Master of Business Administration- MBA Semester 3MU0011 ndashManagement and Organizational Development - 4 Credits

(Book ID B1229)

Q1What is the goals of sensitivity training

Sensitivity training is often offered by organizations and agencies as a way for members of a given community to learn how to better understand and appreciate the differences in other people It asks training participants to put themselves into another persons place in hopes that they will be able to better relate to others who are different than they are Sensitivity training often specifically addresses concerns such as gender sensitivity multicultural sensitivity and sensitivity toward those who are disabled in some way The goal in this type of training is more oriented toward growth on an individual level Sensitivity training can also be used to study and enhance group relations ie how groups are formed and how members interact within those groups According to Kurt Back Sensitivity training started with the discovery that intense emotional interaction with strangers was possible It was looked at in its early days as a mechanism to help reintegrate the individual man into the whole society through group development It was caught up in the basic conflict of America at mid-century the question of extreme freedom release of human potential or rigid organization in the techniques developed for large combines The ultimate goal of the training is to have intense experiences leading to life-changing insights at least during the training itself and briefly afterwards Sensitivity training was initially designed as a method for teaching more effective work practices within groups and with other people and focused on three important elements immediate feedback here-and-now orientation and focus on the group process Personal experience within the group was also important and sought to make people aware of themselves how their actions affect others and how others affect them in turn Trainers believed it was possible to greatly decrease the number of fixed reactions that occur toward others and to achieve greater social sensitivity Sensitivity training focuses on being sensitive to and aware of the feelings and attitudes of others By the late 1950s another branch of sensitivity training had been formed placing emphasis on personal relationships and remarks Whether a training experience will focus on group relationships or personal growth is defined by the parties involved before training begins Most individuals who volunteer to participate and pay their own way seek more personal growth and interpersonal effectiveness Those who represent a company community service program or some other organization are more likely ready to improve their functioning within a group andor the organization sponsoring the activity Some training programs even customize training experiences to meet the needs of specific companies

Q2What are the major types of changes in an organization

Structural Changes

The majority of organizational changes can be considered structural changes according to Cliffs Notes These types of changes typically impact how a company is run from the traditional top-down hierarchy Some examples of these types of changes include the implementation of a new company-wide computer system or a company-wide non-smoking policy Other structural changes include any changes to the companys hierarchy of authority and company-wide administrative procedures Structural changes can also be considered transformational changes

Strategic Changes When a company must drastically adapt to external factors it may undergo a major

strategic change Strategic organizational changes are usually quite transformative as they typically include major adjustments or complete upheavals of the current way the company operates For example when a company changes its fundamental approach of doing business such as changing from an in-person retail environment to a heavy web presence it is considered a strategic change Other strategic changes include changing the target market level of global activity and long-time partnerships

People Changes People changes can be large-scale or incremental Large-scale people changes include

replacing the top executives with new employees in order to change the entire company culture Smaller-scale or incremental people changes may include sending management personnel to team-building workshops and classes People changes may be planned or unplanned and they can impact the overall employee attitudes behaviours and performances according to Free Management Library

Process Changes Process changes are usually an attempt to improve overall workflow efficiency

and productivity They may include implementing technology changes such as robotics in manufacturing or requiring sales teams to begin documenting and reporting activities in a new way Another example of this type of change is when a grocery store chain implements self-scanning checkout counters to improve customer processing times Companies that implement these types of changes are more successful when the new process is proposed to employee focus groups is carefully thought out is tested in beta groups and is rolled out in stages or phases

Q3Explain team building interventions

On a complex multi-year ERP implementation one or more of the ERP project teams could experience problems with working relationships lack of alignment poor communication among members or poor levels of trust among team members with competing agendas In some instances these team problems can continue to the point of threatening key project milestones and thus risk the success of the ERP project

Purpose of Teambuilding The purpose of teambuilding interventions is to improve the effectiveness of a project team by building better working relationships better understanding and alignment among members improved communications and improved trust If these goals are achieved project risk is substantially diminished

Types of Interventions We Can Employ to help your ERP TeamsCollegiate Project Servicesrsquo facilitators are highly experienced in helping to improve the effectiveness of project teams in Higher Education ERP projects We use four fundamentally different types of teambuilding interventions depending on the particular problems faced by a project team These are

1 Problem solving-based teambuilding In problem solving-based teambuilding team members jointly work together (usually in a retreat setting and led by an outside facilitator) to identify and

solve the groups barriers to effectiveness The underlying rationale with this approach is that camaraderie and teamwork can occur if the outside facilitator helps the group successfully surface and then address (rather than avoid) the various barriers to team effectiveness This intervention is our most often used and most successful teambuilding exercise on an ERP project

2 Skills-based teambuilding In skills-based teambuilding team members participate in workshop sessions that require them to learn and practice specific teamwork skills (eg dealing with conflict reaching group consensus learning how to give criticism or running effective team meetings) These workshops include skills that can be applied immediately in the workplace The underlying philosophy with the skill-building approach is that the most likely reason groups donrsquot work together well as a team is because they do not have the necessary skills Thus an obvious first step in building better teams is to have teams practice using teamwork skills in facilitated workshop settings increasing the likelihood they will use these skills when working on the ERP project This intervention is our second most often used method for improving teamwork on a project team

3 Personality-based teambuilding In personality-based teambuilding members of the team fill out a personality questionnaire and then learn about their own personalities and the personalities of their fellow team members The team then uses the results as a basis for discussion developing action steps and participating in various development experiences The underlying rationale for this approach is that if team members better understand each other (such as differences in how team members perceive make decisions and react to events) they can then learn how to better communicate and deal with each other thus enhancing team effectiveness This intervention which can be highly effective is used primarily when there are personality-based conflicts on a project team that are leading to poor teamwork

4 Activity-based teambuilding In activity-based teambuilding teams carry out challenging tasks usually in outdoor settings (eg an experiential ldquoropesrdquo course or an outdoor adventure such as white water rafting mountain climbing a survival course or boot camp) These activities require groups to work together to achieve success The exercises are built around specific needs of teams and include group problem solving risk-taking trust or paradigm breaking The underlying philosophy of this approach is that if team members experience success working together in a challenging outdoor experience they will then be able to transfer these teamwork lessons to the ERP project setting and thus become a more effective project team We only occasionally will use this type of teambuilding intervention on an ERP project However in those occasions that this intervention is employed it can be highly effective in pulling a group together

Q4What is the role of power and politics in the practice of OD

Virtually all OD interventions promote problem-solving not politics as a preferred way to get things accomplished OD interventions increase problem-solving collaboration co-operation fact-finding and effective pursuit of goals while decreasing reliance on the negative faces of power and politics We know of no OD interventions designed to increase coercion or unilateral power For example OD interventions typically generate valid public data about the organizations culture processes strengths and weaknesses Valid public data are indispensable-for problem solving but anathema for organizational politics OD interventions do not deny or attempt to abolish the reality of power in organizations rather they enhance the positive face of power thereby making the negative face of power less prevalent andor necessary Not only is organization development not a powerpolitical intervention strategy it is instead a rational problem-solving approach that is incompatible with extreme power-oriented situations OD values are consistent with the positive face of power but not with the negative face of power Values such as trust openness collaboration individual dignity and promoting individual and organizational competence are part of the foundation of organization

development These values are congruent with rational problem solving and incongruent with extremely political modes of operating Power equalization has long been described as one of the values of organization development Emphasis on power equalization stems from two beliefs first problem solving is usually superior to power coercion as a way to find solutions to problematic situations second power equalization being one aspect of the positive face of power increases the amount of power available to organization members and by so doing adds power to the organization The role of the OD practitioner is that of a facilitator catalyst problem solver and educator The practitioner is not a political activist or power broker According to Chris Argyr is the interventionist has three primary tasks

To generate valid useful information To promote free informed choice To promote the clients internal commitment to the choices made

The practitioner works to strengthen skills and knowledge in the organization But organization members are free to accept or reject the practitioner his or her program and his or her values methods and expertise The OD consultant like all consultants provides a service that the organization is free to buy or not buy The facilitator or educator role is incompatible with apolitical activist role because cooperation requires one set of behaviours and competition requires a different set of behaviours as we discussed earlier Cobb and Margulies caution that OD practitioners can get into trouble if they move from a facilitator role to a political role In summary organization development represents an approach and method to enable organization members to go beyond the negative face of power and politics This major strength of OD derives from the strategy of change the technologies the values and the role of OD practitioners

Q5Distinguish between management and administration

Management and administration may seem the same but there are differences between the two Administration has to do with the setting up of objectives and crucial policies of every organization What is understood by management however is the act or function of putting into practice the policies and plans decided upon by the administration

Administration is a determinative function while management is an executive function It also follows that administration makes the important decisions of an enterprise in its entirety whereas management makes the decisions within the confines of the framework which is set up by the administration

Administration is the top level whereas management is a middle level activity If one were to decide the status or position of administration one would find that it consists of owners who invest the capital and receive profits from an organization Management consists of a group of managerial persons who leverage their specialist skills to fulfil the objectives of an organization Administrators are usually found in government military religious and educational organizations Management is used by business enterprises The decisions of an administration are shaped by public opinion government policies and social and religious factors whereas management decisions are shaped by the values opinions and beliefs of the mangers

In administration the planning and organizing of functions are the key factors whereas so far as management is concerned it involves motivating and controlling functions When it comes to the type of abilities required by an administrator one needs administrative qualities rather than technical qualities In management technical abilities and human relation management abilities are crucial Administration usually handles the business aspects such as finance It may be defined as a

development These values are congruent with rational problem solving and incongruent with extremely political modes of operating Power equalization has long been described as one of the values of organization development Emphasis on power equalization stems from two beliefs first problem solving is usually superior to power coercion as a way to find solutions to problematic situations second power equalization being one aspect of the positive face of power increases the amount of power available to organization members and by so doing adds power to the organization The role of the OD practitioner is that of a facilitator catalyst problem solver and educator The practitioner is not a political activist or power broker According to Chris Argyr is the interventionist has three primary tasks

To generate valid useful information To promote free informed choice To promote the clients internal commitment to the choices made

The practitioner works to strengthen skills and knowledge in the organization But organization members are free to accept or reject the practitioner his or her program and his or her values methods and expertise The OD consultant like all consultants provides a service that the organization is free to buy or not buy The facilitator or educator role is incompatible with apolitical activist role because cooperation requires one set of behaviours and competition requires a different set of behaviours as we discussed earlier Cobb and Margulies caution that OD practitioners can get into trouble if they move from a facilitator role to a political role In summary organization development represents an approach and method to enable organization members to go beyond the negative face of power and politics This major strength of OD derives from the strategy of change the technologies the values and the role of OD practitioners

Q5Distinguish between management and administration

Management and administration may seem the same but there are differences between the two Administration has to do with the setting up of objectives and crucial policies of every organization What is understood by management however is the act or function of putting into practice the policies and plans decided upon by the administration

Administration is a determinative function while management is an executive function It also follows that administration makes the important decisions of an enterprise in its entirety whereas management makes the decisions within the confines of the framework which is set up by the administration

Administration is the top level whereas management is a middle level activity If one were to decide the status or position of administration one would find that it consists of owners who invest the capital and receive profits from an organization Management consists of a group of managerial persons who leverage their specialist skills to fulfil the objectives of an organization Administrators are usually found in government military religious and educational organizations Management is used by business enterprises The decisions of an administration are shaped by public opinion government policies and social and religious factors whereas management decisions are shaped by the values opinions and beliefs of the mangers

In administration the planning and organizing of functions are the key factors whereas so far as management is concerned it involves motivating and controlling functions When it comes to the type of abilities required by an administrator one needs administrative qualities rather than technical qualities In management technical abilities and human relation management abilities are crucial Administration usually handles the business aspects such as finance It may be defined as a

system of efficiently organizing people and resources so as to make them successfully pursue and achieve common goals and objectives Administration is perhaps both an art and a science This is because administrators are ultimately judged by their performance Administration must incorporate both leadership and vision

Management is really a subset of administration which has to do with the technical and mundane facets of an organizationrsquos operation It is different from executive or strategic work Management deals with the employees Administration is above management and exercises control over the finance and licensing of an organizationTherefore we can see that these two terms are distinct from one another each with their own set of functions Both these functions are crucial in their own ways to the growth of an organization

Nature of work

Administration It is concerned about the determination of objectives and major policies of an organization

Management It puts into action the policies and plans laid down by the administration

Type of function

Administration It is a determinative function

Management It is an executive function

Scope

Administration It takes major decisions of an enterprise as a whole

Management It takes decisions within the framework set by the administration

Level of authority

Administration It is a top-level activity

Management It is a middle level activity

Nature of status

Administration It consists of owners who invest capital in and receive profits from an enterprise

Management It is a group of managerial personnel who use their specialized knowledge to fulfill the objectives of an enterprise

Nature of usage

Administration It is popular with government military educational and religious organizations

Management It is used in business enterprises

Decision making

Administration Its decisions are influenced by public opinion government policies social and religious factors

Management Its decisions are influenced by the values opinions and beliefs of the managers

Main functions

Administration Planning and organizing functions are involved in it

Management Motivating and controlling functions are involved in it

Abilities

Administration It needs administrative rather than technical abilities

Management It requires technical activities

Summary

Management is the act or function of putting into practice the policies and plans decided upon by the administration

Administration is a determinative function while management is an executive function

Administration makes the important decisions of an enterprise in its entirety whereas management makes the decisions within the confines of the framework which is set up by the administration

Administrators are mainly found in government military religious and educational organizations Management on the other hand is used by business enterprises

Q6 Suppose you are an OD practitioner What are the challenges that you have beprepared for while carrying out organization development

The following are Challenges of OD for which I would be prepared while carrying outOrganizational development-

Meeting goals and objectives of an organization by the support and execution of defined strategies

Maintaining and addressing organizational culture during implementation of the change management efforts

Applying change management concepts to organization and well as products or services provided

Enhancing productivity and profitability of an organization by effective change management

Aligning performance of individuals and teams with organizational goals and objectives Communicating change management objectives and processes to participants Motivate the workforce to implement and accept the organizational changes Attracting and retaining employees and their talent while implementing change

management efforts Effective usage of IT to attain organizational goals while managing change effectively

Using IT for KM innovation competitive advantage and business strategies Ensuring business objectives are attained by following organizational values and ethics Building leadership and capable management workforce for today and future Improving the problem solving process by managing change During and after implementation of change efforts maintaining same relationship with

the business partners customers and vendors Reducing the six gaps ndash communication gap cultural gap confidence gap skills gap

information gap and timing gap

Master of Business Administration- MBA Semester 3

MU0011 ndashManagement and Organizational Development - 4 Credits(Book ID B1229)

Q1What are the characteristics of organizational development

The ability to interact effectively with others can make the difference between success or failure in our work and personal life A social system is a complex set of human relationships interacting in many ways Within an organization the social system includes all the people in it and their relationships to each other and to the outside world The behaviour of one member can have an impact either directly or indirectly on the behaviour of others Also the social system does not have boundariesit exchanges goods ideas culture etc with the environment around it (Schein 1968)Culture is the conventional behaviour of a society that encompasses beliefs customs knowledge and practices It influences human behaviour even though it seldom enters into their conscious thought People depend on culture as it gives them stability security understanding and the ability to respond to a given situation This is why people fear change They fear the system will become unstable their security will be lost they will not understand the new process and they will not know how to respond to the new situations

Individualization is when employees successfully exert influence on the social system by challenging the cultureOrganization Development (OD) is the systematic application of behavioural science knowledge at various levels such as group inter-group organization etc to bring about planned change Its objectives are a higher quality of work-life productivity adaptability and effectiveness It accomplishes this by changing attitudes behaviours values strategies procedures and structures so that the organization can adapt to competitive actions technological advances and the fast pace of change within the environment (Cunningham 1990)

There are seven characteristics of OD

1 Humanistic Values Positive beliefs about the potential of employees (McGregors Theory Y)2 Systems Orientation All parts of the organization to include structure technology and

people must work together

3 Experiential Learning The learners experiences in the training environment should be the kind of human problems they encounter at work The training should NOT be all theory and lecture

4 Problem Solving Problems are identified data is gathered corrective action is taken progress is assessed and adjustments in the problem solving process are made as needed This process is known as Action Research

5 Contingency Orientation Actions are selected and adapted to fit the need

6 Change Agent Stimulate facilitate and coordinate change

7 Levels of Interventions Problems can occur at one or more level in the organization so the strategy will require one or more interventions

A well-used axiom in organizational behaviour thought asserts that values ultimately drive our behaviour In a nutshell values exert influence over our attitudes and attitudes influence our behaviour Values are integral to attitude formation and to how we respond to people and situations

(Kerns 2010) Extensive literature exists dealing with how values relate to effective managerial leadership A review of this body of work leaves us with the clear picture that values are a key component of effective managerial leadership

There seems to be a subset of virtuous values that align with ethical behaviour In his book Authentic Happiness Martin Seligman has reviewed these core virtuous values that influence ethical behaviour and appear to have universal appeal (Kerns 2010)

bull Wisdom and Knowledge The capacity to take information and convert it to something useful Wisdom comes from capitalizing on ones experience to interpret information in a knowledgeable manner to produce wise decisions A prerequisite to doing the right thing when facing an ethical dilemma knows what to do knowing the difference between right and wrong

bull Self Control The ability to avoid unethical temptations The capacity to take the ethical path requires a commitment to the value of acting with temperance Ethical people say no to individual gain if it is inconsistent with institutional benefit and goodwill (Kerns 2010)

Q2What are the three levels of work groups

Work groups function on three levels

Dependent level Independent level

Interdependent level

Heres the breakdown

Dependent-level work groups Dependent-level work groups are the traditional work unit or department groups with a supervisor who plays a strong role as the boss Almost everyone has had some experience with this work setup especially in a first job Each person in a dependent-level work group has his or her own job and works under the close supervision of the boss The boss is in charge and tells the employees the dos and donts in their jobs Helping each other and covering for one another do not occur often and do so mostly under the direction of the supervisor In fact most problem solving work assignments and other decisions affecting the group come from the supervisor A dependent-level work group can perform well in the short term But for the long run because group members operate separately and mostly at the direction of the supervisor such work groups dont seem to go anywhere Maintaining the status quo and keeping operations under control are what they do best Creating improvements increasing productivity and leveraging resources to support one another are quite uncommon with dependent-level work groups

Independent-level work groups Independent-level work groups are the most common form of work groups on the business scene Like a dependent-level work group each person is responsible for his or her own main area But unlike the dependent level the supervisor or manager tends not to function like the controlling boss Instead staff members work on their own assignments with general direction and minimal supervision Sales representatives research scientists accountants lawyers police officers librarians and teachers are among the professionals who tend to work in this fashion People in those occupations come together in one department because they serve a common overall function but almost everyone in the group works fairly independently If members

of an independent-level work group receive the managerial guidance and support they need on the job such a work group can perform quite well

Interdependent-level work groups Members of an interdependent-level work group rely on each other to get the work done Sometimes members have their own roles and at other times they share responsibilities Yet in either case they coordinate with one another to produce an overall product or set of outcomes When this interdependence exists you have a team And by capitalizing on interdependence the team demonstrates the truth of the old saying The whole is greater than the sum of its parts An independent work group can often be brought up to speed faster than an interdependent group It simply takes more time to get a group of individuals to work as a team than to set a group of individuals off on their independent assignments Yet when teams move into a high-functioning and high-producing state where they capitalize on interdependence they can outperform all other types of work groups So if you want a quick fix dont look to teams but if you want to see strong results for the long term do look to teams To call a group a team does not make them a team wishing for them to work as a team doesnt work either For a snapshot of the main differences between work groups and teams take a look at Table

As you can see work groups have a strong individual focus and teams have a strong collective focus The individual is not lost on a team but that persons work is coordinated to fit in with the greater good Team concerns are much more focused on the outcomes of the overall unit rather than an individuals accomplishments

Q3What are the five different types of OD practitioner styles

The Stabilizer Style 1048708 The goal of the stabilizer is neither effectiveness nor participant satisfaction 1048708 The practitioner is trying to keep from rocking the boat and to maintain a low profile 1048708 This style is usually forced upon the practitioner by organizational pressure 1048708 So the practitioner usually have to learn to conform and suppress any other motivation

The Cheerleader Style1048708 The cheerleader style places emphasis on the satisfaction of the organization members and is chiefly concerned with motivation and morale 1048708 The cheerleader style strongly minimizes differences and maintains harmony

The Analyser Style1048708 The analyser places great emphasis on efficiency and gives little emphasis to member satisfaction 1048708 The analyser feel most comfortable with a rational assessment of problems and assumes that the facts will lead to a solution 1048708 The practitioner may be more confrontational relying on the authority to resolve conflicts and on rational problem-solving process

The Persuader Style1048708 The persuader style focuses on both dimensions effectiveness and morale yet optimizes neither 1048708 Such a style provides a relatively low risk strategy avoids direct confrontation with others

The Pathfinder Style1048708 The pathfinder style seeks a high degree and a high degree of member satisfaction believing that greater effectiveness is possible when all members are involved and problem-solving is done through teamwork 1048708 The pathfinder focuses on 6 processes essential to organizational performance

1048708 Communication 1048708 Member roles and functions in groups 1048708 Group problem-solving and decision-making 1048708 Groups norms and growth

1048708 Leadership and authority 1048708 intergroup cooperation and competition

The Intervention Process1048708 The OD process involves a collaborative relationship between a practitioner and a client system 1048708 OD practitioners may have a variety of style philosophies and approaches 1048708 Functions performed 1048708 Helping the client determine its current level or state (data gathering) 1048708 Assisting in a collaborative analysis or problem and planning strategies of change (diagnosis) 1048708 Intervening and facilitating change from the current level to some ideal or desired level

Q4Explain the life cycle of resistance to organizational change in detail

Phase 1

Few people who support change They are criticized ridiculed persecuted

Massive Resistance

Change May Die or Grow

Change is Easy at Small organization Difficult at Bigger

An executive was asked at the IBM about Change he referred to it as akin to Swimming in Peanut Butter

Phase 2 Forces for and against change become identifiable Change is discussed and more people start to understand change

Greater Understanding means lesser resistance

Novelty and Strangeness to change starts to disappear

Phase 3 The phase sees Direct Conflict between forces for and against change Phase means life and death to the change effort as the proponents may underestimate

opponents due to lack of information about opponents

Proponents of Change fails to understand how far opponents will go to stop change

Phase 4 If Supporters are in power resistance is seen as Stubborn and nuisance (irritation) Balance of power can shift from proponents to opponents

Wisdom needed in dealing with resistance both openly and covertly

Phase 5 Very little in Resistance and higher supporters contrary to what the situation was in Phase 1 Actual conflict is in the form of Verbal Disagreements Questions and Reluctance

Q5State the characteristics of organizational culture

1 Innovation and Risk Taking Risk and returns go hand in hand Places where you take a risk (calculated risk of course) the chances of returns are higher Same goes for innovation You could either be a follower or a pioneer Pioneering has its share of risks but at times it can also have a breakthrough outcome for the organization Thus innovation and risk taking is one of the main characteristics of organizational culture defining how much room the business allows for innovation

2 Attention to Detail Attention to detail defines how much importance a company allots to precision and detail in the workplace This is also a universal value as the degree of attention the employees are expected to give is crucial to the success of any business The management defines the degree of attention to be given to details

3 Outcome Orientation Some organizations pay more attention to results rather than processes It is really the business model of each business that defines whether the focus should be on the outcome or the processes This defines the outcome orientation of the business

4 People Orientation This is still one of the most contentious issues in organizational culture today How much should be the management focus on the people Some organizations are famous for being employee oriented as they focus more on creating a better work environment for its associates to work in Others still are feudal in nature treating employees no better than work-machines

5 Team Orientation It is a well-established fact today that synergistic teams help give better results as compared to individual efforts Each organization makes its efforts to create teams that will have complementary skills and will effectively work together

6 Aggressiveness Every organization also lays down the level of aggressiveness with which their employees work Some businesses like Microsoft are known for their aggression and market dominating strategies

7 Stability While some organizations believe that constant change and innovation is the key to their growth others are more focused on making themselves and their operations stable The managements of these organizations are looking at ensuring stability of the company rather than looking at indiscriminate growth

Q6Suppose a steel industry wants to form a Quality Circle What would be the criteria that you would set to form it What are the benefits that you see in forming a quality circle

Quality Circles Quality Circle is a small volunteer group of six to twelve employees doing similar kind of work They voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to carry out frequent checks in their respective work areas for improvements They use certain proven techniques for analysing and solving work related problems coming in the way of achieving and sustaining excellence so that they can bring about a mutual upliftment of employees as well as the organization So basically a

volunteer group is composed of workers under the leadership of their supervisor who are trained to identify analyse and solve work-related problems are collectively called Quality circle They present their solutions to management for the improvement of organizational performance Tue quality circles become self-managing after gaining management confidence If anything could battle the dehumanizing concept of division of labour it is Quality circle It has brought back the concept of craftsmanship which doesnrsquot work well on an individual basis because it is uneconomic but it proves a boon when used in group form The prime motto of QC is improving occupational safety and health improving product design and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes

1 Key Features of Quality Circle

They are formal groups They hold meetings at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent

persons who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish but they cannot select

salary related topics or other topics related to terms and conditions of work because these issues are dealt with via other channels

2 The Concept

The concept of Quality Circle primarily focuses on a workerrsquos value recognition as a human being as someone who willingly takes on his job his wisdom intelligence experience attitude and feelings It is just another part of human resource management considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality amp productivity Quality Circle concept has three major attributes

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique Quality Circle is a problem solving technique Quality Circle is a form of participation management

3 Objective of QC

There multi-faced objectives of Quality Circles

Change in Attitude Self-Development Development of Team Spirit Improved Organizational Culture

Benefits of Quality Circles

The quality control concept did not get an easy acceptance in India It took two decades to get acceptance in India after its introduction in Japan The reason might be differences in the industrial context in the two countries Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market India had a reasonably protected sellersrsquo market with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improve quality and productivity However with the policy of liberalization of economy and privatization of infrastructure development contexts changed The concept now needs to be looked upon as a necessity because it benefits in the following ways

Team Work It helps to eradicate inter-team conflicts and clashes and enhance the concept of team spirit

bull Positive Attitude Employees start working with a positive attitude towards work assuming it as their own work They develop a ldquoCan Dordquo and ldquoI carerdquo attitudebull Personality advancement Quality circle practice helps to learn new skills and also brings out the hidden potential of employeesbull Positive working environment It improves the organizational working environment and involves employees in every process right from a small decision to a big dealbull Increased productivity It helps in increasing overall productivity of organization by improvement of work processes and reduction of excessive costs They increase operational efficiency improve quality and promote innovation

Using IT for KM innovation competitive advantage and business strategies Ensuring business objectives are attained by following organizational values and ethics Building leadership and capable management workforce for today and future Improving the problem solving process by managing change During and after implementation of change efforts maintaining same relationship with

the business partners customers and vendors Reducing the six gaps ndash communication gap cultural gap confidence gap skills gap

information gap and timing gap

Master of Business Administration- MBA Semester 3

MU0011 ndashManagement and Organizational Development - 4 Credits(Book ID B1229)

Q1What are the characteristics of organizational development

The ability to interact effectively with others can make the difference between success or failure in our work and personal life A social system is a complex set of human relationships interacting in many ways Within an organization the social system includes all the people in it and their relationships to each other and to the outside world The behaviour of one member can have an impact either directly or indirectly on the behaviour of others Also the social system does not have boundariesit exchanges goods ideas culture etc with the environment around it (Schein 1968)Culture is the conventional behaviour of a society that encompasses beliefs customs knowledge and practices It influences human behaviour even though it seldom enters into their conscious thought People depend on culture as it gives them stability security understanding and the ability to respond to a given situation This is why people fear change They fear the system will become unstable their security will be lost they will not understand the new process and they will not know how to respond to the new situations

Individualization is when employees successfully exert influence on the social system by challenging the cultureOrganization Development (OD) is the systematic application of behavioural science knowledge at various levels such as group inter-group organization etc to bring about planned change Its objectives are a higher quality of work-life productivity adaptability and effectiveness It accomplishes this by changing attitudes behaviours values strategies procedures and structures so that the organization can adapt to competitive actions technological advances and the fast pace of change within the environment (Cunningham 1990)

There are seven characteristics of OD

1 Humanistic Values Positive beliefs about the potential of employees (McGregors Theory Y)2 Systems Orientation All parts of the organization to include structure technology and

people must work together

3 Experiential Learning The learners experiences in the training environment should be the kind of human problems they encounter at work The training should NOT be all theory and lecture

4 Problem Solving Problems are identified data is gathered corrective action is taken progress is assessed and adjustments in the problem solving process are made as needed This process is known as Action Research

5 Contingency Orientation Actions are selected and adapted to fit the need

6 Change Agent Stimulate facilitate and coordinate change

7 Levels of Interventions Problems can occur at one or more level in the organization so the strategy will require one or more interventions

A well-used axiom in organizational behaviour thought asserts that values ultimately drive our behaviour In a nutshell values exert influence over our attitudes and attitudes influence our behaviour Values are integral to attitude formation and to how we respond to people and situations

(Kerns 2010) Extensive literature exists dealing with how values relate to effective managerial leadership A review of this body of work leaves us with the clear picture that values are a key component of effective managerial leadership

There seems to be a subset of virtuous values that align with ethical behaviour In his book Authentic Happiness Martin Seligman has reviewed these core virtuous values that influence ethical behaviour and appear to have universal appeal (Kerns 2010)

bull Wisdom and Knowledge The capacity to take information and convert it to something useful Wisdom comes from capitalizing on ones experience to interpret information in a knowledgeable manner to produce wise decisions A prerequisite to doing the right thing when facing an ethical dilemma knows what to do knowing the difference between right and wrong

bull Self Control The ability to avoid unethical temptations The capacity to take the ethical path requires a commitment to the value of acting with temperance Ethical people say no to individual gain if it is inconsistent with institutional benefit and goodwill (Kerns 2010)

Q2What are the three levels of work groups

Work groups function on three levels

Dependent level Independent level

Interdependent level

Heres the breakdown

Dependent-level work groups Dependent-level work groups are the traditional work unit or department groups with a supervisor who plays a strong role as the boss Almost everyone has had some experience with this work setup especially in a first job Each person in a dependent-level work group has his or her own job and works under the close supervision of the boss The boss is in charge and tells the employees the dos and donts in their jobs Helping each other and covering for one another do not occur often and do so mostly under the direction of the supervisor In fact most problem solving work assignments and other decisions affecting the group come from the supervisor A dependent-level work group can perform well in the short term But for the long run because group members operate separately and mostly at the direction of the supervisor such work groups dont seem to go anywhere Maintaining the status quo and keeping operations under control are what they do best Creating improvements increasing productivity and leveraging resources to support one another are quite uncommon with dependent-level work groups

Independent-level work groups Independent-level work groups are the most common form of work groups on the business scene Like a dependent-level work group each person is responsible for his or her own main area But unlike the dependent level the supervisor or manager tends not to function like the controlling boss Instead staff members work on their own assignments with general direction and minimal supervision Sales representatives research scientists accountants lawyers police officers librarians and teachers are among the professionals who tend to work in this fashion People in those occupations come together in one department because they serve a common overall function but almost everyone in the group works fairly independently If members

of an independent-level work group receive the managerial guidance and support they need on the job such a work group can perform quite well

Interdependent-level work groups Members of an interdependent-level work group rely on each other to get the work done Sometimes members have their own roles and at other times they share responsibilities Yet in either case they coordinate with one another to produce an overall product or set of outcomes When this interdependence exists you have a team And by capitalizing on interdependence the team demonstrates the truth of the old saying The whole is greater than the sum of its parts An independent work group can often be brought up to speed faster than an interdependent group It simply takes more time to get a group of individuals to work as a team than to set a group of individuals off on their independent assignments Yet when teams move into a high-functioning and high-producing state where they capitalize on interdependence they can outperform all other types of work groups So if you want a quick fix dont look to teams but if you want to see strong results for the long term do look to teams To call a group a team does not make them a team wishing for them to work as a team doesnt work either For a snapshot of the main differences between work groups and teams take a look at Table

As you can see work groups have a strong individual focus and teams have a strong collective focus The individual is not lost on a team but that persons work is coordinated to fit in with the greater good Team concerns are much more focused on the outcomes of the overall unit rather than an individuals accomplishments

Q3What are the five different types of OD practitioner styles

The Stabilizer Style 1048708 The goal of the stabilizer is neither effectiveness nor participant satisfaction 1048708 The practitioner is trying to keep from rocking the boat and to maintain a low profile 1048708 This style is usually forced upon the practitioner by organizational pressure 1048708 So the practitioner usually have to learn to conform and suppress any other motivation

The Cheerleader Style1048708 The cheerleader style places emphasis on the satisfaction of the organization members and is chiefly concerned with motivation and morale 1048708 The cheerleader style strongly minimizes differences and maintains harmony

The Analyser Style1048708 The analyser places great emphasis on efficiency and gives little emphasis to member satisfaction 1048708 The analyser feel most comfortable with a rational assessment of problems and assumes that the facts will lead to a solution 1048708 The practitioner may be more confrontational relying on the authority to resolve conflicts and on rational problem-solving process

The Persuader Style1048708 The persuader style focuses on both dimensions effectiveness and morale yet optimizes neither 1048708 Such a style provides a relatively low risk strategy avoids direct confrontation with others

The Pathfinder Style1048708 The pathfinder style seeks a high degree and a high degree of member satisfaction believing that greater effectiveness is possible when all members are involved and problem-solving is done through teamwork 1048708 The pathfinder focuses on 6 processes essential to organizational performance

1048708 Communication 1048708 Member roles and functions in groups 1048708 Group problem-solving and decision-making 1048708 Groups norms and growth

1048708 Leadership and authority 1048708 intergroup cooperation and competition

The Intervention Process1048708 The OD process involves a collaborative relationship between a practitioner and a client system 1048708 OD practitioners may have a variety of style philosophies and approaches 1048708 Functions performed 1048708 Helping the client determine its current level or state (data gathering) 1048708 Assisting in a collaborative analysis or problem and planning strategies of change (diagnosis) 1048708 Intervening and facilitating change from the current level to some ideal or desired level

Q4Explain the life cycle of resistance to organizational change in detail

Phase 1

Few people who support change They are criticized ridiculed persecuted

Massive Resistance

Change May Die or Grow

Change is Easy at Small organization Difficult at Bigger

An executive was asked at the IBM about Change he referred to it as akin to Swimming in Peanut Butter

Phase 2 Forces for and against change become identifiable Change is discussed and more people start to understand change

Greater Understanding means lesser resistance

Novelty and Strangeness to change starts to disappear

Phase 3 The phase sees Direct Conflict between forces for and against change Phase means life and death to the change effort as the proponents may underestimate

opponents due to lack of information about opponents

Proponents of Change fails to understand how far opponents will go to stop change

Phase 4 If Supporters are in power resistance is seen as Stubborn and nuisance (irritation) Balance of power can shift from proponents to opponents

Wisdom needed in dealing with resistance both openly and covertly

Phase 5 Very little in Resistance and higher supporters contrary to what the situation was in Phase 1 Actual conflict is in the form of Verbal Disagreements Questions and Reluctance

Q5State the characteristics of organizational culture

1 Innovation and Risk Taking Risk and returns go hand in hand Places where you take a risk (calculated risk of course) the chances of returns are higher Same goes for innovation You could either be a follower or a pioneer Pioneering has its share of risks but at times it can also have a breakthrough outcome for the organization Thus innovation and risk taking is one of the main characteristics of organizational culture defining how much room the business allows for innovation

2 Attention to Detail Attention to detail defines how much importance a company allots to precision and detail in the workplace This is also a universal value as the degree of attention the employees are expected to give is crucial to the success of any business The management defines the degree of attention to be given to details

3 Outcome Orientation Some organizations pay more attention to results rather than processes It is really the business model of each business that defines whether the focus should be on the outcome or the processes This defines the outcome orientation of the business

4 People Orientation This is still one of the most contentious issues in organizational culture today How much should be the management focus on the people Some organizations are famous for being employee oriented as they focus more on creating a better work environment for its associates to work in Others still are feudal in nature treating employees no better than work-machines

5 Team Orientation It is a well-established fact today that synergistic teams help give better results as compared to individual efforts Each organization makes its efforts to create teams that will have complementary skills and will effectively work together

6 Aggressiveness Every organization also lays down the level of aggressiveness with which their employees work Some businesses like Microsoft are known for their aggression and market dominating strategies

7 Stability While some organizations believe that constant change and innovation is the key to their growth others are more focused on making themselves and their operations stable The managements of these organizations are looking at ensuring stability of the company rather than looking at indiscriminate growth

Q6Suppose a steel industry wants to form a Quality Circle What would be the criteria that you would set to form it What are the benefits that you see in forming a quality circle

Quality Circles Quality Circle is a small volunteer group of six to twelve employees doing similar kind of work They voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to carry out frequent checks in their respective work areas for improvements They use certain proven techniques for analysing and solving work related problems coming in the way of achieving and sustaining excellence so that they can bring about a mutual upliftment of employees as well as the organization So basically a

volunteer group is composed of workers under the leadership of their supervisor who are trained to identify analyse and solve work-related problems are collectively called Quality circle They present their solutions to management for the improvement of organizational performance Tue quality circles become self-managing after gaining management confidence If anything could battle the dehumanizing concept of division of labour it is Quality circle It has brought back the concept of craftsmanship which doesnrsquot work well on an individual basis because it is uneconomic but it proves a boon when used in group form The prime motto of QC is improving occupational safety and health improving product design and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes

1 Key Features of Quality Circle

They are formal groups They hold meetings at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent

persons who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish but they cannot select

salary related topics or other topics related to terms and conditions of work because these issues are dealt with via other channels

2 The Concept

The concept of Quality Circle primarily focuses on a workerrsquos value recognition as a human being as someone who willingly takes on his job his wisdom intelligence experience attitude and feelings It is just another part of human resource management considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality amp productivity Quality Circle concept has three major attributes

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique Quality Circle is a problem solving technique Quality Circle is a form of participation management

3 Objective of QC

There multi-faced objectives of Quality Circles

Change in Attitude Self-Development Development of Team Spirit Improved Organizational Culture

Benefits of Quality Circles

The quality control concept did not get an easy acceptance in India It took two decades to get acceptance in India after its introduction in Japan The reason might be differences in the industrial context in the two countries Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market India had a reasonably protected sellersrsquo market with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improve quality and productivity However with the policy of liberalization of economy and privatization of infrastructure development contexts changed The concept now needs to be looked upon as a necessity because it benefits in the following ways

Team Work It helps to eradicate inter-team conflicts and clashes and enhance the concept of team spirit

bull Positive Attitude Employees start working with a positive attitude towards work assuming it as their own work They develop a ldquoCan Dordquo and ldquoI carerdquo attitudebull Personality advancement Quality circle practice helps to learn new skills and also brings out the hidden potential of employeesbull Positive working environment It improves the organizational working environment and involves employees in every process right from a small decision to a big dealbull Increased productivity It helps in increasing overall productivity of organization by improvement of work processes and reduction of excessive costs They increase operational efficiency improve quality and promote innovation

MU0011 ndashManagement and Organizational Development - 4 Credits(Book ID B1229)

Q1What are the characteristics of organizational development

The ability to interact effectively with others can make the difference between success or failure in our work and personal life A social system is a complex set of human relationships interacting in many ways Within an organization the social system includes all the people in it and their relationships to each other and to the outside world The behaviour of one member can have an impact either directly or indirectly on the behaviour of others Also the social system does not have boundariesit exchanges goods ideas culture etc with the environment around it (Schein 1968)Culture is the conventional behaviour of a society that encompasses beliefs customs knowledge and practices It influences human behaviour even though it seldom enters into their conscious thought People depend on culture as it gives them stability security understanding and the ability to respond to a given situation This is why people fear change They fear the system will become unstable their security will be lost they will not understand the new process and they will not know how to respond to the new situations

Individualization is when employees successfully exert influence on the social system by challenging the cultureOrganization Development (OD) is the systematic application of behavioural science knowledge at various levels such as group inter-group organization etc to bring about planned change Its objectives are a higher quality of work-life productivity adaptability and effectiveness It accomplishes this by changing attitudes behaviours values strategies procedures and structures so that the organization can adapt to competitive actions technological advances and the fast pace of change within the environment (Cunningham 1990)

There are seven characteristics of OD

1 Humanistic Values Positive beliefs about the potential of employees (McGregors Theory Y)2 Systems Orientation All parts of the organization to include structure technology and

people must work together

3 Experiential Learning The learners experiences in the training environment should be the kind of human problems they encounter at work The training should NOT be all theory and lecture

4 Problem Solving Problems are identified data is gathered corrective action is taken progress is assessed and adjustments in the problem solving process are made as needed This process is known as Action Research

5 Contingency Orientation Actions are selected and adapted to fit the need

6 Change Agent Stimulate facilitate and coordinate change

7 Levels of Interventions Problems can occur at one or more level in the organization so the strategy will require one or more interventions

A well-used axiom in organizational behaviour thought asserts that values ultimately drive our behaviour In a nutshell values exert influence over our attitudes and attitudes influence our behaviour Values are integral to attitude formation and to how we respond to people and situations

(Kerns 2010) Extensive literature exists dealing with how values relate to effective managerial leadership A review of this body of work leaves us with the clear picture that values are a key component of effective managerial leadership

There seems to be a subset of virtuous values that align with ethical behaviour In his book Authentic Happiness Martin Seligman has reviewed these core virtuous values that influence ethical behaviour and appear to have universal appeal (Kerns 2010)

bull Wisdom and Knowledge The capacity to take information and convert it to something useful Wisdom comes from capitalizing on ones experience to interpret information in a knowledgeable manner to produce wise decisions A prerequisite to doing the right thing when facing an ethical dilemma knows what to do knowing the difference between right and wrong

bull Self Control The ability to avoid unethical temptations The capacity to take the ethical path requires a commitment to the value of acting with temperance Ethical people say no to individual gain if it is inconsistent with institutional benefit and goodwill (Kerns 2010)

Q2What are the three levels of work groups

Work groups function on three levels

Dependent level Independent level

Interdependent level

Heres the breakdown

Dependent-level work groups Dependent-level work groups are the traditional work unit or department groups with a supervisor who plays a strong role as the boss Almost everyone has had some experience with this work setup especially in a first job Each person in a dependent-level work group has his or her own job and works under the close supervision of the boss The boss is in charge and tells the employees the dos and donts in their jobs Helping each other and covering for one another do not occur often and do so mostly under the direction of the supervisor In fact most problem solving work assignments and other decisions affecting the group come from the supervisor A dependent-level work group can perform well in the short term But for the long run because group members operate separately and mostly at the direction of the supervisor such work groups dont seem to go anywhere Maintaining the status quo and keeping operations under control are what they do best Creating improvements increasing productivity and leveraging resources to support one another are quite uncommon with dependent-level work groups

Independent-level work groups Independent-level work groups are the most common form of work groups on the business scene Like a dependent-level work group each person is responsible for his or her own main area But unlike the dependent level the supervisor or manager tends not to function like the controlling boss Instead staff members work on their own assignments with general direction and minimal supervision Sales representatives research scientists accountants lawyers police officers librarians and teachers are among the professionals who tend to work in this fashion People in those occupations come together in one department because they serve a common overall function but almost everyone in the group works fairly independently If members

of an independent-level work group receive the managerial guidance and support they need on the job such a work group can perform quite well

Interdependent-level work groups Members of an interdependent-level work group rely on each other to get the work done Sometimes members have their own roles and at other times they share responsibilities Yet in either case they coordinate with one another to produce an overall product or set of outcomes When this interdependence exists you have a team And by capitalizing on interdependence the team demonstrates the truth of the old saying The whole is greater than the sum of its parts An independent work group can often be brought up to speed faster than an interdependent group It simply takes more time to get a group of individuals to work as a team than to set a group of individuals off on their independent assignments Yet when teams move into a high-functioning and high-producing state where they capitalize on interdependence they can outperform all other types of work groups So if you want a quick fix dont look to teams but if you want to see strong results for the long term do look to teams To call a group a team does not make them a team wishing for them to work as a team doesnt work either For a snapshot of the main differences between work groups and teams take a look at Table

As you can see work groups have a strong individual focus and teams have a strong collective focus The individual is not lost on a team but that persons work is coordinated to fit in with the greater good Team concerns are much more focused on the outcomes of the overall unit rather than an individuals accomplishments

Q3What are the five different types of OD practitioner styles

The Stabilizer Style 1048708 The goal of the stabilizer is neither effectiveness nor participant satisfaction 1048708 The practitioner is trying to keep from rocking the boat and to maintain a low profile 1048708 This style is usually forced upon the practitioner by organizational pressure 1048708 So the practitioner usually have to learn to conform and suppress any other motivation

The Cheerleader Style1048708 The cheerleader style places emphasis on the satisfaction of the organization members and is chiefly concerned with motivation and morale 1048708 The cheerleader style strongly minimizes differences and maintains harmony

The Analyser Style1048708 The analyser places great emphasis on efficiency and gives little emphasis to member satisfaction 1048708 The analyser feel most comfortable with a rational assessment of problems and assumes that the facts will lead to a solution 1048708 The practitioner may be more confrontational relying on the authority to resolve conflicts and on rational problem-solving process

The Persuader Style1048708 The persuader style focuses on both dimensions effectiveness and morale yet optimizes neither 1048708 Such a style provides a relatively low risk strategy avoids direct confrontation with others

The Pathfinder Style1048708 The pathfinder style seeks a high degree and a high degree of member satisfaction believing that greater effectiveness is possible when all members are involved and problem-solving is done through teamwork 1048708 The pathfinder focuses on 6 processes essential to organizational performance

1048708 Communication 1048708 Member roles and functions in groups 1048708 Group problem-solving and decision-making 1048708 Groups norms and growth

1048708 Leadership and authority 1048708 intergroup cooperation and competition

The Intervention Process1048708 The OD process involves a collaborative relationship between a practitioner and a client system 1048708 OD practitioners may have a variety of style philosophies and approaches 1048708 Functions performed 1048708 Helping the client determine its current level or state (data gathering) 1048708 Assisting in a collaborative analysis or problem and planning strategies of change (diagnosis) 1048708 Intervening and facilitating change from the current level to some ideal or desired level

Q4Explain the life cycle of resistance to organizational change in detail

Phase 1

Few people who support change They are criticized ridiculed persecuted

Massive Resistance

Change May Die or Grow

Change is Easy at Small organization Difficult at Bigger

An executive was asked at the IBM about Change he referred to it as akin to Swimming in Peanut Butter

Phase 2 Forces for and against change become identifiable Change is discussed and more people start to understand change

Greater Understanding means lesser resistance

Novelty and Strangeness to change starts to disappear

Phase 3 The phase sees Direct Conflict between forces for and against change Phase means life and death to the change effort as the proponents may underestimate

opponents due to lack of information about opponents

Proponents of Change fails to understand how far opponents will go to stop change

Phase 4 If Supporters are in power resistance is seen as Stubborn and nuisance (irritation) Balance of power can shift from proponents to opponents

Wisdom needed in dealing with resistance both openly and covertly

Phase 5 Very little in Resistance and higher supporters contrary to what the situation was in Phase 1 Actual conflict is in the form of Verbal Disagreements Questions and Reluctance

Q5State the characteristics of organizational culture

1 Innovation and Risk Taking Risk and returns go hand in hand Places where you take a risk (calculated risk of course) the chances of returns are higher Same goes for innovation You could either be a follower or a pioneer Pioneering has its share of risks but at times it can also have a breakthrough outcome for the organization Thus innovation and risk taking is one of the main characteristics of organizational culture defining how much room the business allows for innovation

2 Attention to Detail Attention to detail defines how much importance a company allots to precision and detail in the workplace This is also a universal value as the degree of attention the employees are expected to give is crucial to the success of any business The management defines the degree of attention to be given to details

3 Outcome Orientation Some organizations pay more attention to results rather than processes It is really the business model of each business that defines whether the focus should be on the outcome or the processes This defines the outcome orientation of the business

4 People Orientation This is still one of the most contentious issues in organizational culture today How much should be the management focus on the people Some organizations are famous for being employee oriented as they focus more on creating a better work environment for its associates to work in Others still are feudal in nature treating employees no better than work-machines

5 Team Orientation It is a well-established fact today that synergistic teams help give better results as compared to individual efforts Each organization makes its efforts to create teams that will have complementary skills and will effectively work together

6 Aggressiveness Every organization also lays down the level of aggressiveness with which their employees work Some businesses like Microsoft are known for their aggression and market dominating strategies

7 Stability While some organizations believe that constant change and innovation is the key to their growth others are more focused on making themselves and their operations stable The managements of these organizations are looking at ensuring stability of the company rather than looking at indiscriminate growth

Q6Suppose a steel industry wants to form a Quality Circle What would be the criteria that you would set to form it What are the benefits that you see in forming a quality circle

Quality Circles Quality Circle is a small volunteer group of six to twelve employees doing similar kind of work They voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to carry out frequent checks in their respective work areas for improvements They use certain proven techniques for analysing and solving work related problems coming in the way of achieving and sustaining excellence so that they can bring about a mutual upliftment of employees as well as the organization So basically a

volunteer group is composed of workers under the leadership of their supervisor who are trained to identify analyse and solve work-related problems are collectively called Quality circle They present their solutions to management for the improvement of organizational performance Tue quality circles become self-managing after gaining management confidence If anything could battle the dehumanizing concept of division of labour it is Quality circle It has brought back the concept of craftsmanship which doesnrsquot work well on an individual basis because it is uneconomic but it proves a boon when used in group form The prime motto of QC is improving occupational safety and health improving product design and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes

1 Key Features of Quality Circle

They are formal groups They hold meetings at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent

persons who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish but they cannot select

salary related topics or other topics related to terms and conditions of work because these issues are dealt with via other channels

2 The Concept

The concept of Quality Circle primarily focuses on a workerrsquos value recognition as a human being as someone who willingly takes on his job his wisdom intelligence experience attitude and feelings It is just another part of human resource management considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality amp productivity Quality Circle concept has three major attributes

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique Quality Circle is a problem solving technique Quality Circle is a form of participation management

3 Objective of QC

There multi-faced objectives of Quality Circles

Change in Attitude Self-Development Development of Team Spirit Improved Organizational Culture

Benefits of Quality Circles

The quality control concept did not get an easy acceptance in India It took two decades to get acceptance in India after its introduction in Japan The reason might be differences in the industrial context in the two countries Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market India had a reasonably protected sellersrsquo market with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improve quality and productivity However with the policy of liberalization of economy and privatization of infrastructure development contexts changed The concept now needs to be looked upon as a necessity because it benefits in the following ways

Team Work It helps to eradicate inter-team conflicts and clashes and enhance the concept of team spirit

bull Positive Attitude Employees start working with a positive attitude towards work assuming it as their own work They develop a ldquoCan Dordquo and ldquoI carerdquo attitudebull Personality advancement Quality circle practice helps to learn new skills and also brings out the hidden potential of employeesbull Positive working environment It improves the organizational working environment and involves employees in every process right from a small decision to a big dealbull Increased productivity It helps in increasing overall productivity of organization by improvement of work processes and reduction of excessive costs They increase operational efficiency improve quality and promote innovation

(Kerns 2010) Extensive literature exists dealing with how values relate to effective managerial leadership A review of this body of work leaves us with the clear picture that values are a key component of effective managerial leadership

There seems to be a subset of virtuous values that align with ethical behaviour In his book Authentic Happiness Martin Seligman has reviewed these core virtuous values that influence ethical behaviour and appear to have universal appeal (Kerns 2010)

bull Wisdom and Knowledge The capacity to take information and convert it to something useful Wisdom comes from capitalizing on ones experience to interpret information in a knowledgeable manner to produce wise decisions A prerequisite to doing the right thing when facing an ethical dilemma knows what to do knowing the difference between right and wrong

bull Self Control The ability to avoid unethical temptations The capacity to take the ethical path requires a commitment to the value of acting with temperance Ethical people say no to individual gain if it is inconsistent with institutional benefit and goodwill (Kerns 2010)

Q2What are the three levels of work groups

Work groups function on three levels

Dependent level Independent level

Interdependent level

Heres the breakdown

Dependent-level work groups Dependent-level work groups are the traditional work unit or department groups with a supervisor who plays a strong role as the boss Almost everyone has had some experience with this work setup especially in a first job Each person in a dependent-level work group has his or her own job and works under the close supervision of the boss The boss is in charge and tells the employees the dos and donts in their jobs Helping each other and covering for one another do not occur often and do so mostly under the direction of the supervisor In fact most problem solving work assignments and other decisions affecting the group come from the supervisor A dependent-level work group can perform well in the short term But for the long run because group members operate separately and mostly at the direction of the supervisor such work groups dont seem to go anywhere Maintaining the status quo and keeping operations under control are what they do best Creating improvements increasing productivity and leveraging resources to support one another are quite uncommon with dependent-level work groups

Independent-level work groups Independent-level work groups are the most common form of work groups on the business scene Like a dependent-level work group each person is responsible for his or her own main area But unlike the dependent level the supervisor or manager tends not to function like the controlling boss Instead staff members work on their own assignments with general direction and minimal supervision Sales representatives research scientists accountants lawyers police officers librarians and teachers are among the professionals who tend to work in this fashion People in those occupations come together in one department because they serve a common overall function but almost everyone in the group works fairly independently If members

of an independent-level work group receive the managerial guidance and support they need on the job such a work group can perform quite well

Interdependent-level work groups Members of an interdependent-level work group rely on each other to get the work done Sometimes members have their own roles and at other times they share responsibilities Yet in either case they coordinate with one another to produce an overall product or set of outcomes When this interdependence exists you have a team And by capitalizing on interdependence the team demonstrates the truth of the old saying The whole is greater than the sum of its parts An independent work group can often be brought up to speed faster than an interdependent group It simply takes more time to get a group of individuals to work as a team than to set a group of individuals off on their independent assignments Yet when teams move into a high-functioning and high-producing state where they capitalize on interdependence they can outperform all other types of work groups So if you want a quick fix dont look to teams but if you want to see strong results for the long term do look to teams To call a group a team does not make them a team wishing for them to work as a team doesnt work either For a snapshot of the main differences between work groups and teams take a look at Table

As you can see work groups have a strong individual focus and teams have a strong collective focus The individual is not lost on a team but that persons work is coordinated to fit in with the greater good Team concerns are much more focused on the outcomes of the overall unit rather than an individuals accomplishments

Q3What are the five different types of OD practitioner styles

The Stabilizer Style 1048708 The goal of the stabilizer is neither effectiveness nor participant satisfaction 1048708 The practitioner is trying to keep from rocking the boat and to maintain a low profile 1048708 This style is usually forced upon the practitioner by organizational pressure 1048708 So the practitioner usually have to learn to conform and suppress any other motivation

The Cheerleader Style1048708 The cheerleader style places emphasis on the satisfaction of the organization members and is chiefly concerned with motivation and morale 1048708 The cheerleader style strongly minimizes differences and maintains harmony

The Analyser Style1048708 The analyser places great emphasis on efficiency and gives little emphasis to member satisfaction 1048708 The analyser feel most comfortable with a rational assessment of problems and assumes that the facts will lead to a solution 1048708 The practitioner may be more confrontational relying on the authority to resolve conflicts and on rational problem-solving process

The Persuader Style1048708 The persuader style focuses on both dimensions effectiveness and morale yet optimizes neither 1048708 Such a style provides a relatively low risk strategy avoids direct confrontation with others

The Pathfinder Style1048708 The pathfinder style seeks a high degree and a high degree of member satisfaction believing that greater effectiveness is possible when all members are involved and problem-solving is done through teamwork 1048708 The pathfinder focuses on 6 processes essential to organizational performance

1048708 Communication 1048708 Member roles and functions in groups 1048708 Group problem-solving and decision-making 1048708 Groups norms and growth

1048708 Leadership and authority 1048708 intergroup cooperation and competition

The Intervention Process1048708 The OD process involves a collaborative relationship between a practitioner and a client system 1048708 OD practitioners may have a variety of style philosophies and approaches 1048708 Functions performed 1048708 Helping the client determine its current level or state (data gathering) 1048708 Assisting in a collaborative analysis or problem and planning strategies of change (diagnosis) 1048708 Intervening and facilitating change from the current level to some ideal or desired level

Q4Explain the life cycle of resistance to organizational change in detail

Phase 1

Few people who support change They are criticized ridiculed persecuted

Massive Resistance

Change May Die or Grow

Change is Easy at Small organization Difficult at Bigger

An executive was asked at the IBM about Change he referred to it as akin to Swimming in Peanut Butter

Phase 2 Forces for and against change become identifiable Change is discussed and more people start to understand change

Greater Understanding means lesser resistance

Novelty and Strangeness to change starts to disappear

Phase 3 The phase sees Direct Conflict between forces for and against change Phase means life and death to the change effort as the proponents may underestimate

opponents due to lack of information about opponents

Proponents of Change fails to understand how far opponents will go to stop change

Phase 4 If Supporters are in power resistance is seen as Stubborn and nuisance (irritation) Balance of power can shift from proponents to opponents

Wisdom needed in dealing with resistance both openly and covertly

Phase 5 Very little in Resistance and higher supporters contrary to what the situation was in Phase 1 Actual conflict is in the form of Verbal Disagreements Questions and Reluctance

Q5State the characteristics of organizational culture

1 Innovation and Risk Taking Risk and returns go hand in hand Places where you take a risk (calculated risk of course) the chances of returns are higher Same goes for innovation You could either be a follower or a pioneer Pioneering has its share of risks but at times it can also have a breakthrough outcome for the organization Thus innovation and risk taking is one of the main characteristics of organizational culture defining how much room the business allows for innovation

2 Attention to Detail Attention to detail defines how much importance a company allots to precision and detail in the workplace This is also a universal value as the degree of attention the employees are expected to give is crucial to the success of any business The management defines the degree of attention to be given to details

3 Outcome Orientation Some organizations pay more attention to results rather than processes It is really the business model of each business that defines whether the focus should be on the outcome or the processes This defines the outcome orientation of the business

4 People Orientation This is still one of the most contentious issues in organizational culture today How much should be the management focus on the people Some organizations are famous for being employee oriented as they focus more on creating a better work environment for its associates to work in Others still are feudal in nature treating employees no better than work-machines

5 Team Orientation It is a well-established fact today that synergistic teams help give better results as compared to individual efforts Each organization makes its efforts to create teams that will have complementary skills and will effectively work together

6 Aggressiveness Every organization also lays down the level of aggressiveness with which their employees work Some businesses like Microsoft are known for their aggression and market dominating strategies

7 Stability While some organizations believe that constant change and innovation is the key to their growth others are more focused on making themselves and their operations stable The managements of these organizations are looking at ensuring stability of the company rather than looking at indiscriminate growth

Q6Suppose a steel industry wants to form a Quality Circle What would be the criteria that you would set to form it What are the benefits that you see in forming a quality circle

Quality Circles Quality Circle is a small volunteer group of six to twelve employees doing similar kind of work They voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to carry out frequent checks in their respective work areas for improvements They use certain proven techniques for analysing and solving work related problems coming in the way of achieving and sustaining excellence so that they can bring about a mutual upliftment of employees as well as the organization So basically a

volunteer group is composed of workers under the leadership of their supervisor who are trained to identify analyse and solve work-related problems are collectively called Quality circle They present their solutions to management for the improvement of organizational performance Tue quality circles become self-managing after gaining management confidence If anything could battle the dehumanizing concept of division of labour it is Quality circle It has brought back the concept of craftsmanship which doesnrsquot work well on an individual basis because it is uneconomic but it proves a boon when used in group form The prime motto of QC is improving occupational safety and health improving product design and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes

1 Key Features of Quality Circle

They are formal groups They hold meetings at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent

persons who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish but they cannot select

salary related topics or other topics related to terms and conditions of work because these issues are dealt with via other channels

2 The Concept

The concept of Quality Circle primarily focuses on a workerrsquos value recognition as a human being as someone who willingly takes on his job his wisdom intelligence experience attitude and feelings It is just another part of human resource management considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality amp productivity Quality Circle concept has three major attributes

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique Quality Circle is a problem solving technique Quality Circle is a form of participation management

3 Objective of QC

There multi-faced objectives of Quality Circles

Change in Attitude Self-Development Development of Team Spirit Improved Organizational Culture

Benefits of Quality Circles

The quality control concept did not get an easy acceptance in India It took two decades to get acceptance in India after its introduction in Japan The reason might be differences in the industrial context in the two countries Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market India had a reasonably protected sellersrsquo market with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improve quality and productivity However with the policy of liberalization of economy and privatization of infrastructure development contexts changed The concept now needs to be looked upon as a necessity because it benefits in the following ways

Team Work It helps to eradicate inter-team conflicts and clashes and enhance the concept of team spirit

bull Positive Attitude Employees start working with a positive attitude towards work assuming it as their own work They develop a ldquoCan Dordquo and ldquoI carerdquo attitudebull Personality advancement Quality circle practice helps to learn new skills and also brings out the hidden potential of employeesbull Positive working environment It improves the organizational working environment and involves employees in every process right from a small decision to a big dealbull Increased productivity It helps in increasing overall productivity of organization by improvement of work processes and reduction of excessive costs They increase operational efficiency improve quality and promote innovation

of an independent-level work group receive the managerial guidance and support they need on the job such a work group can perform quite well

Interdependent-level work groups Members of an interdependent-level work group rely on each other to get the work done Sometimes members have their own roles and at other times they share responsibilities Yet in either case they coordinate with one another to produce an overall product or set of outcomes When this interdependence exists you have a team And by capitalizing on interdependence the team demonstrates the truth of the old saying The whole is greater than the sum of its parts An independent work group can often be brought up to speed faster than an interdependent group It simply takes more time to get a group of individuals to work as a team than to set a group of individuals off on their independent assignments Yet when teams move into a high-functioning and high-producing state where they capitalize on interdependence they can outperform all other types of work groups So if you want a quick fix dont look to teams but if you want to see strong results for the long term do look to teams To call a group a team does not make them a team wishing for them to work as a team doesnt work either For a snapshot of the main differences between work groups and teams take a look at Table

As you can see work groups have a strong individual focus and teams have a strong collective focus The individual is not lost on a team but that persons work is coordinated to fit in with the greater good Team concerns are much more focused on the outcomes of the overall unit rather than an individuals accomplishments

Q3What are the five different types of OD practitioner styles

The Stabilizer Style 1048708 The goal of the stabilizer is neither effectiveness nor participant satisfaction 1048708 The practitioner is trying to keep from rocking the boat and to maintain a low profile 1048708 This style is usually forced upon the practitioner by organizational pressure 1048708 So the practitioner usually have to learn to conform and suppress any other motivation

The Cheerleader Style1048708 The cheerleader style places emphasis on the satisfaction of the organization members and is chiefly concerned with motivation and morale 1048708 The cheerleader style strongly minimizes differences and maintains harmony

The Analyser Style1048708 The analyser places great emphasis on efficiency and gives little emphasis to member satisfaction 1048708 The analyser feel most comfortable with a rational assessment of problems and assumes that the facts will lead to a solution 1048708 The practitioner may be more confrontational relying on the authority to resolve conflicts and on rational problem-solving process

The Persuader Style1048708 The persuader style focuses on both dimensions effectiveness and morale yet optimizes neither 1048708 Such a style provides a relatively low risk strategy avoids direct confrontation with others

The Pathfinder Style1048708 The pathfinder style seeks a high degree and a high degree of member satisfaction believing that greater effectiveness is possible when all members are involved and problem-solving is done through teamwork 1048708 The pathfinder focuses on 6 processes essential to organizational performance

1048708 Communication 1048708 Member roles and functions in groups 1048708 Group problem-solving and decision-making 1048708 Groups norms and growth

1048708 Leadership and authority 1048708 intergroup cooperation and competition

The Intervention Process1048708 The OD process involves a collaborative relationship between a practitioner and a client system 1048708 OD practitioners may have a variety of style philosophies and approaches 1048708 Functions performed 1048708 Helping the client determine its current level or state (data gathering) 1048708 Assisting in a collaborative analysis or problem and planning strategies of change (diagnosis) 1048708 Intervening and facilitating change from the current level to some ideal or desired level

Q4Explain the life cycle of resistance to organizational change in detail

Phase 1

Few people who support change They are criticized ridiculed persecuted

Massive Resistance

Change May Die or Grow

Change is Easy at Small organization Difficult at Bigger

An executive was asked at the IBM about Change he referred to it as akin to Swimming in Peanut Butter

Phase 2 Forces for and against change become identifiable Change is discussed and more people start to understand change

Greater Understanding means lesser resistance

Novelty and Strangeness to change starts to disappear

Phase 3 The phase sees Direct Conflict between forces for and against change Phase means life and death to the change effort as the proponents may underestimate

opponents due to lack of information about opponents

Proponents of Change fails to understand how far opponents will go to stop change

Phase 4 If Supporters are in power resistance is seen as Stubborn and nuisance (irritation) Balance of power can shift from proponents to opponents

Wisdom needed in dealing with resistance both openly and covertly

Phase 5 Very little in Resistance and higher supporters contrary to what the situation was in Phase 1 Actual conflict is in the form of Verbal Disagreements Questions and Reluctance

Q5State the characteristics of organizational culture

1 Innovation and Risk Taking Risk and returns go hand in hand Places where you take a risk (calculated risk of course) the chances of returns are higher Same goes for innovation You could either be a follower or a pioneer Pioneering has its share of risks but at times it can also have a breakthrough outcome for the organization Thus innovation and risk taking is one of the main characteristics of organizational culture defining how much room the business allows for innovation

2 Attention to Detail Attention to detail defines how much importance a company allots to precision and detail in the workplace This is also a universal value as the degree of attention the employees are expected to give is crucial to the success of any business The management defines the degree of attention to be given to details

3 Outcome Orientation Some organizations pay more attention to results rather than processes It is really the business model of each business that defines whether the focus should be on the outcome or the processes This defines the outcome orientation of the business

4 People Orientation This is still one of the most contentious issues in organizational culture today How much should be the management focus on the people Some organizations are famous for being employee oriented as they focus more on creating a better work environment for its associates to work in Others still are feudal in nature treating employees no better than work-machines

5 Team Orientation It is a well-established fact today that synergistic teams help give better results as compared to individual efforts Each organization makes its efforts to create teams that will have complementary skills and will effectively work together

6 Aggressiveness Every organization also lays down the level of aggressiveness with which their employees work Some businesses like Microsoft are known for their aggression and market dominating strategies

7 Stability While some organizations believe that constant change and innovation is the key to their growth others are more focused on making themselves and their operations stable The managements of these organizations are looking at ensuring stability of the company rather than looking at indiscriminate growth

Q6Suppose a steel industry wants to form a Quality Circle What would be the criteria that you would set to form it What are the benefits that you see in forming a quality circle

Quality Circles Quality Circle is a small volunteer group of six to twelve employees doing similar kind of work They voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to carry out frequent checks in their respective work areas for improvements They use certain proven techniques for analysing and solving work related problems coming in the way of achieving and sustaining excellence so that they can bring about a mutual upliftment of employees as well as the organization So basically a

volunteer group is composed of workers under the leadership of their supervisor who are trained to identify analyse and solve work-related problems are collectively called Quality circle They present their solutions to management for the improvement of organizational performance Tue quality circles become self-managing after gaining management confidence If anything could battle the dehumanizing concept of division of labour it is Quality circle It has brought back the concept of craftsmanship which doesnrsquot work well on an individual basis because it is uneconomic but it proves a boon when used in group form The prime motto of QC is improving occupational safety and health improving product design and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes

1 Key Features of Quality Circle

They are formal groups They hold meetings at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent

persons who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish but they cannot select

salary related topics or other topics related to terms and conditions of work because these issues are dealt with via other channels

2 The Concept

The concept of Quality Circle primarily focuses on a workerrsquos value recognition as a human being as someone who willingly takes on his job his wisdom intelligence experience attitude and feelings It is just another part of human resource management considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality amp productivity Quality Circle concept has three major attributes

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique Quality Circle is a problem solving technique Quality Circle is a form of participation management

3 Objective of QC

There multi-faced objectives of Quality Circles

Change in Attitude Self-Development Development of Team Spirit Improved Organizational Culture

Benefits of Quality Circles

The quality control concept did not get an easy acceptance in India It took two decades to get acceptance in India after its introduction in Japan The reason might be differences in the industrial context in the two countries Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market India had a reasonably protected sellersrsquo market with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improve quality and productivity However with the policy of liberalization of economy and privatization of infrastructure development contexts changed The concept now needs to be looked upon as a necessity because it benefits in the following ways

Team Work It helps to eradicate inter-team conflicts and clashes and enhance the concept of team spirit

bull Positive Attitude Employees start working with a positive attitude towards work assuming it as their own work They develop a ldquoCan Dordquo and ldquoI carerdquo attitudebull Personality advancement Quality circle practice helps to learn new skills and also brings out the hidden potential of employeesbull Positive working environment It improves the organizational working environment and involves employees in every process right from a small decision to a big dealbull Increased productivity It helps in increasing overall productivity of organization by improvement of work processes and reduction of excessive costs They increase operational efficiency improve quality and promote innovation

1048708 Communication 1048708 Member roles and functions in groups 1048708 Group problem-solving and decision-making 1048708 Groups norms and growth

1048708 Leadership and authority 1048708 intergroup cooperation and competition

The Intervention Process1048708 The OD process involves a collaborative relationship between a practitioner and a client system 1048708 OD practitioners may have a variety of style philosophies and approaches 1048708 Functions performed 1048708 Helping the client determine its current level or state (data gathering) 1048708 Assisting in a collaborative analysis or problem and planning strategies of change (diagnosis) 1048708 Intervening and facilitating change from the current level to some ideal or desired level

Q4Explain the life cycle of resistance to organizational change in detail

Phase 1

Few people who support change They are criticized ridiculed persecuted

Massive Resistance

Change May Die or Grow

Change is Easy at Small organization Difficult at Bigger

An executive was asked at the IBM about Change he referred to it as akin to Swimming in Peanut Butter

Phase 2 Forces for and against change become identifiable Change is discussed and more people start to understand change

Greater Understanding means lesser resistance

Novelty and Strangeness to change starts to disappear

Phase 3 The phase sees Direct Conflict between forces for and against change Phase means life and death to the change effort as the proponents may underestimate

opponents due to lack of information about opponents

Proponents of Change fails to understand how far opponents will go to stop change

Phase 4 If Supporters are in power resistance is seen as Stubborn and nuisance (irritation) Balance of power can shift from proponents to opponents

Wisdom needed in dealing with resistance both openly and covertly

Phase 5 Very little in Resistance and higher supporters contrary to what the situation was in Phase 1 Actual conflict is in the form of Verbal Disagreements Questions and Reluctance

Q5State the characteristics of organizational culture

1 Innovation and Risk Taking Risk and returns go hand in hand Places where you take a risk (calculated risk of course) the chances of returns are higher Same goes for innovation You could either be a follower or a pioneer Pioneering has its share of risks but at times it can also have a breakthrough outcome for the organization Thus innovation and risk taking is one of the main characteristics of organizational culture defining how much room the business allows for innovation

2 Attention to Detail Attention to detail defines how much importance a company allots to precision and detail in the workplace This is also a universal value as the degree of attention the employees are expected to give is crucial to the success of any business The management defines the degree of attention to be given to details

3 Outcome Orientation Some organizations pay more attention to results rather than processes It is really the business model of each business that defines whether the focus should be on the outcome or the processes This defines the outcome orientation of the business

4 People Orientation This is still one of the most contentious issues in organizational culture today How much should be the management focus on the people Some organizations are famous for being employee oriented as they focus more on creating a better work environment for its associates to work in Others still are feudal in nature treating employees no better than work-machines

5 Team Orientation It is a well-established fact today that synergistic teams help give better results as compared to individual efforts Each organization makes its efforts to create teams that will have complementary skills and will effectively work together

6 Aggressiveness Every organization also lays down the level of aggressiveness with which their employees work Some businesses like Microsoft are known for their aggression and market dominating strategies

7 Stability While some organizations believe that constant change and innovation is the key to their growth others are more focused on making themselves and their operations stable The managements of these organizations are looking at ensuring stability of the company rather than looking at indiscriminate growth

Q6Suppose a steel industry wants to form a Quality Circle What would be the criteria that you would set to form it What are the benefits that you see in forming a quality circle

Quality Circles Quality Circle is a small volunteer group of six to twelve employees doing similar kind of work They voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to carry out frequent checks in their respective work areas for improvements They use certain proven techniques for analysing and solving work related problems coming in the way of achieving and sustaining excellence so that they can bring about a mutual upliftment of employees as well as the organization So basically a

volunteer group is composed of workers under the leadership of their supervisor who are trained to identify analyse and solve work-related problems are collectively called Quality circle They present their solutions to management for the improvement of organizational performance Tue quality circles become self-managing after gaining management confidence If anything could battle the dehumanizing concept of division of labour it is Quality circle It has brought back the concept of craftsmanship which doesnrsquot work well on an individual basis because it is uneconomic but it proves a boon when used in group form The prime motto of QC is improving occupational safety and health improving product design and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes

1 Key Features of Quality Circle

They are formal groups They hold meetings at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent

persons who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish but they cannot select

salary related topics or other topics related to terms and conditions of work because these issues are dealt with via other channels

2 The Concept

The concept of Quality Circle primarily focuses on a workerrsquos value recognition as a human being as someone who willingly takes on his job his wisdom intelligence experience attitude and feelings It is just another part of human resource management considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality amp productivity Quality Circle concept has three major attributes

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique Quality Circle is a problem solving technique Quality Circle is a form of participation management

3 Objective of QC

There multi-faced objectives of Quality Circles

Change in Attitude Self-Development Development of Team Spirit Improved Organizational Culture

Benefits of Quality Circles

The quality control concept did not get an easy acceptance in India It took two decades to get acceptance in India after its introduction in Japan The reason might be differences in the industrial context in the two countries Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market India had a reasonably protected sellersrsquo market with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improve quality and productivity However with the policy of liberalization of economy and privatization of infrastructure development contexts changed The concept now needs to be looked upon as a necessity because it benefits in the following ways

Team Work It helps to eradicate inter-team conflicts and clashes and enhance the concept of team spirit

bull Positive Attitude Employees start working with a positive attitude towards work assuming it as their own work They develop a ldquoCan Dordquo and ldquoI carerdquo attitudebull Personality advancement Quality circle practice helps to learn new skills and also brings out the hidden potential of employeesbull Positive working environment It improves the organizational working environment and involves employees in every process right from a small decision to a big dealbull Increased productivity It helps in increasing overall productivity of organization by improvement of work processes and reduction of excessive costs They increase operational efficiency improve quality and promote innovation

Phase 5 Very little in Resistance and higher supporters contrary to what the situation was in Phase 1 Actual conflict is in the form of Verbal Disagreements Questions and Reluctance

Q5State the characteristics of organizational culture

1 Innovation and Risk Taking Risk and returns go hand in hand Places where you take a risk (calculated risk of course) the chances of returns are higher Same goes for innovation You could either be a follower or a pioneer Pioneering has its share of risks but at times it can also have a breakthrough outcome for the organization Thus innovation and risk taking is one of the main characteristics of organizational culture defining how much room the business allows for innovation

2 Attention to Detail Attention to detail defines how much importance a company allots to precision and detail in the workplace This is also a universal value as the degree of attention the employees are expected to give is crucial to the success of any business The management defines the degree of attention to be given to details

3 Outcome Orientation Some organizations pay more attention to results rather than processes It is really the business model of each business that defines whether the focus should be on the outcome or the processes This defines the outcome orientation of the business

4 People Orientation This is still one of the most contentious issues in organizational culture today How much should be the management focus on the people Some organizations are famous for being employee oriented as they focus more on creating a better work environment for its associates to work in Others still are feudal in nature treating employees no better than work-machines

5 Team Orientation It is a well-established fact today that synergistic teams help give better results as compared to individual efforts Each organization makes its efforts to create teams that will have complementary skills and will effectively work together

6 Aggressiveness Every organization also lays down the level of aggressiveness with which their employees work Some businesses like Microsoft are known for their aggression and market dominating strategies

7 Stability While some organizations believe that constant change and innovation is the key to their growth others are more focused on making themselves and their operations stable The managements of these organizations are looking at ensuring stability of the company rather than looking at indiscriminate growth

Q6Suppose a steel industry wants to form a Quality Circle What would be the criteria that you would set to form it What are the benefits that you see in forming a quality circle

Quality Circles Quality Circle is a small volunteer group of six to twelve employees doing similar kind of work They voluntarily meet together on a regular basis to carry out frequent checks in their respective work areas for improvements They use certain proven techniques for analysing and solving work related problems coming in the way of achieving and sustaining excellence so that they can bring about a mutual upliftment of employees as well as the organization So basically a

volunteer group is composed of workers under the leadership of their supervisor who are trained to identify analyse and solve work-related problems are collectively called Quality circle They present their solutions to management for the improvement of organizational performance Tue quality circles become self-managing after gaining management confidence If anything could battle the dehumanizing concept of division of labour it is Quality circle It has brought back the concept of craftsmanship which doesnrsquot work well on an individual basis because it is uneconomic but it proves a boon when used in group form The prime motto of QC is improving occupational safety and health improving product design and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes

1 Key Features of Quality Circle

They are formal groups They hold meetings at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent

persons who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish but they cannot select

salary related topics or other topics related to terms and conditions of work because these issues are dealt with via other channels

2 The Concept

The concept of Quality Circle primarily focuses on a workerrsquos value recognition as a human being as someone who willingly takes on his job his wisdom intelligence experience attitude and feelings It is just another part of human resource management considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality amp productivity Quality Circle concept has three major attributes

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique Quality Circle is a problem solving technique Quality Circle is a form of participation management

3 Objective of QC

There multi-faced objectives of Quality Circles

Change in Attitude Self-Development Development of Team Spirit Improved Organizational Culture

Benefits of Quality Circles

The quality control concept did not get an easy acceptance in India It took two decades to get acceptance in India after its introduction in Japan The reason might be differences in the industrial context in the two countries Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market India had a reasonably protected sellersrsquo market with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improve quality and productivity However with the policy of liberalization of economy and privatization of infrastructure development contexts changed The concept now needs to be looked upon as a necessity because it benefits in the following ways

Team Work It helps to eradicate inter-team conflicts and clashes and enhance the concept of team spirit

bull Positive Attitude Employees start working with a positive attitude towards work assuming it as their own work They develop a ldquoCan Dordquo and ldquoI carerdquo attitudebull Personality advancement Quality circle practice helps to learn new skills and also brings out the hidden potential of employeesbull Positive working environment It improves the organizational working environment and involves employees in every process right from a small decision to a big dealbull Increased productivity It helps in increasing overall productivity of organization by improvement of work processes and reduction of excessive costs They increase operational efficiency improve quality and promote innovation

volunteer group is composed of workers under the leadership of their supervisor who are trained to identify analyse and solve work-related problems are collectively called Quality circle They present their solutions to management for the improvement of organizational performance Tue quality circles become self-managing after gaining management confidence If anything could battle the dehumanizing concept of division of labour it is Quality circle It has brought back the concept of craftsmanship which doesnrsquot work well on an individual basis because it is uneconomic but it proves a boon when used in group form The prime motto of QC is improving occupational safety and health improving product design and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes

1 Key Features of Quality Circle

They are formal groups They hold meetings at least once a week on company time and are trained by competent

persons who may be personnel and industrial relations specialists Quality circles are generally free to select any topic they wish but they cannot select

salary related topics or other topics related to terms and conditions of work because these issues are dealt with via other channels

2 The Concept

The concept of Quality Circle primarily focuses on a workerrsquos value recognition as a human being as someone who willingly takes on his job his wisdom intelligence experience attitude and feelings It is just another part of human resource management considered as one of the key factors in the improvement of product quality amp productivity Quality Circle concept has three major attributes

Quality Circle is a human resource development technique Quality Circle is a problem solving technique Quality Circle is a form of participation management

3 Objective of QC

There multi-faced objectives of Quality Circles

Change in Attitude Self-Development Development of Team Spirit Improved Organizational Culture

Benefits of Quality Circles

The quality control concept did not get an easy acceptance in India It took two decades to get acceptance in India after its introduction in Japan The reason might be differences in the industrial context in the two countries Japan needed it for its survival in a competitive market India had a reasonably protected sellersrsquo market with consequent lethargy towards efforts to improve quality and productivity However with the policy of liberalization of economy and privatization of infrastructure development contexts changed The concept now needs to be looked upon as a necessity because it benefits in the following ways

Team Work It helps to eradicate inter-team conflicts and clashes and enhance the concept of team spirit

bull Positive Attitude Employees start working with a positive attitude towards work assuming it as their own work They develop a ldquoCan Dordquo and ldquoI carerdquo attitudebull Personality advancement Quality circle practice helps to learn new skills and also brings out the hidden potential of employeesbull Positive working environment It improves the organizational working environment and involves employees in every process right from a small decision to a big dealbull Increased productivity It helps in increasing overall productivity of organization by improvement of work processes and reduction of excessive costs They increase operational efficiency improve quality and promote innovation

bull Positive Attitude Employees start working with a positive attitude towards work assuming it as their own work They develop a ldquoCan Dordquo and ldquoI carerdquo attitudebull Personality advancement Quality circle practice helps to learn new skills and also brings out the hidden potential of employeesbull Positive working environment It improves the organizational working environment and involves employees in every process right from a small decision to a big dealbull Increased productivity It helps in increasing overall productivity of organization by improvement of work processes and reduction of excessive costs They increase operational efficiency improve quality and promote innovation