Download CA5254-Organizational Behaviour

CA5254 - ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
PART- A
2 MARK QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
UNIT – I
1. Define Organization.
A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that
functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.
2. Define Organizational Behaviour.
A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and
structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such
knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.
Or
“Organisation Behaviour is concerned with the study of what people do in an
organisation and how that behaviour affects the performance of the organisation.”
3. Who are Managers?
Individuals who achieve goals through other people.
4. What are the Managerial Activities?
o Make Decisions
o Allocate Resources
o Direct activities of others to attain goals.
5. List out the Management Functions.
o Planning
o Organizing
o Leading
o Controlling
6. What is Planning?
A process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing
plans to coordinate activities.
7. What is Organizing?
Determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to
be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made.
8. Define Leading.
A function that includes motivating employees, directing other, selecting the
most effective communication channels, and resolving conflicts.
9. What is Controlling?
Monitoring activities to ensure they are being accomplished as planned and
correcting any significant deviations.
10. What are Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles?
Interpersonal Role – Figurehead, Leader, Liaison
Informational Role – Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson
Decisional Role – Entrepreneur, Disturbance Handler, Resource Allocator,
Negotiator.
11. List out all the Management Skills.
Technical Skills – The ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise.
Human Skills – The ability to work with, understand, and motivate other
people, both individually and in groups.
Conceptual Skills – The mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex
situations.
12. Define Intuition.
A feeling not necessarily supported by research.
13. What are the contributing discipline to the OB field?
Psychology – The science that seeks to measure, explains, and sometimes
change the behavior of humans and other animals.
Sociology – The study of people in relation to their fellow human beings.
Social Psychology – An area within psychology that blends concepts from
psychology and sociology and that focuses on the
influence of people on one another.
Anthropology – The study of societies to learn about human beings and
their activities.
Political Science – The study of the behavior of individuals and groups within
a political environment.
14. Define Contingency Variables.
Situational factors: variables that moderate the relationship between two or
more other variables and improve the correlation.
15. Mention the Challenges and Opportunities for OB.
 Responding to Globalization
 Managing Workforce Diversity
 Improving Quality and Productivity
 Responding to the Labor Shortage
 Improving Customer Service
 Improving People Skills
 Empowering People
 Coping with “Temporariness”
 Stimulation Innovation and Change
 Helping Employees Balance Work/Life Conflicts
 Improving Ethical Behavior
16. What is meant by Model?
An abstraction of reality. A simplified representation of some real-world
phenomenon.
17. What is Dependent Variable?
A response that is affected by an independent variable.
18. What are Dependent Variables?
Productivity – A performance measure that includes effectiveness and
efficiency.
Effectiveness – Achievement of goals.
Efficiency – The ratio of effective output to the input required to achieve it.
Absenteeism – The failure to report to work.
Turnover – the voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal form an
organization.
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) – Discretionary behavior that is
not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but that nevertheless
promotes the effective functioning of the organization.
Job Satisfaction – A general attitude toward one’s job; the difference between
the amount of reward workers receive and the amount they believe they
should receive.
19. Define Independent Variable.
The presumed cause of some change in the dependent variable.
20. What are Independent Variables?
Individual – Level Variables
Group – Level Variables.
Organization System – Level Variables.
21. Define Biographical Characteristics.
Personal characteristics—such as age, gender, and marital status—that are
objective and easily obtained from personnel records.
22. What is Meant by Ability?
An individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks in a job.
23. Define Intellectual Ability.
The capacity to do mental activities.
24. What is Multiple Intelligences?
Intelligence contains four subparts: cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural.
25. Mention the dimensions of Intellectual Ability.
• Number aptitude
• Verbal comprehension
• Perceptual speed
• Inductive reasoning
• Deductive reasoning
• Spatial visualization
• Memory
26. What are Physical Abilities?
The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar
characteristics.
27. List out the Strength factors & flexibility factors in physical abilities.
Strength Factors
Dynamic strength
Trunk strength
Static strength
Explosive strength
Flexibility Factors
Extent flexibility
Dynamic flexibility
28. Define Learning.
Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of
experience.
29. Describe Theories of Learning.
Classical Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which an individual responds to some stimulus that
would not ordinarily produce such a response.
Operant Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior leads to a reward
or prevents a punishment.
Social-Learning Theory
People can learn through observation and direct experience.
Shaping Behavior
Systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves an individual
closer to the desired response.
30. Write the types of Reinforcement.
 Positive reinforcement
– Providing a reward for a desired behavior.
 Negative reinforcement
– Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired behavior occurs.
 Punishment
– Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior.
 Extinction
– Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its cessation.
31. What are the steps needed to solve the problem?
Five Step Problem-Solving Model
1. Identify critical behaviors
2. Develop baseline data
3. Identify behavioral consequences
4. Develop and apply intervention
5. Evaluate performance improvement
32. List the OB MOD Organizational Applications.
 Well Pay versus Sick Pay
– Reduces absenteeism by rewarding attendance, not absence.
 Employee Discipline
– The use of punishment can be counter-productive.
 Developing Training Programs
– OB MOD methods improve training effectiveness.
 Self-management
– Reduces the need for external management control.
UNIT – II
1. Define Values.
Represent basic conviction that "a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence
is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or
end-state of existence."
2. What is meant by Value System?
• Represent a prioritizing of individual values
• Identified by the relative importance an individual assigns to such values as
freedom, pleasure, self-respect, honesty, obedience, and equality.
3. Define Rokeach Value Survey.
Terminal Values
Instrumental Values.
4. Mention the importance of values.
Judgement
Content
Stability
Intensity
5. List out the types of values.
Terminal Values
Instrumental Values.
6. What are Terminal values?
It refers to desirable end-states of existence.
Goals that a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime.
7. What are Instrumental Values?
It refers to preferable modes of behavior, or means of achieving the terminal
values.
8. Define Ethical Behavior.
Managers consistently report that the action of their bosses is the most
important factor influencing ethical and unethical behavior in their
organizations.
9. What is Attitudes?
• Evaluative statements—either favorable or unfavorable—concerning objects,
people, or events
• Reflect how one feels about something.
10. What are Attitudes?
Cognitive Component.
Affective Component.
Behavioral Component.
11. Mention the types of Attitudes.
Job Satisfaction
Job Involvement
Organizational Commitment
12. What is Job Satisfaction?
Job satisfaction refers to a collection of feelings that an individual holds
toward his or her job.
13. What Determines Job Satisfaction?
• Mentally challenging work
• Equitable rewards
• Supportive working conditions
• Supportive colleagues
14. Are Satisfied Workers More Productive Than Dissatisfied Workers?
• If satisfaction does have a positive effect on productivity, that effect is fairly
small.
• Productivity is more likely to lead to satisfaction.
15. Define Cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance occurs when there are inconsistencies between a person’s
attitudes or between a person’s behavior and attitudes.
16. What is Perception?
Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory
impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.
17. What are the Factors Influencing Perception?
Factors can reside:
– in the perceiver
– in the object or target being perceived
– in the context of the situation in which the perception is made
18. What is meant by Attribution Theory .
When we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was
internally or externally caused.
(1) Distinctiveness
(2) Consensus
(3) Consistency
19. List out the Fundamental attribution error.
Tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate
the influence of internal or personal factors.
20. What is Self-serving bias?
It means tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal
factors such as ability or effort while putting the blame for failure on external
factors such as luck.
21. Mention the Shortcuts to Judging Others.
• Selectivity - choosing bits of data depending on the interests, background,
experience, and attitudes of observer
• Assumed Similarity - perceptions of others more influenced by what the
observer is like or thinks
• Stereotyping - basing perception on group membership or association
Halo Effect - drawing a general impression on the basis of a single characteristic,
such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance
22. What are the variables influencing individual behavior?
The Person
• skills & abilities
• personality
• perception
• attribution
• attitudes
• values
• ethics
23. Define Personality.
A relatively stable set of characteristics that influences an individual’s
behavior.
24. Mention the Personalities Theories.
Trait Theory - understand individuals by breaking down behavior patterns
into observable traits.
Psychodynamic Theory - emphasizes the unconscious determinants of
Behavior.
Humanistic Theory - emphasizes individual growth and improvement
Integrative Approach - describes personality as a composite of an individual’s
psychological processes.
25. List out the Big Five Personality Traits.
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional stability
Openness to Experience
26. What are Personality Characteristics in Organizations?
– Self-Efficacy
– Self - Esteem
– Self – Monitoring
27. How is Personality Measured?
Projective Test - elicits an individual’s response to abstract stimuli.
Behavioral Measures - personality assessments that involve observing an
•
individual’s behavior in a controlled situation.
Self-Report Questionnaire - assessment involving an individual’s responses to
Questions.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - instrument measuring Jung’s theory of
individual differences.
28. What is Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?
• Based on Carl Jung’s work
– People are fundamentally different
– People are fundamentally alike
– People have preference combinations for extraversion/introversion,
perception, judgment
• Briggs & Myers developed the MBTI to understand individual differences
29. Define Social Perception.
Social Perception - interpreting information about another person.
UNIT III
1. What are Groups?
Two or more individuals, interacting and Interdependent, who have come
together to achieve particular objectives.
2. What are the types of Groups?
Formal Groups.
Informal Groups.
3. Define Formal Group.
A designated work group defined by the organization’s structure.
4. What is Informal Group?
A group that is neither formally structured now organizationally determined;
appears in response to the need for social contact.
5. What is meant by Command Group?
A group composed of the individuals who report directly to a given manager.
6. Define Interest Group.
Those working together to attain a specific objective with which each is
concerned.
7. Define Task Group.
Those working together to complete a job or task.
8. What is Friendship Group?
Those brought together because they share one or more common
characteristics.
9. Why People Join Groups ?
• Security
• Status
• Self-esteem
• Affiliation
• Power
• Goal Achievement
10. Mention the Stages Of Group Development.
Forming Stage
Storming Stage
Norming Stage
Performing Stage
Adjourning Stage
11. Define Forming Stage.
The first stage in group development, characterized by much uncertainty.
12. Define Storming Stage.
The second stage in group development, characterized by intragroup conflict.
13. Define Norming Stage.
The third stage in group development, characterized by close relationships
and cohesiveness.
14. Define Performing Stage.
The fourth stage in group development, when the group is fully functional.
15. Define Adjourning Stage
The final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by
concern with wrapping up activities rather than performance.
16. What is Punctuated-Equilibrium Model?
Temporary groups go through transitions between inertia and activity.
17. What is Role?
A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given
position in a social unit.
18. Define Role Identity.
Certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role.
19. Define Role Perception
An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation.
20. What is Norms?
Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the
group’s members.
21. What are the Classes of Norms?
• Performance norms
• Appearance norms
• Social arrangement norms
• Allocation of resources norms
22. Define Reference Groups.
• Important groups to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose
norms individuals are likely to conform.
23. What is Conformity?
Adjusting one’s behavior to align with the norms of the group.
24. What is meant by status?
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by
others.
25. Define Social Loafing.
The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively
than when working individually.
26. Define Group Demography.
The degree to which members of a group share a common demographic
attribute, such as age, sex, race, educational level, or length of service in the
organization, and the impact of this attribute on turnover.
27. What is Cohorts?
Individuals who, as part of a group, hold a common attribute.
28. Define Cohesiveness.
Degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are
motivated to stay in the group.
29. How to Increasing group cohesiveness?
1. Make the group smaller.
2. Encourage agreement with group goals.
3. Increase time members spend together.
4. Increase group status and admission difficultly.
5. Stimulate competition with other groups.
6. Give rewards to the group, not individuals.
7. Physically isolate the group.
30. What is meant by Decision-making?
– Large groups facilitate the pooling of information about complex tasks.
– Smaller groups are better suited to coordinating and facilitating the
implementation of complex tasks.
– Simple, routine standardized tasks reduce the requirement that group
processes be effective in order for the group to perform well.
31.
List out the Strengths & Weaknesses of Group Decision Making.
– More complete information
– Increased diversity of views
– Higher quality of decisions (more accuracy)
– Increased acceptance of solutions
– More time consuming (slower)
– Increased pressure to conform
– Domination by one or a few members
– Ambiguous responsibility
32. What is Groupshift?
A change in decision risk between the group’s decision and the individual
decision that member within the group would make; can be either toward
conservatism or greater risk.
33. List the Group Decision-Making Techniques.
Interacting Groups - Typical groups, in which the members interact with
each other face-to-face.
Nominal Group Technique - A group decision-making method in which
individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgments in a systematic but
independent fashion.
Brainstorming - An idea-generation process that specifically encourages any
and all alternatives, while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.
Electronic Meeting - A meeting in which members interact on computers,
allowing for anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes.
34. Define Group behaviour.
 Group behaviour emanates from the causes that contribute to the group’s
effectiveness.
 The well structured, well defined role and status hierarchy, able leadership,
well developed norms and strong cohesiveness a group has, the greater is the
groupthink.
35. What is Groupthink?
Groupthink is defined as “the deterioration of mental efficiency, reality
testing, and moral judgement in the interest of group solidarity (unity).”
PART – B
16 MARK QUESTIONS
1. Discuss how OB is an interdisciplinary subject.
2. Why do individuals differ in their behaviour? Discuss.
3. Do you think it is possible to change attitudes? If yes, what are the ways?
4. Explain the determinants of personality in detail.
5. List down the stages of group formation with detail.
6. What is a team? What are its types? How to make teams more effective?
7. Bring out the ethical issues involved in power and politics.
8. What are the sources of power? Explain each.
9. Identify and discuss five styles of conflict management.
10. Bring out the positives and negatives of organizational culture.
11. Why do people and organizations resist change? What OD techniques are used to
bring about change?
12. Explain the organizational behaviour model in detail. What outputs evolve from
it?
13. Explain the influence of behavioural science in the study of the individual group
and the organization system.
14. Explain the theories of learning. How can they be used to shape behaviour.
15. What are the determinants of personality? Explain in detail the personality
attributes influencing OB.
16. Explain the stages in group development. Explain issues in group structure.
17. What are the functions and directions of communication?
18. What differentiates leadership from power? Explain how dependency is the key
to power.
19. What are the key dimensions of trust? Explain the contemporary leadership roles
in detail.
20. Explain diversity in human resources. Discuss its effects on human behaviour.
21. What is a group? Differentiate formal groups and informal groups.
22. What is group dynamics? What are the factors that contribute to group
cohesiveness?
23. Classify leadership styles based on utilization of power.
24. What is power? How do you measure power?
25. Explain important elements of organizational behaviour.
26. Explain the salient features of behavioural approach.
27. What is perception process? Explain the various elements of it.
28. Highlight the techniques and methods of planned change and role of change
agent.
29. What is personality? Describe the Big Five model and its implication on
employee selection.
30. Evaluate the process theory of work motivation.
31. Why people join group? What are the implications of group decision making on
organizational performance?
32. Examine the various stages of group development. Is it possible to have those
steps in daily routine?
33. How political behavior and impression management contribute to one another.
Explain both in detail?
34. What are the various types of power available to a leader to get work done?
35. Discuss Lewin’s three step model to manage successful change in organizations.
36. Explain any four OD intervention techniques.
37. Describe the various models used for the study of OB.
38. Define Learning. Explain in detail the various theories of Learning.
39. Describe the perceptual process and common perceptual errors.
40. Briefly describe the various personality theories.
41. Write a brief note on:
i. Attribution Theory
ii. Bonded Rationality
iii. Ethnic Profiling.
42. Explain in depth the 5-stage model of Group development.
43. What is communication? Discuss the barriers of communication.
44. Describe in detail any two leadership theories.
45. Explain the various factors contributing to Politics and employee reactions to
them.
46. Explain the process of conflict in organization in detail.
47. What is OD? What are its characteristics? Explain few OD techniques.
48. What do you understand by learning? Discuss the elements which form part of
learning process.
49. Discuss the measures for improving managerial perception.
50. Illustrate the role of organizational behaviour in the field of human resource
management.
51. Explain autocratic, custodial, supportive and collegial models of organizational
behaviour. What are the situations under which these can be effective?
52. What are different theories of group formation? Do they explain group formation
phenomena fully?
53. Discuss the relative significance of physical, material, and symbolic sanctions as a
means of controlling organizational behaviour.
54. “A good leader is not necessarily a good manager”. Discuss this statement and
compare leadership with management.
55. What do you mean by organizational politics? Why do organizational politics
emerge?
56. What are the objectives of planned change? Describe the process of planned
change.
57. Describe the role of organization development in organizational improvement.
What are its various limitations and problems?
58. Discuss how power bases are acquired.
59. What are the barriers to effective communications?
60. Describe the impact of culture on organization’s effectiveness.
61. Differentiate between formal and informal organizations.
62. Critically examine the situational leadership theory.
63. Define group cohesiveness. What are the sources of cohesiveness?
64. What is the ERG theory of motivation? Discuss its merits and limitations.
65. What are the four ways the attitudes help us respond to the individual or objects
in a meaningful way? Explain.
66. What are the four basic forms of reinforcement in organizations? Explain.
67. Explain the behavioral theories of leadership.
68. Explain the basic OB model.
69. Explain the contribution of other disciplines to OB.
70. What are the determinants of personality? State the personality attributes that
influence OB.
71. Explain perceptual errors with suitable examples.
72. Explain group structure with its components.
73. State the barriers to communication with suitable examples.
74. Explain the OD interventions used by change agents.
75. Explain the two approaches for measuring job satisfaction.
76. What are the methods to deal with resistance to change?
77. What are the political strategies which can be opted by individuals and subunits
who want to exhibit political behaviour?
78. Describe some dimensions of organization culture.
79. Describe the characteristics of the OD approach to manage of change.
80. Describe the internal contingency factors and external contingency factors which
have their impact on organisal design.
81. What is transaction analysis? Describe its advantages and limitations.
82. What are the factors influencing organizational communication?
83. Describe the trait theory of leadership.
84. How do groups make decisions? What are the advantages and disadvantages of
group decision making?
85. What are the factors influencing perception? How the perception process is
manages?
86. Discuss organizational behavior models in details.
87. Discuss the various disciplines that contribute to organizational behaviour.
88. Discuss important personality theories. How self theory is important amongst
them?
89. Discuss various perceptional errors that contribute to disorted analysis in an
organization.
90. Discuss Maslow’s need hierarchy theory with specific importance to self
actualization needs.
91. Discuss the various reward system for motivating the employees in an
organization.
92. Discuss the various types of groups in an organization and their characteristics.
93. What do you mean by group norms? How are group norms formed and enforced?
94. What are the criteria for organizational effectiveness? How are casual and
intervening factors related to these criteria?
95. “There is a need for integrating individual and organizational goals”. Discuss
with special reference to how individual goals affect the organizational goals and
vice versa.
96. Describe the important models of Organizational Behaviour.
97. What is the A-B-Cs of Behavior Modification? Explain the contingencies of
reinforcements that strengthen, maintain and weaken worker behavior.
98. What are the factors that influence the perceptual process? Describe the
common perceptual errors that occur in organizational settings.
99. Explain cognitive dissonance, emotional dissonance and emotional intelligence
of psychological process.
100. Discuss in detail the factors that influence Team cohesiveness. Also brief on
the limitations of Teams.
101. Present the significance of group decision making. Discuss the potential
benefits and limitations of brain storming.
102. Describe the organizational conditions and personal characteristics that
support organizational politics.
103. Define Influence. Give details on the types of influence found in work
environment.
104. What are the major sources of conflicts in organizations? State the
interpersonal conflict management styles that can be applied to solve
organizational conflicts.
105. Discuss the bargaining zone model of Negotiation. Also discuss the
situational factors that influence the effectiveness of the Negotiations process.
106. What are effectiveness and efficiency, and how are they related to
organizational behavior?
107. If you had to take disciplinary action against an employee, how, specifically,
would you do it?
108. Explain how a good ability-job fit and personality-organization fit are
essential to lead to success on a job.
109. Why organizational commitment is to be reviewed by the management?
110. Explain any one organizational behaviour mode.
111. Explain need and importance of organizational behaviour in modern day
context.
112. Explain the theory of the Myres-Briggs type Indicator.
113. Describe organizational factors that might constrain decision makers.
114. What are the shortcuts normally used in judging others? Explain with the
help of theories that you learnt in OB.
115. Explain the terms:
i. Group roles.
ii. Group Identity.
iii. Group role Perception
iv.
Role Expectations and
v.
Role Conflict.
116. Explain the term ‘Status’. What determines Status? What is the relationship
between status and group norms?
117. Enumerate the Strengths and Weaknesses of Group Decision Making.
118. How do Cross-Cultural aspects affect communication?
119. Explain the trait theories of leadership.
120. All things are being equal, which is more efficient, a wide or narrow span of
control? Why?
121. What are the bases of power you are aware of? Explain them.
122. What steps the management can take in overcoming resistance to change?
Explain.
123. What’s a Learning Organization? Discuss its significance in Indian
information technology scenario.