VALUES

Values are at the core of personality. They are powerful, though silent force,
affecting behaviour. They are embedded and can be inferred from people’s
behaviour.

Values have an important influence on the attitudes, perceptions, needs and

motives of people at work. Hence they are important to study.

Features of Values :

i) Values reflect standards of morality

ii) Values are most central to the core of a person.
iii) Values are relatively permanent and resistant to change.
iv) Values have two attributes- content and intensity. Content means
which code of conduct is important. Intensity is the degree to which
the code of conduct is important.

Types of values :

i) Terminal Values reflect what a person strives to achieve. It is the ‘ends’.

ii) Instrumental Values reflect how the person gets there. It is the ‘means’.

Terminal Values ‘Ends’ Instrumental Values ‘Means’

Comfortable life Ambition
Family security Courage
Self respect Independence
Wisdom Honesty

Determinants or factors influencing Values :

1. Family factors : child learns from childhood.

2. Social factors : E.g. school for a child or interaction with friends
3. Cultural factors :Values are passed on from generations to
generations. In some cultures, people are very helpful and in some
they are very shrewd.
4. Personal factors : Values are also affected by the personal attributes
such as intelligence. Say, a person who is intelligent can imbibe the
values faster.
5. Religious factors : Individuals receive strength from their religion.
Every religion has a set of values which are passed on from generation
to generation.
6. Life experiences : A person learns from his personal life.
 Contemporary Work Cohorts

Stage Year Dominant Work Values

Protestant Work 1940 to early Hard work, conservative,
Ethic 1960s loyalty to the organisation
Existential 1960 to mid Quality of life, non-
1970s conforming, seeks autonomy,
loyalty to self
Pragmatic Mid 1970s to late Success, achievement,
1980s ambition, hard work, loyalty
to career
Generation X Late 1980s to Flexibility, job satisfaction,
present balanced lifestyle, loyalty to
relationships

Relationship between Attitude and Behaviour

There is a link between attitudes and behaviour. Beliefs and Values create
attitude that predispose (influence) behaviour. There are two concepts-
Cognitive Dissonance and Self-fulfilling Prophecy to understand this
relationship.

 Cognitive Dissonance Theory

This Theory was proposed by Leon Festinger in the late 1950s.

This theory explains the linkage between attitudes and behaviour.

Dissonance means inconsistency.
Cognitive Dissonance refers to any incompatibility that an individual might
perceive between two or more of his attitudes or between his behaviour and
attitudes.

Any form of inconsistency is uncomfortable and individuals try to reduce the

dissonance and hence the discomfort. The desire to reduce dissonance is
determined by :

- The importance of the elements creating dissonance

- Degree of influence the individual believes he has over the
elements
- Rewards

 Self-Fulfilling Prophecy or Pygmalion effect :

It is the process by which a person tries to convert his attitudes and beliefs
into reality.
In other words, “An individual’s expectations or attitude determines his
behaviour.”

If we feel that we are competent, we will undertake challenging tasks. If we

carry a negative attitude towards ourselves, we will not provide ourselves
with the chance to become competent.
 JOB SATISFACTION

- It is the general attitude of an individual employee towards his

job, management and organization.

- Job satisfaction can vary in intensity and consistency.

Def. :

“Job Satisfaction is the amount of overall positive effect or feelings

that individuals have towards their jobs.” ----- by Feldman and Arnold

Job Satisfaction has an impact on :

- Productivity : Job Satisfaction is related to job performance

more than productivity because productivity depends on outside
factors like speed of machine, quality of materials.
- Absenteeism : Negative relationship between job satisfaction
and absenteeism.
- Employee Turnover : Individuals who have low job satisfaction
have greater chances of leaving the job and they are less loyal.

Factors affecting Job Satisfaction :

• Nature of Work : The workers’ interest for the work assigned.

• Nature of supervision : Authoritative supervisor leads to less job
satisfaction.
• Working conditions
• Avenues of promotion
• Nature of work-group : Good relations with fellow employees and
supervisor.
 • Employee Morale : Morale is willingness to do the job.
• Equitable Rewards

ATTITUDES

- Attitude is the way a person feels about something. When a person says
that he likes or dislikes something, an attitude is being expressed.

E.g. Attitude of a person towards a temple. If his attitude is favourable, he

shall feel reverent and bow before the God.
If one says that he likes tennis and cricket, it shows his attitude towards
sports.

- Attitudes are internal and is kept to oneself or can be known to others

through behaviour.

Definition :
An Attitude is a predisposition (tendency) to respond in a
positive or negative way to someone or something in one’s environment.

Features of Attitudes :

 Attitudes affect behaviour

 Attitudes are invisible : It can be observed indirectly be observing
its consequences.
 Attitudes are acquired : They are learnt over a period of time.
 Attitudes are pervasive : They are formed in the process of
socialization and may elate to anything in the world.

COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES : Attitude can be considered as a

way of thinking, feeling and behaving. The three components are -

i) Cognitive or Informational component : It consists of beliefs,

values and other information a person has about the attitude
object. This information may or may not be correct. E.g. a
person comes to know that a particular Company gives good
incentives. This may or may not be correct, yet it changes
his attitude towards the company. Cognitive component sets
the stage for Affective Component.
 ii) Affective or Emotional Component : It consists of person’s
feelings of likes or dislikes towards the attitude object, which
may be positive, negative or neutral. E.g. I like this job
because it has growth prospects.

iii) Behavioural Component : It consists of tendency of a person

to behave in a particular manner towards the attitude object.
E.g. A says that he may avoid dealings with B because of his
feeling that he is dishonest.

Psycho-analytical Theory of Personality

Developed by Sigmund Freud.

Freud believed the three components of personality were the id, the ego, and
the superego.

i) The Id : It is responsible for all needs and urges.

ii) The Ego : It is associated with the realities of life. The ego
moderates between the demands of the id, the superego, and
reality.
iii) The Super Ego : It is responsible for ideals and morals. It is the
higher level force, the conscience of a person, which continuously
tells him what is right and what is wrong.

If super-ego is overdeveloped, a man will become very impractical and

irrational. An underdeveloped superego would make Id loose, which would
turn the person into an immoral person, leaving less difference between the
man and the animal. Hence proper balance between the three forces is
necessary.

Erikson Stages

Erikson believed that Personality development is an unending process. He

said that personality progressed through a series of stages, with certain
conflicts arising at each stage. Success in any stage depended upon
successfully overcoming these conflicts. There are eight stages which are not
totally separable.

(i) Infancy : In the first year of child, he learns to trust or mistrust

other people. This stage influences the child through out his
remaining life.
(ii) Early childhood : In the second and third years of life, child
begins to assert independence. If he is allowed to control, he
will develop a sense of autonomy.
 (iii) Play age : The 4-5 year old tires to discover how much he can
do. If the child is allowed to experiment, he will develop
initiative. If he is checked, he will develop a sense of guilt.
(iv) School age : From age 6-12 , a child learns many new skills and
develops social abilities. If he learns fast, he develops a sense of
enterprise or else develops inferiority.
(v) Adolescence : Child tries to gain a sense of identity and tries to
establish himself as socially separate from the parents.
(vi) Early adulthood : The young adult around twenties tries to enter
into lasting relationships.
(vii) Adulthood : The adult becomes either a self-absorbed person or
generativity. Self absorbed person does not look beyond himself
or worry for the society. Generativity is just the opposite.
(viii) Mature Adulthood : The person has gained wisdom and can
guide younger generations.

Chris Argyris’ Immaturity-Maturity Theory

Chris Argyris’ believed that personality of an individual develops along a

continuum from immaturity as an infant to maturity as an adult. He identified
seven characteristics in the continuum. The seven dimensions continually
change in degree from the infant to the adult end of the continuum.

Immaturity Characteristics Maturity Characteristics

Passivity (obedience) Activity
Dependence Independence
Few ways of behaving Diverse behaviour
Shallow interests Deep interests
Short-term perspective Long-term perspective
Subordinate (secondary) Superordinate (superior)
position position
Lack of self awareness and Self-awareness and control
existence of external control. (internal)

In a formal organization, the activities must ensure existence of maturity

characteristics, but generally it is the reverse. Due to this, there is a conflict
with the organization. Sometimes conflict is due to the incongruity between
goals of the individual and those of the organisation. But the mature men
continue, inspite of all adverses.

Emotions

Taken from the latin word ‘Movere’ which means to move, to excite.

“Emotions“ are intense feelings that are directed at someone or

something.

Anger is an emotion which interferes in the employees ability to do his job

effectively.

Emotions can be positive or negative. Positive emotions include love and

affection, happiness, surprise and negative emotions include fear, sadness,
anger, shame etc.

“Emotional Labor” is when an employee expresses organizationally desired

emotions during inter-personal transactions.

Every job requires emotional labor. We are required to be courteous while

dealing with co-workers.

Felt Vs. Displayed Emotions :

Felt Emotions are an individual’s actual emotions.

Displayed emotions are those that are organizationally required and

considered appropriate in a given job. They are learned and not innate
(natural).

Felt and displayed emotions are often different.

Emotion Dimensions :

Variety : Emotions are of six universal types : anger, fear, sadness,

happiness, disgust(hatred) and surprise. Some emotions are
frequently mistaken for each other such as happiness and surprise.
Intensity : People give different responses to similar stimuli.
Frequency and Duration : How frequently and for how long the emotion
has to be displayed.

Managing Emotions at work-place :

Negative emotions need to be controlled as they affect our life adversely. To

manage the emotions, the following methods can be adopted.

Self-awareness : People should develop self awareness so that they can

develop positive emotions and overcome negative emotions.
Control of Emotions : The Dysfunctional emotions should be controlled.
One should not undertake any action when he is in the grip of such
emotions. Once he becomes normal, he can take the action.
Empathy : One must try to listen to other before getting carried away
with one’s own emotions. Empathy helps to understand the
problems of others in a better way.
Cooperation : When employees work in a team, they learn when to lead
 and when to follow. This brings about better cooperation among the
team members.

Approaches to Motivation-

Cognitive Model and non-cognitive model

i) Content Theory : Answer questions like “What
motivates people”. They focus on human needs
or desires that are internalized . They suggest
the manager to recognize the patterns of needs of
individual and then encourage behaviour that
results in satisfying those needs. Unsatisfied
needs of individuals are the starting point of
motivation. The basic idea underlying this theory
that individuals have some physiological and
psychological needs and they are motivated to
engage in activities that will satisfy these needs. It
includes theories of McGregor’s Participation
model, Maslow, Herzberg and McClelland.

ii) Process Theories : Answer questions like “how

motivation occurs”. These theories identify the
variable that go into motivation and their
relationships with one another. Individuals
evaluate their actions and consequences of those
actions. The personal expectations of outcome are matched with
performance. It includes Vroom Valence-Expectancy theory,
Porter and Lawler Expectancy theory and equity theory.

Application of Motivation

There are four common ways by which the theories of motivation can be
implemented and applied.

• Economic Considerations
• Management by objectives
• Employee involvement programmes
• Performance Appraisal
1. Economic Considerations: It is given in the form of incentives. Incentive is
an inducement which stimulates one to action in a desired direction. Incentie
ha motivational power. Can be financial or Non-financial Incentives.
o Financial Incentives- They are monetary in nature. Are Paid in
terms of money such as Wages, salaries, bonus, Insurance,
Medical, Housing, Retirement benefits.
o Non-Financial Incentives- Satisfy social and psychological needs
of the employees. They do not add to the money income E.g.
job enrichment, participative mgt., praise, opportunity for
growth, knowledge of results, suggestion system etc.

1. Management by Objectives

Management by Objectives refers to the set of goals that are measurable,

verifiable and tangible. Management by Objectives (MBO) is used
for planning, organizing, actuating and controlling organizational
activities. Objectives are determined after through analysis of the
internal and external environment relating to the organisation.
The SWOT analysis is used to formulate objectives.

2. Employee-Involvement Programme
An employee-involvement programme relates to the participation of
employees in management functions.

• Participative Management refers to the sharing of decision-making

power by employees with the immediate superior.

• Representative participation is practiced when a small group of

employees who represent all the employees is given the power of
participating in the management.

• Quality Circle is a group of employees who discuss the quality

problems, cost control and problem solutions propositions.
 • Employees’ Ownership is the company’s benefit plan in which
employees are allotted shares in lieu of a cash bonus in many
industrial houses.

3. Performance Appraisal
It is an important tool for rewarding employees. It helps understand
employees’ merits and deficiencies as well as the present performance
and formulation of future objectives.

4. Job Enrichment
It is a deliberate upgrading of responsibility, scope and challenge in work.
It is vertical loading of functions and responsibilities from other
organizational levels, making it contain more challenge and offer
autonomy and pride to the employee. For this, it is necessary that
Management
- gives more freedom to workers,
- increase responsibility,
- encourage participation.

5. Job enlargement
It is the expansion of the range of tasks in a job to make it more broad-based. It is horizontal
loading. E.g. A typing clerk may be asked to draft letters also.
Consequences of Stress

 Consequences for the individual

Stress to an individual may be caused by :

- Traumatic disruption of a relationship

- Situation of physical danger, struggle
- Extreme sense of failure, defeat, disappointment
- Sudden reunion of any relationship, public recognition

The consequences are physical, behavioural and psychological.

Physical Consequences: Physical well-being is affected.

Behavioural Consequences: Violent, appetite disorders, accident

proneness.

Psychological Consequences: Mental health and well being is

affected. People start sleeping too much or not enough, family

problems etc. are certain consequences.

 Consequences for the Organisation

Stress has a direct and indirect impact on the organization :

i) Too much stress leads to decline in performance of the

individual. There may be poor decision-making by the
managers.
ii) Increased rates of absenteeism and labour turnover. The
employee may cease to care about the organization.
iii) Low job satisfaction, low morale, organizational
commitment, low motivation. People may be more prone to
complain about unimportant things, do only enough work
etc.
 Management of stress

Stress is inevitable in human life. So there is no way out but to

cope with stress or fight with it. There are 2 types of strategies

that can help employees to cope with stress :

A. Coping strategies at organizational level

• Stress Reduction and Stress Management Programmes :

such programmes aim to identify relevant organizational
stressor and to reduce their effects by redesigning jobs,
reallocating workloads, improving supervisory skills,
providing more autonomy or job variety. Training is
provided to individual employees or workgroups to
manages their stress symptoms in more effective ways.
Stress Control Systems combine stress reduction
(stressor control) with stress management (individual
symptom control).
• Job Redesign :Jobs may be a source of stress to many
individuals. Properly designed jobs and work schedules
can help ease stress in individuals and the organization.
• Collateral Programmes :It is an organizational
programme specifically created to help employees deal
with stress. There are health promotion programmes,
career development programmes, stress handling
programmes etc.
• Counselling :It is discussing a problem with an
employees with a view to help the employee cope with it
better. Counseling helps to improve employee’s mental
health by the release of emotional tension, which is also
known as emotional catharsis. People will get an
emotional release from their frustrations and other
problems whenever they have an opportunity to tell
someone about them.
 • Meditation :Meditation involves quiet, concentrated inner
thought, in order to rest the body physically and
emotionally. It helps remove a person from stress
temporarily.

A. Coping strategies by Individuals

a. Relaxation : Coping with stress requires adaptation.

Proper relaxation is an effective way to adapt, which can
be done by taking regular vacations. People can also relax
while on the job. E.g. Rest breaks, sit quietly with closed
eyes for a few minutes etc.
b. Time Management : Make a list every morning of the
things to be done that day. The things to be done may be
listed according to their importance. This helps in
completion of important tasks everyday and delegation of
less important activities to others.
c. Management of self role : If a worker does not know
what is expected of him, he should ask for clarification
from his boss.
d. Support Group : It is a group of friends or family
members with whom a person can share his feelings.
Supportive family and friends can help people cope with
routine types of stress on an ongoing basis.

Defn. of conflict –

Acc. To Follett : “ Conflict is the appearance of difference of opinions,

of interests.”
Acc. to S.P.Robbins : Conflict is a process in which an effort is

purposefully made by one person or unit to block another that results

in frustrating the attainment of other’s goals or the furthering of his or

her interests.

Acc. to Thomas : Conflict is a process that begins when one party

perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to

negatively affect, something that the first party cares about.

Levels of conflict :

i) Intra-individual or Intra-personal conflict : It occurs at

the personal level.

ii) Inter-personal Conflict : It occurs at individual to individual

level

iii) Inter-group Conflict: It occurs at the group level

iv) Organisational conflict : It occurs at the organizational

level.

Other categorization is :
 i) Goal conflict : Where one person or one group desires a
different outcome from others.
ii) Cognitive Conflict : Where one person or one group holds
ideas which are in conflict with those held by others.
iii) Affective Conflict : Where one person or group’s emotions,
feelings or attitudes are incompatible with others.
iv) Behavioural conflict : Where one person or group behaves in
a way that is unacceptable to others.

Intra-individual conflict : It is also known as internalized conflict

which is internal to the individual and is perhaps the most difficult to

analyse. It represents a situation where an individual is in a problem of

decision-making within himself. Within every individual there are

• Number of competing needs and roles

• A variety of different ways in which the drives and goals can be
expressed.
• Many types of barriers which can occur between the drive and
the goal.
• Positive and negative aspects attached to desired goals.

Intra-individual conflict can arises due to :

• Frustration : It occurs when an individual’s goal directed
behaviour is blocked due to certain barriers before reaching a
desired goal. In this, one motive is blocked before the goal is
reached.
• Goal Conflict : It occurs where the attainment of one goal
precludes the possibility of accomplishing another. In this,
two or more motives block one another.
• Approach-approach conflict :It happens when an individual
has to decide between two positives having mutually
exclusive goals E.g. two lucrative job offers. He wants to have
both but has to choose only one. But once a decision is taken,
the conflict is resolved.
• Avoidance-avoidance conflict : It involves a choice between
two mutually exclusive, painful and unattractive negative
goals. Mental stress is caused and he wants to avoid both, but
chosing one is compulsory and cannot be avoided.
• Approach-avoidance conflict :It involves both positive and
negative feelings associated with attractive and repulsive
features of the goal simultaneously. Both positive and
negative rewards are associated with the same goal. E.g.
promotion will give more status and money (approach) but it
involves transfer to a remote place (avoidance)
• Role conflict : A role is a set of expectations people have
about the behaviour of a person in a position. Role conflict is
the result of divergent role expectations and the individual
cannot meet one expectation without rejecting the other.
Such situation arises when the roles are so conflicting that
one does not know which set of expectations one should
follow in the given situation.
 Inter-personal conflict

It arises out of interaction of two or more individuals who are in

opposition to one another. It may take place between superiors and

subordinates or between colleagues. Conflict arises between them

when the choice made by them are different or when the

subordinate resists the control, which the superior is trying to

exercise on him. Inter-personal conflict may arise due to the

following reasons :

• Personality differences : Some people have difficulty in

getting along with others. Such people cannot develop co-
operative relations with others.
• Difference in Perceptions :People coming from different socio-
cultural backgrounds hold different perceptions or opinions
about task-related matters, which may lead to interpersonal
conflicts.
• Clash of Values and Interests : Differences in value system
and ego state may create misunderstanding. E.g. One
manager may favour bribing of purchase agents of big buyers
while another may consider it unethical.
• Power and Status Differences : Unequal distribution of power
and status may cause conflicts.E.g. passing of orders by a
manager to another who has higher status
• Scarcity of resources :E.g. If three qualified employees vie for
one higher post, conflict may develop.

Inter-group Conflict
Conflict between group members or teams is most common. Conflict

arises between line and staff, between production and marketing

departments etc. It may arise due to the following reasons :

• Incompatible goals : Conflict arises when goal attainment by one

group prevents or reduces goal attainment by the other group.
E.g. Labour wants higher wages and bonus, which means
reduction in profits for the employers. This may result in
employer-employee conflict.
• Task Interdependence :It is the dependence of one group on
another for resources or information. E.g. Production group
cannot commence its work until purchase group completes its
job.
• Sharing of resources : It happens when two or more groups
draw resources from a common pool, which is inadequate to
meet the total demand.
• Joint decision-making : Certain situations require joint decision-
making, which may lead to misunderstanding if -
o Groups have difference sources of information
o When there are leakages and blockages in the channeling
of information to different groups
o If different groups uses different techniques for processing
of information.
• Attitudinal sets : It is the attitude which different groups have
towards others, such as distrust, secrecy, closed communication
etc.

Inter-organisational conflict

It occurs due to competition and rivalry amongst firms operating in

the same market.

 Strategies for Managing Conflict

For resolution of conflict, several methods have been devised, which

have been grouped as under :

i) Avoidance and Repression of Conflicts : Under this, effort

is made to avoid conflict and repress conflict (putting down
conflict). The different techniques adopted for avoidance or
repression are :
- Avoidance or ignoring the conflict : The Manager
closes his eyes and pretend the conflict does not exist at
all. This approach is useful when the differences are not
relevant to the organisation’s task.
- Reorganisaton of groups : Manager can prevent
occurrences of differences by reorganisation of groups.
People having things in common are placed together.
- Reduction of inter-dependence between groups :By
providing resources independently, the conflicts can be
reduced

ii) Defusion of Conflicts :

o Stimulating conflict : Conflict can be stimulated when there is

lethargy and conformity in the organization. This is possible by
the following ways –

 Reorganisation : By changing the structure of the

organisation, the workgroups and departments. Members
try to adjust themselves and improved methods of
operations are developed.
 Use of Informal Communication : Managers may
manipulate messages in such a way so as to stimulate
conflict. Rumours can be intelligently planted, channels of
communication can be altered etc. E.g. a department is to
be abolished can reduce apathy, stimulate new ideas.
  Encouraging Competition : In this, victory is achieved
through force or domination by one party. Bonus,
incentives, pay and rewards for excellent performance can
foster competitive spirit. As one group struggles hard to
outperform the other, constructive conflict will occur.

o Preventing Conflicts : The following strategies can be adopted –

 Establishing superordinate goals : Differences in goals is a

common cause of conflict, which can be avoided by
establishing mutually agreed goals, also known as super-
ordinate goal. A super-ordinate goal is a common goal that
appeals to all the parties and cannot be achieved by the
resources of any single party. In order to achieve the
super-ordinate goal, conflicting parties sink their
differences and cooperate together. A common threat may
act as a great unifying force.
 Reducing interdependence : Each deptt. should be made
independent by providing resources independent of their
departments.
 Rotation of personnel: Transferring employees in
interdependent deptts., helps to improve mutual
understanding and reduce departmental loyalties created
by organisational boundaries.
 Trust and Communication : The greater the trust, the
more open the communication. Hence open communication
must be encouraged.
 Creation of liaison groups : Intermediaries who are
acceptable to different deptts. May be appointed to
arbitrate or mediate between the warring groups. Since a
liaison has no interest in any party, he can speak without
favouring any party and help them reach an agreeable
solution.
 Avoidance : It involves withdrawal of parties from the
conflict, thereby saving time and energy. Thus, the conflict
is neither resolved nor eliminated.
 Appeal to higher authority : when the conflict cannot be
resolved at the level of the parties involved, it may be
referred to a superior position who has authority to dictate
terms to both the parties, thereby helping to bring the
conflicting parties together.
 o Resolving Conflict : Approaches adopted are :
 Compromise : It is a traditional method wherein
bargaining process is involved. There is a give and take
between the parties in order to arrive at an agreement.
There is no winner or loser as each party sacrifices
something.
 Smoothing or Accommodation: It is the process of
suppressing differences existing between parties and
emphasizing common interests, by way of sharing of
opinion. It involves accommodating. It is a short-time
measure to resolve conflict.
 Problem-solving : Conflicting parties are brought
together, problems discussed and misunderstanding
done away with.
 Dominance or Confrontation : Parties are left free to
settle their score by using their strengths on the
weakness of others. The stronger party wins.
POLITICS IN ORGANISATIONS

Definition :
Acc. to Farrell and Peterson –

“ Politics in an organization refers to those activities that are not required as

part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that influence or attempt to
influence the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the
organization.”

At the organizational level, there are two dimensions to

power – Legitimate & illegitimate Power

Legitimate political behaviour refers to normal everyday politics-

complaining to boss, bypassing the chain of command

Illegitimate Politial behaviour is one that violates the implied rules

of the game, such as whistle blowing, symbolic protests.

In an organization, most political actions are legitimate

TACTICS OF ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS (POWER TACTICS)

Using position and personal power well to achieve the desired influence over
other people is a challenge for most managers. There are a number of ways
to exercise the influence. Both individuals and groups play politics in the
organization to have greater say in decision-making and sharing of
resources. Some political tactics are :

i) Negotiation or Bargaining : There is negotiation for sharing benefits

between groups and thus avoid conflict. Each party to the conflict
offers some benefits to the other. The party having greater
bargaining power is able to get more benefits than the sacrifices
made.
ii) Competition for acquisition of power : The resources are limited
and hence various groups compete with each other to have more
resources. Each person tries to influence the criteria used for
distribution of resources and thus is able to fetch more power.
Criteria can be support, funds etc.
iii) Cooptation : Several companies coopt (nominate) the
respresentatives of suppliers and financial institutions in the BOD.
The power-holders involve these representatives in decision making
so as to avoid criticism of misusing the power.
iv) Alliance with other groups : Two or more groups may form a
coalition or temporary alliance. They thus increase their power over
groups not in their coalition. Member groups cooperate with each
other in order to compete with non-members. Thus it is a mix of
cooperation and competition.
v) Persuasion or Assertiveness : Persuasion can also be used as a
political strategy. Forceful persuasion is highly effective in
influencing others.
vi) Coercion or Pressure : Where persuasion fails, coercion is used.
vii) Control over the agenda of the meetings : A politically powerful
person can control the agenda of the meetings by changing the
items to be discussed or the order of items. Generally the items
first in line are discussed longer.
viii) Control over the decision criteria : People who can control the
decision criteria can control the decision also. While taking decision,
many alternatives are judged. Here a person politically aligned can
change the criteria used for taking decision.
ix) Control over information or communication channel : People who
have control over comm. channel can show power. E.g. secretaries.
x) Reason : Use of facts to make a logical presentation of ideas.
xi) Friendliness : Use of flattery

Depending upon the situation, managers use different strategies.

Strategies to overcome resistance to change

Efforts for overcoming resistance to change can be made at the

individual and group level. There are many techniques to overcome

resistance to change but which techniques to adopt depends upon the

specifics of the situation. The main techniques are :

i) Education and Communication : To overcome resistance to

change, it is important to inform people. People can be
educated to become familiar with the nature and process of
change. Counselling and training can be used to change the
basic values and attitudes of people. Communication is very
important to enable change because people resist change due
to lack of information. The change would be appreciated
better and be accepted easily. But it is a time consuming
process and requires continuous education of those affected
by the change.
ii) Participation and Involvement : The Management should
discuss the change with the subordinates. Participation gives
them a feeling of importance and if they are convinced about
the rationale of change, they are more likely to be more
committed to the change.
iii) Training : Subordinates need to be taught new skills and
trained about how to operate under the new set-up. The
educational process can be aided by training classes,
meetings and conferences.
iv) Facilitation and support : The managers can deal with
resistance to change, by easing the change process. These
include listening, providing guidance, allowing time off after a
difficult period and offering emotional support. Facilitative
support means removing physical barriers in implementing
change by providing appropriate training, tools, materials etc.
emotional support is provided by showing personal concerns
to the subordinates during periods of stress and strains.
v) Negotiation and Agreement : By negotiating with the
resistors and by offering them incentives can be a useful
technique for overcoming resistance. E.g. increased economic
benefits, union agreements etc.
vi) Manipulation and Co-optation : Managers may steer
individuals or groups to avoid any resistance to change. They
may manipulate the workers by releasing information
selectively or by consciously structure the sequence of
events. They may also co-opt an individual, may be a key
person in a group, by giving him a desirable role in carrying
out the change process.
vii) Explicit and Implicit Coercion : Managers may force
people to accept change using implicit or explicit threats
involving loss of jobs, lack of promotion, dismissal etc.
viii) Leadership : the change agent should have prestige and
credibility in the organization, so that he can have a greater
influence on the employees involved in the change process.
ix) Willingness for the sake of the group : Some individuals
may be willing to accept change even if they are not totally
satisfied with it, if the group that they belong to is willing to
accept the change. This is group cohesiveness.
x) Timing of change : Timing of introduction of change can
have a considerable impact on the resistance to change. The
right time will meet less resistance.
 Theories of Change

A) Planned Change

Change may be either necessitated by the pressure of external forces

of brought about by the conscious efforts of the management. The

latter type of change is called volitional or planned Change.

Management may decide to go for planned change to cope with

complex problems.

Defn.

Acc to Warren Bennis : Planned change encompasses the application of

systematic and appropriate knowledge to human affairs for the

purpose of creating intelligent action and choices.

Planned change is an intentional attempt by an organization to

influence the status quo and bring about growth and development.

Lewin’s Change Model

Acc. to Kurt Lewin, there are three phases in the process of planned

changes :

i) Unfreezing : It refers to making individual aware that the present

behaviour is inappropriate, irrelevant, inadequate and hence

unsuitable to the changing demands of the present situation.

Unfreezing calls for loosening of emotional link with the status quo.

The individuals are made to feel that they have to give up the old

work-habits for learning new types of behaviour.

ii) Moving or Changing : Once the employee becomes receptive to

change, the manager should introduce the proposed change in a

systematic manner with the full cooperation of subordinates. It is done

through three phases: Compliance, Identification and

Internalization. Compliance is forcing individuals to change by

reward of punishment. Identification is presenting change through role

models from whom individual can learn new behaviour patterns and

become like them. Internalization is placing the individuals in

situations which demands new behaviour.

iii) Refreezing : It is a phase of stabilisation, assimilation and

institutionalisation of the changes that are successfully implemented.

Such changes should remain as a stable and permanent characteristics

of the system until another need arises for change. The new roles,

relationships and behavioural patterns must take on the characteristics

of habits. If this is not done the individuals may revert back to the ole

patterns after some time. Changes become stabilized if reinforcement

(rewards) are provided for desired behaviour.

B) FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS

Some changes are unavoidable, but it is important to recognize that

many forces act to keep an organization in a state of equilibrium. Kurt

Lewin introduced Force Field Analysis for implementing change. It

identifies :

(a) What forces are likely to push the change (driving forces)

(b) What forces are likely to restrain it or maintain status quo

(restraining forces)
According to Force Field theory, the present situation in which changes

is to be attempted is a quasi-static equilibrium of driving forces and

restraining forces. Organisational stability or quasi-static equilibrium

occurs when the driving and restraining forces balance each other in

such a way as to maintain a constant level for functioning for a while.

The present equilibrium can be changed by strengthening the driving

forces or by weakening the restraining forces. Lewin propounded that

it is easier to change an individual in a group than to change him

separately. If the groups standard are changed, the resistance will be

eliminated as the individual will try to match his individual and group

standards so that he does not have to depart from group.

The manager should first identify and evaluate the driving and

restraining forces so that he can remove the hindrances that block

change efforts. He will not waste his time and energy on those forces

over which he has no control. Under the force-field analysis, a

manager should take the following steps :

i) Recognise the driving forces : The first step towards

organisational change involves recognizing the major changes
in the environmental and problem within the organization. In
 order to recognize the pressures or drivers to change,
managers need to develop a keen sensitivity towards external
and internal environment.
ii) Increase the driving forces : Once the need for change is
identified, it needs to be communicated to the people
concerned. If members know why the change is needed, they
are more likely to adopt it.
iii) Manage the resisting forces : People resist change
because they perceive it to be harmful to them. It is essential
that they are made aware of its benefits. Rewards may be
linked to willingness to change and resistance to change may
be punished.

DRIVING FORCES (Forces for Change)

Examples of driving forces are :

i) Dissatisfaction with the present equilibrium i.e. need for

change is felt.
ii) Conflicts in the organisation
iii) Changes in organizational goals
iv) Difference in personal and organizational goals
v) Desire for innovation
vi) Low productivity and rising cots.

RESTRAINING FORCES (Forces for stability)

The restraining forces can be personal and organizational. Personal

sources of resistance : Individuals may resist change for various

reasons of which they may or may not be aware. Consciously they

may resist when an individual perceives a change as a threat to the

security of personal advantage. Hence resistance to change may arise

when the individual sees some disadvantage accompanying change.

Organisational sources of resistance :There are several obstacles to

change inherent in the organization, such as resource limitation,

organizational structure, sunk costs, inter-organisational agreements.

Force Field Analysis

C) Action Research Model : It is another model of Planned Change.

Acc. to this model, planned change is a cyclical process in which a

research is done initially which provides data about the organization,

which is a guide to subsequent action. It emphasizes collection and

diagnosis prior to action planning and implementation, followed by

evaluation of action. In this model, changes takes place in eight steps:

i) Problem Identification

ii) Consultation with the expert for generation of ideas. A collaborative

environment is set up.

iii)Data gathering and preliminary diagnosis : Data is gathered by the

expert by way of interview, process observation, questionnaires and

organizational performance data

iv) Feedback to key client or group : The consultant or expert

provides all the data to the client or group
v) Joint diagnosis of the problem : The client and the expert
jointly decide whether to work on the identified problem.
 vi) Joint action planning : Jointly they decide on further action.
Actions are taken depending upon the culture, technology and
environment of the organisation
vii) Action :Actual change takes place and may include new
methods, procedures, structure etc.
viii) Data Gathering after action : Since it is a cyclical process,
data has to be gathered after the action has taken place.

Models of Group Development :

I. Five Stage Model of Group Development : The stages do not happen

one to another but sometimes they happen simultaneously. E.g.Storming and
performing sometimes happen together.

i) Forming : In this stage, members are entering the goup. The

individual is mainly concerned with what the group can offer them,
their contribution which has to be made, the group standards etc.
It is characterised by uncertainty about the group’s purpose,
structure, leadership.
ii) Storming : It is a turbulent phase where individual try to form
coalitions to achieve a desired status within the group. Members
understand and appreciate each other’s interpersonal styles and
effort are made to find ways to accomplish group goals while also
satisfying individual needs. It is characterised by intra group
conflict. There is resistance to the constraints that the group
imposes on individuality. There is conflict over who will control.
iii) Norming : Characterised by close relationships and cohesiveness.
The group really begins to come together as a coordinated unit.
Group members try to adopt a positive attitude.
iv) Performing : Group is fully functional. Group energy has moved
from getting to know and understand each other to performing the
complex task at hand. The structure is stable.
Adjourning : characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather
than task performance. Once the work is accomplished , the well-integrated
group disbands. It happens in case of temporary
 OD Interventions

OD Intervention is an activity that is carried on in an organization

with the help of an internal or external OD Consultant for achieving a
given goal .

Classification of OD Interventions :

- Human Process Intervention

- Techno-structural Interventions
- Human Resource Interventions
- Strategic Interventions
-
I. Human Process Intervention
i) T-Group : T-Group is formed to change the attitude, behaviour of
individuals by using psychological techniques. It Involves Group
confession and the individual’s problem becomes the groups
problems, who then tries to find solutions. It aims at :
- Increased understanding, Self- awareness about one’s own and
other’s behaviour.
- Increased diagnostic skills
- Increased ability to transfer learning into action

ii) Process Consultation : It is a set of activities undertaken by the

consultant to help the organization or client understand and act
upon the process events which occur in the client’s environment. It
assumes that organization’s effectiveness depends on how well its
people relate to one another and problems arise due to breakdown
of critical human processes at key places. It focuses on five
important group processes :
- Communication
- Functional roles of group members
- Ways in which the group solves problems and takes decisions
- Development and growth of group norms
- Use of leadership and authority

iii) Third Party Intervention : Focuses on interpersonal or inter-

group conflicts. Conflicts can rise due to two things :
- substantive issues like pay, conditions of employment
- Inter-personal issues such as differences in personality

iv) Team Building : It is an approach to nurture a team culture. It

helps group members to overcome problems like loss of
productivity, increasing complaints within groups related to quality/
timeliness etc., confusion about assignments. This technique is
used for the following types of teams :
 - Groups reporting to the same supervisor, manager
- Groups involving people with common organizational goals
- Temporary group formed to perform a specific, one time task.
- Groups consisting of people whose work roles are
interdependent

II. Techno-Structural Interventions

Due to increasing global competition, the organizations are forced to

move away traditional bureaucratic structures to more flexible structures.
Types of Interventions:
• Job Enlargement
 Adding variety through similar tasks
• Job Enrichment
 Increasing responsibility, knowledge of results, and
meaningfulness of work
• Alternative Work Schedules
 Compressed workweek
 Flextime work schedule

III. Human Resource Interventions : It is concerned with

methods of managing people in a more efficient way and the
interventions are associated with human resource management
functions such as career planning, managing workforce diversity,
performance appraisal etc.
IV. Strategic Interventions : These interventions focus on
organising resources of the organization in order to gain
competitive edge. The top-down approach of change is adopted and
requires environmental scanning. The core competencies are
developed or market share is increased through alliances.
According to Abad Ahmed, there are six steps in an OD Process :

i) Motivation for change : It appears from internal and

external pressures.
ii) Data Collection, Problem Identification and diagnosis
iii) Planning Strategy for change : The diagnosis is put into
proper action plan. Goals are set and approaches are decided
to attain these goals.
iv) Intervening in the system : It aims to resolve difficulties,
remove hurdles and give momentum to increase
effectiveness of the organization. Some interventions are job
enlargement, process consultation etc.
v) Reinforcement and follow-up :If change is not reinforced,
there is a possibility of regression.
vi) Monitoring and evaluation : To know the effectiveness of
OD technique, evaluation is necessary and it is done through
critique sessions, appraisal of change efforts and comparison
of pre and post raining behavioural patterns

OD Consultant

Consultant is a person who advices the slient to take appropriate actions,

convinces the client for the required changes and helps the client to modify
the mindset. He uses his wisdom to advice the client.
He acts as a consultant, counselor and facilitator.
The problems faced by OD Consultant in Indian Organisations are :

- Perception of entrepreneur about OD : The entreprenueurs feel

threatened that their power shall be affected due to use of OD
Techniques and that it shall be difficult to discipline the people.
They also do not trust the consultants fully and do not feel
comfortable to discuss operational methods with their managers
and consultants.

Role of the OD Consultants : The OD Consultant diagnoses the

organizational problems, suggest proper solutions, makes a report and leaves
it to the management to take action on it.
 Perception

Perception refers to the interpretation of the sensory data. It is a

process through which the information from outside environment
is selected, received, organized and interpreted to make it
meaningful. This input of meaningful information results in
decisions and actions.

• Perception is primarily an individual process so that

different people may perceive an identical situation
differently.
• People behave on the basis of what they perceive reality to
be and not necessarily as what reality is.

Major Influences on the Perception Process

Characteristics of the
Perceiver
• Needs
• Values
• Experiences
• Attitudes Perception
 Overall
Characteristics of the Understandi
Perceived (target) ng of
• Appearance Perception
• Size, Contrast
• Status

Characteristics of the
situation
• Physical Location
• Social setting
• Organizational
setting
 Attribution Theory

This theory helps to understand how perception affects behaviour in

organizations.

We generally observe behaviour and then attribute causes to it.

Observed behaviours are interpreted in terms of their consensus, their
consistency and their distinctiveness.

The interpretations of behaviour result in attributing the cause of such

behaviour to be either external cause of internal cause.

Internally caused behaviours are those which are believed to be under

the control of the individual and Externally caused behaviour is seen as
resulting from external factors (person is forced into the behaviour by
the situation).
For e.g. if an employee is late for work, the manager may give it an
internal attribution say oversleeping, or an external attribution like
traffic jam or bus failure.

Consensus
Observation of behaviour
Consistency Attribution
Of causes
Distinctiveness (Internal/External)

We observe behaviour, either our own or someone else’s behaviour.

We then evaluate that behaviour in terms of its degree of consensus,
consistency and distinctiveness.

Consensus is the extent to which other people in the same situation

behave in the same way.

Consistency is the degree to which the same person behaves in the

same way at different times.

Distinctiveness is the extent to which the same person behaves in he

same way in different situation.

We may then believe that the behaviour is caused internally (by forces
within the person) or externally (by forces in the person’s
environment).
For e.g., a manager observes one of his subordinates being rowdy and
disrupting others’ work. If the manager can understand the causes of
this behaviour, he may be able to change it. If the employee is the
only one engaging in the disruptive behaviour (low consensus), if he
behaves like this several times each week (high Consistency) and if
the manager has seen him behave like this in other deptts. also ( low
distinctiveness or usual), a conclusion is drawn that internal factors
are causing his behaviour.

On the other hand, the manager observes that everyone in the work
group is rowdy (high consensus), and the particular employee is often
rowdy at work (high consistency), the manager has never seen him
behave this way in other deptts. (high distinctiveness or unusual). This
shows that there is something in the environment that is causing the
behaviour i.e. external causes.

Fundamental Attribution Error

When we make judgements about the behaviour of other people,
wehave a tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors
and overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors. This is
called fundamental attribution error.
E.g. A Sales Manager attributes the poor performance of sales agents
to laziness rather than innovative product introduced by a competitor.

Self Serving bias

Individuals have a tendency to attribute their own successes to

internal factors such as ability or effort, and put the blame for failure
on external factors such as luck. This is called Self-serving bias.