I&GBO

1st Term
End Term Exam 2014

Prepared By :
Aarti Jha
EPGDM 1031415001

Section - I
Q.1)
A.1) Attribution theory is intended to help a person understand the causes of
human behavior, be it their own or someone else's. The basis of attribution
theory is that people want to know the reasons for the actions that they and
others take; they want to attribute causes to behaviors they see rather than
assuming that these behaviors are random. This allows people to assume some
feeling of control over their own behaviors and over situations.
Attributions are critical to management because perceived causes of behavior
may influence managers' and employees' judgments and actions. For instance,
managers must often observe employee performance and make related
judgments. If a manager attributes an employee's poor performance to a lack of
effort, then the outcome is likely to be negative for that employee; he or she
may receive a poor performance appraisal rating or even be terminated from the
job. Conversely, if a manager perceives that an employee's poor performance is
due to a lack of skill, the manager may assign the employee to further training
or provide more instruction or coaching. Making an inaccurate judgment about
the causes of poor performance can have negative repercussions for the
organization.
Attributions also may influence employee motivation. Employees who perceive
the cause of their success to be outside of their control may be reluctant to
attempt new tasks and may lose motivation to perform well in the workplace.
Conversely, employees who attribute their success to themselves are more likely
to have high motivation for work. Thus, understanding attributions that people
make can have a strong effect on both employee performance and managerial
effectiveness.
Attribution is considered to be a three-stage process.
The behavior of an individual must be observed.
The perceiver must determine that the behavior they have observed is
deliberate. That is, the person being observed is believed to have behaved
intentionally.
The observer attributes the observed behavior to either internal or external
causes. Internal causes are attributed to the person being observed, while
external causes are attributed to outside factors.

The two internal attributions one can make are that a person's ability or a
person's effort determined the outcome. Task difficulty and luck are the external
causes of behavior. When perceiving behavior, an observer will make a
judgment as to which of these factors is the cause of behavior. However, when
making a determination between internal and external causes of behavior, the
perceiver must examine the elements of consistency, distinctiveness, and
consensus.
Consistency describes whether the person being observed behaves the same way
when faced with the same set of circumstances. If the person being observed
acts the same way in the same type of situation, consistency is high; if they act
differently each time, then consistency is low. Distinctiveness is whether the
observed person acts the same way in different types of situations. If the person
being observed exhibits the same behavior in a variety of contexts, then
distinctiveness is low; if they have different behavior depending on the context,
then distinctiveness is high. Finally, consensus is the degree to which other
people, if in the same situation, would behave similarly to the person being
observed. If the observer sees others acting the same way that the person being
perceived acts, then consensus is high. However, if others behave differently in
the type of situation, then consensus is low. Consistency, distinctiveness, and
consensus are evaluated when observing behavior, and then a judgment about an
internal versus external cause of behavior is made. When consistency,
distinctiveness, and consensus are all high, the perceiver concludes that there is
an external cause of behavior. When consistency is high, distinctiveness is low,
and consensus is low, the perceiver will attribute the cause of behavior to
internal factors.
People make attributions every day. However, these attributions are not always
correct. One common problem in assigning cause is called the fundamental
attribution error. This is the tendency of a person to overestimate the influence
of personal factors and underestimate the influence of situational factors when
assessing someone else's behavior. That is, when observing behavior, a person is
more likely to assume that another person's behavior is primarily caused by
them and not by the situation. In the workplace, this may mean that managers
are more likely to assume that employees' poor performance is due to a lack of
ability or effort rather than to task difficulty or luck.. Thus, while one can
assume this error to be present in some managers' perceptions, this may not be
the case for managers from other cultures.

Attribution theory was developed to explain how people understand the causes
of human behavior, be it their own or someone else's. Managers often act based
on their attributions and may act inappropriately if attributions are not valid.
Managers who are aware of the attributional process, the types of internal and
external attributions, and the presence of the fundamental attribution error and
the self-serving bias can better understand their own and others' behavior.
Managers need to be aware of characteristics in themselves, in situations, and in
other people that affect social perception. They need to understand the barriers
to accurate perception and guard against these barriers.
Managers can make more accurate attributions by gathering information
carefully and possessing an awareness of self-serving bias and fundamental
attribution error
Q.3)
A.3) To establish my statements, firstly we have to know what we mean by
personality and then where personality comes from. So all these are depicted
below:
Personality: Simply, it refers to the ways how people react or interacts with
others. We all know that each and every persons characteristics are unique.
Also, people have different quality and characteristics and all of these
characteristics make personality. As we know, personality comprises a set of
mental distinctiveness which reflect the way in which a person thinks, acts and
feels.
In short, it can be said that personality consists all of these characteristics
which portray persons behavior. Sometimes it might happen that there are
similar characteristics among all of them but there are also some differences
which are unique. Moreover, we try to find out differences between one
individual to another from, which are lies on their personality, their
characteristics. There are different types of personality like- extrovertedintroverted, perceiving- judging and so on.
Different factors are related with personality determinants such as heredity,
environment and situation. Some characteristics come genetically to individuals
and some come by learning from the environment or from different situation.
Now the question is '

Heredity determines personality or not

Personality is defined as the sum total of beliefs, behaviors, attitudes and values
that distinguishes an individual. Each of us has unique personalities which
distinguish us from the others. Even twins who look alike and are brought up in
the same environment, differ in personalities. A number of factors determine a
persons personality. These include environment and genetics. Our personality is
the product of the interaction of these two factors. It is not exclusively molded
by the environment or genetics but a combination of both.
Support
As a human being, we have certain characteristics which mainly comes from
our genetic inheritance. Therefore ones personality is dependent on heredity.
For example, we use words like father like son; she has her mothers
temperament.
In addition, a people grow up in their family would pick up their parents habits
and also try to behave like them. As a result, heredity does limit the individuals
personality trait. Moreover, we all know that every person put up with similar
gene with their parents which are to be found in their chromosome. Therefore,
Heredity determines personality.
Against
People play different role at different situation and environment. A person learns
it from their culture and from their social groups. Different culture also has a
different way of handle activities and situation. Therefore we try to take in the
good cultural values, norms and so many things to define who we are.
Our religion determines our personality too. Such as, people who come from
Hindu religion their personality and believe, obviously differ from another
religion and vice versa. Experience also plays an important role in shaping our
personality to be more mature. For example, when a female colleague expressed
her anger to a male colleague openly in the o0ce. Everyone will have a negative
perception about her as well as embarrassing herself. Therefore, she would have
learned from this experience by not repeating it and use a di#erent approach to
the situation.

From the above explanations and examples given, it seems to me that not only
heredity determines personality but also the environment and situation.
Q.5)
A.5) Motivation is the process of arousing and sustaining goal-directed
behavior. Motivation theories attempt to explain and predict observable
behavior. Motivation theories may be classified as internal, process, or external
theories. This is one of the most complex topics in organizational behavior
because of the large number of variables that affect motivation.
A.

Internal Needs

Motivation research is increasingly specific, and examines smaller portions of

the larger theories. Writers have looked for internal, value-oriented reasons for
motivation that would relate to the meaning of work for society. The Protestant
ethic was related to the concept of working hard in order to secure a place in
heaven. In contrast, Freud developed psychoanalysis as a method of probing
the subconscious mind to understand a persons motives and needs.
B.

External Incentives

Early scholars assumed that self-interest and economic gain motivated

people.
The Hawthorne studies revealed the importance of social and
interpersonal motivation. Early theories of motivation typically took one of two
perspectives. The first perspective was that people acted out of self-interest for
material gain. The second perspective suggested that people act in ways that
satisfy their emotional needs. Adam Smith's basic assumption was that people
are motivated by self-interest for economic gain. Therefore, employees will be
most productive when motivated by self-interest. Self-interest refers to seek
ones own best interest and benefit. Frederick Taylor believed that the conflict
between management and employees was over how to divide profits. These
early ideas stand in contrast to newer theories of motivation.
A) MASLOWS NEED HIERARCHY
The Hierarchy of Needs

The needs hierarchy divided motivation into five levels of needs to be satisfied.
Maslow compared the lower level of this hierarchy to unsatisfied employees,
and suggested that as people satisfy needs on one level, they progress to the
next level of need as motivation for behavior.

Physiological Needs
These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need
for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most
basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary
until these physiological needs are met.
Security Needs
These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for
survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of
security needs include a desire for steady employment, health care, safe
neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.
Social Needs
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. Maslow described these
needs as less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as
friendships, romantic attachments, and families help fulfill this need for

companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community, or

religious groups.
Esteem Needs
After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes
increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on selfesteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.
Self-actualizing Needs
This is the highest level of Maslows hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing people
are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the
opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential.
B) Theory X and Theory Y
McGregor utilized the needs hierarchy to develop polarized assumptions about
workers based on whether they are motivated by lower order needs or by higher
order needs. Furthermore, he suggested that individuals in organizations should
be treated differently depending on which level of needs motivated them.
Theory X represents the assumptions associated with managing individuals
motivated by lower order needs. Theory Y represents the assumptions
associated with managing individuals motivated by higher order needs.
C) ERG Theory
ERG theory represents a reclassification of Maslow's need hierarchy into three
levels of needs. Alderfer also developed a regression hypothesis that suggests
that individuals will focus on lower level needs when higher level needs are
unattainable.
D) MCCLELLAND'S NEED THEORY
McClelland's need theory focuses on personality and learned needs. He
categorized motives into three manifest needs: need for achievement, need for
affiliation, and need for power
A.

Need for Achievement

The need for achievement refers to seeking excellence in performance and

difficult, challenging goals. Research indicates that people with a high need for
achievement outperform those with a moderate or low need for achievement.
B.

Need for Power

The need for power is concerned with making an impact on others, influencing
others, changing people or events, and making a difference in life. McClelland
further distinguished between socialized power (used for the benefit of many)
and personalized power (used for personal gain).
C.

Need for Affiliation

The need for affiliation emphasizes the establishment and nurturing of intimate
relationships with other people. In contrast, individuals with a high need for
autonomy, as outlined in Murrays manifest needs theory, value independence
and freedom from constraints. Students will be able to identify the differences
between individuals by using an example of telecommuting and by discussing
which individual would be more comfortable with this change in organizational
interaction.
E)

HERZBERG'S TWO-FACTOR THEORY

The two-factor theory examines the degree to which individuals are satisfied or
dissatisfied at work. Herzberg's theory provided two lists of needs. For
example, work conditions related to satisfying psychological needs were
determined to be motivation factors. On the other hand, hygiene factors were
related to dissatisfaction and were caused by discomfort or pain.

A.

Motivation Factor

Motivation factors lead to positive mental health and challenge people to grow;
yet the absence of these factors does not lead to dissatisfaction.
B.

Hygiene Factors

Job dissatisfaction occurs when the hygiene factors are either not present or not
sufficient. However, because they cannot stimulate psychological growth, they
do not lead to satisfaction.
C.

Critique of the Two-Factor Theory

Although the approaches of Maslow and Herzberg were more flexible than
previous theories, critics identify the lack of clear distinction between hygiene
and motivation factors, the absence of individual differences, and the absence of
intrinsic motivators as deficiencies. History is full of examples of people who
are motivated by causes, personal missions, discovery, service, beliefs,
creativity, and other factors not considered by Herzberg.
Every person has different motivations for working. The reasons for working
are as individual as the person. But, we all work because we obtain something
that we need from work. The something we obtain from work impacts our
morale and motivation and the quality of our lives. Here is the most recent
thinking about motivation, what people want from work.
Some people work for love; others work for personal fulfillment. Others like to
accomplish goals and feel as if they are contributing to something larger than
themselves, something important. Some people have personal missions they
accomplish through meaningful work. Whatever your personal reasons for
working, the bottom line, however, is that almost everyone works for money.
Whatever you call it: compensation, salary, bonuses, benefits or remuneration,
money pays the bills. Money provides housing, gives children clothing and
food, sends teens to college, and allows leisure activities, and eventually,
retirement. To underplay the importance of money and benefits as motivation
for people who work is a mistake.
Q.6)

A.6) Importance of Teamwork in Organizations

Teamwork is used across many different industries to increase performance,
employee unity and company culture. Companies that must frequently develop
new ideas or products using a project-based approach assemble teams in order
to diffuse responsibility. Team members use teamwork to bounce ideas off of
one another before deciding on a development path for a project.
Problem Solving
Teamwork is important due to the problem-solving synergy gained from
multiple minds working on a solution. When one person works on a specific
company problem, that person only has her personal experience and knowledge
from which to pull for solutions. Using teamwork, team members pool their
collective ideas together to generate unique ideas for dealing with problems.
Problems in this case are not purely negative. The problem could be developing
a product for a consumer to address a need that the consumer does not know
that she has.
Communication
Teamwork is the backbone of effective communication within a company.
When employees work as individuals or independently on projects, they may
not readily share knowledge or new information. This lack of communication
increases the time it takes to complete projects, tasks or the development of
solutions. Teamwork promotes conversation between employees regarding the
task at hand, possibly preventing employees from working in opposite
directions. For example, if one employee does not communicate that one
method of addressing a problem is a dead end, and another employee is still
trying to use that method, productivity is lowered.
Cohesion
Cohesion is an important byproduct of teamwork within a company. This
cohesion could be the result of increased chemistry, trust or both from working
on projects as a team. Cohesive employees are less likely to be confrontational
toward one another and more accepting of each others' decisions. Cohesion
from teamwork can greatly increase the work-flow speed of a company.
Learning
When employees work together as a team within a company, every employee
learns from one another. This knowledge is not limited to the personal

experiences of coworkers; employees from different departments may learn

information from each other regarding the limitations and possibilities of those
departments. For example, if a marketing department consistently makes
demands with unrealistic deadlines to another department, the marketing
department may see through teamwork why its requests are unreasonable.
Increased Accountability
Teamwork increases the accountability of every member of the team, especially
when working under people who command a lot of respect within the business.
Team members do not want to let each other down and hence do their best to
contribute to the successes of their teams. In contrast to working solo on a
project, peer pressure is usually high within teams such that cases of low morale
are less likely to impact individuals. As a business owner, you would benefit
from increased productivity through efficient team projects, which may be
completed well ahead of the deadline.
Learning Opportunities
Cooperating on a project is an opportunity for new workers to learn from more
experienced employees. Teams often consist of members who differ from one
another in terms of skills or talents. Working together is a great opportunity to
acquire skills that an employee never had beforehand. Unlike working alone on
a project, teamwork affords people the opportunity to challenge the ideas of
each other and come up with a compromise solution that contributes to the
successful completion of the task.
The Problem(s) with Teams
Its increasingly likely that you will spend a good deal of your professional time
working on temporary teams. Its also likely that you will experience a fair
amount of frustration and even team failure along the way.
Most organizations have yet to meet a problem (or opportunity) that they wont
throw a team at to solve. Lets face it, its tempting to assume that a group of
motivated, diverse individuals will trump the lone soldier when it comes to
creativity, problem-solving and planning.
Teams are not always the answer- teams may provide insight, creativity, and
knowledge in a way that a person working independently cannot but teamwork
may also lead to confusion, delay, and poor decision-making.

Fallacies and Challenges to Conventional Thinking About Teams:

More inclusion is better. Increased group size adds new complexities and the
common practice of including people due to ego or politics breeds a whole set
of dysfunctional issues.
Harmony is required for high team performance. Theres certainly a natural
desire for people to work in an environment where the tension is low. This is
another area where research contradicts traditional thinking. Teams with some
tension may very well out-perform the more collegial groups.
The potential for massive decision-making errors in group settings is countered
by ensuring someone is confident enough to challenge the conventional thinking
at the right time.
Long-standing teams lose their edge as members grow to accept the
shortcomings and foibles of others. . Long-standing teams offer the potential for
significantly improved quality and performance.
A huge amount of money is spent on developing teams within organisations.
Managers in organisations make great efforts to develop their teams in order to
make them perform better. The assumption is that a group of people working
together ought to be a team. Because of this assumption performance
improvement is typically sought through changing group structures and
performance measures to make such groups seem more like a team. And the
business of team building makes lots of money from supporting such activity
and taking groups through team initiatives. All too frequently such
development activity fails to deliver the promise.
But many groups are not teams, never will be teams, and trying to make them
teams is a waste of time, effort and money. However, many groups can improve
their performance by simply recognising themselves as a Community of
Practice rather than a team. A Community of Practice is developed
fundamentally differently from a team, although having been developed, an
excellently performing community of practice will look and feel similar to an
excellently performing team.
Teams are attractive to managers as they offer performance synergies for
organizations as well as huge satisfaction for the people involved. Managers
rarely ask if the people that they manage actually constitute a team
Theres no doubt in my mind that it is increasingly critical for us to learn how to
perform well on teams and how to create high performing teams. Its also

important to recognize that for some issues, the reflex action to put a team on
it, may be wrong.

SECTION II Design A Team

Q.1)
A.1) The Team should have following Personnel to overcome the above issues:
1) Responsiveness: A proper team of CRM (Customer Relationship
Management) so that all the queries, problems and grievances of the customers
are heard and are processed in time.
The employees in this team should have good communication skills, Analytical
skills, should be a good listener, Patience and Grievance handling skills.
2)Product Quality: As a Product Quality Manager (m/f) you coordinate and
manage the local Product Quality Team to ensure continuous improvement on
cost and quality for products within budget limits, implement quality related
customer requirements, agreements and improvements to ensure customer
satisfaction.
Accountabilities:
Implement overall product quality and product improvements on site to ensure
state-of-the-art delivery of products.
Ensure implementation and application of standardized methods, approaches
and tools related to product evaluation.
Cooperate with internal and external customers and suppliers concerning
quality issues and claims, with the goal to achieve the right balance between
customer satisfaction, quality and cost effectiveness.
3) Returned Order Process: The Organization should hire a Receiving Manager
for smooth and hassle free returned order processing. The Receiving manager is
responsible for ensuring the quality and quantity of the products returned are
same as mentioned in the order form of the respective customer. The Receiving

manager should ensure that all the required documents for same has been sent to
respective departments.
Also a Controller should also be hired in the same team. He will be responsible
for ensuring that return credits are processed by the billing department in a
timely and accurate manner.
Thus the team should be consisted of above personnel to overcome the problem
that the cloth manufacturing company is facing.
Q.2)
A.2) Permitting groups to establish their own norms helps in introducing
changes in production procedures without loss of productivity, lowered morale,
or outright hostility from workers Techniques that encourage employees to
actively participate in decision making are now referred to as participative
decision-making.
Norms pertaining to Social Loafing:
In the social psychology of groups, social loafing is the phenomenon of people
exerting less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group than when they
work alone.
Here the company should adopt Performance norm for the task team.
Performance norms are centered on how hard a person should work in a given
group. They are informal cues, if you will, that tells a person or helps a person
understand how hard they should work and what type of output they should
have. They should be rewarded based on their performance in the group. This
will motivate them to perform better and it will also increase their productivity.