Assignment Code: ASST/TMA/July 2021 & January 2022

Course Code: BPAE-142

Assignment Name: Organisational Behaviour

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Total Marks: 100

Assignment A

Answer the following in about 500 words each.

Q1. Discuss the meaning, features and significance of Organisational Behaviour. 20

Ans) The Meaning of Organisational Behaviour

"Organisational Behaviour" is defined as "a subset of management activities concerned with understanding, predicting, and influencing individual behaviour in organisational settings" by Fred Luthans, while Robert E. Callahan, C. Patrick Fleenor, and Harry R. Knudson define it as "a subset of management activities concerned with understanding, predicting, and influencing individual behaviour in organisational settings" by Robert E. Callahan, C. Patrick Fleenor, and Harry R.

The Features of Organisational Behaviour

1. Although OB is not a stand-alone discipline, it is a vital aspect of the larger 'Management discipline,' it has come to be considered as a distinct field of study due to its importance and efficacy.

2. OB studies aren't just for academic purposes. They have certain objectives to meet. In general, these objectives are linked to increased productivity, either directly or indirectly.

3. OB is multi-disciplinary in that it is impacted and affected by changes in other fields of study such as Economics, Management, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Industrial Psychology, and so on.

4. Other behavioural sciences are concerned with a wide range of human and animal behaviours, whereas OB focuses solely on human behaviour, and that too within the fairly limited context of life within an organisation.

5. OB examines behaviour on three levels: the person, the group, and the organisation as a whole.

The Significance of Organisational Behaviour

A group of people can do things that a single person cannot. This is the fundamental concept underlying forming a company. Many people with various skills and expertise join forces under the umbrella of an organisation to pursue common goals. Individuals in this group expect each other to act/perform in a way that is most conducive to attaining the set objectives. "The greatest improvement in the productive powers of labour, and the greater part of skill, dexterity, and judgement with which it is anywhere directed, or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labour," Adam Smith wrote in his classic work, An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

The principle of 'division of labour' is very well implemented in organisations. Various workers within an organisation will have different skills and will be put at different hierarchical levels as a result of the application of division of labour. Because of this variability, a complicated web of interactions between various groups of people emerges. The OB discipline gives us the tools we need to negotiate this challenging terrain.

1. Workforce Diversity: Having a diverse workforce allows for new viewpoints to be brought into the workplace. However, it also comes with it a slew of difficulties. A manager with experience in OB will be more prepared to deal with the issues that come with diversity.

2. Globalisation: For most businesses, globalisation is both a challenge and an opportunity. In the framework of 'International Human Resource Management,' OB ideas take on a new meaning.

3. Customer-Orientation: "The customer is king," stated Mahatma Gandhi emphatically. Customers can only be satisfied if the personnel are happy.

4. Disruption and Innovation: Disruptions and innovations are the rule of the day, and they are no more rare occurrences. The application of a novel concept, method, process, or technology to create value for customers and profits for businesses is known as innovation.

5. Work Environment: The term "work environment" refers to both the physical and psychological aspects of one's job.

Q2. Bring out the meaning, importance and benefits of teamwork. 20

Ans) Teamwork is a group's collective effort to attain a common goal in the most efficient way possible. This idea is commonly defined as a group of people's willingness and cooperation to work together to achieve a common goal. This indicates that someone has the team's best interests at heart and is working for the team's benefit. Teamwork, on the other hand, is not limited to organised groups. We can observe evidence of cooperation in a committee, which may or may not consider itself to be a team. Teamwork can be random co-operation in this situation, but it isn't usually.

Importance

1. Increased productivity is achieved by distributing burden and tasks across team members.

2. Teamwork fosters creativity, originality, self-assurance, and practical problem-solving solutions.

3. It provides members with a sense of belonging and acknowledgment, which boosts their morale and self-esteem.

4. It offers members assistance, support, and guidance during challenging times, reducing stress and encouraging them to concentrate on achieving their objectives in a timely manner.

5. It aids in the formation of strong bonds between coworkers.

6. It improves members' communication skills.

7. It allows members to be flexible in carrying out their responsibilities while adhering to the norms of a healthy work-life balance.

8. It encourages the development of leadership skills.

9. It paves the way for improved job chances in the future.

10. It broadens the scope of professional job.

11. It increases the quality of service supplied to customers.

Benefits of Teamwork

1. Fosters creativity and learning: When people work together as a team, creativity thrives.

2. Builds trust: Relying on others fosters trust, and collaboration fosters solid co-worker connections. An efficient team has a strong bond and enjoys working together.

3. Conflict resolution abilities are improved: Conflicts are unavoidable in a group setting. Employees come from a variety of backgrounds and work in a variety of ways. While these distinct perspectives encourage creativity, they can also breed competition resentment, which can lead to conflict.

4. Encourages employees to be proud of their contributions: The team encourages employees to be proud of their contributions. Employees feel more engaged to the organisation when they are working for the organization's goals.

5. Working as a team permits team members to take genuine risks since they have the backing of the entire group to fall back on in the event of a problem or failure.

6. Synergy is created by collaboration: Synergy is not a given. It does not occur, and achieving it is tough.

7. Teamwork promotes a more empowered method of working by removing restraints that can prohibit someone from carrying out their job responsibilities.

8. Teamwork encourages flatter, leaner, and less hierarchical organisations.

9. Teamwork promotes cross-organizational collaboration and multi-disciplinary work.

10. Flexibility and reactivity, particularly the ability to respond to change, are fostered via teamwork.

11. Customers who enjoy working in groups will appreciate teamwork.

12. Teamwork fosters a sense of accomplishment, equity, and camaraderie, all of which are necessary for a motivated workplace.

13. When correctly handled, teamwork is a more productive way of working.

Assignment B

Answer the following in about 250 words each.

Q3. Explain the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). 10

Ans) Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) tool to help people understand and appreciate differences in one other's personalities, and so boost the productivity of teams made up of varied people. When people disagree, Isabel Briggs Myers claims that knowing their 'type' decreases friction and hence eases the pressure in interpersonal relationships. She goes on to say that it demonstrates the value of differences. No one, she believes, needs to be good at everything. "It is up to each person to recognise his or her genuine inclinations," Isabel Briggs Myers says. People can develop themselves at any age, she claims, by recognising their 'type' and making good use of their skills.

The MBTI personality test is the most extensively used personality test. It categorises people into one of 16 personality types based on four bipolar dimensions: extroversion (E)–introversion (I); sensing (S)–intuitive (I); thinking (T)–feeling (F); and perceiving (P)–judgment (J) (J). The tool aids in the recognition of one's personality preferences. What one loves is referred to as a preference. It's possible that you prefer tea to coffee. That isn't to say you won't have coffee in the future. Similarly, if you are under duress, you may go on a picnic even if you would prefer to stay at home. A preference is what you wish to do rather than what you actually do.

Q4. Describe classical conditioning theory and operant conditioning theory. 10

Ans) Classical Conditioning Theory

A stimulus is linked to its response, according to theory. These muscular, perceptual, emotional, and intellectual links between S-R can be organised into systems. Later, the Russian psychologist Pavlov advanced the behaviouristic theory of conditioned response, which is now known as Classical conditioning. Conditioning Theory was developed as a result of Pavlov's research with a hungry dog. When a hungry dog is presented with food, he salivates. He began his research by striking a bell every time food was served. He went over the same thing several times. Finally, without presenting food, he rang the bell. Even then, he discovered that the dog salivated, indicating that the dog had become conditioned to salivate in response to the ringing bell stimuli.

Operant Conditioning Theory

Operant conditioning is the process of reinforcing good behaviour while simultaneously inhibiting bad behaviour. Skinner studied the ideas of operant conditioning extensively. These principles have been widely applied in clinical and therapeutic settings, as well as in research. Skinner essentially employed reinforcers to change behaviour. The Skinner box is a learning apparatus that he invented. It is a rat cage made in such a way that the rat receives a food pellet every time it advances towards the lever.

As a result, the rat's movement towards the lever is reinforced by the use of food pellets. The concept of shaping rat behaviour was expanded to include human behaviour. Timing and consistency, which act as effective reinforcers, are critical components in this experiment that are essential to successful behaviour modification. In his experiment, Skinner emphasised the importance of these parameters.

Q5. Briefly discuss the different types of communication. 10

Ans) The different types of communication are:

Formal Communication: There are two types of communication: formal and informal communication. According to the direction of information flow, there are three types of formal communication: downward, upward, and lateral.

Formal Communication: Formal communication refers to an organization's intentionally created communication structure. The informal communication network is based on the social relationships that exist within the organisation. It's possible that two or more people at different levels of an organisation are communicating with each other informally. Such informal communication settings might be created by social ties such as friendliness or separation.

Grapevine Communication: In an organisation, grapevine communication is an unstructured, unofficial, and informal channel of communication. It is an important aspect of an organization's communication system. Informal routes of communication, commonly referred to as the "grapevine," are thought to be detrimental to organisational performance. They are accused of harming the organization's interests by spreading misleading information and rumours. People propagate rumours, misleading and irresponsible statements, or half-truths in all directions when the formal channels fail or do not perform effectively. It's known as the 'grapevine' communication channel.

A rumour is a tall and unconfirmed storey of events that circulates from person to person about an object, event, or topic that is of public importance. A rumour in the social sciences refers to a statement whose veracity is not readily or ever proven. The terms 'rumours' and 'gossip' are commonly used interchangeably, however rumours and gossips are not the same thing. Both are unverifiable "bits of knowledge," although rumours tend to influence organisations or groups of individuals, whilst gossips deal with more personal problems.

Assignment C

Answer the following in about 100 words each.

Q6. List out the types of employees’ attitudes. 06

Ans) The types of employees’ attitudes are:

1. Positive attitude: People who have a positive attitude don't seem to mind the challenges they confront in their personal and professional lives. They strive to improve their talents and skills on a daily basis, and they strive to overcome all obstacles in order to reach their own objectives.

2. People with a negative attitude focus on their failures and limitations while ignoring the positive aspects of life. Negative people avoid difficult situations.

3. People with a neutral attitude tend to disregard their difficulties in life and wait for others to solve them. They are frequently unemotional and victims of complacency.

4. Sikken attitude: Dealing with people who have a Sikken attitude is challenging since they look for the negative in everything and can turn a positive concept into a negative one. Their negativity in thinking can sometimes control other people's thinking as well.

Q7. Write a short note on Existence Relatedness Growth or ERG theory. 06

Ans) Multiple levels of requirements might be triggered at the same time, according to the ERG theory. According to the ERG theory, existence needs correspond to the first two levels of the Hierarchy of Needs: physiological and safety needs. The ERG theory's relatedness needs are similar to Maslow's 'Belonging and Love' needs (social needs) and a piece of the Esteem needs. In the ERG theory, the remaining Esteem needs (self-esteem) and the self-actualization element of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory are categorised as Growth needs.

Q8. What do you mean by informal groups? 06

Ans) Individuals create informal groups naturally and in reaction to their shared interests and ideals. The aggregate of personal contact and interactions, as well as the network of relationships among persons, are referred to as these groups. Informal groups are not formed by the organisation, and their members are free to invite others to join them at any moment. Informal groups can have a significant beneficial or bad impact on businesses. Interest groups, pressure groups, friendship groups, and reference groups are all examples of these types of groups. In the dynamics of organisational behaviour, informal groupings play a vital role. Informal jobs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they can be fickle.

Q9. What is meant by charismatic theory? 06

Ans) Self-confidence and faith in subordinates, high expectations for subordinates, ideological vision, and the use of personal example are all characteristics of charismatic leaders. Followers of charismatic leaders identify with the leader and the leader's mission, show extreme loyalty to and confidence in the leader, model the leader's values and behaviour, and derive self-esteem from the leader's relationship. Charismatic leaders have excellent oratory and persuasive abilities, as well as technical expertise, and they influence their followers' attitudes, behaviours, and emotions.

Q10. Comment on Lewin’s three-step model. 06

Ans) The three-steps of Lewin’s Model are:

1. Allowing people to let go of the status quo is part of unfreezing. Overcoming the forces of resistance and conformity is required. Increase the driving forces that direct behaviour away from the status quo, decrease the restraining forces that prevent movement away from the status quo, or use a balanced mix of the two tactics to unfreeze the system.

2. The actual execution of the change takes place in the second stage. People are exposed to the new reality when the transformation becomes real. At this point, the employees begin to acquire new behaviours and begin to settle down.

3. The alterations are reinforced at the final step of refreezing (some call it freezing) so that they become the new status quo, the new normal. If management prematurely ends the end-to-end change management process by skipping the final phase, the change may be difficult to maintain.