Behavioural and Allied Sciences

Assignment - A

Question 1: How can one build a positive self-esteem and Self

concept? Explain?

Answer:

In order for one to build self esteem, one has to feel good about

oneself. Create positive affirmations to build up one’s esteem and self worth.

Take time to enjoy things that you want to do but did not have the time to

do it. Building self esteem is not a process that can be done overnight, the

person who wants to have or create positive self esteem should be

committed to doing it or it will not succeed.

One of the most important steps in raising self esteem is to stop

comparing yourself with other people. Envy can be a great detractor as it

builds negative vibrations and can distract the person greatly Putting one’s

self down is no way to build self esteem, self deprecating comments are

likewise to be avoided. Associate with positive, supportive people by being

present with this kind of company you will take on positive characteristics. To

be true to one and live your own life and not the life others want you to have.

Finally, take action as self esteem cannot be achieved by sitting on the

sidelines and not taking chances. If the results are not in your favor at least

you have done it and likewise feel better about yourself.

Self-concept or how you view yourself, determines how you will

experience life. If it is positive and healthy, you will experience life in a

positive and healthy way. If it is shaky and fragile, you will find life’s

challenges overwhelming and at times insurmountable. Developing a healthy

self concept takes deliberate planning and concentrated effort. It also takes

acquiring necessary life skills to take challenges adversities we face. When

you have a healthy self-concept, nothing can rattle you or take you off your

stride. You are confident, poised and assured, because you know you are

equipped to handle whatever comes your way.

Question 2: A person’s attitude fuels his thoughts, feelings and

actions. Comment.

Answer: In every action a person does, it involves emotion and thoughts.

Rarely does one act on something that he had not thought of even for a little

bit. The way a person was brought up, his surroundings, environment, family

and friends have an impact to what a person is now which also includes life

experiences. If a person’s attitude was molded properly, that person’s actions

towards any situation will be done in practical and logical way, emotions are

kept in place so as not to hinder an appropriate response.

A moral attitude keeps the person from doing any immoral acts or

something that violates human concept of what is right. He ensures that he

acts accordingly and based on the acceptable precepts of his culture and

shies away from actions considered to be improper.

Life is all about attitude. Life is what you perceive of it and make of it.

We are all in control of our own feelings, and our feelings truly shape our

attitudes and how we go about our daily lives. If you feel that you can be

successful you'll have a positive attitude that'll help you succeed. If you feel

that you can't be successful, you'll have a negative attitude that'll help you

fail. A positive attitude is the key to opening many doors in life. A negative

attitude is never going to unlock any of those doors.

The world is divided into two types of people. There are the pessimists

who have negative attitudes and see the glass as half empty. The other types

of people are the optimists who have positive attitudes and see the glass as

half full. The optimists have happy lives while the pessimists are constantly

complaining. The optimist never gives up and keeps on going while the

pessimist never hesitates to give up.

Question 3: “Emotionally mature people realize that others do not

exist to meet their needs”. What are the distinctive styles for dealing

with one’s emotions?

Answer:

There are several ways in dealing with one’s emotion in an everyday

situation be it at the workplace, at home or even when going out. The matter

that needs to be address is what appropriate way of dealing our emotions so

as not to let it get the better of us.

Different styles in dealing with one’s emotion are the following:

a. Personal space – when in a strained situation, a person can check

his emotions by asking for a few minutes of personal space. This is

effective as the person can think things thru without getting any

flak from the other person he/she has in conflict with.

b. Escape Pod technique – almost similar to personal space, this is a

style wherein the person goes away from the situation but provides

information on the time and location to renew discussions to sort

things out.

c. Ventilate – this is where the person literally shouts out his/her

frustrations within their own earshot and without the presence of

the person in conflict. This is a good way to let the frustrations out

so that when it’s time to deal with the person or situation, the

frustration is out of the equation.

d. Cooling down period – speaking softly and calmly greatly affects a

strenuous situation. This is also the time where acknowledging and

providing emotional support is involved in dealing with emotions.

Dealing with one’s emotions can be easy or difficult as it depends on

the upbringing of the person and that of past experiences. People who can

effectively deal with their emotions are most likely to succeed where one

failed to do so. Emotion brings uncertainty in dealing with strenuous

situations as the perception towards said situation may be biased. Decisions

based on emotions are unreliable at best. It is of my opinion that to better

handle the situation, a sound, logical mind is the best way to go.

Question 4: What are the positive connotations of being a good

listener?

Answer:

Being a good listener provides positive avenues for emotional,

psychological growth. It is also a plus in terms of conflict resolution and

people management. A person who is a good listener can gain more respect

as the people around him knows that when they come to that person, he /

she listens to them effectively.

Gaining of trust is another positive connotation of a good listener.

People readily trust a person who listens to them and not necessarily gives

out advices. In most situations, frustrated people are just venting out and

they need someone to vent their annoyance. A good listener will be there all

the way until the person is free of his/her frustration. Being a good listener

enables you to gather information from a person that could be of use either

in business or personal growth. This also helps build rapport with co-workers,

family and friends.

Most of the people we interact know that being attentive to what the

speaker doesn’t say is as important as being attentive to what he does say. A

good listener can readily see non verbal cues from the person they are

talking to. This can help gather data regarding the other person as not all can

fully disclose what they feel. By knowing and observing non verbal cues, the

active listener can gauge what the person needs or what intervention can be

offered to help resolve a situation.

Respect plays a big role in many situations. Most especially in the

workplace as getting the respect of the workers in their management can

lead to a very productive work force. Being an active or good listener will get

you respect as it depicts you showing interest to the other person.

Effective listening also helps eliminate misunderstandings,

misconceptions, confusions and conflicts as you get the gist of the

information and what needs to be done.

Question 5: Write short notes on any three the following:- a. Job Redesign.

b. Coping Strategies. c. Role Ambiguity. d Conflict Management.

e. Rust Out.

Answer:

a. Job Redesign:

A concept that deals with changing and / or restructuring the elements

of a job making it more motivating for the workers. It is also the

enhancing of motivational potential of a job by altering core job

dimensions. In doing so, quality of work life is heightened as workers

are motivated to report for work and minimizes stagnation of work.

b. Coping Strategies.:

A concept defined as strategies to combat stress or frustration. It is a

person’s thoughts and actions on dealing with a nerve-racking

situation. Common types include Problem-focused coping strategies

which is used to tackle the problem directly and the Emotion-focused

coping strategies which are used to handle feelings of distress, rather

than the actual problem.

c. Role Ambiguity:

A lack of clarity on the part of an employee about the expectations of

colleagues concerning his or her role within an organization. Role

ambiguity may occur in newly created posts or in positions that are

undergoing change. When role ambiguity extends to responsibilities or

priorities it can lead to role conflict.

Assignment - B

Question 1: What initiatives should be taken by the top management

to increase satisfaction levels among employees?

Answer:

To increase employee satisfaction, management must first conduct an

employee satisfaction survey. The survey will cover work life balance,

passion for the job, employee engagement, facilities and maintenance, IT,

work environment and other factors that can get data on how satisfied are

the workers. Once this has been set out, top management now has a basic

idea on how satisfied are the workers. They can now come up with action

plans for the factors that got low scores to increase employee satisfaction.

On the other factors that got high scores, management can come up with

plans on how to exploit those factors to further increase base scores in the

next survey. Employee satisfaction surveys should be conducted annually to

determine if there was a positive or negative change in the scores.

Another way to get employees satisfied with their jobs is to create a

benefits package that is both cost efficient yet very appreciated by the

workers. Gone are the days wherein people demanded more money and

thinks less of benefits. Workers now are looking if they get a good pay and

what benefit packages are included. Should a company cannot provide high

paying salaries, they can make it up by buffing up their benefits package.

Workers can reason out that though they do not have a huge salary but their

benefit package is much more than those of other companies.

Hosting team building activities off site and other programs that

include rest and relaxation is another good way to increase employee

satisfaction. Top management can package it as a sort of a token of the hard

work the employees has given to the company. This also benefits the work

life balance of our employees as they get to include their family in a company

outing or a Christmas party celebration.

Question 2: Suggest ways to recognize and present the work of

subordinates to the management, so that the organization is able to

maintain and sustain the motivation level of employees?

Answer:

One way of getting subordinates work in to management is to come up

with a program, the Japanese coined “Kaizen” awards. In this type of

presentation, everyone is enjoined to come up with a presentation or an

improvement of their work process that comes in with a positive effect to the

company. They can even compute for the expenses saved by the company

when they implemented revisions in the process. A committee will be formed

to evaluate the effectiveness of the presentation and award them either thru

cash prizes or other incentives. In this manner, workers become innovative

and always checking on how to improve their work areas / departments.

Another way is to do “mentoring” activities or come up with an “officer

of the day” and give a subordinate an opportunity to run a line as if he was

the assistant supervisor. This will also help screen workers who can be

promoted.

Conduct daily morning meetings with your team to discuss day’s plan

and needs, line reporting if there any issues in the previous day discuss other

items bordering on workers needs and requests. Supervisors can assign a

specific worker to take the minutes and present it to the manager for their

evaluation. A sure fire way to let management know of the day to day

activities of their departments or line.

Award workers who are performers in the line or department is a way

to recognize the work and qualities of your workers. Awards like: Perfect

Attendance, Employee of the Month etc. and recognition need not to be

monetary in nature, the organization’s Human Resources can create

certificates signed by the manager and director to be presented in a monthly

recognition day.

Question 3: “The “cost” of distress (negative stress) for the

individual is usually in terms of health whereas the origin is usually

in terms of performance”. Suggest various strategies to cope with

Distress.

Answer:

Distress as studies reveals starts at the very young age. It is then

enhanced as the individual is at often times exposed to strenuous situations

and his capability to fly thru it diminishes as each stress situation comes

along. Below are some self care strategies that can keep an employee

functioning and ready for life’s challenges:

1. Enough sleep – this is very important for your emotional and physical

well-being. Lack of sleep can negatively impact your ability to handle

stress.

2. Prioritization – divide your work into priorities and organize your way

of attacking a situation. By being organized, you minimize cramming,

doing several things at the same time but not finishing anything. Come

up with a time frame for every project and adjust accordingly in case

an unexpected event occurred.

3. Maintain social support – friends and colleagues can keep you

happy and focused thus creating a buffer for stress. Friends can pick

you up when you feel down while co-workers provide insights in case a

problem happened at work.

4. Downtime – find time to do some leisure activities to maintain work

life balance. This can be your distraction away from work.

5. Have the right attitude – no two persons are alike in dealing with

stress, but they can mold their attitude to combat distress and come

as the winner. It will take positive thinking and going back to those

stressful experiences that were overcome as a motivation that every

problem has a solution.

6. Keep your mind sharp – if a person maintains an attitude that stress

is challenge rather than a threat, that person should better be able to

handle it. By keeping your mind sharp, you are more equipped to solve

problems and take on challenges that come your way.

Case study

Questions 1: What are the advantages/ disadvantages of practicing

Assertion at the Work Place?

Answer:

Being assertive can be advantageous as the worker can effectively

communicate his / her opinions, thoughts and needs in an honest and direct

manner. It involves valuing oneself while acknowledging the needs of others.

It is finding the middle way between aggression and passivity that best

respects the personal and official boundaries of all relationship partners

(supervisor and subordinate; manager and supervisor). Assertive people

defend themselves when someone else attempts to dominate them, using

any necessary method (including force) to repel the invasion attempt.

Though they can be strong people who are capable of aggressive domination

attempts, they never act in an aggressive manner, however, because they

know that to do so would cause them to disrespect their relationship

partner's boundaries. Another way to say this is that assertive people use

aggression defensively, and never offensively.

The disadvantage is that it depends on the manner by which assertion

was conducted. If the assertive worker used any form or violence or a

negative reaction it will lead to a confrontation with the superior as it can be

considered to be a violation of the company’s rules and regulations. Another

disadvantage is that the person was being assertive so as to get out of the

work being assigned to him/her. Another disadvantage is that by being

assertive, you can become the target of a superior who now holds a grudge

against you. This is notwithstanding the reason for not accepting the task but

declining his request has become a personal attack against his authority.

Others may not approve of this style of communication, or may not approve

of the views you express. Also, having a healthy regard for another person’s

rights means that you won’t always get what you want. You may also find

out that you were wrong about a viewpoint that you held. But most

importantly, as mentioned earlier it involves the risk others may not

understand and therefore not accept this style of assertion.

Question 2: How would you deal with such a situation had you been

in Mona’s place?

Answer:

If I was in Mona’s place, I would have talked to my supervisor and

asked as to why she thought of me as being qualified for the tasks that she

volunteered me into. After getting the answers, I can offer an explanation

regarding my hesitation to accept the task as I feel that I am not up to the

tasks and lacks certain skills to effectively accomplish them. If my supervisor

still persists that I am able to do the tasks, I will advise her that I will do the

best that I can in lieu of the short notice. I will also assert that prior to me

being volunteered to any tasks, I need to know about it first as I may have

set some plans to which I cannot cancel already.

Nearing the end of our discussion, I will say thank you to my

supervisor though may have forgotten to consult me regarding the tasks but

felt that I am now ready to take on new responsibilities and tasks aside from

my routine work.

Question 3: While delegating work, how important do you think it is

to consult subordinates?

Answer: In delegating work, it is not that important to consult your

subordinates. As their supervisor, you are very much aware of their

capabilities and if they can do the task that you will be delegating them.

Consulting them can be done if in case this is an assignment that they have

never done or seen before. Consultation can happen but not too often as this

will also negatively impact their view of you as a superior.

The most important thing to do is to inform them of the project or task

and explain the details and the manner on how you want the task to be

completed. The real deal on this is that as a superior, delegating tasks that

are beyond the scope of your subordinate is getting yourself out of a task. It

should never happen as this is considered to be unethical.

Assignment – C

(Objective Type)

1. Self-concept is the power house which facilitates development of --

a) Attitude b) Personality c) Self Esteem d) All of the above

2. Building self awareness would include questions like--

a) Who am I? b) What are my strengths and weaknesses? c) What are my goals? d) All of the above.

3. Self Acceptance means--

a) Becoming aware of what others want to be. b) Becoming aware of what you want to be. c) Becoming aware of who others are. d) Becoming aware of who you are.

4. Self Esteem is a way of thinking, feeling and acting that implies you--

a) Accept others. b) Believe in yourself. c) Believe others. d) All of the above.

5. Which of the following is not an aspect of Self Esteem?

a) Self efficacy b) Self respect c) Self knowledge d) All of the above

6. Which of the following is not a building block of positive self esteem?

a) Value others b) Value yourself c) Goal setting d) Offering forgiveness

7. Which of the following is a component of attitudes?

a) Valance b) Multiplexity c) Centrality d) All of the above

8. Which of the following is not a component of an attitude?

a) Affection b) Actions c) Centrality d) Cognition

9. Which of these is a mandate for building self esteem?

a) Set goals for yourself b) Make choices for your life c) Visualize your successful behaviour d) All of the above

10. What do you mean by Emotional Awareness?

a) Recognize your own emotions and feelings b) Knowing others emotions and feelings c) None of the above d) Both of the above

11. Which of the following is a component of emotional intelligence?

a) Handling Relationships b) Interpersonal Intelligence c) Intra-personal Intelligence d) All of the above

12. Which of the following is a component of interpersonal intelligence?

a) Empathy b) Handling Relationships c) Both of the above d) None of the above

13. Which of the following is not a style for dealing with emotions?

a) Self aware b) Engulfed c) Accepting d) Avoiding

14. Which of the following is a feature of attitude?

a) Attitude affects Behaviour b) Attitude affects Beliefs c) Attitude affects Values d) All of the above

15. Which of these is a consequence of a negative attitude?

a) Get a better job or promotion b) Loose a customer/ job c) Successfully complete a project d) All of the above

16. Which of these is a type of attitude?

a) Positive b) Negative c) Neutral d) All of the above

17. Which of the following emotions is not synonymous with each other?

a) Guilt b) Regret c) Shame d) Wonder

18. Which of the following statements is an initiative effort?

a) Pursue goals beyond what’s required or expected of them b) Ready to seize opportunities c) Managing emotions d) All of the above

19. Which of the following statements is synonymous to the term

“Conscientiousness”?

a) Dependability and responsibility in fulfilling obligations b) Being honest to self and hold themselves accountable for meeting their

objectives

c) None of the above d) Both of the above

20. Which one of these is not a phase of listening process?

a) Acknowledging b) Leveling c) Sharpening d) Assimilation

21. Which one of these is not a type of listening?

a) Passive b) Aggressive c) Marginal d) Empathetic

22. Which of these are essentials for good listening?

a) Positive attitude b) Concentration

c) Interaction d) All of the above

23. Which one of these does not hamper the listening process?

a) Lack of Interest b) Question Answer sequences c) Fear d) None of the above

24. Which of these is an aspect of Assertive behaviour?

a) Steady & firm b) Sarcastic and cold c) Hesitant with pauses d) None of the above

25. Which of these features need to be overcome, to communicate

assertively?

a) Over confidence b) Low self esteem c) Both of the above d) None of the above

26. Which of these is not a physiological symptom of stress?

a) Change in weight b) Boredom c) Frequent Infections d) Chronic fatigue and tiredness

27. Occupational stress occurs as a result of--

a) Work overload/ Under load

b) Changes at work place/ environment c) Excessive travel d) All of the above

28. What could be the indicators of stressful relationships at work?

a) Isolation b) Rivalry c) Political pressure d) All of the above

29. Which of these in not a type of strategy to cope with stress?

a) Functional coping strategy b) Neutral coping strategy c) Dysfunctional coping strategy d) All of the above

30. Personal approaches to cope with stress include--

a) Life style change b) Meditation c) None of the above d) Both of the above

31. Stress has its effect on--

a) Human Physiology b) Human Psychology c) Human Social behaviour d) All of the above

32. Which one out of the following is most crucial for success?

a) Aptitude b) Attitude c) Skill d) Behaviour

33. Which of these is a barrier to effective communication?

a) Ineffective listening b) Feedback c) Sender d) Message

34. Which of these is a component of human personality?

a) Thoughts b) Emotion c) Action d) All of the above

35. Which of these Is a coping strategy for stress at organizational level?

a) Job Redesign / Job Rotation b) Employee Counseling c) Mentoring d) All of the above

36. Which of these is not a part of non verbal communication?

a) Eye contact b) Facial expression c) Content of message d) Body movement

37. Which out of the following is not a primary emotion?

a) Anger b) Fear c) Jealousy d) Love

38. __________ helps in recognizing emotions in others.

a) Valance b) Self control c) Empathy d) Sympathy

39. Which of these is not a part of the ‘Johari window’?

a) Hidden self b) Blind self c) Open self d) Ideal self

40. What are different types of stresses?

a) Eustress b) Distress c) Both of the above d) None of the above