ANSWERS

1.           What constitutes good job design?

2. Briefly explain approaches to job design.

3.  Explain motivating potential score.

4. Goal Setting Process - Explain goal setting process

Set overall objectives & action plans

Conduct final

appraisals for results

Develop the organization

Set individual objectives and action

plans

5. Differentiate between a role and a position

6. Managers v/s Leaders -  Differentiate between managers and leaders

7. Very briefly explain major leadership traits using Trait theory of leadership

Conduct periodic

appraisals, provide

feedback, make

adjustments

The trait theory emphasises that leaders are born and not made. The traits are inherent- personal qualities. This theory assumes that leadership is function of these traits.

Some of the traits include intelligence, understanding, perception, high motivation, socio-economic status, initiative, maturity, need for self- actualization, self assurance and understanding of interpersonal human relations.

The existence of these traits became a measure of leadership. It holds that the possession of certain' traits permits certain to gain positions of leadership.

Leadership implies activity movement and getting the work done. The leader is a person who occupies a position of responsibility in coordinating the activities of the members' of a group. Hence it is not possession of some traits but a pattern of personal characteristics bearing a relevant relationship to the goal of the followers that makes a leader.

The leadership must be conceived in terms of interactions-for one to lead-and for others who want to be led.

The trait theory of leadership suffers from lack of conclusiveness and over simplification. The critics have charged that the theory focuses attention only on the leaders and disregards the dynamics of the leadership process

8. Write a short note on managerial grid

9.  Differentiate between transactional & transformational leaders

Transactional

• Works on the assumption that people are motivated by rewards or punishment

• Creates structures whereby it is clear what is required of the subordinates, and the rewards that they get for task completion

• Transactional Leadership, once the contract is in place, takes a 'telling' style

Transformational

• Has a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers

• Seeks overtly to transform the organization

• Passion and confidence of transformational leader can easily be mistaken for truth and reality

• Tend to see the big picture, but not the details, where the devil often lurks

• Fail miserably in an organization where people do not seek changes

10.  Explain very briefly 10 most often identified skills of a leader

• Verbal Communication(C)

• Managing Time and Stress(TS)

• Managing individual decisions(D)

• Recognizing, defining and solving problems(P)

• Motivating and influencing others(MI)

• Delegating(D)

• Setting goals and articulating a vision(SG)

• Self-awareness(SA)

• Team Building(TB)

• Managing Conflict(MC)

11. What constitutes a culture?

RR SM S (POC)S

12. What are the important functions of an organisation culture?

OI CC SSS SMD

13. What are the different dimensions of organizational culture? (AACCEPTO)

14. Why do people join groups? (GAPSSS)

• Security

• Status

• Self-esteem

• Affiliation

• Power

• Goal Achievement

15. Indicate briefly roles people play in informal groups? (4C’s)

• Contributor

• Collaborator

• Communicator

• Challenger

16.  What affects group cohesiveness?

In the norming stage close relationships develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness. There is

now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie. This norming stage is complete when the

group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what

defines correct member behavior.

17. Differentiate teams and groups LAMPS

L: LEADERSHIP

A: ASSESMENT

M: MEETINGS

P: PURPOSE

S: SYNERGY

:G : GOALS

A : ACCOUNTABILITY

S: SKILLS

W: WORK PRODUCT

Work GroupA group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibilityWork TeamA group whose individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs

Teams•Shared leadership               

•Joint accountability

•Specific purpose

•Collective work-product

•Open-ended, active problem solving meetings

•Direct assessment of performance•Discusses, decides and Works

Work-Group

•Defined leadership

•Individual accountability

•Organization's Purpose

•Individual work-product

•Efficient meetings

•Indirect assessment of performance

Discusses, decides and Deligates

18. State advantages of teams

• Productivity and quality improvements.

• Production flexibility.

• Faster response to technological change.

• Reduced absenteeism and turnover.

• Improved work attitudes.

• Improved quality of work life.

19. How does one build trust amongst team members?

1. Do what you say. It all comes down to this. If you are not capable of delivering, people will like you but not trust you to lead

2. Give Win first: No one ever created a win-win relationship without letting the other person win first. If you refuse to let the other person win, you force everyone to contract and withdraw.

3. Make a sacrifice. Sometimes the solution to someone else’s problem is a sacrifice on your part. Be willing to be the solution to your teammate’s problems.

4. Listen and learn. Attention, focus and time are scarce commodities. Consider how much (or little) time you spend focused on a single activity or person. Actively listen to others and work to understand them twice as long as normal today.

5. Remember what you hear and see. If you appreciate something, you will process and consider it in a way that will help you remember. As you remember what you hear and see, others rest more in their understanding of you, and that builds trust.

6. Find solutions. Begin with the belief that the other person can succeed. Don’t tell them their idea won’t work. Help create ways to make them successful.

7. Learn from your mistakes. Don’t make the same mistake twice. People will forgive errors made by genuine people attempting to do the right thing. Work hard to avoid repeat mistakes.

8. Make it right. you build trust when you fix a mistake well. Be proactive and do the right thing.

9. Appreciate and value others. Appreciation is the point at which you engage. Bring energy to maintain the connection with others out of your own internal desire. Appreciating and valuing another person builds trust.

10. Give generous credit and praise. People want to matter. If you help people be important and valuable, you become valuable.

11. Trust others. Nothing betrays trust more than the lack of trust. Most often, people who won’t trust others do so because they can’t be trusted either. If you would never steal from someone else, why are you always afraid the other person will steal from you? Trust first.

20. Discuss very briefly role of shared vision in building high performance teams.

• Members are highly skilled in various leadership and membership role and functions

• Groups have been in existence sufficiently long to have developed effective working relationships

• Members and leaders have high confidence and trust in each other and are committed and loyal to the group

• Members are highly motivated to abide by the values important to the group, and all interactions, problem solving, and decision making activities occur in a supportive atmosphere

• The group is eager to help each member develop his/her full potential and the leader and members are willing to stretch themselves to accomplish difficult tasks

• The leader exerts influence in establishing the tone and atmosphere for work by his/her leadership principles and practices

• Creativity is encouraged in the group through a very supportive atmosphere which is oriented more towards “constructive conformity” – a broad acceptance of groups goals without stifling the members’ creative efforts in attaining the results

• Communication flows freely and both information giving and receiving are valued in the group

• Group remains flexible and adaptable because of mutual influence processes that operate in the group

21. Define characteristics of highly effective teams (UC CG GC T L Supp(E+I) Skills())

22. Suggest strategies to acquire power

23. Differentiate between incremental and radical change

There are two basic types of change that are polar opposites: radical change andincremental change. There has been a surprising amount of debate over which kind of change is better. Some people, such as consultant Gary Hamel, promote the idea of innovation, or radical change. Others, such as the proponents of kaizen, believe that smaller, gradual improvements are better.

Incremental Change

- Continuous Increment

- Affect part of the organization

- Through normal structure and management process

- Technology Improvements

- Product Improvement

Radical Change

- Paradigm breaking burst

- Transform the organization

- Create new structure and management

- Breakthrough Technology

- New products; new markets

24.  Discuss briefly Lewin’s 3-step change model

1) Unfreezing

Help people accept that change is needed because the existing situation is not adequate.

2) Changing

Involves rearranging of current work norms and relationships to meet new needs

3) Refreezing

Reinforces the changes made so that the new ways of behaving become stabilized

25.  Illustrate steps of planned change

26. Explain briefly factors that enhance acceptability of change

• Align the change with the company’s strategy

• Understand what you’re likely to achieve

• Ensure executives committed to achieving change

• Verify there are sufficient resources

• Assess need for external help, find outside resources

28. Explain briefly Staged Change Model of organisational culture

Kotter’s Eight-Step Plan for Implementing Change

Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for why change is needed.

Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change.

Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for achieving the vision.

Communicate the vision throughout the organization.

Empower others to act on the vision by removing barriers to change and encouraging risk taking and creative problem solving.

Plan for, create, and reward short-term “wins” that move the organization toward the new vision.

Consolidate improvements, reassess changes, and make necessary adjustments in the new programs.

Reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship between new behaviors and organizational success.

29. What are tall structures & flat structures?

Tall structures:

• Facilitates closer control

• Higher personal contact

• Higher level of communication

Flatter structure

• Necessitate delegation

• Offers opportunities for individual initiative & self-control

• Communication is simplified

• Pressures on horizontal communication

30. What are the advantages & disadvantages of product structures?

Product

Advantage: Product specialization, transparency in operations, add-on/drop decisions are easy, higher personal growth, Adaptability & flexibility, Speed of response, Organization within organization: frees top mgmt., High coordination, Facilitates diversified expansion of skills

Disadvantage: Functional specialization diluted, Economies of scale, Coordination across product lines is difficult, Alignment with product instead of organization, Transfer pricing for joint products ?, Requires large qualified manpower

31. What are the advantages & disadvantages of matrix structures?

What can managers do to create a more ethical culture? They can adhere tothe following principles: ● Be a visible role model. Employees will look to the actions of topmanagement as a benchmark for appropriate behavior. Send a positive

message.

● Communicate ethical expectations. Minimize ethical ambiguities bysharing an organizational code of ethics that states the organization’s primaryvalues and ethical rules employees must follow.

● Provide ethical training. Set up seminars, workshops, and training programsto reinforce the organization’s standards of conduct, clarify whatpractices are permissible, and address potential ethical dilemmas.

● Visibly reward ethical acts and punish unethical ones. Appraise managerson how their decisions measure up against the organization’s code ofethics. Review the means as well as the ends. Visibly reward those who actethically and conspicuously punish those who don’t.

● Provide protective mechanisms. Provide formal mechanisms so employeescan discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behavior withoutfear of reprimand. These might include ethical counselors, ombudsmen,or ethical officers.

The work of setting a positive ethical climate has to start at the top of theorganization. 53 A study of 195 managers demonstrated that when top managementemphasizes strong ethical values, supervisors are more likely to practiceethical leadership. Positive ethical attitudes transfer down to line employees,who show lower levels of deviant behavior and higher levels of cooperation andassistance. A study involving auditors found perceived pressure from organizationalleaders to behave unethically was associated with increased intentionsto engage in unethical practices. 54 Clearly the wrong type of organizational

Why own when you can rent? That question captures the essence of the virtual

organization (also sometimes called the network, or modular, organization), typicallya small, core organization that outsources its major business functions.

In structural terms, the virtual organization is highly centralized, with little orno departmentalization.

Identify the characteristicsof a virtual organization.

New Design OptionsThe prototype of the virtual structure is today’s movie-making organization.In Hollywood’s golden era, movies were made by huge, vertically integratedcorporations.

Studios such as MGM, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Foxowned large movie lots and employed thousands of full-time specialists—

Set designers, camera people, film editors, directors, and even actors. Today, mostmovies are made by a collection of individuals and small companies who cometogether and make films project by project.

This structural form allows eachproject to be staffed with the talent best suited to its demands, rather than justthe people employed by the studio.

It minimizes bureaucratic overhead becausethere is no lasting organization to maintain. And it lessens long-term risksand their costs because there is no long term—a team is assembled for a finiteperiod and then disbanded.