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Master of Business Administration- MBA Semester 1 SET.1MB0038 Management Process and Organizational Behavior

Q1 . Explain strategy as an organizational process.Answer:

Strategy is concerned with deciding the nature, domain and scope of anorganisations activities (essentially, what it is like, its values, the areas it covers

and the direction it is going in), and the way its success will be evaluated. Thepattern of activities in strategy arises from the acquisition, allocation andcommitment of a set of resources and capabilities by the organisation, in aneffective match with the challenges of its environment, and from the managementof the network of relationships with and between stakeholders.Strategic planning is vital to ensure that your organisationfollows the most effective course towards its mission. Animal protection societiesare bombarded with an increasingly wide and complex set of demands, and caneasily become reduced to reactive fire-fighting organisations. This invariableslows down progress towards mission.

What Constitutes a Strategy?

Strategy can combine some or all of the below factors: -Vision- A realistic, credible, attractive future for your organization.Mission Statement - A declaration of an organizations purpose;Core Values - Organisation (Core) Values are enduring beliefs that your organisation, and the people who inhabit it, hold in common and endeavor to putinto action. Core values guide your organisations board, staff and volunteers inperforming their work.Goals and Objectives - Quality of service delivery is more likely to be achievedunder role culture, whereas successful campaigning is more likely under task

culture. A power or task culture is more appropriate for growth goals.Critical Success Factors what the organisation must get right to succeed in itsmissionPositioning Similar to brand. Building a valued and preferred position in theminds of your target audience (how you would like them to describe you)Brand/Reputation Developing and communicating powerful and meaningfuldifferences between your offerings and those of your competition

SMU-DE ROLL NO: 1208011178Name: ISHAN SOLANKI.

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Q2. What are the factors that influences span of control?

Answer:

Spans of control refer to the number of subordinates a manager or

supervisor can directly supervise in an organization. Some of the major factorsthat affect the span of control in an organization are describe below.Nature of work performed by subordinates. As the complexity andvariety of work performed by the subordinates increases, each subordinatesrequires more attention from the manager, leading to reducing span of control.Capability of Subordinates. When the subordinates are knowledgeableand skilled in their work, they require less supervision and guidance from their manager, and therefore the span of control tens to increase.Physical location. It is easier to control and supervise when all thesubordinates and manager are working at the same location as may happen witha production supervisor and his team working in a factory. In this case span of

control tends to be bigger.In comparison, when manager and the subordinates work in a widelydispersed location, for example a sales manager and the salesmen working indifferent geographical territories, the span of control is smaller.Capability of the Manager. All other things being equal, a moreexperienced and capable manager will be able to supervise and control moresubordinates as compared to less capable and skilled manager.


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Q3. What are the types of plans found in organisations?

Answer:

Operational plans: The specific results expected from departments,

work groups, and individuals are the operational goals. These goals are preciseand measurable. Process 150 sales applications each week or Publish 20books this quarter are examples of operational goals.

An operational plan is one that a manager uses to accomplish his or her jobresponsibilities. Supervisors, team leaders, and facilitators develop operationalplans to support tactical plans (see the next section). Operational plans can be asingle-use plan or an ongoing plan.

Single-use plans apply to activities that do not recur or repeat. A one-timeoccurrence, such as a special sales program, is a single-use plan because itdeals with the who, what, where, how, and how much of an activity. A

budget is also a single-use plan because it predicts sources and amounts of income and how much they are used for a specific project.

Continuing or ongoing plans are usually made once and retain their value over a period of years while undergoing periodic revisions andupdates. The following are examples of ongoing plans:

A policy provides a broad guideline for managers to follow whendealing with important areas of decision making. Policies are generalstatements that explain how a manager should attempt to handleroutine management responsibilities. Typical human resourcespolicies, for example, address such matters as employee hiring,terminations, performance appraisals, pay increases, and discipline. A procedure is a set of step-by-step directions that explains howactivities or tasks are to be carried out. Most organizations haveprocedures for purchasing supplies and equipment, for example. Thisprocedure usually begins with a supervisor completing a purchasingrequisition. The requisition is then sent to the next level of management for approval. The approved requisition is forwarded to thepurchasing department. Depending on the amount of the request, thepurchasing department may place an order, or they may need tosecure quotations and/or bids for several vendors before placing theorder. By defining the steps to be taken and the order in which they areto be done, procedures provide a standardized way of responding to arepetitive problem.

A rule is an explicit statement that tells an employee what he or shecan and cannot do. Rules are do and don't statements put into place to promote the safety of employees and the uniform treatmentand behavior of employees. For example, rules about tardiness and


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absenteeism permit supervisors to make discipline decisions rapidlyand with a high degree of fairness.

Tactical plans: A tactical plan is concerned with what the lower level units withineach division must do, how they must do it, and who is in charge at each level.

Tactics are the means needed to activate a strategy and make it work.Tactical plans are concerned with shorter time frames and narrower scopes than are strategic plans. These plans usually span one year or lessbecause they are considered short-term goals. Long-term goals, on the other hand, can take several years or more to accomplish. Normally, it is the middlemanager's responsibility to take the broad strategic plan and identify specifictactical actions.

Strategic plans: A strategic plan is an outline of steps designed with the goals of the entire organization as a whole in mind, rather than with the goals of specificdivisions or departments. Strategic planning begins with an organization's mission.

Strategic plans look ahead over the next two, three, five, or even moreyears to move the organization from where it currently is to where it wants to be.Requiring multilevel involvement, these plans demand harmony among all levelsof management within the organization. Top-level management develops thedirectional objectives for the entire organization, while lower levels of managementdevelop compatible objectives and plans to achieve them. Top management'sstrategic plan for the entire organization becomes the framework and setsdimensions for the lower level planning.

Contingency plans: Intelligent and successful management depends upon aconstant pursuit of adaptation, flexibility, and mastery of changing conditions.


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Q4. What are the characteristics of an effective team?

ANSWER:

Success in the workplace depends on your ability to build a team, as well as to interact withothers on that team. Together, people are able to accomplish what one person alone can not. Thisis known as synergy.

Following are the characteristics of a Good/Effective team:

A clear, elevating goal: This is a goal which has been communicated to all.A results-driven structure: The goal has been jointly decided by all the team members.They are fully committed towards achieving it.Competent members: Each team member has the required skill set in order to achieve

the team objectives.Unified commitment: There is nothing happening in silos. With the total commitmentfrom team members, achieving organizational goals becomes easier.A collaborative climate: Commitment from team members and a good leadership leadsto a collaborative team with a productive work environment.

Standards of excellence: Quality orientation is vital to the success of any organization.External support and recognition: Appreciation as well as appraisal is required to keepthe morale of the team high.Principled leadership: Leadership defines a team. An able-bodied leadership can chartthe teams path to success.

Each team member participates actively and positively in meetings as well as projects.This shows a persons commitment as well as understanding towards a project.Team goals are clearly understood by all: Communication is vital for achievingsuccessful completion of any project.Individual members have thought about creative solutions to the teams problem.Thinking out of the box is vital in todays economic scenario.Members are listened to carefully as well as given a thoughtful feedback. Listening is animportant skill for any team. Each team member is important. The thoughts and ideas of each team member have to be listened to, with respect, no matter how silly they maysound at first.Everyone takes the initiative in order to get things done. There is no concept of passing

the buck. This is an indication of clear communication leading to understanding of individual responsibilities.Each team member trusts the judgment of others: Mutual trust and respect is highlyimportant for the team. This is the only way to achieve the organization goals.The team has to be willing to take risks: Risk taking is an attitude which comes withconfidence. Confidence on yourself as well as on the team, besides the ability to face allconsequences.


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Everyone has to be supportive of the project as well as of others. A team is one unit.Unless these cohesive forces are there, the team will never be able to work efficientlyenough.There is ample communication between the team members.Team decisions are made by using organized as well as logical methods.

Dissenting opinions are never ignored: In fact, they are always recorded in order to berevisited in case the future situations dictate so.Teams are given realistic deadlines: External support as well as aid is vital to thesuccess of any team.

An efficient team needs support from both inside and outside. It needs to meet the individualneeds of its members in order to achieve the organizations goals.


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Q5. What are the internal and external forces of organizational change?

ANSWER:

Managers must contend with all factors that affect their organizations. The following listsinternal and external environmental factors that can encourage organizational changes:

The external environment is affected by political, social, technological, and economicstimuli outside of the organization that cause changes.

The internal environment is affected by the organization's management policies andstyles, systems, and procedures, as well as employee attitudes.

Typically, the concept of organizational change is used to describe organization-wide change, asopposed to smaller changes such as adding a new person, modifying a program, and so on.

Examples of organization-wide change might include a change in mission, restructuringoperations (for example, restructuring to self-managed teams or due to layoffs), newtechnologies, mergers, or new programs such as Total Quality Management, re-engineering, andso on.

Managers should note that all changes should be implemented as part of a strategy to accomplishan overall goal; these transformations should not take place just for the sake of change.


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Q6. Ms. Janice Alisha is a General Manager of Production in a company. She finds thatthere is a need to improve the motivation level of the employees. Suggest some of themotivational tools that she can use to improve employee motivation in her organization.

ANSWER:

A group heading towards a common objective will perform best when it is motivated as a team.Team motivation is determined by how well the team members needs and requirements are met

by the team.

Some tips for effective team motivation are as follows:

1. The teams objective should well align and synchronize with the team members needs andrequirements.

2. Give in written the teams mission and ensure that all understand it (as mission is afoundation based on which the team performs).

3. For maintaining motivation, the team should be given challenges (which must be difficult butachievable) consistently.

4. Giving a team responsibility accompanied by authority can also be a good motivator for theteam to perform.

5. The team should be provided with growth opportunities. The teams motivation level is highwhen the team members feel that they are being promoted, their skills and competencies are

being enhanced, and they are learning new things consistently.

6. Effective and true leaders can develop environment for the team to motivate itself. They provide spur for self- actualization behaviours of team members.

7. Devote quality/productive time to your team. Have an optimistic and good relation with your team members. This will make you more acquainted with them and you can get knowledge of how well they are performing their job. Welcome their views and ideas as they may befruitful and it will also boost their morale.

8. Motivation is all about empowerment. The skills and competencies of the team membersshould be fully utilized. Empowering the team members makes them accountable for their own actions.

9. Provide feedback to the team consistently. Become their mentor. Give the team recognitionfor good and outstanding performance. Give the team a constructive and not negativefeedback.

10 Discover and offset the factors which discourage team spirit such as too many conflicts,lethargy, team members escape from responsibilities, lack of job satisfaction, etc.


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