Organisational Behv. Assignment-09

Organizational Behaviour Submitted By: Vaibhav Maithani

ORGANISATIONAL-BEHAVIOUR

ASSIGNMENT-2009

BIMM-DISTANCE LEARNINGDEPARMENT

SRI BALAJI SOCIETY, PUNE

SUBMITTED & DONE BY:-VAIBHAV MAITHANI

REG. NO: - BIMS/2/MG/2009/2058

REG. NO: - BIMS/2/MG/2009/2058 Page 1 of 27


Ans-2(a) Fundamental Concepts of Organizational Behaviour:

When we study any discipline, we keep in mind some fundamental concepts, which have to be accepted and not questioned. They are the foundation stones on which the entire edifice of the discipline is developed.Following are the fundamental concepts which are applicable to organizational behaviour. They are:

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

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

A. The concepts which deal with the nature of individual are:1. Individual differences2. Whole person3. Motivation (caused behaviour)4. Human dignity

1. Individual differences: This concept tells us that in spite of being similar physically, every individual is an entity in him. Every individual has to be treated differently.

2. Whole person: An organization hires the man as a whole and not merely his hands. As the man performs many roles simultaneously, one role is bound to affect his behaviour in other roles. This concept tells the managers that when solving behavioral problems of individuals, he must take into account all the possible roles the person might be doing.

3. Motivation (caused behaviour): The manager can influence the behaviour of his subordinates by his own behaviour. If he is respectful to his employees, they are bound to be respectful to him. The manager must lead by example.

4. Human dignity: This concept is more of an ethical philosophy than a scientific conclusion. It says that the people are to be treated differently from other factors of production. People must be treated with respect and dignity.

B. The concepts which revolve around the nature of organization are:1. Organization is a social system.2. Mutuality of interests.

1. The organization is a social system: All the employees of an organization are members of society. Thus, the organization becomes a social system with the values inherited from society. Any organization that has inconsistent value system cannot last longer.

2. Mutuality of interests: Organizations have human purpose. People and organizations have mutual interests and if the interests of one suffer, the interests of other are bound to suffer.

Organizational Models:Keith Davis has described four Organizational Behaviour models. These models



depict the evolution of thinking and behaviour on part of management andmanagers. The models are:(1) Autocratic: This model was in existence right from the beginning of industrialrevolution. This model can be said to be the worst among theory Xassumptions.

(2) Custodial: This model gives some concessions or privileges to the employeesto keep them happy. As there is no provision of motivating, guiding anddeveloping the employees, in due course of time, this model got degenerated

(3)Supportive: This model is based on the assumptions of theory Y. This theoryassumes that the employees are skillful and willing to contribute to theorganization. Here, the manager is more of a leader than a boss. It is theresponsibility of the leader to create an environment of motivation andwillingness among the employees to contribute.

(4) Collegial: This model is limited to dealing with scientific and professionalemployees. The manager’s role is that of a partner. The entire work is carriedout by a team and demarcation between employee and manager is not veryobvious.

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

Model Type > Autocratic Custodial Supportive Collegial

Model depends on Power Economic Resources

Leadership Partnership

Managerial orientation

Authority Money Support Teamwork

Employee Orientation

Obedience Security Job performance

Responsibility

Employee’s Psychological result

Depends on boss

Depends on organization

Participation Self-discipline

Employee’s needs met

Subsistence Maintenance Higher order Self-actualization

Performance result

Minimum Passive corperation

Awakened Drives

Moderate Enthusiasm



Ans.2(b) Theory of Unconscious Behaviour:

Humans have base instincts (unconscious urges): In Freudian psychology, the unconscious is extremely important in determining behaviour. This is a pervasive theme of the approach: that a lot of desires, motivations and conflicts are seething below the surface, below the level of consciousness. Freud believed that people are driven, fundamentally, by unconscious, animalistic, instinctual urges, particularly lust (eros) and aggression (thanatos). These urges are often in conflict with the demands of society. For example, humans desire pleasure, but society places limits on the kinds of pleasure-seeking which it deems acceptable. Freud emphasizes the extent to which humans are motivated by psychosexual pleasure.Topography of the psyche (unconscious, pre-conscious, conscious): Using an iceberg metaphor, the unconscious is understood to be the large part of the mind, which is hidden from view. The pre-conscious is represented by the waterline - but it is the zone in which there are fleeting glimpses of the unconscious, "flickering" across the screen of consciousness. Finally, the relatively small part of the iceberg which sticks of the water is seen as equivalent to the small amount of conscious awareness that the human experiences. Freud also believed that if there was information that was too painful for the conscious part to bear, that defense mechanisms would act to push it down it into the unconscious part of the mind. Structure of Mind (Id, Ego, Superego): The mind has an internal structure – three parts with separate motivations: Id (irrational and emotional part of the mind); the Ego (rational part); and the Superego (the moral part). This has been depicted with the help of diagram:



Freud didn’t exactly invent the idea of the conscious versus unconscious mind, but he certainly was responsible for making it popular. The conscious mind is what we are aware of at any particular moment, our present perceptions, memories, thoughts, fantasies, feelings, what we have. Working closely with the conscious mind is what Freud called the preconscious, what we might today call "available memory:" anything that can easily be made conscious, the memories we are not at the moment thinking about but can readily bring to mind. Now no-one has a problem with these two layers of mind. But Freud suggested that these are the smallest parts!

The largest part by far is the unconscious. It includes all the things that are not easily available to awareness, including many things that have their origins there, such as our drives or instincts, and things that are put there because we can’t bear to look at them, such as the memories and emotions associated with trauma. According to Freud, the unconscious is the source of our motivations, whether they be simple desires for food or sex, neurotic compulsions, or the motives of an artist or scientist. And yet, we are often driven to deny or resist becoming conscious of these motives, and they are often available to us only in disguised form.

Characteristics of Motives:Motivation is a basic psychological process. It is the most important focus in the micro approach to organizational behaviour. Many people equate the causes of behaviour with motivation. But it must be remembered that motivation should not be thought of as the only explanation of behaviour. Motivation is a hypothetical construct that is used to explain behaviour.People define motivation in many ways. Usually one or more of the following words are included in the definition: desires, wants, wishes, aims, goals, needs, drives, motives and incentives. The term ‘motivation’ can be traced to the Latin word ‘movere’ which means ‘to move’. Motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency or need that activates behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal or incentive. Following figure graphically depicts the motivation process. Needs set up drives aimed at incentives:

NEEDS > DRIVES > INCENTIVES(deficiency) (deficiency with (reduction of drives fullfills direction) deficiencies)



Modern psychologists believe that human behaviour is sparked by a motive. A motive is a felt need. Human behaviour is directed to satisfy these needs or motives. They have five basic characteristics:

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

2. A need once satisfied ceases to influence behaviour.3. When a need is satisfied, it gives rise to a new need.4. Needs are recurrent in nature.5. Needs are omnipresent.

Classification of human motives:Primary motives: these are physiological motives and are unlearned. They include hunger, thrust, sleep, avoidance of pain, sex, etc. General motives: these are also unlearned motives but are not physiological. Primary needs seek to reduce the tension or simulation. The motives such as curiosity, manipulative activity, affection, etc. fall in this category.

Secondary motives: These motives develop as human society grows economically and becomes more complex. Some examples are: need for power, need for affiliation, need for achievement, need for security, need for status, etc. The main secondary motives are:

(a) The Power Motive (n-pow): It is the desire to control and direct others. The strong advocate of this motive was Alfred Adler, who was a pioneer in psychology. In context of organization, a person acquires power because of his competence. He must use it for the betterment of the organization.

(b) The Achievement Motive (n-ach): It can be expressed as a desire to perform in terms of standard of excellence under competitive situations.The specific characteristics of a high achiever are: (i) moderate risk taking;(ii) Need of immediate feedback; (iii) satisfaction with accomplishment and(iv) Preoccupation with task.

(c) Affiliation Motive (n-aff): This motive is indicative of the need of belongingness or being accepted by others. This motive is important in the group dynamics. The higher the need for affiliation, higher is the group cohesiveness.



Ans. 3(a) Defense Mechanisms:

1. Rationalization is giving pseudo justification to explain one’s failures. The common examples are sour grapes or a bad workman quarreling with his tools.

2. Regression is sliding back in terms of one’s chronological age, certain patterns of behaviors are learnt during the childhood that are subsequently, in the adult age, replaced by the behaviors acceptable by the society. At an unguarded moment, in the adult hood, in the flush of emotions, however, these childhood behaviors take charge of the personality of the person. A superior getting angry with his subordinate and throwing files at him or a person throwing a pen because of the ink not flowing, are the examples of this defense mechanism.

3. Aggression is also known as emotional transference. This is giving vent to the pent up feelings by an offensive behaviour towards a third object or a person unconnected with the source of frustration. The offensive behaviour is, almost always, against the third object or the person that can not retaliate. A superior scolding his subordinate because of something happening at home is the example of this defense mechanism.

4. Fantasy is building castles in the air with a view to escaping form the problem situation. Fantasy is temporarily removing one self, mentally, from the problem situation and losing oneself in the imaginary world where things happen at his behest. As long as a person is in his imaginary castle he is happy but some time or the other he has to come down to the mother earth. When he comes out of the imaginary world the problem starts pinching him again. The increased frequency of fantasizing is a signal that one had better seek some help from a psychiatrist.

5. Resignation, flight or withdrawal is a complete surrender to the problem situation. This is accepting a situation and ceasing any effort to deal with the problem.



The table on the page gives behavioral descriptions of various defense mechanisms.

Defense Mechanism Psychological Process Illustration

Rationalization Justifying inconsistent or undesirable behaviour, beliefs etc. by providing acceptable explanation for them.

Padding the expense account “because everybody does it.”

Regression Individual returns to an earlier a less mature level of adjustment in the face of frustration.

A manager shouting at his subordinate.

Aggression i.e. emotional transference.

Re-directing pent-up emotions towards persons or the objects unconnected with the source of frustration.

Roughly rejecting a request from a subordinate after receiving a rebuff from the boss.

Fantasy Daydreaming or other forms of imaginative activity provide an escape from the reality and imagined satisfaction.

Employee daydreams of the day in the staff meeting when he corrects the boss and is publicly acknowledged as the real brain of the company.

Negativism Active or passive resistance operating unconsciously.

A manager saying that the recommendations of a committee are not implementable because he could not become a member of the committee.

Resignation, flight or withdrawal.

Leaving the field where anxiety or conflict is experienced.

A student who could not pass an examination quitting the course.



Ans.3(b) The content theories are concerned with identifying the needs that people have and how needs are prioritized. They are concerned with types of incentives that drive people to attain need fulfillment. The Maslow hierarchy theory, Fredrick Hertzberg’s two factor theory and Alderfer’s ERG needs theory fall in this category. Although such a content approach has logic, is easy to understand, and can be readily translated in practice, the research evidence points outs out limitations. There is very little research support for these models’ theoretical basis and predictability. The trade off for simplicity sacrifices true understanding of the complexity of work motivation. On the positive side, however, the content models have given emphasis to important content factors that were largely ignored by human relationists. In addition the Alderfer model allows more flexibility and the Herzberg model is useful as an explanation for job satisfaction and as a point of departure for job design.

The process theories provide a much sounder theoretical explanation of work motivations. The expectancy model of Vroom and the extensions and the refinements provided by Porter and Lawler help explain the important cognitive variables and how they relate to one another in the process of work motivation. The Porter Lawler model also gives specific attention to the important relationship between performance and satisfaction. A growing research literature is somewhat supportive of these expectancy models, but conceptual and methodological problems remain. Unlike the content models these expectancy models are relatively complex and difficult to translate into actual practice, and, consequently, they have generally failed to meet the goals of prediction and control of organization behaviour.

The process theories are concerned with identifying the variables that go into motivation and more importantly how they are related to one another.

Abraham Maslow theory of need hierarchy:

It was Abraham Maslow who thought that human needs that spark off an activity can be arranged in a hierarchy of pre-potency and probability of occurrence. Maslow based his theory that a need that is not satisfied dominates the behaviour sparking off an activity for its satisfaction. This need, when satisfied, in its turn activates the higher need. This sequence can be denoted as under.



Deprivation – Domination – Gratification – Activation.

As a theory of motivation Maslow reasoned that needs can be structured in hierarchy.

Physiological Needs:

The fulfillment of physiological needs, such as thirst, hunger, sex, sleep, etc. takes precedence over all other needs; nay, on the satisfaction of these needs, is dependent the very survival and continuance of the human race. Unlike other needs, the physiological needs have a tendency of recurrence. An individual may postpone the fulchers alike. Since a motivated employee is highly productive and highly quality oriented, the managers are also interested the cis one of the dimensions of money motive. Physiological needs are finite but are recurrent.

Safety Needs:

Once physiological needs are met, ‘safety’ needs become important. While physiological needs have a reference to the present, the safety needs look to the future. The needs for food, clothing, etc. are satisfied today. But what about tomorrow? A man, so long as he is young and working and earning, is able to satisfy the physiological needs as and when they occur. But will he able to satisfy needs and fend for himself when he gets old? He must have reasonable ‘safety’ in his old age too. Implicit in the fulfillment of these safety needs is the origin of many labour enactments in India today. The pension plans, the payment of gratuity Act, the provident funds Act etc. and



other retrial benefits, go, basically, to ensure security for the man in his old age.

Too much security makes a man reckless and careless or lazy disobedient and under-productive. At the same time insecurity also makes a man under-productive. How much enough is enough security is an ever-present dilemma before the management providing security of jobs to their employees.

Love needs:- These correspond to the affection and affiliation needs. An more appropriate word describing this level would be belongingness or social needs.

Esteem needs : -

This represents the higher needs of humans. The needs of power, achievement, and status are examples of this level.

Needs for self-actualization:-

This level represents culmination of all the lower, intermediate and higher needs of humans. People who have become self-actualized are self-fulfilled and have realized all their potential

Ans.4 (a) Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation:



Herzberg extended work of Maslow and developed a specific content theory of work motivation. In 1950’s he conducted a study nothing responses of Accountants and Engineers employed by the firms in and around Pittsburgh. In collecting data he used the critical incidental method. In this method, the respondent was asked to narrate one incident from his work life about which he was particularly unhappy and another incident from work-life about which he was particularly happy. On analyzing the data thus collected Herzberg came to conclusion that there are two sets of factors at the work life; one set he called “hygiene factors” while the other was called the “motivators”. The following are the hygiene factors and motivators.

Hygiene Factors i.e. dis-satisfaction Motivators i.e satisfaction

1. Company policies and administration; 1. Achievement;

2. Technical Supervision; 2. Recognition;

3. Inter Personal relations with superiors; 3. Advancement;

4. Inter Personal relations with Peers; 4. Work itself;

5. Inter Personal relations with Subordinates; 5. Possibility of Growth;

6. Salary; 6. Responsibility

7. Job Security;

8. Personal Life;

9. Working Conditions;

10. Status.

Hygiene factors are those factors that by their absence inhibit performance but any addition in them does not increase efficiency or productivity. These are the job context factors that occur at the time of doing the job. Thus they are extrinsic to the job. These factors are also called as dis-stisfiers.

Motivators are those factors, which by their absence do not inhibit performance, but any addition in them increases efficiency. These are the job content factors that make the job itself a tool of motivation. These factors are also called as ‘satisfies’. The Horizontal job loading is known as “job enlargement” while vertical job loading is known as “job enrichment”.

Job Enlargement:-The following are the principles of job enlargement:



1. Challenging the employees by increasing the amount of production expected of him;

2. Adding other tasks to the job;

3. Removing the more difficult parts of the assignment in order to free the worker;

4. Rotating the assignments.

When talking about the theory of job enlargement in his article “one more time, how do you motivate your employee”, [Harvard Business Review; Jan-Feb’68] Herzberg talks in arithmetical terms and ultimately comes to conclusion that the theory of “job enlargement” does not gives dividends not for a long period of time. He, therefore, advocates job enrichment.

Job Enrichment:-Principles of Job enrichment according to Herzber, are as under:

Principle Motivators involved

1. Removing some control while retaining accountability;

Responsibility and Personal Achievement;

2. Increasing Accountability for individual’s own work;

Responsibility and recognition;

3. Giving a person a complete natural unit of work [Module, area etc.];


4. Granting additional authority to an employee in his activity


5. Making periodic reports directly available to the worker himself;

Internal recognition;

6. Introducing new and more difficult tasks not handled previously;

Growth and learning;

7. Assigning individuals specific or specialized tasks, enabling them to become experts.

Responsibility, Growth and advancement.


High

Low Productivity High

Line A Line B

Line C

Line A- High Job Satisfaction onlyLine B- High Job Satisfaction ProductivityLine C- High Productivity only


Ans. 4. (b) According to Morris Viteles “Morale refers to the condition of a group where there are clear and fixed group goals that are felt to be important and integrated with individual goals: where there is confidence in the attainment of these goals and the confidence in the means of attainment in the leader, associates and finally in one self.”

Morale indicates the happiness of the employees with the organizational environment. It also refers to the preparedness of the groups of the employees to subordinate the individual and the group goals to the goals of the organization.

Morale essentially is akin to job satisfaction. It represents the integration of an individual with the team and the organization itself. Generally it can be said that morale has a positive relationship with productivity. The higher the morale the higher is the productivity. However, this need not always be so, as can be seen from the following graph:

In the above graph

Curve-A represents high morale; Low productivity;

Curve-B represents high morale and high productivity; but low morale. And

Curve-C represents high productivity.

High productivity involves a combination of ability, training, work habits, performance goals etc. Curve ‘A’ above where morale is high but productivity is low indicates the management’s failure in the proper discharge of management functions: - chiefly the planning function.

Productivity can be high in spite of morale being low because of the rigid systems and controls imposed by the management.

The situations where productivity is higher inspite of morale being low or productivity being lower inspite of morale being high do not last long. In the first situation productivity is high because of the strict management



controls and close supervision. It also happens in an atmosphere where the people are treated as machines. In this situation the management is apparently creating discontent in the organization which may blow up in its face. When this happens the productivity also dips.

In the second situation when morale is high but productivity is low, slowly people distance themselves from the Organization because of the disillusionment about the management abilities. In this situation after sometimes the morale comes down. Thus in both these situations ultimately morale as well as productivity are at their nadir.

Every manager is always interested in curve ‘B’ indicating high morale as well as productivity. But morale is not a static phenomenon. Today the morale high but something may go wrong and the morale might start coming down. In words a manager must have his fingers on the morale in the Organization. No doubt a manager can know the level of morale in his organization by morale surveys. These morale surveys involve drafting of questionnaires, interview people, tabulate and analyze the data. This may be time taking process. Instead he may pay due attention to some of the morale indicators that give an idea about the status of morale at a particular time.

Ans. 5(a) The Parent Ego State



Sometimes parents treat their children in a loving way, speak kindly to them, offer shelter and protection or take care of them in other ways. All this is coming from the nurturing parent Ego State. It helps children grow. At other times parents criticize, make rules, give commands or punish their children. Since the main objective of these behaviors is to control the child, they are known to be coming from controlling parent ego state.

Because children repeatedly see parents be having in these two major ways and they unconsciously copy these behaviors, their parent ego state also develops these two major aspects. We call these two aspects the Nurturing Parent (NP) and the Controlling Parent (CP).

The Ego State:

In this ego state the person acts like a mature adult. In the adult ego state people attack problems in a “cool-headed,” rational manner. They gather relevant information, carefully analyze it, generate alternatives, and make logical choices. In the adult state people do not act impulsively or in a domineering way. In dealings with other people, fairness and objectivity characterize the adult Ego State. Thus adult Ego State is that part of the human personality that makes him take decisions on the basis of facts, data and analysis of these facts and data. As a result we want all executives to be high on adult Ego State. Because it is only when they are high on adult Ego State that their decisions will be more objective and considered.

The Child Ego State:

Just as the parent Ego State has different aspects, so does the child, Ego State. They are Natural Child; Little professor also known as creative child and Adaptive child.

The Natural Child is spontaneous, energetic, curious, loving uninhabited. It’s that part of us that feels free and loves pleasures.

When we are in our Natural Child, we transact freely and openly with others. The Natural Child is the Ego State we came into the world with as a newborn baby. It’s what comes naturally. A person high on natural child is extrovert. He likes to make friends. He makes a success when put in charge of the work involving contracts or the dealings with the public. The Natural Child is not entirely without fault, however, It can be self centered, impatient and greedy.

Behaviors associated with these feelings are also typical of the Adaptive Child. As a child we probably learned to adapt in different ways. For example, sometimes we may have done what we were told; at other times we may have sulked or avoided the situation (by withdrawing or procrastinating). As a grown up, we may still occasionally react the same way to a project deadline. From their Adapted Child, people often react to external demand by; complying; sulking, or creating unnecessary stress for them.



It is the Adaptive Child that may;

Try to please everyone in department;

Turn back on people with problems; or

Procrastinate by putting off work until the deadline passes.

These actions can stand in the way of choosing success.

Transactions between ego states:

One thing must be borne in mind that there can never be a standard personality mix. Individuals always oscillate between these ego states depending on the situation. They confront. We always change ourselves to suit the situational requirements. Introspection; and putting the Adult in charge of the personality and deciding the behavioral requirements of the situation can do this. This is what is known as putting the Adult as the Executive of the personality.

Although we know that people generally exhibit all three Ego States, but one state may dominate the other two. The strong implication is, of course, is that the adult state is far superior to the child or parent state, at least for effective interpersonal relations. However, the T A authors generally stress that all three ego states are necessary for to a healthy personality.

More important than the Ego State per se is how one Ego State matches or conflicts with another Ego State in interpersonal interaction the transaction. The transactions between ego states are at the heart of TA and can be classified into the following.

Complementary Trasactions:

Crossed Transactions:

Ulterior Transactions:

Strokes and ganes in TA:

The Games People Play:



Ans. 5(b) Personality factors are extremely important in organizational settings. Often the ‘wrong’ kind of personality proves disastrous and causes undesirable tensions and worries in organizations. The costs of such tensions and worries are enormous when we interpret them from the point of view of employee-employer relations, peer relations and superior-subordinate relations. Sometimes, the personality difficulties are the root cause of organizational conflicts and often lead to turnover and job dissatisfaction. A consideration of personality differences of focal persons is important for at least three reasons;

Some people arouse hostility and aggression in their associates, while others invoke sympathy and supportive responses because of their personality features. Likewise, some people encourage and others discourage free and open communication in view of their personality traits as perceived by their subordinates and associates;

Personality characteristics tend to produce differential emotional reactions to stress. Some people tolerate severely stressful situations, while tensions and anxieties and similar circumstances swamp others.

Determinants of Personality:

The major determinants of personality of an individual can be studied four broad headings -

(a) Biological,

(b) Cultural

(c) Familial

(d) Situation.

Biological Factors:

Biological factors may be studied under three heads-

(a) the heredity

(b) the brain,

(c) Physical features.

Heredity:

The relative effects of heredity comprise and extremely old argument in personality theory. Certain characteristics, primarily physical in nature, are inherited from one’s parents, transmitted by genes in the chromosomes contributed by each parent.

Research on animals has showed that physical and psychological characteristics can be transmitted through heredity. But research on human



beings is inadequate to support this viewpoint. However, psychologists and geneticists have accepted the fact that heredity plays an important role in one’s personality. The importance of heredity varies from one personality trait to another.

Brain:

Another biological factor that influences personality is the role of the brain of an individual. The psychologists are unable to prove empirically the contribution of human brain in influencing personality. Preliminary results from the electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) research gives indication that better understanding of human personality and behavior migh come from the study of the brain.

Physical features:

Perhaps the most outstanding factor that contributes to personality is the physical stature of an individual. An individual’s external appearance is proved to be having a tremendous effect on his personality. For instance the fact that a person is short or tall, fat or skinny, handsome or ugly, black or whitish will undoubtedly influence the person’s effect on others and in turn, will affect the self concept. A person’s physical characteristics may be related to his approach to the social environment, to the expectancies of others, and to their reactions, to him. These-in turn may have impacts on personality development.

Cultural Factors:

Culture is traditionally considered as the major determinant of an individual’s personality. The culture largely determines what a person is and what a person will learn. The culture within which a person is brought up is very important determinant of behavior of a person.

Family and Social Factors:

In order to understand the effects of a family on individual’s personality, we have to understand the socialization process and identification process.

1. Socialization Process:

The contribution of family and social group in combination with the culture is known as socialization. In the words of Mussen “socialization is the process by which and individual infant acquires, from the enormously wide range of behavioral, potentials that are open to him at birth, those behavioral patterns that are customary and acceptable according to the standards of his family and social group.” Socialization initially starts with the contact with mother and later on the other members of the family.



2. Identification process:

Identification starts when a person begins to identify himself with some other members of the family. Normally a child tries to emulate certain actions of his parents. Identification process can be examined from three angles: (a) it can be viewed as the similarity of behavior between child and the mode, and (b) it can be looked as the child’s motives or desires to be like the model

Researchers have developed a number of personality theories and no theory, at the outset, it must be pointed out, is complete in itself. Personality theories can be grouped under the five heads:

I. Intrapsychic theory;

II. Type theories;

III. Trait theories;

IV. Social Learning theory;

V. Self-theory.

These theories differ markedly in the constructs they propose as forming the structure of the personality, and also the way they relate these constructs to behavior. They also differ in the methods they use to assess or measure an individual’s personality.



Ans. 6(a) Perception

Perception is much more complex and much broader than sensation. The perceptual process can be defined as a complicated interaction of selection, organization, and interpretation of stimuli. Although perception depends largely upon the senses for raw data, the cognitive process may filter, modify or completely change the data. A simple illustration may be seen by looking at one side of a stationary object, for example, a statue or a tree. By slowly turning the eyes to the other side of the object, the person probably senses that the object is moving. Yet the person perceives the object as stationary. The perceptual process overcomes the sensual process and the person “sees” the object as stationary. In other words, the perceptual process adds to, and subtracts from, the “real” sensory world.

A few definitions of perception are given below:

[1] “It is the process of receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking, and reacting to sensory stimuli or data”.

[2] “I perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environments.”

[3] “Perception includes all those processes by which and individual receives information about his environment-seeing, hearing, feeling, testing and smelling”.

Kolasa defines perception as the “selection and organization of material which stems from the outside environment at one time or the other to provide the meaningful entity we experience.”

There are two basic elements in this definition:

(1) perception is a process of selection or screening which prevents us from processing irrelevant or disruptive information; and

(2) There is organization of stimuli implying that the information that is processed has to be ordered and classified in some logical manner which permits us to assign meaning to the stimuli situations. The individual tends to recognize the information, assemble it is a well as compare it with earlier experience. This involves the entire history of events, which have taken place with him over his life span. It is the organization of inputs through a dynamic inner process, which shapes what comes in from the outside environment. Again, what comes in changes what is inside the individual? Thus, unlike the sensation process, which is concerned primarily with basic elementary behavior largely, determined by physiological operation, perception is a highly complex and comprehensive process. It involves a complicated interaction of selection, organization and interpretation of data.



Ans. 6(b) Attitude, Belief & Ideology.

A belief is a judgment about something. For example, a belief that the world is round is a judgment about its form. Many of our beliefs, of course, are emotionally neutral; others are definitely favorable or unfavorable toward some object. For example, a favorable attitude toward the religion may involve beliefs that the religion helps to curb delinquency, those worshippers are better citizens than are non-devotees, that people who stay away from temples are unhappy and immoral, and so on.

When beliefs become organized into systems, they are called ideologies. The capitalist ideology, for example, is a set of beliefs that a free enterprise economy is maximally productive; that competition in the long run brings down prices and raises quality; and those events in the marketplace do and should determine what is produced.

Related to this is a disbelief system the set of beliefs, which one rejects. An individual committed to capitalist ideology would disbelieve that industry can be run efficiently without the profit system; that people will work primarily out of a desire to serve others; or that public ownership of all utilities is necessary for the common good.

There are ideologies pertaining to all the major institutions of society, such as the family, the law, the government, and the economic system. Although these ideologies are difficult to verify, we feel strongly about them and, as long as things go well, have great confidence in them. They give us an interpretation and a justification for our practices. Like religion, they are matters of faith. They give us an interpretation and a justification of reality. It is a interesting thing about human behavior that some of the beliefs that we hold most tenaciously with the strongest feelings are not readily subject to proof or disproof.


Level of Resistance

Alarm SenseResistance Sense Exhaustion Sense


Ans. 6(c) Stress & State of Exhaustion.

Adaptation energy is exhausted, signs of alarm reaction reappear, and resistance level begins to decline irreversibly the organism collapses.

A diagrammatic view of these stages is shown in the figure below.



One of the major shortcomings of this theory is that thte related research was carried out on animals where the stressors are usually physical or environmental and this is not always the case in relation to human organisms. The concept of General Adaptation Syndrome is, therefore, not given weightage in relation to human organisms. The concept of General Adaptation Syndrome is, therefore, not given weightage in the present days.

Whenever a superior scolds a subordinate, the latter’s body chemistry acts in the same way it did in the cave man when he was threatened by a tiger. Even all his body functions race up to meet the emergency. However, physical emergency there is none. This additional burst of energy is not only useless for him but is harmful. He can neither fight physically with the superior nor leave the place of work. The adrenaline in metabolized. These metabolic changes act on various balancing and self-correcting mechanisms of the body. The result is the psychosomatic diseases.

Stress Definitions:

Different definitions of stress occur. Dr. Seyles, an expert in stress management, gives the best definition an expert in stress management. According to him “stress is a non specific response of the body to situation”.

It is important to remember that the body chemistry does not distinguish between the anxiety causing, pleasant or unpleasant situations. In any of these situations, the body response is the same, resulting in fight or fly mechanism.

The other definitions of stress are

“Stress is a physiological abnormality at the structural or bio-chemical level caused by overloading experiences.”

“Stress is an adaptive response to and external situation that results in physical, psychological and or behavioral deviations.”



Ans. 6(d) Leadership & its styles.

Leadership Styles:

Leadership is practiced by leadership style, which is the total pattern of leaders’ actions in relation to followers. It represents their philosophy, skills, and attitudes. The styles that are discussed hereunder are used in combination, not separately; but they are discussed separately to clarify differences among them.

Negative leadership gets acceptable performance in many situations, but it has high human costs. Negative leaders act domineering and superior with people. To get work done, they hold over their personnel such penalties as loss of job, reprimand in the presence of others, etc. They display authority in the false belief that it frightens everyone into productivity. They are bosses more than leaders.

Autocratic, participative, and free rein leadership styles:

The way a leader uses power establishes the type of style. Each style has its benefits and limitations. Leader behaviour is the mixture of all three styles over a period of time, but one style tends to be the dominant one.

Autocratic leadership style:

Autocratic leaders centralize power and decision making in them. They structure the complete work situation for their employees, who are supposed to do what they are told. The leaders take full authority and assume full responsibility. Leadership behaviour typically, is negative, based on threats and punishment; but it can be positive, because an autocratic leader can choose to give rewards to employees, in which the style becomes “benevolent-autocratic”. Some employees have expectations of autocratic leadership. The result is that they feel a certain amount of security and satisfaction with this type of leader.

Participative leadership style:

Participative leadership style is expression of leadership style is expression of leader’s trust in the abilities of his subordinates. The leader believes that his people are as desirous of contributing to the organizational efforts as well as they have requisite capacities. Participative leaders decentralize authority. Participative decisions are not unilateral, as with the autocrat, because they arise from consultation with followers and participation by them. The leader and group are acting as one unit. Employees are informed about conditions requiring decisions, which encourage them to express their ideas and suggestions. Whereas autocratic leaders control through the authority they possess, participative leaders exercise control mostly by using forces within the group.



Free-rein leadership style:

On the continuum of leadership style free rein style is the extreme. Free-rein leaders avoid power and responsibility, They depend largely upon the group to establish its own goals and work out its own problems. A free rein leader is the one who abdicates all his decision making responsibilities and prerogative in favor of his follower; The leader plays only a minor role. In an organizational setting such a leader happens to be a bystander, He happens to be there because of his organizational appointment. He fails to guide, motivate and develop his subordinates.

Managerial Grid Styles:

One very popular approach to identifying leadership styles of practicing managers is Blake and Mouton’s managerial grid. The following figure-shows that the two dimensions of the grid are concern for people along the vertical axis and concern for production along the horizontal axis.

Ans. 6(e) Path Goal Theory of Leadership.

Robert House, of the University of Toronto initially developed this theory, and House and Mitchel later refined it. It is called ‘path-goal approach’ because its primary concern is the leaders ‘influence on his followers’ perception of their work goals, personal goals and paths to achievement of these goals. It is based on the notion that a leader ‘behaviour motivates and satisfies his followers to such an extent that it promotes the attainment of the follower’s’ goals and clears the path to attainment of these goals. It uses expectancy framework work from motivation theory of Vroom. Leadership, according to this path-goal theory is closely related to motivation, on the one hand, and the power, on the other. In essence, the theory attempts to explain the impact that leader behaviour has on followers’ motivation, satisfaction and performance.

According to the authors of the theory there are four basic or major styles of leadership behaviour:

1) Directive Leadership:

Here the subordinates know exactly what is expected of them and the leader gives specific directions. There is no participation by the subordinates. When the demands of task on hand are ambiguous or when organizational procedures, rules and policies are not clear, a directive leader may complement the task by providing the necessary guidance and psychological structure for his followers. When the demands of the task are clear to the



followers, high level of directive leadership may impede effective performance.

2) Supportive Leadership:

The leader is friendly and approachable and shows a genuine interest for subordinates. This style of leadership has its most positive effect on the satisfaction of followers who perform tasks that are full of stress, and are frustrating and unsatisfactory or unsatisfying.

3) Participative Leadership:

The leader asks for and uses suggestions from subordinates but takes the decision by himself.

4) Achievement-oriented Leadership:

The leader sets challenging goals for subordinates and shows confidence in them to attain these goals and perform well. For followers performing ambiguous, non-repetitive tasks the higher the achievement orientation of the leader the more confident they would be that their efforts would pay-off in effective performance. Contrary would be the case, when followers perform unambiguous and repetitive tasks.

The path goal theory suggests that these various styles can be and actually are used by the same leader depending on the characteristics of the subordinates and the environmental pressures.


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Organisational Behv. Assignment-09