perception, and

perception lies at the base of every

individual behaviour. The best

supervisor is one who can accurately

and precisely estimate employee's

perceptions and made his moves.

Unfortunately, a manager is not

gifted with any set of rules, formulas

and techniques to understand other's

minds and other s perceptions. He

is left with his own inventiveness,

innovative ability, sensitiveness and

introspective skills to deal with

perception.

Defined

People in organizations are

bombarded constantly by thousands

of visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory,

and olfactory stimuli. The critical

question in the study of perception

is, “Why the same world is viewed

differently by different people”? The

answer, of course, is quite obvious.

That is, psychologically, the world is

not same for different people. The

question still remains as to Why? An

understanding of perception clarifies

this point.

1. People's actions, emotions,

thoughts and feelings are

triggered by perceptions of their

surroundings.

2. Perceptions are the intellectual

process by which a person

acquires the information from

the environment, organize it and

obtain the meaning from it.

3. Perception is the phase of

operation that takes place after

the information being received

but one that is well-nigh

 indistinguishable from it. Though

perception has been defined in

a variety of ways, it basically

refers to the manner in which a

person experiences the world.

4. Perception’ is the basic cognitive

or psychological process. The

manner in which a person

perceives the environment

affects his behaviour.

5. We define perception as “the

process by which people

organize,

interpret, experience, process and

use stimulus materials in the

environment so that they satisfy their

needs”.
We all do not have the same view of

the world. We see things differently

and there are radical differences in

which people think and react in the

world.

Differences in perceptions should not

however, lead to misleading

conception that the perceived world

is a chaotic one. It is rather an

orderly world in which perceiver

draws on interpretative meaning

from the perceived object. It may

be true that the same object may

look nuclear and meaningless to one

person, but it may be more

meaningful, genuine or real to the

one who perceives it to be so.

Perception is thus formed in some

orderly manner. It also, can be

studied systematically by the

manager.

WHY MANAGERS STUDY

PERCEPTION? (IMPORTANCE)

“We all observe that the sun rises

in the east and sets in the west”,

but in reality it never rises nor sets.

A layman never accepts the reality

but prefers to stay in his perceived

world. Whereas a space scientist not

only accepts the reality but tries to

educate others. Perceived world is

not the real world but has a high

feeling of reality. The feeling is so

strong that we seldom question what

we see and perceive.

A manager is like a space scientist

that is able to distinguish between a

perceived world and the real world.

He should know how the perceptions

develop and have a deep-seated

appeal to the employees. Manager

needs to recognize that the

employees react to perceptions, not

reality. Whether a job is interesting

or challenging is irrelevant; whether

a manager is actually helping his

subordinates more effectively or not

is also irrelevant.

The key element is what is perceived.

Manager should be more concerned

with what others perceive about his

actions, rather than his own actions.

A manager can improve his

perceptual accuracy if he becomes

aware of how perceptions are formed

and distorted. On the basis of

commonsense and observation

managers made decisions. Some

examples of the assumptions which

managers keep in mind are:

• People are lazy and need to be

controlled.

• Big organizations are successful

organizations.

• Good leaders are always good

speakers.

• Big organizations always

dehumanize employees.

• People are more emotional.

• A productive worker is always

happy.
These statements may be true in

some cases, but not always. Manager

should hold such perceptions but at

the same time should develop

perceptual accuracy. Lawler and

Rhode are of the view. “Experiencing

the environment is an active process

in which people try to make sense out

of their environment.

In this active process, individuals

selectively notice different aspects of

the environment, appraise what they

see in terms of their own experience,

and evaluate what they experience

in terms of their needs and values.

Since people's needs and past

experience often differ markedly, so

do their perceptions of the

3
environment” . A first thing a

rational manager, thus, does is to

understand the perceptual process.

Factors Influencing

Perception

The factors that influence, perceptual

mechanism are of two kinds—internal

and external.

Internal factors. Among the

internal factors the most important

are the needs, desires of individuals,

individual personality, and the

experience of people.
Needs and desires. The needs and

motives of people play a vital role in

perception. Perception of a frustrated

individual is entirely different from

that of a happy-going person. Some

19
researchers like Atkinson have

further pointed out that when

pictures of individuals in social

settings are shown to them, they

perceive in different ways. People at

different levels of needs and desires

perceive the same thing differently.

There is a strong likelihood of

attending to job-threatening

comments if you feel insecure about

your job. Power-seekers are more

likely to notice power related stimuli.

Socially oriented individuals pay

attention to interpersonal stimuli.

That is to say, expectancy, motives

or interests also affect people

perception. It goes without saying

that people will likely to notice

stimuli relevant to current active

motives and compatible with major

personality characteristics.

Personality. Individual personality

is another internal factor that has

a profound influence on perceived

behaviour. It is a trite saying that

optimistic people perceive the things

in favourable terms* pessimistic

beings in negative terms. Maslow

contends that between these two

extremes there exist categories that

can see things more accurately and

objectively. Individuals who have

real perceptive abilities can function

effectively without being defensive

about their imitations in their

21
personality. Research on the

effects of individual personality on

perception reveals many truths.

Secure individuals tend to

perceive others as warm, not

cold.

Thoughtful individuals do not

expose by expressing extreme

judgments of others

Persons who accept themselves

and have faith in their

individuality perceive things

favorably.
 Self-accepting individuals

perceive themselves as liked,

wanted and accepted by others.

Experience. Experience and

knowledge have a constant bearing

on perception. Successful

experiences enhance and boost the

perceptive ability and lead to

accuracy in perception of a person*

whereas failure erodes self-

confidence.

External (exogenous) factors.

Perception is also influenced or

affected by the characteristics of the

object or event or person. These

include size, intensity frequency,

status etc.
Size. The bigger the size of the

perceived stimulus, the higher is the

probability that it is perceived. Size

establishes dominance and overrides

other things and thereby enhances

perceptual selection. For example,

the maintenance engineer may pay

more attention to a big machine than

to a smaller one, even though the

small machine costs the same as the

big machine. To take another

example, in advertising, a full-page

spread is more attention-getting than

a few lines in some comer of the

newspaper.

Intensity, Intensity accentuates and

functions to increase the chances of

selection. For instance, if the

messages are bright and loud then

they attract people; underlining a

sentence calls for a more attention

and people generally pay more

attention to italics also. The greater

the intensity of a stimulus, the more

likely it will be noticed. An intense

stimulus has more power to push

itself our’ selection filters than does

a weaker stimulus. For example, a

shout is more attention-getting than

a normal speaking voice. But one

question arises: If intensity is so

important why a whisper by a student

in a classroom is effective in getting

attention by a teacher? The answer

lies in the fact that a whisper often

contrasts with the rest of the noisy

environment.
The essence of intensity principle is

that a loud noise, strong odor, or

bright light will be noticed very easily

and more than a soft sound, week

odor, or dim light. The principle that

“the higher the intensity of external

stimulus the more likely it will be

perceived” is sometimes invalid. For

example, by speaking loudly the

supervisor maybe actually turning

the subordinates off instead of

gaining attention. The intensity

factor has to be considered in light of

the situation i.e., frame of reference.

Frequency. The frequency principle

states that a repeated external

stimulus is more attention-getting

than a single one. “A stimulus that

is repeated has a better chance of

catching us during one of the periods

when our attention to a task is

waning. In addition, repetition

increases our sensitivity or alertness

to the stimulus.” Thus the greater

the frequency with which a sensory

stimulus is presented, the greater the

chances we select it for attention.

Repetition is one of the most

frequently used techniques in

advertising and is the most common

way of getting our attention.

Repetition aids in increasing the

awareness of the stimulus. But it has

certain limitations. Repeating the

confusing information increases

confusion. Secondly, if stimulus is

presented an excessive number of

times you may choose to filter it out

completely to avoid becoming

irritated. And finally, frequency no

doubt increases the probability of

selection of stimulus by the receivers

but it is no way connected to the

accuracy of the interpretation of the

information. Frequency simply

results in making people aware of the

stimulus.

Status. Perception is also influenced

by the status of the perceiver. High

status people can exert influence on

perception of an employee than low

status people. For example, when we

are introduced to the divisional

manager and foreman, we are likely

to remember the name of the

divisional manager than the name of

the foreman.

Contrast, Stimuli that contrasts with

the surrounding ‘environments are

more likely to be selected for

attention than the stimuli that blends

in. For example consider the

following.

WANT MADE GO WHEN

TIME

CAUSE IF EFFECT THEN

OTHER SHOULD EVEN

ORDER PASSAGE TIME

When you initially looked at the box one

of the first things you probably
noticed was the word EFFECT that

is printed in hold. You noticed the

bold word because it contrasted with

other words in the box. A contrasting

effect can be caused by color size or

any other factor that is unusual (any

factor that distinguishes one stimulus

from others at present). For instance,

a man walking down the street with

a pair of crutches is more attention-

getting than a common man. The

‘contrast’principle essentially states

that external stimuli that stand out

against the background or which are

not what are expecting will receive

their attention. The contrast effect

also explains why a male person

stands out in a crowd of females:

There is nothing unusual about a

male person but, when surrounded

by females, he stands out.

INTERPERSONAL PERCEPTION

Interpersonal perception begins with

the perception of another person, an

awareness and appraisal of his

attitudes, attributes, intentions and

their likely reactions to our actions.

Expectations about the actions of

other people may be either confirmed

resulting in smooth paths of social

interaction or disconfirmed resulting

in embarrassment and stress.

Interpersonal experiences stimulate

efforts to be made more realistic in

appraising others, with a consequent

improvement in judgmental

accuracy. In knowing other person

who generally applies a theory of

inference.

When we form an impression about

another person, our initial

information is usually incomplete (for

example, griming face, a stem

rebuke, brightness in face, moderate

intelligence etc.). These partial bits

of evidence generate a host of

inferences with varying degrees of

certainty. Some inference rules are

unique and private to each perceiver.

 27
Secord offered two compelling

reasons to suggest that perceivers

must use inference in order to arrive

at conclusion concerning a person.

They are:

1. Perceivers are always striving for

cues on the basis of which to

formulate an internally

consistent frame of reference.

2. In a relatively ambiguous

situation with respect to the

perceived person's covert

characteristics, it is expected

that perceivers will use whatever

cognitive processes are at their

command to achieve their /

goals.
Uniform Inference Processes

According to Secord, there are five

inference rules that are uniform to all

perceivers.

1. Temporal extension. The

perceiver considers momentary

characteristics of an individual as

if it were an enduring attribute.

This uniform process underlies

virtually all judgments of other

people. For instance, a person

is seen wearing a smile, it is

frequently f inferred that he is

good-natured and always jovial,

and easy-going. Temporal

extension based on limited

samples of behaviour or limited

 information often leads to wide

discrepancies among judges in

perceiving an individual.

2. Categorization. The perceiver

uses certain cues to place the

person in a category with which

the perceiver associates a

certain personality attributes.

For instance, by the person's

accent we can know whether he

is an Englishman or French man

or a Chinese product. If he

happens to be a French man we

add the qualities of a common

French man (viz. amorous and

lovewine etc.). This is the basic

process of stereotyping.

Categorization like this may lead

 to error because of false

stereotypes sometimes.

3. Parataxis. The perceiver, from a

previous interpersonal situation,

tries to generalize the actions of

the object/person. For example,

if the previous boss is friendly

and fair to the employee, the

employee is quite likely to

assume that his new boss will

also be friendly and fair to him.

Attributes belonging to the

significant other are perceived in

the new person whether or not

they are appropriate to this new

person- More often the

perception does not fit the new

person.
4. Functional inference. The

perceiver infers that some

particular aspect of the person

functions in a similar particular

manner and from this perceiver

assumes that the person

possesses an associated

attribute. For instance, if a

person is a good organizer, we

infer that he is also a good

leader. This is known as halo

effect.

5. Metaphorical generalization.

By this we mean inference

through analogy. Based on an

analogy the perceiver makes an

abstract generalization. For

instance, if an individual
 possesses cold blue eyes, she

must be cold and insensitive.

Similarly, if a person is poor

dresser, he must be uncouth.

Idiosyncratic Processes

In a sharp contrast to the uniform

inference rules presented above, the

idiosyncratic inference processes are

based on the personal

generalizations derived from the

experiences that aptly fit in with an

individual's views of the world.

According to Mann there are two

major idiosyncratic inference

processes —the implicit personality

theory and the response set.

1 Implicit personality theory. Here

the perceiver develops a theory

about what other people are like.

Perceivers vary differently according

to their implicit personality theory.

They develop theory depending on

assumptions about human behaviour.

If the individual assumes that smiling

faces are considered intelligent, then

he incorporates this assumption in

his theory. Based on this assumption

he infers people. The assumption that

red-headed women are aggressive in

nature is another classic examp le of

this implicit personality theory.

i. Response set. It is also known

as general evaluation set.

Perceivers, in appraising other

 people, have an inherent

tendency to respond either

favourably or unfavourably (hard

or soft). Depending on his

opinions about human nature,

the perceiver's response set

determines whether a person

looks for socially desirable or

undesirable traits in other people

and whether his judgements are

lenient or harsh.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE

PERCEIVER AND PERCEIVED

A better understanding on the

interpersonal perception* is provided

by research by Zalking and Costello.

The specific characteristics of the

perceiver, according to them are:

Knowing oneself makes it easier

to see others accurately.

One's own characteristics affect

the characteristics he is likely to

see in others.

The person who accepts himself

is more likely to be able to see

favourable aspects of other

people.

Accuracy in perceiving others is

not a single skill.

Similarly the characteristics

of the person who is being

perceived are:

i. The status of the person

perceived will greatly influence

others’perception of him.
 ii. The person being perceived is

usually placed into categories to

simplify the viewer's perceptual

activities. Two common

categories are status and role.

iii. The visible traits of the person

perceived will greatly influence

the perception of him.

In understanding the

interpersonal perception the

above characteristics of the

person who perceives and the

one who is being perceived are to

be considered.

How to Develop Perceptual

skills?

Though there are no set formulas to

develop the perceptual abilities some

guidelines can definitely help

promote the skills of the perceiver.

1. Avoid perceptual distortion.

Some managers have a tendency

to form opinions about

employees without reading them

properly. If the opinions are

biased they lead to perceptual

distortion. Further, managers

can be misled by people who

deliberately mistrack other

employees. When such a

possibility of perceptual
distortion exists, managers

should be careful in evaluating

their perceptual judgments.
2. Make accurate self-

perception. People are not

without some limitations.

Therefore, one very important

thing a person should do is that

he should understand himself.

The more accurate he

understands himself the more

accurate his perceptual skills

are. But some people are

unaware of the skills they

possess. These skills remain

unexploited, hidden and

unproductive as long as the

people are unaware of these

 skills. This happens due to

inaccurate self-perception.

Maslow contends that self-

actualizing individuals have more

accurate perceptions about

themselves than those who are

29
not self- actualizing. Positive

attitude towards ourselves and

‘self-fulfilling prophecy’are likely

to further self-improvement and

understanding of the self and

proper introspection.

3. Put yourself in another

person's place. To understand

other people properly we must

live in their shoes. But seldom

people does’ this practice

because it is very difficult to

 empathetic. By changing the

frame of reference and assuming

others’position managers

become capable of improving

interpersonal understanding.

4. Create good impression about

yourself. In social settings how

one appeals is very important.

We must show ourselves in a

positive light creating and

presenting an honest image of

ourselves in order to improve

social status and earn respect.

It is an essential requirement for

socialization.
Critique of Perception

Perceptive theory is an appreciable,

descriptive and conceptual

framework for understanding the

individual and his behaviour. It helps

in evaluating others in a more

accurate way and thereby motivating

and influencing the employees. A

manager who is motivating the

employees must be good at

perceiving the employees behaviour

in order to increase effectiveness and

realize the company's goals.

Perception forms the base of

behaviour.

Perception is one of the very

important background factors a

manager must reckon with. A

manager should note the following

negative points of perception.

1. The concept of perception is

highly subjective. Perception is

subjective, devoid of

experimentation and empirical

research and investigation. It is

a deductive theory where testing

is not possible. Deductive logics

and theories are always subject

to a barrage of criticism and

perception is no exception to

such criticism.

2. Perceived world is different from

the reality. Perceptual theory

assumes that “if a person does

not see an event, it does not

exist”. But in reality an object

 can exist even if the perceiver

has not seen it.

3. Accurate perception about others

calls for thorough understanding

of self and others. Both these are

no mean tasks. Perception based

on partial understanding of self

and others has the probability of

bringing distortion and results in

biased view.

4. Finally, managers may study the

perception of others but it is very

difficult to change and influence

the perception of their

employees. For instance,

manager can come to know that

employees are perceiving him to

be strict and ‘impersonal

 guy’though actually he is

paternalistic in his approach.

Here the manager cannot change

the employee's perception about

his own behaviour. Employees

themselves should come to know

about this and it involves time.

MOTIVATION

What makes people work? Why some

people perform better than others?

Perhaps one of the biggest questions

confronting organizations today is

the people’question. In fact, if you

dig very deeply into any problem you

will get to people. But how do we

motivate employees to achieve the

goals of an organization and at the

same time satisfy the needs of

employees. How to tap the latent

human capability in organization

endeavours? Managers encounter an

interesting problem here. The

manager is responsible for

completing a task. However, a

manager alone cannot complete the

task. The contributed efforts of

subordinates are necessary and vital.

A manager must stimulate people to

action to accomplish the desired

goals; he must fuse the varied

individual human capacities and

powers of the many people employed

into a smoothly working team with

high productivity. How do we get

people to perform at a higher than

‘normal’per cent of their physical and

mental capacities and also maintain

satisfaction? This is the challenge of

motivation. Motivation is an
1
inspirational process which impels

the members of the team, to pull

their weight effectively, to give their

loyalty to the group, to carry out

properly the tasks that they have

accepted and generally to play an

effective part in the job that the

group has undertaken. It is the

process of indoctrinating employees

with unity of purpose and the need

to maintain harmonious relationships

among people. Managers cannot

change people; they can only change

behaviour.
Motivation is not a simple

concept.

It involves a complex combination of

individual needs, drives, tensions,

discomforts and expectations. The

motivation of any organism, even the

simplest one, is at present only

“partly understood’ Moreover, needs

vary significantly with the individual

and lead to differential behaviour

patterns. To confound the matter

even further, an individual's needs

vary over time. His value system

evolves continually, and an integral

part of that evolution is the

motivational process.
As some needs are satisfied, they

become less important in the scheme

of things. Others develop through

experience. Thus, understanding

individual motivation requires

continual updating in order to reflect

the most current mix of goals. As

people become better educated and

economically blessed, the traditional

carrot and stick policies only scratch

the surface. The ever increasing

constraints, internal as well as

external, imposed on organizations

further erode the power of managers

to motivate employees.

In spite of these frustrating

limitations, it is highly important to

the manager of the group of people

to understand in what way- he may

be able to generate enthusiasm and

goal-directed behaviour on the part

of his subordinates. Motivation

2
theory provides a great deal of

insight into the reasons that different

individuals exhibit different

behavioural patterns in an

organization. It is useful in explaining

why the same individual exhibits

different reactions to the same

stimulus at different times.

Nature of Motivation

In terms of its derivation, the word

motivates means to move, to

activate. In this general sense,

anything, that initiates activity

whether external or internal, is

motivating. Today, the term means a

lot more than this. Motivating is the

work a manager performs to inspire,

encourage and impel people to take

required action. Some of the widely

quoted definitions are given below:

1. Motivation is a predisposition to

act in a specific goal-directed

4
way.

2. The immediate influences on the

direction, vigor and persistence

of action.

3. Steering one's actions toward

certain goals and committing a

certain part of one's energies to

6
reach them-
 4. How behaviour gets started, is

energized, is sustained, is

directed, is stopped and what

kind of subjective reaction is

present in the organism while all

7
this is going on.

All these definitions contain three

common aspects of the motivation

process: What energizes human

behaviour? What directs or channels

such behaviour? How this behaviour

8
is maintained or sustained? The
process of motivation is

characterized by the following:

a. Motivation is an internal

feeling. Motivation points to

energetic forces within

 individuals that drive them to

behave in certain ways and to

environmental forces that trigger

these drives.

b. Motivation produces goal-

directed behaviour. Motivation

has got a profound influence on

human behaviour, it harnesses

human i energy to organizational

requirements. There is the notion

of goal orientation on the part

of individuals; their behaviour is

directed towards something.

c. Motivation contains systems

orientation. It considers in

those forces in the individuals

and in their surrounding

environments that feedback to

 the individuals either to reinforce

the intensity of their drive and

the direction of this energy or to

dissuade them from their cause

of action and redirect their

efforts.

d. Motivation can be either

positive or negative. Positive

motivation or the carrot

approach, offers something

precious to the person in the

form of additional pay,

incentives, praise etc., for

satisfactory performance.

Negative motivation or stick

approach emphasizes penalties

while controlling performance

(reprimands, threat of

demotion).
e. Motivation means bargaining.

Behaviour is what people DO

Motivation is WHY they do it.

Barnard explained motivation in

the form of ‘inducements-

contribution’theory. It focuses on

workers and organizations

endeavoring to find what payouts

(inducements) to workers in

exchange for what degree of

cooperation (contributions) from

workers will be satisfactory to

both parties. The problem of

motivation then becomes one of

arriving at compensation to
workers that will coax them the
output that is required.
Motivation is a complete process.

Five reasons can be provided in

support of this statement:

i. First, motive is a hypothetical

construct. It cannot be seen.

Often we observe individuals

putting a great deal of overtime.

We cannot definitely state

whether they are doing it

because of additional income

they receive or simply because

they enjoy their work.

ii. Individuals may have a host of

needs that are continuously

changing, and, sometimes, in

 conflict with each other. As a

result, it becomes exceedingly

difficult to observe or measure

motivation with certainty.

iii. People satisfy their needs in

many different ways. A salesman

may work hard to earn money;

a second salesman may be*

spurred by his achievement

motive and so on. By simply

observing sales persons in action

it is not easy to differentiate

between these groups.

iv. Promoting an employee to a new

and more challenging task may

intensify the drive to work harder

in anticipation of the next

promotion. Thus, gratification of

 a particular need may gradually

lead to an increase in its

intensity.

v. Finally, goal-directed behaviour

does not always lead to need

satisfaction.

Motivation and satisfaction are

related but not synonymous

concepts. Motivation is the drive to

satisfy a want or goal. It is concerned

with goal-directed behaviour.

Satisfaction refers to the

contentment experiences when a

want is satisfied. The term

‘satisfaction is used to analyse

outcomes already experienced by an

employee. Satisfaction is a

consequence of rewards and

punishments associated with past
experience.
Motivation Process: A

Generalized Model

The basic building blocks of a

generalized model of motivation are

(0 behaviour (it) motives (m) goals

and (/v) some form of feedback

Behaviour. All behaviour is a series

of activities. Behaviour is generally

motivated by a desire to achieve a

goal. At any moment individuals may

FIG. Motivation process: A genera

indulge in multifarious activilized

model, ties like walking, talking,

eating and the like. They switch over

from one activity to another activity

swiftly. In order to predict and

control behaviour managers must

understand the motives of people.

Motives. (Needs / Drives /

Wants).

Motives prompt people to action.

They are the primary energizers of

behaviour. They are the ‘whys’of

behaviour; mainsprings of action.

They are largely subjective and

represent the mental feelings of

human beings. They are cognitive

variables. They cause behaviour in

many ways. They arise continuously

and determine the general direction

of an individual's behaviour.
Goals Motives are directed toward

goals. Motives generally, create a

state of disequilibrium, physiological

or psychological imbalance, within

the individuals. Attaining a goal will

tend to restore physiological or

psychological balance. Goals are the

ends which provide satisfaction of

human wants. They are outside an

individual; they are hoped for

incentives toward which needs are

directed. One person may satisfy his

need for power by beating his wife

and children, another by kicking

subordinates and a third by becoming

the president of a company. Thus,

a need can be satisfied by several

alternate goals. The particular goals

chosen by an individual depends on

four factors:

the cultural norms and values

that are instilled as one matures,

one's inherited, biological

capabilities,

personal experience and learning

influences and

mobility in the physical and

social environment.

The dilemma posed by a large

number of needs can often be

resolved by integrating wants where

one activity may satisfy several

needs. Researchers have found that

many overweight people continue to

eat excessively because they have

fused the satisfaction of a number of

wants (love, security, comfort) into

the act of eating. Eating, in a way,

releases the tension built by the

numerous unsatisfied needs.

The above model posits that

individuals possess in varying

Strengths a host of needs, desires

and expectations. All of these needs

compete for their behaviour and

ultimately the need with the

maximum strength at a particular

moment leads to activity. When a

need is satisfied, it is no longer a

motivator of behaviour.
Importance of Motivation

Interest in the topic of motivation

in work organizations has escalated

dramatically in recent years. Several

factors appear to account for the

prominence of this topic as a focal

8
point of interest .

1. Managers and organizational

researchers cannot avoid a

concern with the behavioural

requirements of an organization.
Every organization, needs people

(in addition to physical and

financial resources) in order to

function.

2. Motivation as a concept is

pervasive and a highly complex

activity that affects and is

 affected by a host of factors in

the organizational milieu.

3. Organizational effectiveness

becomes to some degree a

question of management's ability

to motivate its employees, to

direct atleast a reasonable effort

toward the goals of the

organization.

4. As technology increases in

complexity, machines tend to

become necessary, yet

insufficient vehicles of effective

and efficient operations. In other

words, it becomes necessary for

an organization to ensure that

it has employees who are both

capable of using and willing to

 use the advanced technology to

achieve organizational goals.

5. Many organizations are now

beginning to pay increasing

attention to developing their

employees as future resources

(or talent bank) upon which they

can draw as they grow and

develop.

FINANCIAL AND NON-

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

People spend a large and important

part of their lives in the organization

for which they work. They work

because they expect something out

of it. With respect to individual

motivation, managerial action

constitutes the selection of

appropriate strategies, structures

and policies to encourage and

support motivated people to achieve

organizational goals. This includes

establishment of incentive and

reward schemes (or systems) which

will be valued by the employees.

Members of the organization must be

persuaded to contribute their efforts

toward the achievement of

organizational goals. The work they

perform, quite often, may have a

little inherent interest or challenge.

In other words, many a time the work

may be either unpleasant or

monotonous. In spite of unpleasant

features, work must be performed

and this necessitates incentives.

Incentives are the inducements

placed along the course of ongoing

activities, keeping the activities

directed toward organizational goals

rather than others. Incentives are

what the working employee gets from

his employment in the organization

for being productive. Incentives are

tangible and form part of the working

environment. Furthermore,

incentives entail more than

stimulation of minimum work

performance; they are vital in

keeping the employee in an

organization as well as keeping him

productive while at work. David

McClelland, in this connection, rightly

points out “In real life, rewards or

incentives are like punctuation

marks.

They break-up sequences or call

attention to them. In psychological

terms, they are attention getting,

effect-producing mechanisms, rather

than substitutes for something

88
else.” A major approach to more

effective motivation has appeared in

various forms of attention to

incentives- A manager nowadays

engages himself in driving the

employees toward work through

numerous incentives. The goal of

incentives is superb performance by

all members of organization.

Incentives maybe financial or non-

financial. The distinction between

financial and non-financial incentives

rests on the difference in terms of

pay off. Any incentive that pays off

either directly or indirectly in money

is labeled as financial incentive (for

example, wages, salaries, bonus,

profit sharing schemes, retirement

pay, vacation pay etc.), Non-financial

incentive, on the other hand, may

take the form of earning higher

status, greater responsibility, and

participation in decisionmaking,

token rewards like mementos etc.

Thus any incentive that is not

expressed in monetary terms is

coined as non-financial.
Some incentives, however, have both

financial and non-financial aspects.

For example, promotion is financial

as well as non-financial. It is financial

in the sense that higher pay is

attached to it. It 1 typically carries

higher responsibility, authority and

status and therefore it is non-

financial also. Robert Dubin contends

Λ
that people seek promotion because

they pay off in both financial and

non- financial ways. The following

table exhibits different kinds of

incentives that are generally

provided in organizations.
Financial Incentives

Finance is a magic word in present

culture. The bedrock appeal for

money stems from its ability to

control the environment. The idea

that money is a strong motivator is

deeply rooted and still controls the

first responses of managers who are

having trouble- motivating

employees. Many people believe that

money can control their environment

and these people do respond well to

monetary incentives.

The use of financial incentives as

important motivators has been

overemphasized in the recent past.

Money as a motivator, a special kind

of reinforcer, has been criticized by

academic researchers. Over the years

research in human relations and

behavioural sciences has shown that

“whereas money incentives had not

proven effective, psychic rewards

worked”. Money's reputation as a

motivator has begun to slip.

The researchers have criticized the

merit system as being detrimental to

motivation rather than enhancing

motivation as it intended to. Herb

Meyer,” after reviewing research on

pay system in General Electric and

other companies concludes that merit

pay does not work with elegant

simplicity. In practice, managers

typically seemed inclined to make

relatively small discrimination in

salary treatment among individuals

in the same jobs, regardless of

perceived differences in

performances. Herzberg rigidly

maintains that pay is not a motivator

but hygiene. If the employees receive

what they expect, there will be no

change in behaviour. Payment above

expectation will probably change

behaviour as the employee attempts

to reduce the dissonance associated

with the increased pay. On the other

hand, a payment below expectation

cause dissatisfaction and prevents a

positive work environment from

being established. The essence of

this philosophy is that providing

workers with what they expect will

have no remarkable effect on their

behaviour; it is only when

expectations are not met, that

behaviour is changed.

Studies of effectiveness of financial

incentives have revealed many

shortcomings. Although occasional

examples of outstanding results have

been discovered they are by no

means universal. In fact, the more

customary experience seems to

involve unsatisfactory, only

reasonably satisfactory results.

Money is one, but only one, of the

factors of importance to the worker.

The major error in utilizing such an-

approach is the attachment of undue

importance to it.lt is wrong to see

financial incentives as the only goal

of employee. In good many cases,

it may not even be the primary

motivating factor. In surveys,

workers seldom place pay higher

than fourth or fifth in the list of

things that are important to their

morale. It is not to deny the simple

fact that money affects the way an

employee works—how much and how

well.

But the question remains why the

pay and merit system has lost its

effectiveness? Several reasons are

advanced by scholars.

(a) Pay is not perceived as being

related to job performance. There is

found inconsistent relationship

between pay and performance in

organizations. For instance, in a

survey of six hundred middle and

102
lower level managers, Lawler

found virtually no relationship

between their pay levels and their

rated performance.

Where individual and group

incentives are to be applied several

steps can be taken, therefore, to

cement the connection between pay

and performance:

Determine what extrinsic

rewards employees want.

Determine the chance of

employees getting the rewards

by trying for them.

 Determine whether the cost to

employees, in the form of effort,

unwanted results, and foregone

alternatives appears to them to

be worth the potential rewards.

Determine whether the pay is

linked to performance.

Monitor job attitudes to see what

people believe about pay and

performance and whether the

most satisfied workers are the

best performers.

Performance ratings are viewed as

biased. Though managers appreciate

incentive-plan philosophy they are

dissatisfied with the evaluation of

their performance by their superiors.

Similarly the employees maybe

dissatisfied with the evaluation of

their performance by the managers

etc. A merit plan is based on the

assumption that managers can make

objective distinction between poor

and, good performance. But most of

the evaluations are subjective in

nature and reminds the employee

very clearly that he is dependent on

the supervisor for rewards.

Therefore, merit plan may be viewed

as biased and the employees may

feel they are at the mercy of their

supervisor. Merit plan, in order to get

rid of this problem, must be based

on objective measures such as goal

attainment, cost reduction per unit,

increase in sales etc., rather than

subjective measures such as

potential of the employees,

cooperation they render to the

supervisor, the employee attitudes

etc.

Rewards are not viewed as rewards.

Another associated problem in

administering a merit increase

concerns manager's ability to

communicate accurately to the

employees the fact that pay increase

represents the positive message.

Otherwise, employees may have the

tendency to view the pay increase

negatively. In other words,

management believes that it is

communicating a positive message to

the employee when the message

being received by the employee is

actually negative,

The reward message may not be seen

as a reward in positive sense because

of three major reasons:

Conflicting reward structures may be

operating.

Employees perceive inequity in pay.

Reward schedules may be quite often

conflicting because the company may

have a defect in the merit plan itself.

For example, the individual rewards

may be set up in such a way that

cooperation with other managers is

discouraged (the best manager will

get a free trip to Hong Kong—and

the provisions like this), or cost-

reduction programme may be

introduced at the expense of other

departments’outputs. It is; of course,

better to keep financial incentives to

everyone in the organization based

on the total performance of the

organizational unit.

The feeling of inequity in pay can

come from two sources. Firstly, the

individual may perceive a merit

increase to be unfair relative to his

own previous year's performance. In

other words, he may be totally

dissatisfied with the performance

evaluation. He may also feel that

performance evaluation is fair but the

manager is unable to reward him

suitably. Secondly, the employee

may perceive that others who are

performing at lower levels (below his

own performance) are receiving

higher amounts. The perceived

inequity in pay also poses problems

and more essentially employees do

not view the rewards as rewards.

The final problem with the merit plan

is that it may act as a threat to the

self-esteem of the managers. Herb

Meyer concludes in his research at

General Electric that “inconsistencies

between the information of the merit

rise and the manager's own

evaluation of his performance will be

a threat to his self -esteem and the

manager may, cope with this threat

by denying the importance of hard

work or disparaging the merit system

itself.’

a. Trust and openness about merit

increases are low. A merit plan

will be accepted only when

managers actively administer a

performance appraisal system,

good human relations exist, or

managers properly,

communicate the reasons for the

pay increases etc. The

organization must, therefore,

provide an open climate with

respect to pay as well as an

environment in which work and

efforts are valued. For example,

 Xerox Corporate Planning
105
Model , in its recent report on

compensation plan has stated

that “if pay and satisfaction are

to be high, pay rises must be

according to job demands in such

a way that each perceived

increment in a job demand factor

will lead to increased pay.”

b. Some organizations view money

as the primary motivator

ignoring the importance of the

job itself. It is important to

remember that incentive system

is not the only factor to take into

100
account. Skinner, in this

connection contends “how

pleasant work conditions are,

 how easy or awkward a job is,

how good or bad tools are—many

things of that sort make an

enormous difference in what a

worker will do for what he

receives”. Skinner warns

managers that too much

dependence on force and poorly

designed motivational reward

system may actually reduce the

performs.

SOME RULES FOR MAKING

EFFECTIVE USE OF MONEY AS

A MOTIVATOR

Andrew DuBrin summarizes the rules

regarding the money when it is used

as a motivator:
1. Money should not be considered

the primary motivator at the

expense of other factors such as

challenging work and favourable

managerial and organizational

climate.

2. Money will always have a central

place in any motivational

programme because it is a

secondary reinforcer.

3. Merit increases should be based

on reliable and valid performance

evaluation systems.

4. The amount of money should be

directly related to performance.

5. Money and other financial

rewards should be perceived as

equitable in comparison to one's

own efforts.
 6. Money tends to be a potent

motivator when it is used to

reduce the tension and worry.

Money is often misconstructed to be

the primary motivating force

particularly for rank and file workers.

The assumption that money is the

sole or primary motivating force was

shown to be in error by researchers

of human relations movement. For

example, William F. Whyte estimates

that only 10% of the production

workers in United States respond to a

financial incentive plan by producing

to capacity to increase their

earnings. Herzberg saw the same fact

in placing pay among the hygiene

factors rather that the motivating

factor. The studies of Whyte and the

investigation of Abraham Zaieznick,

C.R. Christensen and Fritz

Rolethlisberger emphasize the

limitations of money as a means of

motivating production workers and

stresses the importance of the ‘non-

financial incentives’as a motivating

force.

Non-Financial Incentives

The production worker is very rarely

driven by money motivation. He is

not highly skilled and his background

has not generally been victory after

victory but rather tie after deadlock

after standoff with life. His lack of

progress may be due to lack of

ability, lack of psychological drive

and stamina, poor environmental

factors etc. In the wake of socio-

economic constraints, a production

worker attaches a high priority to

esteem and recognition and social

approval. The psychic rewards and

the rewards of enhanced status and

position are general forms of non-

financial incentives. Apart from the

power, authority and status, people

also derive job satisfaction. Job

satisfaction is considered to be one

of the rewards for people at work.

109
Dubin rightly contends “people

doing more different and more skilled

tasks get more rewards from their

work in the form of job satisfaction.

In particular, they seem to enjoy the

variety of work and sense of personal

responsibility they have for doing it:”

QUESTIONS

1. Explain various theories of

personalities. Which of them is

convincing to you and why?

2. What do you mean by learning'?

What are the essentials of

learning.

3. Explain the concept of ‘behaviour

modification.

4. What are the controversies

surrounding the behaviour

modification approach in

practice?
 5. Define “Attitudes, How attitudes

affect”?

6. People are similar, Yet they are

different. Comment?

7. What do you mean by

perception? Explain the

importance of perception in

organisations:-

8. Explain the characteristics of

perceiver and perceived?

9. What do you mean by

motivation? Explain its

importance:-

10. Does money play any role in

motivating people? Explain.

 CHAPTER – III

ORGANISING

Organisation as a structure is the

particular system of arrangements,

the pattern of network of relations,

between the various positions in a

business enterprise. It is

characterized by activity- authority

structure of the enterprise. The

management determines the

structure which they feel will best

serve company needs, because the

relationships are created and defined

through exercise of authority.

Definitions. Some of the definitions of

organisation are as follows:

1. Louis A Allen. “Organisation is

the process of identifying and

grouping the work to be

performed, defining and

delegating responsibility and

authority and establishing

relationships for the purpose of

enabling people to work most

effectively in accomplishing

objectives.”

2. Koontz and O'donnel.

“Organisation involves the

grouping of activities necessary

to accomplish goals and plans,

the assignment of these

activities to appropriate

departments and the provision

for authority delegation and

coordination.”
Nature of Organisation.

The definitions given above reveal

the nature of Organisation:

1. Organisation as a process of

management is concerned with

identifying and grouping of

activities to be performed.

2. It defines and delegates

responsibility and authority to

appropriate departments.

3. It establishes relationship for the

purpose of enabling the people

to work most effectively in

accomplishing the objectives.

 4. It is a structure of relationships

among positions and jobs for the

purpose of achieving

organisational objectives.

5. It is a system of cooperative

activities of two or more persons

for the attainment of common

purpose.

6. Organising process involves

taking a number of steps such

as determination of objectives,

grouping of activities assigning

duties to persons, delegation of

authority and creating authority

relationships.

Organisation structure has two

aspects: first, the form of structure;

and the second, the functions which

are to be performed. In the first, we

can apply the “principles” of

organisation. In the second we

determine what activities the

enterprise needs and what degree of

specialization it can afford. Then we

establish the functions and

authorities within these activities,

and relate these activities in a

structure.

Process of organisation (or

steps in organisation).

The important steps involved in the

process of organisation are as

follows:
a. Determination of objectives.

Organisation structure is built on

the basis of objectives of an

enterprise. Hence the first step

in the process of organisation is

the determination of objectives.

b. Grouping of activities. The

next step involves the

identification of activities and

grouping them into departments

on the basis of their relatedness

and similarity. For example, the

activities of an automobile

concern may be grouped into

finance, production, personnel

and marketing departments and

each department may be placed

 under the charge of a

departmental manager.

c. Assignment of duties to

persons. It involves assignment

of duties to different

subordinate:The basis of their

specialization for ensuring the

certainty of work performance.

Delegation of authority.

For establishing an effective

organisation structure, delegation of

authority is essential. Hence,

authority is delegated to the

subordinates for enabling them to

Tertorm the duties assigned.

i. Creating authority relationships.

After granting authority to

persons the establishment of

organization relationship is done.

It involves the taking of

decisions, such as, superior –

subordinates relationships, who

will act under whom, who will

be his subordinates, his span of

control, etc.

It is necessary to have a sound

organizational structure because

it brings many benefits to the

management of the enterprise.

The administration of the

enterprise is facilitated. The

areas of work “or the employees

are well-defined, leading to

elimination of the overlapping

and duplication of activities.

Easier communication between

the management and employees

becomes easier. Also growth,

expansion and diversification

become possible with the help of

optimum use of technological

improvements and optimum use

of human efforts through

specialization.

However, it should be noted that

sound organization by itself does

not guarantee success to an

enterprise. But poor organization

is almost certain to hinder

success as many weaknesses are

seated by it. The success of an

organization can perhaps be

ensured well by following certain

principles. They are

1. The objectives of the

enterprise should be

established for determining

the activities and the

structure itself. Then every

part of the organization

should be geared to the

achievement of the

objectives.

2. The objectives should be

attained at the minimum

cost both to the enterprise

and the society so as to

satisfy the test of efficiency.

3. An executive should be

asked to supervise a

reasonable number of

subordinates, say six. This is

known as span of

management or control.

4. The principle of division of

work should be followed. It

calls for determining and

establishing as separate

departments, the smallest

number of dissimilar

functions into which the

work of an enterprise may be

divided.

5. The establishment of

responsibility-authority

relationship will help in

avoiding confusion and

overlapping.
6. The line of authority from

the chief executive at the top

to the first line supervisor at

the bottom must be clearly

defined. This is known as the

scalar principle.

7. As the management at the

higher level has limited time,

only exceptionally complex

problems should be referred

to them and the routine

matters should be dealt with

by executives at lower

levels. This is known as the

exception principle.

8. Each subordinate should

have only one superior

whose command he has to

obey.
 9. The superior should be held

responsible for the acts of

his subordinates. He cannot

avoid responsibility by

delegating authority to his

subordinates.

10. The authority delegated to

subordinates should be

adequate to assure their

ability to accomplish results

expected of them.

11. Each constituent of the

enterprise should operate

with equal effectiveness in

making its allotted job a
success.
Formal and informal

organizations.

Sometimes organizations are

classified on formal and informal

basis. In the case of a formal

organization, the position, authority,

responsibility and accountability of

each level are clearly defined. It

prescribes the relationship which

exist amongst: he people working in

the organization. This relationship is

defined by rules, policies and other

emulations of the organization.

On the other hand, informal

organization arises from the social

interaction of people in the

organization. The people cut across

formal channels (as established by

the formal organization) and

communicate amongst each other.

Thus the informal organization has

no place in the formal organization

chart. It is formed to meet personal

needs of the group and acts as an

agency of social control. It arises

spontaneously and naturally and is

not established by managers

formally. For instance, the members

of a group may start recognizing a

person as their leader because of his

age, seniority Job-knowledge,

information, personality, strength or

skill etc. Thus informal authority is

earned and not delegated, whereas

in the case of a formal organization,

authority is delegated.

Informal organization is all-pervasive

and is found in every enterprise at

all levels of the managerial hierarchy.

However, it is impossible to find a

completely formal or a completely

informal organization. The formal

managers should not try to abolish

informal relationships. They should

try to make use of them for the

achievement of goals of the

enterprise.
Formal and informal organizations

distinguished. The two organizations

are distinguished in the following

chart:

Relationship between formal and

informal organizations. The

relationship between formal and

informal organizations is very

intimate. They are the parts of the

total organization and, therefore, it

can be said that they are two sides

of the same coin. Perhaps it is

impossible to find a completely

formal or a completely informal

organization. The managerial

functions are performed in both—

formal and informal organizations.

The informal organization is not

inconsistent with formal

organization. In fact many a times

the informal organization can prove

to be important mechanism of proper

and effective functioning of formal

organization. Thus informal

organization is a supplement to the

formal organization.

Once formal organization is formed,

it creates informal organization which

not only conditions the former but

also vitalizes the same. In fact the

formal organization may facilitate

informal association in several ways.

Some of these are:

People work physically close to each

other.

People may be engaged in same kind

of work.

People may discover similar

interestsor attractions through

formal interaction. People may

discover similar backgrounds and

status through their on the job

relations.

As people continue to interact

socially and on the job, their choices

of friends usually are reinforced and

the initial formation of groups and

sub-groups are solidified.

On the other hand, sometimes the

informal organization develops in

opposition to the formal organization.

The managers cannot prevent their

growth. Therefore, they should think

of making use of the informal groups

for better communication and

management.

Factors determining organizational

structure. From time to time,

theories of organization have been

developed to guide managers in

designing the organization and

making it an effective instrument of

meeting business goals.

Understanding the organization as a

structure of authority- relations is

considering it in the formal or

traditional sense. But organization

process is much more complex than

is viewed traditionally. A modem

theory has been developed to

describe organization as a system of

human relationship, social system, or

the total system comprising a

number of interacting sub-systems

According to this theory, the

organization should be so structured

that individuals derive maximum

satisfaction while striving for

accomplishment of departmental or

enterprise objectives with the

environment furnished by it. It is not

only the mechanistic but also the

humanistic points of view which

should be taken into consideration.

After all the organization structure

is not an end by itself, it is rather

a means to an end. Mr. Peter F.

Drucker has suggested three ways of

discovering the kind of structure

needed to attain objective. They are:

1. Activities analysis. Find out the

activities needed to attain the

objectives of the enterprise. List

them in order of importance.

Divide and sub-divide the whole

work into smaller homogeneous

and manageable units for

allocation to persons working in

the organization. This process

leads us to standardization,

division of labour and

specialization. Then relate the

 jobs and groups of people to

each—the process known as

departmentalization.

2. Decision analysis. This involves

two steps: (z) identify the major

decisions which are needed to

obtain the performance

necessary to attain the business

objectives, and (if) classify the

decisions according to type and

character. The decision-making

powers are entrusted .to the

various people according to their

status in the organization This

involves the concepts of

delegations, and decentralization

of authority.
 3. Relation analysis. This sets up

the formal relationship of a

manager with his superiors,

subordinates and other

managers of equal rank. These

relationships are studied from

three angles—upward, downward

and sideways.

For the purpose of determining the

trend of structure of organization, it

is necessary to balance the three

tools of analysis discussed above.

Organizational charts and manuals.

Once an organization structure is

determined, the same can be shown

in a simple way with that help of a

chart. It shows who is to do what

work and who is to direct and

supervise the efforts of those who do

the work. Thus departments, span of

management, levels of authority and

lines of communications are reflected

in the charts.

The organizational charts may be

classified either as (/) vertical,

horizontal and concentric or as (it)

master and supplementary charts. A

vertical chart shows the

organizational structure in the form

of a pyramid, the lines of command

proceeding from top to bottom in

vertical lines. This is a very popular

form of organizational chart with

companies. A horizontal chart shows

the organizational structure in the

form of a pyramid, lying horizontally

and, therefore, the lines of command

move from left to right showing top

management at the left and each

successive; subordinate management

extending to the right. Such charts

are not very common.

A concentric or circular chart shows

the pivotal position of the top

executive in the centre of concentric

circles. Positions of successive

echelons of subordinates extend in all

directions outward from the centre.

Thus the flow of formal authority

from the centre to all directions is

clearly depicted. A master chart

shows the entire organizational

structure without the necessary

details. A departmental chart is

devoted exclusively to a department

and gives details as to relationships,

authority and responsibility within

the department. Thus a departmental

chart is a supplement of the master

chart. There may be many

departmental charts, depending upon

the size of the organization.

An organizational manual is designed

to promote understanding of the

basic organizational structure by

means of descriptions of the various

jobs that may be listed only by title

on the charts. Thus it is a useful

supplement to organizational charts.

It is usually in the form of book or

booklet and contains other useful

information, such as the organization

chart, a brief description of the

overall company objectives, policies,

practices and procedures.

Departmentation.

Departmentation may be defined as

the process of grouping activities into

units and sub-units for purposes of

administration. The administrative

units and subunits so created may

be designated as divisions, units,

branches, sections, jobs or by some

other name. The process of

departmentation takes place at all

levels in the organization. The chief

executive groups activities into major

divisions such as production, sales,

finance etc. These divisions are

administered by senior executives

who report directly to the chief

executive. The sales manager may

further divide his activities in relation

to different products sold, area or

customer served or on the basis of

activities like advertising, market

research, customer service, and so

on. At the lower level, there may

be sales assistants, sales

representatives etc.

Pattern of departmentation.

There are four basic methods of

dividing responsibilities within an

organization structure. They are:

i. By functions,

ii. By products or services,

 iii. By location, and

iv. By customers.

Departmentation by
functions.

It refers to grouping activities of the

enterprise into major functional

departments like production, sales,

purchases, accounts, personnel etc.,

as shown in Chart.

The departmentation of functions

represents a very natural and logical

way of grouping activities. It can

employ experts in various functional

areas and thus can achieve

specialization easily. It facilitates

coordination both within the function

and at the interdepartmental level.

It is very simple and easy to

understand.

However, this type of

departmentation suffers from some

drawbacks. A departmental manager

may think only in terms of his own

department and fail to see the

enterprise as a whole. This may lead

to internal frictions among various

functional managers and the

advantage of coordination becomes

its shortcoming. Further the

enterprise cannot offer good training

grounds for all round promotable

managers. A functional manager is

expert in handling problems of that

particular function alone.

Furthermore, this type is unsuitable

where either geographical

centralization is required or emphasis

on product lines is called for.

Departmentation by products

or services.

This type is very popular with large

organizations having distinct types of

products. The product lines are

segregated and special product

managers put incharge of each line.

An electric company, for example,

may have different departments

dealing with light bulbs, fluorescent

tubes, electric generators, household

electric appliances. Each product

department may be responsible for

manufacturing, selling, and further

developing one distinct product line.

The departmentation by product is

also known as multifunctional

product departmentation because

each department handles all the

functions concerning it.

The departmentation by product

results in better customer service as

the salesman has deeper product

knowledge. It is easier to ascertain

the performance of each product line

and, therefore, an unprofitable line

can be dropped. There is motivation

for expansion, improvement and

diversification of the product as its

responsibility for performance is

entrusted to a particular person. The

problem of coordination present in

the functional departmentation is

absent here. All the functions relating

to a particular product are under the

charge of a product manager. This

method makes control effective

because cost and revenue can be

collected separately for each

department. It is very easy to add a

new line of product.

However, this method is not free

from drawbacks. It involves extra

cost of maintaining sales forces for

each product group. This may lead to

duplication of costs such as travelling

expenses.
Combined type.

A composite pattern of

departmentation, i.e., a combination

of functional and product

departmentation may be adopted.

Some functions, such as finance and

personnel relating to all

departments, may be placed in

separate departments. Remaining

functions may be performed under

the respective product departments.

By following the combined type,

advantages of both the functional

and product departmentation may be

enjoyed. However, a clear distinction

has to be made between the line and

functional authority. For instance, in

the above chart, finance and

personnel managers will report direct

to the chief executive. They have

only functional authority but no line

authority.

Departmentation by territory

area location. Territorial divisions

may be created where activities are

unduly dispersed. Activities may be

grouped area-wise and assigned to

the executive in-charge of the

respective areas. For instance sales

activities of an enterprise can be

organized area-wise. This is because

adaptation to local situations and

knowledge of customer needs

peculiar to a given area are easier

under this type of departmentation.

The sales manager can appoint local

people as salesmen. These salesmen

will naturally be familiar with the

consumer preferences and language

of the people. There will be no

communication barrier.

Under departmentation by territory,

the regional managers and their staff

become experts with regard to their

particular region, customers, and

competitors. The control operations

are facilitated since accounting

results of each territorial region can

be compared with each other. The

activities within the scope of an area

manager's authority will be more

effectively coordinated and

controlled, as he is the overall in-

charge of the area. However, this

type of departmentation requires a

large number of executives with

general managerial ability to take

position in different regions. This

naturally increases overhead costs.

Same functions are handled at the

head office as well as in the regional

office involve higher costs of

coordination and control from head

office.

Departmentation by

customers.

An enterprise may be divided into

a number of department's customers

that it serves. Thus a sales

department may be divided on the

basis of customer.

The sub-division can be made on the

basis of large and small customers,

government and nongovernment

customers, industrial and ultimate

buyers etc. The most important

advantages of this method is that it

ensures full attention to different

customer groups and thus helps build

company's image and goodwill. This

type is most suitable where the major

emphasis is placed on better services

to specialized type of customers

using the company's products or

services. However, there may not be

enough work in case of certain types

of customers which may result in

certain salesmen remaining idle.

GROUP DYNAMICS

Of all the topics in management and

organizational behaviour literature,

perhaps, the concept of Group

Dynamics appears to be the most

rigorously examined, thoroughly

researched and possibly the least

understood. A 1972 bibliography

listed more than five thousand

articles and books on the subject,

and more work has been done since.

In the light of such overwhelming

evidence, it will be platitudinous to

say that small groups influence

behaviour significantly. In fact, the

human group is a pervasive

phenomenon, a formidable force in

modern organizations. It is the “most

familiar thing in the world”. Small

groups are found in all types of

organizations. They are essential

mechanisms of socialization and a

primary source of social order. They

perform an important mediating

service between the individual and

the larger society. Again,

understanding group behaviour and

the properties of groups is necessary

to being both a good manager and

an effective member of groups. When

managers understand the nature of

human behaviour in organizations,

they can use the group more

effectively in achieving the goals of

the organization and of the

employees.

2
According to David Horton Smith “a

group is the largest set of two or

more individuals who are jointly

characterized by a network of

relevant communications, a shared

sense of collective identity and one

or more shared dispositions with

associated normative strength”. In

other words, a group is a collection

of two or more people who have a

common goal or interest and interact

with each other to accomplish their

objective, are aware of one another

and perceive themselves to be a part

of the group. The above definition

stresses the following things:

INTERACTION

Interaction can occur face to face,

in writing, over the phone, across

a computer network or in any other

manner which allows communication

between group members. The

interaction can be over a long or a

short period of time. A group would

be quite static without interactions.

It would be a collection of individuals

only. However, it should be noted

that it is not necessary for all

members of the group to interact

simultaneously, but each member

must interact at least occasionally

with one or more members of the

group. Some form of communication

and ability to communicate is vital for

a group to exist. The term

“group dynamics implies the kind of

interactions indicated above. It also

implies continuously changing and

adjusting relationships among group

members.

SIZE

For a group to exist, it must have at

least two members. The more group

members there are the more complex

and numerous the relationships

possible.
Shared Goal Interest

The shared goal identifies a common

concern of all group members. This

means that each group member

desired the attainment of some

specific objective or the

accomplishment of some goal. If a

group has a variety of goals or

interests, each member of the group

must share at least one of the

group's concerns. The phrase

“associated normative strength”

indicates the obligations felt by each

group member to the attainment of

the shared goal.

Collective Identity

Perhaps, it is the awareness of each

other that most clearly differentiates

a group from an aggregation of

individuals. Each member of the

group must believe that he is a

member of, is a participant in, some

specific group. Unless people are

aware of each other and of the fact

that they are a group, they will not

interact in the way that achieves the

common goal. This is why casual

groups of people do not qualify as a

group because they ordinarily are not

aware of one another or, if aware, do

not interact with the other individuals

in a meaningful-way.

Types of Groups

Groups come in a variety of forms

depending on the classification

schema adopted. In formal groups,

the behaviour that one should

engage in are stipulated by and

directed toward organizational goals.

They are structured and are

organized with a definite allocation

of task among members and a clear

description of duties and

relationships among them. It is

possible to sub classify formal groups

into two categories: Command

groups, Task groups. The command

group is determined by the

organization chart. It is composed of

the, subordinates who report directly

to a given manager. The authority

relationship between a department

manager and the foreman, between

a college principal and his teachers,

constitutes a command group. On the

other hand, a task group is

comprised of the employees who

work together to complete a

particular task or project. A task

group's boundaries, it may be noted,

are not confined to its immediate

hierarchal superior. It can cross

command relationships. Task groups

or project teams are usually formed

to solve a problem or perform an

activity that involves a number of

organizational units.

Informal groups are formed by the

individuals of the group rather than

by management. They are natural

groupings of people in a work

situation in response to the need for

social contact. They do not arise as a

result of deliberate design but rather

evolve spontaneously. They are

neither structured nor

organizationally determined. Two

specific informal groups can be

identified. Individuals who may or

may not be the members of the same

command or task groups may affiliate

to attain a specific objective with

which each is concerned. This is an

interest group. Employees who join

together to support a peer who has

been fired, to seek increased fringe

benefits represent the formation of a

unified front to further their common

interest. Friendship Groups develop

because the individual members have

one or more characteristic in common

such as age, political beliefs, or

ethnic background. Such groups

often extend their interaction and

communication to off-job activities.

THE SAYLES CLASSIFICATION

Sayles has classified small groups

thus:

1. Apathetic groups. These

groups are composed of

relatively low paid and low

skilled assembly line workers

who lack unity and power and are

usually discontent.

2. Erratic groups. These groups

are composed of semiskilled

 workers who work together in

groups performing jobs that

require interaction. They display

considerable unity. In their

relations with management they

are erratic. The behaviour of

erratic groups is quite

unpredictable.

3. Strategic groups. These groups

are composed of skilled

employees whose jobs require

judgment. Their jobs are not

independent and are considered

to be key jobs in the plant.

Members of strategic groups are

usually productive, exhibit high

skill levels and display high

degree of unity.
 4. Conservative groups. These

groups are composed of highly

skilled workers in the plant.

Conservative groups are found at

top levels of an organization and

display considerable self-

confidence. They work on their

own and the nature of their jobs

is such they can shut down the

plant if they so desire.

THE TYPOLOGY OF GROUPS IN

AN ORGANIZATION Function

of Small Group

Small groups can help us in

innumerable ways. Basically they

serve two kinds of functions in

organizations: Task and
Maintenance.
Why do people join Groups? Factors

influencing Group formation;

One of the major purposes behind

the formation of a group is the

gratification of the members’needs.

In order to survive a group must

yield satisfactions to its members.

The reason for group formation in

relation to the following factors;

1. Groups provide warmth and

support for individuals. Man

needs others to feel fulfilled.

When individuals are “Solitaries”

lacking that warmth and support,

they suffer. A loneness leads to a

 degree of insecurity. In fact, the

harshest punishment that can be

given a prisoner in the US Penal

System is to be put in solitary

confinement for a given period

of time. Elton Mayo* observed

that employees who are isolated

from each other because of plant

layout find their jobs less

satisfying than those group

members who are able to

socialize oh the job.

2. Groups help employees

satisfy their security needs or

their need for power. They

serve the important function of

helping individuals cope with

their environment. Most

 employees join groups (Unions

for example) to protect

themselves against what they

perceive to be arbitrary or

capricious acts by superiors.

Under conditions of an opressive

boss, or a very difficult and

demanding job, people join

together to share sentiments and

develop implicit or explicit tactics

for dealing with the environment.

3. The work group is a primary

source of recognition and

esteem for many individuals.

It gives an individual recognition

status and further opportunity to

relate to others. Joining a high

status group can help an

 individual acquire esteem in the

eyes of persons outside the

group whether or not he is.

distinguished member of the

group. Group membership

provides opportunities for

recognition and praise that are

not available outside the group.

4. Economic reasons also cause

group formation. In many

instances groups form

because individuals believe

that they can derive greater

economic benefits in their

jobs if they form into groups.

5. Another important fact or group

formation involves the proximity

of people to each other. The

 proximity makes it possible for

people to learn about the

characteristics of others and

offers an excellent opportunity to

exchange thoughts, ideas and

attitudes regarding on-and off-

the-job activities This leads to

mutual interaction (relieves

boredom) and helps in

establishing arid stabilizing

perceptions of the workplace.

Groups also serve as sources of

information, help out when

members are sick or absent.

6. Another reason as to why a

person joins a group is his

feeling that the group can help

him accomplish goals.

 Organizational tasks demand

cooperative effort of a number

of people. The formal or informal

group can be extremely useful

in solving specific work problems

or in preventing the individuals

from committing mistakes on the

job.

What do groups do for

Organizations?

Organizational life is replete with

horror stories of how groups operate

as ‘demolition squads’cutting down

organizational work to meaningless

levels. In an effort to cut down such

militant groups to size managers

arrogantly try to impede group

relationship by making frequent

transfers, by assigning people who

are known to be incompatible to the

same work group or by erecting

physical barriers between

departments considered to be

vulnerable ‘spots’for group

pressures. Such efforts, though

justifiable in extreme situations,

backfire, because, as we have seen,

employees have a strong need for

affiliation. Lack of social interaction

is likely to lead to greater turnover,

absenteeism, accidents, lower quality

of work etc. Managers must

understand that groups are an

inevitable and useful feature of

organizational life. Their essential job

will be to manage organizational

groups in such a way as to make

them more productive and satisfying

to members. Groups perform three

functions that are important to an

enterprises success.

a. Socialization of new employees.

The work group teaches the new

employee the work norms, that

is, how to behave at work. It

orients and educates the new

employees into the enterprise's

work rules and norms and helps

him under control.

b. Getting the job done. The work

group teaches the employee how

to cope with the job. Truly

speaking, it is the organization

 that provides the necessary

training for employees to do the

job, but in practice it is the work

groups within the organization,

that help the employees learn

how to interact with the rest of

the organization and how to get

the job done.

c. Decision making. Well

established groups that are

operating effectively can

contribute to organizational

members by turning out better

decisions. Two heads are better

than one.
Group Size

The size of a group can have

profound implications on how the

group behaves internally and with

regard to other groups. It is an

important factor determining the

number of interactions of individuals

in a group. In a small group face-

to-face interaction is quite easy and

uncomplicated. Members can easily

communicate with other group

members. Research evidence

confirms the fact that small groups

are effective. On the other hand, in

larger groups members have a better

chance of finding people they like to

work with. The potential for greater

variety of talents is also greater. But

the disadvantages of size more than

offset its advantages. Larger groups

offer greater opportunities for

differences between and among

individuals. “The sheet volume of

interactions then necessary would

tend to make any concerted actions

much more difficult. Larger groups

tend to develop splinter groups

whose goals maybe divergent with

those of the larger organization.

But then how to achieve a happy

balance? What is the correct size of

a group? The problem of defining the

size of a small group is, particularly

troublesome. Interaction is a

necessary ingredient of small groups.

As such, the minimum size of a group

is always two people (dyad). The

upper limit is usually specified by

some rule of thumb. Prescriptions in

this connection vary from situation to

situation. Generally speaking the size

of a group depends to a large extent

on the groups situation and purpose.

However, some studies have come up

with definite numbers: for example,

7 is the ideal maximum for a decision

making group and 14 is the maximum

for a fact-finding group.

The work of the group is subdivided

have different prestige values in the

eyes of workers. Status develops in

a group because a particular

individuals possesses or contributes

values to the organization that are

1
highly regarded by the members.
A number of research studies have

shown that people can quickly

identify status differences within

groups. There are many cues and

symbols: One's air, composure,

dress, titles, even such things as

parking space, number of tables

etc.,. convey status.

How Status Structures

Influence Group Behaviour?

A peon with college education would

find his job very uncomfortable in a

place where illiterates are recruited

for such positions. Unless able to play

down the educational attributes, he

is likely to be labelled as a city guy

or the college kid. It will be difficult

to gain acceptance. Status

incongruence create psychological

tension and this state is unpleasant

and dissatisfying. It is therefore,

highly important for employees to

believe that the organization's formal

status system is congruent. Status

congruency is said to exist when all

the status attributes are ranked

equally by all members of a group. In

other words, there is equity between

the perceived ranking of an individual

and the status accouterments he is

given by the organization. Status

congruency provides for more

consistent and predictable behaviour.

considered threatening-’ especially

by people in higher positions.

 i. (v) Any change perceived as

potentially blocking status

equilibrium is perceived as

threatening.

MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

Status is an important kind of cement

that binds an organization

14
together. Loss of status is more

than loss of its emoluments; it is

more than loss of prestige. It is a

15
serious injury to the personality.

Therefore it is highly important to

achieve status congruency in the

organization.

To meet this objective, it is necessary

to distribute the rewards according

to the perceived value of the skills

demanded by the task. In this way

the status system is kept consistent

with the reward system.

Managers must also try to demolish

the barriers erected by status

structures by freaking information

and opinions from lower-status

people. In addition, the behavioural

problems arising from status

16
incongruence can be avoided by:

Selecting or promoting those people

whose characteristics are all

congruent with the job, or

(ii) By changing the group's values

about what leads to high status.

LEADERSHIP

A major responsibility in working with

groups is the recognition of

leadership forces. Of course, the

formal leader of a group is appointed

by the management and he can

exercise legitimately sanctioned

power.

The formal leader possesses the

power to discipline and/or fire

members of his work group. Informal

leaders, on the other hand, tend to

emerge gradually as group members

interact. They emerge from within

the group according to the nature of

the situation at hand.

Characteristics

1. Roles are impersonal. It is the

position that determines the

expectations, not the individual.

2. An organizational role is that set

of expected behaviours for a

particular position vis-a-vis a

particular job.

3. It is fairly difficult to pin down

roles in exact terms. It is the

most complex organized

response pattern the human

being is capable of making.

4. Roles are learned quickly arid

can result in major changes in

behaviour.
Behavioural Problems

When an individual is confronted by

divergent role expectations, and

naturally, is not sure about which

role to be played, behavioural

problems result in. Role ambiguity

may produce stress or anxiety in the

role incumbent. Though some

amount of ambiguity always exists,

it is necessary to clarify roles. The

degree of clarity can influence the

quality of organizational life and

emotional well-being of an individual.

Lack of role clarity may lead to

reduced performance. Since it is not

possible to achieve role clarity

completely, a manager has to try to

introduce the right amount of role

ambiguity.
Whatever the consequences of role

conflict on individual and group

behaviour? The research literatures

is fairly extensive and in agreement.

Numerous studies have shown that

conflict produces greater levels of

tension anxiety, insecurity and lower

levels of satisfaction and

21
productivity. To avoid role

problems managers must conduct

proper analysis of job, design them

properly and select the right type of

persons and provide necessary

training.
GROUP NORMS

Norms are shared ways of looking

at the world. Groups control their

members through the use of norms.

A norm is a rule of conduct that has

been established by group members

to maintain consistency in behaviour.

It tells an individual how to behave

in a group. Norms are essential if

a group is to be a viable unit:

22
According to Hackman Norms have

five characteristics:

1. Norms summarize and simplify

group influence processes. They

summarize and highlight those

things that the group feels it's

important to control. Norms

resolve impersonal differences in

a group and ensure uniformity of

action.
2. Norms apply only to

behaviour—not to private

thoughts and feelings. It will be

sufficient if there is behavioural

compliance from the members

(officially). Private acceptance of

norms by members is not

necessary and can be

detrimental to the survival of the

group if it is enforced too rigidly.

3. Norms are generally developed

only for behaviours which are

viewed as important by most

group members.

4. Norms usually develop gradually,

but the process can be shortened

 if members so desire. If, for

some reason, group members

decide that a particular norm is

now desired, they may simply

agree to institute such a norm

suddenly by declaring that ‘from

now on’the norm exists.

5. Not all norms apply to everyone.

High status members often enjoy

more freedom to deviate from

the Tetter of the law’than do

other members.

Factors Influencing
Conformance to Norms

Why members conform to group

norms? Not every member conforms.

Each group member, of course, has

alternative choices before him-

Generally speaking, a person

characterized as intellectually

average, unoriginal and low in ego

strength and self-confidence and

having dependent and disturbed

relationships with other people,

would probably be a conformist.

There can be complete conformity

where the member accepts all the

norms of the group (high

conformist). Sometimes, he may

accept all important norms but may

reject other norms (selective

individualism). At times, there maybe

a case of rebellion where he decided

to leave or is expelled from the

group.
Thus conformity to norms is not

(automatic) usually blind, slavish and

unthinking: nor is it only a function

of the norms centrality. Conformity

23
depends on the following factors:

1. Personality factors. Research

on personality factors suggests

that the more intelligent are less

likely to conform than the less

intelligent. They prefer selective

individualism. Authoritarians

conform more than non-

authoritarians. Again, people

characteristics of the situation:

In unusual situations where

decisions must be taken on

unclear items, there is a greater

tendency to conform to the

 group's norms. Under conditions

of cnsis, conformity to group

norms is highly probably.

2. Situational factors. Group size

(increasing size increases

conformity behaviour)

communication patterns

(decentralized patterns enhance

conformity behaviour) degree of

group unanimity etc.

3. Intergroup relationships. A

group that is seen as being

creditable will evoke more

compliance than a group that is

not.

4. Compatible goals. When group

goals mesh with individual goals,

 people are quite willing to adhere

to group norms of performance.

Enforcing Norms

Norms quite often, can vary from

very simple rules to very complex set

of prescriptions and prohibitions. So

it is always not possible to enforce

norms quite easily. Groups employ

several specific functions in order to

ensure that individuals with the

group comply with its standards.

Enforcement of “the letter of the law”

is achieved through the following

24
steps:

Education. Arouse a desire in

members to remain in the group

show them how the group's

standards contribute to the

achievement of important goals.

Increase each member's involvement

in the group's work and ask the

target person to give up individual

gains in favor of the group's success.

Present a right way of behaving to

the members and admonish

deviations.

Adherence to group norms is

essential to group survival. Detect

deviance from group norms. If

conformity of members cannot be

detected directly, develop a means

for determining whether members

have done what the group's

standards require Warning. Make it

known that any group mate who does

not conform to the group's standards

will be removed from the unit. Issue

a strict warning to the deviant.

Provide a friendly and supportive

contact to the deviate so as to bring

his behaviour back to compliance

with group norms. Should he refuse

to do so, stop the educational

process and allow him to have a

‘feel’of the negative consequences:

razzing, argument etc.

Sanctions. This is the actual stage of

enforcing discipline. Sane-tions are

imposed only when the deviant

refuses to mend his ways. Sanctions

take an ugly turn and may result in

ostracism, physical violence,

tampering with personal possessions

etc.
Implications for Managers

Among the manager's most

important tasks are learning the

norms of the different groups, finding

out which are critical and which are

not, and determining the degree of

conformity needed and degree of

non-conformity allowed. Effective

managers try to change norms that

challenge the accomplishment of

organizational goals.

COHESIVENESS

Generally speaking, people join a

group because they expect it to

satisfy their needs. Cohesion

develops if these hopes are realized.

Group cohesiveness is an important

indicator of how much influence the

group as a whole has over the

individuals members. It can be

thought of as the strength of the

‘glue’which holds the group together.

It is defined as the degree to which

members are attracted to one

another and share the group's goals.

Cohesiveness causes more

harmonious behaviour in group

members. A cohesive group is able to

act as one body to achieve its goals.

28
According to Shaw, members of

highly cohesive groups are more

energetic in group activities, are less

likely to be absent from group

meetings and are happy when the

group succeeds and sad when it fails,

whereas members of less cohesive

groups are less concerned about the

group's activities; the members are

not dedicated to the group and its

purposes; their loyalty and support

are mediocre or variable.

Features of Cohesive Groups:

Those that are high in cohesion are

2
likely to be groups. ®

1. That have relatively few

members.

2. Whose members have similar

interests and backgrounds.

3. That have a high degree of status

within the organization.

4. In which members have ready

access to one another so that

interpersonal communication is

easy to maintain.

5. That are physically remote or

isolated from other groups in the

organization.

6. In which the leader rewards

cooperative behayiour.

7. That are pressured or threatened

by some common outside force

and

8. That have a history of past

success.
What Makes a Group Cohesive?

There are numerous sources of

attraction to a group. A number of

factors determine the degree to

which a group is cohesive:

Size. Other things being equal, small

groups have a greater probability of

being cohesive than larger one. In

larger groups the necessary

interactions are inhibited,

communication between members is

reduced to a feeble walk and there

is the danger of formation of

subgroups. Small groups offer

frequent interaction opportunities

leading to better understanding

between members.
Location. People who work closely

together in the same geographical

location have numerous opportunities

to interact and exchange Ideas

resulting in highly effective and

cohesive groups than do people who

are geographically separated.

Outside pressure. A favorite topic of

novelists is to describe the plight of

two warring individuals who, through

some quirk of fate, find themselves

dependent on each other for survival

or gain. External threats create

higher bonds between members.

When the members perceive that the

group is threatened by an external

force, they strive together to combat

the collective threat. In the face of

a common enemy, members forget

their common differences and

become cohesive.

Status of the group. A high status

group that is successful in achieving

its goals tends to have greater

cohesiveness. Membership in such a

group is highly rated than

membership in a group widely

denounced by all. It is better to be

a “big fish in a little pond” or “a

little fish in a big pond” than remain

unnoticed as a “little fish in a little

pond”.

Success. There is nothing like

success to increase group spirit and

cohesiveness. A near universal

finding is that cohesiveness generally

increases with success.

Other reasons. Other reasons like

compatible goals (goals of the group

and the members are essentially

alike and expressed in a clear

language) attractive leaders (the

group has a dynamic, energetic

leader) collective power (people join

groups to obtain personal power)

also compel members to seek

membership in well-knit groups.

•xcseuivV’ has generally shown that

a cohesive group is more pro- <1

iu f ivc than a less cohesive group

provided the group's attitude aligns

with the goals of the organization.

For example if the group norm is a

high level of performance, the more

cohesive group is likely to influence

each member toward higher

productivity. On the other hand, if

cohesiveness is high but attitudes

unfavourable, productivity declines.

A highly cohesive group is like a

‘time-bomb’in the hands of

management. Where the group norm

is not supportive of performance,

cohesive groups are less

258
productive . Resistance to

organizational changes is greater and

where proper leadership is not

providde, such groups can restrict

output severely. “If management

wishes to maximize productivity it

must build a cohesive group and give
29
it proper leadership.”

GROUP THINK

Group think is an exrteme form of

consensus in which the group thinks

as a unit rather than as a collection of

individuals. It is a kind of consensus-

seeking process that goes on in a

cohesive group. When a group is too

cohesive new ideas maybe rejected

too quickly. Members are imbued

with feelings of “We know best”.

There is a tremendous desire for

unanimity. Seeking consensus

becomes an end in itself. Free

exchange of ideas is inhibited. Some

members in a group maybe timid or

cowed down by dominating members

imposing their ideas on others. At

other times, the group members try

to promote consensus at the possible

expense of arriving at a more

defective solution. Lack of critical

thinking is at the heart of group think

followed by the group's low-risk,

conservative traditional and mediocre

decisions Group members cease to

30
think independently. Irving Jansis

used the ‘group think’to describe the

unfortunate situation in which the

desire to agree becomes so dominant

in a cohesive group that it tends to

override realistic appraisal of

alternative courses of action.

Members try to avoid being too harsh

in their judgments of one another's

ideas. They adopt a soft line of

criticism. At their meetings, all the

members are chummy and seek

complete agreement on every

important issue. As a result of little

or no real criticism, the illusion of

unanimity is created.

Symptoms of Group Think

Group think is characterized by a

“deterioration of mental efficiency,

reality testing and moral judgment

that results from in-group

2
pressures ”. The following symptoms

have been identified with group

think.
1. Illusions of invulnerability which

leads to overoptimism. Groups

ignore danger signals and take

excessive risks.

2. Rationalization: Collective efforts

at rationalization so as to

discredit warnings that might

force members to question their

policy decisions.

3. ‘An unflinching faith in the

group's morality, leading

members to ignore the ethical or

moral consequences of their

results.

4. Persons or groups with opinions

differing from those of the group

are stereotyped as weak, stupid

or evil.
5. Conformity pressure is applied

very strongly by the group to any

member who deviates or even

expresses strong arguments

against any of the group's

thinking.

6. Self-censorship develops as

members apply pressure to

themselves to avoid deviating

from the apparent group

consensus.

7. In the absence of real criticism,

the illusion of unanimity is

created; the appearance of

unanimity tends to keep criticism

from being expressed. Each

member believes that all other

members agree with group

standards.
 8. The emergence of self-appointed

mind guards, defined as

members who protect the group

from information that might

shatter their shared complacency

about the effectiveness and

morality of their decisions.

32
Consequences of Group Think

Under group think conditions the

following consequences maybe

identified:

1. Discussion is limited to only a

few alternatives.

2. Once a decision is taken, re-

examination is unlikely even in

the light of (valuable thought)

new information.
3. Little or no time is spent trying

to find ways to overcome the

problems that have made

rejected alternatives seem

undesirable,

4. Little or no effort is made to

obtain information from experts

within the organization.

5. Facts are ignored unless they are

supportive of the group.

6. No contingency plans are

developed by which to cop with

foreseeable difficulties that could

endanger the success of the

group's chosen course. to effect

direct economic outcomes to the

organization, but to develop the

employees’motivation, job
68
satisfaction, and teamwork. In

other words, even though the

Japanese are not known for their

creative breakthroughs in

product development or

technology, they effectively

structure their organizations to

allow their people to creatively

apply their ideas. A specific

example of an organization

structuring for creativity would

be Toyota. This Japanese firm's

designers think and work with

sets of design alternatives rather

than pursuing one alternative

over and over. Toyota engineers

gradually narrow the design sets

until they come to a final

solution. Analysis of the results

of this seemingly slow and

inefficient system conclude that

the “set-based concurrent

engineering” used by Toyota has

made them quite effective auto

69
developers.

Other world-class auto

manufacturers use similar

creative approaches.A recent one

is called empathic design, which

relies heavily on visual

70
information. This creative

technique is particularly useful

when creating new products

because it sidesteps the built-in

problem associated with

customer feedback. Most

customers, when asked what

new products they would like,

typically respond in terms of the

company's current products and

suggest that they be made

smaller or lighter or less

expensive. Customers are

notoriously poor in providing

useful ideas for new products

because their thinking is too

closely linked to current products

71
and their everyday uses.

Empathic design focuses on

observing how people respond to

products and services and

drawing creative conclusions

from the results. For example,

when Nissan developed the

Infinity J-30, it tested more than

90 samples of leather before

selecting three that U.S. car

buyers preferred. When Harley-

Davidson builds a motorcyle it

adjusts the motor so that it is

pleasing to the customer's ears,

that is, it sounds like a Harley

(and it has sued competitors that

have tried to imitate this sound).

By watching how people respond

in the empathic approach,

companies can generate more

creative and consumer-pleasing

offerings. This can be done in a

number of ways. One is by taking

pictures of people using the

products. For example, when the

Thermos Company had pictures

taken of people using their

charcoal grills, they saw that

their units were much easier to

use by men than by women,

although women were often the

ones doing the cooking. They

then proceeded to redesign their

grills so that they were equally

appealing to women.

Envirosell, an international

marketing research group, takes

millions of photos every year of

shoppers in retail stores to help

answer the question: Who shops

here and what do they like?

Among other things, the

research group has found that

shoppers want wide aisles (they

do not like to be bumped), good

lighting (they like to see the

merchandise clearly), and good

signage (they want to know

where things are located). Retail

companies pay Envirosell large

annual fees to provide them with

marketing information regarding

how to improve their sales.

Where does Envirosell get these

ideas? From analyzing the

pictures of shoppers in their

72
stores. Instead of asking
 people questions about their

shopping habits, the empathic

design approach relies on

observation to generate creative

ideas and solutions. Table 11.1

provides some contrasts between

the traditional method of asking

customers questions and actually

observing their behavior. Other

creative approaches to decision

making involve groups.

Group Decision Making

Creativity in decision making can

apply to individuals or groups.

Because individual decision making

has largely given way to group

decision making in today's

organizations, an understanding of

group dynamics and teams, as

discussed in Chapter 14, becomes

relevant to decision making. For

example, that chapter's discussion of

and will tend to stick with existing

goals or plans), that affect group

decision making. Suggestions such as

the following can be used to help

reduce and combat the status quo

tendency and thus make more

76
effective group decisions:

• When things are going well,

decision makers should still be

vigilant in examining

alternatives.
• It can help to have separate

groups monitor the environment,

develop new technologies, and

generate new ideas.

• To reduce the tendency to

neglect gathering negative long-

term information, managers

should solicit worst-case

scenarios as well as forecasts

that include long-term costs.

• Build checkpoints and limits into

any plan.

• When limits are reached, it may

be necessary to have an outside,

independent, or separate review

of the current plan.

• Judge people on the way they

make decisions and not only on

 outcomes, especially when the

outcomes may not be under their

control.

• Shifting emphasis to the quality

of the decision process should

reduce the need of the decision

maker to appear consistent or

successful when things are not

going well.

• Organizations can establish

goals, incentives, and support

systems that encourage

experimenting and taking risks.

In addition to simple guidelines such

as these, group decision techniques

such as Delphi and nominal grouping

can also be used to help eliminate the

dysfunction of groups and help them

make more effective decisions.

The Delphi Technique

Although Delphi was first developed

many years ago at the Rand

Corporation's think tank, it has only

recently become popularized as a

group decision-making technique, for

example, for long-range forecasting.

Today, numerous organizations in

business, education, government,

health, and the military are using

Delphi. No decision technique will

ever be able to predict the future

completely, but the Delphi technique

seems to be as good a crystal ball as

is currently available.
The technique, named after the

oracle at Delphi in ancient Greece,

has many variations, but generally it

works as follows:

1. A group (usually of experts, but

in some cases nonexperts may

deliberately be used) is formed,

but, importantly, the members

are not in face-to-face

interaction with one another.

Thus, the expenses of bringing a

group together are eliminated,

2. Each member is asked to make

anonymous predictions or input

into the problem decision the

group is charged with.

 3. Each member then receives

composite feedback from what

the others have inputted. In

some variations the reasons are

listed (anonymously), but mostly

just a composite figure or list is

used.

4. On the basis of the feedback,

another round of anonymous

inputs is made. These iterations

take place for a predetermined

number of times or until the

composite feedback remains the

same, which means everyone is

sticking with his or her position.

A major key to the success of the

technique lies in its anonymity.

Keeping the responses of Delphi

group members anonymous

eliminates the problem of “saving

face” and encourages the experts to

be more flexible and thus to benefit

from the estimates of others. In the

traditional interacting group

decisionmaking technique, the

experts may be more concerned with

defending their vested positions than

they are with making a good

decision.

Many organizations testify to the

success they have had so far with

the Delphi technique. Weyerhaeuser,

a building supply company, has used

it to predict what will happen in the

construction business, and Smith,

Kline, Beecham, a drug

manufacturer, has used it to study

the uncertainties of medicine. TRW,

a highly diversified, technically

oriented company, has 14 Delphi

panels averaging 17 members each.

The panels suggest products and

services that have marketing

potential and predict technological

developments and significant

political, economic, social, and

cultural events. Besides business

applications, the technique has been

used successfully on various

problems in government, education,

health, and the military. In other

words, Delphi can be applied to a

wide variety of program planning and

decision problems in any type of

organization.
The major criticisms of the Delphi

technique center on its time

consumption, cost, and Ouija-board

effect. The third criticism implies

that, much like the parlor game of

that name, Delphi can claim no

scientific basis or support. To counter

this criticism,

Rand has attempted to validate

Delphi through controlled

experimentation. The corporation set

up panels of nonexperts who use the

Delphi technique to answer questions

such as, “How many popular votes

were cast for Lincoln when he first

ran for president?” and “What was

the average price a farmer received

for a bushel of apples in 1940?”

These particular questions were used

because the average person does not

know the exact answers but knows

something about the subjects. The

result of these studies showed that

the original estimates by the panel

of nonexperts were reasonably close

to being correct, but with the Delphi

technique of anonymous feedback,

the estimates greatly improved.

The Nominal Group Technique

Closely related to Delphi is the

nominal group approach to group

decision making. The nominal group

has been used by social psychologists

in their research for many years.

A nominal group is simply a “paper

group.” It is a group in name only

because no verbal exchange is

allowed between members. In group

dynamics research, social

psychologists would pit a fully

interacting group against a nominal

group (a group of individuals added

together on paper but not interacting

verbally). In terms of number of

ideas, uniqueness of ideas, and

quality of ideas, research has found

nominal groups to be superior to real

groups. The general conclusion is

that interacting groups have certain

dysfunctions that inhibit creativity.

For example, one study found that

the performance of participants in

interactive groups was more similar,

more conforming, than the

performance of those in nominal

77
groups. Yet, except for idea

generation, the interactive effect of

real group members is known to have

a significant positive effect on other

variables. The latter type of effect

is given attention in Chapter 14, on

group dynamics and teams.

When the pure nominal group

approach is expanded into a specific

technique for decision making in

organizations, it is labeled the

nominal group technique (NGT) and

consists of the following steps:

 1. Silent generation of ideas in

writing

2. Round-robin feedback from

group members, who record each

idea in a terse phrase on a flip

chart or blackboard

3. Discussion of each recorded idea

for clarification and evaluation

4. Individual voting on priority

ideas, with the group decision

being mathematically derived

78
through rank ordering or rating

The difference between this approach

and Delphi is that the NGT members

are usually acquainted with one

another, have face-to-face contact,

and communicate with one another

directly in the third step. Although

more research is needed, there is

some evidence that NGT-led groups

come up with many more ideas than

traditional interacting groups and

may do as well as, or slightly better

than, groups using Delphi. A study

also found that NGT-led groups

performed at a level of accuracy that

was equivalent to that of the most-

1
proficient members. However,

another study found that NGT-led

groups did not perform as well as

interacting groups whose participants

were pervasively aware of the

problem given the group and when

there were no dominant persons who

inhibited others from communicating

 2
ideas. A recent study also found that

individuals working alone and then

formed into nominal groups were

superior, but for computer-mediated

idea generation, intact groups (such

as a regular work group) generated

more ideas (with higher quality) than

those working in subgroups or than

3
individuals in a nominal group.

Thus, as is true of most of the

techniques discussed in this text,

there are moderating effects. A

review of the existing research

literature on Delphi and NGT

concluded:

In general, the research on both

Delphi and nominal group techniques

suggests that they can help improve

the quality of group decisions

because they mitigate the problems

of interacting groups—individual

dominance and group think. A skillful

chairperson, therefore, may adapt

these techniques to particular

decision-making situations.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you

should understand:

1. The nature of communication and

its function in an organization

2. The basic communication process

3. The flow of communication in an

organization
4. The characteristics of written,

oral, and nonverbal

communication

5. Barriers and breakdowns in

communication and approaches

for improvement

6. Effective communication in

committees

7. The role of the electronic media

in communication Although

communication applies to aJJ

phases of managing, it is

particularly important in the

function of
Λ
leading ommunication is the

transfer of information from a

sender to a receiver with the

information being understood by

the receiver. This definition,

then, becomes the basis for the

communication process model

discussed in this chapter. The

model focuses on the sender of

the communication, the

transmission of the message,

and the receiver of the message.

The model also draws attention

to noise, which interferes with

good communication, and

feedback, which facilitates

communication. This chapter

also examines the impact of the

electronic media on

communication.
THE COMMUNICATION

FUNCTION IN

ORGANIZATIONS

It is no exaggeration to say that the

communication function is the means

by which organized activity is unified.

It may be looked upon as the means

by which social inputs are fed into

social systems. It is also the means

by which behavior is modified,

change is effected, information is

made productive, and goals are

achieved. Whether it is within a

church, a family, a scout troop, or

a business enterprise, the transfer

of information from one individual to

another is absolutely essential.

The Importance of
Communication

Over the years, the importance of

communication in organized effort

has beer recognized by many

authors. Chester I. Barnard, for

example, viewed communication as

the means by which people are linked

together in an organization to
1
achieve a common purpose. This is

still the fundamental function of

communication. Indeed, group

activity is impossible without

communication because coordination

and change cannot be effected.

Psychologists have also been

interested in communication. They

emphasize human problems that

occur in the communication process

of initiating transmitting, and

receiving information. They have

Λ
focused on th ‘denHw tion of

barriers to good communication,

especially those that involve the

interpersonal relationships of people.

Sociologists and information

theorists as well as psychologists,

have concentrated on the study of

communication networks.

The Purpose of

Communication

In its broadest sense, the purpose of

communication in an enterprise is to

effect change — to influence action

toward the welfare of the enterprise.

Communication is essential for the

internal functioning of enterprises,

because it integrates the managerial

functions. Especially, communication

is needed to (1) establish and

disseminate goals of an enterprise,

(2) develop plans for their

achievement, (3) organize human

and other resources in the most

effective and efficient way, (4)

select, develop, and appraise

members of the organization, (5)

lead, direct, motivate, and create a

climate in which people want to

contribute, and (6) control

performance.
It is through information exchange

that managers become aware of the

needs of customers, the availability

of suppliers, the claims of

stockholders, the regulations of

governments, and theroncerns of a

community It is through

communication that any organization

becomes an open system interacting

with its environment, a feet whose

importance is emphasized throughout

this book.

THE COMMUNICATION
PROCESS

Simply stated, the communication

process, diagrammed in Figure 17-2,

involves the sender, the transmission

of a message through a selected

channel, and the receiver. Let us

examine closely the specific steps in

the process.

The Sender of the Message

Communication begins with the

sender, who has a thought or an idea

which is then encoded in a way that

can be understood by both the sender

and the receiver. While it is usual

to think of encoding a message into

the English language, there are many

other ways of encoding, such as

translating the thought into computer

language.
Use of a Channel to Transmit

the Message

The information is transmitted over a

channel that links the sender with the

receiver. The message may be oral

or written, and it may be transmitted

through a memorandum, a computer,

the telephone, a telegram, or

television. Television, of course, also

facilitates the transmission of

gestures and visual clues. At times,

two or more channels are used. In a

telephone conversation, for instance,

two people may reach a basic

agreement that they later confirm by

a letter. Since many choices are

available, each with advantages and

disadvantages, the proper selection

of the channel is vital for effective

communication.

The Receiver of the Message

The receiver has to be ready for the

message so that it can be decoded

into thought. A person thinking about

an exciting football game may pay

insufficient attention to what is being

said about an inventory report, for

example, thus increasing the

probability of a communication

breakdown. The next step in the

process is decoding, in which the

receiver converts the message into

thoughts. Accurate communication

can occur only when both the sender

and the receiver attach the same or

at least similar meanings to the

symbols that compose the message.

Thus, it is obvious that a message

encoded into French requires a

receiver who understands French.

Less obvious, and frequently

overlooked, is the fact that a

message in technical or professional

jargon requires a recipient who

understands such language. So

communication is not complete

unless it is understood.

Understanding is in the mind of both

the sender and the receiver. Persons

with closed minds will normally not

completely understand messages,

especially if the information is

contrary to their value system.

Noise and Feedback in

Communication

Unfortunately, communication is

affected by “noise,” which is anything

— whether in the sender, the

transmission, or the receiver — that

hinders communication. For

example:

A noise or a confined environment

may hinder the development of a

clear thought.

Encoding may be faulty because of

the use of ambiguous symbols.

Transmission may be interrupted by

static in the channel, such as may

be experienced in a poor telephone

connection.

Inaccurate reception may be caused

by inattention.

Decoding may be faulty because the

wrong meaning may be attached to

words and other symbols.

Understanding can be obstructed by

prejudices.

Desired change may not occur

because of the fear of possible

consequences of the change.

To check the effectiveness of

communication, a person must have

feedback. One can never be sure

whether or not a message has been

effectively encoded, transmitted,

decoded, and understood until it is

confirmed by feedback. Similarly,

feedback indicates whether individual

or organizational change has taken

place as a result of communication.

Many situational and organizational

factors affect the communication

process. Such factors in the external

environment may be educational,

sociological, legal-political, and

economic. For example, a repressive

political environment will inhibit the

free flow of communication. Another

situational factor is geographic

distance. A direct face-to-face

communication is different from a

telephone conversation with another

person on the other side of the globe

and different from an exchange of

cables or letters. Time must also be

considered in communication. The

busy executive may not have

sufficient time to receive and send

information accurately. Other

situational factors that affect

communication within the enterprise

include the organization structure,

managerial and no managerial

processes, and technology. An

example of the latter is the pervasive

impact of computer technology on

handling very large amounts of data.

In summary, the communication

model provides an overview of the

communication process, identifies

the critical variables, and shows their

relationships. This, in turn, helps

managers pinpoint communication

problems and take steps to solve

them, or even better, to prevent the

difficulties from occurring in the first

place.

COMMUNICATION IN THE

ENTERPRISE

In today's enterprises, information

must flow faster than ever before.

Even a short stoppage on a fast-

moving production line can be very

costly in lost output. It is, therefore,

essential that production problems be

communicated quickly for corrective

action. Another important element is

the amount or information, which has

greatly increased over the years,

frequently causing are information

overload. What is often needed is not

more information but relevant

information. It is necessary to

determine what kind of information

the manager needs to have for

effective decision making. Obtaining

this information frequently requires

getting information from managers’

superiors and subordinates and also

from departments and people

elsewhere in ar organization.

The Manager's Need to Know

To be effective, a manager needs

information necessary to carry out

managerial functions and activities.

Yet even a casual glance at

communication systems shows that

managers often lack vital information

for decision making, or they may get

too much information, resulting in

overload. It is evident the* managers

must be discriminating in selecting

information. A simple way for £

manager to start is to ask, “What do

I really need to know for my job?” Or,

“What would happen if I did not get

this information on a regular basis?”

It r not maximum information a

manager needs but pertinent

information Clearly, there is no

universally applicable communication

system; rather, must be tailored to

the manager's needs.

In an effective organization,

communication flows in various

directions: downward, upward, and

crosswise. Traditionally, downward

communication was emphasized, but

there is ample evidence that if

communication flows only downward,

problems will develop. In fact, one

could argue that effective

communication has to start with the

subordinate, and this means

primarily upward communication.

Communication also flows

horizontally, that is, between people

on the same or similar organizational

levels, and diagonally, involving

persons from different levels who are

not in direct reporting relationships

with one another. The different kinds

of information flows are diagrammed

in Figure 17-3.

Downward communication Downward

communication flows from people at

higher levels to those at lower levels

in the organizational hierarchy. This

kind of communication exists

especially in organizations with an

authoritarian atmosphere. The kinds

of media used for downward oral

communication include instructions,

speeches, meetings, the telephone,

loudspeakers, and even the

grapevine. Examples of written

downward communication are

memoranda, letters, handbooks,

pamphlets, policy statements,

procedures, and electronic news

2
displays.

Unfortunately, information is often

lost or distorted as it comes down

the chain of command. Top

management's issuance of policies

and procedures does not ensure

communication. In fact, many

directives are not understood or even

read. Consequently, a feedback

system is essential for finding out

whether information was perceived

as intended by the sender.

Downward flow of information

through the different levels of the

organization is time-consuming.

Indeed, delays may be so frustrating

that some top managers insist that

information be sent directly to the

person or group requiring it.

Upward communication Upward

communication travels from

subordinates to superiors and

continues up the organizational

hierarchy. Unfortunately, this flow is

often hindered by managers in the

communication chain who filter the

messages and do not transmit all the

information — especially unfavorable

news — to their bosses. Yet objective

transmission of information is

essential for control purposes. Upper

management needs to know

specifically about production

performance, marketing information,

financial data, what lower- level

employees are thinking, and so on.

Upward communication is primarily

nondirective and is usually found in

participative and democratic

organizational environments. Typical

means for upward communication —

besides the chain of command — are

suggestion systems, appeal and

grievance procedures, complaint

systems, counseling sessions, joint

setting of objectives, the grapevine,

group meetings, the practice or

open-door policy, morale

questionnaires, exit interviews, and

the ombudsperson.

The concept of the ombudsperson

was used relatively little in the Unitec

States until recently. It originated in

Sweden, where a civil servant could

but approached by a citizen to

investigate complaints about the

federal bureaucracy. Now some U.S.

companies have established a

position for a person who

investigates employees’ concerns.

Anheuser-Busch, Control Data,

Genera Electric, McDonnell Douglas,

and AT&T are just a few of the

companies usin£ the ombudsperson

for prompting upward

communication. There is now eve- a

Corporate Ombudsman Association,

At General Dynamics, over 3000 ca.

1> were made to the ombudsperson

in 1986, suggesting that workers

3
trust the person in such a position.

Companies have found that the

position of the

PERSPECTIVE:

LACK OF UPWARD

COMMUNICATION CAN BE

DISASTROUS

The lack of upward communication

can be disastrous. In the 1986 space

shuttle disaster vital information

apparently did not reach the top

4
management at NASA Other

examples of a breakdown of upward

communication are these: Bank of

America's top officials were surprised

about the poor quality of their

mortgage portfolio which resulted in

substantial losses for the bank. E. F.

Hutton's executives we?* apparently

unaware of the incorrect check-

writing scheme of their lower-level

managers.

In some organizations, upward

communication is hindered by an

organizatxr culture and climate that

“punishes” managers who

communicate bad news or

information with which top

management does not agree. Indeed,

the tendency to repcr only good news

upward is quite common. Yet correct

information is absolutely re: essary

5
for managing an enterprise.

So what can managers do to facilitate

the free flow of information? First,

managers must create an informal

climate that encourages upward

communication A® open-door policy

is only useful when it is practiced.

Second, the formal structure ar

information flow must be clear. Third,

managers can learn a great deal by

just wardering through the corridors.

Hewlett Packard is often mentioned

as an example w open
communication by the practice of

“management by wandering around.”

Effective upward communication

requires an environment in which

subordinates feel free to

communicate. Since the

organizational climate is greatly

influenced by upper management,

the responsibility for creating a free

flow of upward communication rests

to a great extent — although not

exclusively — with superiors.

Crosswise communication Crosswise

communication includes the

horizontal flow of information, among

people on the same or similar

organizational levels, and the

diagonal flow, among persons at

different levels who have no direct

reporting relationships. This kind of

communication is used to speed

information flow, to improve

understanding, and to coordinate

efforts for the achievement of

organizational objectives. A great

deal of communication does not

follow the organizational hierarchy

but cuts across the chain of

command.

The enterprise environment provides

many occasions for oral

communication. They range from

informal meetings of the company

bowling team and lunch hours

employees spend together to more

formal conferences and committee

and board meetings. This kind of

communication also occurs when

individual members of different

departments are grouped into task

teams or project organizations.

Finally, communication cuts across

organizational boundaries when, for

example, staff with functional or

advisory authority interacts with line

managers in different departments.

In addition, written forms of

communication keep people informed

about the enterprise. These written

forms include the company

newspaper or magazine and bulletin

boards. Modern enterprises use many

kinds of oral and written crosswise

communication patterns to

supplement the vertical flow of

information.

Because information may not follow

the chain of command, proper

safeguards need to be taken to

prevent potential problems.

Specifically, crosswise

communication should rest on the

understanding that (1) crosswise

relationships will be encouraged

wherever they are appropriate, (2)

subordinates will refrain from making

commitments beyond their authority,

and (3) subordinates will keep

superiors informed of important

interdepartmental activities. In

short, crosswise communication may

create difficulties, but it is a

necessity in many enterprises in

order to respond to the needs of the

complex and dynamic organizational

environment.

Written, Oral, and Nonverbal

Communication

Written and oral communication

media have favorable and

unfavorable characteristics;

consequently, they are often used

together so that the favorable

qualities of each can complement the

other. In addition, visual aids may

be used to supplement both oral and

written communications. For

example, the lecture in the

management training session may be

made more effective when written

handouts, transparencies,

videotapes, and films are used.

Evidence has shown that when a

message is repeated through several

media, the people receiving it will

more accurately comprehend and

recall it.

In selecting the media, one must

consider the communicator, the

audience, and the situation. An

executive who feels uncomfortable in

front of a large audience may choose

written communication rather than a

speech. On the other hand, certain

audiences who may not read a memo

may be reached and become

motivated by direct oral

communication. Situations may also

demand a specific medium. For

example, former President Reagan,

an effective communicator, used

press conferences in trying to clarify

the arm shipments to Iran. Face-to-

face interaction was demanded by

the news media to deal with the

many aspects of the transactions.

Written communication Written

communication has the advantage of

providing records, references, and

legal defenses. The message can be

carefully prepared and then directed

to a large audience through mass

mailings. Written communication can

also promote uniformity in policy and

procedure and can reduce costs, in
some cases. «
The disadvantages are that written

messages may create mountains c:

paper, may be poorly expressed by

ineffective writers, and may provide

nc immediate feedback.

Consequently, it may take a long

time to know whether a message has

been received and properly

understood.

Oral communication A great deal of

information is communicated orally.

Oril communication can occur in a

face-to-face meeting of two people or

in a mar* ager's presentation to a

large audience; it can be formal or

informal, and it car be planned or
accidental.
The principal advantage of oral

communication are that it makes

possibk speedy interchange with

immediate feedback. People can ask

questions and clarify points. In a

face-to-face interaction, the effect

can be noted. Furtht- more, a

meeting with the superior may give

the subordinate a feeling of imp -

- tance. Clearly, informal or planned

meetings can greatly contribute to

the understanding of the issues.

However, oral communication also

has disadvantages. It does not alv. r

- save time, as any manager knows

who has attended meetings in which

rd results or agreements were

achieved. These meetings can be

costly in terrr ~ at time and money.

Nonverbal communication People

communicate in many different ways.

What a person says can be reinforced

(or contradicted) by nonverbal

communicat>.*-such as facial

expressions and body gestures.

Nonverbal communication n expected

to support the verbal, but it does

not always do so. For example ai

autocratic manager may pound a fist

oh the table while announcing that : -

m now on participative management

will be practiced; such contradictory

communications will certainly create

a credibility gap. Similarly, managers

-jp state that they have an open-door

policy, but then they may have a

secretaff carefully screen people who

want to see them; this creates an in

congruency between what they say

and what they do. Clearly, nonverbal

communication may support or

contradict verbal communication,

giving rise to the saying that actions

often speak louder than words.

BARRIERS AND BREAKDOWNS

IN COMMUNICATION

It is probably no surprise that

managers frequently cite

communication breakdowns as one of

their most important problems.

However, communication problems

are often symptoms of more deeply

rooted problems. For example, poor

planning may be the cause of

uncertainty about the direction of the

firm. Similarly, a poorly designed

organization structure may not

clearly communicate organizational

relationships. Vague performance

standards may leave managers

uncertain about what is expected of

them. Thus, the perceptive manager

will look for the causes of

communication problems instead of

just dealing with the symptoms.

Barriers can e*ist in the sender, in

the transmission of the message, in

the receiver, or in the feedback.

Specific communication barriers are

discussed below.

Lack off Planning

Good communication seldom happens

by chance. Too often people start

talking and writing without first

thinking, planning, and stating the

purpose of the message. Yet giving

the reasons for a directive, selecting

the most appropriate channel, and

choosing proper timing can greatly

improve understanding and reduce

resistance to change.

Unclarified Assumptions

Often overlooked, yet very

important, are the uncommunicated

assumptions that underlie messages.

A customer may send a note stating

that she will visit a vendor's plant.

Then she may assume that the

vendor will meet her at the airport,

reserve a hotel room, arrange for

transportation, and set up a full-scale

review of the program at the plant.

But the vendor may assume that the

customer is coming to town mainly

to attend a wedding and will make

a routine call at the plant. These

unclarified assumptions in both

instances may result in confusion and

the loss of goodwill.

Semantic Distortion

Another barrier to effective

communication is semantic

distortion, which can be deliberate

or accidental. An advertisement that

states “We sell for less” is

deliberately ambiguous; it raises the

question: Less than what? Words

may evoke different responses. To

some people, the word “government”

may mean interference or deficit

spending; to others, the same word

may mean help, equalization, and

justice.

Poorly Expressed Messages

No matter how clear the idea in the

mind of the sender of

communication, it may still be

marked by poorly chosen words,

omissions, lack of coherence, poor

organization of ideas, awkward

sentence structure, platitudes,

unnecessary jargon, and a failure to

clarify the implications of the

message. This lack of clarity and

precision, which can be costly, can

be avoided through greater care in

encoding the message.

Communication Barriers in

the International

Environment

Communication in the international

environment becomes even more

difficult because of different

6
languages, cultures, and etiquette.
Translating advertising slogans is

very risky. The slogan “Put a Tiger

in Your Tank” by Exxon was very

effective in the United States, yet it

is an insult to the people in Thailand.

Colors have different meanings in

various cultures. Black is often

associated with death in many

Western countries, while in the Far

East white is the color of mourning.

In business dealings it is quite

common in the United States to

communicate on a first-name basis,

yet in most cultures, especially in

those with a pronounced hierarchical

structure, persons generally address

one another by their last names.

To overcome communication barriers

in the international environment,

large corporations have taken a

variety of steps. Volkswagen, for

example, provides extensive

language training. Furthermore, the

company maintains a large staff of

translators. Frequently, local

nationals, who know the host-

country's language and culture, are

hired for top positions. In the United

States, foreign firms find it

advantageous to hire students from

their own country who are attending

U.S. universities.

Loss by Transmission and

Poor Retention
In a series of transmissions from one

person to the next, the message

becomes less and less accurate. Poor

retention of information is another

serious problem. Thus, the necessity

of repeating the message and using

several channels is rather obvious.

Consequently, companies often use

more than one channel to

communicate the same message.

Poor Listening and Premature

Evaluation

There are many talkers but few

listeners. Everyone probably has

observed people entering a

discussion with comments that have

no relation to the topic. One reason

may be that these persons are

pondering their own problems — suer

as preserving their own egos or

making a good impression on other

grour members — instead of listening

to the conversation. Listening

demands fu'i attention and self-

discipline. It also requires that the

listener avoid premature evaluation

of what another person has to say.

A common tendency is to judge — to

approve or disapprove what is being

said — rather than trying to unde-

stand the speaker's frame of

reference. Yet listening without

making hasr«; judgments can make

the whole enterprise more effective

and more efficient. For example,

sympathetic listening can result in

better labor-management relations

and greater understanding among

managers. Specifically, sales

personnel may better understand the

problems of production people, and

the credit manager may realize that

an over restrictive credit policy may

lead to a disproportionate loss in

sales. In short, listening with

empathy can reduce some of the

daily frustrations in organized life

and result in better communication.

Impersonal Communication

Effective communication is more than

simply transmitting information to

employees. It requires face-to-face

communication in an environment of

openness and trust. The Perspective

illustrates how this simple but

effective communication technique

may be overlooked. As the events

in the Perspective indicate, real

improvement of communication often

requires not expensive and

sophisticated (and impersonal)

communication media but the

willingness of superiors to engage in

face-to-face communication. Such

informal gatherings, without status

trappings or a formal authority base,

may be threatening to a top

executive, but the risks involved are

outweighed by the benefits that

better communication can bring.

Distrust, Threat, and Fear

Distrust, threat, and fear undermine

communication. In a climate

containing these forces, any message

will be viewed with skepticism.

,r
Distrust can be the result of

inconsistent behavior by the

superior, or it can be due to past

experiences in which the subordinate

was punished for honestly reporting

unfavorable, but true, information to

the boss. Similarly, in the light of

threats — whether real or imagined

— people tend to tighten up, become

defensive, and distort information.

What is needed is a climate of trust,

which facilitates open and honest
communication.
PERSPECTIVE: THE CLOSED-

CIRCUIT TELEVISION
8
FAILURE

A company was about to install a

sophisticated $300,000 closed-circuit

television system to improve the

transmission of information to

employees. When a management

consultant recommended instead

that the president should join his

people during the coffee break,

rather than sipping nis coffee in a

closed group of top executives, the

president was skeptical. The

suggestion seemed radical, but he

agreed to try it. The experiment was

a failure because the\president found

that his employees would not talk to

him. After some soul-searching. The

president again tried meeting with

his employees face-to-face during

the coffe\ break, but this time he

talked about their concern (the

opening of a European plant that

could result in the elimination of

jobs). To the president's surprise,

employees talked openly about what

was on their minds. In fact, the

communication went so welrthat the

president requested that his

executive group mingle with their

people for “kaffeeklatsches.”

Insufficient Period for
Adjustment to Change

The purpose of communication is to

effect change that may seriously

concern employees: shifts in the

time, place, type, and order of work

or shifts in group arrangements or

skills to be used. Some

communications point to the need for

further training, career adjustment,

or status arrangements. Changes

affect people in different ways, and

it may take time to think through

the full meaning of a message.

Consequently, for maximum

efficiency, it is important not to force

change before people can adjust to
its implications.
 9
Information Overload

One might think that more and

unrestricted information flow would

help people overcome communication

10
problems. But unrestricted flow

may result in too much information.

People respond to information

11
overload in various ways. First,

they may disregard certain

information. A person getting too

much mail may ignore letters that

should be answered. Second, if they

are overwhelmed with too much

information, people make errors in

processing it. For example, they may

leave out the word “not” in a

message, which reverses the

intended meaning.

Third, people may delay processing

information either permanently or

with the intention of catching up in

the future. Fourth, people may filter

information. Filtering may be helpful

when the most pressing and most

important information is processed

first and the less important messages

receive lower priority. However,

chances are that attention will be

given first tc matters that are easy

to handle, while more difficult but

perhaps critical messages are

ignored. Finally, people respond to

information overload by simply

escaping from the task of

communication. In other words, they

ignore information or do not

communicate information because of

an overload.

Some responses to information

overload may be adaptive tactics that

can, a: times, be functional. For

example, delaying the processing of

information unti’ the amount is

reduced can be effective. On the

other hand, withdrawing from the

task of communicating is usually not

a helpful response. Another way to

approach the overload problem is to

reduce the demands for information

Within an enterprise, this may be

accomplished by insisting that only

essential data be processed, such as

information showing critical

deviations from plans Reducing

external demands for information is

usually more difficult because these

demands are less controllable by

managers. Ah example may be the

government's demand for detailed

documentation on governmental

contracts. Companies that do

business with the government simply

have to comply with these requests.

Other Communication

Barriers

Besides the mentioned barriers to

effective communication, there are

manf others. In selective perception

people tend to perceive what they

expect to perceive. In communication

this means that they hear what they

want to hear arc ignore other

relevant information.

Closely related to perception is the

influence of attitude, which is the

pre-disposition to act or not to act in

a certain way; it is a mental position

regarding a fact or state. Clearly, if

people have made up their minds,

they cannot objectively listen to what

is said.

Still other barriers to communication

are differences in status and power

between the sender and the receiver

of communication. Also, when

information has to pass through

several levels in the organization

hierarchy, it tends to be distorted.

TOWARD EFFECTIVE

COMMUNICATION

The communication process model

introduced at the beginning of this

chapter (Figure 17-2) helps identify

the critical elements in the

communication process. At each

stage, breakdowns can occur — in

the encoding of the message by the

sender, in the transmission of the

message, and in the decoding and

understanding of the. message by

the receiver. Certainly, noise can

interfere with effective

communication at each stage of the

process.
Guidelines for Improving

Communication

Effective communication is the

responsibility of all persons in the

organization, managers as well as

non managers, who work toward a

common aim. Whether

communication is effective can be

evaluated by the intended results.

The following guidelines can help

overcome the barriers to

communication:

1. Senders of messages must clarify

in their minds what they want

 to communicate. This means that

one of the first steps in

communicating is clarifying the

purpose of the message and

making a plan to achieve the

intended end.

2. Effective communication requires

that encoding and decoding be

done with symbols that are

familiar to the sender and the

receiver of the message. Thus

the manager (and especially the

staff specialist) should avoid

unnecessary technical jargon,

which is intelligible only to the

experts in their particular field.

3. The planning of the

communication should not be

 done in a vacuum. Instead, other

people should be consulted and

encouraged to participate: to

collect the facts, analyze the

message, and select the

appropriate media. For

◦ example, a manager may

ask a colleague to read an

important memo before it is

distributed throughout the

organization. The content of

the message should fit the

recipients*’ level of

knowledge and the

organizational climate.

4. It is important to consider the

needs of the receivers of the

information. Whenever
 appropriate, one should

communicate something that is

of value to them, in the short run

as well as in the more distant

future. At times, unpopular

actions that affect employees in

the short run may be more easily

accepted if they are beneficial to

them in the long run. For

instance, shortening the

workweek may be more

acceptable if it is made clear that

this action will strengthen the

competitive position of the

company in the long run and

avoid layoffs.

5. There is a saying that the tone

makes the music. Similarly, in

 communication the tone of voice,

the choice of language, and the

congruency between what is said

and how it is said influence the

reactions of the receiver of the

message. An autocratic manager

ordering subordinate supervisors

to practice participative

management will create a

credibility gap that will be

difficult to overcome.

6. Too often information is

transmitted without

communicating, since

communication is complete only

when the message is understood

by the receiver. And one never

knows whether communication is

 understood unless the sender

gets feedback. This is

accomplished by asking

questions, requesting a reply to

a letter, and encouraging

receivers to give their reactions

to the message.

7. The function of communication is

more than transmitting

information. It also deals with

emotions that are very important

in interpersonal relationships

between superiors, subordinates,

and colleagues in an organization

Furthermore, communication is

vital for creating an environment

in which people are motivated to

work toward the goals of the

 enterprise while the\ achieve

their personal aims. Another

function of communication is

control As explained in the

discussion of management by

objectives (MBO), control does

not necessarily mean top-down

control. Instead, the MBO

philosoph. emphasizes self-

control, which demands clear

communication with are

understanding of the criteria

against which performance is

measured.

8. Effective communicating is the

responsibility not only of the

sender but also of the receiver of

the information. Thus, listening

is an aspect that needs additional
comment.
Listening: The Key to
Understanding

The rushed, never-listening manager

will seldom get an objective view of

the functioning of the organization.

Time, empathy, and concentration on

the communicator's messages are

prerequisites to understanding.

People want to be heard, want to

be taken seriously, want to be

understood. Thus, the manager must

avoid interrupting subordinates and

putting them on the defensive. It is

also wise both to give and to ask

for feedback, for without it one can

never bt sure whether the message is

understood. To elicit honest feedback

a manager should develop an

atmosphere of trust and confidence

and a supportive leadership style,

with a deemphasis on status (such

as barricading oneself behind an

executive executive desk).

Listening is a skill that can be

developed, Keith Davis and John W.

New- strom proposed ten guides to

improve listening: (1) Stop talking,

(2) put the System and Process of

Controlling
OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you

should understand:

1. The steps in the basic control

process

2. The importance of critical control

points and standards

3. Control as a feedback system

4. That real-time information will

not solve all the problems of

management control

5. That feedforward control

systems can make management

control more effective

6. The requirements for effective

controls
The managerial function of

controlling is the measurement and

correction of performance in order to

make sure that enterprise objectives

and the plans devised to attain them

are accomplished. Planning and

controlling are closely related. In

fact, some writers on management

think that these functions cannot be

separated. It is wise to separate

them conceptually, however, which is

why they are discussed individually

in Parts 2 and 6 of this book. Still,

planning and controlling may be

viewed as the blades of a pair of

scissors; the scissors cannot work

unless there are two blades. Without

objectives and plans, control is not

possible, because performance has to

be compared against some

established criteria.

Controlling is the function of every

manager from president to

supervisor. Some managers,

particularly at lower levels, forget

that the primary responsibility for the

exercise of control rests in every

manager charged with the execution

of plans. Occasionally, because of the

authority of upper-level managers

and their resultant responsibility,

top- and upper-level control is so

emphasized that people assume that

little controlling is needed at lower

levels. Although the scope of control

varies among managers, those at all

levels have responsibility for the

execution of plans, and control is

therefore an essential managerial

function at every level.

Although control is often treated

superficially in management

literature, Giovanni B. Giglioni and

Arthur G. Bedeian found a valuable

body of knowledge in the following

areas: control concepts, the process

of control, characteristics of control

systems, the problems encountered

in control and the lessons learned

from them, the variety of control

models and techniques, and some

principles for effective and efficient

1
control. Part 6 will cover all these

topics, as well as others such as

management information systems

and tools for production and

operation management.

THE BASIC CONTROL

PROCESS

Control techniques and systems are

essentially the same for cash, office

procedures, morale, product quality,

or anything else. The basic control

process, wherever it is found and

whatever is being controlled, involves

three steps: (1) establishing

standards, (2) measuring

performance against these

standards, and (3) correcting

variations from standards and plans.

Establishment of Standards

Because plans are the yardsticks

against which managers devise

controls, the first step in the control

process logically would be to

establish plans. However since plans

vary in detail and complexity and

since managers cannot usually watch

everything, special standards are

established. Standards are by

definition simply criteria of

performance. They are the selected

points in an enter planning program

at which measures of performance

are made so that mar- agers can

receive signals about how things are

going and thus do not have : watch

every step in the execution of plans.

There are many kinds of standards.

Among the best are verifiable goal-

:r objectives, as suggested in the

discussion of managing by objectives

(see Charter 4). You will learn more

about standards, especially about

those that point out deviations at

critical points, in the next section.

Measurement of Performance

Although such measurement is not

always practicable, the

measuremerar performance against

standards should ideally be done on a

forward-look basis so that deviations

may be detected in advance of their

occurrence and avoided by

appropriate actions. The alert,

forward-looking manager can

sometimes predict probable

departures from standards. In the

absence of such ability, however,

deviations should be disclosed as

2
early as possible.

If standards are appropriately drawn

and if means are available for

determining exactly what

subordinates are doing, appraisal of

actual or expected performance is

fairly easy But there are many

activities for which it is difficult to

develop accurate standards, and

there are many activities that are

hard to measure. It may be quite

simple to establish labor-hour

standards for the production of a

mass-produced item, and it may be

equally simple to measure

performance against these

standards, but if the item is custom-

made, the appraisal of performance

may be a formidable task because

standards are difficult to set.

Moreover, in the less technical kinds

of work, not only may standards be

hard to develop but also appraisal

will be difficult. For example,

controlling the work of the finance

vice-president or the industrial

relations director is not easy because

definite standards are not easily

developed. The superior of these

managers often relies on vague

standards, such as the financial

health of the business, the attitude of

labor unions, the absence of strikes,

the enthusiasm and loyalty of

subordinates, the expressed

admiration of business associates/

and the overall success of the

department (often measured in a

negative way by lack of evidence of

failure). The superior's

measurements are often equally

vague. At the same time, if the

department seems to be making the

contribution expected of it at a

reasonable cost and without too

many serious errors, and if the

measurable accomplishments give

evidence of sound management, a

general appraisal may be adequate.

The point is that as jobs move away

from the assembly line, the shop, or

the accounting machine, controlling

them becomes more complex and

often even more important.

Correction of Deviations

Standards should reflect the various

positions in an organization

structure. If performance is

measured accordingly, it is easier to

correct deviations. Managers know

exactly where, in the assignment of

individual or group duties, the

corrective measures must be applied.

Correction of deviations is the point

at which control can be seen as a part

of the whole system of management

and can be related to the other

managerial functions. Managers may

correct deviations by redrawing their

plans or by modifying their goals.

(This~is an exercise of the principle

of navigational change.) Or they may

correct deviations by exercising their

organizing function through

reassignment or clarification of

duties. They may correct, also, by

additional staffing, by better

selection and training of

subordinates, or by that ultimate

restaffing measure — firing. Or,

again, they may correct through

better leading — fuller explanation of

the job or more effective leadership

techniques.
CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS

AND STANDARDS

Standards are yardsticks against

which actual or expected

performance is measured. In a simple

operation a manager might control

through careful personal observation

of the work being done. However, in

most operations this is not possible

because of the complexity of the

operations and the fact that a

manager has far more to do than

personally observe performance for a

whole day. A manager must choose

points for special attention and then

watch them to be sure that the whole

operation is proceeding as planned.

The points selected for control should

be critical, in the sense either of

being limiting factors in the operation

or of showing better than other

factors whether plans are working

out. With such standards, managers

can handle a larger group of

subordinates and thereby increase

their span of management, with

resulting cost savings and

improvement of communication. The

principle of critical-point control, one

of the more important control

principles, states: Effective control

requires attention to those factors

critical to evaluating performance

against plans.
Questions for Selecting
Critical Points of Control

The ability to select critical points

of control is one of the arts of

management, since sound control

depends on them. In this connection,

managers must ask themselves such

questions as these: What will best

reflect the goals of mv department?

What will best show me when these

goals are not being met? What will

best measure critical deviations?

What will tell me who is responsible

for any failure? What standards will

cost the least? For what standards is
information economically available?
Types of Critical-Point

Standards

Every objective, every goal of the

many planning programs, every

activity or these programs, every

policy, every procedure, and every

budget become standards against

which actual or expected

performance might be measured. In

practice, however, standards tend to

be of the following types: (1)

physical standards, (2) cost

standards, (3) capital standards, (4)

revenue standards (5) program

standards, (6) intangible standards,

(7) goals as standards, am (8)

strategic plans as control points for

strategic control.

Physical standards Physical standards

are nonmonetary measurements are

are common at the operating level,

where materials are used, labor a

employed, services are rendered, and

goods are produced. They may reflect

quantities such as labor-hours per

unit of output, pounds of fuel per

horse power produced, ton-miles of

freight traffic carried, units of

production p- ‘ machine-hour, or feet

of wire per ton of copper. Physical

standards mav aisj reflect quality,

such as hardness of bearings,

closeness of tolerances, ratr r climb

of an airplane, durability of a fabric,

or fastness of a color.

Cost standards Cost standards are

monetary measurements and, like

physical standards, are common at

the operating level. They attach

monetary values to the costs of

operations. Illustrative of cost

standards are such widely used

measures as direct and indirect costs

per unit produced, labor cost per unit

or per hour, material cost per unit,

machine-hour costs, costs per plane

reservation, selling costs per dollar

or unit of sales, and costs per foot of

oil well drilled.

Capital standards There are a variety

of capital standards, all arising fiftm

the application of monetary

measurements to physical items.

They have to do with the capital

invested in the firm rather than with

operating costs and are therefore

primarily related to the balance sheet

rather than to the income statement.

Perhaps the most widely used

standard for new investment, as well

as for overall control, is return on

investment. The typical balance

sheet will disclose other capital

standards, such as the ratios of

current assets to current liabilities,

debt to net worth, fixed investment

to total investment, cash and

receivables to payables, and notes or

bonds to stock, as well as the size

and turnover of inventories.

Revenue standards Revenue

standards arise from attaching

monetary values to sales. They may

include such standards as revenue

per bus passenger-mile, average sale

per customer, or sales per capita in a

given market area.

Program standards A manager may

be assigned to install a variable

budget program, a program for

formally following the development

of new products, or a program for

improving the quality of a sales force.

Although some subjective judgment

may have to be applied in appraising

program performance, timing and

other factors can be used as

objective standards.

Intangible standards More difficult to

set are standards not expressed in

either physical or monetary

measurements. What standard can a

manager use for determining the

competence of the divisional

purchasing agent or personnel

director? What can one use for

determining whether the advertising

program meets both short- and long-

term objectives? Or whether the

public relations program is

successful? Are supervisors loyal to

the company's objectives? Is the

office staff alert? Such questions

show the difficulty of establishing

standards or goals for clear

quantitative or qualitative

measurement.

Many intangible standards exist in

business, partially because adequate

research into what constitutes

desired performance has not been

done above the level of the shop,

the district sales office, the shipping

room, or the accounting department.

Perhaps a more important reason is

that where human relationships

count in performance, as they do

above the basic operating levels, it is

very hard to measure what is “good,”

“effective,” or “efficient.” Tests,

surveys, and sampling techniques

developed by psychologists and

sociometrists have made it possible

to probe human attitudes and drives,

but many managerial controls over

interpersonal relationships must

continue to be based upon intangible

standards, considered judgment, trial

and error, and even, on occasion,

sheer hunch.

Goals as standards With the present

tendency for better-managed

enterprises to establish an entire

network of verifiable qualitative or

quantitative goals at every level of

management, the use of intangible

standards, while still important, is

diminishing. In complex program

operations, as well as in the

performance of managers

themselves, modern managers are

finding that through research and

thinking it is possible to define goals

that can be used as performance

standards. While the quantitative

goals are likely to take the form of

the standards outlined above,

definition of qualitative goals

represents an important development

in the area of standards. For

example, if the program of a district

sales office is spelled out to include

such elements as training

salespeople in accordance with a plan

with specific characteristics, the plan

and its characteristics themselves

furnish standards which tend to

become objective and, therefore,

“tangible.”

Strategic plans as control points for

strategic control A great deal has

been written about strategic

planning, but relatively little is known

about strategic control. According to

a recent book on the topic, strategic

control comprises systematic

monitoring at strategic control points

as well as modifying the

organization's strategy on the basis

3
of this evaluation. The book's

authors agree with the viewpoint

expressed in this text, namely, that

planning and controlling are closely

related. Therefore, strategic plans

require strategic control. Moreover,

since controls facilitate comparisons

of intended goals with actual

performance, they also provide

opportunities for learning, which, in

turn, is the basis for organization

change. Finally, through the use of

strategic control one gains insights

not only about organizational

performance but also about the ever-

changing environment by monitoring

Λ
it.

CONTROL AS A FEEDBACK

SYSTEM

Managerial control is essentially the

same basic control process as that

found in physical, biological, and

social systems. Many systems control

themself- through information

feedback, which shows deviations

from standards and initiates changes.

In other words, systems use some of

their energy to feed ba± information

that compares performance with a

standard and initiates corre tive

action. A simple feedback system was

shown in Chapter 3 (see Figure 3-2

Management control is usually

perceived as a feedback system

simila- u that which operates in the

4
usual household thermostat. This

can be sect clearly by looking at the

feedback process in management

control shown a Figure 18-1. This

system places control in a more

complex and realistic JOT than would

regarding it merely as a matter of

establishing standards, measiz* ing

performance, and correcting for

deviations. Managers do measure

acnai performance, compare this

measurement against standards, and

identify analyze deviations. But then,

to make the necessary corrections,

they develop a program for corrective

action and implement this program

Λ
in ordrrf arrive at the performance

desired.

Consensus testing: Checking to see if

the group is ready to decide; sending

up a trial balloon.
What factors encourage other

members to accept a person as

17
leader?

Emergence of Informal

Leaders

1. The member who talks and

participates most actively in the

group activities is the one most

likely to emerge as leader.

2. The member who possesses

more information enabling him to

contribute more than other

members to solution of the group

task tends to emerge as leader.

3. The member who respects group

norms and values and attempts

 to fulfil group's social needs by

encouraging feelings of solidarity

tends to emerge as leader.

4. The member of the group who

possesses the greatest technical

knowledge, skills, qualities

necessary to achieve the purpose

and accomplish the tasks of the

group in a particular situation is

likely to emerge as leader.

5. The member who is able to

perceive the values of the group,

organize them into an intelligible

philosophy and sell the same

successfully to other groups and

non-members is likely to emerge

as leader.
Successful Leadership

Behaviours

The primary function of an informal

group leader (formal group leader)

is to facilitate the accomplishment of

group goals. He aids the group in

accomplishing its goals. To survive,

the group must gear its efforts to

achieve its primary goals. The cricket

team that fails to win a single match

ultimately loses its cohesiveness, its

sense of togetherness and

disintegrates. The informal group

leader personifies the values and

aspirations of group. He initiates

action, provides direction and

compromises differences toward the

accomplishment of goals. He differs

from followers in ability to initiate

and sustain interaction with a wide

range of personalities. “He protects

the weak and under chosen,

encourages participation of less

capable members.

QUESTIONS

1. What is meant by organization

structure? Give its importance?

2. Discuss the nature of Group

dynamics in informal

organization and its impact on

the effectiveness of organization

as a whole:-
3. Explain the group decision

making technique:-

4. Explain the types of

communication:-

5. Explain the methods of control in

an organization:-
 CHAPTER –IV

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is replete with multi-

myriad reams of research theories

and multifarious definitions. After

over fifty years of empirical

investigation, leadership remains an

enigma. It is wrapped up in the paper

of management and is tightly knotted

with the incomprehension and

confusion. In fact, the term has never

been clearly defined. There are as

many different definitions of

leadership as there are persons who

have attempted to define the

concept. lack of generally accepted

definition of the concept has led to a

mushrooming growth of contingency

models, path-goal and open system

models, not to mention the

transactional and vertical dyad

approaches. Unfortunately the

growing mountain of research

information has produced an

impressive mass of contradictions.

Ralph Stogdill, after reviewing over

3000 studies, humbly declares that

as far as the understanding of the

leadership is concerned only a

beginning has been made. Frustrated

writers feel that the concept has

outlived its usefulness and must be

abandoned in “favour of some other

more fruitful way of cutting up the

theoretical pie”.
Leadership is a value-loaded term.

To many persons, it has a dictatorial

ring, associated with the

‘fuhrer’concept and connotes people

being driven away by a hypnotic

8
influence. Early notions about

leadership dealt with it almost in

terms of personal abilities. Leaders

were credited with supernatural

powers such as the ability to see

through men's minds, to tell the

future and to compel obedience

2
hypnotically. Leadership is viewed

as a characteristic of the individual.

In recent times such supernatural

explanations have given way to more

rational explanations. The irony that

permeates’ the existing literature is

the lack of a structural and

universally acceptable definition of

leadership. Perhaps the closest thing

to a consensus on a definition for

leadership is that it is a social-

influence process. Leadership is

defined as the Process of Influencing

Group Activities Toward the

Accomplishment of Goals in a given

Situation.— In this context the leader

is viewed as the person in the group

who is capable of influencing group

activities with regard to goal

3
formation and goal accomplishment

The above definition contains many

important points:

1. Leadership is a relationship

between two or more people in

 which influence and power are

unevenly distributed.

2. Leadership is a function of the

leader, the follower and other

situational variables. It is a

matter of removing barriers in

a situation so that subordinates

work with freedom and

independence.

3. Leadership is essentially a

continuous process of influencing

behaviour. A leader breathes life

into the group and motivates it

toward goals. The lukewarm

desires for achievement are

transformed into a burning

7
passion for accomplishment.
 4. Leadership is something a person

does, not something he

has.*Leadership is something

that emerges, that grows and

that is achieved*

WHAT A LEADER DOES?

Leader is not a lay-figure. He has

much to do; such as, help groups

in achieving their objectives, initiate

changes, help make decisions and

resolve differences among the

employees. The functions may be

relatively straight-forward such as

choosing the group goal, supervising

performance, making plans. The

functions may also be much more

complex at times, such as serving

to integrate the groups needs with

outside realities, satisfying

interpersonal needs within the

groups, creating an atmosphere free

of conflict for group members. In the

wake of vast, rapid technological

changes leader has to perform

multifarious functions. The list of

these functions could go on and on.

Some of the important functions the

leader performs are given as under.

Leader develops team work. The

three vital determinants of team

work are the leader, subordinates

and the environment. These factors

are interdependent. It is the leader's

responsibility to make the

environment conducive to work. He

studies the employees individually

and instills interest in them. By

encouraging the inquisitive

employees and by prohibiting

insidious elements he creates

hygienic environment. He inculcates

the sense of collectivism in

employees to work as a team. The

resultant output will then be

efficiency.

Leader is a representative of

subordinates. He is an intermediary

between the work groups and top

management. They are called linking

11
pins by Rensis Likert. As linking

pins they serve to integrate the

entire organization and the

effectiveness depends on the

strength of these linking pins. Leader

shows personal consideration for the

employees. As representatives they

carry the voice of the subordinates to

the top management.

Leader is an appropriate

counselor. Quite often people in the

work place need counselling to

eliminate the emotional

disequilibrium that is created

sometimes in them. Leader removes

barriers and stumbling blocks to

effective performance. For instance,

frustration that results from blocked

need drive keeps an employee

derailed of the working track. It is

here comes in, renders wise counsel,

releases the employee of the

emotional tension and restores
equilibrium.
Uses power properly. If a leader

is to effectively achieve the goals

expected of him, he must have power

and authority to act in a way that will

stimulate a positive response from

the workers. A leader, depending on

the situation exercises different

types of power, viz., reward power,

coercive power, legitimate power,

referent power and expert power.

Besides the formal basis the informal

basis of power also have a more

powerful impact on organizational

effectiveness. No leader is effective

unless the subordinates obey his

orders. Therefore, the leader uses

appropriate power so that

subordinates willingly obey the

orders and come forward with

commitment.

Leader manages the time well. Time

is precious and vital but often

overlooked in management. There

are, three dimensions of time, boss-

imposed-time, system-imposed-time

and self-imposed-time, which are

prominent in literature. Because the

leader has thorough knowledge of the

principles of time management such

as time preparing charts, scheduling

techniques etc., he is in a position

to utilize the time productivity in the

1
organizations *
Strives for effectiveness- Quite

frequently the managers are

workaholic and too busy with petty

things to address to major details

of effectiveness. To fill the gap,

sometimes leader throws his

concerted effort to bring

effectiveness by encouraging and

nurturing teamwork, by better time

management and by the proper use

of power. Further, leader provides an

adequate reward structure to

encourage performance of

employees. Leader delegates

authority where needed and invites

participation wherever possible to

achieve the better results. He also

provides the workers with necessary

resources. By communicating to

workers what is expected of them

leader brings effectiveness to

organization. The above functions of

the leader are by no means

comprehensive but they do suggest

as what leaders do generally.

Managing and Leading

Leading and managing are not

synonymous. One popular way of

distinguishing between managing and

leading is brought out by French

terms dux and rex. Dux is a leader

and an activist, innovator and often

an inspirational type; and rex is a

15
stabilizer or broker of manager.

But more realistically, effective

management requires good
16
leadership. Bennis had once

commented “there are many

institutions I know are very well

managed but very poorly led”. This

statement crystall-clearly

demonstrates that the difference

between managing and leading is

indeed a lot. Though a layman

considers managing as a broad term

including leading function, a

behaviourist advances the following

points to marshall the difference

between these two terms

‘leading’and ‘managing’

1. Relationships. Managerial

behaviour implies the existence

of a manager—managed
 relationships. This relationship

arises within organizational

context. Whereas, leadership can

occur anywhere, it does not have

to originate in the organization

context. For example, a mob can

h&ve a leader but cannot have

a manager. Further, in an

organization, informal groups

have leaders—not managers.

2. Sources of influence. Another

potential difference between

leader and manager lies in their

sources of influence. Authority is

attached to the managerial

position in the case of a

manager; whereas a leader may

not have authority but can

 receive power directly from his

followers. In other words,

managers obtain authority from

the organization and the leader

gets power from his followers.

In rather pure terms, this is the

difference between the formal

authority theory anthe

acceptance theory of authority.

3. Sanctions. A manager has

command over the allocation and

distributions of sanctions. For

example, manager has control

over the positive sanctions such

as promotion and awards for high

task performance and the

contribution to organizational

objectives. Manager is also in a

position to exercise the negative

sanctions such as withholding

promotions, or increments,

demotion in some cases of

extreme default or mistakes, etc.

In a sharp contrast, a leader has

altogether different type of

sanctions to exercise and grant.

He can grant or withhold access

to satisfying the very purpose of

joining the groups—social

satisfaction and related task

rewards. These sanctions are

essentially informal in nature.

These informal sanctions are

relevant to the individual with

belongingness or ego needs;

whereas the organizational

 sanctions granted or exercised

by the manager are geared to

the physiological and security

needs of individual.

4. Role continuance. Another

fundamental difference between

managing and leading is the role

continuance. A manager may

continue in office as long as his

performance is satisfactory and

acceptable to the organization.

In a sharp contrast, a leader

maintains his position only

through the day-to-day wish of

the followers., how well he

facilitates his group in

accomplishing their objectives.

5. Reasons for following. Though

in both managing and leading

followers become involved, the

reasons may be different. People

follow managers because their

job description, supported by a

system of rewards and sanctions,

requires them to follow.

Whereas, people follow leaders

on voluntary basis. Further, if

there are no followers, leader no

more exists. But, even if there

are no followers a manager may

be there.

6. Accountability. Managers are

accountable for the job

behaviours of those managed as

well as their own behaviour.

 Leaders are not accountable for

the behaviour of their followers

in the similar fashion of the

manager's accountability. Thus,

managership implies a clear-cut

accountability relationship

whereas leadership implies no

accountability relationship

between himself and the

followers and to the

organization.

LEADERSHIP STYLES

The behaviour exhibited by pleader

during supervision of subordinates is

known as leadership style. There are

probably as many different styles of

leadership as there are leaders.

Basically three styles are listed out

autocratic, democratic, and free-

rein-Autocratic/Authoritative/

Directive Style An autocratic leader

centralizes power and decision-

making in himself and exercises

complete control over the

subordinates. He holds over the head

of his subordinates the threat of

penalties and punishment. He sets

the group goals and structures the

work. He runs his own show.

The leader gives orders and the

subordinates are to follow them

ungrudgingly and unquestioningly.

The problem with this style is that

subordinates are made aware of what

to do but not why. It jnay be

satisfying for the leader to dictate

terms to others continuously but for

subordinates this may be totally

frustrating. He breathes so closely

down the necks of his subordinates

that he makes effective action

impossible. Subordinates are

compelled to follow the leader's

directions to the letter even though

they may be wrong. Later when

errors creep in, subordinates will

avoid responsibility since they were

merely obeying. In autocratic

situations, frustration, low morale

and conflict develop easily.

Subordinates are induced to avoid

responsibility, initiative and

innovative behaviour. Moreover auto-

cratic leadership can be only as good

as the leader is. If the leader is weak

and incompetent, the followers will

be weak and incompetent.

Autocratic style permits quick

decision-making and hence can be

applied with success in situations

where:

The subordinates lack knowledge

of company goals,

The subordinates are

inexperienced or lack in training,

The company endorses fear and

punishment as accepted

disciplinary techniques,
 The leader prefers to be active

and dominant in decision

making, and

There is a little room for error in

final accomplishment.

Again under conditions of stress, or

when great speed and efficiency are

required autocratic leadership can

yield positive outcomes. It can

increase productivity; and somewhat

more surprising it can also enhance

morale.

Democratic/Participative

Style

In contrast to the autocrat, the

democratic leader practices

leadership by consultation. He is like

a Theory Y leader and invites decision

sharing. Here authority is

decentralized. Decisions are arrived

at after consultation with followers

and participation by them. The

subordinates are also encouraged to

exploit their potential and assume

greater challenging responsibilities.

The participative leader attaches high

importance to both work and people.

This style Improves job satisfaction

and morale of employees. It helps

in gaining the services from a more

satisfied and cohesive group. In fact,

no manager can perform effectively

over an extended period of time

without some degree of employee
participation.
However there is no evidence that

participation is good for everybody,

When subordinates prefer minimum

interaction with the leader,

participative style may not yield

positive results. Furthermore, over a

period of time group members

develop a frustrating habit of

expecting to be consulted on every

issue, even those to which they

cannot contribute. When they are not

consulted, they feel slighted, insulted

and become resentful and

25
uncooperative.
 Participative leadership style is

appropriate where:

The organization has communicated

its goals and the objectives to the

subordinates and the subordinates

have accepted them.

Rewards and involvement are used as

the primary means of motivation and

control.

The leader truely desires to hear the

ideas of his employees before making

decisions.

The leader wishes to develop

analytical and self-control abilities in

his subordinates.
The workers are reasonably

knowledgeable and experienced.

The subordinates desire active and

true involvement in matters that

affect them.

The time for task completion allows

for the participation.

Participative style is appreciated on

the grounds that:

The leader cultivates the decision-

making abilities of his subordinates.

The leader seriously listens to and

thoroughly reviews the ideas of his

subordinates and accepts their

contributions wherever possible and
practical.
Participative leadership style is not

always a bed of roses. It is attacked

on the following grounds:

a. Participative style is a misleading

term. There is always a danger

of misinterpretation of decision

sharing. Subordinates may view

the leader as incompetent to

handle crisis independently.

Participation may also be

interpreted as a sign of

inefficiency on the part of the

leader to deal with the problems

and taking decisions.

 b. Participative leadership is time

consuming. It is a tough job for

the leader to provide a relaxed

atmosphere to the subordinates

so that they actively participate

in decision-making.

c. For some leaders, participative

style is an effective way of

passing the buck to others. It

is a means of abdication of the

responsibility for them.

Authoritarian versus

Democratic Styles

The distinction between authoritative

and participative leadership styles is

made quite often by the social

scientists. The following table is

constructed for this purpose.

Is Participative Style
Superior?

Many people nowadays unassailably

acknowledge that effective

leadership is a function of the

situation. But surprisingly some

people still cling on to the old adage

that participative style is superior to

the authoritarian one. It is because of

two reasons:

1. The democratic, participative

approach may be more

compatible with the prevailing

value system in ‘post-

 Hawthorne’America. The feeling

that a person should wish and

be able to set his own goals and

monitor his own activities

suggest that such behaviour is a

criterion of good mental health.

Furthermore, democratic

leadership is frequently

associated with subordinate

satisfaction, not performance.

2. Participative leadership may be

a result rather than a cause of

a satisfied or high performance

group.

However, the superiority of

participative style over authoritarian

one is not substantiated by research.

In one study, McCurdy and Eber

investigated the effects of both these

styles on three groups involved in

problem-solving activities. The teams

working under authoritarian leaders

were told to simply obey orders,

while those working under

participative leaders were told to

offer suggestions and not follow

orders blindly. No difference in

productivity between these two

groups has been found by these

27
researchers

In another study by Morse and

58
Reine it has been found that

democratic leadership results in

higher job satisfaction to the

employees and autocratic leadership

resulted in greater productivity. The

choice of leadership style thus

depends on the goals: if the

immediate goal is to increase output

autocratic style is appropriate and if

the leaders is willing to build a stable

and highly motivated work force,

democratic approach may be called

for.

The choice of leadership style also

depends on the employees. Some

employees have a liking for

autocratic leadership as they have

high needs for structure and low

needs for independence. For

instance, Vroom found that

participative leadership has a

positive effect only on these

individuals with strong non-

authoritarian values or high need for

independence. Some researchers

have found that employees

considered the participative

leadership style to be legitimate or

proper.

Free-rein Leadership Style

Free-rein leadership is a rather

complete delegation of authority into

the hands of the subordinates so that

they must plan, motivate, control and

otherwise be responsible for their

own actions. The free- rein manager

avoids power and relinquishes the

leadership position. Then the

question arises as to why certain

leaders opt out of the leadership role.

In a general sense we can state that

leader perceives that the costs

associated with leading are greater

than the benefits. More specifically

the reasons may be lack of self

confidence, fear of failure etc.

Free-rein style would seem to be

appropriate under the condition

where:

The organizational goals have been

communicated well and are

acceptable to the subordinates.

The leader is interested in delegating

decision-making fully.
The subordinates themselves are

well-trained and highly

knowledgeable concerning their tasks

and are ready to assume

responsibilities.

The problem with this abdicratic style

is that it tends to permit Various

units of an, organization to proceed

at cross purposes and Can

degenerate into chaos. Hence it

should be the rare exception not

general rule.

THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP

Leadership is complex and

multidimensional in character and as

such no one can afford to jump

prematurely to prescriptions and

generalizations from the leadership

research. Though researchers have

attempted to study it a lot, there

has been surprisingly a narrow

preoccupation with the tone or style

of leaders and their interpersonal

relations with the subordinates.

Indeed a great bulk of leadership

studies have been directed at this

single issue—what is the style of

leadership?

Leadership is crucial ingredient in

organizational effectiveness. It is a

complex interpersonal process of

influencing behaviour. There are

three theories of leadership— trait

theory, behavioural theory and

situational theory.

The first approach views leadership

as a conglomeration of a set of

personality traits. The eldest

tradition in these studies of

leadership has been the search for a

cluster of traits, attributes, or other

types of individual differences, which

set leaders apart from their followers

or which discriminate effective

leaders from ineffective ones. Trait

theorists tried to unearth a pure

prototype of leadership personality.

The second approach to study of

leadership attempts to identify the

individual behaviour of leaders

associated with effective leadership.

Of course, one fundamental

assumption underlying these trait

and behavioural theories is that an

individual who possesses the

appropriate traits or displays

appropriate behaviours will emerge

as the leader in whatever the group

situation he is.

Current thinking and research leans

toward a situational perspective third

approach. Here the researchers turn

their attention to identify certain

situational factors that determine

how effective a particular leadership

style will be. In the sections that

follow, we are examining these three

theories of leadership.
Trait Theory

In an attempt to develop a quick and

easy test for assessing leadership

potential, early writers concluded

that leadership is largely a matter

of personality, a function of specific

traits. Trait theorists suggest that

leaders differ from followers with

respect to a small number of key

traits and these traits remain

unchanged across time.

The trait theory attempts to isolate

the attributes of successful and

unsuccessful leaders and, using this

list of traits, predict the success or

failure of potential leaders. If traits

can be measured in some way, most

of the organizations can easily select

for leadership only persons well

suited by their personality or

temperament for such roles.

Why it failed? Attempts to determine

exactly the traits of a leader have

resulted in complete failure.

Unfortunately “fifty years of study

has failed to produce one personality

trait or set of traits than can be used

to discriminate leaders and non-

leaders”. Many agreed that the use

of traits had not proved useful for

selecting leaders, Byrd analysed over

100 trait studies upto 1940 and found

that only 5 per cent of the traits

34
appeared in four or more studies.

But why the trait theory failed? The

answer lies in the simple fact that

different situations demand different

characteristics, styles and skills for

effective leadership. In same

situations, directive actions by the

leader work. In others such

behaviour is resented, and a more

participative approach may be better.

38
In the words of Charles R. Melton

“the trait theory failed because it is

the leadership situation—the nature

of the subordinates and task—that

determines what leader traits are

essential for effective leadership.

Such traits differ somewhat from

situation to situation?

General consensus on traits. In one

study as many as 17,953 individual

 88
traits have been identified. Again,

one researcher isolated 171 surface

traits but concluded that they were

superficial and lacking in descriptive

power. However, Ghiselli has

provided a less exhaustive and

generally accepted list of traits that

contribute to leader effectiveness,

a. Intelligence. Leaders tend to

have somewhat higher

intelligence than their followers.

b. Social maturity and breadth.

Leaders tend to be emotionally

mature and have a broad interest

range. They are neither crushed

by defeat nor over-elected by

 victory. They have high

frustration tolerance.

c. Inner motivation and

achievement drive. Leaders want

to achieve things; when they

achieve one thing, they seek out

another.

d. Human relation attitudes.

Leaders develop a healthy

respect for people and realize

that to accomplish tasks, they

must be considerate of others.

Criticism. Leaders who fail as

leaders and individuals who

never achieve leadership

positions often possess some of

the same traits as successful

leaders. For example, although

taller people may generally be

more successful as leaders,

many tall people have neither

the inclination nor the

capabilities to be the leaders. At

the same time many short people

(Napoleon, Lai Bahadur Shastri)

have risen to leadership

40
position. Trait theory is

severely criticised on the

following grounds.

1. The list of personality traits

is painfully long and

exhaustive. Although over

one hundred personality

attributes of successful

leaders have been identified,

 no consistent pattern/
41
patterns have bden found

2. Researchers often disagree

over which traits are the

most important for an

effective leader. There is no

universal list of traits for

successful leaders.

3. Leaders cannot be markedly

different from their

followers. Extremes in

personality are not usually

42
associated with leadership

4. It is difficult to define traits.

When posed with the

question of defining a trait,

executives often come out

with a bewildering variety of

 explanations, making a

mockery of the trait theory.

5. It is often difficult to

measure traits. The

measurement tools

employed to quantify traits

(in ways that will make them

useful to executives) are

open to doubt. For example,

some of the psychological

attributes (intelligence,

initiative) cannot be

observed but can only be

inferred from the behaviour.

6. How much of a trait a person

should have remains a

puzzling question. It is not

clear how high score a

 person must achieve on a

given trait to make it

effective.

7. Effective leadership is not a

function of traits alone.

Executives often behave in a

way they think is appropriate

for their job. There is a

wealth of scientific evidence

pointing the significance of

situational factors as

determinants of leadership

behaviour. Trait theory fell

into disfavour because it did

not consider the whole

leadership environment.

8. Finally, leadership skills vary

according to the type of work

 a person performs in the

organization. A leader may

employ three different types

of skills at different levels in

the organization: technical,

human and administrative

skills. It is. ridiculous to

assume that traits are

uniformly distributed at all

managerial levels.

Top Management

At lower managerial levels where the

Λ
actual production is carried on

products or services of the

organization are actually produced,

technical skills may be very

important. As a manager moves up

the organization's hierarchy, the job

may demand increasing accounts of

other skills and consequently the

importance of technical knowledge

decreases. Human skill is the ability

to interact effectively with people. At

the top management positions,

administrative skills are most

important because they enable a

manager to deal with abstractions

successfully. These skills include

manager's analytical powers, logical

thinking, creativity in generation of

ideas etc. The amount of each of

these skills that a leader employs

varies as he climbs the managerial

ladder from the first-line supervisor

to top manager.
Conclusion. “History is replete with

non-trained, non-academic Fords*

Edisons and Carnegies who could not

even claim a grammer schools

education, yet managed to become

leaders whose influence was felt

around the globe- As for appearance

of robust health, need we mention

more than the delicate Gandhi, or

George Washington Carver, the frail,

Shriveled, insignificant little Negro

who was one of America's greatest

scientist and so many more like

them. As for high ideals, fine

character act, where would Hitler,

Capone or Attila the Hun rate

43
here?” There are probably no

personality traits that consistently

distinguish the leader from his

followers. The basic problem with all

the trait oriented leadership is that

rarely do two lists agree on the

essential characteristics of the

effective leader. “The net result is

hat of confusion, predicted on a

foundation of generalities and

44
semantic problems” The trait

approach lacks predictive value

except if some narrowly defined

situations. It is not surprising to see

that many researchers these days

vehemently disagree with the trait

model and turn their attention to

behavioural approaches.
Behavioural Theory

In contrast with trait theory,

behavioural theory attempts to

describe leadership in terms of what

leaders do, while trait theory seeks

to explain leadership on the basis of

what leaders are. Leadership

according to this approach is the

result of effective role behaviour.

Leadership is shown by a person's

acts more than by his traits. This is

an appropriate new research strategy

adopted by Michigan Researchers in

the sense that the emphasis on the

traits is replaced by the emphasis

on leader behaviour (which could be

measured.
THE MANAGERIAL GRID

The most significant and practical

contribution to more effective

management principles and

organization development to appear

in many years is the Managerial Grid.

The concept is created and developed

by US Industrial Psychologists R.R.

Blake and Jane. S. Mouton.

The managerial grid is based on

massive practical research into

behavioural sciences in the industrial

setting. Managerial grid is more than

just a theory in human behaviour. It

is a tested science of management

theory employing systematic

principles which can be taught and

which may then be applied in the

day to day situations. The exciting

aspect of the managerial grid is its

effectiveness in improving people's

attitudes and behaviour throughout

an entire organization to the benefit

of the organization. It promises to

turn the ‘art’of managing into a

‘science’ It has been successfully

applied in industry and has

contributed greatly to increased

profits and union-management

relations.
Crux of the Theory

Behavioural scientists have, for a

painfully long time, separated,

isolated and frequently

misconstructed the two concerns; the

concern for production and the

concern for people. According to

Blake and Mouton these concerns are

two sides of the same coin and

should be utilized with maximum and

integrated concern to achieve the

objectives of the organization. It is

Blake and Mouton's assumption that

people and production are

complementary rather than mutually

exclusive.

1. Concern for production. This is

not limited to things only.

Production may be assessed

through the number of creative

ideas that applied research turns

into useful products, procedures

or processes: quality and

thoroughness of staff services,

work load and efficiency and

measurements as well as units of

output.
 2. Concern for people. It is not

confined to narrow

considerations of interpersonal

warmth and friendliness. It

covers a variety of concerns

which can include concern for

degree of personal commitment

to completing a job for which one

is responsible; accountability

based on trust rather than force;

self esteem, desire for a sense of

security in work; friendships with

co-workers leading to a healthy

working climate.

Certainly, the managerial grid has

introduced a golden page in the

management literature. The

managerial grid is based on the

exciting idea of applying educational

techniques under the concepts of full

and adequate concern for production

and concern for people to bring an

entire organization to a higher level

of development and functioning.

The two terms ‘concern for

people’and ‘concern for production*

are attitudinal when compared to the

Ohio's behavioural concepts of

consideration and the initiating

structure.

Impoverished. Exertion of minimum

effort to get required work done is

appropriate to sustain organization

relationship.
Country club. Thoughtful attention to

needs of people for satisfying

relationships leads to a comfortable,

friendly organization atmosphere and

work temple.

Middle road. Adequate organization

performance is possible through

balancing the necessity to get work

with maintaining morale of people at

satisfactory level.

Task. Efficiency in organizations

result from arranging conditions of

work in such a way that human

elements interfere to a minimum

degree. % »

Team. Work accomplishment is from

committed people and

interdependence through a common

stake in organization that leads to

relationships of trust and respect.

Theoretically speaking there are

eighty one possible positions on the

grid, reflecting as many leadership

styles, but the focus usually centers

around five basic styles. The 9,1

leader is mainly concerned with

production and has little concern for

people. This person wants to meet

production schedules and get the

task done at all costs. The 1,9 style

reflects a minimal concern for

production coupled with a maximum

concern for people. The 1,1 leader

has little concern for both people or

production. The 5,5 style reflects a

moderate concern for both. The 9,9

style is viewed as the ideal leadership

style: it exhibits a maximum concern

for both production and people.

According to the managerial grid, of

all, the 9,9 style is the optimum

leadership approach, often called

‘super leader style’and many

organizations have used training

programmes to develop 9,9

managers. Blake and Mouton assert

that this is one best style of

exercising most effective leadership;

what changes with the situation is

49
the tactics of application

Evaluation. Grid approach is

attractive, instructive and has a

commonsense appeal. The grid helps

managers to identify their own

leadership styles. It serves as a

useful framework for the leaders to

use in assessing their styles before

undertaking a rigorous training

programme that is eared to move

them to the 9,9 style. The evidence

from other sources such as Fiedler,

does not square with the notion that

the best leaders invariably tend

toward an intense concern for both

people and work. In fact, Bernardin

and Alvares point out “a 9,9

orientation applied to the

organization as a whole will foster a

kind of corporate Darwinism.

Though the grid programme is

popular among practitioners, it is

highly controversial among theorists

and researchers because of its lack of

empirical evidence.

Merging Grid with Ohio State

Structure

When compared with the Ohio State

Research of the behavioural analysis

of leadership, managerial grid is an

attitudinal and conceptual description

of leaders. Managerial grid measures

the values and feelings of managers,

and as such may be termed as

attitudinal model. The Ohio state

frame work reflects both attitudinal

and behavioral components. We

single out this major difference and

conveniently merge these leadership

theories for comparison.

SITUATIONAL THEORIES

Both the Trait and Behavioral

approaches proved to fall short of a

comprehensive and adequate theory

of leadership style. Each of the

theories attempted to isolate broad

dimensions of leadership behaviour

and indulged profusely in

oversimplification. The logic behind

such fallacious reasoning appears to

be that multi dimensions confound

that interpretation of leadership

behaviour and complicate the

research designs developed to test

the particular theory

These theories have tried to

construct a theoretical edifice based

on controversial questionnaire

methods. There is no attempt on the

part of the eminent researchers to

link leadership with important

performance indicators such as

production, efficiency and

satisfaction. Practicing managers

who are primarily interested in

procedures, basic guidelines and

results to improve their styles were

clearly disenchanted with these

approaches. As pointed out by

Tannenbaum and Schmidt “the

successful manager often can be

primarily characterized neither as a

strong leader nor as a permissive

one. Rather, he is one who maintains

a high batting average in accurately

assessing the forces that determine

what his most appropriate behaviour

at any given time should be and in

actually being able to behave

53
accordingly. In place of the “one-

best-way” styles, the situational

theories take the position that the

variables in each situation must be

analyzed before an optimum

leadership style can be selected*

Leadership is a complex social and

interpersonal process; and to

understand it fully we need to see the

situation in which a leader operates.

The situational theme of leadership is

highly fascinating, but is certainly a

challenging orientation to implement-

An effective leader must be flexible

enough to adapt to the differences

among subordinates and situations.

Leadership effectiveness depends

upon the fit between personality,

task, power, attitudes and

perceptions. On the lines of this new

and sophisticated conception, some

elegant theories have been

developed. Let us examine in this

section, four of such theories:

Fiedler's contingency model.

House's path goal model.

Life cycle theory of

leadership.

Vroom's and Yetton

normative model.
The Situational Factors Fiedler's

model is called a ‘contingency’model

because the leader's effectiveness is

partially contingent upon three major

situational variables. These variables

are viewed as attributes (low-high,

present- absent) rather than

continuous. They are (1) leader-

member relations, (2) the task

structure and (3) the leader's

position power.
Leader-member relations

It refers to the degree of confidence,

trust and respect followers have in

the leader. It indicates the degree to

which group members like the leader

and are willing to accept the leader's

behaviour, as an influence on them.

If followers are willing to follow

because of charisma, expertise,

competence or mutual respect, the

leader has little need to depend on

task structure or position power. If,

on the other hand, the leader is not

trusted and is viewed negatively by

followers the situation is considered

less favourable.
Task structure.

It measures the extent to which the

task performed by subordinates is

routine or non-routine. Task

structure refers to the degree to

which the task requirements are

clearly defined, (clarity of goals) the

correctness of a decision can be

easily verified (verifiability of

decisions made) and there are

alternative solutions to task problems

(multiplicity of options to solve

problems). In other words, task

structure refers to how routine and

predictable the work group's task is.

Leader position power.

The most obvious manner in which

the leader secures power is by

accepting and performing the

leadership role. Position power in the

contingency model refers to the

power inherent in the leader's

organizational position.

It refers to the degree to which the

leader has at his disposal various

rewards and sanctions, his authority

over group's members, and the

degree to which this authority is

supported by the organization.

Favourableness of the

situation.

Thus, depending on the ‘high’and

‘low’categories of these situational

variables, Fiedler developed eight

possible combinations ranging from

highly favourable to unfavourable

situations.

A favourable situation is where the

leader-member relations are good,

the task is highly structured and the

leader has enormous power to exert

influence on the subordinates. The

first cell in the table is identified with

this high degree of favourableness.

At the other extreme, an

unfavourable situation is where the

leader's power is weak, relations with

members are poor and the task is

unstructured and unpredictable. The

last cell represents this situation.

Between these two extremes lies the

situation of intermediate difficulty.

Fiedler arouses that a permissive,

relationship-oriented style is best

when the situation is moderately

favourable or moderately

unfavourable. When the situation is

highly favourable or highly

unfavourable a task-oriented style

produces the desired performance.

Leadership Style

The fundamental question remains as

to what type of leadership style is to

be exercised by the leader in these

situations? To determine the style of

leadership (to answer this question)

Fiedler has introduced a scale called

LPC (esteem for least preferred co-

worker.) LPC is a set of sixteen

adjective pairs and is quite often

referred to as the ‘heart’of his

research programme. Leaders are

asked to think of a person with whom

he has worked least well. They are

then asked to describe this person on

a series of bipolar objective scales as

shown below.

2
Friendly. 8 7 6 5 A 3 Unfriendly.
1

2
Enthusiastic. 8 7 6 5 4 3 Unenthusiast
1

2
Cooperative. 8 7 6 5 4 3 Uncooperativ
1

2
Helpful. 8 7 6 5 4 3 Frustrating.
1

2
Interesting. 8 7 6 5 4 3 Boring.
1

2
Distant. 8 7 6 5 4 3 Close.
1
In this bipolar scale ‘8’represents the

most favourable perception of one's

least preferred co-worker and *1’the

reverse. The leader's responses so

measured are then totaled and

arranged. Fiedler interprets LPC

score to be an index of motivational

hierarchy or of behavioural

preferences. A leader with High LPC

sees good points in the least

preferred co-workers and has his

preference the desire to be ‘related’

The leader seeks to have strong

emotional and affective ties with

others. According to Fiedler, a high

LPC score represents that the leader

has human-relations orientation and

low LPC score indicates a task-

orientation. What does this indicate?

It means that leaders who rate their

least preferred co-worker in a

favourable light derives satisfaction

through interpersonal relations. On

the other hand, the leaders who rate

their co-workers in a relatively

unfavorable light are bound to get

satisfaction out of successful

performance. Thus, the functionality

of the Fiedler's model hinges on the

sociometric acceptability of the

leader and the measurement of

perceived psychological distance

(how distant do followers feel they

are from leader) between leaders and

followers.

INTERACTION BETWEEN

LEADERSHIP STYLES AND

SITUATIONAL FACTORS

DETERMINING LEADER

EFFECTIVENESS

Having identified the situational

factors and determined LPC score,

Fiedler proceeded to see how the

situational variables interact with

leadership style to determine leader

effectiveness.
Horizontal axis in the diagram is

represented by situational variables

and the vertical axis by the

correlation between the leader's LPC

score and group performance. A point

above the middle line shows that the

relationship oriented leaders (high

LPC leaders) tended to perform

effectively than the task oriented

leaders (low LPC leaders). Further,

correlation below the line signifies

the fact that the task- oriented

leaders perform better than the

relationship-oriented leaders.

1. Task-oriented leaders perform

best at the extremes (where the

control and influence they can

exercise is very low or very high.

 2. People-centred leaders perform

best in situations that are

moderate (where the leader's

influence and control is neither

very high nor very low).

IMPLICATIONS OF THE

MODEL: HOW TO IMPROVE

ORGANIZATIONAL

EFFECTIVENESS?

What are the implications of Fiedler's

model for improving organizational

effectiveness? Fiedler and his

associates maintain that there is no

single successful style of leadership.

The most appropriate leadership

style depends upon the situation

faced by the leader.

 FIG. 12.9, Fiedler's findings on how leader

effectiveness varies with the situation.

Source; Adapted from Frederick E.

Fiedler, A Theory of Leader

Effectiveness, Kew York, McGraw Mill

Co., 1967, P. 146.

Persons performing miserably in one

situation may turn out excellent

performance in other situations. The

situation, in turn, is a function of the

leader's relationship with the group,

the task structure and the leader's

position power. To improve

organizational performance, it is

highly essential to identify the

situation in which specific leadership

style would be most appropriate.

Leader s performance depends on

personality and situational

favourableness.

Based on the contingency model,

Fiedler developed the ‘leader

match’training programme to

improve leader effectiveness. The

basic assumption of the leader match

is that the leader's situation is

usually much easier to change than

the fundamental style. Fiedler

believed that it is an extremely

arduous task to change leadership

styles through training programmes.

“‘Fitting the man to the leadership

job by selection and training has not

been spectacularly successful. It is

surely easier to change almost

anything in the job situation than a

man's personality and his leadership

style.”

This is probably due to the fact that

leadership style is more than a

passing altitude; it is a deeply

ingrained and closely held, attitude

so that the environment fits the

leader instead of the traditional way

of selecting the leaders to fit into

70
the existing jobs. He contends that

change in the job is, preferable to

change in the leadership style. But

it is very difficult to change the

situation to fit the leadership style.

In spite of these criticisms Fiedler's

contingency theory has proved to be

important addition to the paradigm

of leadership research and literature.

Its success may be because of two

reasons— (0 it conveniently

accommodates a number of personal

and situational factors in the study of

leadership, and (//) it operationalizes

the model into a set of actions that

can be used to improve one's

71
leadership effectiveness.
Contribution

Even critics of contingency theory

ungrudging lyaccept that Fiedler's

theory has made a promising

breakthrough in leadership research.

In spite of its complexity, there can

be little doubt that the contingency

model has already had major impact

upon the knowledge of leadership

and leader effectiveness. The model

is and will probably remain a rich

source of new ideas, propositions,

and hypothesis about leadership style

and effectiveness. It has set an

important precedent for the

mushrooming growth of contingency

models, not only for leadership but

for other management concepts as

well
The Path Goal theory, proposed by

Rober J. House, is an important

landmark in the development of

leadership theory. Like other

situational theories, the path- goal

model attempts to predict leadership

effectiveness in different situations.

According to this theory, leaders are

effective because of the influence on

follower's motivation, ability to

perform and their satisfaction. The

term path-goal is employed because

the leader smoothes the path to work

goals and provides rewards for

achieving them Like expectancy

74
theory, the path goal model

proposes that individuals are

satisfied with their jobs if they

believe it leads to desirable

outcomes, and they work hard if they

believe that this effort will result in

desirable outcomes. The theory

focuses on how leader influences

employees’perceptions of the

valence, instrumentality and

expectancy. Subordinates are

motivated by leader style to the

extent it influences expectancies

(goal paths) and valences (goal

attractiveness). The Path

Goal theory in fact, is an extension

of Vroom's Expectancy theory and is

somewhat more elaborate than

Fiedler's Contingency models in that

it takes into account the personality

characteristics of subordinates as
well as situational variables. It is

based on the situation, like the

contingency model, rather than on a

single type of leadership.

The Main Path Goal

Propositions

1. Leader behaviour is acceptable

and satisfying to the extent that

the subordinates perceive such

behaviour as an immediate
Λ
source of satisfaction

instrumental to future

satisfaction.

2. Leader behaviour is motivational

if such behaviour results in the

satisfaction of subordinate's

needs and such behaviour

 complements the environment of

workers by providing the

guidance, clarity of direction and

rewards necessary for effective

performance.

According to the Path goal theory

leaders should motivate subordinates

by clarifying the path to personal

rewards that results from attaining

work goals. The path is clarified by

eliminating confusion or conflicting

ideas that the subordinate may hold.

The leader should also increase the

number and kinds of rewards

available to subordinates. He should

provide guidance and counsel to

clarify the way in which these

rewards can be obtained. In other

words, it is the manager's task to

provide the subordinate with a better

fix on the job, to help clarify realistic

expectancies and reduce the barriers

to the accomplishment of valued

goals.

Leaders should, in a nutshell,

Clear Paths.

Clarify goals.

Provide support.

Provide rewards.

Analyse the situation, task and

employees’needs.

Leaders can perform these strategic

functions! According to the path-goal

model, by adopting the following

styles of behaviour:

a. Supportive. Leader is friendly

and approachable to the

employees; shows concern for

status, well-being and needs of

the employees, treats them as

his equals. This is similar to what

Ohio State researchers labeled

‘consideration’

b. Directive. Leader here focuses on

planning, organizing, and

coordinating the activities of

subordinates. He defines the

standards of performance, lets

subordinates know as to what is

expected of them. It is similar

 to the Ohio State researchers

‘initiating structure’

c. Participative. Leader here

consults the employees, solicits

their suggestions, incorporates

the good decisions.

d. Achievement-oriented. Leader

adopting this style sets

challenging goals; expects the

workers to perform at their best;

he continuously seeks

increments in their performance

etc.

The Situational Factors

The specific leadership style,

according to House, that works

unquestionably best, is determined

by two types of situational variables:

personal characteristics of the

subordinates and the environmental

pressures and demands.

1. Characteristics of subordinates.

The style selected by the leader

* should be compatible with the

abilities, needs and personalities

of the followers. If the followers

are high in their ability, a

supportive style would suffice; if

they have low ability then a high

structured and directed style is

necessary. Subordinates with

high needs for affiliation will be

satisfied with considerate leader.

But subordinates with a high

need for achievement will

 probably prefer a task-oriented

leader. Again, the personality of

the subordinates is an important

contingency variable in the path

goal model. Internally-oriented

employees, (internals) who

believe they can control their

own behaviour, prefer leaders

who demonstrate more

supportive behaviour. On the

other hand, externally-oriented

(externals) employees who

believe that fate controls their

behaviour prefer the directive

leadership.

2. Work environment. The

environmental variables include

factors which are not within the

 control of the subordinate but

which are significant to

satisfaction or to the ability to

perform effectively. These

include the subordinate tasks,

formal authority system of the

organization and the primary

work group.

Any of these environmental factors

can motivate or constrain the

subordinate. For example, the

subordinate could be motivated by

the work group and gain satisfaction

from co-worker's acceptance for

sitting through the job according to

the group norms. House asserts that

if the subordinates are working on

highly unstructured jobs

characterized by high degree of

ambiguity in roles, leader

defectiveness is necessary. In other

words, when the task is unstructured,

worker feels that his path to

satisfaction is bumpy and prefers to

be directed. Conversely, if the

employees are working on structured

and well defined tasks, leader

directiveness is redundant and a

supportive style will do. The

relationship between directive

leadership and subordinate

satisfaction with task structure as a

contingency variable is depicted in

figure 12.10. The figure reveals that

for the structured task high level of

directive behaviour is associated with

low job satisfaction. It also makes

clear that a high level of

directiveness is associated with high

job satisfaction for unstructured jobs.

In the ultimate analysis, the path

goal proposes that leader behaviour

will be motivational to the extent that

it assists subordinates cope with

environmental uncertainties. A leader

who is able to reduce the

uncertainties of the job is considered

to be a motivator because he

increases the subordinate's

expectations that their efforts will

lead to desirable rewards. The degree

to which the subordinate sees certain

job behaviours as leading to various

rewards and the desirability of those

rewards to the individual

(preference) largely determine job

satisfaction and performance. The

path goal model compels the leader

to consider the individual

subordinates as well as the situation.

LIFE CYCLE THEORY

The life cycle theory of Paul Hersey

7
and Kenneth Blanchard ® reflects a

systematic conceptualization of

situational factors as related to

leadership behaviour. It is based on

80
a curvilinear relationship between

task and relationships and maturity

of followers. The focus is clearly on

followers ignoring other situational

factors like Supervision, job

demands, time element, and

organization etc. While all these

situational variables are equally

important, the emphasis in

situational leadership is on the

behaviour of a leader in relation to

followers. This is probably due to the

fact that followers in any situation

are vital, not only because

individually they accept or reject the

leader, because as a group they

actually determine whatever personal

power the leader may have.

Situational leadership is based on an

inter-play among three

variables—task behaviour,

relationship behaviour and the

maturity of the followers.

 1. Task behaviour. It is seen in

terms of the amount of guidance

and direction a leader gives-

2. Relationship behaviour. It is

determined by socio-emotional

support provided by the leader.

3. Maturity of followers. It is

reflected by the readiness level

exhibited by subordinates in

performing a given task.

Maturity is the crux of the life cycle

theory. It is the social benchmark

for choosing the appropriate style.

Maturity is defined here in terms of

achievement motivation, i.e., the

ability and willingness of people to

take responsibility for directing their

own behaviour. Ability refers to the

knowledge and skill of the follower to

do the job and is called job maturity.

Willingness refers to the

psychological maturity and has much

to do with confidence and

commitment of the follower. The

concept of maturity is somewhat

similar to the Argyris immaturity-

maturity continuum. Maturity is a

relative concept and hence is a

question of degree. Thus, an

individual or group is not mature or

immature in a total sense. All persons

exhibit maturity in relation to a task,

function, or objective a leader is

attempting to accomplish through

their efforts. For example, a student

may be very responsible while

preparing for the final examination

and somewhat irresponsible when

dealing with class assignments.

VROOM – YETTON MODEL OF

LEADERSHIP

Over a decade back Victor Vroom and

Philip Yetton have developed a

normative and intriguing model of

leadership focusing on the decision-

making function of leader. The

decision-making model indicates

different kinds of situations in which

various degrees of participation by

subordinates is appropriate. Vroom

and Yetton contend that the

effectiveness of leaders is largely

reflected in their track record of

making right decisions. It is in the

light of this, decision-making, this

model was developed. Since it is

developed around the idea that

different degrees of participation are

appropriate to different type of

problems, it is widely known as

“decision-participation model”.

According to Vroom and Yetton such

terms as “concern for production”,

“concern for people” and “task

orientation” or “interpersonal

orientation” are too imprecise to be

84
operational. They conclude that a

normative theory of leadership

effectiveness should specify leader

behaviour precisely enough that a

person may determine with certainty

whether or not he is acting in

accordance with the prescriptions

offered by the theory. In fact, many

early theories on optimum leadership

behaviour had autocratic orientation

emphasizing the centralized decision

making. But behavioural scientists

suggested that subordinates should

be invited in the decision-making

process. Vroom-Yetton model is a

step in this direction. It is also

labeled as ‘situational theory because

it identifies specific situations where

a particular style of leadership is

appropriate. Vroom-Yetton do not

talk of autocratic and participative

styles of leadership but autocratic

and participative situations. In the

words of Vroom “it makes more sense

to talk about participative and

autocratic situations than it does to

talk about participative and

autocratic managers.

Assumptions

Vroom-Yetton model was first

developed several years ago and hi.

been refined and modified since then.

The latest model available m

leadership literature is complex as it

contains five leadership styles, seven

situational dimensions, fourteen

problem types and seven decision

rules. While developing the model

Vroom and Yetton have made certain

assumptions; most important of them

are:

Decision-making style varies

with the situation.

Leadership style varies with the

number of subordinates who are

affected by the decision.

No single decision-making style is

appropriate to all situations, (rv)

Leader must select the best process

that will influence the amount of

participation by subordinates in

decision-making.
Five Decision-making Styles

Vroom and Yetton have developed a

leadership decision-making model

which indicates the kinds of

situations in which various degrees

of participation by subordinates in

decision-making seems feasible and

appropriate. They designate five

decision-making styles that are

appropriate for decisions involving

none or all of the subordinates. These

styles include two types of autocratic

(A! and All), two styles of

consultative (Cl and CII), and a

group style (GII).

POWER AND POLITICS

Power is a fundamental concept in

social sciences. Power is the most

important and unyielding necessity of

organizational life. Darwin Cart right

asserts that power is a neglected

variable in social psychology. Social

scientists so far have been‘soft'on

power.

In organizations, it is seen as

seductive, potentially dangerous and

coercive force. Power is viewed

negatively as an evil* and people are

suspicious about a manager who is

a power-seeker. It is because many

people consider ‘power corrupts and

absolute power corrupts absolutely’®

Power is emotionally a laden term

comprising of mere naked force,

threat, and coercion. David

McClelland, the maverick of the

behavioural scientists, is of the

opinion that “the basic problem with

society today is a tremendous

disillusionment with power. The

revolt everywhere is basically the

revolt of the oppressed against the

exercise of authority and power.

I see two faces of power. The face

which social science has presented

has been the Nazi face, the face of

Theory X, which says that power is

bad; we must do away with it. But

there is another face of power. This

is the one to be found in a successful

4
manager.” Power had earned evil

reputation in the past. Power was

8
considered as “dirty” Word by many
and some contend it is a dangerous

element. Right from the times of

Yore, it was viewed negatively

because it is associated with

undesirable human activities such as

exploitation, corruption, political

scandals and suppression. Indeed it

is a pity that people are suspicious

about anyone who is a power- seeker

even if he uses it to help others.

Importance

In spite of all its negative

connotations, power is vital and

necessary part of organizations. It is

essential because it is like fuel that

provides energy to run organizational

machinery. It is a necessity because

managers without power are merely

figure-heads and cannot effectively

function to deliver goods.

Unlike in the past, there is a growing

interest in power currently. We can

attribute this renewal of interest to

change in organizational structure

and the corresponding change in

philosophy of management.

Traditional structures emphasize

rationality in organizational

procedures whereas contemporary

behaviour theories give tremendous

weight to power and politics and in

fact, the current systems theory has

made a convenient berth to ‘power

subsystem’ The contemporary social

scholars considered power and

influence and political factors as the

major determinants of behaviour.

The modem organization structure is

the outcome of a contest for power

between coalitions in the

7
organizations.* Tushman stresses

that organizational processes are

political processes in which power-

holders try to influence goals*

directions, and other major

parameters of organization.

Unassailably, power is emerged as

the most important part in modem

organizations. Failure to understand

power will dramatically reduce the

ability to understand organizational

behaviour.
Defined

Power is easy to feel and happy to

exercise but difficult to define. It is

a force that cannot be seen, but its

impact (effects) can be felt. Power

i§ extremely difficult to identify and

measure objectively. Researchers

exhibit an aversion to deal with

matters of power because it defies

precise definition and quantification.

Much difficulty is due to the

multidimensional nature of power.

An oversimplified definition of power

states that “power is the ability to get

things done the way one wants them

8
to be done.” More essentially, power

is an exchange process—a person

who commands services needed by

others exchange them for compliance

with his or her requests.® Power is a

function of ties of mutual dependence

10
in social relationships. Power is the

ability of one to control the actions of

others. In the organizational context,

power is the ability of one person

for department) to influence the

behaviour of others in the

organization to bring about desired

outcomes for power-holders. From

the above definitions the following

points emerge:

1. Power represents the capacity,

ability or potential to influence

the behaviour of other people to

achieve a certain goal.

2. Power is based on the two-tier

concept of influencing others and

being influenced.

3. Power can be potential or

enacted.

4. Power is neither completely

formal nor informal. It is rather a

judicious mixture of two.

5. Leaders exercise power to

accomplish goals of an

organization.

6. Leaders have only as much

power as others allow them to

have.

7. Sometimes appearing to be

powerful is just as important as

being powerful.
 8. Power is the difference between

the two probabilities—the

probability of an event occurring

given action by the power-

holder, and the probability of

event occurring without the

power-holder's action.

Characteristics of Power

The following are the basic

characteristics of power.

1. Dependency relationships.

The fundamental feature of

power is dependence. The higher

the dependence of one person on

you the higher is the amount of

power you can exert on him. For

instance, if P is the power one

person X has on another person

Y, then it tantamounts to saying

something as dependence (D) of

=
Y on X. Symbolically, Pxy Dyx

When an employee is not

depending on the supervisor for

receiving rewards then, truly

speaking, the supervisor has no

power over such employee. John

13
P. Kotter asserts that “an

effective manager quite often

gains power by feeding others

“believes that they are

dependent on manager for help

or not for being inflicted or hurt.

Dependence may be, in fact,

actual or perceived. But

 whatever may be the

dependence it leads to the

creation of power.

2. Power is specific. Another

associated feature of power is

that it is specific. It is specific

in the sense that it can be

exercised by some people that

too in some circumstances.

Power cannot be exercised by all

people all times. The domain of

power, i.e., the extent to which

one has power over wide range

of issues, however, is different

for different people. The range

may be higher in some, lower in

others.
3. Reciprocal relationships.

“Only supervisors or managers or

top ranking officials have power”

is a misconception. Power

relationships in an organization

are essentially reciprocal in

nature. Power exists orily in a

relationship between two or

more persons. It is based on the

two-way concept of influencing

others and being influenced.

True that the nature of power

exercised by different people in

organization at different levels is

somewhat basically different, but

all can have power—including

those in the lower rungs.

Therefore, there are no specific

 power-centers in an

organization. Moreover, power is

neither completely formal nor

completely informal.

4. Power can expand or

contract. Power is elastic.

People who are habituated to

exercise power, try to acquire

more power and expand it. As

people reach higher and higher

positions the legitimate power

attached to the positions also

simultaneously increase.

Sometimes, due to change in

position of a manager in an

organization, that is shift from

the one department to another

can cause contraction in power.

SOURCES OF POWER

A.M. Maslow in his Eupsychian

management has alluded to “baboon

power” and “chimpanzee power”

where baboons exert power by

powerful threats, screams, display of

teeth and claws, and bullying

sections of the group; chimpanzees

influence the members of the group

by showing the way to earn

livelihood, encouraging participation

of the members, playing with

members in such a fashion thatjt is

liked by other members. Maslow's

analogy, however, is not entirely

acceptable to the primate

psychologists but to some tune it is

true that managers quite often

resorts to these types of power in

influencing other members of the

organization.

But the obvious question here is

where does the power emanate frorril

Roughly two decades back J.R.P.

14
French and B.H. Raven provided a

classification scheme that became an

integral part of organizational

literature— a list of five bases of

Coercive

Legitimate power

This power is a prerogative of a

manager by virtue of his position in

the organization. Power is inherent in

the position and authority a manager

has. In our society people accept the

right of top managers to direct the

organization. They are conditioned to

accept the authority of the managers

of superiors io higher positions.

Moreover, managers have control

over the distribution of resources and

this control earns power for them

over others.

The quantum of legitimate power a

manager exercises depends op the

nature of his task, the organization

and the willingness of the manager to

exercise power.
Reward power

The ability to reward or punish is

another source of power. Managers

have power because they have a

considerable say over the

organizational rewards such as

promotions, increases in pay, salary,

desirable work assignments etc.

Managers who have control over the

resources and who can distribute

rewards to employees are perceived

by the employees that the managers

have, power. Manager exercises this

power by appreciating the

employees’performance and

rewarding him suitably. In

organizations, the line managers who

have a direct control over much of

the resources have this kind of

reward power than those in the

advisory roles. It can, therefore, be

said that this power is also attached

to the position a manager occupied.

Reward power is not strictly limited

to managers alone. The power can

be exercised by subordinates also.

Subordinates have the power to

reward or punish their superiors by

doing the. assigned tasks effectively

or by rejecting the work, doing the

work by consuming m.)re amount of

time than required, committing

mistakes deliberatly to create tension

in the minds of their superiors etc.

In other words, subordinates also

exercise reward power by accepting

or rejecting the superior's authority.

Coercive power

Managers who have “reward power

also have coercive power? Coercive

power is generally exercised by the

manager against unproductive or

disturbing elements and to restore

discipline in the task environment.

Coercive powder is associated with

the ability to assign distasteful tasks,

withhold promotions, harass

subordinates by not rewarding

performance suitably, etc. Managers

threaten the employees, when

exercising this kind of coercive

power, with the job-related

punishments such as dismissal,

demotion, reprimand, transfer, and

discourage low performance etc.

Coercive “power, if used properly,

can lead to strong leadership. If

punishments are inflicted

indiscriminately several dysfunctional

consequences will automatically

follow viz., damaging Jeader-member

relations, frustration of the punished

people, irreparable damage to the

organizational set up etc. The

punished person may be totally

frustrated that he retaliates by

aggressive and violent responses

which may prove to be very costly for

the organization in the end.

Managers generally exhibit coercive

power with the employees in the

lower rungs and use expertise or

other types with professional

employees. For instance, managers

in governmental organizations,

military etc., have more position

power than the managers in

educational, service-motive, religious

and charitable institutions.

Sometimes even within the same

organization if the manager is placed

in a revenue department he

commands more position power than

when he is in advisory position or

department. Further, the more the

willing ness a manager has to

exercise power and authority or to

reward or punish, the more position

power he will possess.

Expert power

Expert power stems from one's own

knowledge, expertise or special

skills. With the technological

explosion in the recent past expert

power has increasingly become a

potent source of power for the

managers. Both the manager and

employees can have expert power.

An employee with specialized and

outstanding knowledge may be

courted by those who need his help in

solving certain puzzles or problems.

A subordinate who is an accurate

typist commands expert power and

the superior depends on him because

the typist is relatively irreplaceable

by virtue of his own skills. By the

same token a manager, if possesses

extraordinary skills, will be promoted

most frequently than the other

managers who does not have these

skills. Specialization in jobs also call

for experts; the expertize power of

one diminishes with the duplication

of his activities. Further expert power

gets evaporated if the competence

becomes obsolete or is perceived to

be obsolete.

Referent power

It is also known as charismatic

power. Some people have unusual

flair and pleasing personality and

attract others; through attraction

they influence others and this is

called referent power. The managers

who have good interpersonal

relations, who are good at public

meetings and speeches, who

maintain high moral standards

command this kind of power.

Referent power quite often elicits

imitative behaviour. People try to

emulate highly visible behaviour or

their executives, perceiving

promotions in their job careers.

In addition to these five sources of

power as developed by French and

Raven, social scientists have

introduced two more sources of

power viz., information power and

connection power.
Information power

Raven collaborating with

15
Kruglanski has introduced

information power. People who

possess valuable information are

contended to have more power.

Information is required at all levels in

the organization and hence people at

all levels in the hierarchy can have

this power. Especially those who are

in need of information will be greatly

influenced by this power. Those who

possess or have easy access to the

information are called ‘power-

holders’
Connection power

It is proposed by Hersey and

Goldsmith. Sometimes connections

or links with people inside or outside

the work environment by the

manager also bring some power to

him. A manager who has good many

and valuable, respectable and useful

links possesses this type of power;

a subordinate who has good public

relations and rapport with officials

outside the organization, or

elsewhere can also have connection

power. A manager or subordinate can

influence others who acknowledge

the connections they have.

Interdependence of Sources
of Power

Sources of power are interrelated and

interdependent rather than

independent. The following points are

worth noting with regard to the

interdependence of different sources

of power.

1. With the increase in legitimate

power, reward power, referent

power and coercive power also

increases.

2. Frequent use of coercive power

reduces referent power because

people start disliking the one

who exercises coercive power.

3. Expert flower can give rise to

legitimate power. It is because

the organization acknowledges

 experts and certainly respect

their expertize by assigning them

the top positions. With the

change in position, i.e., through

promotion, legitimate power or

position power also creeps in.

Empirical Work on Sources of Power

John Schopler has conducted

research and reviewed several

studies about the French and Raven

categories of power and concluded

that:

Users of reward power are liked

better than those depending on

coercive power.
Coercive power induces greater

resistance than reward power.

Expertness on one task increases the

ability to exert influence on second

18
task. In another study by Bachman
and others, it is revealed that:

Expert power was highly positively

and consistently correlated with

satisfaction and performance.

Legitimate power, no doubt

important from manager's point of

view, was considered as an

inconsistent factor in organizational

effectiveness.
Referent power was of intermediate

importance but has positive

correlation with effectiveness.

Reward power was also given

intermediate importance and has

inconsistent correlation with

performance.

Coercive power was least prominent

for complying and was negatively

correlated to organizational

effectiveness.

19
According to Kotter , the influential

and successful managers (i) have the

tendency to acquire and use all types

of power, (ii) use power to gain more

power, (iii) establish career goals and

seek out managerial positions that

allow them to successfully develop

and use power, (iv) engage in power-

oriented behaviour in ways that are

tempted by maturity and self-control.

McMurry, in addition to the above,

contends that powerful managers

develop coalition with others.

EFFECTIVE USE OF POWER

Managers who effectively influence

others have same or all of the

following characteristics:

1. Successful manager understands

what is and what is not

legitimate behaviour in acquiring

and using power.

 2. The manager understands the

interpersonal as well as the

situational and structural sources

of power and the effective

methods of influencing people

within the different sources.

3. Manager tends to seek

managerial positions that allow

the development and use of

power.

4. Successful managers temper

their power-oriented behaviour

with maturity and self-control.

Berle's Laws of Power

21
Adolf Berle has advanced some

laws of power. They are as follows.

 1. Power fills any vacuum in human

organization. Without power

chaos exist.

2. Power is invariably personal.

3. Power is based on a system of

ideas or philosophy.

4. Power is exercised through, and

depends on institutions.

5. Power is invariably confronted

with, and acts in the presence of

a field of responsibility.

Power— Can We Measure It?

Frankly, there are no mathematical

tools or scales to measure exactly

the amount of power one has. It is

because power is not constant in

individuals but varies in degrees.

Moreover, not a single type of power

exists. Power, instead, had three

dimensions - weight, domain, and

scope. All are devoid of arithcmatic

measurement.

Herbert Goldhammer and Edward A.

Shills propose two types of

measurement of power. Expressed in

a formula:

The amount of power exercised by...

successful power acts an individual

all attempted power acts

In fact, it is the probability of the

success of power exercise. These

probabilities for different individuals

will be compared to see who has

more power over others in

organizations.
Goldhammer and Shills have

advanced another measurement of

power in which two criteria may be

used to measure the amount of

power exercised by the power-

holder. The number of actions of any

given person, in each of any number

of selected types of behaviour over

which control is realized and the

number of people controlled. This

method enables us to see the

concentration of diffusion of power

in the organizations. For example,

utilization of a large subordinate staff

is very likely to result in diffusion of

power.
POLITICS

Power and politics are inextricably

interwoven with the fabric of an

organization's life. Politics and

politicking are necessary,

unavoidable, and inevitable. With

some hyperbole it can be said that

politics represents “simple reality of

life” in work organizations. The

saying “it is not what you know, it

is who you know” reflects a common

view of politics. Politics is considered

by many as obnoxious and rubbish

term. Zaleznick in this connection

comments “executives are reluctant

to acknowledge the place of., power

31
and politics are dirty words.”
 32
According to Jennings company

politics are devious, indirect and

underhanded. Politics, thus, is a

disparaging word and viewed

negatively. It is frequently treated

as antithesis of organizational

development.

One reason why political taboos are

disliked by many is because political

behaviour can be both useful and

harmful to the individual members,

groups, and organizations. People

perceive harmful effects of political

games first and discard the uses

altogether. In organizations political

behaviour, is sine qua non, and as

such must be considered while

studying organizations. To ignore

politics is to ignore a substantial slice

of organizational reality.

The entire organization is a political

battlefield. Politics occurs at all

levels; played by almost all the

members at one time or the other.

Each member in the organization

have the opportunity to play one or

more political games, but it depends

whether he is willing to utilize this

opportunity. Some people are

constantly involved in mind-boggling

politics. Employees may receive their

own behaviour as ‘defending

legitimate rights’, yet they call a

similar behaviour by others‘playing

politics’
Defined

It is very easy to experience politics

but very difficult to define the term

‘politics’ Organizational politics are

plans, tactics, and strategies for

seizing, holding, extracting and

executing power in organizations.

Politics are used by individuals and

groups to achieve their respective

goals. One great organizational

scholar, Tushman defines politics as

follows: “Politics refers to the

structure and process of the use of

authority and power to effect

definition of goals, direction and the

other major parameters of the

organization. Decisions are not made

in a rational or formal way but rather

through compromize, accommodation
23
and bargaining.” The following

points are worth noting in this

connection:

1. Power characterizes political

1
action.*

2. Political action takes place when

an actor recognizes that

achievement of his goals is

influenced by the behaviour of

others.

3. Politicking involves the

elimination of adversaries by the

influential maneuvers of a

member of the organization.

4. Politics also involve the

management of influence to
 obtain ends not sanctioned by

the formal organization.

5. Any behaviour by organizational

member that Is self-serving may

be termed ‘political’

6. Organizational politics exists

wherever people work together.

According to Pffener and

Sherwood “Politicking is endemic

to every organization—

regardless of size, function or

character of ownership.”

7. Behaviour referred to as politics

takes place in varying degrees in

all organizations.

8. Not all behaviour can be

categorized as ‘Political’ For

instance, an employee's asking

 for a rise in pay is not political

behaviour, but the use of threat

to unionize to obtain a raise

would be a political act.

Politics are, thus, intentional acts of

influencing others through the

acquired power to enhance self-

interest and advancement.

Viewing organizations as political

arenas can help explain much of the

seemingly irrational behaviour in

organizations. For example, it can

explain why employees withhold

information, restrict output, attempt

to build empires, publicize their

success, hide their failures, distort

performance figures to make

themselves work better etc.

Organizations are political entities

because they are mostly staffed by

people pursuing self-interests. Since

organizations are made up of people

who want a niche from which to exert

influence and be personally

expressive, to earn just

compensation, and to advance a

career; political behaviour is

inevitable.

DIMENSIONS OF POLITICAL

BEHAVIOUR

The following diagram illustrates

the dimensional aspects of

political behaviour.
The above figure exhibits the

relationship between the sources of

power, and the individual and

organizational interests.

1. Cells A and C represent

dysfunctional behaviour to the

organization and are to be

discouraged.

2. Cells B and D are functional to

the organization and are

acceptable, and are generally

promoted.
3. Behaviour, if contributes to the

organizational interests, is

considered to be rational and

acceptable even if it is political.

4. It is sometimes very difficult to

separate accurately the political

behaviour from non-political

behaviour. That is the reason

why the lines of demarcation

(boundaries) are not linear and

rigid but like waves. Similarly

distinction between different

sources of power may also not be

clear.
Occurrence of Political
Behaviour
Although it is a general notion that

political behaviour can occur at all

levels of an organization research

evidence shows that most of the

politics occur at higher levels of

management- In one study by Gandz

38
and Murray , when four hundred

and twenty eight managers were

asked about the location of political

behaviour in their respective

organizations, it revealed “more and

more politics occurred at higher

managerial levels than at lower

managerial levels and among non-

managerial employees”. Another

40
study by Madison et al , of ninety

managers from thirty organizations

reported similar results. More than

ninety per cent of these managers

reported that organizational politics

is more frequent at middle and upper

levels of management than at lower

levels. Two points are, therefore,

worth noting in this connection.

i. Despite the negative values

placed on political behaviour

many employees recognize its

prevalence in the organization.

ii. People expect the occurrence of

political behaviour to be greater

at top management levels than

at middle or lower levels of

organization.
DYSFUNCTIONAL POLITICAL

BEHAVIOUR

Organizations are political systems

where individuals try, first of all, to

satisfy their wants. Harold D.

Lasswell once rightly remarked

“politics—who gets what, where,

when, how”. It is a process where

one acquired power, transfers and

exercises it over others to satisfy his

desires. In this process politics has

a tendency of producing undesirable

consequences called ‘dysfunctions’

Any behaviour by an organizational

member that is self-serving. is called

organizational politics. Self-

aggrandizement, no doubt, is

important but sometimes hinders the

organization in achieving its goals.

Any activity or action by individuals

that is at the cost of organizational

goals and interests can be termed as

dysfunctional.

When organization's and individual's

interests interact the intersecting

segment signifies functional

behaviour and the rest is treated as

dysfunctional. Diagrammatically, this

can be seen in Fig.

Therefore when the individual and

organizational interests are not

complementary, incongruent, then

dysfunctional political, behaviour

inevitably sets in. Dysfunctional

political behaviour can assume any of

the following forms.

 Scapegoating.

Passing the buck.

Red-herring tactics.

Sabotage.

Falsification or hiding the

important information.

Discrediting others.

Indulging in deliberate bad bally-

hooed techniques etc.

What Factors Contribute to

Dysfunctional Politicking?

Andrew DuBrin has identified five

fundamental factors that give rise to

dysfunctional political behaviour. It

should, however, be noted that there

may be innumerable other factors

which may be inexplicable.

i. Competition for power. As the

resources in the organization are

scarce, power is also available

in limited supply. Scarcity gives

birth to competition. In the

process of acquiring power

people feel it rational to play

games known as politics and

many a time those activities

have negative flavour and

negative affect on the

organization in terms of poor

performance by its members.

Further, organizational members

frequently involve in perpetual

jockeying in the process of

 acquiring power. Such

competition develops some kind

of ill-healthy atmosphere in the

organization that organization

cannot bear for long if go

uncared.

ii. Subjective evaluation of

performance. It is very difficult

to evaluate the performance of

individual objectively. Therefore,

managers frequently resort to

subjective evaluation that may

lead to undesirable

consequences if the employees

are dissatisfied with the boss.

Whenever subjective kind of

evaluation is existing, members

may think some bias in

 supervisor's evaluation and cast

doubt on the procedures. True,

whenever employees think or

perceive the evaluation to be

inaccurate they may be forced

into dysfunctional political

activities. The less objectivity in

defining and measuring

performance evaluation criteria,

the greater is the room for the

individual to engage in

dysfunctional political behaviour.

iii. Delay in feedback. There is,

generally, time lag in the

feedback system. The lag is so

long that by the time an

individual's actions are compared

with outcomes he is likely to

 move to different positions in the

organizations. People are moved,

frequently, to another position or

other positions before their

contribution on the current job

is actually assessed and fully

appraised. By this they are

sometimes forced to emphasize

only visible actions, i.e., psuedo-

performance, and get promotions

by eye-wash tactics.

iv. Saturation in promotions. People

work hard and win promotions.

When they reach the maximum

as per their talent and skills,

they resort to dysfunctional

politicking. Peter’ principle can

be recalled here. That is to say,

 in a hierarchy every employee

tends to rise to his levels of

incompetence and he will have

no other business than to engage

in politics that have undesirable

consequences. When individuals

are promoted beyond their

capabilities to perform, they are

likely to indulge in unproductive

politics at the cost of the

company.

v. Employees’participation in

decision-making.

Decentralization has made the

present day organization

autocratic. Power-hunger

managers find it hard to share

their power with employees and

 in order to retain their power and

establish their supremacy; they

constantly try to engage in

maneuvering and manipulating.

Sometimes, an employee

outclasses the manager by

rendering valuable suggestions

in decision-making and an

intolerable manager resorts to

politics and might discard the

decision by saying that ‘it is at

the cost of company's welfare.’

Political Tactics

Individuals in the work organization

try to enhance and protect their

interests. For this they play games

or tactics. Although there are no

prescribed set of political tactics.

R.W. Allen and his associates have

advanced a list containing eight such

tactics.

1. Attacking and blaming others.

2. Instrumental use of information.

3. Image building/impression

management.

4. Support building for ideas.

5. Praising others, ingratiation.

6. Power coalitions, strong allies.

7. Associating with influential.

8. Creating obligations/reciprocity.
QUESTIONS

1. What do you mean by

leadership? How is it different

from managership?

2. What do you understand by

‘leadership style'? Can you

explain leadership styles on a

continuum? If so, how?

3. Explain trait theory of

leadership? The results of

thousands of studies exploring

leadership traits were mildly

successful. Do you agree with

this statement?

4. Path-goal model allows for the

incorporation of many

subordinates and environmental

factors in establishing a leader

situation match. Explain these
factors?
 5. What do you mean by the life

cycle theory? Explain the concept

of maturity in relation to the

theory?

6. Define power. Also explain where

does power generate from?

7. Can power be measured?

8. What do you mean by dynamics

of power?

9. Elaborately explain the factors

contributing to dysfunctional

behaviour?

10. Name some political tactics that

are frequently used in modem

organizations?
 CHAPTER – V

ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

A concept that management can ill

afford to ignore is “Organizational

climate”. All organizational

theoreticians and researchers

unanimously agree that a sound

climate is extremely important for

the ultimate achievement of

organizational goals. Organizational

climate, though abstract in concept,

is normally associated with job

performance and job satisfaction and

morale of the employees. Climate is a

commonly experienced phenomenon

and often referred to by many

expressions as atmosphere,

surrounding milieu, environment and

culture etc. Organizations like finger

prints and snowflakes are always

unique. Each has its own traditions,

methods of action, culture which in

their totality comprise its climate for

1
people.

Organizational climate is very

important factor to be considered in

studying and analysing organizations

because it has a profound influence

on the outlook, well-being and

attitudes of organizational members

and, thus, on their total performance.

It affects the behaviour of people in

three ways:

Defining the stimuli that confronts

the individual.
Placing constraints upon the

individual's freedom of choice.

Providing source of reward and

punishment.

Organizational climate, furthermore,

provides a useful platform for

understanding such characteristics of

organizations as stability, creativity

and innovation, communication, and

effectiveness etc.

CLIMATE DEFINED

Although intangible, organizational

climate is a real phenomenon. While

a precise definition of climate may

be lacking, this does not preclude

its existence. In the literature of

organizational behaviour several

different definitions have been

advanced and almost all have a

greater degree of commonality.

Organizational climate

1. A relatively enduring quality of

the internal environment that is

experienced by its members,

influences their behaviour, and

can be described in terms of the

values of a particular set of

characteristics of the

organization.

2. A set of characteristics that

describe an organization and that

(a) distinguish one organization

from another (b) are relatively

enduring over a period of time,

 and. (c) influence the behaviour

of people in the organization.

Organizational climate is the

summary perception which people

have about an organization. It is,

thus, a global expression of what the

organization is.

Organizational climate is, thus, the

manifestation of the attitudes of

organizational members toward the

organization itself. An organization

tends to attract and keep people who

fit its climate, so that its patterns are

perpetuated at least to some extent.

Organizational climate should be

viewed from total system point of

view. Some theorists may be of the

opinion that “there are as many

climates as there are people in

7
organizations” . There may exist

different climates within different

departments (or subsystems) in the

organization, and these sub-climates

will be integrated in the similar

fashion of integrating attitudes of

employees, so as to form the

organizational climate. In

organizations, there may be

differences in climates in different

work units, as we commonly observe.

It is because one type of climate may

be suitable to one particular unit and

the same may be unsuitable for

another unit. It has been pointed out

by Hellreigel and Slocum that an

effective climate in a simple and

static environment may prove to be

dysfunctional in a dynamic and

8
complex environment. At the same

time it should be noted that the

climates of different organizational

subsystems are seldom radically

different. Therefore, instead of taking

a fragmented view of climate in a

particular subsystem, the total

system may be more meaningful to

study and analyse.

FACTORS AFFECTING

ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

In every organization there exist

certain elements that exert profound

influence on the existing climate. In

some organizations certain factors

like structure, or process plays a

major role, whereas in others the

level of technology may be the major

influential factor in climate.

9
ILawrance James and Allan Jones

have tried to identify the factors

influencing climate and they grouped

these factors under five heads:

Organizational context.

Organizational-structure.

Process.

Physical environment.

System values and norms.

Organizational Context

The first and foremost influential

Λ
factor that affects the climate is the

management philosophy.. If the

company is wedded to such a policy

that it effectively utilizes its

resources both human as well as non-

human, then it can be concluded that

the climate is good.'* The manpower

philosophy is generally expressed by

rules, regulations’ and policies etc.

The point here is that the reactions

of the employees and the degrees to

which they welcome and accept the

managerial philosophy is very crucial

to the development of sound and

favourable organizational climate.

The climate is said to be highly

favourable when existing

management techniques are such

that employee goals are perfectly

matched to the ideals of

organization.

Structure

Structure of the organization

represents another variable that

affects climate. It needs job

reiteration that structure is a

framework that establishes-formal

relationships and delineate authority

and functional responsibility, further,

the actual arrangement of hierarchy

is also to be-considered, for it affects

climate-’ Highly decentralized

structure results in sound climate

when the management feels the

necessity of high degree of employee

input in the total output. In other

words, a management that has a

strong .-belief in participative

decisionmaking will promote

decentralization. In a sharp contrast,

if the management feels the

necessity of maintaining greater

degree of consistency in operations

regarding decision-Snaking it will be

wedded to centralized structure.

Thus structure also affects the

climate of organizations.

Process

In every organization certain

processes are vital so that it runs.

Communication, decision-making,
motivation and leadership are some

of the very important processes

though which the management

carries out its objectives. In all these

processes, the relationship between

superior and subordinate is visible

and therefore the supervisor cannot

afford to ignore this visible interface.

For instance, if we consider leader-

follower relationship in leadership

process, it is the leader's choice

whether to allow subordinates in

decision-making, give assignments,

does performance appraisals etc. A

leader has to be aware of the possible

influence of his actions on the climate

when deciding about the most

appropriate supervisory technique for

a given situation. It should be noted

that failure to give consideration to

the affect on climate would be a

monumental error that could be

reflected adversely on the

performance of employees.

Furthermore, (when a leader

mismatches his style to the situation

it might abort any hope of attaining

organizational objectives.

Physical Environment

The external conditions of

environment, the size and location of

the building in which an employee

works, the size of the city, weather

or the place—all affect the

organizational climate. An employee

performing his job in a relatively

clean, quiet and safe environment

will undoubtedly have a favourable

perception of the organizational

climate. Office derecognizeize and

space a person has in doing the work

are the important factors to be borne

in mind, for these affect the climate.

Noise has also been considered

instrumental in influencing the

climate of organizations. High levels

of noise brings a bad feeling and

leads to frustration, nervousness and

aggression and will have a negative

effect upon organizational climate.

Loud, intermittent noise converts an

organization into a market place.

System Values and Norms

Every organization has discernible

and fairly evident formal value

system where certain kinds of

behaviours are rewarded and

encouraged and certain kinds of

behaviour forces an individual to

forma! sanctions. The formal value

system is communicated to-

employee! through rules, regulations

and policies. Although in every

organization informal organization

also exists, the value system of

informal organization is very difficult

to ascertain. But from the point of

view of organizational climate, both

formal and informal groups are very

powerful in exerting influence on

climate. For instance, the

organization that treats employees

with respect to understanding will

have certainly a different climate that

one which is very cold and

impersonal.

JOB SATISFACTION

Job satisfaction is perhaps the major

area where academicians are trying

to define, identify, and measure, the

industrialists are seeking it, and

government is enthusiastically
supporting it. It is reported that in

1970 it has been estimated that there

are over five thousand articles

36
published on the job satisfaction.

Such is the importance of the

‘concept’
Job satisfaction is an integral

component of organizational climate

and an important element in

management—employee

relationship. Job satisfaction is a

positive emotional state that occurs

when a person's job seems to fulfil

important job values, provided these

values are compatible with one's

37
needs. Job satisfaction, in simple

words, is an individual's emotional

reaction to the job itself. It is a

person's attitude towards the job.

People spend a sizable amount of

their time in work environment. From

any minimally humanitarian point of

view, they expect that portion of

their lives to be more or less

pleasant, agreeable, satisfying and
fulfilling.
Why Job Satisfaction is Very

Important?

Job satisfaction has been the centre

of concentration for researchers over

three decades. The reasons for such

concentration are manyfold.

1. Job satisfaction has some

relation with the mental health of

the people. Dissatisfaction with

one's job may have especially

volatile spillover effects. For

instance, people feel bad about

many other things such as a

family life, leisure activities,

sometimes even life itself. Many

unresolved personality problems

and maladjustments arise out of

a person's inability to find

satisfaction in his work. Both

scientific study and causal

observation provide ample

evidence that job satisfaction is

an important for the

psychological adjustment and

happy living of an individual. A

classic study by Arthur

Kornhauscn provides empirical

evidence for the relationship

between job satisfaction and

mental health. In fact, job

satisfaction and the life

satisfaction are inextricably
4
bound.*
2. Job satisfaction has some degree

of positive correlation with

physical health of individuals. A

5
study by PaJmore* has come to

the conclusion that people who

like work, are likely to live

longer. Here the logic behind

such result is that people with

greater satisfaction tend to have

greater incomes and more

education and thus coincidentally

enjoy greater benefits which

promote longivity. On the other

side of the coin, it was contended

that chronic dissatisfaction with

work represents stress which, in

 turn, eventually takes its toll on

the organization. Emotional

stress, as physicians contend has

been implicated as a contributory

factor in the genesis of

hypertension, coronary artery

disease, digestive ailments, and

even some kinds of cancer.

Therefore, job satisfaction is

essential to maintain physical

health also.

3. Spreads goodwill about the

organization. From the point of

view of an organization, people

who feel positively about their

work life are more apt to voice

‘favourable sentiments’about the

organization to the community at

 large. When the goodwill of the

company goes up, new, qualified,

and dynamic entrants show their

interest in joining organization.

Organization thus will be in a

position to enjoy the talents of

people as job satisfaction fosters

a pervasive residue of public

goodwill towards the

organization.

4. Individuals can ‘live with’the

organization. A happy and

satisfied individual can find it

easy to live with inside the

organization as well as outside

it. On the contrary, a chronically

upset individual makes

 organizational life vexatious for

others with whom he interacts,

Job Satisfaction Defined

Job satisfaction is very difficult to

define because it is an intangible*

unseen, unobserved variable and a

complex assemblage of cognitions

(beliefs or knowledge) and emotional

feelings (sentiments or evaluations)

and such behavioural tendencies. Job

satisfaction may be viewed as the

pleasurable emotional state resulting

from the perception of one's job as

fulfilling or allowing the fulfillment of

one's important job values, provided

these values are compatible with

41
one's needs. According to P.C.
Smith et al job satisfaction is the

persistent feeling towards

discriminable aspects of the job

situation. E. A. Locke admits that job

satisfaction and job dissatisfaction

are seen as function of perceived

relationship between what one wants

from one job and what one perceives

it as offering or entailing.

Job satisfaction may be global or

specific. Sometimes job satisfaction

is referred to as overall feeling of

satisfaction, i.e., satisfaction with the

situation as-a-whole (global

satisfaction). At some other point of

times job satisfaction refers to a

person's feelings toward specific

dimensions of the work environment

(facet or specific satisfaction.

Measurement of Job

Satisfaction

Roughly six decades back the

employee attitude surveys were

undertaken to measure job

satisfaction and morale. It is now a

standard practice for almost all the

organizations to conduct such

surveys most frequently (say at least

once in two years). The survey

generally is conducted as a part of

organization development (OD)

programme. Job satisfaction,

whether in totoor with specific

aspects of the organization, is

measured by specially constructed,

standardized attitude scales.

Consequences of Job

Dissatisfaction

Job satisfaction can act as a double-

edged sword as it reduces

absenteeism and labour turnover.

a. Absenteeism.There exist a

relationship between the job

satisfaction and frequency of

absense of employees whether

unexcused absense due to minor

aliments or total long absense.

Absenteeism is inversely related

to the level of job satisfaction.

Job dissatisfaction produces a

 Tack of will to work’and this

forces the employee to alienate

from work as far as possible-

b. Turnover. Research has clearly

established that the satisfied

worker is less likely than his

dissatisfied counterpart to quit

the job over time. In other

words, satisfied worker tends to

stay and dissatisfied tends to

leave. It is intuitively reasonable

that since worker derive different

levels of satisfaction from their

work roles job dissatisfaction

forces an individual to leave the

jobs and seek satisfaction

elsewhere.
 In some organizations turnover

and absenteeism account for a

substantial slice of total labour

costs. With high labour turnover

rate, the cost of recruitment and

training the new employees,

which the management cannot

ignore, goes up.

c. Negative publicity. Another

frequently noticeable

consequence of job

dissatisfaction is ‘bad

mouthing’the organization. That

is the disgruntled employee

verbalizes his discontent to

others in the community and

make the organization

unpopular. Such negative

 publicity can conceivably lead to

difficulty in recruiting new

employees. It may also result in

loss of business to a certain

extent.

Job Satisfaction and

Productivity

‘A satisfied worker is a productive

employee’is a popular but discredited

view. Does the dissatisfaction in jobs

result in curtailment of output? Does

increased job satisfaction lead to

higher output and hence

productivity? These are the haunting

questions that have been nagged at

both industrial psychologists and

managers in organization without

discrimination for nearly five

decades. Briefly, let us review some

studies pertaining to this

controversial topic.

1. In one study by researchers at

the University of Michigan in

1950s it was found that the

productive groups showed no

greater job satisfaction than did

the less productive work groups.

2. The above results are

substantiated by two other

studies—one regarding the three

hundred railroad workers and

second one that of six thousand

workers at a tractor factory.

 3. A review of about twenty
47
studies by Victor Yroom in

1964 disclosed only the barest

evidence supporting a direct link

between satisfaction and

productivity. While job attitudes

bear a discriminating able

relationships such as

absenteeism and labour

turnover, the available evidence

suggests that strong positive

relationship with productivity is

lacking virtually.

How to Explain the Lack of

Relationship?

The reasons for the apparent lack

of direct relationship between job

satisfaction and productivity may be
many fold.
Some of the very important are:

a. Measurement deficiency. The

explanation for the lack of cut

relationship between satisfaction

and productivity may be able to

the measurement of satisfaction.

Some jobs, for that mutter many

jobs, do not lend themselves to

concrete, objective

measurement. In such cases it

all depends on the subjective

evaluation the supervisor or

manager who may be biased. In

the absent objective criterion,

subjective evaluation may

 become objections and

unreliable. They might distort

the relationship.

b. Performance cannot

significantly vary. Another

explanation for the lack of

relationship may be in terms of

simple reality that individual

performance levels cannot

significantly vary A worker

general operates under certain

technological constraints where 1

cannot go beyond a particular

level of output. Organizational

scientists, in the process of

establishing the relationship

between job satisfaction and

productivity were forced to visit

 the ground and explore some

linkage between both. The most

developed by Porter and Lawler

provides a reasonably convince

explanation of the relationship

between productivity and

satisfaction.

As against the traditional view of

satisfaction leading to performance

Porter and Lawler hold the view that

it is productivity tl leads to

satisfaction. The performance, in this

intriguing nun leads to two kinds of

rewards—intrinsic and extrinsic,

where extrinsic rewards such as

salary and production bonuses are

under the control of organization and

intrinsic rewards such as challenge

jobs, etc, stem from the job itself.

Intrinsic rewards arc more related to

satisfaction. For instance, if a person

performs well on a challenging job or

trouble-shooting assignment he gets

an immediate feeling of satisfaction.

The lack of correlation between job

satisfaction and performance can be

explained as follows. If a job holds

little potential for intrinsic rewards,

and if extrinsic rewards bear a very

little relationship to the performance

level of individual the resultant

connection between satisfaction and

performance tends to be weak and

tenuous. When performance-

satisfaction link is very weak,

immediate duty of top management

in an organization is to make the

link strong, for satisfied people tend

to stay in the organization. How to

make this link strong? The answer is

also lying in the model. The model

indicates two methods to make the

link strong.

1. Modify the task so that it

becomes capable of yielding

intrinsic rewards for

performance.

2. Correct the reward system so

that it acts as an incentive for

the top performance (i,e., top

performers receive

proportionally higher extrinsic

rewards).
Determinants of Job

Satisfaction

Many factors influence job

satisfaction of employees. Review of

research reveals the following

important determinants of job

satisfaction:

Supervision. Specialization.

The work group. Age.

Job content. Race and sex.

Occupational level. Educational level.

Let us study these determinants

briefly.
Supervision. The first and foremost

important determinant of job

satisfaction is supervision and the

style of leadership. Generally,

employee-centered leadership style

enhances a great amount of job

satisfaction as the leader looks after

the subordinates carefully, displays

friendship, respect and warmth etc.

towards employees. On the other

hand, production-oriented leader

may cause low job satisfaction to

employees and may affect the

turnover and absenteeism adversely.

Of course, it all depends on the

48
situation. For instance, Trow and
49
Sanford have found that

authoritarian subordinates are likely

to be more satisfied under

supervision of high status, and

strong, hard-nosed (directive)

leaders-

The work group. Perhaps one

strong human characteristic is the

man's desire to be continuously

associated with others, according to

Elton Mayo. It has been found

empirically that isolated workers

dislike their jobs. In other words, the

work group also exerts a tremendous

influence on the satisfaction of

employees at work places. In one

study by Richards and Dobryns, it

was found that morale of a group

in an insurance company was

significantly lowered by a physical

change which restricted the

opportunity of their members for

social interaction. It should,

however, be noted that the amount

of satisfaction an individual derives

from his association with the group

depends to a large extent on the

relationship with the group members

and also his own need for affiliation.

Job content. Another influential

factor of job satisfaction is the job

content. Job content refers to the

factors such as recognition,

responsibility, advancement,

achievement, etc., in the jobs

employees perform. Herzberg,

Mausner and Snyderman contend

that job content factors like

achievement, responsibility etc., lead

to greater job satisfaction. They had

postulated this theory after

interviewing a large chunk of

accountants and engineers. Some

research studies have shown that

security, supervision, social

relationships wore job content factors

leading to job satisfaction. In one

54
study by Walker and Guest it has

been found that at least one job

content factor is very significant from

the view point of job satisfaction.

They found that repetitive nature of

task is the most dissatisfied factor,

and pay and security were satisfying

factors.
Occupational level. Ample research
55
suggests that people in higher level

jobs experience the highest levels of

satisfaction. One significant reason

for this is that high level jobs carry

most prestige and self esteem will

be enhanced to the extent that other

people view our work is important.

High level jobs are satisfying for

many other reasons too:

1. They offer excellent

opportunities for the expression

of the needs for power and

autonomy.

2. "They reduce financial stringency

of the employees.”

3. They offer task diversity and job

enrichment
 56
According to Glimer professional

people receive the greatest job

satisfaction, followed by salaried

workers. Factory workers arc the

least satisfied with their jobs. Porter

substantiated the same when he

made a job satisfaction study of

managers at various level, in the

hierarchy. He found that at each

successive lower level n managers

were less satisfied. Anecdotal

evidence from a van* iv ° sources

also continue to suggest that blue-

collar workers air ohm the victims of

severe dissatisfaction.
Specialization.

The relationship between job

specialization and job satisfaction is

complex. Specialization leads to

greater efficiency in general, but at

the same time it lowers the job

satisfaction to some people. With

increasing but after a particular

(undefined) point, it starts falling.

That is to say, after a certain point

specialization leads to dissatisfaction.

57
In one study by Walker and Guest

it has been found when people have

worked on a number of operations

they were satisfied. Of the workers

who performed only one operation

and repeated it quite a number of

times in a workday, two thirds

reported their jobs to be

uninteresting.

In one study at Maytag company,

forty seven of, sixty one workers

reported that they liked the variety

of work, and at the same time some

people reported that they liked task

58
specialization on the assembly line.
59
Vroom and Marier are of the view

that greater variety of tasks may not

increase the satisfaction of

employees unless the tasks form a

unified, integrated and meaningful

whole. Enlarging the job by adding

diverse, totally unrelated activities’or

job rotation of workers from one job

to another unrelated job may not

produce intended positive

consequences of job satisfaction.

Age. The relationship between age of

the employees and their satisfaction

from the job is both complex and

fascinating. Research reveals that old

workers are satisfied workers.

Job satisfaction usually tends to be

high when people enter the work

force; it plummets and then plateaus

for several years (say for five to six

years) up to the age of roughly thirty

years, after which there will be

gradual increase in satisfaction. I in

illy, may be due to preretirement

apprehension, job satisfaction may

have a slight dip at the end. How to

explain this phenomenon? According

60
to Hammer and Organ people tend

to begin their work with mm elastic

assumptions about what they are

going to derive from it, and notice

that reality falls far short of their

perceived expectations. Hut with

their experience over a period of

time, they-realize their

disillusionment and have accurate

expectations because of which job

will seen in a positive perspective

resulting in higher job satisfaction.

Another possible reason could be

people, when they begin then job-

life, have a tendency of over

estimating themselves and seek

flexibility and want to be placed in

good organizations. After some

period when they get settled down in

a particular job they become realistic

and may be contempt with it. But

certainly just before retirement,

satisfaction may fall due to the fear

of figure. A retiring person may feel

he is treated like a machine (and

hence depreciated) and discarded as

obsolete and useless. These feelings

make him dissatisfied at work.

Dissatisfaction is more evident when

his application for ‘extension’ is

rejected.

Race and sex. Sex and race also

affect job satisfaction. In one study

by Quinn et al, it has been found that

job satisfaction among blacks and

other minority groups has been

consistently lower than that of whites

in America. Similarly, sex difference

in job satisfaction were investigated

by Charles N. Weanch who found no

significant difference in job

satisfaction when males and females

were equally affected by such

determinants of job satisfaction as

wages, prestige, and supervisory

positions. In the study, it has been

found that women workers, by and

large, are about as connected with

their jobs as men. For instance, a

woman placed in a prestigious

position derives the same satisfaction

as does a man in a comparable

 62
position. Harrick, however,

contends that females are

dissatisfied than males because

females have less job and pay

opportunities than males.

Educational level. Keeping the

occupational level as constant, there

found a negative correlation between

the level of education of employees

63
and their satisfaction. One

plausible explanation could be that

people with higher educational levels

have a tendency to set higher

expectations from their jobs.

Dissatisfaction will be more when

educated person are employed in

lower rungs. In practice, since many

people with high background of

education are usually placed in

respectable higher positions, the

conflict resolves itself.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

INTRODUCTION

We live in an age of transition. One

of the few things of real permanence

in our world is change. It has become

an inescapable fact of life; a

fundamental aspect of historical

evolution. It is reported that half of

all the energy consumed by man in

the past two thousand years has

been consumed within the last

hundred years. We are told that

twenty five per cent of all the people

who ever lived are living now. Ninety

per cent of all scientists who ever

lived are living now. The amount of

technical information available

doubles every ten years. Change is

inevitable in a progressive culture.

Change, in fact, is accelerating in our

society. Revolutions are taking place

in political, scientific, technological

and institutional areas. Sophisticated

communication capabilities have

increased ‘telemarketing';

‘robotics’taking over some jobs

currently performed by employees;

man conquering the wonderland

moon; are some examples that bear

testimony of fastpaced, rapidly

changing organizations. The

unprecedented rate of change in

recent years is such that change is

viewed as a fire storm that continues

to gather force. Organizations cannot

completely buffer themselves from

this environmental instability. They

must respond to the raging inferno in

order to survive.

In fact, ‘change or die’is the present

day philosophy.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Change basically results from stimuli

from both outside and inside the

enterprise. Organizational change

refers to the alteration of structural

relationships and roles of people in

the organizations. It is largely

structural in nature.

Change takes place in all

organizations but at varying rates of

speed and degrees of significance.

Change takes place in all parts of an

organization but at varying rates of

speed and degrees of significance.

Finally, the enterprise can be

changed in several ways. Its

technology can be changed; its

structure, its people, and other

elements can be changed.

NATURE OF WORK CHANGE

Any alteration that occurs in the

overall work environment is called

change. Keith Davis beautifully

explains the nature of work change

by experimenting with an air-filled

baloon. He contends “when a finger

(which represents change) is pressed

against the exterior of the baloon

(which represents the organization),

the contour visibly changes at the

point of impact. The molecules of air

in the baloon represent firm's

employees. Repeated pressure at the

point may unnecessarily weaken the

baloon at that point. Pressure and

motion create friction and heat.

Eventually a rupture occurs, and the

4
organization collapses”. But an
organization is much more complex

than the illustrated baloon, and the

real people are quite different from

molecules in the baloon. This

comparison is merely intended to

emphasize the point that just as

molecular equilibrium organizations

also seek equilibrium. An

organization strives to achieve

equilibrium of its social structure. By

equilibrium we mean that people

learn to expect various relationships

within their working surroundings.

They basically learn how to deal with

others, how to perform their jobs,

and what is expected next. In other

words, when equilibrium exists, it

becomes easier for people to adjust

and adapt. The essence is that

change requires new adjustments

and new equilibrium. The nature of

work change is so complicated that

the management should gain

acceptance for the change, and

restore the group equilibrium and

personal adjustment that change

upsets.

THE DILEMMA OF CHANGE

Stability versus Change

Successful managers do not wait for

future; they make the future by

managing change. Here organizations

face a dilemma. They prefer to

accomplish their day-to-day activities

in a predictable, routine manner. The

fewer the changes that are

undertaken by organization, the

more predictable and efficient it

becomes. But unfortunately, the

external environment is changing

constantly; change is inevitable and

abundant. Change demands

modification of the existing

relationships, an alteration of the

status quo. But paradoxically, in

some organizations stability is so

crucial that a strategy of no change

at all is not only feasible but

mandatory.

No changes---------------- Rapid change

Stability Flexibility

Certainty Uncertainty

Predictability Unpredictability
Organizations desire change in order

to remain competitive, in order to

remain in harmony with the ever-

changing environment. Organizations

also want to achieve internal stability

because of the predictability and

certainty it provides. As such,

organizations sit on the horns of a

dilemma with reference to change.

Organizations handle the stability-

change dilemma depending on the

amount and type of innovation

required. The organic organization is,

for example, suitable when frequent

technological changes are required.

The organic organization is always

oriented towards change rather than

stability. Mechanistic organizations,

on the other hand, are oriented

towards technological stability.

Organizations, thus, resolve the

stability-change dilemma by

structuring in an organic way when

the organization needs new ideas and

frequent changes, and by structuring

in a mechanistic way whenever

possible to obtain efficiency. The

point is that to resolve the dilemma

organizational change process must

be managed. To the extent change

is planned, uncertainty and

unpredictability is reduced.

Revolutionary changes.

Change sometimes may be

cataclysmic. The revolutionary

changes result in overturning the

status quo arrangement?* causes

violations, rejections or suppression

of old expectations. The

revolutionary churnings generally

pose strong resistance and some

thnes only an exercise of power can

order the implementation of such

changes. Revolutionary changes are

rarely introduced except where

situation becomes highly intolerable

having no other acceptable options.

Planned changes.

A new and scientific way of viewing

change is “the planned alteration in

the existing organizational system”.

According to Blake and Mouton, “it

does not start with the acceptance

or rejection of status quo but begins

with a normative intellectual model

of what should be the model that

is blueprint for action.” Planned

changes are made by the

organization with the purpose of

achieving the something that might

otherwise be unattainable, or

accomplishable with great difficulty.

Through planned changes

organizations reach new frontiers and

progress more rapidly toward given

set of goals and objectives. Edgar
8
Williams logically lists four general

reasons for designing the orderly

change in organizations. They are:

To improve the means for satisfying

somebody's economic wants.

To increase profitability.

To promote human work for human

beings.

To contribute to individual
satisfaction and social well-being.

Planned organizational change, thus,

is the intentional attempt by an

organization to influence the status

quo itself. Planned change is a magic

elixir to development; it is an

arcanum to growth.

3. Proactive versus Reactive

Change

Proactive change takes place

when some forces to change lead

an organization to conclude that

a particular change is desirable.

Reactive change occurs when

these forces to change make it

necessary for a change to be

implemented. For instance,

introduction of a new employee-

benefit scheme is proactive as

the management strongly

believes that it enhances

satisfaction and motivation to

employees. The change

(introduction of scheme) would

be reactive if the benefit plan

was introduced because of

demands made by the

employees. Thus proactive

change is the change initiated by

an organization because it is

identified as desirable (i.e., it is

not forced on the organization).

On the other hand, reactive

change is the change

implemented in an organization

because it is made necessary by

outside forces.

There is no close agreement

among the researchers about the

extent to which organization

 7
change occurs. Perrow

describes change as “glacial”,

8
whereas Griener considers

change as ‘revolutionary’, rather

than ‘evolutionary’ But change is

‘real’and organizations must

cope with it or fail to survive.

RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

As the manager contemplates and

initiates change in the organization

one phenomenon that is quite likely

to emerge any time in the change

process is the resistance to change.

Too many managers have become

persistently restless because of

resistance. Resistance to change is

perhaps one of the baffling problems

a manager encounters because it can

assume many forms. The effects of

resistance may be overt or implicit,

may be subtle and cumulative.

Implicit resistance may be

manifested in resignation, tardiness,

loss of motivation to work, increased

absenteeism and the request for

transfer etc. Overt resistance, on the

other hand, assumes the form of

wild-cat strikes, shoddy work,

reduction in productivity etc.

Resistance to change may, further,

be individual or organizational.

Individual resistance may be due to

some personal, economic or social

reasons. Organizational resistance,

on the other hand, generally centers

round the structure, organizational

constraints, threats to power and

influence and finally, sunk costs.

Individual Resistance

One aspect of mankind that has

remained more or less constant is

his innate resistance to change. It is

a fact of life and leadership; people

resist change. By its very nature

‘change’is disconcerting. It is true

that when the prevailing posture is

‘don't rock the boat’change * may

26
be resisted. Unfortunately, many a

time manager's change efforts in an

organization run in terms of human

resistance. It is because almost all

people who are affected by change

experience some sort of emotional

turmoil. Further, individual attaches

great preference to maintain status

quo. Additionally, positive threats

from habit or custom, fear of

unknown, the security and

attractiveness of familiar,

displacement of human skills by the

technological advancements are all

the conditions favouring the status

quo. In fact, there may bear-infinite

reasons why people resist change in

organizations.

Economic Reasons

The economic reasons to fear

change usually focus on one or

more of the following:

Fear of technological

unemployment.
 Fear of reduced work hours and

consequently less pay.

Fear of demotion and thus

reduced wages.

Fear of speed-up and reduced

incentive wages.

Many workers are justifiably afraid

of being phased out of their jobs by

automation. They resist change, and

their resistance to change can be

quite effective. For instance, as

28
Dowling and Sayles observe “The

machine looms destroyed the jobs or

thousands of handloom weavers.

They were introduced without

consultation, without regard to

human values, and they had dire

consequences for the men directly

concerned.” In the past century,

perhaps as many time-honcured

occupations have disappeared from

the economic sector as new ones

have been bom. Technological

advancement (change) has always

meant the destruction of old and out-

dated industry and the creation of

new ones. Two factors are worth-

noting as far as economic reasons

for resistance are concerned—viz.,

obsolescence of skills and the fear of

economic loss.
Obsolescence of Skills

The rate at which the knowledge is

exploding is incredible. As a result,

knowledge in any particular field

quickly becomes obsolete. Whenever

people sense that new machinery

(change) poses a threat of replacing

or degrading them they simply resist

such a change. For instance, the

subsonic rate at which computer-

based technology is growing has

conveniently outclassed the expertise

based on experience. A twenty-years

experienced accountant is quite likely

to resist the introduction of a

computer for preparing the wage bill

because he feels that might affect

his position and pay. This kind of

phenomenon is commonly found in

those managers who possess no real

marketable skills and whose

knowledge is obsolete and out-dated.

These people strongly resist change

and try their best to maintain status

quo.

Fear of Economic Loss

One major reasons why some people

resist organizational change is that

they perceive they will lose

something of value as a result. The

greater the expected loss the greater

the resistance. People resist change

that opens the possibility of lowering

their income directly or indirectly.

That is to say whenever the employee

perceives the inexorable

consequences of change in terms of

unfavourable pay, he has the

tendency to resist it. Of course,

change resulting in a reduction of pay

is a rare phenomenon. Sometimes,

but, introduction of new technology

throws people away from doing

important jobs (or demanding works)

to less-important or dead-end ones,

where no skills are required to

exhibit. More realistically, when

people perceive psychological

degradation of the job they are

performing they resist such a change.

29
Keith Davis, in this connection,

rightly remarks “people fear

technological unemployment,

reduced work hours, demotion,

reduced wages and reduced

incentives and resist change”.

Personal reasons. The reasons for

resistance to change by individuals

may also be personal. The personal

reasons may be ego-defensiveness,

status quo and fear of unknown.

Ego defensiveness. Sometimes

change may be ego-deflating. An

ego-defensive subordinate or

manager always try to resist change.

For instance a profitable suggestion

made by a sales person to the

marketing manager regarding the

expansion of sales may be turned

down because the manager perceives

that his ego may be deflated by

accepting the suggestion. It should,

however, be noted that not all but

some managers who have ego-

defensiveness (or ego-centered)

resist such changes.

Status Quo

Perhaps the biggest and most sound

reason for the resistance to change

is the status quo. People have vested

interest in the status quo. Change

may pose disturbance to the existing

comforts of status quo. Venturing the

change may involve uncertainty and

risk and may be at the cost of the

convenience and happiness of the

employees. Most of the people are

comfortable with status quo and

strongly resist change. It is because

people typically develop patterns for

coping with or managing the current

structure and situation. Change

means they will have to find new

ways of managing them and their

environment—the ways that might

not be successful as those currently

used.

Fear of unknown. Change presents

unknown which causes anxiety.

Whenever people do not know

exactly what happens they are likely

to resist it* The unknown poses a

constant threat and soares them.

People fear any untoward and

uncomfortable change and its

consequences. For instance, a sales

manager may wonder what might

happen if he is relocated to company

headquarters akin to another State.

He might ask if his family would like

it and if he could find friends.

Uncertainty in the situation arises not

from the change itself, but from the

consequences surrounding change.

To avoid making decision and fear

of unknown, manager may refuse

promotion that requires relocating.

Further any gap in the information

renders the mind of the employee

wandering over uncertainty about the

future and he thinks the better way

would be to oppose change.

Social reasons.

Economic and personal reasons for

resistance apart, some social reasons

may also be accountable for the

possible resistance to change. Social

displacement and peer pressure are

among those social reasons that are

very important for the manager to

consider when dealing with

resistance to change.

Social Displacement

Introduction of change often results

in disturbance of the existing social

relationships. It may also result in

breaking up of work groups. Normally

people in the working environment

develop informal rela-

j[tionships.When the friendship with

fellow-members is interrupted then

there is a possibility for the

employees to experience
30
psychological let down. Research

reveals that in combat situations

soldiers often fight the tendency to

make friendship among the other

members of their platoon, because

if one is killed or injured, the effect

on the group can be disastrous. They

would not be mentally prepared to

execute their jobs and could be

injured or sucide themselves. Thus

when social relationships develop, as

normally is the case, people try to

maintain them and fight social

displacement by resisting change.

Peer pressure.

Situations are not rare where

individuals are prepared to accept

change at their individual level, but

refuse to accept it for the sake of the

group. Whenever change is unwilling

to the peers, they force the individual

subordinate employees who are bent

of accepting the change to resist it.

Group, when there is perfect

cohesiveness, tends to resist some

changes collectively.

Organizational Resistance to

Change

Resistance may also be present at

organizational level. Some

organizations are so designed that

they resist innovations. For example,

those that perform a narrowly

prescribed assortment of functions

oppose change. They also sometimes

create strong defences against

changes. Some of the organizational

resistances are the threats to power

and influence, organizational

structure, resource constraints and

sunk costs.

Threats to power and

influence.

Some people consider change as a

potential threat to their position and

influence in the organization. Novel

ideas and the new use of resources

can disrupt the power relationships

and therefore, are often resisted at

organizational level. Specially people

who are occupying the top place in

the organization resist some changes

because any change might threaten

their existing power. That is to say

people resist change on the ground

that it might affect their position-

power.

Organizational structure.

Some organizational structures have

inbuilt mechanism for resistance to

change. For instance, consider a

typically bureaucratic structure

where jobs are narrowly defined,

lines of authority are clearly spelled

out, the flow of information is

stressed from top to bottom. In such

organization the channels of

communication make the new idea

difficult to travel and eventually it

increases the probability that the new

idea/innovation will be screened out

because it is not suitable for the

structure of the organization.

Resource constraints.

Organizations many a time operate

under some resource constraints. If

the resources with which to operate

are available in abundance there will

be no problem of introducing change.

But the necessary financial, material

and human resources may not be

available to the organization to make

the needed changes. So non-

availability of resources in adequate

also act as a resistance to change.

Sunk costs.

The plight of some companies is such

that the heavy capital is blocked in

the fixed or permanent assets. If an

organization wishes to introduce

change then difficulty arises because

of these sunk costs. Sunk costs are

not restricted to physical things

alone, farther they can be expressed

in terms of people also. For instance,

some members in the organization

retain their jobs by virtue of enough

seniority, though they do not

significantly contribute to the

organization. Unless they are

motivated properly to higher

performance, their payments for the

services (for example, fringe

benefits, salaries, and other

payments) represent the sunk costs

for the organization.

OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO

CHANGE

A manager need not always be

saddled with the task of change in

organizations where resistance is

strongly prevalent. He is wedded to

some techniques to overcome

resistance. One thing he should keep

in mind is that he should not

underestimate the variety of ways

people react to change, and the ways

they can positively influence specific

individuals and groups during the

change process.

Change creates tension and

emotional turmoil in the minds of

employees. According to Harris,

some people attempt to avoid tension

by creating barriers whereas some

others tend to minimize tensions by a

quick adjustment to change. Change

thus results in resistance quite

frequently, negative reactions doom

the success of the change

programme especially when a

manager is unable to handle it

properly. A manager should also note

that the individuals and groups react

very differently to change from

passively resisting it, to aggressively

trying to undermine it, to sincerely

embracing it

To overcome resistance is no mean

task. Probably because of this reason

Neccolo Machievalli rightly contended

“......it must be considered that there

is nothing more difficult to carry out,

nor more doubtful of success, nor

more dangerous to handle, than to

initiate a new order of things”.

Managers are therefore to grapple

with continuous uncertainty and

change especially because of

resistance problem.
EDUCATION AND
COMMUNICATION

One of the most easy and prescribed

techniques to overcome resistance to

change is to educate the people who

resist it. People are the essential

ingredients of the organization and in

most of the cases it is the individual

resistance that is the quite common

and threatening phenomenon. Many

people do not properly understand

change and hence underscore the

consequences and resist change.

Misunderstanding can be resolved by

explaining exactly what is to happen.

A manager on change agent who is

interested in introducing change

successfully must carefully evaluate

the change consequences and

educate these to employees. It is

essential that individuals who will be

affected must be convinced of the

necessity of change lest resistance

may be there. The manager in this

connection should exhibit appropriate

leaderships style. Most importantly, a

manager should explain:

What the change is?

When it is to be introduced?

How it will be implemented?

Why the change is needed?

The basic objectives of change?

While educating the employees of the

change and its consequences

communication plays an important

role. Communication of the ideas

help people to visualize the need and

logic of change.

Education as a method of overcoming

resistance to change is commonly

used in situations where there is a

lack of information and analysis. It

is an ideal solution where resistance

is based on inadequate or inaccurate

information and analysis, especially

the initiator needs the resistor's help

in implementing change effectively.

A chief merit of this method is that

once persuaded people will often help

in the implementation of change.

However, one potential drawback of

this method is that it can be very

time-consuming if lots of people are

involved. It requires a significant

amount of time, effort and money.

PARTICIPATION AND

INVOLVEMENT

In order to overcome resistance a

manager may also resort to the

technique of participation and

involvement. Here the basic strategy

of the manager is to involve the

resistors in some aspect of design

and implementation of the change so

that he can forestall resistance.

Manager in this connection, will have

a dialogue with the subordinates,

allows them to rent their views,

encourages the subordinates to

ventillate their opinions on the

change and its implementation. When

subordinate is allowed to participate

and involve in the change process

(decision-making regarding the

implementation of the change) he

generally feels satisfied and do not

oppose change. Participation will also

be instrumental in withering away

the misunderstanding that dwells in

the mind of subordinate about the

change and its consequences. With

the participative change effort the

initiators listen to the people what

change involves and use their advice.

Considerable research has

demonstrated that participation leads

to commitment, not merely
34
compliance. It should be noted that

commitment is vital for change to be

success or glorified.

This method works best when the

initiator does not have all the

information he needs to design or

implement change. It is also used

where others have considerable

power to resist and where high level

of commitment is needed, to

introduce change successfully in the

organization.

The main advantage of this method

is that people who participate will be

committed to implementing change,

and relevant information they

possess will be integrated into the

change plan. The negative point of

this method is that it is a very time-

consuming exercise. Sometimes

participation results in designing

inappropriate change.

Facilitation and Support

Managers sometimes deal with

potential resistance by being

supportive. This includes listening,

providing emotional support,

providing training in new skills or

giving employees time off after a

certain demanding period etc.

Support may be facilitative and

emotional.
Facilitative support attempts to

remove organizational barriers that

might hamper change or

implementation of organizational

policies to facilitate change. It

includes assistance offered by the

organization (for example,

appropriate tools, materials, advice

and training) to help make the

change work effectively.

Emotional support addresses

personal concerns as opposed to

technical concerns about change.

Manager can assist employees

experiencing anxiety induced by

change through compassionate

listing and helping them work out

their concerns.
This technique ‘facilitation’is

commonly used where people are

resistive because of adjustment

problems. Facilitation and support

are most helpful when fear and

anxiety lie at the heart of resistance.

“Tough and reasoned managers often

overlook or ignore this kind of

resistance, as well as the efficacy of

35
facilitative ways of dealing with it.”

The potential limitation of this

method is that it can be expensive,

time consuming without any

guarantee of success.

Negotiation and Agreement

Offering incentives to resistors is.

another fruitful way of overcoming

resistance to change. Where some

persons in a group clearly lose out

in a change, and where group has

considerable power to resist,

negotiation and agreement are

helpful. It becomes relatively easy

to avoid major resistance through

negotiation. But it can be too

expensive or costly if it alters others

to negotiate for compliance.

Manipulation and Cooptation

It is rare for the managers to resort

to covert attempts to influence

others. Manipulation involves

conscious structuring of events and

the very selective use of information.

Cooptation is one common form of

manipulation. It involves giving

individuals a desirable role in design

or implementation of change.

Manager generally indulges in

manipulation particularly when all

other tactics are infeasible or have

failed when applied.

One potential benefit of this method

is that it can be relatively quick and

inexpensive solution to the

resistance. However, one potential

danger of this technique is that it can

lead to future problems if people feel

they are manipulated.

Explicit or Implicit Coercion

Managers do not have other ways,

sometimes, than to resort to coercion

(i.e., they deal with the resistance

coercively). “They essentially force

people to accept a change by

explicitly or implicitly threatening

them (with the loss of their jobs,

promotion possibilities, and so forth)

or by actually firing and transfering

36
them.”

This method is commonly applied

where speed is essential in

implementing change, and the

change initiator possesses

considerable power. One definite

advantage of this method is that it

can be speedy, and can overcome

any kind of resistance. But at the

same time, it can be risky if it leaves

people mad at the initiators.

The most common mistake managers

commit is to use only one approach

or a limited set of them regardless

of the situation. For example, “the

hard-boiled boss who often coerces

people, the people- oriented manager

who consistently tries to involve and

support his people, the cynical boss

who always manipulates and

cooperates others, the intellectual

manager who relies heavily on

education and communication, and

lawyer like manager who usually tries

37
to negotiate.” What is important to

note is that the manager concerned

with the implementing the change

must use appropriate technique for

overcoming resistance.

Illuminating researches and

theoretical constructs have been

developed to understand and explain

the phenomenon resistance to

change. There are at least six

38
conditions which have been found

to be conducive to resistance:

Resistance can be expected if the

nature of change is not made clear

to the individual who is going to be

influenced by the change.

Different people see different

meanings in proposed change.

Resistance can be expected when

those influenced are caught between

strong forces pushing them to make

a change and strong forces deterring

them from making the change.

Resistance may be expected to be in

proportion to the pressure put on the

people for change.

Resistance may be expected if the

change is made on personal grounds

rather than impersonal requirements

or sanctions.

Resistance may be expected if the

change ignores the already

established institutions in the group.

GROUP DYNAMICS OF CHANGE

Just as clock is more than a collection

of hands, cogs and wheels, a work

group is more than a collection of

individuals. Just as when the things

in a clock get assembled something

new results (i.e., time) when

individuals are collected something

new results in terms of the important

functions relating to establishment of

common standards, goals, attitudes,

and leadership. It is then necessary

to study group as a means of change.

Group dynamics refer to “the forces

operating” in the group. Change is

the integral part of groups and it

becomes imperative to study the

group as a medium of change.

Darwin Cartwright has mentioned the

following characteristics of group

that are essential for the manager

to consider when he uses ‘group’as

a means of overcoming resistance to

39
change.

1. Strong Sense of Belonging. When

there is a strong WE FEELING

prevalent in the minds of

individual members, group can

be effectively used as a change

agent.

2. Group prestige. If the group is

attractive to the members it

becomes easy for the group to

exert influence on individual

members. Group pride often

 creates a dynamic quality of

give-and-take within the group

itself. That is a deep sense of

what each member has to offer

and a willingness of each

member to adapt to the needs

of the whole. The more cohesive

the group is, the more it

becomes desirable for the

organization to use group as a

change agent.

3. Attitudes, values and behaviour.

Group will be generally more

successful in changing

members’attitudes, values and

behaviour especially in those

areas as are related to the

purpose of the group. For

 instance, a union leader can

exert influence over rank and file

members regarding the strikes

and lockouts etc.

4. Individual prestige. If a

particular group member has a

status or prestige to other

members, he can greatly

influence them. Prestige is not

so being popular as being

respected. Prestige does not

necessarily accompany

authority. For instance, official

leader and the actual leader of

the group may be different

personalities.

5. Deviations from group norms.

Usually, members follow certain

 group norms. Any change efforts

that deviate from the established

norms encounter strong

resistance. In group interaction

therefore, the idea of

homeostasis must be taken into

account.

6. Shared perception. In a group

where members share perception

that change is needed, change

can be easily implemented. The

source of pressure for change

lies within the group.

7. Shared information. Any effort to

bring change requires frank and

open communication in order to

succeed without arousing undue

amount of resistance. Shared

 information brings shared

perception in its wake, and plays

important role in the change

process.

Is Resistance to Change a Red

Flag?

Resistance is not always necessarily

bad; it may help organization from

possible or eventual disaster. In fact,

resistance by some members of the

organization provides an opportunity

to the top management (or change

agents) to weigh the pros and con, of

introducing change more carefully. In

the absence of resistance the change

agent may be reluctant to evaluate

the change and prognosticate its

aftermath effectively. Resistance

encourages the organization to ‘look

before it leaps’

Resistance to change may not be bad

for the organization because:

1. It may signal the need for

improved communication about

the meaning and purpose of a

change or need to rethink

precisely how a proposed change

will affect organizational

members.

2. It also suggests better ways of

developing and introducing

changes or highlight real

inadequacies in a proposed

change.
Resistance is not a pandemic

phenomenon; it is rather helpful in

preventing the organization from

eventual collapse. Resistance is not

always an undesirable human

response. Strong resistance must be

overpowered by carefully examining,

enlightening and convincing the

reasons for change by the manager

or change agent. And this sort of

analysis is always helpful in carefully

evaluating the change and its

possible aftermath. Resistance thus

provides an excellent opportunity for

the managers to evaluate the change

and effectively prognosticate the

future changes, in the organization.

Implementation of Change

Having selected the appropriate

strategy and having identified the

focal points of concentration the

manager's immediate job is to

implement change. Here he confronts

a biggest challenge through

resistance by the employees.

Research and experience reveal that

creating change is more difficult than

might seem. David Nadler is right

when he says, “It is seductive to

think of an organization as a large

machine whose parts can be replaced

at will”. The task of changing

behaviour of people in organizations,

groups and structure have turned out

to be a difficult and frustrating

Endeavour. Nadler and Tushman

assert that any change encounters

three problems in

implementation—resistance, power

and control.

First is the problem of resistance to

change. Different reasons can be

attributed to the resistance. Some of

them are:

Most of the people prefer stability

and security. Change presents

unknown which causes anxiety.

People feel that changes imposed on

them reduce autonomy and self-

control.

People generally develop certain

patterns of managing the current

behaviour. Change moans that they

have to find new ways of managing

their tasks and environment.

People who are in the power resist

change because they feel change

threatens their power.

People have vested interest in status

quo.

For some ideological reasons also

people resist change* They truely

believe that the way things are done

currently is better than the proposed

change.

Manager in implementing change ft&s

to overcome such resistances to

change (resistance to change and the

methods to overcome resistance

have already been elaborately

discussed in this chapter).

The second problem in

implementation of change

programme relates to control.

Change disrupts normal course of

events in the organization, It disrupts

and undermines the existing systems

of management control. During the

implementation of change the

organization may easily lose control

over certain issues.

The third problem is regarding the

power. Any significant change poses

the possibility of upsetting or

modifying the balance of power

among the groups in the

organization. An organization is a

political system made up of different

individuals, groups, coalitions

competing for power.

Follow-up on the Change

Management of change is incomplete

without proper follow-up.

Organization must evaluate the

effects of change. Objectives must be

present and be compared with the

performance to see the degree of

success in change. End results should

be operationally defined and

measurements must be done both

before and after the implementation

of change. This enables the manager

or change agent, to compare the

performance after the introduction of

change with the one prior to it. The

manager must make sure that the

change is implemented in such a

fashion as to maximize the benefits

to the organization by the effective

changes.

ORGANIZATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

Organizational development
(commonly referred to as OD) is a

practical and systematic approach to

launching and diffusing change in

organizations. It is an attempt to

improve the overall organizational

efficiency. It is basically a long range

programme, not a one- shot deal,

attempting to change the behavioural

attitudes and performance of the

total organization. It is not a one-

time training and development

programme but is an ongoing and

cycling process. It is a “complex

educational strategy which aims to

bring about a better fit between the

human beings who work in and

expect things from organizations and

the busy, unrelenting environment

7
w ith its insistence on adapting to
1
changing times”.

It is not entirely clear as to who

coined the term “organizational

development” but in all probability it

was Robert Blake, Herbert Shephard
2
and Jane Mouton. Systematic OD

efforts have a fairly short history and

have two main trunk stems (using

the analogy of tree). One main stem,

laboratory training was initiated by

Douglas McGregor and his associates

at Union Carbide and Esso in 1950s.

Another stem of OD, survey

feedback, emerged from the Centre

for Group Dynamics, culminated in

the pioneering industrial application

of Survey feedback by Kurt Lewin and

his associates, and the subsequent

work of Floyd Mann and others in

the use of attitude surveys. These

inter-group projects have led to the

development of systematic research

and action based OD efforts. The OD

movement gained a tremendous

momentum by 70s and is increasingly

applied throughout the globe

nowadays. It has now been evolved

into accepted field of study and

professional practice. It has been

estimated that in USA alone more

than 5000 persons refer themselves

as OD practitioners.

DEFINITION

Unfortunately, OD is inconsistently

defined and is used as a convenient

3
label for a variety of activities. In

some organizations OD is an old wine

put in a new bottle, a new buzzword

attached to old
activities—organization planning,

personnel or management

development. In other organizations

OD is employed as a “comprehensive

strategy for organization

improvement.” In fact, the field of

OD is so rapidly charging that in a

few years the label OD may be

applied to a somewhat different set

of activities. Some of the widely

quoted definitions are presented

below:

An effort planned, organization-wide,

and managed from the top, to

increase the organization

Λ
effectiveness and health through

planned intervention in the

organization's processes using
5
behavioural science knowledge.

A method for facilitating change and

development in people in/ technology

and organizational processes and

6
structures.

A long range effort to improve an

organization's problem solving and

renewal processes, particularly

through a more effective and j

collaborative management of

organization culture—with special

emphasis on the culture of formal

work teams—with the assistance of

a change agent or catalyst and the

use of the theory and technology or

applied behavioural science,
7
including action research.

Thus no single definition of OD is

sacred but all emphasize the fact that

OD aims at improving the work

effectiveness of individuals, groups

and total organizational system. OD

may be taken to refer collectively an

assortment of training or therapeutic

interventions whose basic aim is to

improve the organization and its

members.

Characteristics

Long range effort.

OD is not designed to solve s term,

temporary or isolated problems. It

is a long term approach meant to

elevate the organization to a higher

level of functioning by improving the

performance and satisfaction of

organization members. OD

programmes generally cover a period

of three to five years.

Broad-based.

OD is used broadly to describe a

variety of change programmes. It

essentially deals with a big

picture—an organization. It is a

sophisticated attempt to bring about

a comprehensive change in the entire

organization. In other words, it is

concerned not only with changes in

organizational design but also with

changes in organizational

philosophies, skills of individuals and

groups.

Dynamic process.

OD includes the effort to guide and

direct change as well as to cope with

or adapt to imposed change. OD

recognizes the fact that the goals of

the organization change and hence

the methods of attaining them should

also change. OD is thus a dynamic

process involving a considerable

investment of time and currencies. It

is not merely a one-shot deal, it is

rather, an ongoing, interactive and

cycling process.
Systems view.

OD utilizes systems thinking.. It is

based on open, adaptive systems

concept. It recognises that

organization structure and

managerial performance are mutually

interdependent. The organization is

treated as an interrelated whole and

no part of the organization can be

changed without affecting other

parts.

Research-based.

Most of the OD interventions are

research-based. Change agents do

not just introspect the employees

and introduce changes, rather, they

conduct surveys, collect data,

evaluate and then take decisions. OD

programmes are generally conducted

by a special task force and involve

the utilization of outside behavioural

consultant's faculties.

Goal setting and planning.

Since OD is concerned with the entire

organization, the change agent

defines the goals of the group and

will see to it that together they all

work to achieve them. Beckhard

contends that healthy organizations

tend to have goal setting at all levels.

Normative re-educative

strategy.

OD is based on the principle that

“norms form the basis for behaviour

and change is a re-educa-tive

process of replacing old by new

ones”. For instance, some OD

programmes signify major

departures from bureaucratic

structure of an organization and call

for changes in managerial leadership

styles. OD is based on well-

established principles regarding the

individual and group behaviours in

the organization and hence it is

relatively easy for the OD

practitioners to launch and diffuse

the required changes by educating

them.
WHAT OD IS NOT?

Management development.

OD is a broader concept and includes

management development as its

subsystem. Management

development is concerned with

training and other processes aimed

at improving manager's knowledge,

skills and job performance. The

primary objective of OD is to change

the total system. Management

development, however, attempts to

change individuals so as to achieve a

better fit with the system.

Exclusively concerned with

people.

It is also concerned with the

development of organizational

competence, increasing

organizational efficiency and

effectiveness.

A no-fail formula. OD is not

concerned with no-fail formulae for

attaining perfection. Rather, it

provides room for helpful tactics for

moving the organization in the right

direction to enhance the

effectiveness of its members.

Aimed at simply making

organizations more productive and

efficient It also strives to make work

places satisfying and pleasant.

A gimmick or fad.

It is solidly based upon the theory

and research of a number of

disciplines.

Not a separate discipline. It draws

heavily from other disciplines such

as psychology, sociology and

anthropology.

OD Objectives and Values

As pointed out by Margulies and

9
Raia, “OD technology is aimed at
developing new organizational

learning and new ways of coping and

dealing with problems”. The primary

focus is on improving productivity,

morale and satisfaction of employees

in an organization. It is not a difficult

exercise to catalogue the other

important objectives of OD:

To increase the level of trust and

mutual emotional support among all

organizational members.

To increase the incidence of

confrontation of organizational

problems both within groups and

among groups in contrast to

‘sweeping problems under the rug’

To create an environment in which

authority of assigned role is

augmented by authority based on

knowledge and skill.

To increase the openness of

communications, laterally, vertically

and diagnolly.

To increase the level of enthusiasm

and personal satisfaction in the

organization.

To find synergistic solutions to

problems with greater frequency.

To increase the level of self and

group responsibility in planning and

implementation.

OD change efforts place a premium

on humanistic values and goals

consistent with these values. In fact

OD is a way of looking at the whole

11
human side of organizational life.
The emphasis of OD on human

dimensions of organization is

reflected in the following cardinal list

of humanistic values.

Providing opportunities for people to

function as human beings rather than

as resources in the production

process.

Providing opportunities for each

organization member, as well as for

the organization itself, to develop to

his full potential.

Seeking to increase the effectiveness

of the organization in terms of all of

its goals.
Attempting to create an environment

in which it is possible to find exciting

and challenging work.

Providing opportunities for people in

organizations to influence which they

relate to work, the organization, and

the

Treating each human being as a

person with a complex set of needs,

all of which are important in his work

and in his life.

Thus, OD develops a view of people

in organization that is radically

different from the traditional

approaches about organizations.

Tannenbaum and Davis have

identified a new set of values, though

not completely accepted, that OD

tries to bring about ultimately.

OD Process

OD is a process rather than a solution

to a given problem. OD process

involves the following steps: (1)

problem identification and definition,

(2) collection of necessary data, (3)

diagnosis, (4) planning of change and

its implementation and (5) evaluation

and feedback.

Problem identification.

Understanding and identification of

the problem in the organization is

the first step in OD process. The

awareness of the problem includes

knowledge of the possible

organizational problems of growth, of

human satisfaction and use of human

resources and the problems of

organizational effectiveness. Having

understood exactly what the problem

is the OD practitioner can proceed to

collect the necessary data to solve

the problem.

Collection of data.

Data gathering is perhaps the most

important activity in the process of

OD. Personal interviews, personal

observations and questionnaires are

the most common ways through

which the data is collected. Different

types of problems require different

data and as such the question of

“which method” to use depends upon

the nature of problem the

organization encounters. Having

collected the necessary data,

organization proceeds to analyse it.

Diagnosis.

There is no cook-book formula for

accurate diagnosis. It demands

considerable skills of analysis and

observation as most of the problems

are often expressed by organization

members in ambiguous terms. OD

programme may turn out to be a self-

defeating exercise if decisions were

to be based on such general and

vague information. Before decisions

are taken, the information collected

must be subjected to a microscopic

examination, and, therefore,

experience and judgment are critical

to this phase. If organization leaders

were to show indecent haste to arrive

at decisions quickly without

considering the pitfalls, dangers, it

may prove to be very costly at the

end.

Diagnosis should not be limited to

a single problem. Often, important

factors like attitudes, assumptions,

available resources etc., must be

taken into account in the diagnostic

phase. For this purpose attitude

surveys can be undertaken through

questionnaires wherein the

respondents may be asked to

evaluate and rate several job related

factors like working conditions, pay

etc. Such surveys will help identify

the problem clearly as perceived by

the organization members. Diagnosis

assists the planners to locate the

source of specific problem and see

what changes are required in the

system, the structure or in people.

Planning and implementation-

After diagnosing the problem, the OD

expert turns his attention to the

planning of change and implementing

it. OD interventions come into picture

here. Intervention is considered to

be the action phase in OD process.

Intervention is a set of planned,

programmed activities and

techniques by which organizations

and their clients collaborate in an OD

13
Programme. According to French
4’
and Bell, interventions consist of

the long range evolving applications

of OD techniques targeted for

changing individuals, groups, or the

total organization”.

The range and number of available

interventions is not small but

extensive. The particular intervention

to be used depends on the target

group in the organisation. One

intervention differs from another in

terms of the intensity or depth with

which it penetrates into the working

of the organization. An effective OD

programme does not consider all

interventions, but selects the

appropriate one that suits the

requirements. But sometimes more

than one intervention is used in the

programme. Evaluation and

feedback.

Probably one of the important stages

in OD process is evaluation. As one

stage ends and another stage looms,

evaluation is helpful to know as to

what has been done, whether

correctly done or not, and show

whether further work is needed

before proceeding to the next stage.

While evaluating, the change agent

carefully observes the decisions

taken, and their consequences in the

organization.

Any OD activity is incomplete without

proper feedback. Feedback is the

process of relaying evaluations to

appropriate employees and groups by

means of special sessions or reports.

Feedback must be carefully handled

because sometimes emotional factors

set in. For instance, when mistakes of

some of the members are spelled out

then emotional factors accompanying

the resentment may creep in. It is

important to remember that feedback

should be based on the broad array

of data should include the

assessment of the change model

itself.
TEAM BUILDING

Another important intervention that

has received most attention and

support in recent years is the team

building. In fact, most of the OD

practitioners have great faith in team

building. Essentially, team building is

an attempt to assist the work group

in becoming adept by learning how to

identify, diagnose and solve its own

1
problems.” It directly focuses on the

identification of problems relating to

task performance and lays down

concrete plans for their elimination. A

team building programme deals with

new problems on an ongoing basis.

It is an effective technique by which

members of an organizational group

diagnose how they work together and

plan changes that will improve their

effectiveness.

Organizations produce very little

solely from individual effort.

According to Margulies and Raia.

“Most effective team action is not

easy to achieve in which Tom, Dick,

and Harry are trained independently

or separately. The goal of team

building is to perfect the operation of

individuals as a team, not to teach

each of them as an independent,

isolated components of the

organization. In a sharp contrast to

the earlier intervention, sensitive

training, the interest of which was

on individuals and on the task of

enhancing personal and social

insight, team building intervention

focuses on the task performance of

the work groups. Team building

attempts to improve effectiveness of

work groups by allowing the group

members to concentrate on:

Setting goals or priorities for

organizational groups.

Analyzing or allocating the way

the work is performed.

Examining the way the group is

working.
 Examining the relationships

among the people doing the

work.

Thus the fundamental aim of team

building is to help the group

members in examining their own

behaviours and developing action

plans that foster task

accomplishment.

In team building, employees belong

ir5 work group gather and discuss

problems relating to their mance.

These discussions are generally held

away from the regular organizational

settings and are as frank and candid

as possible. In a typical team building

exercise, session starts with

identifying the current problems such

as inefficient procedures, ineffective

policies, use of faulty equipment and

role ambiguities etc 4 Members of the

team building contribute information

concerning their individual

perceptions of issues, problems and

task relationships. Having agreed on

to the key problems, discussion shifts

to specific tactics for overcoming

these problems/ difficulties.

Assessments regarding the impact of

these tactics are done in the final or

concluding session.

Necessary Conditions for the Success

of Team Building Programme

Before attempting to undertake the

team building exercise the

management has to ensure that:

Basic interdependence among the

members of the group exist (when

task interdependencies do not exist,

then team building is an

inappropriate intervention).

The group members understand the

stated goals clearly.

The group members unanimously

agree with the objectives.

The group is capable of taking

corrective action on the problems

identified or at least will be able to

tackle some reasonable percentage

of them.
EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT

Research reveals that team building

has resulted in many favourable

outcomes such as positive changes

in employees participation and

involvement, job satisfaction,

organizational climate and the

attitudes of employees. It is also

revealed that team building fostered

the group's decision-making and

problemsolving skills and other

aspects of group behaviour.

Furthermore, in a field experiment

38
Woodman and Sherwood conclude

“increased involvement and

participation is among the strongest

expected positive outcomes of team

building.”

Evaluation

Team building as on OD activity has

become more popular than sensitivity

training in the recent past. It is

because of certain inherent

advantages.

Team building improves the

organization's problem-solving ability

and decisionmaking skills.

It results in effective interpersonal

relationships.
It helps understand inter-group

communication and remove the

barriers, if any, in the organizational

communication pattern.

It provides a useful way for the group

to examine interpersonal issues.

It provides a useful platform for the

employees to involve in their OD

programme.

It increases the probability of

occurrence of collaborative

behaviour.

Team building, thus, contributes both

to goal attainment and to building

and solidifying positive interpersonal

attitudes.
In spite of these benefits, team

building as an OD intervention is

severely criticised on the following

grounds:

Team building focuses only on work

groups. It fails to consider the other

organizational variables such as

technology and structure.

Team building becomes a

complicated exercise especially when

new groups are formed. When new

groups emerge:

Confusion arises in the roles and

relationships among the group

members when new members join.

The technical competence of the new

members may be distinctly different

and they (new members) may find it

very difficult to get along with the

existing members.

New members may often pay more

attention to the tasks of the team

rather than to the relationships

among the team members.

Thus, when new groups are formed,

they overemphasize the task

problems ignoring the relationship

issues completely. By the time

relationship problems begin to crop

up and come to the surface, the

group may be unable to deal with

them. This might adversely affect the

performance of the group as well as

the goals of the organization.

ORGANIZATIONAL

EFFECTIVENESS

Organizational effectiveness is the

central theme of organization theory.

It is a viable concept from the

standpoint of management. It is very

difficult to conceive a theory of

organization that does not include

the concept of effectiveness.

Academicians and organizational

scientists unanimously agree to the

importance of the effectiveness in

organizations. At the same time there

is little agreement among the social

scientists as to what the concept

really means. The principle reason for

the notable lack of consensus of the

concept stems from the parochial

views that many scientists harbour

about i the effectiveness construct.

For instance, a financial analyst

usually equates effectiveness with

the rate of return on investment; the

number of inventions and

introductions may be the criteria of

effectiveness for a Research and

Development specialist; job security,

job satisfaction and pay levels may

be the measuring rods of

effectiveness for a labour union

leader. Thus effectiveness can be

construed as a semantic jungle. Many

people, however, define effectiveness

in terms of a single evaluation

criterion. For instance:

1. Effectiveness could be defined as

the degree to which organization

2
realizes its goals.

2. Effectiveness of an organization

can be seen in terms of survival

3
of the organization.

3. Organizational effectiveness is

the extent to which an

organization, given certain

resources and means, achieves

its objectives without placing

4
undue strain on its members.

4. Effectiveness is the ability of an

organization to mobilize its

 centres of power for action-

production and adaptation.

John P. Campbell has reviewed a

proliferation of different OE (OE

stands for organizational

effectiveness) and formed as many

as thirty different criteria for

measuring effectiveness. It is true

that all thirty cannot be relevant to

every organization but certainly

some must be more important than

others. The researcher having

tabulated these criteria, surprisingly

concluded “since an organization can

be effective or ineffective on a

number of different facets that may

be relatively independent of one

another, organizational effectiveness

has no operational definition.

R.M. Steers has reviewed seventeen

different approaches of assessing OE

and found a general absence of

agreement among them. The four top

ranking evaluation criteria in his

study are adapt- ability-flexibility,

productivity, job satisfaction, and

profitability. Most surprisingly,

‘survival’and ‘growth’are least

important factors in his study. Steers

reached the conclusion that there is

a little agreement among analysts

concerning what criteria should be

used to assess current levels of

effectiveness. If the search was to

find a single universal criterion of OE

then disappointment is
8
understandable.
OE undisputedly defies a single

operational definition. There is

almost unanimous agreement today

that OE requires multiple criteria;

that different organizational

functions are subject to evaluation

employing different characteristics.

The essence of the above discussion

is that:

1. Effectiveness is not one-

dimensional concept that can be

precisely measured by a single,

clear-cut criterion.

2. Effectiveness is a matter of

degree. No organization is
 effective as it could be.

Effectiveness is a label to which

an organization has performed

according to its capacities,

potentials, and general goals.

EFFECTIVENESS VERSUS
EFFICIENCY

The distinction between the concepts

‘effectiveness’and ‘efficiency? is very

important to explain why some

organizations are effective but highly

inefficient, or highly efficient but

ineffective. Effectiveness is a broad

concept and takes into account a

conglomeration of factors both inside

and outside the organization. It is

commonly referred to as “the degree

to which predetermined goals are

achieved” On the other hand,

efficiency is a limited concept that

pertains to the internal working of

the organization. Efficiency refers to

the amount of resources used to

produce a particular unit of output.

It refers to the economic manner in

which goal-oriented operations are

carried out, generally measured as

the ratio of inputs to outputs. Thus,

efficiency refers to the way in which

the resources are put to use, i.e.,

technology, whereas effectiveness

refers to the accomplishment of

organizational goals and objectives.

And, it is difficult to establish a

correlation between these two
concepts.
Further, effectiveness centers more

on human side of organizational

values and activities, whereas

efficiency concentrates on the

technological side. Chester Barnard,

makes an important distinction

between these concepts

‘effectiveness’and ‘efficiency’by

saying “when Unsought

consequences are trivial, effective

action is efficient; when unsought

consequences are not trivial effective

action is inefficient.”
Perspectives on Effectiveness

David Lawless highlights the

importance of three different

perspectives of effectiveness. They

are—individual, group and

organizational effectiveness.

The perspective of individual

effectiveness throws light on the task

performance of the members of the

organization. This performance is

routinely assessed through

evaluation techniques that become

the basis for pay rises, promotions

and other positive rewards in the

organization.
Individuals collectively

become a group.

Individuals seldom work alone or in

isolation from others in an

organization. Therefore, it is vital to

consider, yet, another perspective,

i.e., group effectiveness.

Organization consists of individuals

and groups and therefore OE consists

of both individual and group

effectiveness. But one point for

caution. OE may be more than the

sum of individual and group

effectiveness. Through synergistic

efforts, organizations are able to

obtain higher levels of performance

than the sum of their parts.

Lawless, however, contends that

individual effectiveness does not

necessarily cause group

effectiveness, nor can it be said that

group effectiveness is the sum of

individual effectiveness. He further

adds that the connecting arrows

between each level do not imply a

clear- cut or specific form of

relationships. The relationships,

however, among these perspectives

vary depending on the type of

organization, the task, and the level

of technology used in the

organization. The fundamental task

of management is to identify and

establish the causes of these

perspectives. OE is the result of a

blend of vast number of variables

including technology, environmental

constraints, personal competence of

the employees and the innovative

abilities of the managers etc. The

causes of individual effectiveness

include physical attributes,

personality traits, motivation and

morale etc. The causes of group

effectiveness comprise of leadership,

communication and socialization etc.

The causes of organizational

effectiveness include technology,

environmental conditions

competence and many other

variables.

APPROACHES TO

ORGANIZATIONAL

EFFECTIVENESS

There are four broad approaches to

OE, namely, the goal attainment
approach, systems approach,

strategic constituencies approach,

and the behavioural approach.

A. The Goal Attainment Approach

An organization primarily exists

to accomplish goals. Goal

attainment is probably the most

widely used criterion of

organizational effectiveness. In

the words of an early and

influential practitioner ;! and

writer in management, Chester

11
I. Barnard “what we mean by

effectiveness is the

accomplishment of recognized
objectives of cooperative effort.

The degree of accomplishment

indicates the degree of

effectiveness”. Organization's

effectiveness is appraised in

terms of the accomplishment of

ends rather than means. The

goal approach has widespread

commonsense and practical

appeal.

Assumptions. To make this

approach useful certain

1
assumptions * must be made,

such as:

Organization have ultimate

goals.

The goals of the organization are

well defined and properly

understood by all the members

of organization.,

There must be general consensus

on these goals.

The goals must be few enough to

be manageable.

Progress toward these goals

must be measurable.

How to operationalize the goal-

attainment approach. Etizioni

defines a goal as “an image of

a future state”. This definition

might include goal statements

about a single variable such as

rate of return on investment, or

profit, production or sales or

complex variables satisfying the

multiple criteria of the systems

theory model. But whether goals

are single or. multiple, official or

operational, once these goals are

identified it would be necessary

to develop some measurement

device to see how well these are

realized. Not only that the

tangible, verifiable and

quantifiable goals are to be

developed, but conditions under

which they are to be

accomplished and the degree to

which each goal must be

satisfied also to be specified.

Organization, then, measures

the actual performance and

compares it with the standards/

goals set to see the degree of
effectiveness.
SOME RESEARCH STUDIES

James L. Price—A Conceptual Study

Price has reviewed and analysed fifty

studies and developed a model

comprising of a dependent variable

called ‘effectiveness’and five

intervening independent variables,

namely, productivity, morale,

confirmity, adaptiveness and

institutionalization. Price adhers to a

goal-oriented approach and he

provides an inventory of propositions

outlining the determinants of

organizational effectiveness as
defined by their level of attainment

of goal. In his model there are five

systems—economic system, political

system, (internal and external

systems), control system, population

system, and ecology system (or

environmental system). These

systems through intervening

variables determine effectiveness.

Price provides a comprehensive list of

propositions derived from the careful

review of the literature on OE.

Some of them are:

1. Organization which have a high

degree of division of labour are

more likely to have a high degree

of effectiveness.
 2. Organizations which have a high

degree of vertical

communications are more likely

to have a high degree of

effectiveness

3. Organizations which have a high

degree of autonomy are more

likely to have a high degree of

effectiveness.

Mahoney and Weitzel—An

Empirical Study

While the approach of Price is

essentially conceptual in nature (i.e.,

it does not have hypothesis and

empirical testing etc.), Mahoney and

Weitzel have empirically expanded

the criterion of organizational

effectiveness.
According to these researchers, there

are three sets of criteria in

determining organizational

effectiveness viz., ultimate,

intermediate and immediate. The

‘ultimate criterion’is the achievement

of finaf goal and the ‘intermediate

criterion’and the ‘immediate

criterion’are the midrange criteria

that are generally applied to the

short run assessment of

effectiveness. Their primary

emphasis was on measurable

midrange organizational criteria

which are used as short-run

substitutes for the more subjective

long-run criteria for OE.

Mahoney and Weitzel have developed

models for two types of

organizations—

General business organizations, and

research and Development

organizational units.

These scholars have identified twenty

four variables that are useful in

predicting effectiveness. The

important variables in business

organization are productivity,

support and utilization, planning,

reliability, and initiation. The

important variables for research and

development were reliability,

cooperation and development. The

difference between these two models

is explained in terms of ultimate

criterion. Business organization has

ultimate goals of profitability,

productivity and efficiency and

research and development are the

professional competence and

development.

Problems with the Goal

Approach

Goal attainment approach, in spite of

its appeal and apparent simplicity, is

fraught with many problems. Some of

them are:
1. Goal attainment approach is

difficult to apply in those

organizations that do not

produce tangible outputs.

2. Organizations have different

types of goals—short-run, long-

run, individual, operational and

organizational. But the question

arises ‘whose goals are to be

considered?’The associated

question is ‘who measures- the

goals?’There are no straight-

forward answers to these

questions.

3. The fact that organizations have

multiple goals also creates

difficulties. The goals compete

with each other and sometimes

 are even incompatible. For

instance, low cost of production

and high quality may be

competing goals.

4. Goal attainment approach

assumes consensus on the goals

of the organization. But in the

wake of diverse interests and

multiple goals such consensus

may not be possible. To arrive

at consensus organizations are

sometimes forced to “state goals

in such ambiguous terms as to

allow the varying interest groups

to interpret them in a way

favourable to their self-

17
interests. Various researchers

have noted the difficulty of

 obtaining consensus among

managers as to the specific goals

18
of their organizations.

5. The more serious problem is

about the measurement and

evaluation of performance.

Despite these problems, goal

approach continues to dominate the

scenario of organizational

effectiveness. Goal approach exerts

a powerful influence on the

management and organizational

behaviour. Richards is of the opinion

that “the recent discussions

positively reflect the significance of

organizational goals in a strategic

decision- making”.
Steers on Goal Optimization

As against the conventional approach

of goal maximization, Richard M.

20
Steers has advocated goal

optimization. He lists the following

points in support of his theory. Goal

maximization is probably not possible

always; even if it were, it might be

detrimental to the organization's

well-being and survival. Sometimes

the goals may be conflicting. For

instance, to maximize productivity as

well as job satisfaction at the same

time may not be possible.

To resolve this, compromization may

be made in terms of goal

optimization, i.e., to provide an

optimal level of attainment of both

the objectives. The optimization

approach therefore recognizes

multiple and conflicting

organizational goals.

Goal optimization allows differential

weights to be placed on various goals

by the managers. For example, the

weight of profit goal may be thrice

the weight of job satisfaction goal.

Goal optimization takes into account

a number of constraints that can

impede the progress toward the

attainment of goals. For instance,

technological constraints, financial

hardships, marketing obstacles etc.,

may make profit maximization

impossible. In the presence of these

unavoidable constraints optimization

is the best available alternative.

Goal optimization has the advantage

of incorporating increased flexibility

of evaluating criteria. In the words

of Steers “as the goals pursued by

the organization’ change or as the

constraints associated with them

change, a new optimal solution will

emerge that could represent the new

evaluation criteria”. The assessment

therefore reflects the changing needs

and goals of organization.

Goal optimization also aids in long-

range planning. That is to say, the

weighted goals and their constraints

can be modeled by using computer

stimulations to derive optimal

solutions with a view to allocate

future resources’ efficiently.

Systems Approach to

Organizational Effectiveness

Goal attainment approach is biased in

the sense that it concentrates only on

outputs. But a more comprehensive

look at organizational effectiveness

calls for judging the ability of

organization in acquiring the inputs

and in the transformation of inputs

into outputs (called the

transformation process). This is done

through the systems approach.

A systems approach to OE implies

that organizations are made up of

interrelated and interacting

elements. The effectiveness of total

system is dependent on the

performance of all its sub-parts. The

open-system perspective emphasizes

the inter-relationships between

various parts of an organization and

its environment as they jointly

influence effectiveness.

The systems view aims at such

factors as relations with environment

to assure continued receipt of inputs

and positive acceptance of outputs,

flexibility of response of the

organization to changing

environment, the efficiency with

which the transformation takes place

in the organization, the level of

employee job satisfaction and the

clarity of communication etc.

Managers as such have a

responsibility to understand the

nature of their environment and to

set realistic goals that accommodate

the environment. The more effective

organizations, then, are those that

successfully adapt structure, work,

technologies, policies with the

changing environment to facilitate

the goal attainment.

SOME RESEARCH STUDIES

Seashore and Yuchtman

These researchers at Michigan

University have identified ten

effectiveness dimensions in their

study of seventy five insurance

agencies.

These effectiveness dimensions

are—business volume, production

cost, new member productivity,

youthfulness of members, business

mix, work force growth, devotion to

management, maintenance cost,

member productivity, and market

penetration. The research scholars

postulate that the interdependence

between environment and an

organization takes the form of an

input/output transaction which

involves scarce resources. They label

their theory as “a systems resource

approach to organizational
22
effectiveness”. The resources in

the environment are limited in supply

and any attempt to acquire these

resources leads to competition

among organizations. They visualize

the effectiveness of organizations* in

terms of the bargaining position that

is attained between the competing

organizations. According to them,

therefore, the key problem in

assessment of effectiveness is the

identification of competitive

dimensions in inter organizational

transactions.
Organizational effectiveness

can be assessed by the

following steps:

Providing an inclusive taxonomy of

resources,

Identifying different types of

resources that are mutually relevant

for the organizations under study.

Determining the relative positions for

the compared organizations on the

basis of information concerning the

amounts and kinds of resources that

are available for the organization and

its efficiency in using these resources

to get further resources.

Seashore and Yuchtman conclude

“the highest level of organizational

effectiveness is reached when the

organization maximizes its resource

procurement... optimum is the point

beyond which an organization

endangers itself because of depletion

of its resource producing

environment or the. devaluation of

the resource, or because of this

stimulation of countervailing within

that environment.”

Georgopolous and

Tannenbaum

These organizational scientists have

empirically studied an organization

that specialized in the delivery of

retail merchandize. The concept of

effectiveness subsumes the following

three criteria, (according to them)

viz.— Organizational productivity.

Organizational flexibility in the form

of successful adjustment to internal

organizational changes and

successful adaptation to externally

induced changes.

Absence of intra-organizational strain

or tension and of conflicts between

organizational subgroups.

The organizational structure included

subsystems called ‘stations’ The

empirical findings are that “effective

stations were more productive, lower

in intergroup strain and conflicts and

somewhat flexible than non-effective
stations”.
Friedlander and Pickle

In their study of ninety seven firms,

Friedlander and Pickle attempted to

define the criteria of OE to reflect

the interdependent relation of

organization with the environment.

Their concept of effectiveness was

determined by the degree to which

the needs of ‘components’were

fulfilled in their transactions with the

organization. Their empirical work

reveals that only in a moderate

number of cases both societal and

employee needs are fulfilled.

Organizations find it difficult to fulfill

simultaneously the variety, of

demands made upon them.

Paul Mott, another researcher, noted

that the criteria for the OE consists

of production, adaptability, and

flexibility and his main concentration

is on the internal oriented view of

effectiveness.

Schein

A notable social scientist, Edgar

Schein, suggests that the

maintenance of effectiveness is made

possible through the adaptive coping

cycle. In his words, “the sequence

of activities... process which „ begin

with some change in some part of

the internal or external environment

and end with more adaptive, dynamic

equilibrium for dealing with change”.

Adaptive coping cycle has the

following six stages:

Sensing a change in some part of

internal or external environment.

Importing the relevant information

about the change into those parts of

the organization that can act upon it.

Changing production or conversion

process inside the organization

according to information obtained.

Stabilizing internal changes while

reducing or managing undesired

products.
Exporting new services, products

etc.,that are more in line with the

originally perceived changes in the

environment.

Obtaining feedback on the success

of change through further sensing of

the state of external environment

and the degree of integration of the

29
external environment.

Schein, thus, contends that the

effectiveness of an organization is

either maintained or lost depending

on the sensing and use of feedback

from the environment. In one study

30
by Caplan the use of four variables

to measure effectiveness of an

organization is suggested. The

variables are stability, integration,

voluntarism and achievement.

Prasad S.B., throws light on the three

subsystems to determine the degree

of effectiveness in an organization.

These subsystems are the economic

subsystem, technical subsystem and

social subsystem. He concludes that

to maintain the higher level of

effectiveness an equilibrium of the

levels of effectiveness of all the three

subsystems must be achieved. But

an organization can be effective

reasonably in either one or two

subsystems without necessarily

jeopardizing or affecting its total

effectiveness.
Problems with the systems approach.

Though systems approach to

effectiveness has a definite edge over

the goal-attainment approach in the

sense organizations give due respect

to the environment to survive, it is

not without problems or black spots.

Flexibility of response to environment

and such qualitative variables defy

appropriate measurement.

A second negative point of systems

approach is that the focus of systems

approach is on means rather than

ends.
The Strategic Constituencies

Approach
Another (but less popular) approach

to organizational effectiveness is the

strategic constituencies approach. It

is similar to systems approach in

appearance but with slightly different

emphasis. Like systems view

strategic constituencies approach

also considers the interdependencies

among different subsystems in the

organization but it is not concerned

with the entire environment. It rather

seeks to appease only that part of

environment that can threaten the

organization's survival. An effective

organization is one that satisfies the

demands of those constituencies in

its environment from which it

requires support for its continued

existence.
Strategic constituencies approach

assumes that an organization faces

competing demands from various

interest groups both within and

outside the organizational

environment. Management must

meet all unimportant and non-

competing demands out and select

only those critical or strategic

constituencies in the environment so

as to survive, To see the

effectiveness through this approach

certain steps should follow.

1. Management should indentify all

integral constituencies in the

environment on which the
survival of organization depends.
2. The relative power of each

constituency should be evaluated

by considering the degree of

dependence of the organization

oh them.

3. Identify the expectations those

constituencies hold for the

organization.

4. Management should, then,

arrange these constituencies in

order of their power and

expectations.

5. Organizational effectiveness then

would be assessed in terms of

its ability to satisfy these

constituencies that are ranked.

The fundamental problem with this

strategic constituencies approach is

that the task to separate strategic

constituencies from the larger

environment is not easy. It is difficult

because with changing *

environment these critical areas also

change rapidly or change within no

time. What is critical today may not

be so tomorrow.

The second negative point is that it is

very difficult to assign the j weights

to these critical constituencies

regarding the dependence of

organizations on them.

Finally, the expectations that the

constituencies hold of the

organization defy identification and

measurement.
QUESTIONS

1. What do you mean by

“Organisational climate”? Also,

explain the factors affecting

climate of work organization:-

2. Elucidate the factors affecting

job satisfaction in work

organization?

3. Define the term “organization

development”? Elist the

characteristics of OD:-

4. What are the objectives of OD?

5. Discuss the importance of Team

Building in an organization:-

6. What is change? What are the

most frequent causes of change?

7. Discuss the process of change in

organisations:-.