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Organizational Behaviour

Module - 1

Definition of Organization Behaviour:


There are various definitions of ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR, the following definition will help us to know what is the exact meaning of the term ORG ANISATION BEHAVIOUR. According to Fred Luthans, Organizational Behaviour is directly concerned with the understanding, prediction and management of human behaviour in organizations. Meaning of Organizational Behaviour:. ORG ANISATION BEHAVIOUR is the study of behaviour of individuals and groups in organization and organizations themselves as they act and interact to attain deserved out comes

Scope of Organisation Behaviour:


As future managers we should also know where we can apply the knowledge of organisation behaviour, what the scope of organisation behaviour is and how the theory of organisation Behaviour can be applied to the practical aspects of organizations. Organisation Behaviour is the study of Human Behaviour which stretches its scope towards the following: 1. Intra Personal Behaviour This aspect covers aspects like personality, attitude, perception, learning opinion, motivation and job satisfaction. Here the individual focuses more on his own nature and characteristics features. 2. Inter Personal Behaviour This aspect includes group dynamics, inter group conflict, leadership communication and transactional analysis. 3. Organizational aspect This aspect covers the organizations structure, its effectiveness in formal and informal organizations.

Significance of Organisation Behaviour


The following are the significance of Organisation Behaviour, which mainly helps us to understand the behaviour of people in the organization in a better way. 1. The study of Organisation Behaviour helps an individual to understand himself and others better. This improves interpersonal relationship, and helps the individual to function properly. 2. The study of Organisation Behaviour helps the manager to understand the employees better by understanding their needs and problems. He can handle them better and help them to work effectively.

3. Organisation Behaviour helps to maintain cordial industrial

relations, Relation between management and employees is quite often strained due to which the work gets hampered. Organisation Behaviour helps to understand the cause for problem, predict its course of action and control its consequence.
4. The field of Organisation Behaviour serves as the basic by modern human resource management.

5. Organisation Behaviour helps in the field of marketing Consumer choice behaviour is a critical factor for increasing sales of the organisation. Study of organisation Behaviour helps to learn the responses of the consumer hence helps in marketing.
6. Studying Organisation Behaviour is helpful to a person who is interested in pursuing career in management and wants to learn how to predict and manage human resource in the organisation.

Organisation Behaviour Model


Organisation Behaviour models play a significant role in the management of an organization. Every model in organisation behaviour makes certain assumptions regarding the nature of the people working in the organization. Models of organisation behaviour not only differ from organization to organization but also from department to department within an organization. The study of Organizations includes nature of organisation, organizational change and development

Meaning of Individual Behaviour


There are various contributors to the study of individual behaviour. The following statement will help us to know the meaning of individual behaviour in a very simple format. Each individuals interaction and response is affected by various traits like attitude, perception, stimuli, motives and abilities.

Factors affecting Individual Behaviour


I Personal Factors 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Education 4. Abilities 5. Marital Status 6. N o. of Dependants II. Environmental factors 1. Economic factors 2. Social norms and cultural values 3. Political factors III Organisation System Resources 1. Physical Facilities 2. Organisation Structure and Design 3. Leadership 4. Reward System IV Psychological Factors 1. Personality 2. Perception 3. Attitudes 4. Values 5 Learning

I. Personal Factors
Every individual brings to the work place a variety of personal characteristics and abilities like age, gender, education, dependents, abilities etc. 1. Age: Performance depends on age. Aging has an impact on the turnover Older employees are less likely to leave jobs and more likely to remain absent from job. There is a positive association between age and satisfaction. 2. Gender: Male and female employees working in the organisation receive different attention. However male dominated society does not appreciate performance of the women employees, hence demotivating the women employees. 3. Education: A higher level of education tends to increase an individuals expectation about positive outcome. These outcomes are generally perceived to be related to a more satisfying job, higher income level and greater alternative source for occupational choice, i.e. good life.

4. Abilities:
It refers to an individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. Ability can be Intellectual ability. It is required to perform mental activities; Physical ability. It is required to perform jobs which require stamina and strength. Social skills, to maintain good working relationships.

5. Marital status:
Marriage imposes additional responsibility hence married employees are more stable at the work place and undergo fewer turnovers.

6. Number of dependents
This refers to correlation between number of dependents an employee has and his or her absence and satisfaction.

II. Environmental Factors


These factors are mainly external and will influence individual behaviour considerably. Economic Factors This is an important determinant of individual behaviour. This refers to following economic frame work within which an individual performs his job in the organisation. 1. Employment opportunities Fewer job opportunities create fear of losing the present job in the minds of the individuals. This changes the basic motivation pattern, which in turn affect the behaviour of the individual. Several job opportunities create the tendency of job hopping which in turn, affects the loyalty of the individual.

2. Wage rates Money is a complex variable and its effect on behaviour varies tremendously. Wages determine the satisfaction of an individual at job, as it measures their achievement and serve as a status symbol.

3. Economic Outlook Economic outlook influences individual expectation as it is affected by economic cycle. Individuals who experience frequent lay offs are more likely to be motivated by growth in economic cycle and others who are not affected by the economic cycle are motivated by factors like increase in position, wages etc. 4. Technological changes Technological changes affect the job design; it has its strongest impact at the lower level jobs. Increase in automation, robotics, computerization affect the individuals job opportunities. As a result of technological changes an individual may stay employed but skill required may be reduced affecting the wage rate and behaviour of a person.

B. Social norms and cultural values


The cultural environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect the societys basic values perceptions, work ethic preferences and behaviors. Cultural variation produce different behaviors.

1. Work Ethic
It refers to hard work and commitment to work. Strong work ethic ensures motivated employees and positive behaviour on the part of the employees.

2. Achievement needs
A person with a high need for achievement tends to see a high degree of personal responsibility, set realistic goals, and take moderate risks to satisfy his needs. 3. Value

Value is the factor which affects an individuals judgment of what is right good or desirable. For example Honesty

C. Political Factors
Political climate reflects the stability and instability of the government. Politically unstable government finds it difficult to provide permanent jobs to experienced people, hence large segments of population are temporarily employed. Political ideology of a country affects individual behaviour.

III. Organizational System and Resources


Individual behaviour is also influenced by physical facilities organization structure and design, leadership and reward systems. 1. Physical Facilities Physical facilities such as lighting ventilation, air conditioning, painting on walls, space and equipment etc., provided for each employee, influence the employee behaviour and performance. 2. Organizational structure and Design Organisation structure is dividing and grouping activities, creating superior and subordinate relationship and line of communication at the work place. The behaviour and performance of an individual is influenced by the place where the person is placed. 3. Leadership The Organisation establishes a system of leadership and supervision to provide direction assistance, advice and coaching to individual members. The leader behaviour is therefore a potential source of influence on an individual. 4. Reward System Organizations establish a reward system to compensate their employees, the behaviour and performance of an individual is influenced by the reward system.

IV. Psychological Factors


There are several psychological factors like personality, perception, attitude, value and learning which affect employee behaviour. 1. Personality It is a characteristic pattern of behaviour and modes of thinking that determine a persons adjustment to the environment. 2. Perception It is the process of receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking and reacting to sensory stimuli or data. Example:- A person can perceive same feedback as corrective, whereas an other person may perceive it as insulting. 3. Attitude It is a persistent tendency to feel and behave in a particular way towards some object. Example:Attitude towards authority. 4. Learning Learning refers to the Acquisition of knowledge or skills through study practice or experience

PERSONALITY

Definition of Personality:
Gorden Allport Personality is the dynamic organizational within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment (psychophysical refers to psychological as well as biological characteristics)

Fred Luthasn , How a person affects others and how he understands and views himself as well as the pattern of inner and outer measurable traits and the persons situation and interaction. An example of inner trait could be Level of motivation and that of an external trait could be speed or physical stamina.

Personality Determinant
According to psychologists, personality is a dynamic concept that describes the growth and development of a persons psyche, i.e. Personality may go through slight changes based on experiences. The following factors play a vital role in determining the personality of an individual:

The determinants of personality can be grouped into 5 broad categories.


1. Heredity 2. Environment 3. Family 4. Socialization Process 5. Situation

1. Heredity: Heredity refers to those factors that are determined at conception like physical stature, facial features, temperament, muscle composition, energy level from ones parent. The role of heredity on personality development is a major obstacle in gathering information about human beings.

2. Environment: Environment is a broad term and includes factors like culture. Culture establishes norms, attitudes and values that are passed along from one generation to next and creates consistencies over a period. Culture plays an important role in development of personality. Culture has a sub group which has influence on a persons personality.

3. Family: Family has a considerable influence on personality development particularly in the early stages. The overall home environment created by the parents also influence individuals personality. The sibling position also plays a major role.

4. Socialization process : Beside family, relevant persons, groups, organizations and society also exercise their due role in personality development. This is called Socialization. Socialization involves the process by which a person acquires from the enormously wide range of behavioral potentialities that are open to him starting at birth, those behaviour patterns that are customary and acceptable to standards of initially the family and later the social group and the employing organisation.
5. Situation : Heredity, family, sibling and environment are no doubt important to personality but it must be recognized that it is the immediate situation which may predominate finally.

Theories of Personality
Personality traits such as extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness to experience form the basis of the personality of an individuals. Apart from the personality traits, self-esteem, and selfefficacy also are major contributors to the personality of an individual. Person-situation interaction also influences the personality of human beings. The following two theories will help us to understand the concept of personality in detail.

Trait Theories
Trait theory is a way of understanding personality. A trait of an individual is abstracted from his behaviour and serves a useful Unit of analysis to understand personality. There are two ways of assessing personality traits. 1. The personality traits by answering questions about his attitude, feelings and behaviour. Example:- By using a Personality Inventory(A personality inventory is essentially a questionnaire in which the persons reports reactions or ones feelings in certain situations). 2. Someone else evaluate the persons traits either from what he knows about the individual or from direct observations of behaviors

A rating scale is devised to judge the traits of an individual. A rating scale is filled up by some one else who knows the individual or by studying his behaviour in certain situations. Example: - A manager may rate a person on a scale of 1 to 5 on openness to experience.
Evaluation The trait theory gives recognition to the continuity of personality. There are several problems with trait approach

1. Terms are difficult to define. 2. The theory is very descriptive and lacks analytical approach. 3. Some traits cannot explain the behaviour of a person.

Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud, the intellectual giant in the history of modern thoughts developed this theory. Psychoanalytic theory is : 1. The first comprehensive personality theory. 2. A Method for treating neuroticism ( i.e. Anxiety related disorders) 3. An extensive body of clinical observation based on therapeutic experience and self analysis.

Freud saw personality as composed of three structures


id, ego and super ego

The Id: It is a Latin word for it and refers exclusively to the innate (inborn) component of
personality. The id is the mental agency containing everything inherited, present at birth and fixed in the individuals constitution, especially instincts. It is raw, animalistic, unorganized, knows no laws, obeys no rules and remains basic to the individual throughout life.

Id does not recognize fear or anxiety; it takes no precautions in expressing its purpose of fact which Freud felt may result in dangers for the individual or the society.
The id according to Freud employs to rid the personality of tension to reflect actions and primary process. Primary process refers to attempts of an individual to form a mental image of the object that will remove the tension. For example: a hungry man experiences partial gratification of his hunger by imagining a delicious meal. In reflex action, the id responds automatically to a source of irritation thereby, promptly removing the tension which the irritant elicits. Example :- Quickly munching without thinking whether he should eat in this situation.

The Ego: It says that mental images do not satisfy needs for example: starving man cannot satisfy his hunger by eating images. Reality must be considered. The ego develops out of id because of the necessity for dealing with the real world. The hungry man must have food if the tension of hunger is to be reduced.
The super Ego: In order for a person to function constructively in society he should acquire a system of values, norms, ethics and attitudes which are reasonably compatible with the society. The super ego represents the internalized representation of the values and morals of the society which was taught to the child by the parents and others. The super ego judges whether an action is right or wrong according to the standards of the society.

Personality and Organisation Behaviour


1. Personality is an important determinant of employee behaviour 2. Personality is the focal(cenral) point that determines motivation. 3. Personality characteristics influence selection of individual to occupy various positions in an organisation. 4. Levels of consciousness of id, ego and superego can be very useful to understand the levels of personality.

Module - 3

Perception
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Meaning and Definition of Perception:


Perception is the process of becoming aware of a situation, and adding meaningful association to sensations.

Perception is a process of receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking and reacting to stimuli or data.
Definitions of Perception:

Joseph Reitz, Perception includes all those processes by which an individual receives information about his environment by seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. The study of these perceptual processes shows that their functioning is affected by three classes of variables - the object or the events being perceived, the environment in which perception occurs and the individuals doing the act of perceiving.

Perception process:
Perception involves peoples assimilation of raw data through their senses, after which they organize and modify the data with the help of cognitive thinking, to form, a coherent picture of the situation. The concept of perception can be understood in detail only by knowing the various steps involved in the process of perception.

The process of perception includes receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking, and reacting to sensory stimuli or data. This process is influenced by the perceiver and the situation

Receiving:
The first sub process of receiving stimulus or situation. This refers to an individuals confrontation with external or internal stimulus. For e.g.: 1. An individual is shown appreciation by the supervisor by a pat on his back in front of other workers, stimulating his internal stimulus i.e. need for recognition in this case.

Process of Selecting Stimuli:


Two sets of factors govern the selection of stimulus; External and internal.

External Factors
There are various external factors like nature, location, intensity, size contrast, repetition, motion and novelty and familiarity, these are observable factors. Nature: It is the object (Visual or auditory) which can be pictures of people or

animals or sounds in form of auditory passage. Location: It is a visual that attracts the attention of an individual. Size and intensity: higher intensity is a big picture or loud sound. Contrast: The principle of contrast says that external stimuli which stand out against the background or which are not according to what people are expecting, will receive their attention. Movement: Moving objects receive move attention than an object that is stationery. Repetition: Repeated external stimuli are more attention drawing than a single one. Novelty and Familiarity: New objects in a familiar setting or familiar defects in new setting will draw more attention of the perceiver.

Internal Factors
Internal factors influencing selection includes learning, psychological needs, age diffrence, intrts, ambivalence, Paranode perception etc. Learning: It creates an expectancy in an individual and expectancy makes him see what he wants to see. Psychological Needs: There are various levels of needs; the satisfaction of these needs is very important. If the need is not satisfied, it influences the selection pattern of an individual. Age difference: Different perception by old and young executives are due to their age difference Ambivalence: It is mixed feelings about situation that influences the selection. Paranoid perception: It is a characteristic of an emotionally disturbed person that his perceptual field differs from that of most other persons. He is given to excessive repression; projection general distortion of reality and personalized interpretation his self concept is poor and he is very insecure as a result of which he behaves in an inflexible manner. For example he might constantly perceive others routine actions as against him.

Organizing Process:
These are dimensions to the perceptual organizing figure ground, perceptual grouping and perpetual constancy. A. Figure ground: According to the principle, perceivable objects stand out as separate from their general background. For e.g.: The sound of a bird against a background of outdoor noise or the melody played by the violin against the harmonies of the rest of orchestra. B. Perceptual Grouping: This principle includes similarity, proximity, closure and continuity. Principle of Similarity: It states that objects of similar shape, size and Color tend to be grouped together. Principle of proximity: It states that objects which are near to each other are identified as a single group. Principle of closure: This states that a person has a tendency to perceive a whole when none exists. The persons perceptual process will close the gap which is unfilled by sensory inputs. Principle of continuity: This states that a person will tend to perceive continuous lines or patterns.

C. Perceptual Constancy: Our ability to perceive certain characteristics of an object as remaining constant, despite variation in the stimuli that provides conflicting information. There are several aspects of constancy. Shape Constancy: For e.g.-we see the top of a glass bottle as circular whether we view it from the side or from the top.

Color Constancy: For e.g.-the owner of a blue car sees it as blue whether looking at in bright sunlight, in dim illumination or under a yellow street light. Size Constancy: For e.g. football players on the opposite side of the field do not look appreciably smaller than those closer to you on the field even though their image on the retina are much smaller.

Interpreting Process After the data have been received and organized, the perceiver interprets or assigns meaning to the information. Several factors contribute towards the interpretation of data like perceptual set, attribution, stereotyping, halo effect, perceptual content, perceptual defense, implicit personality theory and projection. Perceptual set: Perpetual set refers to previously held beliefs about objects. Attribution : It refers to the process by which the individual assigns cause to the behaviour. For e.g.: a nurse who drops a tray of medicine will be excused if the incident is perceived as caused by a slippery floor. Stereotyping : It is the tendency for a persons perception of another to be influenced by the social group to which the other belongs. E.g.: A general interpretation that Indians are fatalistic, Americans are materialistic etc. Halo effect : It refers to the tendency of perceiving people in terms of good and bad, like all good qualities to one who is liked and all bad qualities to another who is disliked.

Perceptual Content: The content in which an item, person or stimuli is placed influences on perception. The organizational structure provides the primary analysis context in which workers and managers do their perceiving. Perceptual Defense: According to the principle of perceptual defense an individual is likely to put a defense when confronted with conflicting, unacceptable or threatening stimuli. The defense mechanism put by perceiver may assume outright denial. Example:- A person who was not selected in an exam, may deny saying he was not interested. Implicit Personality theory An individuals perception is influenced by his belief that certain human traits are associated with one another for e.g.: The trait honesty is associated with hard working. Projection Few People project their own feelings, tendencies or motives into their judgment of others as they see their own traits in the other person. For example:- A person says he got angry because of co-workers behaviour.

Checking Process After data have been received and interpreted the perceiver tends to check whether his interpretation is right or wrong. One way is introspection by asking question to oneself or referring it to other knowledgeable person. Reacting Process This is the last phase; the perceiver shall indulge in some action in relation to his perception. The action is positive when the perception is favorable or vice-versa. Perception and Organisation Behaviour Perception is a complex cognitive process which helps in interpretation of the situation it helps in

1. Selection of a candidate for a job. 2. Performance appraisal of the employee. 3. Decide the employees future in the organisation. 4. To know employees expectation.

Learning and Attitude

Module - 4

Meaning and Definition of Attitude:


The word attitude describes a persistent tendency to feel and behave in a particular way towards some object. Attitudes are beliefs, feelings and action tendencies of an individual or group of individuals towards objects, ideas and people. Definition: Catz and Scotland, Attitude is a tendency or predisposition to evaluate an object or symbol of that object in a certain way.

Features of attitudes
1. It refers to feelings and beliefs of individuals or groups of individuals.

2. Feelings and beliefs are directed towards other people, objects or ideas.
3. Attitudes tend to result in Behaviour or action. 4. Attitudes can fall anywhere along a continuum from very favorable to very unfavorable.

5. All people, irrespective of their status or intelligence, hold attitude.

Formation of Attitudes
Individuals acquire attitude from several sources. The most important sources of acquiring attitudes are direct experience with the object, association with family or neighborhood, economic and social position and mass communication.

1. Direct experience with the object:


Attitudes can be developed from a personally rewarding or punishing experience with an object. Eg: Employees form attitude about jobs based on their previous experience. Attitudes formed on experience are difficult to change. 2. Classical Conditioning and attitudes: People develop associations with various objects and develop the emotional reactions that accompany them. For eg: many soldiers who were stationed in Persian Gulf during the war with Iraq reported that they never wanted to sit on the sandy beach again. i.e. the soldiers form a negative attitude towards sand and a positive attitude towards a particular perfume because a favorite model wears it.

3. Operant Conditioning and Attitude Operant Conditioning is another form of learning through which an individual acquires attitude. Operant conditioning happens verbally and non- verbally and attitudes that are reinforced either verbally or non- verbally tend to be maintained. 4. Vicarious Learning Persons learn through observing others. E.g.: It is through the vicarious learning process that children pick up the prejudices of their parents. 5. Family and Peer Groups A person develops various attitudes by imitating their family members. 6. Neighborhood The neighborhood we have lived in has a certain structure in terms of it having cultural facilities, religious grouping, possible ethnic differences. 7. Economic Status and occupations Economic status and occupation form beliefs towards unions and management laws etc. 8. Mass Communication All varieties of mass communication, television, radio, newspaper and magazines form attitudes in an individual.

Functions of Attitudes Attitudes can be changed and influenced. Attitude serves four important functions

1. Utilitarian (Adjustment function) 2. Ego defense


3. Value expressive function 4. Knowledge function

1. Utilitarian An attitude is instrumental in helping one to obtain rewards or avoid punishment. For e.g.: A worker finds that when he expresses a negative attitude towards his boss, his co workers pay attention and sympathize with him, he feels rewarded. When a worker expresses a positive attitude and he is ignored, he feels punished. 2. Ego-defense function People often form and maintain certain attitudes to protect their own self images For e.g.: workers may feel threatened by new employees advancement hence may form a negative attitude towards the new employee. 3. Value expressive function Our attitudes reflect our value systems and our value expressive attitudes are closely related to our self concept. One, whose central value is freedom, the individual may express a very positive attitude towards flexible work schedule, relaxation of dress standards etc. 4. Knowledge functions -Attitude is often substituted for knowledge. In the absence of knowledge we use our attitude to organize and make sense out of a perceived object or person. For e.g.: People who are not familiar with nuclear energy may develop an attitude that it is dangerous and should not be used as energy.

1. Theory of Balance and Consistency: According to this theory, human beings prefer their attitude about people and things to be in line with their behaviours towards each other and objects. When attitude and behaviour are not consistent, people usually seek to reduce the inconsistency, rewarding internally.

2. Cognitive Dissonance This occurs when an individual behaves in a fashion that is inconsistent with his or her attitude. Eg: A person realizes that smoking is bad to health but may not be able to quit it.

3. Prior Commitments This occurs when people feel a commitment to a particular course of action and are unwilling to change. For example, my family has always followed this so, it is good.

4. Insufficient Information Sometimes people see no reason why they should change their attitude. Eg: A manager might accept the negative attitude of his sub-ordinate without knowing the reason for it.

Ways of changing Attitudes of employees are not always rigid. They can be changed in the best interest of the organization. Following are the ways that help the employee attitude to change. 1. Providing new information: The employees should be properly informed about the change that is required in his or her attitude. It is the duty of the manager to provide proper information and counsel the employee. The consequences and the benefits of the changed attitude should be provided to the employee. 2. Use of fear: Scaring the employee and giving information about negative consequences will some time helps the employee to change his attitude forcibly. For e.g. fear for not being promoted or not getting the incentive or loosing the job. This kind of attitude can be temporarily induced, although it may not be useful in the long run. 3. Influence of friends or peers: Other employees who have a right attitude towards jobs in the organization can also bring in the necessary change in the attitudes. Such employees who have friends and peers who require change in attitude can positively influence and bring in change in the attitude of the employees. 4. The co-opting approach: Co-opting means recognizing people who are dissatisfied with the situation and getting them involved in improving things.

Definition of Learning
Crutis W. Cook, Acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, practice or experience.

Learning is acquisition of knowledge or skills through study practice or experience

Nature of Learning
The concept of learning is significant in understanding, developing, and managing human resources in an organization.

The following are the features of learning


1. Learning is a variable in human behaviour.

2. Learning is modification of behaviour.


3. Modification in behaviour is through practice, training or experience.

4. Learning is not always reflected in performance.


5. Learning is reflected in behaviour.

6. Learning occurs throughout ones life. 7. Learning is a relatively permanent change in the behaviour of a person. 8. Learning is not an in born characteristic of a person.

9. Learning occurs through various processes for eg: through classical conditioning, through operant conditioning, through cognitive learning and social learning. 10. Application of learning helps to increase the productivity of an organization.

Theories of Learning 1.Classical conditioning 2. Operant conditioning

3. Cognitive theory of learning 4. Social Learning theory

1.Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a process in which a formerly neutral stimulus when paired with an unconditioned stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.
The theory of classical conditioning grew out of the famous experiments conducted on dogs by the Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov.
1. In these experiments, Pavlov used a simple surgical procedure to measure the exact amount of saliva secreted by the dogs. 2. When he gave the dog a piece of meat it would start salivating. 3. In this case, the piece of meat was the unconditioned response. 4. Next, he just rang a bell which naturally did not cause the dog to salivate. 5. In the subsequent experiments, he gave the dog a piece of meat when a bell was rung. 6. This process was repeated several times and the dog began to associate the ringing of the bell with meat. 7. In subsequent experiments, Pavlov found that the dog would start salivating at the mere ringing of the bell, even when it was not given any meat. 8. Thus, the dog developed a conditioned response (salivation) to a conditioned stimulus (ringing of a bell) which was previously a neutral stimuli

Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is also known as instrumental learning or instrumental conditioning. People learn to behave in a particular manner in order to obtain something they want or to avoid something they do not want.

1.Operant conditioning has been associated with the work of B.F. Skinner. Skinner designed an apparatus called the operant chamber or the skinner box to understand learning behaviour in animals through experiments. 2. Skinner used rats and pigeons in his experiment

3. The Skinner box has a lever which on pressing drops a pellet of food
4. A hungry rat was placed in the skinner box 5. It started exploring and sniffing around, looking for food 6. It eventually pressed the lever by accident and received a pallet of food. 7. The rat soon learned to associate the pressing of the lever with the reward of food. 8. This reward acted as a reinforcing factor 9. This form of learning which is based on reward and reinforcement is called operant conditioning

3. Cognitive theory of learning Cognition refers to an individuals thoughts, knowledge, interpretation, understandings of ideas about himself and his environment. Cognitive theory of learning assumes that organism learns the meaning of various objects and events and learned responses depending upon the meaning assigned to stimuli It establishes the relation between cue and the expectations which is known as stimulus stimulus (S-S) theory 4. Social Learning theory This theory stresses upon the ability of an individual to learn by observing role models. The models may be parents, teachers, peers, motion pictures, bosses and others.

Difference between Operant Conditioning and Classical Conditioning Classical Conditioning 1. Responses are elicited from a person (reactive) 2. Responses are fixed to stimulus (no choice) 3. Conditioned Stimulus is stimulus such as a sound of an object or a person 4. Reinforcement is not received by choice

Operant Conditioning 1. Responses are emitted by a person (productive). 2. Responses are variable in types and degrees (choice). 3. Conditioned Stimulus is a situation such as an office, a social setting, a specific set of circumstances. 4. Person is instrumental in securing reinforcement by operating on environment.

MODULE-5
Group Behavior and Conflict Management

Definition of Group:

Harold H Kelley and J.W. Thibaut, a group is a collection of individuals, the members accept a common task, become interdependent in their performance and interact with one another to promote its accomplishment.
The various interactions that take place among the members of a group are called group dynamics. Kurt Lewin popularized the term group dynamics.

Usefulness of groups in Organizations


Different types of groups are formed to achieve specific results in organizations. The groups are useful in organizations in the following ways:
1. Individual employees capabilities are limited; hence, a group helps in finishing the tasks in the organization 2. Group helps in creating necessary energy required to complete a task. 3. Group members overcome the limitation of weak employees. 4. Group members motivate each other. 5. Groups promote the function of co-operation and co-ordination. 6. Groups are more successful in handling problems faced by the organisation

7. Balanced judgment or decision is possible in a group


8. Group tends to take more adventurous and risky jobs in the organization. 9. Group promotes creativity and innovation in the organisation.

Group Norms and its Formation


Group norms are a set of beliefs, feelings and attitudes commonly shared by group members.

Norms are also referred to as rules or standards of behaviour, which apply to group members.

Features of group norms 1. Norms represent characteristics of groups. 2. They are related to behaviours considered important by most group members. 3. These are basis of the predicting and controlling behaviour of group members.

4. They are applied to all members

Formation of group norms: There are certain classes of norms which are as follows: 1. Norms pertaining to performance related process This provides cues to all the members as to how hard they should work, level of expected performance and how they should communicate etc. 2. Appearance Norms: This norm gives directions on how to dress appropriately and appear at the work place. 3. Norms pertaining to informal social arrangement: Such norms regulate social interaction within the group. 4. Norms that regulate the allocation of resources: These norms regulate the assignment of overtime work, the assignment of projects and the allocation of new tools and equipment.

Development of Norms Norms develop gradually within a group as group members learn what behaviour is important for the effective functioning of the group. 1. Most norms develop in response to explicit statements made by an influential member of the group 2. Critical events in the groups history. 3. The initial pattern of behaviour that emerges during the first meeting of the group 4. Carry over behaviour from past situations.

Types of Groups
Formal Group It is one that is deliberately created to perform a specific task, Members are usually appointed by the organisation. 1. Command group It comprises of a supervisor and subordinates e.g.: The Foreman and his team of workers constitute a command group or an HR Team under an HR manager.

2. Temporary task group:


It consist of employees who work together to complete a particular task or project but who do not necessarily report to the same supervisor. Example: - A quality improvement committee.

Informal Group
These groups are natural formations in the work environment which appear in response to the need for social contact 1. Horizontal Clique: It consists of people of a similar rank from the same work area

2. Vertical Clique: It consist of people from different hierarchic levels within the same department 3. A Random Clique: It consists of people from various departments, location and hierarchic levels. Interaction Groups: The work of one group member is contingent upon that of the others, such as, assembly line workers performing separate operations in a prescribed sequence. Co-acting Groups: The work of individual group members is independent, such as, a job shop operation.

Counteracting Groups: These are those that interact to reconcile a mutual difference

Open Groups:
In this group, there is constant change in membership, frame of reference, time perspective and equilibrium 1. New members join and the existing ones leave. 2. High rate of turnover in an open group helps to expand its frame of reference. New members bring new perspectives to the groups activities and problems. 3. The instability and constant change of membership makes it difficult for the group activities to be oriented 4. Because of changing membership, there is always imbalance and instability in the group; hence the equilibrium of group changes.

Close Groups: A close group maintains a relatively stable membership with few additions and losses in member overtime power and status relationship are usually well established fixed.

Membership and Reference Groups: Membership group - the members get or take a membership to such a group Eg: Membership to country club Reference Group: It is to which a member would like to belong.
In Group: The group to which we belong is In group for example: groups in a cricket world cup consist of 4 countries in group A ,another four countries in group B Out group: Groups to which we do not belong are Out groups; there is basically a kind of rivalry among them Eg: group A Vs group B

Meaning and Definition of Conflict:


According to David L. Austin, Conflict is defined as a disagreement between two or more individuals or groups, trying to gain acceptance of its views or objectives over others.

According to Follett, Conflict is appearance of difference of opinion or interest.

Factors leading to conflicts: A conflict arises when there is a disagreement between two or more individuals over the achievement of one or more common goals. The various factors that lead to conflicts could be organizational change, personality clashes, differences in value sets, threat to status, and perceptual differences.

Conflict process :
The process of conflict consists of the following 5 stages. 1. Potential opposition or incompatibility. 2. Cognition and Personalization.

3. Intentions.
4. Behaviour. 5. Out comes.

Potential opposition or incompatibility


The conditions that lead to conflict may be broadly classified into communication structure and personal variable. If any one of these conditions is present it can give rise to a conflict.

1. Communication Barriers to communication are one of the major sources of conflicts semantic difficulties, noise and disturbances in the communication channel and failure of the sender to convey the required amount of information to the recipient. 2. Structure The size of work group, degree of specialization of employees, role clarity of individuals, departments leadership style, diversity of goals and reward systems constitute structural variables.
3. Personal variables The differences in personalities of individuals and their value systems are also a source of conflict.

Cognition and Personalization


During this stage the affected individual (or group) develops a sense of opposition towards the other party responsible for the situation.

Though the conflict is perceived, it may not be personalized at this point.


If the perceived conflict is prolonged the cognition of the individuals regarding the conflict may reach the felt level, where personalization may begin.

The individual may then become emotionally involved and both the conflicting parties will experience tension, anxiety, frustration and thus develop hostility towards each other.
There are two important aspects that need to be taken into consideration at this stage. Clearly defining the issues of conflict. Examining the role of emotion

Intention
In this stage of conflict process, individuals decide on the action that is to be taken to deal with the conflict. Five types of conflict handling intention have been identified. These are based on the dimension of internal and external factors.

Dominating: It occurs when each party tries to satisfy its own interest at the expense of the other party. Avoiding: Takes place when one of the parties in a conflict recognizes the existence of a conflicting situation and tries to avoid the other party. Accommodating: Takes place when one party tries to satisfy the interests of the other party by sacrificing its own interest. Problem solving: Takes place when all parties in the conflict fully co-operate with each other but do not let go off their own interest to benefit all the parties involved in the conflict. Compromising: It occurs when the parties in the conflict give up some of their demands in order to solve the problem.

Behaviour
This is the fourth stage of conflict. The existence of a conflict may be visible to outsiders. However as the conflict continues between the parties, they tend to express it in form of statements, actions and reaction.

Outcomes
Outcomes constitute the last stages of the conflict process. Outcomes are the consequences that result from interaction among conflicting parties. An outcome may have a positive or a negative impact on the organization.

Sources of Conflict:
Organizational

change: Generally, employees of an organization hold different views on the changes in organization with respect to technology, structure, hierarchy, etc., and this might lead to conflicts between them. Personality clashes: When individuals do not recognize differences in personalities such as emotional stability, behaviour, etc., it might lead to a conflict. Differences in values sets: When people with contradicting values and beliefs interact with each other, conflicts are likely to occur.

Threats to status: When individuals feel that the acts of other individuals may affect their reputation and status in society, it might lead to a conflict.
Perceptual differences: When individuals believe that what they perceive is true irrespective of reality, then they fail to understand the ideas of another person. This again might lead to a conflict.

Types of Conflict:
Organizational conflicts can be classified as follows.

Intrapersonal Conflict: Process of achieving goals is a complicated one. In the process of achieving his goals, an individual may experience stress and frustration and may face internal conflicts. This is referred as intrapersonal conflict. Interpersonal Conflict: People always try to maintain their image and respect. When someone threatens their self concept they try to retaliate and this leads to interpersonal conflict. Different individuals have different tolerance levels and this depends on their personalities. Inter group Conflict: In an organisation people from different departments compete for limited resources such as funds, personnel and support services.

Levels of Conflict
There are three levels of conflict in the organizational life. 1. Intra Individual conflict 2. Inter Individual conflict 3. Inter - Group conflict Intra Individual Conflict : The individual becomes frustrated as he is unable to reach. Frustration normally triggers defense mechanisms in the person Defense mechanism refers to unconscious processes that protect an individual from anxiety. Defense mechanism includes i. Aggression ii. Withdrawal iii. Fixation iv. Compromise

There are 3 major forms of goal conflict Approach - Approach conflict: This conflict arises when individual is caught between two positive but mutually exclusive goals. Example: - Taking job A or job B, both are attractive. Approach - Avoidance conflict: This conflict occurs when an individual is simultaneously attracted to and repelled by a single goal. Example:- An employee wants to speak to the manager but is afraid at the same time. Avoidance - Avoidance conflict: This occurrence when an individual is forced to choose between two mutually exclusive goals each of which possesses unattractive qualities. For example a person neither wants to stay late in office, nor wants to be seen irresponsible.

Inter Personal Conflict The phenomenon of interpersonal conflict can be explained by the 1. Transactional analysis 2. Johari Window 3. Stroking 4. Life Positions

Transactional analysis (TA) When two people interact with each other there results a social transaction Analysis of social transaction is called transactional analysis (TA). Basis to TA is the assumption that a person has three ego states, ego states are the dominant ways of thinking and behaving towards others at a time. Parent ego state- It represents the part of a persons personality that is authoritative dogmatic, overprotective, controlling nurturing critical and righteous

Adult ego state-It represents the mature rational and objective part of a persons personality.
Child Ego state-It represents the childish, dependent and immature part of a persons personality

Johari-Window
Open selfAlso called public area, thus cell represents an ideal situation. Here, the person knows about himself or herself and about others. Hidden selfAlso known as the private or secret area, this cell denotes that the person understands about himself or herself but others do not know about him. Undiscovered selfThis is potentially the most explosive situation. The person does not know about himself or herself and does not know about others.

Blind selfAlternatively known as the blind area, this quadrant represents that aspect of self which is not known to himself or herself but which is fairly obvious to others.

Stroking:It refers to the recognition of ones presence by other. When we interact with others, we expect others to say Good Morning, or some such gesture to indicate that we are being recognized. Life Positions:Each of us tends to exhibit one of four life positions, i.e. the way we perceive us as well as others in comparison. I am not ok you are ok I am not ok you are not ok I am ok you are not ok I am ok you are ok. Of the four life positions the ideal one is I am ok You are okay. It shows a healthy acceptance of self and others

Inter Group Conflict:Inter group conflict; also called organizational conflict refers to the conflict between two groups, departments or sections in an organization. Conflicts between groups are frequent and highly visible. The reasons for inter-group conflict are:-

1. Task Inter dependence 2. Task Ambiguity 3. Goal Incompatibility 4. Competition for limited resources 5. Competitive reward system 6. Line and staff 7. Intra personal and Inter-Personal conflict.

Ways to Resolve Conflict:


Intra-personal- Much of the intra-personal conflict in an organization can be resolved by developing compatibility between his personal and organizational goals. Resolving Inter-Personal Conflict:- The strategies suggested for reducing intra-personal conflict will be useful to resolve inter-personal conflict also: To overcome inter-personal conflict there are specific approaches. 1. Transactional analysis-Interaction between two adult ego states will improve communication. 2. Lose-lose approach 3. Win-lose approach 4. Win-win strategies. Resolving Inter group conflict: The conflict can be resolved by the following:1. problem solving 2. organization redesign 3. super ordinate goals 4. expansion of resources 5. avoidance 6. smoothen 7. bargaining

MODULE-6 Organizational Change

Definition and Meaning:


Curtis W Cook, Phillip L Hunsaker and Robert E Coffey define change as, the coping process of moving from the present state to the desired state that individuals, groups and organizations undertake in response to dynamic internal and external factors. Change agent is the person who acts as a catalyst and assumes the responsibility for managing the change process. Change intervention it is a planned action to make things different.

Change targets are individuals and groups who are subject to change.

Nature of Change:
1. Planned Change: For better development of organization, the change to be implemental should be planned. 2. Comprehensive Change: The change should be spread all over the organization. 3. Emphasis Upon Work Group: Change should be group oriented. 4. Long-range Change: It is the change which is implemented with an intention of bringing a complete change after a few years that is in the long range. 5. Participation of a Change :Agent This is employing or taking help of an agent to implement change in the organization. 6. Collaborative Management: Organizations are viewed as a system. Hence, the management should be involved to bring change in the organization.

Levels of Change: Change can be at individual level, group level and organizational levels. Individual Level Change: At the individual level, change is reflected in such development as changes in a job assignment physical move to a different location or the change in maturity of a person which occurs over time.

Group Level Changes: Activities in an organization are organized on a group basis. The group could be departments or informal work groups. Organization Level Changes: Changes at this level involve major programmes that affect both individuals and Groups.

Types of Change
First-Order Change: When the new state of things have the same basic nature as the old state of things. except for some moderate adjustments to the existing structure of the organization, the change is known as incremental or first-order change. For example use of Information Technology for database management. Second-Order Change: When the new state of things have a completely different nature from the old state of things, it is known as fundamental, quantum or secondorder change. This change is initiated when the organization needs to be restructured. Organization differs completely from the old fundamental structure of the organization, for example mergers

Resistance to change:
Explicit Resistance it is immediate resistance that occurs after the implementation of a certain change. E.g.: When employees are not satisfied with a new organization policy, they may criticize the policy openly. The management may then adopt a conciliatory approach and resolve the conflict. Implicit Resistance It is not open, it is subtle and may be expressed in form of rampant absenteeism, increase in errors, decline in quality and quantity of work. It is dangerous in nature therefore management should never underestimate the possibility of resistance to its change initiatives.

Sources of Resistance to Change:


I. Individual Sources.

Habit-Human beings tend to develop habits. A person may need to make several decisions everyday. The habit based response is also called programmed responses. Security People are generally concerned about their security and resist any change that threatens their safety and security. Economic Factors-Employees would resist change if it likely to decrease their income or sources of earning. Fear of the unknown-People associate change with uncertainty. They fear the unknown and the insecurity resulting form it

Selective Information Processing-Individuals form their own perceptions about people and world around them and like to stick to their perceptions.
Social Factors-People also resist change when they anticipate that change might affect their status in the society adversely.

II. Organizational Resistance

Structural inertia-Organization always attempts to maintain a steady and balanced state that is conducive to employees. They have inbuilt mechanisms to achieve that state of equilibrium.
Limited Focus of Change-An organization consists of many sub-systems that are interrelated and interdependent. Group inertia-Sometimes group norms may prevent an individual from adopting change. Threat to Expertise-The expertise of a specialized group may be threatened by changes in the organizational pattern. Threat to established power relationship-When an organization initiates a redistribution of decision making authority, by removing the additional layers in the hierarchy and implementing participative decision making, it is usually resisted by middle level managers and supervisors. Threat to established resource allocations-An individual (or a group) who controls a significant amount of resources in the organization would generally consider any

Overcoming Resistance to change : The following measures can be used by change agents to deal with employees resistance to change.

Educating employees and improving communication with themEmployees generally resist change. Therefore, organizations should maintain a constant interaction with employees. Management should educate employees regarding the need for change and the benefit that can be expected from it both to the organization as well as to the employees.

Encouraging employee participation- Before implementing the change program the management may invite representatives of employees to participate in the decision making process. Facilitation and support- A change agent may allay fear and anxieties among employees by counseling them and offering them training in new skills that the change program might entail.

Negotiation Sometimes, resistance may be offered by powerful individuals or groups who have the potential to nullify the effect of the change program. Manipulation and Cooptation Sometimes the change agent may deliberately communicate incorrect or false information to employees to stop them from resisting change. Coercion The management may attempt to reduce the employees resistance to change by using threat or force. An employee who fails to accept change may be threatened with a transfer or demoted or deprived of some incentives.

Implementing change successfully: Successful implementation of change involves 3 phrases:

1st PhaseUnfreeze
In this step employees are educated about external and internal factors that make change imperative and create urgency for change. Sometimes, people are content with the existing work environment, organization rules and procedures and, therefore, are unwilling to change. Such people or groups should be told about the benefits that change can bring so that their level of satisfaction increases and level of satisfaction with the existing condition decreases. For example, if we pay attention to better customer service, our market share can increase.This will motivate employees to welcome change to enjoy the new benefits.

2nd Phase Movement to Change After the resisting employees are convinced or prepared for change, the actual change process begins. This involves doing away with old practices and adopting new methods. For example, as a part of the change program, advanced equipment are installed in production process or layout is changed or job duties are redefined. This stage involvesimplementing the change.

3rd Phase--After Change or Unfreeze

After the change has been implemented, it has to be assimilated into organizational processes.

The third step involves reinforcing the change so that the organization does not revert to old state of things. For e.g.: if the change process involved acquiring new skills; to achieve this, employees are asked to demonstrate their new skills before they return to their jobs. They may also be asked to do role play and show how they would apply their new skills at the work place and rewarded for implementation.

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