IGNOU ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS
MASTER OF COMMERCE (MCOM - SEMESTER 1)
MCO-01 - Organisation Theory and Behavior
MCO - 01 /TMA/2023
Please Note:
These assignments are valid for two admission cycles (January 2023 and July 2023). The validity is given below:
1 Those who are enrolled in January 2023, it is valid upto June 2023.
2 Those who are enrolled in July 2023, it is valid upto December 2023.
In case you are planning to appear in June Term-End Examination, you must submit the assignments to the Coordinator of your Study Centre latest by 15th March, and if you are planning to appear in December Term-End Examination, you must submit them latest by 15th September.
Question 1
What do you mean by bureaucracy? Discuss its characteristics. Do you think that bureaucracy enhances efficiency in the organisation. Give your arguments.
Solution:
Bureaucracy is defined in the dictionary as, “a system for controlling or managing a country, company, or organization, that is operated by a large number of officials employed to follow rules carefully”.
These days the word bureaucracy is often associated with negative connotations, but at the time bureaucratic theory was developed by Weber it was designed to solve some big problems with the way organizations were being run.
What is Bureaucratic Theory?
Because of the problems Weber saw with traditional authority he favored a more rational approach to running an organization and helping it to achieve its goals.
There are two parts to Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory:
1. A clear organizational hierarchy
An organizational hierarchy defines how people are structured and fit within an organization. For example, a typical company will have the CEO at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the executive board. Each board member will then be responsible for managers, who in turn will manage employees.
Weber wanted each hierarchy to have what he called legal-rational authority. This means that defined authority sits with a position, not with a person. For example, your subordinate would never be able to tell you what to do even if they happened to be the son of the CEO because their formal position doesn’t hold that power. Basically, your authority comes from the position you hold in the hierarchy.
2. Clear rules for decision making
Weber referred to this as rational-legal decision-making rules. This means that there should be a set of explicit rules and procedures defining how the organization functions, and that these rules should be consistent with the rules and laws of wider society.
Six characteristics of bureaucracy in turn.
1. Hierarchical Management Structure
One of the hallmarks of a bureaucracy is a hierarchical management structure. In a hierarchy, each level within the organizational structure controls the level below but is controlled by the level above.
Power and authority are clearly and explicitly defined for each position within the hierarchy. Job responsibilities and duties are also clearly defined for each position.
2. Division of Labor
Division of labor means that tasks are divided between the employees of the organization. Each employee will be responsible for specific tasks and each department will be responsible for specific functional areas.
As an example of this think about how your salary is set and paid within a large organization. Your salary will be set by your line manager, but you will be paid by the Payroll department, rather than the money being paid to your boss who would then give it to you. There are advantages to breaking things up in this way. First, your manager is the person in the best position to set your salary as they observe your performance much more closely than the payroll department. Second, the payroll department are specialists in payroll and ensure you get paid on the same day each month.
3. Formal Selection Process
All employees are treated equally and are hired and promoted on the basis of qualifications, expertise, performance, and experience. There are formal rules and regulations to ensure this selection process isn’t abused. For example, your manager can’t hire someone simply because they’re friends from the golf club.
4. Career Orientation
The organization is career orientated, meaning that if you follow the rules and regulations and perform well you will not be arbitrarily fired. In fact, if you perform well you may even have the chance to be promoted or receive a pay rise. In this way, the organization offers each employee the opportunity for a long term career, provided they follow the rules and perform well.
5. Formal Rules and Regulations
There are rules in place that govern how all employees should behave. Managers cannot simply appraise their employees according to their whims. Instead, they must assess employees according to the rules. For example, if you’ve been set a target to make 10 widgets and you make 10 widgets then you’ve achieved your target. Your manager can’t simply decide retrospectively that you should have really made 15 widgets and then fire you for not making 15 widgets. The rules protect employees against this type of behavior.
Similarly, there are rules surrounding how we behave, treat, and interact with other employees.
6. Impersonality
The rules are well defined and clear and are applied in the same way to everyone. The rules are there to prevent favoritism or nepotism.
If two employees were to enter into a relationship together whilst working within the same department, then often one of them will be moved to a different department or different part of the organization to avoid favoritism and help keep in-work relationships impersonal.
How does bureaucracy contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of organisations?
It can be. Compared to a large organization with no bureaucracy, I would expect an organization with bureaucracy to be more efficient.
A bureaucracy only makes sense in a large organization. Small organizations with few employees, like a really small business, don’t need bureaucracy. A large organization needs it. A bureaucracy has a hierarchical structure, which provides for accountability of employees and supervisors. It also has formal rules that make clear what employees are expected to do, and what rights and responsibilities they have. Employees also develop specialized, professional expertise in their functions. Absent bureaucracy you have employees doing whatever they want, with no accountability and no standards to judge employee performance.
That is not to say that bureaucracies are always efficient. Once a company grows large enough to need a bureaucracy, it may not set up its bureaucracy properly. Growth in that situation may result in failure by the company. Bureaucracies aren’t static, and over the life of a corporation may go from efficient to inefficient. There is an incentive for bureaucracies in corporations operating in competitive markets to be efficient. An inefficient corporate bureaucracy may put the company at a competitive disadvantage compared to more efficient companies. That does happen, and old companies can die from bureaucratic calcification. A monopoly has minimal incentive for efficiency, and its bureaucracy may get sloppy in the absence of competition.
Government bureaucracies are notorious for inefficiency, which may arise from government having a monopoly in its various functions. A representative government may mitigate this, as unsatisfied citizens may vote against an incumbent government that doesn’t effectively provide services. Even an authoritarian government has an incentive to make its bureaucracy efficient in some respects; a dictator needs efficient tax collection, for example.
In summary, bureaucracy is necessary in a large organization, but bureaucracy will not necessarily be efficient. It can be efficient, but requires effort by management, corporate or government.
Question 2
(a) Explain process of perception. What are the factors those influence perception?
(b) Discuss individual management strategies of stress. Do you think that they can reduce stress in the organisation? Discuss.
Solution:
(a)
Perceptual sets are the tendency of humans to notice and ignore certain aspects of a stimulus, determined by a state of readiness. Perception is a cognitive process that is used to understand and interpret information that we get from our senses, and certain factors affect perception, such as emotion, motivation, culture, and expectations.
Process of Perception
1. Reception: In this process, a person receives the information through stimuli.
2. Selection: This is governed by two types of factors:
External factors: These are size, intensity, proximity, motion and novelty.
Internal factors: These are attitude, motives, experiences, interests and expectations.
3. Organization: It is the process by which we sort stimuli into a meaningful pattern. It involves the following:
Grouping: Assembling of stimuli on the grounds of similarity.
Proximity: This is the closeness of stimuli to one another that affects perception.
Closure: It is the ability to organize stimuli so that together they form a whole pattern.
4. Interpretation: It is the formation of an idea about the information that is sensed, selected and organized. It involves the following phenomena: primacy effect, selective perception, stereotyping, halo effect, projection and expectancy effect. They are the types of perceptual errors.
Primacy/ Recency Effect: The first impression is given the most important which is known as the primacy effect. Recency effect, on the other hand, is that human beings remember latest events more than the less recent ones.
Stereotyping: It is the effect caused by forming a certain belief about a category of stimuli and generalizing that notion to encounters with each member of that category. In reality, there is a difference between the perceived notion of each category and the actual traits of the members. It may affect the interview process in an organization.
Halo effect: It is the process of generalizing from a comprehensive analysis to a single attribute or trait. A negative halo effect is known as the reverse halo effect. It affects the performance appraisal of employees in a company.
Projection: It is a psychological defence mechanism which makes a person compare his negative traits with other people and conclude that they are better off than others. Perceptual checking minimizes the negative effects of projection.
Selective Perception: This means a person sees, feels or hears what he wants to and skips other information which are inconsistent to his view.
Expectancy effect: It is the tendency of an individual to interpret any person or object based on how he expects the person or object to be in the first place. It is also called as Pygmalion effect.
Stimulus factors affecting perception
Various stimulus factors can affect perception. These include:
1. Intensity
The more intense something is, the more likely it is that it will be perceived. For example, people are more likely to perceive a loud noise rather than a quiet background noise.
2. Changes
When driving in a car, there are constant changes in visual stimuli. So, what we see/perceive constantly changes.
3. Magnitude
The larger the size of an object, the more likely it is to be seen/perceived.
4. Repetition
Repetition increases our sensitivity to the stimuli. This means that we become more aware of stimuli because it has been perceived frequently.
Psychological factors affecting perception
Psychological factors that have been found to affect perception are:
1. Motivation
We are more likely to perceive and see objects or aspects of objects that are of interest to us.
2. Emotion
it is still debated how emotion affects perception. Generally, it is theorised that heightened states and emotions such as stress and anxiety can influence how much and what we perceive
Sad or happy feelings can affect how stimuli are interpreted; when sad, we may notice events or situations that are more upsetting.
3. Expectation
We have a tendency/bias to see things of how we expect to see them
4. Culture
Social norms, rules, beliefs and standards set by the society/culture we live in can affect how stimuli are perceived. This can affect how we process and interpret information that is perceived.
Culture affects the type of stimuli children are exposed to. For example, in western societies, children may be accustomed to colouring in 2D images and seeing pictures and cartoons of people and objects, so tend to draw them in a 2D format.
(b)
Individuals can cope with stress using a variety of strategies, including:
- Setting priorities, creating schedules, and allocating time for tasks are all part of time management. Individuals who use effective time management can avoid feeling overwhelmed by tasks and deadlines.
- Relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga, can help people manage stress by encouraging relaxation and reducing muscle tension.
- Exercise: Regular exercise can help people manage stress by improving their physical health and decreasing tension and anxiety.
- Strong social support networks can help people manage stress by providing emotional support, practical assistance, and a sense of belonging.
- Cognitive restructuring entails identifying and changing negative thought patterns that contribute to stress. Techniques such as positive self-talk and reframing negative situations in a more positive light can help with this.
- Individual stress management strategies can be effective in lowering stress levels for those who use them. However, the impact of these strategies on overall stress reduction in the organisation may be limited. Organizational stress is frequently caused by factors beyond an individual’s control, such as workload, organisational structure, and job insecurity. Furthermore, people may not always have the time, resources, or support they need to implement and maintain effective stress management strategies.
- Organizations can help employees manage stress by implementing policies and practises that encourage work-life balance, social support, and opportunities for employees to practise relaxation techniques. Flexible work schedules, employee assistance programmes, and wellness programmes that promote exercise and mindfulness practises are examples of such strategies.
- Individual stress management strategies, in conclusion, can be effective for managing stress levels in individuals. To reduce stress in the organisation as a whole, however, a more comprehensive approach that addresses the organisational factors that contribute to stress is required.
Question No. 3
Comment briefly on the following statements:
a) Persuasion is a fact of modern life
b) Stress is moderated by anxiety and burnout.
c) Job design is a continuous process.
d) Culture is the social glue that helps hold the organisation together.
Solution
a)
We are constantly bombarded with messages from a variety of sources, including advertisers, politicians, friends, and family members, in today’s world. Persuasion is the process of influencing another person’s beliefs, attitudes, or behaviours through communication.
The ability to persuade others is useful in many areas of life. Persuasion is used by salespeople in business to persuade customers to buy their products or services. Politicians use persuasion to gain votes and support for their policies. Individuals use persuasion in personal relationships to resolve conflicts and influence their partners.
Persuasion, on the other hand, can be used to manipulate and deceive others. Advertisers, for example, may use misleading or false information to entice customers to purchase their products. Politicians may make promises that they do not intend to keep in order to gain voter support.
Individuals must be aware of and critically evaluate the persuasive messages they receive before making decisions. Consider the message’s source, examine the evidence presented, and consider alternative points of view. This allows us to make more informed decisions and avoid being manipulated or misled by persuasive messages.
Persuasion has become an important part of modern life. It is used to achieve goals and desires and can be intentional. However, people tend to use different methods and approaches to get similar results. Persuasive tools, practices, and skills are used, learned, and trained by some people to perform specific tasks or achieve goals. Each of the approaches is determined by a set of skills and activities, but not every person is suitable for the same options, and due to this, knowledge and understanding of one’s strengths are necessary.
To summarise, persuasion is a fact of modern life, and the ability to persuade others is a valuable skill in many areas. However, before making decisions, it is critical to be aware of the potential for manipulation and deception in persuasive messages and to critically evaluate them.
b)
Stress is a psychological condition and body discomfort. Stress is a common phenomenon. Every individual experiences stress at some or other time. Employees experience stress in the process of meeting the targets and working for long hours. When the person experiences a constraint inhibiting the accomplishment of desire and demand for accomplishment, it leads to potential stress. Anxiety is converted into stress and ultimately it leads to job burnout. In fact for most of the time individuals are responsible for stress. However, organisations also create stress in the individuals. Why one should be concerned about stress? The reason is that the stress has more negative consequences than positive. In this unit, you will learn the definition, causes and consequences of stress. You will be exposed to the techniques of managing stress. You will further learn the process of creating stress free environment.
Stress is a state of discomfort experienced by an individual. Loss of emotional stability is the general expression of stress. It is generally apparent when the individual experiences a biological disorder. Stress has a positive association with the age, life styles, time constraints and the nature of occupation. Certain occupations are more prone to the stress than the others. For instance, drivers of vehicles, doctors, lawyers and managers are more likely to get stress than teacher, bankers and operating personnel. Individuals feel stress when the needs or desires are not accomplished in the normal expected ways. This is because of the natural constraints operated on the individuals. The more the intensity of the desire and greater is the uncertainty associated with the achievement of the goal, the greater is the degree of stress. Employees are working for longer hours, taking on the work once done by laid-off colleagues, meeting tighter deadlines and cutting back on expenses are some of the causes of stress. Combined to this with the double-income family demands of monthly mortgages, childcare issues and aging parents, and the result for many is anxiety, sleeplessness, irritability, and physical and mental deterioration. Perhaps these are the potential reasons for stress in the employees. Let us first learn what is stress? In the words of Fred Luthans, stress is defined as an adaptive response to an external situation that results in physical, psychological, and/or behavioural deviations for organisational participants. Ivancevich and Matteson define stress as the interaction of the individual with the environment. It is an adaptive response, mediated by individual characteristics and/or psychological processes that are consequence of any external action, situation or event that places special physical and / or psychological demands upon a person. Schuler defines stress as a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.
The stress is caused when a person has needs, desires, wishes and expectations and certain forces prevent the person from doing the desired activities. Stress and anxiety are not similar concepts. Anxiety occurs as a result of emotions caused by the interactions of environmental stimuli. Thus, it is confined to the psychological disturbance. On the other hand, stress is originated by the psychological tensions and slowly leads to physical or biological breakdown. While stress is accompanied by anxiety, the latter need not always lead to stress.
Similarly, stress and burnout are different concepts. Prolonged stress leads to burnout. It is a state of mind. It results from a continuous feeling of emotional stress. An individual feels physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. Job burnout is characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and diminished personal accomplishment. Burnout is also closely associated with the so-called helping professions such as nursing, education, and social work.
c)
Modern organisations are highly complex and competitive. In order to attain the objectives, organisation structures are created and maintained. Organisation structure consists of jobs and tasks. The design of jobs and tasks is essential to direct the human energy in a proper manner. Job design is structuring of the jobs suitable to the realisation of organisational objectives. It includes instructions, detailing of tasks and clarifying the roles. A properly designed job motivates the employees. Interestingly designing the jobs is not an easy task. A number of internal and external factors influence the process of job design.
Organisations are created for attainment of goals. For this purpose, an organisation structure is created and jobs are designed to meet the goals. F. W. Taylor suggested that jobs should be designed based on scientific principles to attain higher productivity. However Human Relations approach has taken a different view and suggested that job design should provide human satisfaction. Research also revealed that employees performing properly designed jobs showed high motivation and satisfaction levels. Conversely poor job design kindles boredom, monotony, ambiguity, conflicts and the result is dissatisfaction. Thus, job design helps in directing human energy for organisational effectiveness. In addition, job design has an influence on employee’s behaviour and organisational behaviour. Moreover, job design changes with the change in internal and external factors. Organisational objectives, environmental factors, social aspects, employee skills, training, status, job expectations, and individual goals and objectives are some of the factors considered in the process of job design.
According to Taylor ‘job design is complete written instructions describing in detail the task to be accomplished. The task specifies what is to be done, how is it done and exact time allowed for doing it.’ Job design is making components and sub components of job clear, so that employee understands the goals of the job. The paradigm of job design has changed remarkably over years. Traditionally job design is viewed as designing standard procedures, clarifying specific job descriptions for increasing productivity and efficiency. The job design is viewed from the perspective of total quality management. The jobs are designed to involve innovation, empowerment, autonomy and teamwork. Thus, job design as a quality of work life is concerned with the product, process, tools and techniques, design, plant layout, work measurement, standard operating procedures, human process, machine interaction and other activities related to job performance.
d)
Culture acts as the social glue that holds people together within an organisation. It fosters a shared sense of purpose and identity, assists in the establishment of norms and expectations for behaviour, and encourages individual cooperation and collaboration.
Organisational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by its members. It is expressed in terms of norms, values, attitudes and beliefs shared by organisational members. The organisational culture must be created and sustained in such a way that it develops the congenial environment in the organisation. On the other hand, organisational climate consists of a set of characteristics and factors that are perceived by the employees about their organisation. Organisation must create favourable organisational climate for improving the organisational effectiveness.
When an organisation takes on a life of its own, apart from any of its members, and acquires immortality, the organisation is said to be institutionalised. When an organisation takes on institutional permanence, acceptable modes of behaviour become largely self-evident to its members. So an understanding of what makes up an organisation’s culture, and how is it created, sustained, and learnt will enhance our ability to explain and predict the behaviour of people at work. Organisational culture is described as the set of important understandings, such as norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs, shared by organisational members. According to the recent understanding about organisational culture, ‘system of shared meaning among members’, is the essential core of organisational culture.
Employee perceptions of their work environment, as well as their level of commitment to the organisation, can be influenced by organisational culture. A positive and supportive culture can lead to higher levels of job satisfaction, motivation, and engagement, whereas a negative or toxic culture can lead to lower levels of job satisfaction, high turnover rates, and lower productivity.
Effective leaders understand the value of organisational culture and work to create and maintain a positive and supportive culture within their organisations. They understand that creating culture is a long-term process that requires ongoing attention and investment.
Finally, culture is a strong force that helps organisations stay together by providing a shared sense of purpose, identity, and values. A supportive and positive culture can increase job satisfaction, motivation, and engagement, whereas a negative or toxic culture can have the opposite effect. Effective leaders understand the value of culture and work to create and maintain a positive and supportive culture within their organisations.
Question No. 4
Difference between the following:
a) Classical and neo-classical theory of management
b) Classical conditioning and operant conditioning
c) Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.
d) Evolutionary and Revolutionary strategies of change
Solution
a)
The key difference between classical and neo classical theory is that the classical theory assumes that a worker’s satisfaction is based only on physical and economic needs, whereas the neoclassical theory considers not only physical and economic needs, but also the job satisfaction, and other social needs.
What is Classical Theory?
Classical management theory is based on the assumption that employees work to satisfy their physical and economic needs. It does not discuss job satisfaction and other social needs. However, it emphasises specialization of labour, centralized leadership and decision-making, as well as profit maximization.
The theory came into practice in the 19th century and early 20th century. Although this theory is no longer in common use in modern society, some of its principles still remain valid, especially in small businesses.
Based on the classical management theory, three concepts contribute to an ideal workplace:
Hierarchical Structure
There are three layers in an organization structure. The top layer is the owners, while the middle layer is the middle management who oversees the entire operation. The third layer is supervisors who take part in the day to day operations and engage in employee’s activities and training.
Specialization
The entire operation is broken down to small, task specified areas. The employees are specialized in a single operation. Thus, this concept helps to improve productivity and efficiency while avoiding multiskilled employees.
Incentives
The concept describes the extrinsic motivation of employees for rewards. It will make the employees work harder; as a result, it will improve the productivity, efficiency and profit of the organization.
Furthermore, the classical management theory follows an autocratic leadership model to a certain extent where it is considered as the central part of the management system. A single leader takes decisions and communicates them down the line for suitable actions. Thus, this process is quick in comparison to decision making and execution by a team.
Moreover, classical management theory outlines a clear structure of the management, clear identification of roles and responsibilities of employees and division of labour to increase productivity. However, expecting workers to work like machines and disregarding job satisfaction of employees are the major flaws of this theory.
What is Neo Classical Theory?
The neoclassical theory is an alteration and improvement of classical management theory. The theory lies in three main concepts described below.
Flat Structure
In this concept, there is a wide span of control. Moreover, the chain of communication is shorter, and it is free from hierarchical control.
Decentralization
Decentralization is more close to the flat structure because of the wider span of control. Furthermore, it allows autonomy and initiative at the lower level. It also supports employees’ carrier growth in future.
Informal Organization
It emphasizes both formal and informal organizations. The formal organisation describes the intentions of top management for the purpose of interactions among people. However, an informal organisation is necessary to find flaws of formal organisation and to satisfy the social and psychological needs of employees. Management uses the informal organisation for overcoming resistance to change on the part of workers and for a fast communication process. Thus, both formal and informal organisations are interdependent upon each other.
What is the Difference Between Classical and Neo Classical Theory?
The classical theory came into public in the 19th century and early 20th. At that time, the management was more focused on large scale manufacturing and wanted to enhance the productivity and efficiency of operations. Their strategy to increase them based on a rewarding system for workers, luring them into working more to get a good income. Generally, classical theory only considered the physical and economic needs of employees. Neoclassical theory, on the other hand, is a modification of the classical theory. This theory pays more attention to employees needs and expectations; this not only considers physical and economic needs, but also other social needs such as job satisfaction, and carrier growth. So, this is the key difference between classical and neo classical theory.
Moreover, there is a distinct difference between classical and neo classical theory in terms of their characteristics like organizational structure, strategies, considerations, rewarding systems etc. Classical theory has a hierarchical organization structure with layers of management. A single person, most of the times, the owner, makes all the decisions. Moreover, the employees are motivated to work by an incentive system. In contrast, neo classical theory has a flat organization structure with no layers of management. Most of the time, decision-making and execution involve a team.
b)
Classical and operant conditioning are two important concepts central to behavioral psychology. While both result in learning, the processes are quite different. To understand how each of these behavior modification techniques can be used, it is also essential to understand how classical and operant conditioning differ from one another.
Classical Conditioning
Even if you are not a psychology student, you have probably at least heard about Pavlov's dogs. In his famous experiment, Ivan Pavlov noticed dogs began to salivate in response to a tone after the sound had repeatedly been paired with presenting food. Pavlov quickly realized that this was a learned response and set out to further investigate the conditioning process.
Classical conditioning is a process that involves creating an association between a naturally existing stimulus and a previously neutral one. Sounds confusing, but let's break it down:
The classical conditioning process involves pairing a previously neutral stimulus (such as the sound of a bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (the taste of food).
This unconditioned stimulus naturally and automatically triggers salivating as a response to the food, which is known as the unconditioned response. After associating the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, the sound of the bell alone will start to evoke salivating as a response. The sound of the bell is now known as the conditioned stimulus and salivating in response to the bell is known as the conditioned response.
Classical conditioning is much more than just a basic term used to describe a method of learning; it can also explain how many behaviors form that can impact your health. Consider how a bad habit might form. Even though you have been working out and eating healthy, nighttime overeating keeps tripping up your dieting efforts.
Thanks to classical conditioning, you might have developed the habit of heading to the kitchen for a snack every time a commercial comes on while you are watching your favorite television program.
While commercial breaks were once a neutral stimulus, repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus (having a delicious snack) has turned the commercials into a conditioned stimulus. Now every time you see a commercial, you crave a sweet treat.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning (or instrumental conditioning) focuses on using either reinforcement or punishment to increase or decrease a behavior. Through this process, an association is formed between the behavior and the consequences of that behavior.
Imagine that a trainer is trying to teach a dog to fetch a ball. When the dog successfully chases and picks up the ball, the dog receives praise as a reward. When the animal fails to retrieve the ball, the trainer withholds the praise. Eventually, the dog forms an association between the behavior of fetching the ball and receiving the desired reward.
For example, imagine that a schoolteacher punishes a student for talking out of turn by not letting the student go outside for recess. As a result, the student forms an association between the behavior (talking out of turn) and the consequence (not being able to go outside for recess). As a result, the problematic behavior decreases.
A number of factors can influence how quickly a response is learned and the strength of the response. How often the response is reinforced, known as a schedule of reinforcement, can play an important role in how quickly the behavior is learned and how strong the response becomes. The type of reinforcer used can also have an impact on the response.
For example, while a variable-ratio schedule will result in a high and steady rate of response, a variable-interval schedule will lead to a slow and steady response rate.
In addition to being used to train people and animals to engage in new behaviors, operant conditioning can also be used to help people eliminate unwanted ones. Using a system of rewards and punishments, people can learn to overcome bad habits that might have a negative impact on their health such as smoking or overeating.
Classical vs. Operant Conditioning
One of the simplest ways to remember the differences between classical and operant conditioning is to focus on whether the behavior is involuntary or voluntary.
Classical conditioning involves associating an involuntary response and a stimulus, while operant conditioning is about associating a voluntary behavior and a consequence.
In operant conditioning, the learner is also rewarded with incentives, while classical conditioning involves no such enticements. Also, remember that classical conditioning is passive on the part of the learner, while operant conditioning requires the learner to actively participate and perform some type of action in order to be rewarded or punished.
For operant conditioning to work, the subject must first display a behavior that can then be either rewarded or punished. Classical conditioning, on the other hand, involves forming an association with some sort of already naturally occurring event.
Today, both classical and operant conditioning are utilized for a variety of purposes by teachers, parents, psychologists, animal trainers, and many others. In animal conditioning, a trainer might utilize classical conditioning by repeatedly pairing the sound of a clicker with the taste of food. Eventually, the sound of the clicker alone will begin to produce the same response that the taste of food would.
In a classroom setting, a teacher might utilize operant conditioning by offering tokens as rewards for good behavior. Students can then turn in these tokens to receive some type of reward, such as a treat or extra playtime. In each of these instances, the goal of conditioning is to produce some sort of change in behavior.
c)
Positive reinforcement is the process that enhances the likelihood of the response, by adding something. On the contrary, negative reinforcement is one that intensifies the probability of response, by removing or reducing something.
n psychology, the concept of reinforcement is studied in operant conditioning. Reinforcement means an act in which the experimenter attempts to manage the reinforcer. Reinforcer implies the stimuli that increase the response rate. Reinforcement can be positive or negative. Both of them strengthens the repetitiveness of response, but by using different methods.
The two terms are diametrically opposite to one another. So, here we are going to discuss the difference between positive and negative reinforcement.
Definition of Positive Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement can be understood as the operation of encouraging an approved behaviour by offering a reward as a stimulus, on showing that behaviour. In short, after performing an action, it results in a positive response or reward, then the response tends to be reinforced.
The aim is to increase the probability of the pattern or behaviour. Positive reinforcers can be the desirable outcome, which satisfies the needs such as food, water, money, status, medals, etc. or eliminates the obstacle, in need satisfaction.
For Example:
Commercial Ad for a health drink presenting an increase in height, as result of consuming it, is an example of Positive Reinforcement, whereby increased height is the reinforcer to buy the health drink.
Income Tax Authorities offering gifts to the genuine assessee.
Promotion as a reinforcement offered to the employees if they achieve the desired sales target.
One thing is to be noted that, a positive reinforcer, can be different to different people, as an appreciation from the manager, can act as an effective reinforcer for some employees, but not for everyone, as promotion or increment can be a reinforcer for others.
Definition of Negative Reinforcement
By the term ‘negative reinforcement’, we mean that a reinforcer, i.e. stimulus is removed, on performing a certain behaviour. The frequency of occurrence of the behaviour will be increased in future, as a result of removing negative outcome. In short, negative reinforcement encompasses the application of the aversive stimulus. It is also known as escape or avoidance learning, as the reinforcer is negative and the person attempts to avoid or escape from it.
It is not same as punishment because in punishment the likelihood of the behaviour is reduced, whereas, in negative reinforcement, the repetitiveness increases.
For Example:
A person learns to wear a raincoat, during the rainy season, to avoid getting wet.
People wear helmets, to avoid getting injured, in case of a road accident, or getting fined by cops.
Key Differences Between Positive and Negative Reinforcement
To understand the difference between positive and negative reinforcement in detail, check out the points given below:
- Positive Reinforcement implies a process of adding a stimulus when a certain behaviour is shown, to increase the likelihood of recurrence of that behaviour. On the other hand, negative reinforcement refers to a process in which the experimenter, in spite of adding something undesirable, he/she removes the unwanted stimuli, to motivate the organism to perform a certain activity again.
- In positive reinforcement, a favourable stimulus is added, whereas, in negative reinforcement, an unfavourable stimulus is removed.
- Stimuli involved in positive reinforcement, have pleasant outcomes. Conversely, in negative reinforcement, the stimuli can have unpleasant or even painful outcomes.
- In positive reinforcement, the stimuli act as a reward, for doing something, whereas in negative reinforcement, the stimuli act like a penalty, for not doing something.
- Positive Reinforcement strengthens or maintains the probability of recurrence of response. On the contrary, in negative reinforcement, the organism learns to get rid of nasty responses.
d)
Evolutionary Change: Evolutionary change is a method of change that seeks to improve existing systems and processes gradually over time. This type of change typically entails making minor adjustments to existing structures and systems, and it is frequently motivated by a desire to increase efficiency, cut costs, or respond to changing market conditions.
Adopting new technologies, streamlining production processes, or restructuring departments to better align with organisational goals are all examples of evolutionary change. Evolutionary change is frequently regarded as a more manageable and less disruptive approach to change because it allows organisations to make minor improvements without disrupting existing systems.
Revolutionary Change: A more radical and disruptive approach to change that seeks to fundamentally transform an organisation is revolutionary change. This type of change is frequently prompted by a crisis or a significant external or internal shift, and it may entail rapidly overhauling existing systems and structures.
A merger or acquisition, a major restructuring of the organisation, or a shift in the organization’s core mission or values are all examples of revolutionary change. Because it involves significant disruption to existing systems and processes, revolutionary change is frequently perceived as more difficult to manage and implement.
Finally, evolutionary and revolutionary change strategies are two approaches that organisations can use to implement change. Revolutionary change involves more radical and disruptive transformations, whereas evolutionary change involves gradual and incremental improvements to existing systems and processes. The decision between these strategies will be influenced by a number of factors, including the nature of the change, the goals of the organisation, and the resources available for implementation.
Question No. 5
Write short notes on the following:
a) Resistance to Change
b) Work Related Attitudes
c) Group Cohesiveness
d) Barriers to Communication
Solution
a)
'Change is constant and unavoidable. However, human behaviour has repeatedly shown a resistance to change in the existing methods and ways of doing work. Organizations, for the advancement of business processes, require constant adaptation to changes. However, organizational resistance to change acts as a major hindrance in the path of development and success of an organization. Such resistance to organizational change brings in the need for defined change management.
Before we move on to discuss the resistance to change theory, the reasons for resistance to change and the ways of managing the resistance to change, let’s take a quick look at the main causes of change in an organization:
Business strategy and structure change
Mergers and acquisitions
Product reaching the end of the life cycle
Changes in government priorities
So, the influencing factors for organizational change can be both internal as well as external.
Resistance to Change Meaning in Organizational Context
The resistance to change meaning can be defined as a major obstacle in the way of development with new technology and methodologies. Change in the techniques and organizational structure comes at regular intervals. However, with pre-existing methods, individuals become reluctant to learn and implement the new techniques bringing in a resistance to change. Resistance can be in the form of protests and strikes by employees, or even in the form of implicit behaviour. The organization with its managers must take up initiatives in managing resistance to change and in the process develop a gradual adaptation to change ensuring productivity as well as efficiency at work.
Reasons for Resistance to Change
The common causes of resistance to change in all organizations are stated below:
People are not willing to go out of their comfort zones defined by some existing methods for learning something new.
Changes in methods and techniques come with a change in power, responsibilities as well as influence. Organizational resistance to change comes in from people negatively affected by the changes implemented.
Insecurity, laziness and lack of creative approach make people cling to the pre-existing customs there by resisting changes.
Types of Resistance to Change
The types of resistance to change are stated below:
1. Logical Resistance: Such resistances come in with the time genuinely required in adaptation and adjustment to changes. For example, with the advent of talkies, the movie production houses had to shift techniques in the change from silent movies to talkies. This, in a very logical sense, took time for the sound engineers and even the filmmakers to adapt.
2. Psychological Resistance: Often resistance to change in change management comes with the psychological factor of fear of embracing the unknown, or even from hatred for the management and other mental factors like intolerance to changes.
3. Sociological Resistance: Sometimes resistances come not for particular individuals but from a group of individuals. In such cases, individuals do not allow their acceptance with the fear of breaking ties with the group.
Managing Resistance to Change
An organization’s effort in managing resistance to change should come with proper education and training of the employees of the changes implemented. For a smooth change to facilitate, the organization has to take care of the considerations stated below:
Changes should come in stages. A one-time major change would straightaway put operations into a stop.
Changes should not affect the security of workers.
Leadership qualities in managers with initial adaptations would gradually encourage employees to do so.
An opinion must be taken from the employees who will ultimately be subject to the changes.
Educating the employees and training them with the new methodology will boost up their confidence and build their efficiency.
The basic resistance to change theory defines the resistance to change meaning as the reluctance of people to adapt to the changes and to cling to the pre-existing customs and methods, mostly due to the fear of facing the unknown and its possible negative effects. The management of an organization must be well aware of the various aspects of resistance to organizational change and be trained if the need arises, in methods of managing resistance to change. This is crucial for a smooth transition and restoration of organizational harmony.
b)
Our behavior at work often depends on how we feel about being there. Therefore, making sense of how people behave depends on understanding their work attitudes. An attitude refers to our opinions, beliefs, and feelings about aspects of our environment. We have attitudes toward the food we eat, people we interact with, courses we take, and various other things. At work, two particular job attitudes have the greatest potential to influence how we behave. These are job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Job satisfaction refers to the feelings people have toward their job. If the number of studies conducted on job satisfaction is an indicator, job satisfaction is probably the most important job attitude. Institutions such as Gallup Inc. or the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) periodically conduct studies of job satisfaction to track how satisfied employees are at work. According to a recent Gallup survey, 90% of the employees surveyed said that they were at least somewhat satisfied with their jobs. The recent SHRM study revealed 40% who were very satisfied (What keeps employees satisfied, 2007). Organizational commitment is the emotional attachment people have toward the company they work for. There is a high degree of overlap between job satisfaction and organizational commitment, because things that make us happy with our job often make us more committed to the company as well. Companies believe that these attitudes are worth tracking because they are often associated with important outcomes such as performance, helping others, absenteeism, and turnover.
How strong is the attitude-behavior link? First of all, it depends on the attitude in question. Your attitudes toward your colleagues may influence whether you actually help them on a project, but they may not be a good predictor of whether you will quit your job. Second, it is worth noting that attitudes are more strongly related to intentions to behave in a certain way, rather than actual behaviors. When you are dissatisfied with your job, you may have the intention to leave. Whether you will actually leave is a different story! Your leaving will depend on many factors, such as availability of alternative jobs in the market, your employability in a different company, and sacrifices you have to make while changing jobs. In other words, while attitudes give us hints about how a person might behave, it is important to remember that behavior is also strongly influenced by situational constraints.
What makes you satisfied with your job and develop commitment to your company? Research shows that people pay attention to several aspects of their work environment, including how they are treated, the relationships they form with colleagues and managers, and the actual work they perform. We will now summarize the factors that show consistent relations with job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
c)
In business parlance group cohesiveness means the extent to which members of the group stick together and their commitment to each other. It is the affinity which the members share among each other which binds the group as a single unit. It signifies the extent of sincerity and interest of the members to remain in the group.
Group cohesiveness is visible if the aims of the group and its members coincide. If there is a good attachment between members and similarity of goals then it forms an intact organization.
If the liking between members is not that good the cohesiveness of the group gets weakened. Individual goals are different from group goals lessens the bond between members. If an individual puts his career and desires in the forefront and joins the group for his own selfish interest, it will negatively impact the group.
Salient Features Affecting Group Cohesiveness
In business management studies, strategists and industrial personnel claim that cohesiveness increases productivity and dynamism and also is helpful in the retention of employees in the group. Vice versa the group supports the members to achieve much more than he would do on his own.
Groups as a comprehensive element with skillful working provide a conducive atmosphere to enhance ones interactive skills and abilities.
1) Like-Mindedness
A group should consist of like-minded individuals with similar tastes to a certain extent. Then only the group can achieve common goals.
The group selects individual members on the basis of some familiarizes with the group likings. People with different thought processes than the group’s motives are generally rejected.
A common goal for the group is identified and it is understood that members will work for the group’s interest inclusive of their own interest.
2) Dialogue
Logical communication between the group and the members is most essential. Thoughts should be verbally explained to reach a final conclusion.
Any kind of misinterpretation of words between members and the groups will lead to all sorts of trouble.
The member’s mindset should be properly put across the table to avoid any miscommunication. This will also help in forging and strengthening the bond among the members and the group.
3) Background
Previous experiences of other groups and exposure to a different set of ideas are also very important. Different experiences bring different perspectives which help in enhancing the performance of the group.
New thoughts and views from varied sources give birth to newer ideas and create more awareness and productivity within the group. People from different backgrounds have fresh ideas from their previous experiences which helps in the growth of the group and in turn help in the group cohesiveness.
4) Confidence
Reliability and trust is an important element in group cohesiveness. The individuals in a group need to trust the team and its decisions to bring about a positive change.
Trust connects the group and the members so that decisions can be taken in unanimity.
5) Goals and Ambitions
Having an objective and a common goal sets the foundation for a positive outcome.
Most groups have a common aim in which they strive to deliver by their activities and social services. These positive aims help them in attaining goodwill in the market which furthers their future enhancements.
d)
Communication is defined as the process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a system of signs, symbols. The concept of communication involves a sender, a message and a recipient.
The sender sends the message and the recipient is the receiver of the message. The process of communication is never smooth as it is affected by the barriers of communication.
Barriers to effective communication can result in confusion which can lead to incorrect information being conveyed or miscommunication which can lead to loss of business.
Following are some of the barriers to effective communication:
1. Semantic barriers
2. Psychological barriers
3. Organisational barriers
4. Cultural barriers
5. Physical barriers
6. Physiological barriers
Let us study in detail about the various types of barriers to effective communication.
Semantic barriers: Semantic barriers are also known as language barriers. These barriers are caused due to improper communication between the sender and the receiver. The following instances of semantic barriers can be witnessed in communication.
Poor quality of message: Message when communicated should be precise and easy to understand, that makes it easy for the receiver to grasp the information conveyed.
Sometimes, due to the lack of clarity or complexity of the way of providing information from the sender, there can be a case of semantic barriers.
For e.g. A manager is conversing in English to a group of workers who understand and speak Bengali. It will create confusion among workers as they will not be able to understand what is being conveyed by the manager.
Technical language: Language barriers also arise when the sender of the message is speaking in technical terms while the receiver is unaware of the terms. It creates confusion and misunderstanding between the sender and receiver by acting as a barrier to effective communication.
Psychological Barriers: Psychological barriers play an important role in interpersonal communication as the state of the mind of the sender or the receiver can make it difficult to understand the information that is conveyed, which often leads to misunderstanding.
Here are some instances where psychological barriers to communication can be seen.
1. Premature evaluation of information by the receiver even before it is transmitted can lead to barriers in communication, as it will create premature conclusion to the message, which withholds the original message.
2. Inadequate attention from the receiver’s end at the time of communication can lead to barriers of communication as the information conveyed by the sender is not properly received by the receiver.
3. When information is passed within multiple sources, the final information is distorted as the receivers of the message are not able to retain everything that was conveyed. This can cause communication barriers.
Organisational barriers: Organisational barriers are those barriers that are caused due to the structure, rules and regulations present in the organisation. The various types of barriers that can be encountered due to superior subordinate relationships where the free flow of communication is not possible.
Sometimes the complexity of organisational structure and multiple managers make it difficult to convey information properly, and the information gets distorted leading to miscommunication.
Cultural barriers: Cultural barriers are those that arise due to lack of similarities among the different cultures across the world. A term that can be harmless in one culture can be regarded as a slang in another culture. Moreover, various beliefs can differ from one culture to another.
Physical barriers: Physical barriers to communication are those that arise due to certain factors like faulty equipment, noise, closed doors and cabins that cause the information sent from sender to receiver to become distorted, which results in improper communication.
Physiological barriers: Physiological barriers arise when a sender or the receiver of the communication is not in a position to express or receive the message with clarity due to some physiological issues like dyslexia, or nerve disorders that interfere with speech or hearing.
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