Assignment 5 Organizational Behaviour 25-02-05

Reg.No.-IIMM/HP/2/2004/2617 Name-Shacheendra Sharma Subject-Organisational Behaviour

PGDM-DUAL (FINANCE) Page 1 of 37 Assignment # 5

Name : Shacheendra Sharma

Registration No. : IIMM / HP / 2 / 2004 / 2617

Subject : Organisational Behaviour

Ans-1(a)

Human Relations Movement: Three Milestone Events

Fred Luthans has described three major events in the field of human relation

movement, which had changed the entire course of future human relations studies.

These are:

1. the great depression;

2. the rise of trade unionism.

3. the Hawthrone experiments;

1. The great depression:

The great depression occurred in the year 1929. Prior to that, the economy was

running in full swing and the production and organizational specialists had

achieved great results.

After this crash, the management started to think on the lines that production

alone is not the only responsibility of management. Marketing, finance and

personnel are equally important for the business to grow and survive. The

depression created unemployment, discontent and insecurity and highlighted the

human problems.

2. The rise of trade unionism:

Labour unions existed in America in as early as 1792. But in 1935, Wagner Act

was passed which gave great thrust to labour movement. It made a great impact

on management functioning style and its role in human relations.

In India also, worker’s unions were in existence since later half of 19th century. But

at that time, they were operating under legal constraints. In 1926, Trade Union Act



1926 was passed and at that time the managers started realizing that the trade

unions will stay in the industries and they will have to cope up with them for

efficient running of the organization. The higher management realized that in order

to avoid any friction with the trade unions, they must understand the human

relations side of the management function.

3. The Hawthrone Experiments:

From 1924 till 1933, Western Electric Company conducted a series of research

experiments at its Hawthrone Works to study the effects of working conditions on

morale and productivity of the workers.

a. Illumination Experiments: The first experiment was “Illumination Experiment”

conducted during 1924 to 1927. It was a joint effort of National Research

Council of the National Academy of Sciences and Western Electric Co. Later

on, the company was guided by Prof. Elton Mayo and his associates from

Harvard University.

In the experiment, two groups were formed. First was the control group, for

which, the illumination was kept fixed throughout the experiments. In second

group called the experimental group, the illumination was enhanced. As

anticipated, the productivity of 2nd group went up. But at the same time, the

productivity of control group also increased. Then the illumination of control

group was reduced and the output again went up. Thus it was concluded that

there was something more than the intensity of light, which was playing a role

in increasing the productivity. Although the results of these experiment were

misleading and did not have any correlation with the independent variable

(illumination), they encouraged further experimentation.

b. Relay Room Experiments: During 1927~1932, Elton Mayo and his Harward

colleagues selected two girls and asked these to choose four more girls of

their choice to form a group of six.

The group was monitored by an observer who also listened to the complaints

of girls and asked for their advice.



Under normal working conditions, the girls assembled 2400 relays per week

(48 hrs) with no rest pause. These girls were then allowed to work on per piece

basis for 8 weeks, and their productivity increased.

Next, two five minute rest pauses were introduced which were increased to ten

minutes each. The productivity increased sharply. After this, six five minute

breaks were introduced and the productivity reduced as the girls complained of

broken rhythm due to frequent breaks. Again, the breaks were reduced to two

five minute breaks. Then the company introduced free of cost hot meal. The

productivity again went up.

The girls were allowed to go home half an hour before the scheduled time of 5

pm and the productivity increased. Subsequently, they were allowed to go at 4

pm and the productivity remained unchanged.

After that, all the facilities were withdrawn and the girls returned to their normal

working hours (48/ week). They were not allowed any breaks in between, no

free meals were given and there was no piecework. This condition was kept for

twelve weeks and the productivity was highest ever achieved.

In brief, this experiment implies that the productivity of girls increased due to a

change in their attitude. They were made to feel important and formed

congenial group. A sense of belongingness grew hence the productivity

improved. Medical examination revealed no signs of fatigue, etc. absenteeism

also decreased by approximately 8%.

c. Second Relay Room and Mica Splitting Test Room Experiments: These

were follow-up studies. The experiments were conducted to assess the effect

of wage incentives on productivity. A group of five workers was allowed to

work on group piece rate scheme. All other conditions remained similar to the

regular work. A 12% rise in productivity was observed.

In Mica splitting study, the workers were allowed to work on individual piece

rate plan rather than group piece incentive scheme. The results showed 15%

rise in productivity of workers.



So it was concluded that the results of wage incentive scheme were

dependent on other variables also and wage incentive alone was not the

deciding factor.

d. Mass Interviewing Program: 21000 interviews were conducted during 1928

to 1930 to explore information which was used to improve supervisory training.

The method was non-directive interviewing where the interviewer was

supposed to listen. Following inferences were made:

(i) if a person is allowed to express his grievances, his morale is heightened.

(ii) Complaints were symptoms of other more deep rooted disturbances.

(iii) Workers were influenced by the experience gained both inside and outside

the company while making demands.

(iv) The worker’s satisfaction level depends upon his social status in the

company

Ans-1(b)

Organizational Behaviour:

Definition: Various scholars have defined Organizational Behaviour in different

manner.

Keith Davis says, “Organizational Behaviour is the study and application of

knowledge about how people act within organizations. It is a human tool for

human benefit. It applies broadly to the behaviour of people in all types of

organizations such a s business, government, schools, etc. it helps people,

structure, technology and the external environment blend together in to an

effective operative system”.

Fred Luthans defines OB as “understanding, predicting and controlling human

behaviour at work”.

Stephen Robins defines OB as “a field of study that investigates the impact that

individuals, groups and structures have on behaviour in organizations for the



purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organization’s

effectiveness”.

Larry L. Cummings, the former head of organizational behaviour division of the

Academy of Management and its past president, distinguished between

organizational behaviour and other closely related disciplines as shown in the

table. He emphasized that organizational behaviour is a way of thinking- a way of

conceiving problems and articulating research and action solutions. He suggested

several characteristics of organizational behaviour that reflect this point of view.

They are:

1. Problems and questions are typically formulated within an independent

variable-dependent variable framework. The models attempt to search for

cause and effect.

2. The field is oriented toward change as a desirable outcome for organizations

and persons within organizations.

3. The field has a distinctly humanistic tone, reflected in the concern for self-

development, personal growth, and self-actualization. However, there is

another side which emphasizes operant learning models and behaviour

modification and which reflects a concern with environmental determinism

rather than with self-actualization.

4. The field is becoming increasingly performance-oriented. Most studies include

a performance-oriented dependent variable.

5. The field is greatly influenced by norms of skepticism, caution, replication, and

public exposure of knowledge based on facts. In other words, it follows the

scientific method.

In summary, organizational behaviour is directly concerned with the

understanding, prediction, and control of human behaviour in organizations. It

represents the behavioural approach to management, not the whole of

management.



Distinction between Organizational Behaviour, Organizational

Phychology, Organization Theory, and Personnel and Human Resources:

Organizational Behaviour

v/s

Organizational Psychology

(OP)

Both fields focus upon explaining human behaviour within organizations.

Their difference centres on the fact that OP restricts its explanatory

constructs to those at the psychological level. OB draws constructs from

multiple disciplines. As the domain of OP continues to expand, the

difference between OB and OP is diminishing, perhaps to the point of

identity between the fields.


v/s

Organizational Theory (OT)

The distinction is based on two differences: unit of analysis and focus of

dependant variables. OB is defined as the study of individual and group

behaviour within organizations and the application of such knowledge.

OT is the study of structure, processes, and outcomes of the

organizations per se. The distinction is neither that OB is theoretical and

concerned only with behaviour nor that OT is unique or exclusive in its

attention to theory. Alternatively, the distinction can be conceived as

between micro and macro perspectives on OB. This removes the

awkward differentiation of behaviour and theory.


v/s

Personnel and Human

Resources (P&HR)

The distinction usually depicts OB as the more basic of the two and

P&HR as more applied in emphasis. OB is seen as more concept-

oriented, while P&HR is viewed as emphasizing techniques or

technologies. The dependent variables, behaviour and affective

reactions within organizations, are frequently presented as similar.

P&HR can be seen as standing at the interface between the organization

and the individual, focusing on developing and implementing the system

of attracting, maintaining and motivating the individual within the

organization

Basic Assumption: When we study the Organizational Behaviour, we keep in

mind certain basic assumptions. These are:

1. an industrial enterprise is an organization of people;

2. the people are motivated to work effectively;

3. the goals of employee and employer may or may not concide;

4. the policies and procedures adopted in an enterprise may influence people

in the directions not foreseen always by the policy makers.



Ans-2(a)

Fundamental Concepts of Organizational Behaviour:

When we study any discipline, we keep in mind some fundamental concepts,

which have to be accepted and not questioned. They are the foundation stones on

which the entire edifice of the discipline is developed.

Following are the fundamental concepts which are applicable to organizational

behaviour. They are:

A. The concepts which revolve around the nature of the people.

B. The concepts which revolve around the nature of organization.

A. The concepts which deal with the nature of individual are:

1. Individual differences

2. Whole person

3. Motivation (caused behaviour)

4. Human dignity

1. Individual differences: This concept tells us that in spite of being similar

physically, every individual is an entity in him. Every individual has to be treated

differently.

2. Whole person: An organization hires the man as a whole and not merely his

hands. As the man performs many roles simultaneously, one role is bound to

affect his behaviour in other roles. This concept tells the managers that when

solving behavioural problems of individuals, he must take into account all the

possible roles the person might be doing.

3. Motivation (caused behaviour): The manager can influence the behaviour of his

subordinates by his own behaviour. If he is respectful to his employees, they are

bound to be respectful to him. The manager must lead by example.

4. Human dignity: This concept is more of an ethical philosophy than a scientific

conclusion. It says that the people are to be treated differently from other factors

of production. People must be treated with respect and dignity.



B. The concepts which revolve around the nature of organization are:

1. Organization is a social system.

2. Mutuality of interests.

1. The organization is a social system: All the employees of an organization are

members of society. Thus, the organization becomes a social system with the

values inherited from society. Any organization that has inconsistent value

system can not last longer.

2. Mutuality of interests: Organizations have human purpose. People and

organizations have mutual interests and if the interests of one suffer, the

interests of other are bound to suffer.

Organizational Models:

Keith Davis has described four Organizational Behaviour models. These models

depict the evolution of thinking and behaviour on part of management and

managers. The models are:

(1) Autocratic: This model was in existence right from the beginning of industrial

revolution. This model can be said to be the worst among theory X

assumptions.

(2) Custodial: This model gives some concessions or privileges to the employees

to keep them happy. As there is no provision of motivating, guiding and

developing the employees, in due course of time, this model got degenerated.

(3) Supportive: This model is based on the assumptions of theory Y. This theory

assumes that the employees are skillful and willing to contribute to the

organization. Here, the manager is more of a leader than a boss. It is the

responsibility of the leader to create an environment of motivation and

willingness among the employees to contribute.

(4) Collegial: This model is limited to dealing with scientific and professional

employees. The manager’s role is that of a partner. The entire work is carried

out by a team and demarcation between employee and manager is not very

obvious.

The following table shows the four models along with their characteristics:



Model Type Æ Autocratic Custodial Supportive Collegial

Model depends on Power Economic

resources

Leadership Partnership

Managerial

orientation

Authority Money Support Teamwork

Employee

Orientation

Obedience Security Job

performance

Responsibility

Employee’s

Psychological result

Depends on

boss

Depends on

organization

Participation Self-discipline

Employee’s needs

met

Subsistence Maintenance Higher order Self-

actualization

Performance result Minimum Passive

cooperation

Awakened

drives

Moderate

enthusiasm

Ans-2(b)

Theory of Unconscious Behaviour:

Humans have base instincts (unconscious urges): In Freudian psychology, the

unconscious is extremely important in determining behaviour. This is a pervasive

theme of the approach: that a lot of desires, motivations and conflicts are seething

below the surface, below the level of consciousness. Freud believed that people

are driven, fundamentally, by unconscious, animalistic, instinctual urges,

particularly lust (eros) and aggression (thanatos). These urges are often in

conflict with the demands of society. For example, humans desire pleasure, but

society places limits on the kinds of pleasure-seeking which it deems

acceptable. Freud emphasizes the extent to which humans are motivated by

psychosexual pleasure.

Topography of the psyche (unconscious, pre-conscious, conscious): Using an

iceberg metaphor, the unconscious is understood to be the large part of the mind,

which is hidden from view. The pre-conscious is represented by the waterline -

but it is the zone in which there are fleeting glimpses of the unconscious,

"flickering" across the screen of consciousness. Finally, the relatively small part of

the iceberg which sticks of the water is seen as equivalent to the small amount of



conscious awareness that the human experiences. Freud also believed that if

there was information that was too painful for the conscious part to bear, that

defense mechanisms would act to push it down it into the unconscious part of the

mind.

Structure of Mind (Id, Ego, Superego): The mind has an internal structure -- three

parts with separate motivations: Id (irrational and emotional part of the mind); the

Ego (rational part); and the Superego (the moral part). This has been depicted

with the help of diagram:

Freud didn’t exactly invent the idea of the conscious versus unconscious mind, but

he certainly was responsible for making it popular. The conscious mind is what we

are aware of at any particular moment, our present perceptions, memories,

thoughts, fantasies, feelings, what we have. Working closely with the conscious

mind is what Freud called the preconscious, what we might today call "available

memory:" anything that can easily be made conscious, the memories we are not

at the moment thinking about but can readily bring to mind. Now no-one has a

problem with these two layers of mind. But Freud suggested that these are the

smallest parts!

Superego

Perception and Conscious

Outer world (full of objects)

Ego

Id (full of wishes or instincts)

Physical needs



The largest part by far is the unconscious. It includes all the things that are not

easily available to awareness, including many things that have their origins there,

such as our drives or instincts, and things that are put there because we can’t

bear to look at them, such as the memories and emotions associated with trauma.

According to Freud, the unconscious is the source of our motivations, whether

they be simple desires for food or sex, neurotic compulsions, or the motives of an

artist or scientist. And yet, we are often driven to deny or resist becoming

conscious of these motives, and they are often available to us only in disguised

form.

Characteristics of Motives:

Motivation is a basic psychological process. It is the most important focus in the

micro approach to organizational behaviour. Many people equate the causes of

behaviour with motivation. But it must be remembered that motivation should not

be thought of as the only explanation of behaviour. Motivation is a hypothetical

construct that is used to explain behaviour.

People define motivation in many ways. Usually one or more of the following

words are included in the definition: desires, wants, wishes, aims, goals, needs,

drives, motives and incentives. The term ‘motivation’ can be traced to the Latin

word ‘movere’ which means ‘to move’.

Motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency

or need that activates behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal or incentive.

Following figure graphically depicts the motivation process. Needs set up drives

aimed at incentives:

Modern psychologists believe that human behaviour is sparked by a motive. A

motive is a felt need. Human behaviour is directed to satisfy these needs or

motives. They have five basic characteristics:

1. the need having highest strength dominates the human behaviour.

NEEDS (deficiency)

DRIVES (deficiency with direction)

INCENTIVES (Reduction of drives and fulfills deficiencies



2. a need once satisfied ceases to influence behaviour.

3. when a need is satisfied, it gives rise to a new need.

4. needs are recurrent in nature.

5. needs are omnipresent.

Classification of human motives:

Primary motives: these are physiological motives and are unlearned. They include

hunger, thrust, sleep, avoidance of pain, sex, etc.

General motives: these are also unlearned motives but are not physiological.

Primary needs seek to reduce the tension or simulation. The motives such as

curiosity, manipulative activity, affection, etc. fall in this category.

Secondary motives: These motives develop as human society grows economically

and becomes more complex. Some examples are: need for power, need for

affiliation, need for achievement, need for security, need for status, etc. The main

secondary motives are:

(a) The Power Motive (n-pow): It is the desire to control and direct others. The

strong advocate of this motive was Alfred Adler, who was a pioneer in

psychology. In context of organization, a person acquires power because of

his competence. He must use it for the betterment of the organization.

(b) The Achievement Motive (n-ach): It can be expressed as a desire to

perform in terms of standard of excellence under competitive situations.

The specific characteristics of a high achiever are: (i) moderate risk taking;

(ii) need of immediate feedback; (iii) satisfaction with accomplishment and

(iv) preoccupation with task.

(c) Affiliation Motive (n-aff): This motive is indicative of the need of

belongingness or being accepted by others. This motive is important in the

group dynamics. The higher the need for affiliation, higher is the group

cohesiveness.



Ans-3(a)

Role of Defense Mechanism:

When need fulfillment is continually blocked, frustration occurs. Defense

mechanisms are the behaviours exhibited to deal with frustration. The following

points must be kept in mind when studying the defense mechanisms:

1. we are discussing only those defense mechanisms which we come across

in daily life.

2. defense mechanisms are unconscious behaviours.

3. in actual situations, there can be a mixture of various defense mechanisms

in exhibited behaviour. It is just for the sake of better understanding that we

study each of them separately.

4. in real life, there is no prioritizing when it comes to defense mechanisms for

dealing with frustration.

5. The major role of defense mechanisms is to keep the personality integrated.

The defense mechanisms

The ego deals with the demands of reality, the id, and the superego as best as it

can. But when the anxiety becomes overwhelming, the ego must defend itself. It

does so by unconsciously blocking the impulses or distorting them into a more

acceptable, less threatening form. The techniques are called the ego defense

mechanisms, and Freud, his daughter Anna, and other disciples have discovered

quite a few.

(a) Denial (resignation): It involves blocking external events from awareness. If

some situation is just too much to handle, the person just refuses to experience it.

As we might imagine, this is a primitive and dangerous defense -- no one

disregards reality and gets away with it for long! It can operate by itself or, more

commonly, in combination with other, more subtle mechanisms that support it.

Some people faint at autopsies, people deny the reality of the death of a loved

one, and students fail to pick up their test results. That’s denial.



Anna Freud also mentions denial in fantasy: This is when children, in their

imaginations, transform an "evil" father into a loving teddy bear, or a helpless child

into a powerful superhero.

(b) Repression: Anna Freud also called "motivated forgetting," is just that: not

being able to recall a threatening situation, person, or event. This, too, is

dangerous, and is a part of most other defenses.

Note that, to be a true example of a defense, it should function unconsciously.

Usually, it is the irrational fears we call phobias that derive from repression of

traumas.

(c) Asceticism, or the renunciation of needs: It is one most people haven’t

heard of, but it has become relevant again today with the emergence of the

disorder called anorexia. Preadolescents, when they feel threatened by their

emerging sexual desires, may unconsciously try to protect themselves by denying,

not only their sexual desires, but all desires. They get involved in some kind of

ascetic (monk-like) lifestyle wherein they renounce their interest in what other

people enjoy.

Anna Freud also discusses a milder version of this called restriction of ego. Here,

a person loses interest in some aspect of life and focuses it elsewhere, in order to

avoid facing reality. A young girl who has been rejected by the object of her

affections may turn away from feminine things and become a "sex-less

intellectual," or a boy who is afraid that he may be humiliated on the football team

may unaccountably become deeply interested in poetry.

(d) Isolation: (sometimes called intellectualization) involves stripping the emotion

from a difficult memory or threatening impulse. A person may, in a very cavalier

manner, acknowledge that they had been abused as a child, or my show a purely

intellectual curiosity in their newly discovered sexual orientation. Something that

should be a big deal is treated as if it were not.

In emergency situations, many people find themselves completely calm and

collected until the emergency is over, at which point they fall to pieces. Something

tells you that, during the emergency, you can’t afford to fall apart. It is common to

find someone totally immersed in the social obligations surrounding the death of a



loved one. Doctors and nurses must learn to separate their natural reactions to

blood, wounds, needles, and scalpels, and treat the patient, temporarily, as

something less than a warm, wonderful human being with friends and family.

Adolescents often go through a stage where they are obsessed with horror

movies, perhaps to come to grips with their own fears. Nothing demonstrates

isolation more clearly than a theater full of people laughing hysterically while

someone is shown being dismembered.

(e) Displacement: is the redirection of an impulse onto a substitute target. If the

impulse, the desire, is okay with you, but the person you direct that desire towards

is too threatening, you can displace to someone or something that can serve as a

symbolic substitute.

Someone who hates his or her mother may repress that hatred, but direct it

instead towards, say, women in general. Someone who has not had the chance to

love someone may substitute cats or dogs for human beings. Someone who feels

uncomfortable with their sexual desire for a real person may substitute a fetish.

Someone who is frustrated by his or her superiors may go home and kick the dog,

beat up a family member, or engage in cross-burnings.

Turning against the self is a very special form of displacement, where the person

becomes their own substitute target. It is normally used in reference to hatred,

anger, and aggression, rather than more positive impulses, and it is the Freudian

explanation for many of our feelings of inferiority, guilt, and depression. The idea

that depression is often the result of the anger we refuse to acknowledge is

accepted by many people, Freudians and non-Freudians alike.

(f) Projection: Anna Freud also called it displacement outward, is almost the

complete opposite of turning against the self. It involves the tendency to see your

own unacceptable desires in other people. In other words, the desires are still

there, but they’re not your desires anymore. I confess that whenever I hear

someone going on and on about how aggressive everybody is, or how perverted

they all are, I tend to wonder if this person doesn’t have an aggressive or sexual

streak in themselves that they’d rather not acknowledge.



Let us see a couple of examples: A husband, a good and faithful one, finds

himself terribly attracted to the charming and flirtatious lady next door. But rather

than acknowledge his own, hardly abnormal, lusts, he becomes increasingly

jealous of his wife, constantly worried about her faithfulness, and so on. Or a

woman finds herself having vaguely sexual feelings about her girlfriends. Instead

of acknowledging those feelings as quite normal, she becomes increasingly

concerned with the presence of lesbians in her community.

Altruistic surrender is a form of projection that at first glance looks like its opposite:

Here, the person attempts to fulfill his or her own needs vicariously, through other

people.

A common example of this is the friend, who, while not seeking any relationship

himself, is constantly pushing other people into them, and is particularly curious as

to "what happened last night" and "how are things going?" The extreme example

of altruistic surrender is the person who lives their whole life for and through

another.

(g) Reaction formation: Anna Freud called it "believing the opposite," is changing

an unacceptable impulse into its opposite. So a child, angry at his or her mother,

may become overly concerned with her and rather dramatically shower her with

affection. An abused child may run to the abusing parent. Or someone who can’t

accept a homosexual impulse may claim to despise homosexuals.

Perhaps the most common and clearest example of reaction formation is found in

children between seven and eleven or so: Most boys will tell you in no uncertain

terms how disgusting girls are, and girls will tell you with equal vigor how gross

boys are. Adults watching their interactions, however, can tell quite easily what

their true feelings are!

(h) Undoing: involves "magical" gestures or rituals that are meant to cancel out

unpleasant thoughts or feelings after they’ve already occurred. Anna Freud

mentions, for example, a boy who would recite the alphabet backwards whenever

he had a sexual thought, or turn around and spit whenever meeting another boy

who shared his passion for masturbation.



In "normal" people, the undoing is, of course, more conscious, and we might

engage in an act of atonement for some behavior, or formally ask for forgiveness.

But in some people, the act of atonement isn’t conscious at all. Consider the

alcoholic father who, after a year of verbal and perhaps physical abuse, puts on

the best and biggest Christmas ever for his kids. When the season is over, and

the kids haven’t quite been fooled by his magical gesture, he returns to his

bartender with complaints about how ungrateful his family is, and how they drive

him to drink.

One of the classic examples of undoing concerns personal hygiene following sex:

It is perfectly reasonable to wash up after sex. After all, it can get messy! But if

you feel the need to take three or four complete showers using gritty soap --

perhaps sex doesn’t quite agree with you.

(i) Introjection: It is sometimes called identification also, involves taking into your

own personality characteristics of someone else, because doing so solves some

emotional difficulty. For example, a child who is left alone frequently, may in some

way try to become "mom" in order to lessen his or her fears. You can sometimes

catch them telling their dolls or animals not to be afraid. And we find the older

child or teenager imitating his or her favorite star, musician, or sports hero in an

effort to establish an identity. Identification is very important to Freudian theory as

the mechanism by which we develop our superegos.

Identification with the aggressor is a version of introjection that focuses on the

adoption, not of general or positive traits, but of negative or feared traits. If you are

afraid of someone, you can partially conquer that fear by becoming more like them.

Two of my daughters, growing up with a particularly moody cat, could often be

seen meowing, hissing, spitting, and arching their backs in an effort to keep that

cat from springing out of a closet or dark corner and trying to eat their ankles.

(j) Regression is a movement back in psychological time when one is faced with

stress. When we are troubled or frightened, our behaviors often become more

childish or primitive. A child may begin to suck their thumb again or wet the bed

when they need to spend some time in the hospital. Teenagers may giggle

uncontrollably when introduced into a social situation involving the opposite sex. A

freshman college student may need to bring an old toy from home. A gathering of



civilized people may become a violent mob when they are led to believe their

livelihoods are at stake. Or an older man, after spending twenty years at a

company and now finding himself laid off, may retire to his recliner and become

childishly dependent on his wife.

Where do we retreat when faced with stress? To the last time in life when we felt

safe and secure, according to Freudian theory.

(k) Rationalization is the cognitive distortion of "the facts" to make an event or an

impulse less threatening. We do it often enough on a fairly conscious level when

we provide ourselves with excuses. But for many people, with sensitive egos,

making excuses comes so easy that they never are truly aware of it. In other

words, many of us are quite prepared to believe our lies.

A useful way of understanding the defenses is to see them as a combination of

denial or repression with various kinds of rationalizations.

All defenses are, of course, lies, even if we are not conscious of making them. But

that doesn’t make them less dangerous -- in fact it makes them more so. Lies

breed lies, and take us further and further from the truth, from reality. After a while,

the ego can no longer take care of the id’s demands, or pay attention to the

superego’s. The anxieties come rushing back, and you break down.

And yet Freud saw defenses as necessary. You can hardly expect a person,

especially a child, to take the pain and sorrow of life full on! While some of his

followers suggested that all of the defenses could be used positively, Freud

himself suggested that there was one positive defense, which he called

sublimation.

(l) Sublimation is the transforming of an unacceptable impulse, whether it be sex,

anger, fear, or whatever, into a socially acceptable, even productive form. So

someone with a great deal of hostility may become a hunter, a butcher, a football

player, or a mercenary. Someone suffering from a great deal of anxiety in a

confusing world may become an organizer, a businessperson, or a scientist.

Someone with powerful sexual desires may become an artist, a photographer, or

a novelist, and so on. For Freud, in fact, all positive, creative activities were

sublimations, and predominantly of the sex drive.



Ans-3(b)

Work Motivation Theories:

So far, we have presented motivation as the basic psychological process

consisting of primary, general and secondary motives and drives such as n Pow, n

Aff and n Ach motives. In order to understand organizational behaviour, these

basic motives must be recognized and studied. However, these serve as only

background and foundation for the more direct work-motivation approaches. The

following figure graphically summarizes the various theoretical streams for work

motivation:

1900

Scientific Management (Wage Incentives)

Human Relations (economic, security

conditions)

Maslov

(hierarchy of needs)

Herzberg

(motivators-hygiene factors)

Allderfer

(GRE needs)

Lewin and Tolman (expectancy concerns)

Vroom

(valence/expectancy)

Porter and Lawler

(performance-satisfaction)

Lawler

(E�

P and P�

O expectancies)

Festinger and Homans (cognitive

dissonance/exchange)

Adams (equity)

Heider, demand Charmes, and Bem

(cognitive evaluation/self-

perception)

Kelley and Rotter (attribution/locus of

control)

Present CONTENT MODELS PROCESS MODELS

WORK MOTIVATION THEORY

The pioneering scientific managers such as Frederick W. Taylor, Frank Gilberth,

and Henry L.Gantt proposed sophisticated wage models to motivate workers.

Next came the human relations movement, and then the content models of



Maslow, Herzberg, and Alderfer. More recent developments have come from

process models but recently, equity and attribution theories have received

attention. The process models are cognitively based.

The Content Theories of Work Motivation:

The content theories of work motivation attempt to determine what it is that

motivates people at work and are concerned with identifying the needs/drives that

people have and how these needs/drives are prioritized. They are concerned with

the types of incentives or goals that people strive to attain in order to be satisfied

and perform well.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

Abhram Maslow outlined the elements of an overall theory of motivation based on

his clinical experience. He established that a person’s motivational needs can be

arranged in a hierarchical manner and once a given level of need is satisfied, it no

longer serves to motivate. In order to motivate the individual, the next higher level

need has to be activated. Maslow identified five levels in his need hierarchy:

5. SELF-

ACTUALIZATION

4. ESTEEM NEEDS

3. LOVE NEEDS

2. SAFETY NEEDS

1. PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

1. Physiological needs: The most basic level in hierarchy, these are needs of

hunger, thirst, sleep and sex.

2. Safety needs: These are roughly equivalent to security needs. Maslow

stressed emotional as well as physical safety. The whole organism may

become a safety-seeking mechanism.



3. Love needs: These correspond to the affection and affiliation needs. A

more appropriate word describing this level would be belongingness or

social needs.

4. Esteem needs: This represents the higher needs of humans. The needs of

power, achievement, and status are examples of this level.

5. Needs for self-actualization: This level represents culmination of all the

lower, intermediate and higher needs of humans. People who have

become self-actualized are self-fulfilled and have realized all their potential.

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation:

Herzberg developed a specific content theory of work motivation. He conducted a

study on about 200 accountants and engineers using critical incident method of

obtaining data for analysis. The subjects in the study were asked two questions:

1. When did you feel particularly good about your job?

2. When did you feel exceptionally bad about your job?

Responses obtained from this critical incident method were fairly consistent. Good

feelings were generally associated with job experience and job content. Bad

feelings were generally associated with the surrounding or peripheral aspects of

the job- the job context.

Thus Herzberg concluded that job satisfiers are related to job content and that job

dissatisfiers are allied to job context. Herzberg labeled satisfiers motivators, and

he called dissatisfiers hygiene factors. Taken together, they became known as

Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation.

Alderfer’s ERG Theory of Motivation:

Clayton Alderfer formulated a need category model that was more in line with the

existing empirical evidence. Alderfer identified three groups of core needs:

a. Existance: The existence needs are concerned with survival (physiological

well-being).

b. Relatedness: The relatedness needs stress the importance of interpersonal,

social relationship.



c. Growth: The growth needs are concerned with the individual’s intrinsic desire

for personal development.

The following figure shows how these groups of needs are related to Maslow and

Herzberg categories. Obviously, they are very close, but the ERG needs do not

have strict lines of demarcation.

Herzberg’s Two Factors Maslow’s Hierarchy of

Needs

Alderfer’s ERG Needs

SELF-ACTUALIZATION GROWTH

ESTEEM: Self, Others MOTIVATORS

LOVE RELATEDNESS

SAFETY HYGIENE FACTORS

PHYSIOLOGICAL

EXISTANCE

Alderfer is suggesting more of a continuum of needs than hierarchical level or two

factors of prepotency needs. Unlike Herzberg and Maslow, he does not contended

that a lower-level need has to be fulfilled before a higher-level need is motivating

or that deprivation is the only way to activate a need.

The Process Theories of Work Motivation:

The process theories are more concerned with the cognitive antecedents that go

into motivation or effort with the way they relate to one another.

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation:

This theory has its roots in the cognitive concepts of pioneering psychologists Kurt

Lewin and Edward Tolman. Vroom proposed his expectancy theory as an

alternative to the content models. The following figure summarizes the Vroom



model. The model is built around the concepts of valence, instrumentality, and

expectancy and is commonly called the VIE theory.

Meaning of the variables:

1. Valence: It is strength of an individual’s preference for a particular outcome.

Other terms that might be used include value, incentive, and expected utility.

2. Instrumentality: It is input to valence and relates the first-level outcomes and

second-level outcomes. The superior performance (first-level outcome) is

seen as being instrumental in obtaining promotion (second-level outcome).

3. Expectancy: It relates efforts to first-level outcome. In other words,

expectancy is the probability that a particular action or effort will lead to a

particular first-level outcome.

The Porter-Lawler Model:

Porter and Lawler refined and extended Vroom’s model that the relationship

between satisfaction and performance was dealt with directly by a motivation

model. The relationships are expressed diagrammatically rather than

mathematically, there are more variables, and the cognitive process of perception

plays a central role.

Porter and Lawler start with the premise that motivation (effort or force) does not

equal satisfaction and/or performance. Motivation, satisfaction and performance

MOTIVATIONAL FORCE F= Valence x Expectancy¦

EXPECTANCY

INSTRUMENTALITIES

OUTCOME-1

OUTCOME-2

OUTCOME-1a

OUTCOME-1b

OUTCOME-2a

OUTCOME-2b

OUTCOME-2c

First Level Outcomes

Second Level Outcomes



are all separate variables and relate in ways different from what was traditionally

assumed. Porter and Lawler point out that effort (force or motivation) does not

directly lead to performance. It is mediated by abilities/traits and role perceptions.

What happens after the performance is important. The rewards that follow and

how these are perceived will determine satisfaction.

The Porter-Lawler Motivation Model

Value of reward

Perceived effort � reward

probability

Effort

Abilities and traits

Role perception

Performance (accomplish

ment)

Intrinsic rewards

Extrinsic rewards

Perceived equitable rewards

Satisfaction

1

2

3

4

5

6

7A

7B

8

9



Ans-4(a)

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation:

Herzberg extended the work of Maslow and developed a specific content theory of

work motivation. He conducted a study on about 200 accountants and engineers

employed by various firms in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He used

critical incident method of obtaining data for analysis. The professional subjects in

the study were essentially asked two questions:

3. When did you feel particularly good about your job- what turned you on?

4. When did you feel exceptionally bad about your job- what turned you off?

Responses obtained from this critical incident method were interesting and fairely

consistent. Good feelings were generally associated with job experience and job

content. Bad feelings, on the other hand, were generally associated with the

surrounding or peripheral aspects of the job- the job context.

Tabulating these reported good and bad feelings, Herzberg concluded that job

satisfiers are related to job content and that job dissatisfiers are allied to job

context. Herzberg labeled satisfiers motivators, and he called dissatisfiers hygiene

factors. Taken together, they became known as Herzberg’s two factor theory of

motivation.

Relation to Maslow:

Herzberg’s theory is closely related to Maslow’s need hierarchy. The hygiene

factors are preventive and environmental in nature. They are roughly equivalent to

Maslow’s lower level needs. These hygiene factors prevent dissatisfaction, but

they do not lead to satisfaction. In effect, they bring motivation up to a theoretical

zero level and are a necessary floor to prevent dissatisfaction. By themselves, the

hygiene factors do not motivate. Only the motivators motivate human on job. They

are roughly equivalent to Maslow’s higher level needs. According to Herzberg, an

individual must have a challenging job content in order to be truly motivated.



Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Hygiene Factors Motivators

Company policy and administration

Supervision, technical

Salary

Interpersonal relations, supervisor

Working conditions

Achievement

Recognition

Work itself

Responsibility

Advancement

Contribution to Work Motivation: Herzberg’s two factor theory cast a new light

on the content of work motivation. Up to this point, management had generally

concentrated on the hygiene factors. When faced with morale problem, the typical

solution was higher pay, more fringe benefits, and better working conditions.

Motivators cater to the higher order needs of human being. In order to build these

factors into the job design, a manager should load the job with motivators. Job

loading can be done either horizontally or vertically.

The horizontal job loading is known as Job Enlargement and the vertical job

loading is known as Job Enrichment.

Job Enlargement: The principles are:

1. challenging the employees by demanding more production

2. adding other tasks to the job

3. job rotation

Herzberg came to conclusion that the theory of job enlargement does not give

dividends for long. Job enrichment is a preferred method.



Job Enrichment: According to Herzberg, the principles are:

Principle Motivators Involved

1. removing some control while retaining

accountability

2. increasing accountability for individual’s own

work

3. giving a person a complete natural unit of

work

4. granting additional authority to an employee

in his activity

5. making periodic reports directly available to

the worker

6. introducing new and more difficult tasks

7. assigning specialized tasks, enabling them

to become experts

Responsibility and personal achievement

Responsibility and recognition



Internal recognition

Growth and learning

Responsibility, growth and advancement

Criticism of Herzberg Theory:

1. From academic perspective, the theory over simplifies the complexities of

work motivation.

2. there seem to be job factors which lead to both satisfaction and

dissatisfaction.

3. it is not corroborated by subsequent research.

4. Herzberg advocated building challenges and freedom into job. A challenge

to one may be perceived as a threat to other.

5. it is not possible to re-design every job.

Ans-4(b)

Morale:

Definitions: Various thinkers have defined morale in different ways.

Keith Davis: Morale means: the attitude of employees and group towards their

work environment and towards voluntary cooperation to the full extent of their

ability in the best interests of the organization.



Morris Viteles: Morale refers to the condition of a group where there are clear and

fixed group goals that are felt to be important and integrated with individual goals;

where there is confidence in the attainment of these goals and the confidence in

the means of attainment in the leader, associates and finally in one self.

Morale indicates the happiness of the employees with the organizational

environment. It also refers to the preparedness of the group of employees to

subordinate the individual and the group goals.

Morale is akin to job satisfaction. Generally, it can be assumed that morale has a

positive relationship with productivity. However, it not always true, as it is clear

from the following graph:

Higher productivity involves ability, training, work habits, performance goals, etc.

The curve A indicates management’s failure in discharging its functions, mainly,

the planning function.

Productivity can be high in spite of low morale (curve C). It is due to rigid systems

and controls imposed by management.

The curves A and C are not permanent states and equilibrium will bring them both

towards curve B. Every manager is interested in curve B where both morale and

productivity are high. But morale is not always static. So the managers must

Job

Sat

isfa

ctio

n Æ

Productivity Æ

A

B

C



constantly keep an eye on the morale indicators which will give him the state of

morale prevailing at that time among employees.

Morale Indicators: As morale can not be quantified, managers conduct morale

surveys to make assessment of morale. Following are the morale indicators:

1. the rate of rejection of finished products by quality assurance department.

2. the rate of wastage of raw material

3. number of petty grievances

4. absenteeism

5. resignation of skilled personnel

6. exit interviews



Ans-6(a)

Perception:

Perception can be defined in many ways. A few definitions are:

1. It is a process of receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking and

reacting to sensory stimuli or data.

2. Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their

sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.

3. Perception includes all those processes by which an individual receives

information about his environment- seeing, hearing, feeling, teasting and

smelling.

4. Kolasa defines perception as “selection and organization of material which

stems from the outside environment at one time or the other to provide the

meaningful entity we experience”.

There are two basic elements in this definition:

1. perception is a process of screening or selection which prevents us from

processing irrelevant or disruptive information;

2. perception is highly complex and comprehensive process and involves a

complicated interaction of selection, organization and interpretation of data.

Perception involves five sub-processes:

a. stimulus, b. registration, c. interpretation, d. feedback, e. consequence

Perception is initiated with the presence of stimulus situation. Registration

involves the physiological mechanism including both sensory and neural.

Interpretation of stimulus situation is determined by a person’s motivation,

personality and learning. Feedback is important for interpreting the perceptual

data. Reaction may be in overt or covert form.

The following figure depicts the various sub-processes of perception and their

inter-relationship:



The sub-processes of Perception

Principles of Perceptual Selection:

There are many stimuli which need attention of the individual at the same time. An

individual can sense only a limited amount of stimuli at a time.

While dealing with selective phenomenon, two terms are involved: Attention and

Set. Attention incorporates all aspects of the selective process. Set refers to

specific factors or processes within the individual himself that has a bearing on

what he attends to.

Thus the factors which attract attention lie in the situations and some are within

the individual. The factors that are in the situation are called External Attention

Factors and those within the individual are called Internal Set Factors.

External Attention Factors:

(a) Intensity: More intense the stimulus, more likely it will be perceived.

(b) Size: Any odd size attracts attention. However, larger the object, chances are

more that it will be perceived.

(c) Contrast: The external stimuli which stands out against the background or

which is unexpected, will attract attention.

External Environment Sensual stimulation Physical Environment: Office Factory floor Research lab. Store Climate Sociocultural Environment: Mngt. Styles Values discrimination

CONFRONTATION of specific stimulus (e.g. supervisor or new procedure)

REGISTARTION of stimulus (e.g. sensory and neural mechanism)

INTERPRETATION of stimulus (e.g. motivation, learning and personality)

FEEDBACK for clarification (e.g. kinesthetic or psychological)

BEHAVIOUR (e.g. overt such as rushing off or covert such as an attitude)

CONSEQUENCE (e.g. reinforcement/punishment or some organizational outcome)



(d) Repetition: Repeated external stimulus attract more attention.

(e) Motion: Individuals are attracted more to the dynamic environment than static

objects.

(f) Novelty and Familiarity: A novel object in familiar situation or a familiar object

in a novel situation tends to attract attention.

Internal Set Factors:

(a) Habit: Most of the individuals will react to any external stimuli on the basis of

their habits. E.g., while walking on road, a Hindu person will automatically

bow if he sees a temple.

(b) Motivation and Interest: Motivational factors increase the individual’s

sensitivity to those stimuli which he considers a srelevant to the satisfaction of

his needs.

(c) Learning and Perception: Learning affects set by creating an expectancy to

perceive in certain manner. The role of learning is more pronounced in

respect of complex forms of perception where some symbolic content creeps

in.

(d) Organizational Role and Specialization: The modern organizational setup

demands specialization. The specialty of a person casts him in a particular

organizational role predisposition. He, then selects certain stimuli.

Ans-6(b)

Attitude, belief and Ideology:

Attitude: Attitude may be defined as a tendency to react positively or negatively in

regard to an object or situation. An attitude is a tendency to react in a certain way.

A person who has a positive attitude for some object or event, has a readiness or

a disposition to react favourably. Attitudes are for or against things. We have

favourable attitude towards sources of gratification and unfavourable attitude

toward sources of punishment and frustration.

Belief: A belief is a judgement about something. E.g. a belief that the earth is

round is a judgement about its form. Many of our beliefs are emotionally neutral



while others are either favourable or unfavourable towards some object. Beliefs

are influenced by attitude. For example, a favourable attitude towards the religion

may generate belief that the religion helps to curb delinquency, that worshippers

are better citizens than non-devotees, etc.

Ideology: When beliefs become organized into system, they are called ideologies.

The capitalist ideology is a set of belief that a free enterprise economy is a

maximally productive and that the competition, in long run, brings down prices and

raises quality. Ideologies give us an interpretation and justification for our

practices. They give us social definition of reality.

Ans-6(c)

Stress and state of exhaustion:

The theory of General Adaptation Syndrome states that when an organism is

confronted with a threat, the general physiological response occurs in three

stages viz. alarm reaction, resistance reaction and state of exhaustion.

Alarm Reaction: It includes initial shock phase in which resistance is lowered and

defensive mechanism becomes active. The characteristics of alarm reaction are:

autonomous excitability, adrenaline discharge, increased heart beat, muscle tone,

and blood content, gastro-intestinal ulceration, etc.

Stage of Resistance: This is maximum adaptation stage. The bodily signs of the

alarm now subsidize. The resistance increases above normal level. if the stress

persists or the defense reaction proves ineffective, the organism deteriorates to

the next stage.

State of Exhaustion: At this point, the adaptation energy is exhausted. The signs

of alarm reaction reappear and the resistance level begins to decline irreversibly

and organism collapses.

The major shortcoming of this theory is that the research was carried out on

animals where the stresses are physical and environmental. This not the case

with human beings. Present day human is confronted with stresses from various

sources such as his own psychological and physical make up, family and social

demands, job stresses, etc.



A pictorial view of the three stages is shown below:

Ans-6(d)

Leadership and its styles:

Leadership style is the total pattern of leader’s actions in relation to followers. It

represents their philosophy, skills and attitudes.

Managers need more positive leadership skills in order to be rated satisfactory.

Better employee education, greater independence, etc. have made employee

motivation more dependent on positive leadership.

There ar basically three leadership styles. Actual behaviour of leaders is a mixture

of all the three styles, one style tends to dominate the others:

(a) Autocratic Leadership Style: The main characteristics of this style are:

1. centralized power and decision making;

2. full authority and responsibility with leader;

3. negative behaviour based on punishment and threats;

4. positive behaviour based on rewards (called benevolent-autocratic)

Advantages:

1. provides strong motivation and reward for leader;

Alarm Sense

Resistance Sense

Exhaustion Sense

Leve

l of R

esis

tanc

e Æ

Normal State



2. permits quick decision making;

3. best suited for emergencies;

4. gives good results when applied to unskilled employees doing repetitive

tasks.

Disadvantages:

1. not liked by employees;

2. developes frustration, dissatisfaction, fear and conflict;

3. low involvement of employees as their drives and creativity are suppressed.

(b) Participative Leadership Style: The major characteristics are:

1. leader’s trust in the abilities of subordinates;

2. decentralized authority, participative decision making;

3. controlling force from within the group;

4. ideas and suggestions welcomed from subordinates;

Advantages:

1. motivated employees;

2. leader and group work as unit, so more harmony;

Disadvantages:

1. not suited for emergency situations;

2. assumption that people have skill and will to help organizational effort, may

not be true.

(c) Free-rein Leadership Style: The basic characteristics of this style are:

1. avoids power and responsibility;

2. dependency on group to establish own goals and strategies;

3. all decision making responsibility and prerogative in favour of followers;



Advantages:

1. very useful when applied to scientific and professional employees, who

require job-freedom;

2. useful in situation when decisions are to be taken in absence of leader;

Disadvantages:

1. can lead to chaotic situations;

2. leader fails to guide, motivate and develop subordinates

Ans-6(e)

Path goal theory of Leadership:

The theory was first developed by Robert House of University of Toronto, Canada

and later on, it was refined by Mitchell. The reason why it is called path goal

approach is that its primary concern is the leaders’ influence on his followers’

perception of their professional and personal goals and paths to achievement of

these goals.

According to this theory, leadership is closely related to motivation and power both.

This theory attempts to explain the impact of leader’s behaviour on followers’

motivation, satisfaction and performance.

According to this theory, there are four basic styles of leadership behaviour:

1. Directive Leadership: Here the subordinates know exactly what is expected

from them. The directions of leader are specific. There is no participation by

subordinates. When the demands of task are ambiguous or when th

organizational procedures, rules and policies are not clear, a directive leader

may provide the necessary guidance to his followers.

2. Supportive Leadership: In this style, the leader is friendly and approachable.

He shows a genuine interest in proceedings. It has the most positive effect on

the satisfaction of followers who perform tasks that are full of stress.

3. Participative Leadership: In this style, although the leader asks for suggestions

from the subordinates, he takes decision by himself.



4. Achievement–oriented Leadership: In this style, the leader sets challenging

goals for the subordinates and encourages them to perform well and attain the

goals. For followers performing ambiguous and non-repetitive tasks, the higher

the achievement orientation of the leader, the more confident they would be

that their efforts would pay-off in effective performance.

The path-goal theory suggests that these styles can be used by the same leader

depending upon the characteristics of the subordinates and the environmental

pressure.

We can draw the following conclusions from the above discussions:

1. a high degree of direction in autonomous or ambiguous situations

increases satisfaction by clarifying the path to goal achievement.

2. Strongly defined tasks are performed best with greater employee

satisfaction when the leader demonstrates high consideration.

3. The autonomous jobs are more intrinsically satisfying than structured

activities. As a result, leader behaviour will be les relevant to the needs or

performance of subordinates than when the path is more difficult to

negotiate.

Documents

Assignment 5 Organizational Behaviour 25-02-05