Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya

BMI - 10315038

A. ESSAY QUESTIONS

1) What is Organizational Behavior (OB) and what are the benefits of learning this
study for both managers and employees? Explain and provide applicative
example!

Organizational Behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that

individuals, groups and structure have on behavior within organization for the
purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organizations
effectiveness. Organizational behavior is a field of study, meaning that it is a
distinct area of expertise with a common body of knowledge. It studies three
determinants of behavior in organizations: individuals, groups, and structure. In
addition, OB applies the knowledge gained about individuals, groups, and the
effect of structure on behavior in order to make organizations work more
effectively. To sum up the definition, OB is the study of what people do in an
organization and how their behavior affects the organizations performance, and
because OB is concerned specifically with employment-related situations, it
emphasizes behavior as related to concerns such as jobs, work, absenteeism,
employment turnover, productivity, human performance, and management.

2) Basically, there are three levels of analysis in OB models. Explain those all
levels of analysis in OB models and explain what things do each level learn
about?

Individual Level
Individual level is the smallest level which involve about the individual itself solely.
This level learn about the study of learning, perception, creativity, motivation,
personality, turnover, task performance, cooperative behavior, deviant behavior,
ethics, and cognition

Groups Level
Groups are teams within an organization that work closely together. It involves
the study of group dynamics, intra and intergroup conflict and cohesion,
leadership, power, norms, interpersonal communication, networks and roles.
 Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya
BMI - 10315038

Organization Level
It involves the study of topics such as organizational culture, organizational
structure, cultural diversity, inter-organizational cooperation and conflict, change,
technology, and external environmental forces.

3) Mention, explain and give example for each: a) management functions, b)

management roles and c) management skills

a. Based on the learning resources, there are four management functions, those
are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

Planning is the first step where by a manager creates a detailed action plan
aimed at some organizational goal. Example: defining an organizations
goals, establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals, and
developing a comprehensive set of plans to integrate and coordinate
activities.

Organizing is the second step, which involves the manager determining how
to distribute resources and arrange employees according to the plan.
Example: determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the
tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to
be made.

Leading is the third step that is accomplished by communicating, motivating,

inspiring, and encouraging employees towards a higher level of productivity.
Example: When managers motivate employees, direct their activities, select
the most effective communication channels, or resolve conflicts among
members.

Controlling is the final function of management in which the manager, once

a plan has been carried out, evaluates the results against the goals. If a goal
is not being met, the manager must also take any necessary corrective action
needed to continue to work towards that goal. Example: monitoring,
comparing, and potential correcting.
 Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya
BMI - 10315038

b. Management roles classified into three roles, those are interpersonal roles,
informational roles, and decisional roles.

Interpersonal Roles
All managers are required to perform duties that are ceremonial and symbolic
in nature. For instance, when the president of a college hands out diplomas
at commencement or a factory supervisor gives a group of high school
students a tour of the plant, he or she is acting in a figurehead role. All
managers also have a leadership role. This role includes hiring, training,
motivating, and disciplining employees. The third role within the interpersonal
grouping is the liaison role, or contacting others who provide the manager
with information. The sales manager who obtains information from the
quality-control manager in his or her own company has an internal liaison
relationship. When that sales manager has contacts with other sales
executives through a marketing trade association, he or she has an outside
liaison relationship.

Informational Roles
All managers, to some degree, collect information from outside organizations
and institutions, typically by scanning the news media (including the Internet)
and talking with other people to learn of changes in the publics tastes, what
competitors may be planning, and the like. Mintzberg called this the monitor
role. Managers also act as a conduit to transmit information to organizational
members. This is the disseminator role. In addition, managers perform a
spokesperson role when they represent the organization to outsiders.

Decisional Roles
Mintzberg identified four roles that require making choices. In the
entrepreneur role, managers initiate and oversee new projects that will
improve their organizations performance. As disturbance handlers,
managers take corrective action in response to unforeseen problems. As
resource allocators, managers are responsible for allocating human,
physical, and monetary resources. Finally, managers perform a negotiator
role, in which they discuss issues and bargain with other units to gain
advantages for their own unit.
 Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya
BMI - 10315038

c. Management skills divided into three categories, those are technical skills,
human skills, and conceptual skills.

Technical skills
Technical skills encompass the ability to apply specialized knowledge or
expertise. When you think of the skills of professionals such as civil engineers
or oral surgeons, you typically focus on the technical skills they have learned
through extensive formal education. Of course, professionals dont have a
monopoly on technical skills, and not all technical skills have to be learned in
schools or other formal training programs. All jobs require some specialized
expertise, and many people develop their technical skills on the job.

Human skills
The ability to understand, communicate with, motivate, and support other
people, both individually and in groups, defines human skills. Many people
are technically proficient but poor listeners, unable to understand the needs
of others, or weak at managing conflicts. Because managers get things done
through other people, they must have good human skills.

Conceptual skills
Managers must have the mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex
situations. These tasks require conceptual skills. Decision making, for
instance, requires managers to identify problems, develop alternative
solutions to correct those problems, evaluate those alternative solutions, and
select the best one. After they have selected a course of action, managers
must be able to organize a plan of action and then execute it. The ability to
integrate new ideas with existing processes and innovate on the job are also
crucial conceptual skills for todays managers.

4) Employing a diverse or heterogeneous workforce can contribute to the

competitive advantage of an organization. Do you agree with this statement?
Explain your argument!

I do agree with this statement. By having multiculturalism workforce means that

the variance of the uniqueness of the ability would be larger, there are so many
 Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya
BMI - 10315038

solutions that came from each experience of the employee with different culture.
As a result, this will improving decision making and team performance on
complex tasks.

5) Explain what are the challenges of managing a diverse workforce in an

organization?

Poor Communication
In a diverse work environment, many different ethnicities, age groups, sexes, and
religions are represented. One of the main challenges of managing diversity is
poor communication between employees. Its easy to misunderstand someone
who communicate differently. Misunderstanding leads to misinterpretation and
poor office relationship.

Disorganization
One of the biggest managers make is not effectively communicating the diversity
plan with staff. This can be done through meetings, memo, and diversity
conferences. Getting the staff on board is half the battle in implementing a plan.

Resistance
Every workplace has people who resist diversity and the changes it brings, even
in the most positive environment. These negative attitudes can damage morale,
slow down positive change and decrease productivity.

6) Organizational behavior is an applied behavioral science built on contributions

from a number of behavioral disciplines, mainly in four disciplines:
psychology, social psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Give the
example of problems for each discipline that is associated with organizational
behavior!

Psychology
Psychology seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of
humans and other animals. Those who have contributed and continue to add to
the knowledge of OB are learning theorists, personality theorists, counseling
psychologists, and, most important, industrial and organizational psychologists.
 Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya
BMI - 10315038

Early industrial/organizational psychologists studied the problems of fatigue,

boredom, and other working conditions that could impede efficient work
performance. More recently, their contributions have expanded to include
learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness,
needs and motivational forces, job satisfaction, decision-making processes,
performance appraisals, attitude measurement, employee-selection techniques,
work design, and job stress.

Social Psychology
Social psychology, generally considered a branch of psychology, blends
concepts from both psychology and sociology to focus on peoples influence on
one another. One major study area is change how to implement it and how to
reduce barriers to its acceptance. Social psychologists also contribute to
measuring, understanding, and changing attitudes; identifying communication
patterns; and building trust. Finally, they have made important contributions to
our study of group behavior, power, and conflict.

Sociology
While psychology focuses on the individual, sociology studies people in relation
to their social environment or culture. Sociologists have contributed to OB
through their study of group behavior in organizations, particularly formal and
complex organizations. Perhaps most important, sociologists have studied
organizational culture, formal organization theory and structure, organizational
technology, communications, power, and conflict.

Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their
activities. Anthropologists work on cultures and environments has helped us
understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior between
people in different countries and within different organizations. Much of our
current understanding of organizational culture, organizational environments,
and differences among national cultures is a result of the work of anthropologists
or those using their methods.
 Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya
BMI - 10315038

7) Internal and external perspectives are two theories of how companies view
organizational behavior. Explain the difference between those perspectives
and give an example for each!

Internal perspective is a belief that employees behavior is in large part based on

their own personal feelings, interactions, thoughts, and experiences.
While external perspective is concerned with the idea that external events and
environmental factors affect an individuals job performance and behavior.

8) Explain what are the challenges and opportunities for managers in using OB
concept!

Managers need an understanding of organizational behavior because a

large part of their job has to do with exactly that.
It can involve trying to motivate an individual worker or it can involve trying
to understand how to get workers who are part of a team to interact with
one another in such way that they are able to work more efficiently and
effectively.

9) There are six types of discrimination. Explain briefly and give an example in
our surrounding for each type!

1. Discriminatory policies
Actions taken by representatives of the organization that deny equal
opportunity to perform or unequal rewards for performance.
Example: Older workers may be targeted for layoffs because they are highly
paid and have lucrative benefits

2. Sexual harassment
Unwanted sexual advances and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual
nature that create a hostile or offensive work environment.
Example: Salespeople at one company went on company-paid visits to strip
dubs, brought strippers into the office to celebrate promotions, and fostered
pervasive sexual rumors.

3. Intimidation
 Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya
BMI - 10315038

Overt threats or bullying directed at members of specific groups of

employees.
Example: African-American employees at some companies have found
nooses hanging over their work stations.

4. Mockery and Insults

Jokes or negative stereotypes; sometimes the result of jokes taken too far.
Example: Arab-American have been asked at work whether they were
carrying bombs or were members of terrorist organizations.

5. Exclusion
Exclusion of certain people from job opportunities, social events, discussions,
or informal mentoring; can occur unintentionally.
Example: Many women in finance claim they are assigned to marginal job
roles or given light workloads that dont lead to promotions.

6. Incivility
Disrespectful treatment, including behaving in an aggressive manner,
interrupting the person, or ignoring his or her opinions.
Example: Female lawyers note that male attorneys frequently cut them off or
do not adequately address their comments.

10) Explain about intellectual ability and how is it relevant into Organizational
Behavior

Intellectual ability commonly refers to the ability measured by performance on an

intelligence test. It is also sometimes used in the context of discussing the
performance of someone in an academic or real world setting.
Organizational behavior is traditionally considered as the study of human
behavior in the work place. Employee performance is enhanced when an
employee and position are well matchedwhat we call a high abilityjob fit. If we
focus only on the employees abilities or the ability requirements of the job, we
ignore the fact that employee performance depends on the interaction of the two.
What predictions can we make when the fit is poor? If employees lack the
required abilities, they are likely to fail. If youre hired as a word processor and
 Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya
BMI - 10315038

you cant meet the jobs basic keyboard typing requirements, your performance
is going to be poor in spite of your positive attitude or your high level of motivation.
When an employee has abilities that far exceed the requirements of the job, our
predictions would be very different. The employees performance may be
adequate, but it may be accompanied by organizational inefficiencies and
possible declines in employee satisfaction because the employee is frustrated by
the limitations of the job. Additionally, given that pay tends to reflect the highest
skill level that employees possess, if an employees abilities far exceed those
necessary to do the job, management will be paying more than it needs to pay.
In a nutshell, an employees job specifications should be in line with his
intellectual abilities. That way, hell be able to execute his duties excellently and
effortlessly, as well as obtaining maximum job satisfaction.

B. CASE STUDY

a) Identify several concepts and characteristics from the field of

organizational behavior that this case illustrates.
From the case study, it seems that OGrady and Reece have different corporate
culture which results a different policies as well as the behavior of the
organizations that make Tony suffer a different circumstances of working in each
company. In addition, the new company that Tony works for, is in my opinion
quite discriminate Tony. They seemed to promote and reward people based on
how long they had been there and how well they played the never-ending political
games instead of looking based on the good or bad performance. In OB terms
we call it discriminatory policies, since there is unfair treatment between those
two companies. Reece Corporations did actions that deny equal opportunity to
perform or unequal rewards for performance. Besides, they also did exclusion
discrimination to Tony since their colleagues refuse Tony to playing golf together.

b) What advice can you give Tony? How would this advice be supported or
tempered by behavioral concepts and processes?
In my opinion, it is better for Tony to start looking for another job opportunities,
and do not get easily attracted to either high positions or high salary, but he also
need to consider the culture job environment that suit and match with his behavior
and his working style as well. Because, what is the value if you got high positions
 Khoe, Sean Hanjaya Prasetya
BMI - 10315038

and salary but all of the environment against you, it is indeed will be an
uncomfortable experience for you.

c) Is it possible to find an "ideal" place to work? Explain

Well, it is likely to find almost ideal place to work, however it might be not possible
to find an absolute ideal place for work. We can find place that match up with our
character or behavior but there will be always obstacle and things that not
suitable with you even though it can be adapted eventually.