Introduction to OB

 Evolution of OB
✓ The great Greek philosopher PLATO had wrote about the “importance of
Leadership”.
✓ Great philosopher Aristotle had addressed the topic “Persuasive
Communication”.
✓ In 500 B.C Chinese philosopher Confucius had started “Emphasizing ethics and
leadership”.
✓ In 1776, Adam smith, economist in his book “Wealth of Nations” he
propounded new form of organizational structure based on “Division of labour
and Work specialization”.
✓ Robert Owen is an important name in the history of OB because he was one of
the first industrialists who argued for :-
• Regulated hours of work for all workers
• Child labour laws
• Public education
• Company supplied meals at work
• Business involvement in community projects.
✓ German Sociologist, Max Weber developed “a theory of authority structures
and described organizational activity based on authority structures”.
✓ Soon after Max Weber, F W Taylor introduced a “systematic use of goal setting
and rewards to motivate employees” and als0o defining clear guidelines for
improving production efficiency by his one of the paper called “The Principles
of Scientific Management”.
✓ Henry Fayol, Real father of modern Management defined the universal
functions that all managers perform and the principles (14 principles of
Management) that constitute good management practices.
✓ In the late 1950’s people like Abraham Maslow, Douglas McGregor, David
McCellenad, Fred Fiedler, Herzberg, Freud Sigmund and other behavioural
scientists propounded many theories on employee behaviour.
 Introduction to OB
Organisational Behaviour tries to understand human behaviour in the organization.
OB is a part of total management but plays a very important role in every area of
management and has been accepted by all the people concerned.
The mangers now understand that to make their organization more effective, they
have to understand and predict the human behaviour in the organization.

 Definitions of OB
 According to Stephen P Robbins - “Organisational behaviour is a field of study
that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on
behaviours within the organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge
towards improving an organizations effectiveness”.

 According to Fred Luthans - “Organisational behaviour is directly concerned

with the understanding production and control of human behaviour in
organization”.

 According to Raman J Aldag – “Organisational behaviour is a branch of the

social sciences that seeks to build theories that can be applied to predicting,
understanding and controlling behaviour in work organizations”.

By analyzing the above definitions, we can define OB as a behavioural

Science that states about :

• Nature of Man
• Nature of the Organization
• Knowledge of human would be useful in improving an organization’s
effectiveness.

 Nature of OB
OB is the study of human behaviour in the organization. Whenever an individual
join an organization he/she brings with him/her unique set of personal
characteristics, experiences from other organizations and a personal background.

At first stage, OB must look at the unique perspective that each individual brings
to the work setting.
 At second stage, OB is to study the dynamics of how the incoming individuals
interact with the broader organization. No individual can work in isolation he/she
comes into contact with the other individuals and the organization in a variety of
ways:

External Individual Individual The External

behavior in organizational organization
Organizatio organizational interaction Organizatio
n setting n

The OB must be studied from the perspective of the organization itself because an
organization exists before a particular individual joins in and continues to exist after
he or she left the organization.

Thus, we can say that we cannot study individual behaviour completely without
learning something about the organizations. On the other hand, we cannot study the
organizations without studying the behaviour of the individuals working in it. This is
because the organization influences and is influenced by the people working in it.
 Foundations of OB
The subject OB is based on a few fundamental concepts which are explained below :-

Individual Social Systems

Differences

Whole Person

OB Mutuality of
Interests

Caused Behaviour

Human Dignity Holistic Concept

1. Individual Differences
Each person is different from one to another in intelligence, physique,
personality, diction, or any such trait. Individual differences mean that
management can cause the greatest motivation among employees by treating
them differently. If it were not for individual differences, some standard, across-
the-board way of dealing with all employees could be adopted and minimum
judgement would be required thereafter. It is because of individual differences
that OB begins with the individual. Only a person can take responsibility and
make decisions, a group, by nature, cannot do so. A group is powerless until
individuals therein act.
2. A whole Person
When an individual is appointed, his or her skill alone is not hired, his/her
social background, likes and dislikes, pride and prejudices are also hired. A
person’s family life cannot be separated from his or her work life. It is for this
reason that managers should endeavour to make the workplace a home away
 from home. They not only strive hard to develop a better employee out of a
worker, but also a better person in terms of growth and fulfillment.
3. Caused Behaviour
The behaviour of the employee is caused and not random. This behaviour is
directed towards some one that the employee believes, rightly or wrongly, is in
his/her interest. The manger must realize this basic priniciple and correct this
behaviour and tackle the issue as its root.
For ex: when a worker comes late to his or her work, pelts stones at a running
bus, or abuse the supervisor, there is a cause behind it.
4. Human Dignity
This states that people want to be treated with respect and dignity. Every job,
however simple, entitles the people who do it to proper respect and recognition
of their unique aspirations and abilities. The concept of human dignity rejects
the old idea of using employees as economic tools. Organizational behaviour
always involves people, ethical philosophy is involved in one way or other in
each action. Human decisions cannot and should not be made devoid of values.
5. Organizations are Social systems
Organizations are social systems; consequently activities therein are governed
by social as well as psychological laws. The people are also have social roles
and status. Their behaviour is influenced by their group as well as by their
individual drives.
The existence of a social system implies that the organizational environment is
one of dynamic change, rather than a static. All parts of the system are
interdependent and are subject to influence by any other part.
6. Mutuality of Interest
Organizations are formed and maintained on the basis of mutuality of interest
Among their participants i.e. organizations need people and people also need
organizations. People see organizations as a means to help them reach their
goals, while, at the same time, organizations need people to help attain
Organizational objectives. Mutual interest provides a superordinate goal that
united the variety of needs that people bring to organizations.
7. Holistic Concept
This concept interprets people-organization relationships in terms of the whole
person, whole group, whole organization, and the whole social system. It takes
an all-encompassing view of people in organizations in an effort to understand
as many of the possible factors that influence their behaviour. Issues are
 analyzed in terms of the situation affecting them rather than in terms of an
isolated event or problem.

 Importance of OB
1) OB provides a road map to our lives in organizations
People bring to their work place their hopes and dreams as well as their fears
and frustrations. Much of the time, people in organizations may appear to be
acting quite rationally, doing their fair share of work, and doing about their
tasks in a civil manner. Suddenly, a few people appear distracted, their work
slips, and they even get withdrawn. Worse still, one may find someone taking
advantage of others to further his or her personal interest.
Such a range of human behaviors makes life in organizations perplexing. But
those who know what to look for and have some advance ideas about how to
cope with pressures are more likely to respond in ways that are functional, less
stressful, and even career-advancing. Therefore, OB need to map out
organizational events so that employee can function in a more secure and
comfortable environment.
2) A Manager in a Business Establishment is concerned with Getting Things
Done Through Delegation
He or she be successful when he or she can motivate subordinates to work for
better results. OB will help the manager understand the basis of motivation and
what he or she should do to motivate subordinates.
3) The field of OB is useful for improving Cordial Industrial/Labour
Relations
If an employee is slow in his/her work, or if his/her productivity is steadily
declining, it is not always because of a poor work environment. Often the
indifferent attitude of the boss makes the worker lazy. Similarly, reluctance of
the management to talk to union leaders about issues might provoke them to
give a strike call.
In other words, relations between management and employees are often
strained for reasons which are personnel issues, not technical. Human problems
need to be tackled humanely. OB is very useful to understand the cause of the
problem, predict its course of action, and control its consequences. The field of
OB serves as the basis for human resource management.
 4) OB helps in motivating employees
OB helps manager to motivate the employees bringing a good organizational
performance automatically that leads to job satisfaction. It helps managers to
apply appropriate motivational tools and techniques in accordance with the
nature of individual employees.
5) OB helps effective utilization of human resources
OB helps managers to manage the people’s behaviour and the organization
effectively. It enables managers to inspire and motivates employees towards
high productivity and better results.

 Contributing Disciplines of OB
1) Psychology
The terms psychology comes from the Greek word ‘Psyche’ meaning soul or
spirit. Psychology is the science that seeks to measure, explain and sometimes
change the behaviour of human beings. Psychology studies processes of human
behaviour, such as learning, motivation, perception, individual and group
decision-making, pattern of influences change in organization, group process,
satisfaction, communication, selection and training also such above concepts are
used in Organization Behaviour.
2) Anthropology
The term anthropology combines the Greek term ‘anthropo’ meaning man and
the noun ending ‘logy’ meaning science. Thus, anthropology can be defined as
the science of man. It is also known as ‘science of humanity’. It studies the
relationship between individuals and their environment. The major contributions
of Anthropology in the field of OB are Comparative values,
Comparative attitudes, Cross-culture analysis, Organization environment etc.
3) Political Science
Political science is the branch of social science which deals with political
system and political behaviours. In other words, political science helps us to
understand the dynamics of power and politics within organizations Which
includes conflict resolution, group coalition, and allocation of power etc. The
main contributions of political science in the field of OB have been concerned
mainly with Conflict, Intra-organizational policies and Power.
 4) Economics
Economists study the production, distribution and consumption of goods and
services. The economic conditions of a country have long lasting impact on
organizational behaviour. If psychological and economic expectations of
employee are met, they are satisfied and become high performers. Economic
systems include financial, commercial and industrial activities which have
greater influences on the behaviour of the people.
5) Engineering
Engineering also influences organisational behaviour. Some topics are common
to engineering as well as organisational behaviour e.g. work measurement,
productivity measurement, work flow analysis, work design, job design and
labour relations etc.
6) Medical Science
Stress is becoming a very common problem in the organisations. Research
shows that controlling the causes and consequences of stress in and out of
organisational settings, is important for the well being of the individual as well
as the organisations. Medicine helps in the control of stress as well as stress
related problems.
7) Sociology
Sociology also has a major impact on the study of organisational behaviour.
Sociology makes use of scientific methods in accumulating knowledge about
the social behaviour of the groups. Sociology contributes to organisational
behaviour through the study of interpersonal dynamics like leadership, group
dynamics, communication etc.

 Application of OB in Management
1) Responding to Globalization
Organization in recent days has changed the style of working and tries to
spread worldwide. Trapping new market place, new technology or reducing
cost through specialization or cheap labour are few of the different reasons that
motivates organizations to become global.
2) Managing Workforce Diversity
The increasing heterogeneity of organizations with the inclusion of different
groups. Whereas globalization focuses on differences among people from
different countries.
"Workforce diversity has important implications for management practice.
Managers will need to shift their philosophy from treating everyone alike
to recognizing differences and responding to those differences in ways that
 will ensure employee retention and greater productivity while, at the same time,
not discriminating".
3) Improving Quality and Productivity
a) Total Quality Management (TQM)
It is a philosophy of management that is driven by the constant attainment
of customer satisfaction through the continuous improvement of all
organizational processes.
1. Intense focus on the customer
2. Concern for continuous improvement
3. Improvement in the quality of everything the organization does
4. Accurate measurement
5. Empowerment of employees.
b) Reengineering
Reengineering: Reconsiders how work would be done and the organization
structured if they were being created from scratch.
"It asks managers to reconsider how work would be done and their
organization structured if they were starting over".
4) Improving people skills
It will help management to better plan and respond to changes in the
workplace. employee relationship is also showing change in the modern era.
Employer Employers are no more autocrats and participative style of
leadership welcomed. Flexible working hours and increased is authority
motivates employees to perform to their best. Management now welcomes
upward communication and participation of lower level employees in
the decision making process.

5) Stimulating Innovation and Change

"Today's successful organizations must foster innovation and master the art of
change or they'll become candidates for extinction. An organization's
employees can be the impetus for innovation and change or they can be a major
stumbling block. The challenge for managers is to stimulate employee
creativity and tolerance for change.
6) Work-life Balance
Achieving a work-life balance between work and other important aspects of life
is a big challenge today in every organization. It can be tough to make time for
family and work. Hence, Employers can help employees to achieve work-life
balance by instituting policies, procedures, actions, and expectations that enable
them to pursue more balanced lives, such as flexible work schedules, company-
sponsored family events and activities etc.
 7) Improving People Skills
Possessing people skills is essential to have success in todays’
organizations. Employees needs to improve their skills through a little effort and
showing basic common courtesy in their business dealings like being polite,
avoiding conflict, listening, appreciating etc. On the other hand employers’
should also concentrate more on training employees with this above context.

 Shortcomings of OB
1) Failure of Individual on the Domestic Front
The subject helps an individual understand human behaviour better only in
the work place, he or she may be a failure on the domestic front. People
who have a thorough grounding of behavioural disciplines have sometimes
proved to be total wrecks in their personal lives.
2) Failure to contribute to improve Interpersonal Relations
The subject of OB has not contributed to improved interpersonal relations
in organizational settings. Jealousies, back-stabbing, leg-pulling, intrigues,
harassment, and inequalities in rewards go side by side with nice lecturers,
training programmes, discussions, smiles, assurances, niceties and the like.
3) OB is selfish and exploitative
It serves only the interest of the management. With high emphasis on
motivation, efficiency, and productivity, the subject breeds a competitive
spirit among the employees. They are not allowed to function and live in
harmony with one another.
4) Expectation of quick fix solutions
A serious problem that has plagued the subject is the tendency of managers
to expect quick-fix solutions from behavioural programmes. Critics of OB
wonder whether the ideas that have been developed and tested during
periods of organizational growth and economic plenty will endure with
equal success under different conditions. Future environment shall be
marked by shrinking demand, scarce resources, and more intense
competition. When organizations stagnate, decline, or encounter a threat of
closure, there will be conflict and stress as a result it leads to one of the
critical issue to find answers to related questions.
5) OB will not totally abolish conflict and frustration, it can only reduce
them
It means, OB not an absolute answer to problems. It is only a part of the
whole fabric of an organization. However, OB will not solve
unemployment. It will not make up for our own deficiencies. It cannot
substitute for poor planning, inept organizing, or inadequate controls. It is
only one of the many systems operating within a larger social system.

_
 Personality
 Personality
• MEANING AND DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY

The word personality is derived from Latin word called “persona” means a “mask”
or “personare” means “to speak through”.

✓ Personality is the characteristics, qualities, skills, competencies and outward

appearances of individuals.
✓ In other words, personality is a way to respond people, situations, and things
that are consistent (more or less).
✓ In short, Personality is the psychological factor that influences individual
behavior.

Many people view the term personality in the following ways:-

✓ According to Gordon Allport – “personality is the set of traits and behaviors

that characterize an individual”.
✓ According to Stephen Robbins – “Personality is a dynamic and organized set
of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her
cognitions, motivations, and behavior in various situations”.
✓ According to Lawrence Ervin – “Personality is the relatively stable set of
psychological attributes that distinguish one person from another”.
✓ According to R B Cattel – “Personality is that which permits a prediction of
what a person will do in a given situation”.
✓ According to Munn – “Personality as the most characteristic integration of an
individual’s structure, modes of behavior, interest, attitude, capacities, abilities,
and aptitudes”.

• TYPES OF PERSONALITY

Since the days of Ancient Greece it was confirmed that there are four different
types of personality :-

1) Sanguine type
This type of personality characterized by spontaneity, optimism, enthusiasm,
high energy, mental flexibility and curiosity. These people often have very
express”, “fun”, “active”, “travel” and similar.
 2) Phlegmatic type
These people are mainly defined by their social skills, such as their ability to
express themselves and read other people face expressions and body language.
They are nurturing, sympathetic, agreeable and emotionally expressive.
3) Choleric type
These people are direct, focused, tough, analytical, logical and strategic. They
have a great deal of courage and like to complete.
4) Melancholic type
Melancholic tend to be calm, loyal and orderly, just as their personality name
sounds. They are cautious and conventional. Their favorite words are “family”,
“loyal”, “respect”, “caring”, “values” and “moral”.

• DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY

Different theories propose different factors that determine an individual

personality. The most popular research work done by Freud deals with the
identification of Self-concept. However the major determinants of personality are
heredity, environment and situation.

Biological Factors

Heredity

Brain

Physical features
Environment Personality

Family Factors

Socialization Process

Identification Process

Cultural Factors

Situational Factors
I. Environment

Environment refers to the surroundings in which the individuals are brought up.
The environmental factors relating to the formation of personality includes
culture, family, society upbringing and experiences.

1) Family factor
Family is one of the significant factors that have an impact on personality
development. Families influence the behavior of a person especially in the
early stages. The nature of such influence will depend upon the following
factors:
✓ Socio-Economic level of the family
✓ Family size
✓ Birth order
✓ Race
✓ Religion
✓ Parent’s education level
✓ Geographic location.

Empirical evidence also suggests that the home and family environment,
created by the mother and the father as well as their own behavior is
highly influential on personality development.

2) Socialization Process
Socialization is a process by which an infant acquires from the enormously
wide range of behavior potentialities that are open to him/her at birth, those
behavior patterns that are customary and acceptable to the family and social
groups. Initially socialization starts with the contact between mother and
her new infant. Later on other members of the family also influence the
socialization process.
3) Identification Process
The identification process occurs when a person tries to identify
himself/herself with some person to whom he/she feels ideal in the family.
4) Cultural factor
It is a unique system of perception, belief, values, norms, pattern of
behavior of individual in a given society.
Culture is the factor which determines the decision-making power of an
individual. It generally determines attitude towards independence,
aggression, competition and cooperating.
 5) Situational factor
Situational factors also play a very important role where situation exerts an
important press on the individual. It exercises constraints and may provide
push. This aspect is very important for organization because manager has
control over the organizational situation.

II. Personality
GENES is the important element that influences our behavior because our brain
and the chemicals that operate within it are made by genes. The genetics of
behavior is complex because personalities are complex. However personality
includes the following:-
6) Biological factor
The study of biological contribution to personality can be divided into 3 major
categories:-
a. Heredity
Heredity is the transmission of qualities from the ancestor to descendent
through a mechanism primarily lying in the chromosomes of the germ
cell.
b. Brain
The structure of the brain determines personality though no conclusive
proof is available so far about the role of brain in personality formation.
c. Physical features
The third biological factor determining personality formation is physical
characteristics and rate of maturation. An individual external
appearance, which is biologically determined, is an important ingredient
of personality.

 Perception
• MEANING AND DEFINITION
According to dictionary meaning, perception means “act of faculty of perceiving”.
Perception means perceiving i.e. giving meaning to the environment around us.
For example: Looking at a sculpture some may perceive it as beautiful, the others
as ugly.
According to Udai Pareek and others, perception can be defined as “the process
of receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking, and reacting to sensory
stimuli or data”.
 According to Stephen P Robbins, “A process by which individuals organize and
interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment”.
By analyzing the above definitions we can say that the term perception involves
the following:-
✓ Deciding which information to notice,
✓ How to categorize this information,
✓ How to interpret it within the frame work of our existing knowledge.

• FACTORS INFLUENCING PERCEPTION

I. INTERNAL FACTORS
The internal factors include the following:-
1) Learning
Learning may play the single biggest role in developing perceptual set. It is a
cognitive awareness by which the mind organizes information and forms
images and compares them with previous exposures to similar stimuli.
Learning creates an expectancy in an individual and expectancy makes him see
what he wants to see which means perceptions and interpretations of people
depend upon their previous exposure.
For instance: Verbal Response Set

M-A-C-D-O-W-E-L-L
M-A-C-D-O-N-A-L-D
M-A-C-B-E-T-H
M-A-C-H-I-N-E-R-Y

2) Motivation
Motivation also has a vital impact on perceptual selectivity where it creates a
urge and activates the inner stimuli of individuals.
For example:-a) a hungry person will be more sensitive to the smell or sight of
food than a non-hungry person;
b) When a person walks into the lunch room, he may go to the table where
several of his co-workers are sitting, rather than a table which is empty or on
which just one person is sitting.
 3) Personality
Behavior, values and even age of an individual may also affect the people
perceive the world around them.
For example, the older senior executives often complain about the inability of
the new young manager to take tough concerning terminating and paying
attention to details and paper work. The young managers, in turn,complain
about the ‘old guards’ resisting change and using paper and rules as ends in
themselves. Further, the generation gap witnessed definitely contribute to
different perceptions.

II. EXTERNAL FACTORS

External factor includes the following:-
1) Size
Size always attracts the attention, because it establishes dominance. The size
may be the height or weight of an individual, sign board of a shop, or space
devoted to an advertisement in the newspaper.
The bigger the size of stimulus, the higher is the probability that is perceived.
For example:-A full page advertisement will always catch attention as
compared to a few lines in the classified section.
2) Intensity
Intensity attracts to increase the selective perception. In other words it is an
activity involves concentrating a lot of effort or people on one particular task in
order to try to achieve a great deal in a short time.
Example: Yelling or whispering, very bright colors or very dim colors etc.
The term also includes behavioral intensity. For instance, if office order says
“Report to the boss immediately,” it will more intense as compared to “Make it
convenient to meet the boss today”.
3) Repetition
Repetition refers to make others to pay attention by stimulating their inner urge
through repeated stimulus.
In other words, it states that a repeated external stimulus is more attention
drawing than a single one. Because of this factor, supervisors make it a point to
give the necessary directions again and again to the workers.
For example:-Product shown again and again on TV grabs more attention as
compared to an advertisement which is shown once a day.
 4) Status
High status people can exert greater influence on the perception of the
employees than the low status people.
For example:-There will always be different reactions to the orders given by
the foreman, the supervisor or the production manager.
5) Contrast
An object which contrasts with the surrounding environment is more likely to
be noticed than the object which blends in the environment.
For example:-In a room if there are twenty men and one woman will be noticed
first because of the contrast; EXIT SIGN in cinema halls which have red
lettering on a black background are attention drawing.
6) Movement
This principle states that a moving object receives more attention than an object
which is standing still.
For example:-A moving car among the parked cars catch attention faster.
7) Novelty and Familiarity
This principle states that either a novel or a familiar external situation can serve
as an attention getter. This principle helps the managers to change the workers
jobs from time to time, because it will increase the attention they give to their
jobs.
For example:-A familiar face on a crowded railway platform will immediately
catch attention.
8) Nature
This principle states that whether it is a visual, auditory or pictures of people or
animals that will attract more attention than words.
For example:-Video attracts more attention than still pictures.

• PERCEPTUAL PROCESS
1) Receiving
Receiving is the first stage in the process of perception. It is the initial stage in
which a person collects all information and receives the information through the
sense organs.
2) Selecting
Selecting is the second stage in the process. Here a person doesn’t receive the
data randomly but selectively. A person selects some information out of all in
accordance with his interest or needs. The selection of data is dominated by
various external and internal factors.
 ✓ External factors − The factors that influence the perception of an
individual externally are intensity, size, contrast, movement, repetition,
familiarity, and novelty.
✓ Internal factors − The factors that influence the perception of an
individual internally are psychological requirements, learning,
background, experience, self-acceptance, and interest.
3) Organizing
Keeping things in order or say in a synchronized way is organizing. In order to
make sense of the data received, it is important to organize them. Usually data
can be organized through grouping them on the basis of their similarity,
proximity, closure, continuity.
4) Interpreting
Finally, we have the process of interpreting which means forming an idea about
a particular object depending upon the need or interest. Interpretation means
that the information we have sensed and organized, is finally given a meaning
by turning it into something that can be categorized. Usually one’s
interpretation may subject to certain errors which was discussed below:-

 PERCEPTUAL ERRORS
1) Halo effect
The halo effect refers to the tendency of judging people on the basis of a
single trait which may be good or bad, favorable or unfavorable. The halo
effect is a very common type of error committed by the managers where
evaluating the subordinates. Where a manager judge the employees based on
his or her first impression.
For example:-If a manager considers that an employee has good skills in
analyzing a problem, he comes to a conclusion that he can also solve the
problem. But solving the problem involves the choosing of the alternatives
followed by the decision-making process in which the employee may not be
“PROFICIENT”.
2) Selective Perception
Selective perception is also known as “Selective attention”. It comprises
traits
and characters of individual based on sex, age, culture, socio-economic status
etc. People selectively perceive objects or things that interest to them most in
a particular situation and avoid others. In other words, selective perception is
the personal filtering of what we see and hear so as to suit our own needs.
For example:-Employee of production department may be concentrating to
the skill/work which he is doing and may ignore others.
 3) Stereotyping
It is a process in which the individuals are judged based on the group to
which they belong. In other words, stereotyping means judging someone on
the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs.
For example:-General notion about gender i.e. “Males have high ego,
Women are sensitive”.
4) Perceptual defense
It is the inability to perceive that is threatening to the perceiver. A
consequence of perceptual defense is that employees that are fired often
express shock and maintain that they were never told about this poor
performance.
For example:-A person performing poorly at work may be unable to get the
warning of his manager.
5) Primacy effect
‘First impression is the best impression’. Errors based on this type of
perception are called as primacy effect. It is the tendency of the individuals to
make an opinion based on the first impression.
For example:-Not sociable and soft spoken concluded as introvert.
6) Recency effect
Individuals tend to remember the recent happening and based on that, come
to a conclusion on a particular event. The recent happenings or incidents
remain in our short-term memory and it dominates the other incidents when
the perception takes place.

 Ways of overcoming or strategies for improving perceptual skills

1) Knowing oneself accurately
One of the powerful ways to minimize perceptual distortions is know oneself.
People normally misperceive others because they fail to perceive themselves
accurately. The more accurately a person understands himself, the more
accurately he can perceive others.
For example:-JOHARI WINDOW Model helps to understand hoe co-
workers can increase their mutual understanding.
 Known to self Unknown to self

Known to Open area Blind area

others

Hidden Unknown
area area
Unknown to
others

The JOHARI model concludes that the employee should be like an open area so
that both the individual and the colleagues are aware of his perceptual
limitations.

2) Empathize with others

Empathy refers to a person’s ability to understand and be sensitive to the
feelings of others. Empathy is a natural phenomenon and develops within an
individual by itself. By empathizing with other person, one can perceive the
other individual more aptly.
3) Have a positive attitude
Attitudes have a strong and long lasting effect on perception. If one holds a
negative attitude towards someone or something, our perception is
undoubtedly going to be distorted. We should make effort to have a positive
attitude and should not let our personal biases to crop in and hinder the
perceptual powers.
4) Postpone Impression Formation
Forming judgments about an individual by first impression or by first
meeting is absolutely wrong. A much better strategy is to postpone the
impression formation until more information about the individual and the
situation is collected.
 5) Communicating openly
Inadequate or one way communication leads to misperception. Utmost care
should be taken, so that the message reaches the right person, at the right
time and in the right manner.
6) Comparing one’s perceptions with that of others
Another useful strategy to reduce perceptual errors is to compare one’s
perception with the perception of other person about the same object. By
sharing perceptions we come across different point of views and potentially
gain a much better understanding of the situation and the object.

 Attitudes
• MEANING AND DEFINITION
✓ An attitude defined as the way a person feels about something- a person, a
place, a commodity, a situation or an idea.
✓ In other words, attitudes are the set or cluster of beliefs towards objects, events
and situation.
✓ According to Gordon Allport, Attitude defined as a-“mental and neural state of
readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic
influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situation with which
it is related”.
✓ According to P R Lawrence, “Attitude represents the cluster of beliefs,
assessed feelings, and behavioral intentions toward an object”.
By analyzing the above, attitude is refers to a persistent tendency to feel and
behave in a particular way toward some object.
• FORMATION OF ATTITUDE

Experience with the

Object

Mass communication Classical

Conditioning

Economic status Attitude Operant conditioning

s

Neighbourhood Vicarious learning

Family and Peer

groups

1) Direct experience with the object

Attitudes can develop from a personally rewarding or punishing experience
with an object. Employees form attitudes about jobs on their previous
experiences.
For example:-If everyone who has held a job has been promoted within six
months, current job holders are likely to believe that they will also be promoted
within six months.
2) Classical Conditioning and Attitudes
One of the basic processes underlying attitude formation can be explained on
the basis of learning principles. People develop associations between various
objects and the emotional reactions that accompany them.
For example:-we may come to hold positive attitude towards a particular
perfume because a favorite model wears it.
3) Operant Conditioning and attitude acquisition
Attitudes that are reinforced, either verbally, tend to be maintained.
Conversely, a person who states an attitude that elicits ridicule from others may
modify or abandon the attitude.
4) Vicarious learning
This refers to formation of attitudes by observing behavior of others and
consequences of that behavior. We also learn vicariously through television,
films and other media.
For example:-a) Movies that glorify violence reinforce positive attitudes
regarding aggression.
b) If parents says that “blind people are incompetent” then children may adopt
such attitudes towards blind people even they never met them ago.
5) Family and Peer groups
A person may learn attitudes through imitation of family members or peers.
Attitude towards the opposite sex, religion, tolerance or prejudice, education,
occupations, political parties, and almost all other areas where attitudes are
capable of expression are the result of our accepting or rejecting the attitudes
held by members of our family. Similarly, attitudes are acquired from peer
groups in colleges and organizations.
6) Neighbourhood
The neighbourhood in which we live has certain cultural facilities, religious
groupings and ethnic differences. Further, it has people, who are neighbours.
These people may be Northerners, Southerners etc. The people belonging to
different cultures have different attitudes and behaviors. Some of these we
accept and some of these we deny and possibly rebel.
7) Economic status and Occupations
Our economic and occupational positions also contribute to attitudes formation.
They determine, in part, our attitudes towards unions and management and our
belief that certain laws are “good” or “bad”. Our socio-economic background
influences our present and future attitudes.
8) Mass Communication
Attitudes are generally less stable as compared to values. The presentation of
news or information is constructed so as to cater to the attitude of the audience.
In turn, the audience selects the specific form of mass communication that best
reflects its attitudes on various subjects.
• COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDE

1) Informational or Cognitive Component

The informational component consists of beliefs, values, ideas and other
information a person has about the object. For example, a person seeking a job
may learn from his own sources and other employees working in the company
that in a particular company the promotion chances are very favourable. In
reality, it may or may not be correct. Yet the information that person is using is
the key to his attitude about that job and about that company.
2) Emotional or Affective Component
The informational component sets the stage for the more critical part of an
attitude, its affective component. The emotional components involve the
person’s feeling or affect-positive, neutral or negative-about an object. For
example, “I like this job because the future prospects in this company are very
good”.
3) Behavioural Component
The behavioural component consists of the tendency of a person to behave in a
particular manner towards an object. For example, the concerned individual in
the above case may decide to take up the job because of good future prospects.

 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
• MEANING OF EQ
✓ Emotional intelligence refers to the capability of a person to manage and
control his or her emotions and possess the ability to control the emotions of
others as well.
✓ Emotional intelligence are the skills which are required to better understand,
empathize and negotiate with other people.
• IMPORTANCE OF EQ AT WORKPLACE
1) Self-awareness
If a person has a healthy sense of self-awareness, he understands his own
strengths and weaknesses, as well as how his actions affect others. A person
who is self-aware is usually better able to handle and learn from constructive
criticism than one who is not.
2) Self-regulation
A person with a high EQ can maturely reveal her emotions and exercise
restraint when needed. Instead of squelching her feelings, she expresses them
with restraint and control.
3) Motivation
Emotionally intelligent people are self-motivated. They're not motivated simply
by money or a title. They are usually resilient and optimistic when they
encounter disappointment and driven by an inner ambition.
4) Empathy
A person who has empathy has compassion and an understanding of human
nature that allows him to connect with other people on an emotional level. The
ability to empathize allows a person to provide great service and respond
genuinely to others’ concerns.
5) People skills
People who are emotionally intelligent are able to build rapport and trust
quickly with others on their teams. They avoid power struggles and
backstabbing. They usually enjoy other people and have the respect of others
around them.

_
 LEARNING

 MEANING AND DEFINITION

✓ Learning is a change in behavior as a result of experience. Learning is
the product of reasoning, thinking, information processing and
perception.
✓ In a Layman’s view, “Learning is something we did when we went to
school”.
✓ According to Stephen P Robbins or E R Hilgard, Learning is “any
relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of
experience”.
✓ According to Steers and Porter, Learning can be defined as relatively
permanent change in behavior the potentiality that results from
reinforced practice or experience”.
By analyzing the above definitions we can define the term learning as a
“all changes in behavior that result from prior experience and behavior
in similar situations”.

 NATURE
1) Change in Behavior
Learning involves change in behavior, although the change may be good or
bad from an organization’s point of view. The change in behavior need not
be an improvement over the previous behavior, although learning improves
behavior. For example:-Bad habits like smoking.
2) Change in Behavior must be relatively permanent
All the changes do not reflect learning. To constitute learning, change should
be relatively permanent. Temporary changes may be only reflective and fail
to represent any learning.
For example:-any temporary adaptations like fatigue or drugs etc are not
covered in learning.
3) Change must be based on some experience, practice or training
The behavioral change may also influenced by experience, practice or
training. This change may not be evident until a situation arises in which the
new behavior can occur.
For example:-any change in behavior due to physical maturation, any disease
or physical damages do not constitute learning.
 4) Reinforcement
The practice or experience must be reinforced in order for learning to occur.
If reinforcement does not accompany the practice or experience the behavior
will eventually disappear.
5) Learning is reflected in Behavior
A change in an individual’s thought process or attitudes not accompanied by
behavior is not learning. Further learning needs to result in behavior
potentially and not necessarily in the behavior itself.
For example:-if a person is thinking of using drugs but has not actually used
them and he finds out that a friend of his has died because drugs, he will
never get involved with drugs.

 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING
Learning is a very complex and wide topic. Following are the principles of
learning in formal training situations:-
1) Feedback
Learning can be a more effective process when both the instructor and trainee
give feedback to each other. The instructor needs feedback to know how the
trainee is progressing and the trainee needs the feedback to know his level of
performance.
2) Active learning
Learning can be more effective and quick, if the trainee is actively involved
in the learning process.
3) Reinforcement
According to this principle “learning which is rewarded is more likely to be
retained.” This is how learning make children, students and even pets to
learn.
4) Meaningful material
The material supplied to the trainee should be meaningful. He can understand
and learn more, if the material supplied is related to his existing knowledge.
5) Multiple sense learning
The presentation method which makes use of two or more senses are more
effective than using one sense only which means “one picture is worth a
thousand words”. Generally, the most important senses for learning are
SIGHT and HEARING.
 6) Overloading
If an individual frequently makes attempts to recall the learned material,
forgetting is reduced and the material is memorized in his brain.
7) Primary and recency
This principle states that trainees can recall those things they learn first and
last in sequence. This principle does not hold true in all conditions and
sometimes they act against one another.
For example:-When the most recent impressions change or blot our first
impressions.

 TYPES OF LEARNING
• OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
✓ Observational learning is learning that occurs through observing the behavior
of others.
✓ Observational learning is a form of social learning where it is concerned
with learning by watching others is called Observational learning.
✓ Observational learning always occurs through attention, retention,
production and motivation.
✓ For example: (1) A child learns to interact with other people by observing
their parents; (2) A newer employee avoids being late to work after seeing a
co-worker fired for being late.

• BENEFITS OF OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

1) Encourage Social Interactions
People learn numerical, language and social skills through observational
learning. Since it help to build their self-esteem. Also, they become familiar
with diverse activities, learning new ways to have fun.
2) Improves Behaviour
Observational learning often occurs outside the classroom, and parents
contribute to the learning process. Young people tend to imitate the behaviors
and language of their peers from infancy, which help inculcate positive
behaviors in them.
3) Expands Knowledge
Observational learning also helps to improves one’s knowledge, through
inquisition and imitation. People become more familiar with their surrounding,
which helps to improve skills required to master other subjects.
4) Enhances Memory
Memory improvement is the primary benefit in people. Imitation and memory
go hand in hand in determining the people’s behavior. For instance, people
retain the information of their surrounding and then mimic what they see.

• REINFORCEMENT
✓ Reinforcement is a process of strengthening desirable behaviors, often
through the use of rewards.
✓ Reinforcement is the attempt to develop or strengthen desirable behavior.
There are two types of reinforcement in organizational behavior: positive
and negative.
▪ Positive reinforcement strengthens and enhances behavior by the
presentation of positive reinforcers. There are primary reinforcers and
secondary reinforcers.
Primary reinforce satisfy basic biological needs and include food and
water. Where secondary reinforce include such benefits as money,
status, grades, trophies and praise from others.
▪ Negative reinforcement, an unpleasant event that precedes a behavior
is removed when the desired behavior occurs. For example, Supervisors
apply negative reinforcement when they stop criticizing employees
whose poor performance has improved.
▪ Punishment
Punishment is an undesirable consequence an employee receives for
bad behavior. This can involve actions like demoting the employee or
suspending the employee.
▪ Extinction
Extinction is the elimination of a behavior. This type of behavior
modification should be reserved for the most damaging behaviors.
• BENEFITS OF REINFORCEMENT
1) Increases Behaviour
Reinforcement is one of the easiest and quickest ways to improve employee
happiness and effectiveness. Increased self-confidence and esteem by
continuous reinforcement, inspires people to do their best work, develop new
skills and enabling them to make a dramatic and lasting impact on
the organization.
2) Sustain Change
Reinforcement creates changes into organizations. Reinforcing behavior may
help workforce to adopt and sustain the right behaviors saving time and money
and improving the probability of success. More positive application of
reinforcement should also get the credit for flexible work schedules, fulfilling
job design, or creative compensation practices.
3) Gives a path to correct errors
Every organization is confronted with errors. Organizations often focus on
error prevention as a single strategy for dealing with errors. Error prevention
needs to be supplemented by reinforcement techniques, an approach directed at
effectively dealing with errors after they have occurred, with the goal of
minimizing negative and maximizing positive error consequences.
4) Achieve perfection
Reinforcement correlated with positive affect and was interpreted as reflecting
the positive aspects of perfectionism that boosts self-oriented and social-
oriented perfectionism.

• COGNITIVE LEARNING
✓ Cognitive Learning is a type of learning that is active, constructive,
and long-lasting. It engages students in the learning processes, teaching
them to use their brains more effectively to make connections when
learning new things.
✓ Comprehension, Application and Memory are the basic factors that
influences cognitive learning.
✓ In other words, the cognitive learning process aims to chart the learning process
for optimal thinking, understanding and retention of what we learn.
• BENEFITS OF COGNITIVE LEARNING
1) Enhance Comprehension
In cognitive learning, people learn by doing. This hands-on approach makes the
learning immersive and promotes comprehension. Thus, one can develop a deeper
understanding of the material and its application to your work and life.
2) Improve Problem Solving Skills
Problem-solving skills are critical at any level of leadership. The cognitive learning
approach enhances your ability to develop this core skill and helps them to apply it to
every aspect of their job.

3) Boosts Confidence
Cognitive learning can also improve confidence in one’s ability to handle challenges
at work. This is because it promotes problem-solving skills and makes it easier to
learn new things within a short period.
4) Encourages Continuous Learning
Cognitive skills promote long term learning as it allows you to connect previous
knowledge with new materials. It helps you merge old and new information and
apply both effectively.

• SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING
✓ Learning that occurs when learners explore, question, react, and respond
to learning material relevant to their needs. Also known as self-concept or
self-initiated learning.
✓ self-directed learning describes a process in which individuals take the
initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing
their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and
material resources for learning, choosing and implementing
appropriate learning.
• BENEFITS OF SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING
1) Support learning through trails and error
It helps people to make space to take risks and feel the impact of what
happens when those risks don’t work out. Ask them to reflect on both their
wins and challenges so that their risks become more calculated over time.
2) Value System
Self-directed learning enables individuals to improve their self-confidence,
motivation and lifelong learning skills based on value system. It is also aimed
to reveal the relationship between self-directed learning skills and lifelong
learning tendencies.
3) Intrinsic Motivation
We are connected to our intrinsic motivation when we are inspired to
achieve a goal because it is meaningful to us. Sometimes a people knows
right away when something is personally meaningful. For others, it takes a
while.
4) Inspires a love of learning
A life lived with a love of learning is beautiful and complex. There is a
sense of freedom that comes along with that realization. When we control a
people’s learning, we can end up robbing them of that realization.

• EXPERIMENTIAL LEARNING
✓ Experiential learning is a method of educating through first-hand
experience. For Example:- internships, studies abroad, field trips, field
research, and service-learning projects.
✓ In other words, it is a process whereby knowledge is created through the
transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of
grasping and transforming the experience.

• BENEFITS OF EXPERIMENTIAL LEARNING

1) Links theory to Practice
People have the chance to engage in the experience and practice what they
have learned, see the application of the theoretical concepts in practice, process
that application and make generalizations.
2) Increase Engagement
By encouraging collaboration and scaffolding between learners it increases
people involvement.
 3) Leads to development of Skills
By assisting in the acquisition of essential skills and encouraging people to
reflect, conceptualize, and plan for next steps.
4) Assist memory retention
By building strong relationships between feelings and thinking processes.
people have the capacity to learn successfully when the information is
associated with values and feelings.

 THEORIES OF LEARNING
1) Classical Conditioning
✓ Classical conditioning is a type of conditioning in which an individual
responds to some stimulus that would not ordinarily produce such as
response.
✓ In other words, it is the process of learning to associate a particular thing in our
environment with a prediction of what will happen next.
✓ The classical conditioning was first constructed by Ivan Pavlov, the Russian
psychologist.
✓ Pavlov presented one dog with a piece of meat, the dog exhibited a
noticeable increase in salivation. When Pavlov withheld the presentation of
meat and merely rang a bell, the dog did not salivate. Then Pavlov
proceeded to link the meat and the ringing of the bell. After repeatedly
hearing the bell before getting the food, the dog began to salivate as soon as
the bell rang. After a while, the dog would salivate merely at the sound of
the bell, even if no food was offered.
✓ In classical conditioning, learning involves a conditioned stimulus and an
unconditioned stimulus. Here, the meat was unconditioned stimulus; it
invariably caused the dog to react in a specific way.
2) Operant conditioning
✓ Operant conditioning learns that a particular behavior is usually followed by a
reward or punishment.
✓ The Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner proposed operant conditioning.
✓ Operant conditioning argues that one’s behavior will depend on different
situations. People will repeatedly behave in a specific way from where they
will get benefits.
✓ On the other hand, they will try to avoid a behavior from where they will get
nothing. Skinner argued that creating pleasing consequences to specific forms
of behavior would increase the frequency of that behavior.
✓ In one famous experiment displaying operant learning, the psychologist B.F.
Skinner trained rats to press a lever to get food. In this experiment, a hungry rat
placed in a box containing a lever attached to some concealed food. At first, the
rat ran around the box randomly. In this process, it happened to press the lever,
and the food dropped into the box. The dropping of food-reinforced the
response of pressing the lever. After repeating the process of pressing the lever
followed by dropping off food many times, the rat learned to press the lever for
food.
3) Cognitive Theory
✓ Cognition refers to an individual’s thoughts, knowledge of interpretations,
understandings, or ideas about himself, and his environment.
✓ This is a process of learning through active and constructive thought processes,
such as a practice or using our memory.
✓ For example might be that we were taught how to tell time by looking at a
clock. Someone taught us the meaning of the big hand and little hand, and we
might have had to practice telling the time when we were first learning it.
✓ This process of learning was entirely inside our mind and didn’t involve any
physical motions or behaviors. It was all cognitive, meaning an internal thought
process.
✓ Hence, the theory has been used to explain mental processes as they are
influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, which eventually bring about
learning in an individual.

4) Social Learning Theory

✓ The social learning theory also called observational learning, stresses the
ability of an individual to learn by observing what happens to other people
and just by being told about something.
✓ One can learn things by observing models, parents, teachers, peers, motion
pictures, TV artists, bosses, and others.
 ✓ It includes four processes that have been found to determine the influence
on an individual.

▪ Attention process: People learn from a model only when they

recognize and pay attention to its critical features. If the learner is not
attentive they would not able to learn anything. We tend to be most
influenced by attractive models, repeatedly available, which we think is
important, or we see as similar to us.
▪ Retention process: A model’s influence depends on how well the
individuals remember the models’ actions after the model is no longer
readily available.
▪ Motor reproduction process: After a person has seen a new behavior
by observing the model, the watching must be converted to doing. It
involves recall the model’s behaviors and performing own actions and
matching them with those of the model. This process then demonstrates
that the individual can perform the modeled activities.
▪ Reinforcement process: Individuals are motivated to exhibit the
modeled behavior if positive incentives or rewards are provided.
Behavior that is positively reinforced is given more attention, learned
better and performed more often.

 E-LEARNING
✓ E-learning refers to a learning system that can obtain through the internet
using an electronic device. It also known as online learning or online
education.
✓ In other words, a learning system based on formalised teaching but with the
help of electronic resources is known as E-Learning.

• AIMS/GOALS OF E-LEARNING
1) Cost Effective & Saves Time
By reducing the time taken from the office, removing travel costs and doing
away with printed materials, online learning helps us to save money and
increases workforce productivity.
2) Learning 24/7
Online learning facilitates learning at anywhere at any place. In organizations
also staff will be happier because they do not travel for training centers they
can opt training even outside office hours also.
3) Serves Different Styles
One of the greatest benefits of e-learning is that they have a world of content
formats at their fingertips. Videos, notes, info graphics, games and other
content types make e-learning engaging for everyone. Plus, different types of
assessments, like quizzes and case studies, means that learners can be engaged
according to their increasing level of understanding as they progress through
the training.
4) Interactive and Gamification
Learning requires active participation from people. Interactive
eLearning courses allow employees to practice new skills. Simulations can
provide the ultimate level of interactivity and practice, without the risk.
5) Accessable Support
Almost all training can be delivered digitally, but sometimes there is still a
need for live facilitation and expert support. One of the benefits of online
training for employees is that they can learn in their own time, at their own
pace, while still having access to subject matter experts.

_
 GROUP DYNAMICS AND ORGANIZATIONALCHANGE

 MEANING AND DEFINITION OF GROUP

✓ In layman’s view, a number of people together at a given place and given time
can be considered as a group.
✓ According to Marvin Shaw, “A group is two or more persons who are
interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influences and
is influenced by each other person.”
✓ In short, A group is an aggregation of people for a Common Ideology.

 TYPES OF GROUP
1) Formal Group
The line of authority forms the members of this group formally. They are
formed for specific purpose. The purpose of forming is given by the
management.
2) Informal Group
Members of this group belong to various divisions irrespective of their jobs.
These groups are formed for the purpose of solving any serious problems, or
generally for sharing the ideas about any matter related or unrelated to the
organization.
3) Reference Group
The members of these group act as a comparsions or reference for other
individuals. Individual outside the reference groups form their attitudes and
frame their personality by referring or identifying themselves with reference
groups.
4) Small Groups
They are highly effective for short-term decision-making process. This group is
restricted upto 5 members. The communications among the members of this
group are fast.
5) Friendship Group
They are a type of informal groups. These groups are basically formed to
satisfy the needs of belongingness and security.
6) Task Group
The management might from task groups inorder to accomplish some of the
organizational goals.
 7) Self-managed Team
A group of people working together in their own ways toward a common goal
which is defined outside the team.
8) Self-directed Team
A group of people working together in their own ways toward a common goal
which the team defines.
9) Command Group
It is relatively permanent and is specified by the organization chart. It
comprises of managers or superiors and subordinates, who meet regularly to
discuss general and specific ideas to improve product or service.
10) Vertical Clique
This group consists of people working in the same department drawing
membership regardless of ranks.
11) Horizontal Clique
This group consists of people of more or less the same rank and working more
or less in the same area.

 GROUP FORMATION/FORMATION OF GROUP

The process of group formation can be depicted by five stages:-

S4

S5
S3

S2

S1
 • STAGE1:- FORMING
This is the first stage of group formation. This first stage is characterized by a
sense of uncertainty and awkwardness and perhaps anxiety. In this stage,
group norms and standards are defined. This phase often shows as
tentativeness or even some anxiety on the part of participants. Leaders need to
“set the tone” for group behaviour, activities and interactions.
• STAGE2:- STORMING
This stage is characterized by individual assertive behaviour, which may result
in some group instability. In this stage each person wants to feel a sense of
individual importance and influence on the group “finding a niche”.
• STAGE3:- NORMING
This phase is known as “becoming personal”. Norming is the stage where the
group is formed and structured completely. A growth of affection and
establishment of personal relationships characterize this phase.
• STAGE4:- PERFORMING
This phase is termed as “Working together”. This phase is characterized by
harmony among group members. At this stage the group is mature enough to
attend to its own needs both in terms of task and relationship matters.
• STAGE5:- ADJOURNING
This stage is also known as “Transference”. In this stage, the group disperses
after the group activity is completed.

 NEGOITATION AND CONFLICT

✓ Conflict refers to “any tension which is experienced when one person perceives
that one’s needs or desires are or are likely to be frustrated”.
✓ According to Follet, Conflict as “the appearance of difference, difference of
opinions, of interests”.
✓ In short, conflict means “a disagreement between two or more individuals or
groups”.

 PROCESS OF CONFLICT
1) Potential Opposition or Incompatibility
The first step in the conflict process is the presence of conditions that create
opportunities for conflict to develop. These 3 conditions cause conflict and
are:-
 ▪ Communication: Different words connotations, insufficient exchange
of information and noise in the communication channel are all leads to
conflict.
▪ Structure: The term structure is used to include variables such as size,
the degree of specialization in the tasks assigned to group members. The
larger the group and the more specialized its activities, the greater the
likelihood of conflict.
▪ Personal Variables: Certain personality types- for example,
individuals who are highly authoritarian lead to potential conflict.
Another reason for the conflict is the difference in value systems.
2) Cognition and Personalization
If no one is aware of a conflict, then it is generally agreed that no conflict exists
because conflict is perceived does not mean that is personalized.
For example:- ‘A’ may be aware that ‘B’ and ‘A’ are in serious disagreements
but it may not make ‘A’ tense or nations and it may have no effect whatsoever
on A’s affection towards ‘B’.
3) Intentions
Intentions are decisions to act in a given way, intentions intervene between
people’s perception and emotions and their overt behavior. Five conflict
handling intentions can be identified and are Competing (I Win, You Lose),
Collaborating (I Win, You Win), Avoiding (No Winners, No Losers),
Accommodating (I lose, You win), and Compromising (You Bend, I Bend).
4) Behaviour
The behaviour stage includes the statements, actions, and reactions made by the
conflicting parties. These conflict behaviours are usually overt attempts to
implement each party’s intentions.
5) Outcomes
The action-reaction interplay between the conflicting parties results in
consequences. These outcomes may be functional in that the conflict results in
an improvement.
 CAUSES OF CONFLICT
1) Communication aspect of conflict
Lack of proper communication can be a cause of conflict in the following
ways:-
▪ Too much or too little communication.
▪ Filtering of communication which means that information is passed
through many levels or through many members.
▪ Semantic problems arises due to differences is background, training,
selection perception and inadequate information about others.
2) Behavioural aspect of conflict
Some of the causes of this aspect of conflict are:-
▪ The widening gap between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ also causes conflict,
because the unrealised expectation of under privileged causes frustration
in their mind which leads to conflict.
▪ Conflict between the goals of the formal organizations and the
psychological needs of the individual.
▪ Conflict may also be based on personal biases regarding religion, caste,
race or sex.
3) Structural aspect of conflict
These conflicts arise due to some of the factors and are:-
▪ The larger the size of the organizations, more will be the chances of
conflict.
▪ Participation of the subordinates in the decision-making process is a
cause of conflict.
▪ Role of ambiguity also causes conflict.

 RESOLUTION/OVERCOMING OF CONFLICT/CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT
1) Reduction in Interdependence
Interdependence among line and staff managers leads to conflict. In
organizations, such interdependence cannot be altogether avoided. However,
instead of separating the units, they can be separated physically.
2) Reduction in Shared resources
The management of conflict suggests reducing the sharing one technique for
this can be increasing the resources, so that each unit is independent in using
them.
 3) Trust and Communication
Individuals and groups should be encouraged to communicate openly with each
other, as a result it reduces misunderstandings.
4) Exchange of Personnel
Exchange of people is very similar to role reversal. It is aimed at greater
understanding between people by forcing each to present and defend the
other’s position.
5) Use of Superior Authority
If conflict cannot be solved by members of organization, it may be referred to a
superior, who will resolve the conflict by giving a decision.
6) Compromise and Avoidance
An individual should take a compromising stance with the attitude of give and
take and be willing to share the resources so that neither totally wins nor totally
losses and on other side when an situation is ignored or neglected that might
get better advantage of avoidance behaviour and conflict.

 ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
✓ The term change refers to “any alteration which occurs in the overall work
environment of an organization”.
✓ According to Organizational point of view, the term change defined as, “when
an organizational system is disturbed by some internal or external force, change
frequently occurs. Change, as a process, is simply modification of the structure
or process of a system. It may be good or bad, the concept is descriptive only”.
✓ In short, “Change” defined as, “making things different”.

 TYPES OF CHANGE
1) Organizational wide Range Change
Organization-wide change is a large-scale transformation that affects the whole
company. This could include restructuring leadership, adding a new policy, or
introducing a new enterprise technology.
2) Transformational Change
Transformational change specifically targets a company’s organizational
strategy. Cultural trends, social climate, and technological progress are some of
the many factors that considerably organization led to focus.
 3) Personnel Change
Personnel change happens when a company experiences hyper-growth. The
company must move forward hence hiring employees is essential for an
organization as employing new staff means and thereby achieving further
growth.
4) Unplanned Change
Unplanned change is typically defined as necessary action following
unexpected events. While unplanned change cannot be predicted it can be dealt
with in an organized manner.
5) Remedial Change
Leaders implement remedial changes when they identify a poor performance in
organization. Remedial change effort at specific problem on hand, they still
require effective organizational change strategies to be effective.

 CHANGE PROCESS
1) Clearly define change
In this step it is necessary to determine the value of the change, which will
quantify the effort and inputs. Change should always answers the questions
like,
▪ What do we need to change?
▪ Why is this change required?
2) Determine impacts
This stage focuses to form the blueprint for where training and support is
needed the most to mitigate the impacts.
▪ What are the impacts of the change?
▪ Who will the change affect the most?
▪ How will the change be received?
3) Develop a strategy
At this stage determine the most effective means of communication for the
group or individual.
▪ How will the change be communicated?
▪ How will feedback be managed?
 4) Providing training
It is most important to train the people inside the organization not to resist the
change. Both on-the-job and off-the-job training will improves company’s
growth.
▪ What behaviors and skills are required to achieve business results?
▪ What training delivery methods will be most effective?
5) Implement a support structure
It is essential to assist employees to emotionally and practically adjust to the
change and to build proficiency of behaviours and technical skills needed to
achieve desired business results.
▪ Where is support most required?
▪ What types of support will be most effective?
6) Measure the process
Throughout the change management process, a structure should be put in place
to measure the business impact of the changes and ensure that continued
reinforcement opportunities exist to build proficiencies.
▪ Did the change assist in achieving business goals?
▪ Was the change management process successful?
▪ What could have been done differently?

 FACTORS INFLUENCING CHANGE

A. INTERNAL FACTORS
1) Change in Managerial Personnel
Old managers are replaced by new managers which are necessary because of
retirement, promotion, transfer or dismissal. Each new manager brings their
ideas and way of working in the organization.
2) Nature of Workforce
The nature of the workforce has changed with time. Different work values
have expressed by different generations. The new generation of workers
has better educational value they place greater emphasis on human values
and questions the authority of managers.
3) Deficiency in Organization
Sometimes, changes are necessary because of deficiency in the present
organizational arrangement and process. These deficiencies may be in the
form of an unmanageable span of management, the large number of
managerial levels, lacks in coordination between various departments,
obstacles in communication, the multiplicity of committees, lack of
 uniformity in policy decisions, lack of cooperation between line and staff and
so on.
4) Avoid developing inertia
Organizational changes take place just to avoid developing inertia or
inflexibility. Thus, changes are incorporated so that the personnel develops
liking for change and there is no unnecessary resistance when the major
change in the organization is brought about.
B. EXTERNAL FACTORS
1) Technology
Organization has to adopt new technology. When the organizations adopt
new technology, its work structure is affecting and a new equilibrium has
to establish.
2) Marketing Conditions
Since every organization exports its outputs to the environment, an
organization has to face competition in the market. There may be two types
of forces that may affect the competitive position of an organization other
organizations supplying the same products and buyers who are buying the
product. Any change in these forces may require suitable changes in the
organization.
3) Social Change
The social change has taken place because of the several forces like the level
of education, urbanization, feeling of autonomy and international impact due
to new information sources. These social changes affect the behaviour of
people in the organization. Therefore it is required to adjust its working so
that it matches people.
4) Political and Legal Change
Political and legal factors broadly define the activities which an organization
can undertake and the methods which will follow it in accomplishing those
activities. Any change in these political and legal factors may affect the
organizational operation.

_
 RECENT TRENDS IN OB
 STRESS MANAGEMENT
✓ Modern definitions of stress all recognize that it is a personal experience caused
by pressure or demands on an individual, and impacts upon the individual’s
ability to cope or rather, his/her perception of that ability.

✓ Stress defined as a subjective feeling of tension or arousal that is triggered

By a potentially stressful situation.
For example:-Job security, Overwork, Information overload etc.

✓ Stress is an adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or

threatening to a person’s well-being.

✓ Stress has both psychological and physiological dimensions. Psychologically,

people perceive a situation and interpret it as challenging or threatening. This
cognitive appraisal leads to a set of physiological responses, such as higher
blood pressure, sweaty hands, and faster heart beat.

 TYPES OF STRESS
1) Acute Stress
Acute stress is short-term stress. Acute stress is most often caused by reactive
thinking. Negative thoughts predominate about situations or events that have
recently occurred, or upcoming situations, events, or demands in the near
future. Symptoms of acute stress are irritability, anger, sadness, tension,
headaches etc.
2) Episodic Stress
People who frequently experience acute stress, or whose lives present with
frequent triggers of stress, have episodic acute stress. People with this kind of
stress will oftentimes take on more responsibilities and projects than they can
handle. Symptoms of episodic acute stress are Migraines, Hypertension, Heart
disease etc.
3) Chronic Stress
Chronic stress occurs when someone feels trapped in a bad situation. Whether
it be an over-demanding job, an unhappy marriage, or a desperate financial
situation and so on. Symptoms of Chronic stress are Anxiety, Depression,
Sleep issues, Memory and concentration issues etc.
 Causes and Consequences of Stress

Work related stress Individual Consequences of stress

Differences
a) Interpersonal stress Physiological
• Heart disease
b) Role related stress • Ulcers
• High blood pressure
• Headaches
Stress • Sleep disturbances
c) Task control stress • More illness

d) Organizational/Phys Psychological
ical Environment • Job dissatisfaction
stress • Depression
• Exhaustion
• Moodiness
• Burnout

Behavioral
• Lower job performance
• More accidents
• Faulty decisions
• Higher absenteeism
• Workplace aggression

Non work
stressors

I. Work related Stress

1) Inter personal stress
Stress arises within workplace because employees must interact more with co-
workers.
For example:-Bad boss, Office politics, sexual harassment, workplace violence,
and bullying.
 It includes the following stresses:-
▪ Sexual harassment
Unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that detrimentally affects the
work environment or leads to adverse job-related consequences for its
victims.
Sexual harassment includes situations where a person’s employment or
job performance is conditional on unwanted sexual relations.
▪ Work place Violence
The most serious interpersonal stressor is the rising wave of physical
violence in the workplace. Employees who experience violence usually
have symptoms of severe distress after the traumatic event.
▪ Work place Bullying
Offensive, intimidating, or humiliating behavior that degrades, ridicules,
or insults another person at work is called work place bullying. It leads
to more absenteeism and, back on the job, have impaired decision
making, lower work performance, and more work errors.
2) Role related stress
Role-related stressors include conditions where employees have difficulty
understanding, reconciling, or performing the various roles in their lives.
Two types of role-related stressors are role conflict, role ambiguity.
▪ Role conflict
It refers to the degree of incongruity or incompatibility of expectations
associated with the person’s role. Conflict that occurs when people face
competing demands.
In other words, Role conflict also occurs when an employee receives
contradictory messages from different people about how to perform a
task (called intra role conflict) or work with organizational values and
work obligations that are incompatible with his or her personal values
(called person-role conflict).
▪ Role ambiguity
Role ambiguity refers to the lack of clarity and predictability of the
outcomes of one’s behavior.
In other words, role ambiguity refers to uncertainty about job duties,
performance expectations, level of authority, and other job conditions.
3) Task control stress
Employees are more stressed when they lack control over how and when they
perform their tasks as well as over the pace of work activity.
4) Organizational and Physical environment stress
Organizational and physical environment stressors come in many forms.
Organizations create stress by altering the psychological contract, reducing job
security, and restructuring and downsizing employment.
 physical work environment, such as excessive noise, poor lighting, and safety
hazards. For example, a study of textile workers in a noisy plant found that
their levels of stress measurably decreased when supplied with ear protectors.
II. Non work Stress
There are three types of these non work stressors: time based, strain-based, and
role-based conflict.
▪ Time based stress
It refers to the stress of trying to balance time at work with family. The
challenge of balancing the time demanded by work with family and
other non work activities.
This stressor is particularly noticeable in employees who hold strong
family values and weakest in people whose values emphasize a work-
-life imbalance.
▪ Strain-based conflict
Strain-based conflict occurs when stress from one domain spills over
into the other. Relationship problems, financial difficulties, and loss of a
loved one usually top the list of non work stressors. New responsibilities
such as marriage, birth of a child, and a mortgage are also stressful to
most of employees.
▪ Role behavior conflict
It occurs when people are expected to enact different work and non
work roles. People who act logically and impersonally at work have
difficulty switching to a more compassionate behavioral style in their
personal lives.
For example:-one study found that police officers were unable to shake
off their professional role when they left the job. This was confirmed
by their spouses, who reported that the officers would handle their
children in the same manner as they would people in their job.

III. Consequences of stress

1) Physiological Consequences
Many people experience tension headaches due to stress. Others get muscle
pain and related back problems. These physiological ailments are attributed to
muscle contractions that occur when people are exposed to stressors.
2) Psychological Consequences
Stress produces various psychological consequences, including job satisfaction,
moodiness, and depression. Emotional fatigue is another psychological
consequence of stress and is related to job burnout.
3) Behavioral Consequences
When stress becomes distress, job performance falls and workplace accidents
are more common. High stress levels impair our ability to remember
information, make effective decisions, and take appropriate action. This might
probably experience in an exam or emergency work situation. This kind of
 stress makes us to forget important information, make mistakes, and otherwise
“draw a blank” under intense pressure.

 Ways of overcoming the stress

Some of the ways to reduce the stress as explained below:-
1) Flexible work time
Some firms are flexible about the hours, days, and amount of time employees
want to work.
For example:-Providing work–life program gives employees the freedom to
rearrange their work schedule to accommodate family events, from attending
their kids’ sports activities to caring for elderly parents.
2) Job Sharing
Job sharing splits a career position between two people so they experience less
time based stress between work and family. They typically work different parts
of the week with some overlapping work time in the weekly schedule to
coordinate activities.
3) Telecommuting
This reduces the time and stress of commuting to work and makes it easier to
fulfill family obligations, such as temporarily leaving the home-office to pick
the kids up from school. Research suggests that telecommuters experience a
healthier work–life balance.
4) Personal leave programs
Employers with strong work–life values offer extended maternity, paternity,
and personal leaves to care for a new family or take advantage of a personal
experience. Increasingly, employees require personal leave to care for elderly
parents who need assistance.
5) EAPs (Employee assistance programs)
EAPs are counseling services that help employees overcome personal or
organizational stressors and adopt more effective coping mechanisms.
Most EAPs are “broad brush” programs that counsel employees on any work
or personal problems.
6) Receive social support
Social support from co-workers, supervisors, family, friends, and others is one
of the more effective stress management practices. Social support refers to the
person’s interpersonal transactions with others and involves providing either
emotional or informational support to buffer the stress experience.
For example: social support might reduce a new employee’s stress
because co-workers describe ways to handle difficult customers.
Finally, emotional support from others can directly help to buffer the stress
experience.
 Power and Influence

Bases of Power

Having power and using power are two different things. For example, imagine a manager
who has the power to reward or punish employees. When the manager makes a request, he
or she will probably be obeyed even though the manager does not actually reward the
employee. The fact that the manager has the ability to give rewards and punishments will be
enough for employees to follow the request. What are the sources of one’s power over
others? Researchers identified six sources of power, which include legitimate, reward,
coercive, expert, information, and referent. You might earn power from one source or all six
depending on the situation. Let us take a look at each of these in turn, and continue with
Steve Jobs from the opening case as our example.

Legitimate Power

Legitimate power is power that comes from one’s organizational role or position. For
example, a boss can assign projects, a policeman can arrest a citizen, and a teacher assigns
grades. Others comply with the requests these individuals make because they accept the
legitimacy of the position, whether they like or agree with the request or not. Steve Jobs has
enjoyed legitimate power as the CEO of Apple. He could set deadlines and employees
comply even if they think the deadlines were overly ambitious. Start-up organizations often
have founders who use their legitimate power to influence individuals to work long hours
week after week in order to help the company survive.

Reward Power

Reward power is the ability to grant a reward, such as an increase in pay, a perk, or an
attractive job assignment. Reward power tends to accompany legitimate power and is
highest when the reward is scarce. Anyone can wield reward power, however, in the form of
public praise or giving someone something in exchange for their compliance. When Steve
Jobs ran Apple, he had reward power in the form of raises and promotions. Another
example of reward power comes from Bill Gross, founder of Idealab, who has the power to
launch new companies or not. He created his company with the idea of launching other new
companies as soon as they could develop viable ideas. If members could convince him that
their ideas were viable, he gave the company a maximum of $250,000 in seed money, and
gave the management team and employees a 30% stake in the company and the CEO 10%
of the company. That way, everyone had a stake in the company. The CEO’s salary was
capped at $75,000 to maintain the sense of equity. When one of the companies, Citysearch,
went public, all employees benefited from the $270 million valuation.

Coercive Power
In contrast, coercive power is the ability to take something away or punish someone for
noncompliance. Coercive power often works through fear, and it forces people to do
something that ordinarily they would not choose to do. The most extreme example of
coercion is government dictators who threaten physical harm for noncompliance. Parents
may also use coercion such as grounding their child as punishment for noncompliance.
Steve Jobs has been known to use coercion—yelling at employees and threatening to fire
them. When John Wiley & Sons Inc. published an unauthorized biography of Jobs, Jobs’s
response was to prohibit sales of all books from that publisher in any Apple retail store. In
other examples, John D. Rockefeller was ruthless when running Standard Oil Company. He
not only undercut his competitors through pricing, but he used his coercive power to get
railroads to refuse to transport his competitor’s products. American presidents have been
known to use coercion power. President Lyndon Baines Johnson once told a White House
staffer, “Just you remember this. There’s only two kinds at the White house. There’s
elephants and there’s ants. And I’m the only elephant.”

Expert Power

Expert power comes from knowledge and skill. Steve Jobs had expert power from his
ability to know what customers want—even before they can articulate it. Others who have
expert power in an organization include long-time employees, such as a steelworker who
knows the temperature combinations and length of time to get the best yields. Technology
companies are often characterized by expert, rather than legitimate power. Many of these
firms utilize a flat or matrix structure in which clear lines of legitimate power become
blurred as everyone communicates with everyone else regardless of position.

Information Power

Information power is similar to expert power but differs in its source. Experts tend to have a
vast amount of knowledge or skill, whereas information power is distinguished by access to
specific information. For example, knowing price information gives a person information
power during negotiations. Within organizations, a person’s social network can either
isolate them from information power or serve to create it. As we will see later in this
chapter, those who are able to span boundaries and serve to connect different parts of the
organizations often have a great deal of information power. In the TV show Mad Men,
which is set in the 1960s, it is clear that the switchboard operators have a great deal of
information power as they place all calls and are able to listen in on all the phone
conversations within the advertising firm.
Referent Power

As the 44th elected president of the United States, Barack Obama has legitimate power. As
commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, he also has coercive power. His ability to
appoint individuals to cabinet positions affords him reward power. Individuals differ on the
degree to which they feel he has expert and referent power, as he received 52% of the
popular vote in the 2008 election. Shortly after the election, he began to be briefed on
national security issues, providing him with substantial information power as well. Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ObamaSouthCarolina.jpg.

Referent power stems from the personal characteristics of the person such as the degree to
which we like, respect, and want to be like them. Referent power is often called charisma—
the ability to attract others, win their admiration, and hold them spellbound. Steve Jobs’s
influence as described in the opening case is an example of this charisma.

What Is Influence?

Starting at infancy, we all try to get others to do what we want. We learn early what works
in getting us to our goals. Instead of crying and throwing a tantrum, we may figure out that
smiling and using language causes everyone less stress and brings us the rewards we seek.

By the time you hit the workplace, you have had vast experience with influence techniques.
You have probably picked out a few that you use most often. To be effective in a wide
number of situations, however, it’s best to expand your repertoire of skills and become
competent in several techniques, knowing how and when to use them as well as
understanding when they are being used on you. If you watch someone who is good at
influencing others, you will most probably observe that person switching tactics depending
on the context. The more tactics you have at your disposal, the more likely it is that you will
achieve your influence goals.
Al Gore and many others have spent years trying to influence us to think about the changes
in the environment and the implications of global warming. They speak, write, network, and
lobby to get others to pay attention. But Gore, for example, does not stop there. He also
works to persuade us with direct, action-based suggestions such as asking everyone to
switch the kind of light bulbs they use, turn off appliances when not in use, drive vehicles
with better fuel economy, and even take shorter showers. Ironically, Gore has more
influence now as a private citizen regarding these issues than he was able to exert as a
congressman, senator, and vice president of the United States.

Commonly Used Influence Tactics

Figure 13.7 Influence Tactics Use and Outcomes.Source: Adapted from information in
Falbe, C. M., & Yukl, G. (1992). Consequences for managers of using single influence
tactics and combinations of tactics. Academy of Management Journal, 35, 638–652.

Researchers have identified distinct influence tactics and discovered that there are few
differences between the way bosses, subordinates, and peers use them, which we will
discuss at greater depth later on in this chapter. We will focus on nine influence tactics.
Responses to influence attempts include resistance, compliance, or
commitment. Resistance occurs when the influence target does not wish to comply with the
request and either passively or actively repels the influence attempt. Compliance occurs
when the target does not necessarily want to obey, but they do. Commitment occurs when
the target not only agrees to the request but also actively supports it as well. Within
organizations, commitment helps to get things done, because others can help to keep
initiatives alive long after compliant changes have been made or resistance has been
overcome.

1. Rational persuasion includes using facts, data, and logical arguments to try to
convince others that your point of view is the best alternative. This is the most
 commonly applied influence tactic. One experiment illustrates the power of
reason. People were lined up at a copy machine and another person, after
joining the line asked, “May I go to the head of the line?” Amazingly, 63% of
the people in the line agreed to let the requester jump ahead. When the line
jumper makes a slight change in the request by asking, “May I go to the head
of the line because I have copies to make?” the number of people who agreed
jumped to over 90%. The word because was the only difference. Effective
rational persuasion includes the presentation of factual information that is
clear and specific, relevant, and timely. Across studies summarized in a meta-
analysis, rationality was related to positive work outcomes.
2. Inspirational appeals seek to tap into our values, emotions, and beliefs to gain
support for a request or course of action. When President John F. Kennedy
said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your
country,” he appealed to the higher selves of an entire nation. Effective
inspirational appeals are authentic, personal, big-thinking, and enthusiastic.
3. Consultation refers to the influence agent’s asking others for help in directly
influencing or planning to influence another person or group. Consultation is
most effective in organizations and cultures that value democratic decision
making.
4. Ingratiation refers to different forms of making others feel good about
themselves. Ingratiation includes any form of flattery done either before or
during the influence attempt. Research shows that ingratiation can affect
individuals. For example, in a study of résumés, those résumés that were
accompanied with a cover letter containing ingratiating information were
rated higher than résumés without this information. Other than the cover letter
accompanying them, the résumés were identical. Effective ingratiation is
honest, infrequent, and well intended.
5. Personal appeal refers to helping another person because you like them and
they asked for your help. We enjoy saying yes to people we know and like. A
famous psychological experiment showed that in dorms, the most well-liked
people were those who lived by the stairwell—they were the most often seen
by others who entered and left the hallway. The repeated contact brought a
level of familiarity and comfort. Therefore, personal appeals are most
effective with people who know and like you.
6. Exchange refers to give-and-take in which someone does something for you,
and you do something for them in return. The rule of reciprocation says that
“we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.” The
application of the rule obliges us and makes us indebted to the giver. One
experiment illustrates how a small initial gift can open people to a
substantially larger request at a later time. One group of subjects was given a
bottle of Coke. Later, all subjects were asked to buy raffle tickets. On the
average, people who had been given the drink bought twice as many raffle
tickets as those who had not been given the unsolicited drinks.
 7. Coalition tactics refer to a group of individuals working together toward a
common goal to influence others. Common examples of coalitions within
organizations are unions that may threaten to strike if their demands are not
met. Coalitions also take advantage of peer pressure. The influencer tries to
build a case by bringing in the unseen as allies to convince someone to think,
feel, or do something. A well-known psychology experiment draws upon this
tactic. The experimenters stare at the top of a building in the middle of a busy
street. Within moments, people who were walking by in a hurry stop and also
look at the top of the building, trying to figure out what the others are looking
at. When the experimenters leave, the pattern continues, often for hours. This
tactic is also extremely popular among advertisers and businesses that use
client lists to promote their goods and services. The fact that a client bought
from the company is a silent testimonial.
8. Pressure refers to exerting undue influence on someone to do what you want
or else something undesirable will occur. This often includes threats and
frequent interactions until the target agrees. Research shows that managers
with low referent power tend to use pressure tactics more frequently than
those with higher referent power. Pressure tactics are most effective when
used in a crisis situation and when they come from someone who has the
other’s best interests in mind, such as getting an employee to an employee
assistance program to deal with a substance abuse problem.
9. Legitimating tactics occur when the appeal is based on legitimate or position
power. “By the power vested in me…”: This tactic relies upon compliance
with rules, laws, and regulations. It is not intended to motivate people but to
align them behind a direction. Obedience to authority is filled with both
positive and negative images. Position, title, knowledge, experience, and
demeanor grant authority, and it is easy to see how it can be abused. If
someone hides behind people’s rightful authority to assert themselves, it can
seem heavy-handed and without choice. You must come across as an authority
figure by the way you act, speak, and look. Think about the number of
commercials with doctors, lawyers, and other professionals who look and
sound the part, even if they are actors. People want to be convinced that the
person is an authority worth heeding. Authority is often used as a last resort. If
it does not work, you will not have much else to draw from in your goal to
persuade someone.

Direction of Influence

The type of influence tactic used tends to vary based on the target. For example, you would
probably use different influence tactics with your boss than you would with a peer or with
employees working under you.

Upward Influence
Upward influence, as its name implies, is the ability to influence your boss and others in
positions higher than yours. Upward influence may include appealing to a higher authority
or citing the firm’s goals as an overarching reason for others to follow your cause. Upward
influence can also take the form of an alliance with a higher status person (or with the
perception that there is such an alliance). As complexity grows, the need for this upward
influence grows as well—the ability of one person at the top to know enough to make all
the decisions becomes less likely. Moreover, even if someone did know enough, the sheer
ability to make all the needed decisions fast enough is no longer possible. This limitation
means that individuals at all levels of the organization need to be able to make and influence
decisions. By helping higher-ups be more effective, employees can gain more power for
themselves and their unit as well. On the flip side, allowing yourself to be influenced by
those reporting to you may build your credibility and power as a leader who listens. Then,
during a time when you do need to take unilateral, decisive action, others will be more
likely to give you the benefit of the doubt and follow. Both Asian American and Caucasian
American managers report using different tactics with superiors than those used with their
subordinates. Managers reported using coalitions and rationality with managers and
assertiveness with subordinates. Other research establishes that subordinates’ use of
rationality, assertiveness, and reciprocal exchange was related to more favorable outcomes
such as promotions and raises, while self-promotion led to more negative outcomes.

Influence takes place even before employees are hired. For example, ingratiation and
rationality were used frequently by fire fighters during interviews. Extraverts tend to engage
in a greater use of self-promotion tactics while interviewing, and research shows that
extraverts are more likely to use inspirational appeal and ingratiation as influence
tactics. Research shows that ingratiation was positively related to perceived fit with the
organization and recruiters’ hiring recommendations.

Downward Influence

Downward influence is the ability to influence employees lower than you. This is
best achieved through an inspiring vision. By articulating a clear vision, you help
people see the end goal and move toward it. You often don’t need to specify exactly
what needs to be done to get there—people will be able to figure it out on their own.
An inspiring vision builds buy-in and gets people moving in the same direction.
Research conducted within large savings banks shows that managers can learn to be
more effective at influence attempts. The experimental group of managers received a
feedback report and went through a workshop to help them become more effective
in their influence attempts. The control group of managers received no feedback on
their prior influence attempts. When subordinates were asked 3 months later to
evaluate potential changes in their managers’ behavior, the experimental group had
much higher ratings of the appropriate use of influence. Research also shows that the
better the quality of the relationship between the subordinate and their supervisor,
the more positively resistance to influence attempts are seen. In other words, bosses
who like their employees are less likely to interpret resistance as a problem.
Peer Influence

Peer influence occurs all the time. But, to be effective within organizations, peers need to be
willing to influence each other without being destructively competitive. There are times to
support each other and times to challenge—the end goal is to create better decisions and
results for the organization and to hold each other accountable. Executives spend a great
deal of their time working to influence other executives to support their initiatives. Research
shows that across all functional groups of executives, finance or human resources as an
example, rational persuasion is the most frequently used influence tactic.

Organizational Structure
What is Organisation
Organisation refers to a collection of people who are working towards a common goal and
objective. In other words, it can be said that organisation is a place where people assemble
together and perform different sets of duties and responsibilities towards fulfilling the
organisational goals.

Types of Organisation and their Structure

There are two broad categories of organisation, which are:
1. Formal Organisation
2. Informal Organisation
Formal Organisation: Formal organisation is that type of organisation structure where the
authority and responsibility are clearly defined. The organisation structure has a defined
delegation of authority and roles and responsibilities for the members.
The formal organisation has predefined policies, rules, schedules, procedures and programs.
The decision making activity in a formal organisation is mostly based on predefined
policies.
Formal organisation structure is created by the management with the objective of attaining
the organisational goals.
There are several types of formal organisation based on their structure, which are discussed
as follows:
1. Line Organisation
2. Line and Staff Organisation
3. Functional Organisation
4. Project Organisation
5. Matrix Organisation
Let us learn about these organisation structures in detail in the following lines.
Line Organisation: Line organisation is the simplest organisation structure and it also
happens to be the oldest organisation structure. It is also known as Scalar or military or
departmental type of organisation.
In this type of organisational structure, the authority is well defined and it flows vertically
from the top to the hierarchy level to the managerial level and subordinates at the bottom
and continues further to the workers till the end.
There is a clear division of accountability, authority and responsibility in the line
organisation structure.
Advantages of Line organisation
1. Simple structure and easy to run
2. Instructions and hierarchy clearly defined
3. Rapid decision making
4. Responsibility fixed at each level of the organisation.
Disadvantages of Line organisation:
1. It is rigid in nature
2. It has a tendency to become dictatorial.
3. Each department will be busy with their work instead of focusing on the overall
development of the organisation.
Line and Staff Organisation: Line and staff organisation is an improved version of the line
organisation. In line and staff organisation, the functional specialists are added in line. The
staff is for assisting the line members in achieving the target effectively.
Advantages of Line and Staff organisation
1. Easy decision making as work is divided.
2. Greater coordination between line and staff workers.
3. Provides workers the opportunity for growth.
Disadvantages of Line and Staff Organisation
1. Conflict may arise between line and staff members due to the improper distribution of
authority.
2. Staff members provide suggestions to the line members and decision is taken by line
members, it makes the staff members feel ignored.
Functional Organisation: Functional organisation structure is the type of organisation
where the task of managing and directing the employees is arranged as per the function they
specialise. In a functional organisation, there are three types of members, line members,
staff members and functional members.
Advantages of Functional organisation
1. Manager has to perform a limited number of tasks which improves the accuracy of the
work.
2. Improvement in product quality due to involvement of specialists.
Disadvantages of Functional organisation
1. It is difficult to achieve coordination among workers as there is no one to manage them
directly.
2. Conflicts may arise due to the members having equal positions.
Project Organisation: A project organisation is a temporary form of organisation structure
that is formed to manage projects for a specific period of time. This form of organisation
has specialists from different departments who are brought together for developing a new
product.
Advantages of Project organisation
1. The presence of many specialists from different departments increases the coordination
among the members.
2. Each individual has a different set of responsibilities which improves control of the
process.
Disadvantages of Project Organization
1. There can be a delay in completion of the project.
2. Project managers may find it difficult to judge the performance of different specialists.
Matrix Organisation: Matrix organisation is the latest form of organisation that is a
combination of functional and project organisation. In such organisations there are two lines
of authority, the functional part of the organisation and project management part of the
organisation and they have vertical and horizontal flow of authority, respectively.
Advantages of Matrix Organisation
1. Since the matrix organisation is a combination of functional and project management
teams, there is an improved coordination between the vertical and horizontal functions.
2. Employees are motivated as everyone will be working towards one project.
Disadvantages of Matrix Organisation
1. Due to the presence of vertical and horizontal communication, there will be increased
cost and paperwork.
2.Having multiple supervisors for the workers leads to confusion and difficulty in control.
Informal Organisation: Informal organisations are those types of organisations which do
not have a defined hierarchy of authority and responsibility. In such organisations, the
relationship between employees is formed based on common interests, preferences and
prejudices.