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Shree Chanakya Education Society's

INDIRA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS STUDIES, PUNEPOST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT -INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

(PGDM-IB)Mid-Semester Examination-September-2012

Semester-I

SUBJECT - Organizational Behaviour & PPM

Total 'Marks: 40

Code:lOl

Duration: 1Yz hours

Note: 1. Q.l is compulsory2. Attempt any 2 from Q2, Q3 and Q4.3. Attempt any 1 from Q5 and Q6.4. All questions carry equal marks.

Q.lSection-I-OB

Study the case below and answer the following questions:. THE RISE OF THE NICE CEO?

If asked to describe the traits of an effective CEO, most people would probably useadjectives such as driven, competitive and tough. While it's clear that some hard-nosed CEOs, like Blackstone chief executive Stephen Schwarzman, are successful,recently some authors have suggested that being "NICE" is really important in today'sworkplace, even in the CEO suite. In a recent book titled The No A- Hole Rule: 'Building A Civilized One That Isn't, Stanford management professor Robert Suttonargues that getting along well with others is important to the successful functioning oforganizations.Many companies, such as GoogIe, have developed policies to weed out those whohabitually behave in an uncivil manner. Lars Dalgaard, CEO of success factors, abusiness software company, identifies himself as a recovering Fortune 500 "a - hole".Now, Dalgaard has implemented a strict "no a- hole" rule in his company. Jobinterviews are lengthy and feature probing questions designed to uncover anybrowbeating tendencies. Last year Dalgaard took candidates vying for a chieffinancial officer vacancy to lunch at a local restaurant to see how they treated the waitstaff. Some got a free lunch but nothing more. When mangers and employers arehired, they get a welcome letter from Dalgaard that spells out 15 corporate values, thelast of which is "I will not be an A - Hole".Although it's not clear whether they've read Sutton's book, some CEOs of Fortune

. 500 companies do seem to project the image of a "Kinder, Gentle CEO". Let'sconsider three examples, all of whom were protege's of Jack Welch when he wasCEO of General Electric (GE) and were candidates to be his successor: Bob Nardelli,James McNerney, and Jeff Immelt.Bob Nardelli, Former CEO, Home DepotWhen Bob Nardelli wasn't chosen to be CEO of GE, he demanded to know why?Didn't he have the best numbers? His bitterness was palpable, say GE insiders. WhenNardelli became CEO of Home Depot, in his few months on the job, he becamenotorious for his imperious manner and explosive temper. At one meeting, he yelled,"You guys don't know how to run a business." When Nardelli was fired as CEO in2006, it was due to a combination of factors, including Home Depot's lackluster stockprice, but his abrasive personality played no small part. Business Week wrote: " With

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the stock price recently stuck at just over 40, roughly the same as when Nardelliarrived 6 years ago, he could no longer rely on other sterile metrics to assuage the.quivering anger his arrogance provoked within every one of his key constituencies:employees, customers and shareholders." .lames McNerney, CEO, BoeingThese are heady days at Boeing, which commands record levels of new orders anddominates its European rival Airbus as never before. Most CEOs would take credit forthis success. Not James McNerney, who gives the credit to Boeing's engineers andemployees.' I view myself as a value - added Facilitator here more than as someonewho's crashing through the waves on the bridge of a frigate," he says.A former GEcolleague compared Nardelli and McNerney, saying," Jim's problems have been asthough, or tougher, than the one that Bob had to face. But he has tried to solve them in

.' a much more pleasant way. The guy is loved over there at Boeing."Jeff Immelt, CEO, General ElectricAlthough Jeff Immelt is the first to point out the nick name "Neutron Jack" for hispredecessor Jack WeIch was misleading, and that the differences between him andWeIch are not as dramatic as some claim, Immelt is noted for his calm demeanor andtrusting approach. In speaking of his approach, he said, " I want to believe the best interms of what people can do, And if you want to make a growth culture, you've got tohave a way to nurture people and not make them fight so goddamn hard to get anyidea through the door."

lea) Do you think Sutton is wrong and that the contrasting fortunes, and personalities, of 4 marks'Nardelli, McNerney, and Immelt are coincidental? Why or why not?

l(b) Do you think being NICE is the same as the Big Five trait of agreeableness? If so, do 3 marksyou think companies should screen out those who score low on agreeableness?

l(c) The fact that entrepreneurs score significantly lower than managers on agreeableness. 3 marksHow would you reconcile this finding with Sutton's point?

Q.2 Discuss the Expectancy theory of Motivation and state how Employee Involvement 10 marksPrograms helps motivating the employees in the light of this theory?

Q.3 The process of Cognitive Dissonance helps an individual to overcome certain 10 marksinconsistencies in his decision making process. Discuss the process by which it resultsin attitude change?

Q.4 Vikram is known for being a go-getter. He never leaves a task incomplete, and is 10 marksinvolved in a number of activities. His performance is the best in the sales team. He isso busy that sometimes, he forgets to stop and eat lunch. How would you characterizeVikram's Personality? Explain with reference to Type A and Type B Personalities?Section II - PPM

Q.5 What is the contribution of Henri Fayol to Management thinking? Which of these 10 marksideas /principles are not relevant anymore?

Q.6 Using a flowchart, explain the various steps in the process to convert iriputs to outputs 10 marks(for stakeholders).

a) Which input do you consider to be most important and why?b) Which stakeholder do you consider to be most important?

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