Reg.No.

-IIMM/HP/2/2004/2617 Name-Shacheendra Sharma Subject-Organisational Behaviour

Name : Shacheendra Sharma

Registration No. : IIMM / HP / 2 / 2004 / 2617
Subject : Organisational Behaviour

Ans-1(a)
Human Relations Movement: Three Milestone Events

Fred Luthans has described three major events in the field of human relation
movement, which had changed the entire course of future human relations studies.
These are:

1. the great depression;

2. the rise of trade unionism.

3. the Hawthrone experiments;

1. The great depression:

The great depression occurred in the year 1929. Prior to that, the economy was
running in full swing and the production and organizational specialists had
achieved great results.

After this crash, the management started to think on the lines that production
alone is not the only responsibility of management. Marketing, finance and
personnel are equally important for the business to grow and survive. The
depression created unemployment, discontent and insecurity and highlighted the
human problems.

2. The rise of trade unionism:

Labour unions existed in America in as early as 1792. But in 1935, Wagner Act
was passed which gave great thrust to labour movement. It made a great impact
on management functioning style and its role in human relations.

In India also, worker’s unions were in existence since later half of 19th century. But
at that time, they were operating under legal constraints. In 1926, Trade Union Act

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1926 was passed and at that time the managers started realizing that the trade
unions will stay in the industries and they will have to cope up with them for
efficient running of the organization. The higher management realized that in order
to avoid any friction with the trade unions, they must understand the human
relations side of the management function.

3. The Hawthrone Experiments:

From 1924 till 1933, Western Electric Company conducted a series of research
experiments at its Hawthrone Works to study the effects of working conditions on
morale and productivity of the workers.

a. Illumination Experiments: The first experiment was “Illumination Experiment”

conducted during 1924 to 1927. It was a joint effort of National Research
Council of the National Academy of Sciences and Western Electric Co. Later
on, the company was guided by Prof. Elton Mayo and his associates from
Harvard University.

In the experiment, two groups were formed. First was the control group, for
which, the illumination was kept fixed throughout the experiments. In second
group called the experimental group, the illumination was enhanced. As
anticipated, the productivity of 2nd group went up. But at the same time, the
productivity of control group also increased. Then the illumination of control
group was reduced and the output again went up. Thus it was concluded that
there was something more than the intensity of light, which was playing a role
in increasing the productivity. Although the results of these experiment were
misleading and did not have any correlation with the independent variable
(illumination), they encouraged further experimentation.

b. Relay Room Experiments: During 1927~1932, Elton Mayo and his Harward
colleagues selected two girls and asked these to choose four more girls of
their choice to form a group of six.

The group was monitored by an observer who also listened to the complaints
of girls and asked for their advice.

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Under normal working conditions, the girls assembled 2400 relays per week
(48 hrs) with no rest pause. These girls were then allowed to work on per piece
basis for 8 weeks, and their productivity increased.

Next, two five minute rest pauses were introduced which were increased to ten
minutes each. The productivity increased sharply. After this, six five minute
breaks were introduced and the productivity reduced as the girls complained of
broken rhythm due to frequent breaks. Again, the breaks were reduced to two
five minute breaks. Then the company introduced free of cost hot meal. The
productivity again went up.

The girls were allowed to go home half an hour before the scheduled time of 5
pm and the productivity increased. Subsequently, they were allowed to go at 4
pm and the productivity remained unchanged.

After that, all the facilities were withdrawn and the girls returned to their normal
working hours (48/ week). They were not allowed any breaks in between, no
free meals were given and there was no piecework. This condition was kept for
twelve weeks and the productivity was highest ever achieved.

In brief, this experiment implies that the productivity of girls increased due to a
change in their attitude. They were made to feel important and formed
congenial group. A sense of belongingness grew hence the productivity
improved. Medical examination revealed no signs of fatigue, etc. absenteeism
also decreased by approximately 8%.

c. Second Relay Room and Mica Splitting Test Room Experiments: These
were follow-up studies. The experiments were conducted to assess the effect
of wage incentives on productivity. A group of five workers was allowed to
work on group piece rate scheme. All other conditions remained similar to the
regular work. A 12% rise in productivity was observed.

In Mica splitting study, the workers were allowed to work on individual piece
rate plan rather than group piece incentive scheme. The results showed 15%
rise in productivity of workers.

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So it was concluded that the results of wage incentive scheme were

dependent on other variables also and wage incentive alone was not the
deciding factor.

d. Mass Interviewing Program: 21000 interviews were conducted during 1928

to 1930 to explore information which was used to improve supervisory training.
The method was non-directive interviewing where the interviewer was
supposed to listen. Following inferences were made:

(i) if a person is allowed to express his grievances, his morale is heightened.

(ii) Complaints were symptoms of other more deep rooted disturbances.

(iii) Workers were influenced by the experience gained both inside and outside
the company while making demands.

(iv) The worker’s satisfaction level depends upon his social status in the
company

Ans-1(b)
Organizational Behaviour:

Definition: Various scholars have defined Organizational Behaviour in different

manner.

Keith Davis says, “Organizational Behaviour is the study and application of

knowledge about how people act within organizations. It is a human tool for
human benefit. It applies broadly to the behaviour of people in all types of
organizations such a s business, government, schools, etc. it helps people,
structure, technology and the external environment blend together in to an
effective operative system”.

Fred Luthans defines OB as “understanding, predicting and controlling human

behaviour at work”.

Stephen Robins defines OB as “a field of study that investigates the impact that
individuals, groups and structures have on behaviour in organizations for the

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purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organization’s

effectiveness”.

Larry L. Cummings, the former head of organizational behaviour division of the

Academy of Management and its past president, distinguished between
organizational behaviour and other closely related disciplines as shown in the
table. He emphasized that organizational behaviour is a way of thinking- a way of
conceiving problems and articulating research and action solutions. He suggested
several characteristics of organizational behaviour that reflect this point of view.
They are:

1. Problems and questions are typically formulated within an independent

variable-dependent variable framework. The models attempt to search for
cause and effect.

2. The field is oriented toward change as a desirable outcome for organizations

and persons within organizations.

3. The field has a distinctly humanistic tone, reflected in the concern for self-
development, personal growth, and self-actualization. However, there is
another side which emphasizes operant learning models and behaviour
modification and which reflects a concern with environmental determinism
rather than with self-actualization.

4. The field is becoming increasingly performance-oriented. Most studies include

a performance-oriented dependent variable.

5. The field is greatly influenced by norms of skepticism, caution, replication, and

public exposure of knowledge based on facts. In other words, it follows the
scientific method.

In summary, organizational behaviour is directly concerned with the

understanding, prediction, and control of human behaviour in organizations. It
represents the behavioural approach to management, not the whole of
management.

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Distinction between Organizational Behaviour, Organizational

Phychology, Organization Theory, and Personnel and Human Resources:

Both fields focus upon explaining human behaviour within organizations.

Organizational Behaviour Their difference centres on the fact that OP restricts its explanatory

v/s constructs to those at the psychological level. OB draws constructs from

multiple disciplines. As the domain of OP continues to expand, the
Organizational Psychology
difference between OB and OP is diminishing, perhaps to the point of
(OP)
identity between the fields.

The distinction is based on two differences: unit of analysis and focus of

dependant variables. OB is defined as the study of individual and group
behaviour within organizations and the application of such knowledge.
Organizational Behaviour
OT is the study of structure, processes, and outcomes of the
v/s organizations per se. The distinction is neither that OB is theoretical and
concerned only with behaviour nor that OT is unique or exclusive in its
Organizational Theory (OT)
attention to theory. Alternatively, the distinction can be conceived as
between micro and macro perspectives on OB. This removes the
awkward differentiation of behaviour and theory.

The distinction usually depicts OB as the more basic of the two and
P&HR as more applied in emphasis. OB is seen as more concept-
Organizational Behaviour oriented, while P&HR is viewed as emphasizing techniques or
technologies. The dependent variables, behaviour and affective
v/s
reactions within organizations, are frequently presented as similar.
Personnel and Human P&HR can be seen as standing at the interface between the organization
Resources (P&HR) and the individual, focusing on developing and implementing the system
of attracting, maintaining and motivating the individual within the
organization

Basic Assumption: When we study the Organizational Behaviour, we keep in

mind certain basic assumptions. These are:

1. an industrial enterprise is an organization of people;

2. the people are motivated to work effectively;

3. the goals of employee and employer may or may not concide;

4. the policies and procedures adopted in an enterprise may influence people

in the directions not foreseen always by the policy makers.

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Ans-2(a)
Fundamental Concepts of Organizational Behaviour:

When we study any discipline, we keep in mind some fundamental concepts,

which have to be accepted and not questioned. They are the foundation stones on
which the entire edifice of the discipline is developed.

Following are the fundamental concepts which are applicable to organizational

behaviour. They are:

A. The concepts which revolve around the nature of the people.

B. The concepts which revolve around the nature of organization.

A. The concepts which deal with the nature of individual are:

1. Individual differences

2. Whole person

3. Motivation (caused behaviour)

4. Human dignity

1. Individual differences: This concept tells us that in spite of being similar

physically, every individual is an entity in him. Every individual has to be treated
differently.

2. Whole person: An organization hires the man as a whole and not merely his
hands. As the man performs many roles simultaneously, one role is bound to
affect his behaviour in other roles. This concept tells the managers that when
solving behavioural problems of individuals, he must take into account all the
possible roles the person might be doing.

3. Motivation (caused behaviour): The manager can influence the behaviour of his
subordinates by his own behaviour. If he is respectful to his employees, they are
bound to be respectful to him. The manager must lead by example.

4. Human dignity: This concept is more of an ethical philosophy than a scientific

conclusion. It says that the people are to be treated differently from other factors
of production. People must be treated with respect and dignity.

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B. The concepts which revolve around the nature of organization are:

1. Organization is a social system.

2. Mutuality of interests.

1. The organization is a social system: All the employees of an organization are

members of society. Thus, the organization becomes a social system with the
values inherited from society. Any organization that has inconsistent value
system can not last longer.

2. Mutuality of interests: Organizations have human purpose. People and

organizations have mutual interests and if the interests of one suffer, the
interests of other are bound to suffer.

Organizational Models:

Keith Davis has described four Organizational Behaviour models. These models
depict the evolution of thinking and behaviour on part of management and
managers. The models are:

(1) Autocratic: This model was in existence right from the beginning of industrial
revolution. This model can be said to be the worst among theory X
assumptions.

(2) Custodial: This model gives some concessions or privileges to the employees
to keep them happy. As there is no provision of motivating, guiding and
developing the employees, in due course of time, this model got degenerated.

(3) Supportive: This model is based on the assumptions of theory Y. This theory
assumes that the employees are skillful and willing to contribute to the
organization. Here, the manager is more of a leader than a boss. It is the
responsibility of the leader to create an environment of motivation and
willingness among the employees to contribute.

(4) Collegial: This model is limited to dealing with scientific and professional
employees. The manager’s role is that of a partner. The entire work is carried
out by a team and demarcation between employee and manager is not very
obvious.

The following table shows the four models along with their characteristics:

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Model Type Æ Autocratic Custodial Supportive Collegial

Model depends on Power Economic Leadership Partnership

resources
Managerial Authority Money Support Teamwork
orientation
Employee Obedience Security Job Responsibility
Orientation performance
Employee’s Depends on Depends on Participation Self-discipline
Psychological result boss organization
Employee’s needs Subsistence Maintenance Higher order Self-
met actualization
Performance result Minimum Passive Awakened Moderate
cooperation drives enthusiasm

Ans-2(b)
Theory of Unconscious Behaviour:

Humans have base instincts (unconscious urges): In Freudian psychology, the

unconscious is extremely important in determining behaviour. This is a pervasive
theme of the approach: that a lot of desires, motivations and conflicts are seething
below the surface, below the level of consciousness. Freud believed that people
are driven, fundamentally, by unconscious, animalistic, instinctual urges,
particularly lust (eros) and aggression (thanatos). These urges are often in
conflict with the demands of society. For example, humans desire pleasure, but
society places limits on the kinds of pleasure-seeking which it deems
acceptable. Freud emphasizes the extent to which humans are motivated by
psychosexual pleasure.

Topography of the psyche (unconscious, pre-conscious, conscious): Using an

iceberg metaphor, the unconscious is understood to be the large part of the mind,
which is hidden from view. The pre-conscious is represented by the waterline -
but it is the zone in which there are fleeting glimpses of the unconscious,
"flickering" across the screen of consciousness. Finally, the relatively small part of
the iceberg which sticks of the water is seen as equivalent to the small amount of

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conscious awareness that the human experiences. Freud also believed that if
there was information that was too painful for the conscious part to bear, that
defense mechanisms would act to push it down it into the unconscious part of the
mind.

Structure of Mind (Id, Ego, Superego): The mind has an internal structure -- three
parts with separate motivations: Id (irrational and emotional part of the mind); the
Ego (rational part); and the Superego (the moral part). This has been depicted
with the help of diagram:

Perception
and
Conscious
Ego

Superego
Outer world
(full of
objects) Id (full of
wishes or
instincts)

Physical
needs

Freud didn’t exactly invent the idea of the conscious versus unconscious mind, but
he certainly was responsible for making it popular. The conscious mind is what we
are aware of at any particular moment, our present perceptions, memories,
thoughts, fantasies, feelings, what we have. Working closely with the conscious
mind is what Freud called the preconscious, what we might today call "available
memory:" anything that can easily be made conscious, the memories we are not
at the moment thinking about but can readily bring to mind. Now no-one has a
problem with these two layers of mind. But Freud suggested that these are the
smallest parts!

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The largest part by far is the unconscious. It includes all the things that are not
easily available to awareness, including many things that have their origins there,
such as our drives or instincts, and things that are put there because we can’t
bear to look at them, such as the memories and emotions associated with trauma.

According to Freud, the unconscious is the source of our motivations, whether

they be simple desires for food or sex, neurotic compulsions, or the motives of an
artist or scientist. And yet, we are often driven to deny or resist becoming
conscious of these motives, and they are often available to us only in disguised
form.

Characteristics of Motives:

Motivation is a basic psychological process. It is the most important focus in the

micro approach to organizational behaviour. Many people equate the causes of
behaviour with motivation. But it must be remembered that motivation should not
be thought of as the only explanation of behaviour. Motivation is a hypothetical
construct that is used to explain behaviour.

People define motivation in many ways. Usually one or more of the following
words are included in the definition: desires, wants, wishes, aims, goals, needs,
drives, motives and incentives. The term ‘motivation’ can be traced to the Latin
word ‘movere’ which means ‘to move’.

Motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency

or need that activates behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal or incentive.
Following figure graphically depicts the motivation process. Needs set up drives
aimed at incentives:

NEEDS DRIVES INCENTIVES

(deficiency) (deficiency with (Reduction of
direction) drives and fulfills
deficiencies

Modern psychologists believe that human behaviour is sparked by a motive. A

motive is a felt need. Human behaviour is directed to satisfy these needs or
motives. They have five basic characteristics:

1. the need having highest strength dominates the human behaviour.

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2. a need once satisfied ceases to influence behaviour.

3. when a need is satisfied, it gives rise to a new need.

4. needs are recurrent in nature.

5. needs are omnipresent.

Classification of human motives:

Primary motives: these are physiological motives and are unlearned. They include
hunger, thrust, sleep, avoidance of pain, sex, etc.

General motives: these are also unlearned motives but are not physiological.
Primary needs seek to reduce the tension or simulation. The motives such as
curiosity, manipulative activity, affection, etc. fall in this category.

Secondary motives: These motives develop as human society grows economically

and becomes more complex. Some examples are: need for power, need for
affiliation, need for achievement, need for security, need for status, etc. The main
secondary motives are:

(a) The Power Motive (n-pow): It is the desire to control and direct others. The
strong advocate of this motive was Alfred Adler, who was a pioneer in
psychology. In context of organization, a person acquires power because of
his competence. He must use it for the betterment of the organization.

(b) The Achievement Motive (n-ach): It can be expressed as a desire to

perform in terms of standard of excellence under competitive situations.
The specific characteristics of a high achiever are: (i) moderate risk taking;
(ii) need of immediate feedback; (iii) satisfaction with accomplishment and
(iv) preoccupation with task.

(c) Affiliation Motive (n-aff): This motive is indicative of the need of

belongingness or being accepted by others. This motive is important in the
group dynamics. The higher the need for affiliation, higher is the group
cohesiveness.

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Ans-3(a)
Role of Defense Mechanism:

When need fulfillment is continually blocked, frustration occurs. Defense

mechanisms are the behaviours exhibited to deal with frustration. The following
points must be kept in mind when studying the defense mechanisms:

1. we are discussing only those defense mechanisms which we come across

in daily life.

2. defense mechanisms are unconscious behaviours.

3. in actual situations, there can be a mixture of various defense mechanisms

in exhibited behaviour. It is just for the sake of better understanding that we
study each of them separately.

4. in real life, there is no prioritizing when it comes to defense mechanisms for

dealing with frustration.

5. The major role of defense mechanisms is to keep the personality integrated.

The defense mechanisms

The ego deals with the demands of reality, the id, and the superego as best as it
can. But when the anxiety becomes overwhelming, the ego must defend itself. It
does so by unconsciously blocking the impulses or distorting them into a more
acceptable, less threatening form. The techniques are called the ego defense
mechanisms, and Freud, his daughter Anna, and other disciples have discovered
quite a few.

(a) Denial (resignation): It involves blocking external events from awareness. If

some situation is just too much to handle, the person just refuses to experience it.
As we might imagine, this is a primitive and dangerous defense -- no one
disregards reality and gets away with it for long! It can operate by itself or, more
commonly, in combination with other, more subtle mechanisms that support it.

Some people faint at autopsies, people deny the reality of the death of a loved
one, and students fail to pick up their test results. That’s denial.

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Anna Freud also mentions denial in fantasy: This is when children, in their
imaginations, transform an "evil" father into a loving teddy bear, or a helpless child
into a powerful superhero.

(b) Repression: Anna Freud also called "motivated forgetting," is just that: not
being able to recall a threatening situation, person, or event. This, too, is
dangerous, and is a part of most other defenses.

Note that, to be a true example of a defense, it should function unconsciously.

Usually, it is the irrational fears we call phobias that derive from repression of
traumas.

(c) Asceticism, or the renunciation of needs: It is one most people haven’t

heard of, but it has become relevant again today with the emergence of the
disorder called anorexia. Preadolescents, when they feel threatened by their
emerging sexual desires, may unconsciously try to protect themselves by denying,
not only their sexual desires, but all desires. They get involved in some kind of
ascetic (monk-like) lifestyle wherein they renounce their interest in what other
people enjoy.

Anna Freud also discusses a milder version of this called restriction of ego. Here,
a person loses interest in some aspect of life and focuses it elsewhere, in order to
avoid facing reality. A young girl who has been rejected by the object of her
affections may turn away from feminine things and become a "sex-less
intellectual," or a boy who is afraid that he may be humiliated on the football team
may unaccountably become deeply interested in poetry.

(d) Isolation: (sometimes called intellectualization) involves stripping the emotion

from a difficult memory or threatening impulse. A person may, in a very cavalier
manner, acknowledge that they had been abused as a child, or my show a purely
intellectual curiosity in their newly discovered sexual orientation. Something that
should be a big deal is treated as if it were not.

In emergency situations, many people find themselves completely calm and

collected until the emergency is over, at which point they fall to pieces. Something
tells you that, during the emergency, you can’t afford to fall apart. It is common to
find someone totally immersed in the social obligations surrounding the death of a

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loved one. Doctors and nurses must learn to separate their natural reactions to
blood, wounds, needles, and scalpels, and treat the patient, temporarily, as
something less than a warm, wonderful human being with friends and family.
Adolescents often go through a stage where they are obsessed with horror
movies, perhaps to come to grips with their own fears. Nothing demonstrates
isolation more clearly than a theater full of people laughing hysterically while
someone is shown being dismembered.

(e) Displacement: is the redirection of an impulse onto a substitute target. If the

impulse, the desire, is okay with you, but the person you direct that desire towards
is too threatening, you can displace to someone or something that can serve as a
symbolic substitute.

Someone who hates his or her mother may repress that hatred, but direct it
instead towards, say, women in general. Someone who has not had the chance to
love someone may substitute cats or dogs for human beings. Someone who feels
uncomfortable with their sexual desire for a real person may substitute a fetish.
Someone who is frustrated by his or her superiors may go home and kick the dog,
beat up a family member, or engage in cross-burnings.

Turning against the self is a very special form of displacement, where the person
becomes their own substitute target. It is normally used in reference to hatred,
anger, and aggression, rather than more positive impulses, and it is the Freudian
explanation for many of our feelings of inferiority, guilt, and depression. The idea
that depression is often the result of the anger we refuse to acknowledge is
accepted by many people, Freudians and non-Freudians alike.

(f) Projection: Anna Freud also called it displacement outward, is almost the
complete opposite of turning against the self. It involves the tendency to see your
own unacceptable desires in other people. In other words, the desires are still
there, but they’re not your desires anymore. I confess that whenever I hear
someone going on and on about how aggressive everybody is, or how perverted
they all are, I tend to wonder if this person doesn’t have an aggressive or sexual
streak in themselves that they’d rather not acknowledge.

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Let us see a couple of examples: A husband, a good and faithful one, finds
himself terribly attracted to the charming and flirtatious lady next door. But rather
than acknowledge his own, hardly abnormal, lusts, he becomes increasingly
jealous of his wife, constantly worried about her faithfulness, and so on. Or a
woman finds herself having vaguely sexual feelings about her girlfriends. Instead
of acknowledging those feelings as quite normal, she becomes increasingly
concerned with the presence of lesbians in her community.

Altruistic surrender is a form of projection that at first glance looks like its opposite:
Here, the person attempts to fulfill his or her own needs vicariously, through other
people.

A common example of this is the friend, who, while not seeking any relationship
himself, is constantly pushing other people into them, and is particularly curious as
to "what happened last night" and "how are things going?" The extreme example
of altruistic surrender is the person who lives their whole life for and through
another.

(g) Reaction formation: Anna Freud called it "believing the opposite," is changing
an unacceptable impulse into its opposite. So a child, angry at his or her mother,
may become overly concerned with her and rather dramatically shower her with
affection. An abused child may run to the abusing parent. Or someone who can’t
accept a homosexual impulse may claim to despise homosexuals.

Perhaps the most common and clearest example of reaction formation is found in
children between seven and eleven or so: Most boys will tell you in no uncertain
terms how disgusting girls are, and girls will tell you with equal vigor how gross
boys are. Adults watching their interactions, however, can tell quite easily what
their true feelings are!

(h) Undoing: involves "magical" gestures or rituals that are meant to cancel out
unpleasant thoughts or feelings after they’ve already occurred. Anna Freud
mentions, for example, a boy who would recite the alphabet backwards whenever
he had a sexual thought, or turn around and spit whenever meeting another boy
who shared his passion for masturbation.

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In "normal" people, the undoing is, of course, more conscious, and we might
engage in an act of atonement for some behavior, or formally ask for forgiveness.
But in some people, the act of atonement isn’t conscious at all. Consider the
alcoholic father who, after a year of verbal and perhaps physical abuse, puts on
the best and biggest Christmas ever for his kids. When the season is over, and
the kids haven’t quite been fooled by his magical gesture, he returns to his
bartender with complaints about how ungrateful his family is, and how they drive
him to drink.

One of the classic examples of undoing concerns personal hygiene following sex:
It is perfectly reasonable to wash up after sex. After all, it can get messy! But if
you feel the need to take three or four complete showers using gritty soap --
perhaps sex doesn’t quite agree with you.

(i) Introjection: It is sometimes called identification also, involves taking into your
own personality characteristics of someone else, because doing so solves some
emotional difficulty. For example, a child who is left alone frequently, may in some
way try to become "mom" in order to lessen his or her fears. You can sometimes
catch them telling their dolls or animals not to be afraid. And we find the older
child or teenager imitating his or her favorite star, musician, or sports hero in an
effort to establish an identity. Identification is very important to Freudian theory as
the mechanism by which we develop our superegos.

Identification with the aggressor is a version of introjection that focuses on the

adoption, not of general or positive traits, but of negative or feared traits. If you are
afraid of someone, you can partially conquer that fear by becoming more like them.
Two of my daughters, growing up with a particularly moody cat, could often be
seen meowing, hissing, spitting, and arching their backs in an effort to keep that
cat from springing out of a closet or dark corner and trying to eat their ankles.

(j) Regression is a movement back in psychological time when one is faced with
stress. When we are troubled or frightened, our behaviors often become more
childish or primitive. A child may begin to suck their thumb again or wet the bed
when they need to spend some time in the hospital. Teenagers may giggle
uncontrollably when introduced into a social situation involving the opposite sex. A
freshman college student may need to bring an old toy from home. A gathering of

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civilized people may become a violent mob when they are led to believe their
livelihoods are at stake. Or an older man, after spending twenty years at a
company and now finding himself laid off, may retire to his recliner and become
childishly dependent on his wife.

Where do we retreat when faced with stress? To the last time in life when we felt
safe and secure, according to Freudian theory.

(k) Rationalization is the cognitive distortion of "the facts" to make an event or an

impulse less threatening. We do it often enough on a fairly conscious level when
we provide ourselves with excuses. But for many people, with sensitive egos,
making excuses comes so easy that they never are truly aware of it. In other
words, many of us are quite prepared to believe our lies.

A useful way of understanding the defenses is to see them as a combination of

denial or repression with various kinds of rationalizations.

All defenses are, of course, lies, even if we are not conscious of making them. But
that doesn’t make them less dangerous -- in fact it makes them more so. Lies
breed lies, and take us further and further from the truth, from reality. After a while,
the ego can no longer take care of the id’s demands, or pay attention to the
superego’s. The anxieties come rushing back, and you break down.

And yet Freud saw defenses as necessary. You can hardly expect a person,
especially a child, to take the pain and sorrow of life full on! While some of his
followers suggested that all of the defenses could be used positively, Freud
himself suggested that there was one positive defense, which he called
sublimation.

(l) Sublimation is the transforming of an unacceptable impulse, whether it be sex,

anger, fear, or whatever, into a socially acceptable, even productive form. So
someone with a great deal of hostility may become a hunter, a butcher, a football
player, or a mercenary. Someone suffering from a great deal of anxiety in a
confusing world may become an organizer, a businessperson, or a scientist.
Someone with powerful sexual desires may become an artist, a photographer, or
a novelist, and so on. For Freud, in fact, all positive, creative activities were
sublimations, and predominantly of the sex drive.

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Ans-3(b)
Work Motivation Theories:

So far, we have presented motivation as the basic psychological process

consisting of primary, general and secondary motives and drives such as n Pow, n
Aff and n Ach motives. In order to understand organizational behaviour, these
basic motives must be recognized and studied. However, these serve as only
background and foundation for the more direct work-motivation approaches. The
following figure graphically summarizes the various theoretical streams for work
motivation:

1900 Scientific Management

(Wage Incentives)

Human Relations
(economic, security
Lewin and Tolman
conditions)
(expectancy concerns)

Festinger and
Homans
(cognitive
Maslov
Vroom dissonance/exchange)
(hierarchy of needs)
(valence/expectancy)

Heider, demand
Charmes, and Bem
Herzberg
Porter and Lawler (cognitive
(motivators-hygiene
(performance- evaluation/self-
factors)
satisfaction) perception)

Adams
Lawler
(equity) Kelley and Rotter
Allderfer (E P and P O
(attribution/locus of
(GRE needs) expectancies)
control)

Present CONTENT MODELS PROCESS MODELS

WORK MOTIVATION THEORY

The pioneering scientific managers such as Frederick W. Taylor, Frank Gilberth,

and Henry L.Gantt proposed sophisticated wage models to motivate workers.
Next came the human relations movement, and then the content models of

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Maslow, Herzberg, and Alderfer. More recent developments have come from
process models but recently, equity and attribution theories have received
attention. The process models are cognitively based.

The Content Theories of Work Motivation:

The content theories of work motivation attempt to determine what it is that

motivates people at work and are concerned with identifying the needs/drives that
people have and how these needs/drives are prioritized. They are concerned with
the types of incentives or goals that people strive to attain in order to be satisfied
and perform well.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

Abhram Maslow outlined the elements of an overall theory of motivation based on

his clinical experience. He established that a person’s motivational needs can be
arranged in a hierarchical manner and once a given level of need is satisfied, it no
longer serves to motivate. In order to motivate the individual, the next higher level
need has to be activated. Maslow identified five levels in his need hierarchy:

5. SELF-
ACTUALIZATION

4. ESTEEM NEEDS

3. LOVE NEEDS

2. SAFETY NEEDS

1. PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

1. Physiological needs: The most basic level in hierarchy, these are needs of
hunger, thirst, sleep and sex.

2. Safety needs: These are roughly equivalent to security needs. Maslow

stressed emotional as well as physical safety. The whole organism may
become a safety-seeking mechanism.
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3. Love needs: These correspond to the affection and affiliation needs. A

more appropriate word describing this level would be belongingness or
social needs.

4. Esteem needs: This represents the higher needs of humans. The needs of
power, achievement, and status are examples of this level.

5. Needs for self-actualization: This level represents culmination of all the

lower, intermediate and higher needs of humans. People who have
become self-actualized are self-fulfilled and have realized all their potential.

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation:

Herzberg developed a specific content theory of work motivation. He conducted a

study on about 200 accountants and engineers using critical incident method of
obtaining data for analysis. The subjects in the study were asked two questions:

1. When did you feel particularly good about your job?

2. When did you feel exceptionally bad about your job?

Responses obtained from this critical incident method were fairly consistent. Good
feelings were generally associated with job experience and job content. Bad
feelings were generally associated with the surrounding or peripheral aspects of
the job- the job context.

Thus Herzberg concluded that job satisfiers are related to job content and that job
dissatisfiers are allied to job context. Herzberg labeled satisfiers motivators, and
he called dissatisfiers hygiene factors. Taken together, they became known as
Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation.

Alderfer’s ERG Theory of Motivation:

Clayton Alderfer formulated a need category model that was more in line with the
existing empirical evidence. Alderfer identified three groups of core needs:

a. Existance: The existence needs are concerned with survival (physiological

well-being).

b. Relatedness: The relatedness needs stress the importance of interpersonal,

social relationship.

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c. Growth: The growth needs are concerned with the individual’s intrinsic desire
for personal development.

The following figure shows how these groups of needs are related to Maslow and
Herzberg categories. Obviously, they are very close, but the ERG needs do not
have strict lines of demarcation.

Herzberg’s Two Factors Maslow’s Hierarchy of Alderfer’s ERG Needs

Needs

SELF-ACTUALIZATION
GROWTH

MOTIVATORS ESTEEM: Self, Others

LOVE RELATEDNESS

SAFETY
HYGIENE FACTORS

EXISTANCE
PHYSIOLOGICAL

Alderfer is suggesting more of a continuum of needs than hierarchical level or two

factors of prepotency needs. Unlike Herzberg and Maslow, he does not contended
that a lower-level need has to be fulfilled before a higher-level need is motivating
or that deprivation is the only way to activate a need.

The Process Theories of Work Motivation:

The process theories are more concerned with the cognitive antecedents that go
into motivation or effort with the way they relate to one another.

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation:

This theory has its roots in the cognitive concepts of pioneering psychologists Kurt
Lewin and Edward Tolman. Vroom proposed his expectancy theory as an
alternative to the content models. The following figure summarizes the Vroom

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model. The model is built around the concepts of valence, instrumentality, and
expectancy and is commonly called the VIE theory.

INSTRUMENTALITIES

EXPECTANCY
Second Level Outcomes

First Level Outcomes OUTCOME-1a

OUTCOME-1
OUTCOME-1b

MOTIVATIONAL FORCE OUTCOME-2a

F= ¦ Valence x Expectancy

OUTCOME-2b
OUTCOME-2

OUTCOME-2c

Meaning of the variables:

1. Valence: It is strength of an individual’s preference for a particular outcome.

Other terms that might be used include value, incentive, and expected utility.

2. Instrumentality: It is input to valence and relates the first-level outcomes and

second-level outcomes. The superior performance (first-level outcome) is
seen as being instrumental in obtaining promotion (second-level outcome).

3. Expectancy: It relates efforts to first-level outcome. In other words,

expectancy is the probability that a particular action or effort will lead to a
particular first-level outcome.

The Porter-Lawler Model:

Porter and Lawler refined and extended Vroom’s model that the relationship
between satisfaction and performance was dealt with directly by a motivation
model. The relationships are expressed diagrammatically rather than
mathematically, there are more variables, and the cognitive process of perception
plays a central role.

Porter and Lawler start with the premise that motivation (effort or force) does not
equal satisfaction and/or performance. Motivation, satisfaction and performance

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are all separate variables and relate in ways different from what was traditionally
assumed. Porter and Lawler point out that effort (force or motivation) does not
directly lead to performance. It is mediated by abilities/traits and role perceptions.
What happens after the performance is important. The rewards that follow and
how these are perceived will determine satisfaction.

The Porter-Lawler Motivation Model

Value of Abilities and Perceived

reward traits equitable
1 rewards
4 8
7A
Intrinsic
rewards

Performance Satisfaction
Effort
(accomplish
ment)
9
3 6 Extrinsic
rewards

7B

Perceived
2 Role
effort reward 5
perception

probability

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Ans-4(a)
Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation:

Herzberg extended the work of Maslow and developed a specific content theory of
work motivation. He conducted a study on about 200 accountants and engineers
employed by various firms in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He used
critical incident method of obtaining data for analysis. The professional subjects in
the study were essentially asked two questions:

3. When did you feel particularly good about your job- what turned you on?

4. When did you feel exceptionally bad about your job- what turned you off?

Responses obtained from this critical incident method were interesting and fairely
consistent. Good feelings were generally associated with job experience and job
content. Bad feelings, on the other hand, were generally associated with the
surrounding or peripheral aspects of the job- the job context.

Tabulating these reported good and bad feelings, Herzberg concluded that job
satisfiers are related to job content and that job dissatisfiers are allied to job
context. Herzberg labeled satisfiers motivators, and he called dissatisfiers hygiene
factors. Taken together, they became known as Herzberg’s two factor theory of
motivation.

Relation to Maslow:

Herzberg’s theory is closely related to Maslow’s need hierarchy. The hygiene

factors are preventive and environmental in nature. They are roughly equivalent to
Maslow’s lower level needs. These hygiene factors prevent dissatisfaction, but
they do not lead to satisfaction. In effect, they bring motivation up to a theoretical
zero level and are a necessary floor to prevent dissatisfaction. By themselves, the
hygiene factors do not motivate. Only the motivators motivate human on job. They
are roughly equivalent to Maslow’s higher level needs. According to Herzberg, an
individual must have a challenging job content in order to be truly motivated.

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Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Hygiene Factors Motivators

Company policy and administration Achievement

Supervision, technical Recognition

Salary Work itself

Interpersonal relations, supervisor Responsibility

Working conditions Advancement

Contribution to Work Motivation: Herzberg’s two factor theory cast a new light
on the content of work motivation. Up to this point, management had generally
concentrated on the hygiene factors. When faced with morale problem, the typical
solution was higher pay, more fringe benefits, and better working conditions.
Motivators cater to the higher order needs of human being. In order to build these
factors into the job design, a manager should load the job with motivators. Job
loading can be done either horizontally or vertically.

The horizontal job loading is known as Job Enlargement and the vertical job
loading is known as Job Enrichment.

Job Enlargement: The principles are:

1. challenging the employees by demanding more production

2. adding other tasks to the job

3. job rotation

Herzberg came to conclusion that the theory of job enlargement does not give
dividends for long. Job enrichment is a preferred method.

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Job Enrichment: According to Herzberg, the principles are:

Principle Motivators Involved

1. removing some control while retaining Responsibility and personal achievement
accountability
2. increasing accountability for individual’s own Responsibility and recognition
work
3. giving a person a complete natural unit of Responsibility and recognition
work
4. granting additional authority to an employee Responsibility and recognition
in his activity
5. making periodic reports directly available to Internal recognition
the worker
6. introducing new and more difficult tasks Growth and learning
7. assigning specialized tasks, enabling them Responsibility, growth and advancement
to become experts

Criticism of Herzberg Theory:

1. From academic perspective, the theory over simplifies the complexities of

work motivation.

2. there seem to be job factors which lead to both satisfaction and

dissatisfaction.

3. it is not corroborated by subsequent research.

4. Herzberg advocated building challenges and freedom into job. A challenge

to one may be perceived as a threat to other.

5. it is not possible to re-design every job.

Ans-4(b)
Morale:

Definitions: Various thinkers have defined morale in different ways.

Keith Davis: Morale means: the attitude of employees and group towards their
work environment and towards voluntary cooperation to the full extent of their
ability in the best interests of the organization.

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Morris Viteles: Morale refers to the condition of a group where there are clear and
fixed group goals that are felt to be important and integrated with individual goals;
where there is confidence in the attainment of these goals and the confidence in
the means of attainment in the leader, associates and finally in one self.

Morale indicates the happiness of the employees with the organizational

environment. It also refers to the preparedness of the group of employees to
subordinate the individual and the group goals.

Morale is akin to job satisfaction. Generally, it can be assumed that morale has a
positive relationship with productivity. However, it not always true, as it is clear
from the following graph:

B
Job Satisfaction Æ

Productivity Æ

Higher productivity involves ability, training, work habits, performance goals, etc.
The curve A indicates management’s failure in discharging its functions, mainly,
the planning function.

Productivity can be high in spite of low morale (curve C). It is due to rigid systems
and controls imposed by management.

The curves A and C are not permanent states and equilibrium will bring them both
towards curve B. Every manager is interested in curve B where both morale and
productivity are high. But morale is not always static. So the managers must

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constantly keep an eye on the morale indicators which will give him the state of
morale prevailing at that time among employees.

Morale Indicators: As morale can not be quantified, managers conduct morale

surveys to make assessment of morale. Following are the morale indicators:

1. the rate of rejection of finished products by quality assurance department.

2. the rate of wastage of raw material

3. number of petty grievances

4. absenteeism

5. resignation of skilled personnel

6. exit interviews

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Ans-6(a)
Perception:

Perception can be defined in many ways. A few definitions are:

1. It is a process of receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking and

reacting to sensory stimuli or data.

2. Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their

sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.

3. Perception includes all those processes by which an individual receives

information about his environment- seeing, hearing, feeling, teasting and
smelling.

4. Kolasa defines perception as “selection and organization of material which

stems from the outside environment at one time or the other to provide the
meaningful entity we experience”.

There are two basic elements in this definition:

1. perception is a process of screening or selection which prevents us from

processing irrelevant or disruptive information;

2. perception is highly complex and comprehensive process and involves a

complicated interaction of selection, organization and interpretation of data.

Perception involves five sub-processes:

a. stimulus, b. registration, c. interpretation, d. feedback, e. consequence

Perception is initiated with the presence of stimulus situation. Registration

involves the physiological mechanism including both sensory and neural.
Interpretation of stimulus situation is determined by a person’s motivation,
personality and learning. Feedback is important for interpreting the perceptual
data. Reaction may be in overt or covert form.

The following figure depicts the various sub-processes of perception and their
inter-relationship:

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The sub-processes of Perception

External CONFRONTATI REGISTARTI INTERPRET FEEDBACK

Environment ON of specific ON of stimulus ATION of for clarification
stimulus (e.g. (e.g. sensory stimulus (e.g.
Sensual supervisor or and neural (e.g. kinesthetic or
stimulation new procedure) mechanism) motivation, psychological)
learning and
Physical personality)
Environment:
Office BEHAVIOUR
Factory floor (e.g. overt
Research lab. such as
Store rushing off or
Climate covert such as
an attitude)
Sociocultural
Environment:

Mngt. Styles CONSEQUENCE

Values (e.g.
discrimination reinforcement/puni
shment or some
organizational
outcome)

Principles of Perceptual Selection:

There are many stimuli which need attention of the individual at the same time. An
individual can sense only a limited amount of stimuli at a time.

While dealing with selective phenomenon, two terms are involved: Attention and
Set. Attention incorporates all aspects of the selective process. Set refers to
specific factors or processes within the individual himself that has a bearing on
what he attends to.

Thus the factors which attract attention lie in the situations and some are within
the individual. The factors that are in the situation are called External Attention
Factors and those within the individual are called Internal Set Factors.

External Attention Factors:

(a) Intensity: More intense the stimulus, more likely it will be perceived.

(b) Size: Any odd size attracts attention. However, larger the object, chances are
more that it will be perceived.

(c) Contrast: The external stimuli which stands out against the background or
which is unexpected, will attract attention.

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(d) Repetition: Repeated external stimulus attract more attention.

(e) Motion: Individuals are attracted more to the dynamic environment than static
objects.

(f) Novelty and Familiarity: A novel object in familiar situation or a familiar object
in a novel situation tends to attract attention.

Internal Set Factors:

(a) Habit: Most of the individuals will react to any external stimuli on the basis of
their habits. E.g., while walking on road, a Hindu person will automatically
bow if he sees a temple.

(b) Motivation and Interest: Motivational factors increase the individual’s

sensitivity to those stimuli which he considers a srelevant to the satisfaction of
his needs.

(c) Learning and Perception: Learning affects set by creating an expectancy to

perceive in certain manner. The role of learning is more pronounced in
respect of complex forms of perception where some symbolic content creeps
in.

(d) Organizational Role and Specialization: The modern organizational setup

demands specialization. The specialty of a person casts him in a particular
organizational role predisposition. He, then selects certain stimuli.

Ans-6(b)
Attitude, belief and Ideology:

Attitude: Attitude may be defined as a tendency to react positively or negatively in

regard to an object or situation. An attitude is a tendency to react in a certain way.
A person who has a positive attitude for some object or event, has a readiness or
a disposition to react favourably. Attitudes are for or against things. We have
favourable attitude towards sources of gratification and unfavourable attitude
toward sources of punishment and frustration.

Belief: A belief is a judgement about something. E.g. a belief that the earth is
round is a judgement about its form. Many of our beliefs are emotionally neutral

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while others are either favourable or unfavourable towards some object. Beliefs
are influenced by attitude. For example, a favourable attitude towards the religion
may generate belief that the religion helps to curb delinquency, that worshippers
are better citizens than non-devotees, etc.

Ideology: When beliefs become organized into system, they are called ideologies.
The capitalist ideology is a set of belief that a free enterprise economy is a
maximally productive and that the competition, in long run, brings down prices and
raises quality. Ideologies give us an interpretation and justification for our
practices. They give us social definition of reality.

Ans-6(c)
Stress and state of exhaustion:

The theory of General Adaptation Syndrome states that when an organism is

confronted with a threat, the general physiological response occurs in three
stages viz. alarm reaction, resistance reaction and state of exhaustion.

Alarm Reaction: It includes initial shock phase in which resistance is lowered and
defensive mechanism becomes active. The characteristics of alarm reaction are:
autonomous excitability, adrenaline discharge, increased heart beat, muscle tone,
and blood content, gastro-intestinal ulceration, etc.

Stage of Resistance: This is maximum adaptation stage. The bodily signs of the
alarm now subsidize. The resistance increases above normal level. if the stress
persists or the defense reaction proves ineffective, the organism deteriorates to
the next stage.

State of Exhaustion: At this point, the adaptation energy is exhausted. The signs
of alarm reaction reappear and the resistance level begins to decline irreversibly
and organism collapses.

The major shortcoming of this theory is that the research was carried out on
animals where the stresses are physical and environmental. This not the case
with human beings. Present day human is confronted with stresses from various
sources such as his own psychological and physical make up, family and social
demands, job stresses, etc.

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A pictorial view of the three stages is shown below:

Level of Resistance Æ

Normal State

Alarm Resistance Exhaustion

Sense Sense Sense

Ans-6(d)
Leadership and its styles:

Leadership style is the total pattern of leader’s actions in relation to followers. It

represents their philosophy, skills and attitudes.

Managers need more positive leadership skills in order to be rated satisfactory.

Better employee education, greater independence, etc. have made employee
motivation more dependent on positive leadership.

There ar basically three leadership styles. Actual behaviour of leaders is a mixture

of all the three styles, one style tends to dominate the others:

(a) Autocratic Leadership Style: The main characteristics of this style are:

1. centralized power and decision making;

2. full authority and responsibility with leader;

3. negative behaviour based on punishment and threats;

4. positive behaviour based on rewards (called benevolent-autocratic)

Advantages:

1. provides strong motivation and reward for leader;

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2. permits quick decision making;

3. best suited for emergencies;

4. gives good results when applied to unskilled employees doing repetitive

tasks.

Disadvantages:

1. not liked by employees;

2. developes frustration, dissatisfaction, fear and conflict;

3. low involvement of employees as their drives and creativity are suppressed.

(b) Participative Leadership Style: The major characteristics are:

1. leader’s trust in the abilities of subordinates;

2. decentralized authority, participative decision making;

3. controlling force from within the group;

4. ideas and suggestions welcomed from subordinates;

Advantages:

1. motivated employees;

2. leader and group work as unit, so more harmony;

Disadvantages:

1. not suited for emergency situations;

2. assumption that people have skill and will to help organizational effort, may
not be true.

(c) Free-rein Leadership Style: The basic characteristics of this style are:

1. avoids power and responsibility;

2. dependency on group to establish own goals and strategies;

3. all decision making responsibility and prerogative in favour of followers;

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Advantages:

1. very useful when applied to scientific and professional employees, who

require job-freedom;

2. useful in situation when decisions are to be taken in absence of leader;

Disadvantages:

1. can lead to chaotic situations;

2. leader fails to guide, motivate and develop subordinates

Ans-6(e)
Path goal theory of Leadership:

The theory was first developed by Robert House of University of Toronto, Canada
and later on, it was refined by Mitchell. The reason why it is called path goal
approach is that its primary concern is the leaders’ influence on his followers’
perception of their professional and personal goals and paths to achievement of
these goals.

According to this theory, leadership is closely related to motivation and power both.
This theory attempts to explain the impact of leader’s behaviour on followers’
motivation, satisfaction and performance.

According to this theory, there are four basic styles of leadership behaviour:

1. Directive Leadership: Here the subordinates know exactly what is expected

from them. The directions of leader are specific. There is no participation by
subordinates. When the demands of task are ambiguous or when th
organizational procedures, rules and policies are not clear, a directive leader
may provide the necessary guidance to his followers.

2. Supportive Leadership: In this style, the leader is friendly and approachable.

He shows a genuine interest in proceedings. It has the most positive effect on
the satisfaction of followers who perform tasks that are full of stress.

3. Participative Leadership: In this style, although the leader asks for suggestions
from the subordinates, he takes decision by himself.

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4. Achievement–oriented Leadership: In this style, the leader sets challenging

goals for the subordinates and encourages them to perform well and attain the
goals. For followers performing ambiguous and non-repetitive tasks, the higher
the achievement orientation of the leader, the more confident they would be
that their efforts would pay-off in effective performance.

The path-goal theory suggests that these styles can be used by the same leader
depending upon the characteristics of the subordinates and the environmental
pressure.

We can draw the following conclusions from the above discussions:

1. a high degree of direction in autonomous or ambiguous situations

increases satisfaction by clarifying the path to goal achievement.

2. Strongly defined tasks are performed best with greater employee

satisfaction when the leader demonstrates high consideration.

3. The autonomous jobs are more intrinsically satisfying than structured

activities. As a result, leader behaviour will be les relevant to the needs or
performance of subordinates than when the path is more difficult to
negotiate.

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