Unit 1

Organizational Behavior
Organization

• An organization is a consciously coordinated social unit composed of two or more people

that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.

• An organization is a structure having relationship that is inter winded between people

who work with collective sense of purpose

Structure of an organization

• Organization structure is the basic frame work with in which the decision making
behavior of an executive take place

• It is an established pattern of relationship among the components of organization.

• These relationship are stable and change only slowly

Types of organization

• Organizations are formed with a specific purpose.

• Some organizations are profit driven and some serve the society like universities ,
hospitals and welfare organizations

• There are three general type of organization , they are :

1. Functional organization

2. Line and staff

3. Matrix form

• These organizations will have formal structures

• In recent time there are informal structures which have invisible relationship
between the members, such as network organization and boundary less
organization. These are called as virtual organization

Functional organization
 • In this type the specialists person will be heading their respective departments to
discharge specific functions assigned to them

• Workers under functional type receives instructions from their head or specialists

Line and staff organization

• This is combined structure of line (Actual execution of work) and staff(Advisory

body)

• This structure covers planning and execution

• Planning is done by staff officials and execution is done by line officials

Matrix organization

• This is the multiple command system in which workers will have two bosses

• In this structure vertical and horizontal pattern of reporting system operates

simultaneously.

• Global organizations prefers this structure

Types of organization structure

• There are two types of structures

1. Tall structure

2. Flat structure

• Tall structure implies

1. Centralization of authority

2. Many middle level management and narrow span of control

3. Extended communication lines

4. Impersonality

• Flat organization structure implies

1. Less intervention from top management

2. De – Centralized authority
 3. Wide span of management

4. Less extended communication lines

• Organizational structures is determined by varies factor,

1. Size of the business

2. Job designing

3. Grouping of activity

4. Span of control

5. Delegation of authority

• Today’s organizations are becoming oriented towards flat structure and technology
is the driving force therefore virtual organizations are increasing reducing the
human force at work

MEANING AND DEFINITION OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

• Organisational behaviour is concerned with people's thoughts, feelings, emotions and

actions in setting up a work. Understanding an individual behaviour is in itself a
challenge, but understanding group behaviour in an organisational environment is a
monumental managerial task.

• As Nadler and Tushman put it, "Understanding one individual's behaviour is challenging
in and of itself; understanding a group that is made up of different individuals and
comprehending the many relationships among those individuals is even more complex.
Ultimately, the organisation's work gets done through people, individually or collectively,
on their, own or in collaboration with technology. Therefore, the management of
organisational behaviour is central to the management task—a task that involves the
capacity to "understand" the behaviour patterns of individuals, groups and organisations,
to ''predict'" what behavioural responses will be elicited by various managerial actions
and finally to use this understanding and these predictions to achieve "control".

• Organisational behaviour can then be defined as: "The study of human behaviour in
organisational settings, the interface between human behaviour and the organisational
context, and the organisation itself."

• The above definition has three parts—the individual behaviour, the organisation and the
(interface between the two. Each individual brings to an organisation a unique set of
beliefs, values, attitudes and other personal characteristics and these characteristics of all
individuals must interact with each other in order to create organisational settings. The
 organisational behaviour is specifically concerned with work-related behaviour, which
takes place in organisations.

• In addition to understanding; the on-going behavioural processes involved, in 'their own

jobs, managers must understand the basic human element of their work. Organisational
behaviour offers three major ways of understanding this context; people as organisations,
people as resources and people as people.

• Above all, organisations are people; and without people there would be no organisations.
Thus, if managers are to understand the organisations in which they work, they must first
understand the people who make up the organisations.

• As resources, people are one of the organisation's most valuable assets. People create the
organisation, guide and direct its course, and vitalise and revitalise it. People make the
decisions, solve the problems, and answer the questions. As managers increasingly
recognise the value of potential contributions by their employees, it will become more
and more important for managers and employees to grasp the complexities of
organisational behaviour.

• Finally, there is people as people - an argument derived from the simple notion of
humanistic management. People spend a large part of their lives in ; organisational
settings, mostly as employees. They have a right to expect something in return beyond
wages and benefits. They have a right to expect satisfaction and to learn new skills. An
understanding of organisational behaviour can help the manager better appreciate the
variety of individual needs and' expectations.

• Organisational behaviour is concerned with the characteristics and behaviours of

employees in isolation; the characteristics and processes that are part of the organisation
itself; 'and the characteristics and behaviours directly resulting from people with their
individual needs and motivations working within the structure of the organisation. One
cannot understand an individual’s behaviour completely without learning something
about that individual's organisation. Similarly, he cannot understand how the organisation
operates without; studying the people who-make it up. Thus, the organisation influences
and is influenced by individuals.

OB:

• “A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structure
have on behavior within organization, for the purpose of applying such knowledge
toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.”

• “Organization behaviour is the study and application of knowledge of how people

act or behave within organization.”
 • “It is the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organization.”

Basic concepts/variables of OB

• Individual behaviour

• Perception

• Values and attitudes

• Motivation

FOUNDATIONS OF OB

• The basic assumptions distinct to the discipline are:

1. Individual differences

2. A whole person

3. Caused behaviour

4. Human dignity

5. Social system

6. Mutuality of interest

7. Holistic concept

1. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

• Each person in the world is individually different.

• Whether in terms of intelligence, physique, personality, speech or any other trait.

• This basically takes place because of psychological difference.

• This difference is usually causing great motivation to the management by treating

people differently.

• OB begins with the individual.

• A group is powerless until individuals act.

2. A whole person
 • An individual is not only measured in terms of the skills he is processing but also his
likes and dislikes, pride and prejudice etc.

• A person’s family life can not be ignored/separated from his work life.

3. Caused behaviour

• The employee behavior is caused but not random.

• And his behavior is directed towards what is wright or wrong, his interest etc.

• Thus a human behavior is caused because of some reason behind it.

• And management should realize it and correct his behavior if wrong.

4. Human dignity

• People should be treated differently from other factors as they are in the highest
order in the universe.

• Every person wanted to be treated with dignity and respect.

• Every job entitles a person to treated with respect and recognition of their
ABILITIES.

5. Social systems

• Organizations are social system and all activities are governed by social and
psychological laws.

• People have social roles and status. Their bahaviour is influenced by group and individual
drives.

• Two types of system exists side by side: formal and informal systems.

• An organization is a social system and changes dynamically.

• All the parts are interdependent are influenced by each other.

6. Mutuality of interest

• “Organizations need people and people need organizations.”

• Organization have human purpose. They are formed and maintained because of the
mutual interest among the people.

• People see organization as a means to help them reach their goals.

 • This mutuality in interest helps in achieving the organization goals effectively.

7. Holistic concept

• All the above concepts makes OB an holistic system.

• This concept interprets organization relationship as a whole person, whole group, whole
organization and a whole social system.

IMPORTANCE /BENEFITS OF OB

1. OB provides a road map to our lives in organization: every person is made up

differently as per their personality showing different emotions, feelings and behavior.
This makes an organization perplexed. Thus OB helps us in tackling and overcoming
such differences which are functional, less stressed and career advancing.

2. The field of OB uses scientific research to help us understand and predict organizational
life: OB is not a pure science but it helps us in understanding the cause and effect
relationship among the people in an organization.

3. OB helps us influence organizational events: a person needs to know how to

communicate their ideas effectively to others, manage conflicts, take decisions, work
with teams etc. thus OB helps in influencing organizational events.

4. OB helps an individual understand himself and others better: this helps in improving the
interpersonal relationships considerably.

5. A manager in a business establishment is concerned with getting things done through

delegation: the person will be successful in delegating the authority, motivate
subordinates for better results.

6. The field of OB is useful in maintaining cordial industrial relations: In an organization it

is an indifferent attitude of the boss which makes the workers lazy. The relation between
management and employee are often strained by different reason which are personal
reason , human problem should be tackled humanely.

7. The subject of OB is also useful in the field of marketing: organization behavior helps in
understanding the consumer choice and studying their behavior, there fore OB helps us in
innovating new products with creativity and learning of responses

8. Interest in pursuing carrier in marketing: OB creates a person to take up carrier in

management on how to predict human behavior to the effectiveness of organization. It
talks about people skill and ability to understand one’s employees
 9. Effective management of all the sectors: Effective management means efficient
management of human resources and this is possible only through study of OB. OB
enables the manager to motivate his subordinate towards higher productivity and better
results.

TOWARD AN OB DISCIPLINE (OB AN INTERPLINARY DISCIPLINE)

Contributing Disciplines to the OB Field

Psychology

The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans
and other animals.

• Unit of Analysis:

• Individual

• Contributions to OB:
 • Learning, motivation, personality, emotions, perception

• Training, leadership effectiveness, job satisfaction

• Individual decision making, performance appraisal attitude measurement

• Employee selection, work design, and work stress

A Separate Field of Study

Organizational behaviour can be treated as a distinct field of study. It is yet to become a science.
Now efforts are being made to synthesize principles, concepts and processes in this field of
study.

Interdisciplinary Approach

Organizational behaviour is basically an interdisciplinary approach. It draws heavily from other

disciplines like psychology, sociology and anthropology. Besides, it also takes relevant things
from economics, political science, law and history. Organizational behaviour integrates the
relevant contents of these disciplines to make them applicable for organizational analysis. e.g. it
addresses issues, which may be relevant to the case, such as the following:

 What facilitates accurate perception and attribution?

 What influences individual, group and organizational learning and the development of
individual attitudes toward .work?
 How do individual differences in personality, personal development, and career
development affect individual's behaviours and attitudes?
 What motivates people to work, and how. does the organizational reward system
influence worker's behaviour and attitudes?
 How do managers build effective teams?
 What contributes to effective decision-making?
 What are the constituents of effective communication?
 What are the characteristics of effective communication?
 How can power be secured and used productively?
 What factors contribute to effective negotiations?
 How can conflict (between groups or between a manager and subordinates) be resolved
or managed?
 How can jobs and organizations be effectively designed?
 How can managers help workers deal effectively with change?

An Applied Science
The basic objective of organizational behaviour is to make application of various researches to
solve the organizational problems, particularly related to the human behavioral aspect.

Normative and Value Centered

Organizational behaviour is a normative science. A normative science prescribes how the various
findings of researches can be applied to get organizational results, which are acceptable to the
society. Thus, what is acceptable by the society or individuals engaged in an organization is a
matter of values of the society and people concerned.

Humanistic and Optimistic

Organizational behaviour focuses the attention on people from humanistic point of view. It is
based on the belief that needs and motivation of people are of high' concern. Further, there is
optimism about the innate potential of man to be independent, creative, predictive and capable of
contributing positively to the objectives of the organization.

Oriented towards Organizational Objectives

Organizational behaviour is oriented towards organizational objectives. In fact, organizational

behaviour tries to integrate both individual and organizational objectives so that both are
achieved simultaneously.

A Total System Approach

An individual's behaviour can be analyzed keeping in view his psychological framework,

interpersonal-orientation, group influence and social and cultural factors; Thus, individual's
nature is quite complex and organizational behaviour by applying systems approach tries to find
solutions for this complexity.

APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

There are mainly four approaches to organizational behaviour. They are:
• Human resources approach '
• Contingency approach
• Productivity approach
• Systems approach

Human Resources Approach

The human resources approach is concerned with the growth and development of people towards
higher levels of competency, creativity and fulfillment, because people are the central resource in
any organization. This approach help employees become better in terms of work and
responsibility and then it tries to create a climate in which they can contribute to the best of their
improved abilities. This approach is also known as 'supportive approach' because the manager's
primary role changes from control of employees to providing an active support for their growth
and performance.

A Contingency Approach
A contingency approach to organizational behaviour implies that different situations require
different behavioral practices for effectiveness instead of following a traditional approach for all
situations. Each situation must be analyzed carefully to determine the significant variables that
exist in order to establish the more effective practices. The strength of this approach is that it
encourages analysis of each situation prior to action. Thus, it helps to use all the current
knowledge about people in the organization in the most appropriate manner.

Productivity Approach
Productivity is a ratio that compares units of output with units of input. It is often measured in
terms of economic inputs and outputs. Productivity is considered to be improved, if more outputs
can be produced from the same amount of inputs. But besides economic inputs and outputs,
human and social inputs and outputs also arc important.

Systems Approach
A system is an interrelated part of an organization or a society that interacts with everyone
related to that organization or society and functions as a whole. Within the organization 'people'
employ 'technology' in performing the 'task' that they are responsible for, while the 'structure' of
the organization serves as a basis for co-ordinating all their different activities. The systems view
emphasizes the interdependence of each of these elements within the organization, if the
organization as a whole is to function effectively. The other key aspect of the systems view of
organization is its emphasis on the interaction between the organization and its broader
environment,, which consists of social, economic, cultural and political environment within
which they operate.
Organizations arc dependent upon their surrounding environment in two main ways:
First, the organization requires 'inputs' from the environment in the form of raw material, people,
money, ideas and so on. The organization itself can be thought of as performing certain
'transformation' processes, on its inputs in order to create outputs in the form of products or
services. Secondly, the organization depends on environment such as, public to accept its output.
The systems view of organization thus emphasizes on the key interdependencies that
organizations must manage. Within themselves the organizations must trade off the
interdependencies among people, tasks, technology and structure in order to perform their
transformation processes effectively and efficiently. Organizations must also recognize their
interdependence with the broader environments within which they exist.

LIMITATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

  Organizational behaviour cannot abolish conflict and frustration but can only reduce
them. It is a way to improve but not an absolute answer to problems.
 It is only one of the many systems operating within a large social system.
 People who lack system understanding may develop a 'behavioral basis', which gives
them a narrow view point, i.e., a tunnel vision that emphasizes on satisfying employee
experiences while overlooking the broader system of an organization in relation to all its
public.
 The law of diminishing returns also operates in the case of organizational behaviour. It
states, that at some point increase of a desirable practice produce declining returns and
sometimes, negative returns. The concept implies that for any situation there is an
optimum amount of a desirable practice. When that point is exceeded, there is a decline
in returns. For example, too much security may lead to less employee initiative and
growth. This relationship shows that organizational effectiveness is achieved not by
maximizing one human variable but by working all system variables together in a
balanced way.
 A significant concern about organizational behaviour is that its knowledge and
techniques could be used to manipulate people without regard for human welfare. People
who lack ethical values could use people in unethical ways.

FUTURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

The growing interest in organizational behaviour stems from both a philosophical desire by
many people to create more humanistic work places and a practical need to design more
productive work environments. As a result of these forces, organizational behaviour is now a part
of the curriculum of almost all courses including engineering and medical.

The field of organizational behaviour has grown in depth and breadth. The keys to its past
and future success revolve around the related processes of theory development, research and
managerial practice.

Although organizational behaviour has certain limitations, it has a tremendous potential

to contribute to the advancement of civilisation. It has provided and will provide much
improvement in the human environment. By building a better climate for people, organizational
behaviour will release their creative potential to solve major social problems. In this way
organizational behaviour will contribute to social improvements. Improved organizational
behaviour is not easy to apply but opportunities are there. It should produce a higher quality of
life in which there is improved harmony within each individual, among people and among the
organizations of future.

Ob model

• Individual behaviour comprises such aspects as personality, perception, attitudes,

learning and motivation.
 • Group behavior covers group dynamics, leaderships, power and politics, communication
and conflicts.

• At organizational level, organizational culture change and development etc are covered.

• The total and cumulative behaviour impacts the organization’s effectiveness.

Two Marks

1. Define organisation.

2. Define Organisation behaviour.

3. Mention types of organisation structure.

4. What is holistic concept?

5. What is tall structure?

Six Marks

1. Explain the importance of OB.

2. Explain the limitations of OB.

3. Explain the significance of organisation.

4. Explain the nature of OB.

5. Explain the approaches of OB.

6. Discuss the foundation of OB.

Fourteen Marks

1. Analyse the OB as inter disciplinary subject.

2. Explain the principles of organisation.

 UNIT 2

PERSONALITY ,PERCEPTION & ATTITUDES

Meaning of Perception:

“ Perception is the process of receiving information about and making sense of the world around
us. It involves deciding which information to notice, how to categorize this information and how
to interpret it within the framework of existing knowledge.”
 Factors in the perceiver
• Attitudes
• Needs
• Personality
• Experiences
• Values

Factors in the perceiver

• Attitudes
• Needs
• Personality
• Experiences
• Values

Perception

Factors in the Perceived

• Sounds
• Size
• Background
• Location
• Appearance
• Nature

PERCEPTUAL PROCESS:
 Selecting Stimuli
Receiving External factors :
Stimuli Nature,
(External & Location, Size,
Internal) contrast,
Movement, repetition,

Organizing
Ambiguous figures,
Figure Background ,
Perceptual Grouping
( similarity, proximity,
closure, continuity,Area),
Perceptual Constancy
,(Shape,Size,Colour)

Interpreting
Perceptual set,
Attribution ,Stereotyping,
Halo Effect, Projection
Perceptual context,
perceptual defense

Response
Covert: Attitudes ,
Motivation,
Feeling
 Receiving Stimuli: Stimuli are received by us through sensory organs such as vision,
hearing, smell, touch & taste. There are two types of stimuli. They are:

* Internal stimuli: Energy generated by muscles, food passing through the

digestive system, etc.

* External Stimuli: Light waves, sound waves, mechanical energy or pressure, etc
from objects that one can smell & taste.

 Selecting stimuli: The process of filtering information received by our senses is called
selecting stimuli or selective attention.

External Factors:

* Nature: Whether the object is visual or organs of hearing.

* Location: The best location of a visual stimulus for attracting attention is

directly in the front of the eyes & in the centre of a stage in a conference hall..

* Colour: it can be used to attract attention of a product or to create a suitable

atmosphere.

Example: Red distance effect-close

Black Psychological effect-Death or mourning

* Size: Generally, objects of larger size attract more attention than do smaller
ones.

* Contrast: It states that external stimuli which stands out against the background
or which are not what people are expecting, will receive their attention.

* Movement: The principle of motion states that a moving object receives more
attention than an object that is stationary. Ex: A workman will be focused more on a
conveyor belt of a machine than a idle flower vase.
 * Repetition: It state that a repeated stimuli would draw more attention that a non
repetitive one. Ex: The same advertisement of an airtel flashed daily on television is
based on the principle of repetition.

* Novelty & Familiarity: New objects in familiar settings or familiar objects in

new settings or familiar objects in new settings will draw the attention of the perceiver.

Internal Factors:

* Learning: Learning is a cognitive factor. People tend to perceive what they want
to perceive.

Bird in the
M–A -
the hand
C - D–
O– N–
* Psychological needs: needs play significant role in perceptual selectivity.
Example: A thirsty person in a desert, for instance, gets the illusion of water when seeing
sand from a distance.

* Age Difference: Senior executives complain about the inability of the young
ones to take tough decisions concerning terminating people or paying attention to details
& paper work.

*Interest: Perception is unconsciously influenced by the interests of the perceiver.

Ex: A painter will notice the colour or paint of building whereas a common may notice it.

*Ambivalence: It is mixed feeling about a situation. It means opposing emotional

attitude towards the same object. Ex: A son may be anxious, curious to purchase a laptop.
Once he purchases Samsung laptop with Windows Xp features. After few years a laptop
would be launched with additional features such as Windows7.His attitude towards the
same object would be opposing because the laptop purchased may not meet his current
needs.

*Paranoid Perception: An emotionally disturbed person, his perceptual field

differs from that of reality & personalised interpretation. Ex: Mr X, a paranoid person
may perceive a football as a basket ball.
 Perceptual Organisation: It is the process by which people group stimuli into recognisable
patterns. Example: Most people have a mental picture of an object made of plastic &
having four legs, a seat, aback- an image of chair.

People organise the incoming information into a meaningful whole & recognise the
object to be a chair.

Factors affecting in perceptual organisation are as follows:

* Ambiguous figures: Perceptual organisation becomes a difficult task when there

are confusing & disorganised stimuli in the external environment.

 * Figure Background: It states that the relationship of a target to its background

influences perception.

 Perceptual Grouping: This principle was 1st defined by Gestalt psychologists include the
following:

* Principle of similarity: When objects of similar shape, size or colour tend to be grouped
together. Ex: All employees who wear Black Gown may be perceived as a Lawyer, when,
in reality, each worker is a civil lawyer or criminal lawyer or a unique individual.

* Principle of proximity: It states the tendency to perceive stimuli which are near one
another as belonging together. Ex: Several employees in an organisation may be
identified as a single group because of physical proximity.
 * Principle of Closure: A person has a tendency to perceive a whole when none exist. It
supplies missing stimuli. Ex: When, a manger has to take a decision even when there is
no sufficient data. He takes the decision based on experience; imagination the data can be
filled.

* Principle of Continuity: It is the tendency to perceive objects as continuing patterns. In

business forecasting, a common continuing error is to assume that the future will simply
reflect current events & trends.

* Area: Where one part of an area showing an ambiguous figure is smaller in size than
the remainder, it is more likely that the smaller area will be seen as a figure & the rest of
the total area as background.

 Perceptual Constancy: A more subtle or thin part of perceptual organisation is constancy.

* Shape Constancy: Whenever an object appears to maintain its shape despite marked
changes in the retinal image. Ex: Whether we view ‘Bangle’ from the side or front, its
shape is ‘Round’.

* Size Constancy: It refers to the fact that as an object is moved farther away we tend to
see it as more or less invariant in size. Ex: The players in the opposite side of the field do
not look smaller than those closer to you even though their images on the retina of the
eye are much smaller.

* Colour Constancy: It implies that familiar objects are perceived to be of the same
colour in varied conditions.

 Process of Interpreting: Once the data have been received & organised, the perceiver
interprets or assigns meaning to the information.

Factors affecting the interpretation of data are as follows:

* Perceptual Set: Previously held beliefs about objects influence an individual’s

perception of similar objects.

* Attribution: It refers to the process by which the individual assigns causes to the
behaviour he or she conceives.

* Stereotyping: It means judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group
to which that person belongs.

* 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, favourable or unfavourable.

* Perceptual Context: The context in which an object is placed influences perception.

 * Perceptual Defense: It is the inability to perceive that is threatening to the perceiver.

* Projection: We tend to believe that other posses the same characteristics of what we
have.

 The process of checking: The perceiver tends to check whether his interpretations are
right or wrong.

 The process of reacting: The perceiver would finalise with some action in relation to his
or her perception which may be a favourable or unfavourable.

When perception fails or errors in perception:

 Fundamental attribution error: It refers to a tendency to underestimate the importance of

external factors & overestimate the importance of internal factors when making
attributions about the behaviour of others.

 Self-fulfilling Prophecy or Pygmallion effect: People’s expectations or beliefs determine

their behaviour & performance, thus serving to make their expectations come true.

 Primacy effect: First impression is the best impression.

 Recency effect: Individual’s tend to remember the recent happenings& based on that,
come to a conclusion on a particular event.

 Projection: We tend to believe that other posses the same characteristics of what we
have.

 Stereotyping: It means judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to
which that person belongs.

 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, favourable or unfavourable.

 Perceptual Defense: It is the inability to perceive that is threatening to the perceiver.

Factors influencing perception

Factors in the perceiver
• Attitudes Factors in the situation
• Needs • Time/Physical
• Personality setting
• Experiences • Work Setting/
• Values organisational setting
• Social Setting

Perception

Factors in the Perceived

• Sounds
• Size
• Background
• Location
• Appearance
• Nature

Interpersonal Perception: It is understanding & interpretation process of two individuals

in a work setting. It focuses on only people. It is otherwise called Social perception.

Application of perception in Organisation & Measures to improve Perception:

Perception, in many cases has important effects on organisation. They are discussed as
follows:

 Employment Interview: When a candidate appears for interview, some of the

interviewers look at their physical appearance, analytical thinking, critical thinking, etc.
One may give appositive feedback & other a negative on the same candidates. It is clear
that where interview is an important input for selection, the perceptual factors influence
the decision to select a candidate.

 Performance Appraisal: Assessment of an employee’s performance depends on the

perception of the evaluator.
  Conflict Management: The perceptions of an employee have of others even overflow into
the workplace & cause conflict with other co-workers.

 Employee Loyalty: To retain an employee in an organisation is not that easy as employee

becomes closer to the organisation, he would understand the pro’s & cons of the
organisations. Sometimes he would perceive that the competitor’s organisation pays
better than his current organisation.

Measures:

 Have a high level of self awareness; Individual needs, experience & expectations can all
affect perceptions.

 Avoid inappropriate attributions: Each and every employee would describe the cause of
behaviour in a wrong situation which has to be avoided.

 Be Empathetic: Employee should be able to perceive the situation same as it is. Do not
arise the personal impressions at your work place.

 Diversity management programmes: Organisation need to introduce diversity

management programmes because employees came from various culture where they need
to understand the value of diversity & personal biases can be avoided.

Need for perception:

 It helps to understand, predict & control the behaviour of the individuals.

 It helps to categorise the information & to interpret it effectively.

 It helps to set performance goals.

 It helps in decision making.

 To organise the things or situations effectively.

 It helps to analyse the needs of various departments.

 It helps to identify the career path of employee in an organisation.

ATTITUDES

Attitude represents the cluster of beliefs, assessed feelings & behavioural intentions towards an
object. They reflect how one feels about something or somebody. Based on the believes &
perceptions an individual frames his attitude.
Attitudes are learned pre-dispositions towards aspects of our environment. They may be
positively or negatively directed towards certain people, service or institutions.

Nature of Attitudes:

 Attitudes refers to feelings and beliefs of an individual.

 The feelings & beliefs are directed towards other people.

 Attitudes affect the behaviour or action of people.

 Attitudes are gradually acquired over a period of time.

 They are evaluative statements.

 All people have attitudes.

 Attitude may be unconsciously held.

Components of Attitude:

Attitudes can be broken down into 3 basic components:

 Informational or Cognitive Component: It consists of beliefs, values, ideas and other

information a person has about the object. This information can be the key to his attitude.

 Emotional or Affective Component: The sentiments, emotion feelings, etc towards an

object has an influence on the attitude of an individual.

 Behavioural Component: The behavioural component is the tendency of peers on to

behave in a particular manner towards an object. This component can be directly
observed.

ABC Model:

The three components of attitude is called the ABC model, the three letters respectively
standing for affect, behavioural & cognition.This model helps us in a thorough
understanding of the attitude of people.

Ex: If an employer wants to introduce flexitime in his office he would want to know:

a) How they feel about it (affect)

b) Whether they’ll use it (behaviour)

c) What they think about the policy (Cognition)

 Stimuli work related factors
Managerial Style

Technology

Noise

Peers

Rewards

Cognition Superior is unfair

Beliefs & Values

Affect “I don’t like superior”

Feelings & Emotions

Behaviour “I want a transfer”

Intended Behaviour

Formation of Attitudes:

A person acquires his attitude from several sources. The important sources of acquiring attitudes
are:

 Direct Personal Experience: A person direct experience with the attitude object
determines his attitude towards it. The personal experience of an individual will affect his
attitude deeply.

 Association: Sometimes acquaintance or association with people & events also influence
the attitude.

 Family & Peer groups: Attitudes can be acquired from parents, teachers & peer group
members. We observe the way our family & friends behave & we shape our attitudes
accordingly. Ex: Family support political party, you will start doing it.
  Neighbourhood: The neighbourhood in which we live has certain cultural facilities,
religious groupings & ethnic differences. Further more, it has people who are neighbours
who may belong to different cultures. All these will have a bearing on our attitudes.

 Economic status & occupations: The economic status & occupational position of an
individual also affects his attitude formation. Our socio economic background influences our
present & future attitudes.

 Mass Communications: All varieties of mass communications like televisions,

newspaper, etc feed the audiences with large amounts of information. These information to a
large extent affects the attitude of people.

 Vicarious learning: This refers to the formation of attitudes by observing the behaviour of
others & the consequences of their behaviour.

Benefits of Positive Attitude

 Increases productivity: Employee possessing positive attitude towards the work will help
to contribute effectively & increases the productivity of an organisation.

 Solves problems: The problems crop up in the organisation can be solved quickly when
employee’s belief is positive towards the work environment.

 Improves quality: An employee having a positive attitude would try to increase the
quality output for the organisation which would help him to grow in the organisation.

 Encourages team work: Organisation has to encourage team work in order to increase
productivity & growth of the organisation which is possible to attain through positive
attitude of employee towards the work.

 Reduce stress: When the work is enjoyed by the employee who shows there is a positive
approach towards the work & it reduces the stress of employee in an organisation.

 Job Satisfaction: In order to satisfy the employee with a job, the organisation has to
provide a positive work environment which would help to increase the satisfaction level
in an organisation.

 Better organisational relations & fewer conflicts: An employee is able to establish a good
rapport with the superiors peers, subordinates, etc which would provide the scope for
minimal conflict.

 Reduces absenteeism: An employee approaching positively towards the organisation will

show a reduced absenteeism which would help them to contribute effectively towards an
organisation.
  Increases one’s ability to motivate & inspire others & oneself: A person has belief &
positive attitude towards the work would motivate other employees to work effectively
for the betterment of the organisation.

 Helps in achieving goals & attaining success: Goals of the organisation are achieved with
a positive attitude of employee towards an organisation.

Functions of Attitudes:

 Adjustment function: Attitudes often help people adjust to their work environment. The
attitudes help employees adjust to their environment & are a basis for future behaviour.

 Ego defense function: People often form & maintain attitudes to protect their own self
images. Such attitude is generally found among people in the management level where
they do not accept or welcome any ideas given by their subordinates to protect their self
ego.

 Value expressive function: Attitudes provide people with a basis for expressing their
values. Our value expressive attitudes are closely related to our self concept. Ex: One
who values freedom will have the attitude towards decentralisation.

 Knowledge function: An attitude of a person provides the standards of reference by

which an individual judges objectives or events. If the existing attitudes are inadequate in
solving an issue, then new knowledge will be acquired to change the attitude & thereby
solve the issue.

 Badge value: Attitudes helps to define us & make up statements about who we are &
what we believe.

Is it possible to change the attitude? If Yes -How?

Changing Attitudes or Ways of overcoming barriers to change:

Attitudes need to be changed from aspects:

 Changing ones own attitude.

 Changing the employees attitude.

 Changing attitudes of self: The following hints can help an individual change his or her
attitude:

* Be aware of ones attitudes.

 * Keep an open mind.

* Stay away from negative influences.

* Build a positive self esteem.

* Realise that negative attitude will not help in gaining anything.

 Changing attitudes of employees:

* Giving feedback about their negative attitude.

* Providing new & useful information to change the attitude.

* Change of attitude can come through persuasion of friends or peers.

* Use of moderate fear & punishments to change the attitude.

* Providing positive work environment.

* Co-opting approach: This is another way of changing attitude where people who are
dissatisfied with a situation are given the responsibility of improving things.

Types of Change:

 Congruent change: It means that the change is a movement in the same direction but the
intensity of the feeling is reduced.

 Incongruent change: This refers to a change of direction in the attitude from positive to
negative & vice versa.

Barriers to changing attitudes:

 Prior commitments: On barrier to change of attitude are prior commitments. This occurs
when people feel a commitment to a particular action or person & are unwilling to
change.

 Insufficient Information: Sometimes people see no reason why they should change their
attitudes.

 Cognitive dissonance: This refers to a state of inconsistency between an individual’s

attitude & behaviour. This can be overcome either by changing the attitude or behaviour
or both to an extent.

Attitude Measurement/ Job Satisfaction Measurement:

There are a number of ways of measuring attitudes:

  Rating Scales: It allows an individual to rate their liking or disliking towards a job or an
individual. One of the most popular rating scale is the JDI (Job Descriptive Index)

 Critical Incidents: Here employees were asked to describe incidents on the job when they
were particularly satisfied or dissatisfied. The incidents were then analysed in
determining which aspects of these incidents of results in positive & negative attitudes in
the employee.

 Interviews: Personal interviews are yet another measurement of job satisfaction.

Employees are interviewed & their responses reveal the extent of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction.

 Action Tendencies: They represent the inclinations people have to avoid or approach
certain things. By gathering information on such inclinations, their job satisfaction can be
measured.

 Likert Scale: This was developed by Likert & is widely used even today. Here an
individual is asked to indicate agreements or disagreement with job factors .The
individual is also required to state how strongly he or she agrees or disagrees. This is
normally done on a 5 point scale which includes:

*Strongly Approve

* Approve

* Undecided

*Disapprove

* Strongly disapprove

Two Marks:

1. Define Perception.

2. What is stereotyping?

3. What is Halo effect?

4. Define attitude.

5. Distinguish between attitude & Belief.

Six Marks
 1. When does the perception fail?

2. Explain the components of attitude.

3. Discuss the functions of attitude.

4. Explain the factors influencing Perception?

5. Examine the sources of formation of attitude.

6. Examine the measurement of attitudes.

7. Explain the needs of perception in an organisation.

Fourteen Marks

1. Explain the perceptual process in an organisation.

2. Describe the ABC model.

3. Examine the application of perception in an organisation & its measures.

4. Is it possible to change the attitude? If Yes-How?

• Acording to stephens robbin

 • “Personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts
with others’

• Personality refers to how people affect others and how they understand and view
them selfs as well as their pattern of inner and outer measurable trades, and the
person – situation interventions

Personality traits (Attributes)

• A trait is a characteristic or distinguishing feature , which makes an individual different

from others, Ex. Reserved / out spoken,relaxed/tensed etc.

Characteristic of personality traits

• Each individuals personality is unique and varies

• A person personality is affected by internal and external factors

• It changes because of situation , experience,etc.

• It causes to act in a certain way,

Determinants of personality

1. Heredity

• Heredity means characters determined at conception

• It is the process by which features and traits are passed on from parent to their
children before they are born. Ex. Physical stature,facial attractiveness,
gender,energy level etc.

• How ever personality traits are not completely decided by heridity Ex. Physical
apperance can be changed by external materials. Muscales mass can be improved
by different product in the markets.

2. To Environment

• Environmental factors are those factors which includes events,people and

situation around an induvidual, which has influence in his/her life. Ex. Place of
residence, school, family , work place, friends, teachers,culture and the society

3. Family

• Parents sibllings and other family members and family it’s self as a whole influence
personality
 • Parents are the role model for their childern, and children try to copy and immitate the
parents behaviour.

• Family size, religion,rituals,education of the family etc. Impact an induvidual Ex. Nuclear
family v/s joint family

4. Social and cultural factors

• Socialisation is the process by which people (children) are made to interact and behave
with others in an acceptable way.

• It helps in maintaining interpersonal relationship with others and also with in the group.

• Culture is a system of perception, beliefs, values , norms,code of conduct etc. That

influence individuals.

• It passes from generation to generation

5. Situational factors

• Situation demands different aspect of one’s personality . Ex. Temple, class room,
office,interview,canteen, court,house,others house,Etc. Shapes the person personality

• Ex. Indivudual designation and position in organisation also affects his personality,
professor in a class room etc.

• Ex. In company superior v/s subordinates (Dual personality)

THE BIG FIVE MODEL

• This model supports 5 basic personality dimensions or domains which determines overall
human personality and account for individual differences.

• The big 5 traits are OCEAN:

• Openness

• Consciousness

• Extroversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism

OPENNESS

• This dimension reflect one’s range of interests and fascinations with novelty.
 • People who like to learn new thing and enjoy new experiences usually score high in
openness.

• Such traits are: Imaginative, innovative, creative, flexible and curious.

• On the other hand those who score low are less receptive to new ideas, more rigid,
comfort seekers.

CONSCIOUSNESS
(CAREFULLNESS)

• This dimensions measures reliability and promptness of a person.

• It reflects the traits like:

1. Dependability

2. Responsible

3. Organized systematic

4. Persistent

• Those who score low on this dimension are easily distracted, disorganized and unreliable.

EXTROVERSION

• This dimension reflects a persons comfort level in relationships.

• These are sociable and are lively, assertive, talkative and outgoing.

• They get energy from interacting with others.

• The opposite of extroverts are introverts which reflects those traits like timid, reserved,
quiet, and the person gets his energy from within.

AGREEABLENESS

• It refers to a person’s ability t get along with others. These are friendly, co-operative,
kind, compassionate, warm and trusting.

• People who score low on agreeableness are cold, more distant and unkind to others,
disagreeable and antagonistic(aggressive and hostile).

NEUROTICISM
(EMOTIONAL STABILITY)
 • This dimension reflects a person's ability to withstand stress and degree of negative
emotions. People with positive emotional stability tend to be calm, self confident and self
confident and secured.

• A person with low emotional stability tends to be nervous, depressed, anxious and in
secured

OTHER PERSONALITY TRAITS

PERSONALITY FACTORS IN ORGANISATIQN5

Some of the important personality factors that determine what kind of behaviors are exhibited at
work include the following:

Locus of Control
Locus of control is the degree to which an individual believes that his or her behavior has direct
impact on the consequences of that behavior. Some people, for example, believe that if they
work hard they will certainly succeed. They, strongly believe that each individual is in control of
his or her life. They are said to have an internal locus of control. By contrast, some people think
that what happens to them is a result of fate, chance, luck or the behavior of other people, rather
than the lack of skills or poor performance on their part. Because- these individuals think that
forces beyond their control dictate the happenings around them, they are said to have an external
locus of control.

As a personality attribute, locus of control has clear implications for organizations. For
example, certain individuals have an internal locus of control, which means they have a
relatively strong desire to participate in the management of their organizations and have a'
freedom to do their jobs. Thus, they may prefer a decentralized organization where they have a
right of decision-making and work with a leader who provides them freedom and autonomy.
They may like a reward system that recognizes individual performance and contributions.

Conversely, people with an external locus of control, are likely to prefer a more
centralized organization where they need not take any decisions. They may incline to structured
jobs where standard procedures are defined for them. They may prefer a leader who makes most
of the decisions and a reward system that considers seniority rather than merit.

Introversion and Extroversion

Introversion is the tendency of individuals, which directs them to be inward and process feelings,
thoughts and ideas within themselves. Extroversion, on the contrary, refers to the tendency in
individuals to look outside themselves, searching for external stimuli with which they can
interact. While there is some element of introversion as well as extroversion in all of us, people
tend to be dominant as either extroverts or introverts. Extroverts are sociable, lively and
gregarious and seek outward stimuli or external exchanges. Such individuals are likely to be
most successful while working in the sales department, publicity office, personal relations unit,
and so on, where they can interact face to face with others. Introverts, on the other Hand, are
quiet, reflective, introspective, and intellectual people, preferring to interact with a small intimate
circle of friends. Introverts are more likely to be successful when they can work on highly
abstract ideas such as R&D work, in a relatively quiet atmosphere. Since managers have to
constantly interact with individuals both in and out of the organization and influence people to
achieve the organization's goals, it is believed that extroverts are likely to be more successful as
managers.

Tolerance for Ambiguity

This personality characteristic indicates the level of uncertainty that people can tolerate to work
efficiently without experiencing undue stress. Managers have to work well under conditions of
extreme uncertainty and insufficient information, especially when things are rapidly changing in
the organization's external environment. Managers who have a high tolerance for ambiguity can
cope up well under these conditions. Managers, who have a low tolerance for ambiguity may be
effective in structured work settings but find it almost impossible to operate effectively when
things are rapidly changing and much information about the future events is not available. Thus,
tolerance for ambiguity is a personality dimension necessary for managerial success.

Self-Esteem and Self-Concept

Self-esteem denotes the extent to which individuals consistently regard themselves as capable,
successful, important and worthy individuals. Self-esteem is an important personality factor that
determines how managers perceive themselves and their role in the organization. Self-esteem is
important to self-concept, i.e., the way individuals, define themselves as to who they are and
derive their sense of identity. High self-esteem provides a high sense of self-concept, which, in
turn, reinforces high self-esteem. Thus, the two are mutually reinforcing. Individuals with a high
self-esteem will try to take on more challenging assignments and be successful. Thus, they will
be enhancing their self-concept i.e., they would tend to define themselves as highly valued
individuals in the organizational system. The higher the self-concept and self-esteem, the greater
will be their contributions to the goals of the organization, especially when the system rewards
them for their contributions.
Authoritarianism and Dogmatism

Authoritarianism is the extent to which an individual believes that power and status differences
are important within' hierarchical social systems like organizations. For example, an employee
who is highly authoritarian may accept directives or orders from his superior without much
questioning. A person who is not highly authoritarian might agree to carry out appropriate and
reasonable directives from his boss. But he may also raise questions, express disagreement and
even refuse to carry out requests if they arc for some reason objectionable.

Dogmatism is the rigidity of a person's beliefs and his or her openness to other
viewpoints. The popular terms 'close-minded' and 'open-minded' describe people who are more
and less .dogmatic in their beliefs respectively. For example, a manager may be unwilling to
listen to a new idea related to doing something more efficiently. He is said to be a person who is
close-minded or highly dogmatic. A manager who is very receptive to hearing about and trying
out new ideas in the same circumstances might be seen as more open-minded or less dogmatic.
Dogmatism can be either beneficial or detrimental to organizations, but given the degree of
change in the nature of organizations and their environments, individuals who are, not dogmatic
are most likely to be useful and productive organizational members.

Risk Propensity

Risk-propensity is the decree to which an individual is willing to take chances and make risky
decisions. A manager with a high-risk propensity might be expected to experiment with new
ideas and to lead the organization in new directions. In contrast, a manager with low risk
propensity might lead to a stagnant and overly conservative organization.

Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism is manipulating or influencing other people as a primary way of achieving

one's goal. An individual tends to be Machiavellian, if he tends to be logical in assessing the
system around, willing to twist and turn facts to influence others, and try to gain control of
people, events and situations by manipulating the system to his advantage.

Type A and B Personalities

Type A persons feel a chronic sense of time urgency, are highly achievement-oriented, exhibit a
competitive drive, and are impatient when their work is slowed down for any reason. Type B
persons are easy-going individuals who do not feel the time urgency, and who do not experience
the competitive drive. Type A individuals are significantly more prone to heart attacks than Type
B individuals. While Type A persons help the organization to move ahead in a relatively short
period of time they may also suffer health problems, which might be detrimental to both
themselves and the organization in the long run.

Work-Ethic Orientation

Some individuals are highly work-oriented while others try to do the minimum Work that is
necessary to get by without being fired on-the-job. The extremely work oriented person gets
greatly involved in the job. Extreme work ethic values could lead to traits of "workahollism"
where work is considered as the only primary motive for living with very little outside interests.
For a workaholic turning to work can sometimes become a viable alternative to facing non-work
related problems. A high level of work ethic orientation of members is good for the organization
to achieve its goals. Too much "workahollism", however, might lead to premature physical and
mental exhaustion and health problems, which is dysfunctional for both organization and the
workaholic members.

The above ten different personality predispositions are important for individual,
managerial and organizational effectiveness.

PERSONALITY AND WORK

• YOUR Success at work depends upon what kind of person you are.

• Researchers have made a camparasion between successful and unsuccessfull people.

• In one study, the emperical evidence reveals that some define success in terms of money
whereas others in terms of intrinsic happiness.

• More successful men were found to be more persistent. They were exhibiting self
confidence and had agreeableness.

• They were open minded and extroverts which increases their performance.

• Generally, the essential traits are expected traits of management professionals are
persistent and confoidence.

• A congenial job brings self fulfillment and self confidence in people.

• Personality is the sum total of our habits, physical, mental and emotional.

INTERACTIVE BEHAVIOUR

• An interactive person is also called as Extrovert personality.

• The quality of an interactive person is simply speaking.

 • They are just opposite to introverts.

• The people who are interactive are basically friendly, sociable, lively, gregarious,
aggressive and express their feeling and ideas openly.

• Hence they are more suitable and successful in the areas which require continuous and
frequent interactions with others.

• Ex- sales person, publicity departments, person relation unit.

• So those people who exhibit the above characters and behaviour come under interactive
behaviour as there is continuous negotiations between many people.

• They tend to work faster, dislike complicated procedure. They usually communicate
freely and are often impatient with long slow jobs.

• They like to have people around them most of the time.

Conflicts:

Conflict arises from difference of opinion between the group members while attaining the
organizational goals. An organization is an interlocking network of groups, departments, sections
or work teams. In organizations everywhere, conflict among groups of different interests is
unavoidable. According to one survey, managers spend an estimated 20 percent of their time
dealing with group conflicts. The success of an organization depends upon the harmonious
relations among all independent groups. Managers may either directly resolve the conflicts or
they may act as mediators between two or more employees. In either case, knowledge and
understanding of conflict and the methods of resolving it are important.

Inter-group conflicts result from the ways in which organizations co-ordinate the work of
different groups and distribute rewards among those groups.

Interpersonal conflict

• Stress may be caused because of conflicting personality and behavior. When two or more
people work together having different personality ,attitudes and behavior it may result in
conflict.

• Conflict is triggered when a person behavior will mutually exclusive from others.

• The outcome of conflict is frustration , inner tension and stress. Ex. A person having an
internal locus of control ( Who believes in himself)may get frustrated working with an
other person, who believes in destiny, fate, god etc.

Types of conflicts
 • There are two types of conflicts

1 functional

2 Dysfunctional

• A conflict between individuals and groups which has a positive impact and that would
facilitates the company growth is called as functional conflict.

• On the other hand conflict which results in destruction or stagnation of company growth.
This is called an functional conflict.

Other types of conflicts:

The levels of group conflict are as follows:

 Personal conflict: Are the conflicts that arise among employees, individuals
because of their competitive roles.
 Group conflict: Are the conflicts arising within two or more groups due to difference in
their attitudes and behavior.
 Infra-organizational conflict: Are the conflict arising between levels of an organization,
which are of two types. Vertical conflict arises between higher and lower level of
management. Horizontal conflict arises among the employees at same level.

Following is the sequence in which a conflict can arise:

• Latent conflict: Is a situation when the conditions for conflict arise. For example, two
groups competing for scarce resources.

• Perceived conflict: Is a situation when both the groups realize that there exists conflict
between them.

• Felt conflict: Is a situation when members involved in the conflict feel tense or anxious.

• Manifest conflict: Is a situation when both the group try to frustrate each other.

• Conflict outcome: Is a situation or consequence arising after the conflict is eliminated.

Two Marks

1. Define personality

2. What is machievallineism?

3. Who is extrovert?

4. Distinguish between type A & type B personality.

5. What is interpersonal conflict?

Six Marks

1. Explain the nature of personality

2. Distinguish between type A & type B personality.

3. Explain the determinants of personality.

4. Explain the significance of culture towards personality.

Fourteen Marks

1. Explain Big five personality traits.