Solution to Previous Year Exam Questions for Organizational Behaviour - OB of BPUT by FUN WITH KM

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ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR EXPECTED SHORT TYPE QUESTIONS FOR SEMESTER EXAMINATION 1. Organisational behaviour. Organizational Behaviour (OB) is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations. It does this by taking a system approach. That is, it interprets people-organization relationships in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole organization, and whole social system. Its purpose is to build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational objectives, and social objectives 2. Personality Vs Perception Personality is formed by biological, psychological, and social factors this affects what personality is and it is behavior, how you act. Perception can be formed by experiences throughout your time. life experiences, learned ways of thinking, interactions with people, negative/positive influences, form your perception of your environment. 3. Halo effect Halo Effect = "Judging a person based upon a single trait" 4. What are the sources of power? Legitimate Power: Also called "positional power," this is the power individuals have from their role and status within an organization. Legitimate power usually involves formal authority delegated to the holder of the position. Referent Power: Referent power comes from the ability of individuals to attract others and build their loyalty. It is based on the personality and interpersonal skills of the power holder. A person may be admired because of a specific personal trait, such as charisma or likeability, and these positive feelings become the basis for interpersonal influence. Expert Power: Expert power draws from a person's skills and knowledge and is especially potent when an organization has a high need for them. Narrower than most sources of power, the power of an expert typically applies only in the specific area of the person's expertise and credibility. Reward Power :Reward power comes from the ability to confer valued material rewards or create other positive incentives. It refers to the degree to which the individual can provide external motivation to others through benefits or gifts. In an organization, this motivation may include promotions, increases in pay, or extra time off. Coercive Power Coercive power is the threat and application of sanctions and other negative consequences. These can include direct punishment or the withholding of desired resources or rewards. Coercive power relies on fear to induce compliance. Dr. Bhagyasree Padhi, Faculty, Management Studies

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5. 6. What is emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to monitor one's own and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior. What is organisational culture? How it affects the behaviour of the people? Organizational culture is the behavior of humans within an organization and the meaning that people attach to those behaviors. Culture is a behavior that results in when a group comes together – generally unspoken and unwritten – rules for working together. It can be best understood as “the way we do things around here” and forms the context within which people judge the appropriateness of their behavior. There are many practices within the organization that tend to keep a culture alive between itself and its employees.Using the approach of performance appraisal, training, and career development organization could reinforce the culture. Organizational beliefs can influence the work communication practices, and philosophical stances of employees. 7. Suggest strategies to resolve inter-group conflicts  Avoidance: Keep the conflict from surfacing at all level  Defusion: Deactivate the conflict and cool off the emotions  Believe in win-win strategy  Information sharing  Build trust and confidence in the work place  Focus on collaboration and team building 8. Differentiate between value and attitude Value : Principles or standards of behaviour; one's judgement of what is important in life. Attitude: A predisposition or a tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation. Attitude influences an individual's choice of action, and responses to challenges, incentives, and rewards (together called stimuli). 9. Scopes of OB Individual Behaviour Personality Perception Values and Attitudes Learning Motivation Group Behaviour Work groups and group dynamics Dynamics of conflict Communciation Leadership Morale Dr. Bhagyasree Padhi, Faculty, Management Studies

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Organization: Structure, Process and Application Organizational Climate Organizational Culture Organizational Change Organizational Effectiveness Organizational Development 10. Factors influence personality  Heredity  Environment  Situational factors  Family  Social consideration 11. Group decision making Group decision-making (also known as collaborative decision-making) is a situation faced when individuals collectively make a choice from the alternatives before them. The decision is then no longer attributable to any single individual who is a member of the group. 12. Major components of attitude 1: Cognitive component: It refers that's part of attitude which is related in general know how of a person, for example, he says smoking is injurious to health. Such type of idea of a person is called cognitive component of attitude. 2: Effective component: This part of attitude is related to the statement which affects another person. For example, in an organization a personal report is given to the general manager. In report he point out that the sale staff is not performing their due responsibilities. The general manager forwards a written notice to the marketing manager to negotiate with the sale staff. 3: Behavioral Component: The behavioral component refers to that part of attitude which reflects the intension of a person in short run or in long run. For example, before the production and launching process the product. Report is prepared by the production department which consists of there intention in near future and long run and this report is handed over to top management for the decision. 13. Five styles of leadership according to managerial grid  Impoverished Management (1, 1): Managers with this approach are low on both the dimensions and exercise minimum effort to get the work done from subordinates. The leader has low concern for employee satisfaction and work deadlines and as a result disharmony and disorganization prevail within the organization. The leaders are termed ineffective wherein their action is merely aimed at preserving job and seniority.  Task management (9, 1): Also called dictatorial or perish style. Here leaders are more concerned about production and have less concern for people. Dr. Bhagyasree Padhi, Faculty, Management Studies

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The style is based on theory X of McGregor. The employees’ needs are not taken care of and they are simply a means to an end. The leader believes that efficiency can result only through proper organization of work systems and through elimination of people wherever possible. Such a style can definitely increase the output of organization in short run but due to the strict policies and procedures, high labour turnover is inevitable.  Middle-of-the-Road (5, 5): This is basically a compromising style wherein the leader tries to maintain a balance between goals of company and the needs of people. The leader does not push the boundaries of achievement resulting in average performance for organization. Here neither employee nor production needs are fully met.  Country Club (1, 9): This is a collegial style characterized by low task and high people orientation where the leader gives thoughtful attention to the needs of people thus providing them with a friendly and comfortable environment. The leader feels that such a treatment with employees will lead to selfmotivation and will find people working hard on their own. However, a low focus on tasks can hamper production and lead to questionable results.  Team Management (9, 9): Characterized by high people and task focus, the style is based on the theory Y of McGregor and has been termed as most effective style according to Blake and Mouton. The leader feels that empowerment, commitment, trust, and respect are the key elements in creating a team atmosphere which will automatically result in high employee satisfaction and production. 14. 15. 16. What does the term “POWER” refers to in relation to OB? According to Pfeffer power means "The potential ability to influence behavior, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance, and to get people to do things that they would not otherwise do." Define Group cohesion Group cohesion is the sum of all the factors causing members of a group to stay in the group or be attracted to the group. You can think of group cohesion as the 'social glue' that binds a group together. Who is a tranformational leader Transformational leadership is a style of leadership where the leader is charged with identifying the needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executing the change in tandem with committed members of the group. 17. Define stress and conflict Stress is defined as “a state of psychological and physiological imbalance resulting from the disparity between situational demand and the individual's ability and motivation to meet those needs.” Conflict is defined as a clash between individuals arising out of a difference in thought process, attitudes, understanding, interests, requirements and even sometimes perceptions. A conflict results in heated arguments, physical abuses and definitely loss of peace and harmony. 18. What is social learning theory? Social learning theory (Albert Bandura) posits that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through Dr. Bhagyasree Padhi, Faculty, Management Studies