Master of Fashion Management

2016-2018
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Case Study: Tony Stark, Susan Harrington, Alice
Thornton, Mindy Martin
Submitted by
Submitted to
B.Meghana
Prof A.Srinivasa Rao
K.Archana

INTRODUCTION
You are in power and in charge of a department and have four subordinates namely Tony Stark, Susan Harrington, Alice Thornton,
Mindy Martin. The key success and motive of your department is to
keep your employees spirit as high as you can.
This case attempts to show the various types of motives of individual
employees and how these motives can impact upon their effectiveness in
the

organisation.

Incentive

systems,

development

programs,

and

managerial coaching all need to be aware of the various motivation needs

of employees.

PROBLEM OF THE CASE

The problem of the case here is that Tony, Susan, Alice, Mindy are more
concerned about their own values and beliefs
Tony was unable to figure out his decision and wondered if perhaps
he had made a mistake in accepting the Reece offer by leaving
OGrady where he worked for 10 years. At OGrady things were
really great, the job had met his personal goals and expectations
perfectly and he believed he had grown greatly as a person. But at
OGrady nothing was in favour of him and people working over there
werent so amiable. This lead to the start of confusion over his
decision.
Susan had been distribution manager for Clarkston Industries for
almost twenty years. She was unable to decide and was unsure
whether to fire Jack or not. She had a lot of confidence in Jack Reed
even though Jack has a criminal record. Most of the people in the
office assumed Jack to be the thief and responsible for all the
missing things. Now Susan has a fear that if she did not fire Jack, She
would lose the trust of everyone and some people might even begin
to question her own motives.
Alice Thornton is the person who took over the control of the
company when the company is in great trouble. Now the company is

in trouble and it needs a strong management in order to get back its

previous status. In that position, the company hired Alice Thornton
as chief executive officer. Her predecessor instituted a uniform set of
rules for all employees. Alice after looking into the current situation
realized that there is a need to change the rules at Cosmo Plastics in
order to setback all the issues. But her proposal to decentralize all
the rules and procedures in the company will work or not is the real
challenging issue.
Mindy Martin doesnt maintain a good relation with AI Sharp. She is
little egoistic and tries to keep him away from her. Later she
determined to get along with everyone in the office, so she started
being friendly with him. She has a competitive spirit and believed
that with a good recommendation from Sharp she would get her
desired promotion. Later things became worse when she didnt
receive promotion instead someother person got it and she thinks
Sharp was responsible for it. Again the conflicts started and in order
to clear the conflicts between Mindy and Martin, William Attridge
their boss has to involve to clear the misunderstandings between
both of them.

OUTSIDE CONCEPTS
DECISION MAKING
Decision making is usually defined as a process or sequence of activities
involving stages of problem recognition, definition of alternatives and the
selection of an actor of one from two or more alternatives consistent with
the ranked preferences. Like planning, decision making is also allpervasive and like forecasting, decision-making is also an important part
of planning. For any organization, policy documents help in taking
managerial decisions.
But these are decisions of routine nature, which we also call operational
decisions. Strategic or important decisions are obviously taken after
considering different alternatives. In order to be a successful manager
one has to necessarily develop decision-making skills

CONTRIBUTIONS TO DECISION MAKING

The following barriers must be overcomed in Decision Making process
the beliefs
assumptions,
presuppositions
the physical or practical possibility of the job
the interdependence of the job with other people or activities
ambiguity surrounding the job requirements
To overcome these barriers, it is helpful to understand the role other
psychological variables such as self-efficacy (one's belief in one's ability
to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task. One's sense of selfefficacy can play a major role in how one approaches goals, tasks, and
challenges)

PERCEPTION AS AN EXPLANATION OF DECISION MAKING

A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory
impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.

Factors influencing Perception

The Perceiver attitudes, motives, interests, experiences,
expectations
The Target novelty, motions, sounds, size, background, proximity,
similarity
The Situation time, work setting, social situation
Person Perception: Making Judgments About Others
Attribution Theory
When individuals observe behaviour, they attempt to determine whether
it is internally (under the personal control of the individual)
or externally (outside causes force you to behave a certain way)
caused.
FREQUENTLY USED SHORTCUTS IN JUDGING OTHERS
Selective Perception
People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their
interest, background, experience, and attitudes.
Halo Effect
Drawing a general impression about an individual on the basis of a
single characteristic.
Contrast Effects
Evaluations of a persons characteristics that are affected by
comparisons with other people recently encountered who rank
higher or lower on the same characteristics.
Projection
Attributing ones own characteristics to other people
Stereotyping

Judging someone on the basis of ones perception of the group to

which that person belongs.
DECISION MAKING THEORIES
It is a theory of how rational individuals should behave under risk
and uncertainty. It uses a set of axioms about how rational
individuals behave which has been widely challenged on both
empirical and theoretical ground.
QUALITATIVE DATA
TONY STARK
GOOD :
He is a consistent and work committed person
He is a likable guy
He is quite amiable. He moves with everyone freely
BAD :
Tom is a kind of employee who is hard to figure out
He doesnt stand on his decisions
He has a confused mentality
SUSAN HARRINGTON
GOOD :

She
She
She
She

is a respectable woman
is committed to the companys rules and regulations
has a high degree of personal loyalty to the company
works hard for the company

BAD :
She is unable to decide herself whether to fire Jack or not
She cannot take quick and correct decisions. She has to think over
her decisions again and again to make them correct

ALICE THORNTON
GOOD :
She is a very systematic person
She is the one who wants to change the companys rules and set the
rules to the people according to their levels and not uniform to all
people
BAD :
If the company establishes different procedures for different areas, it
may have to face risks. So her proposal to decentralize the rules and
procedures may not be practically possible
MINDY MARTIN
GOOD :

She
She
She
She

has a competitive spirit

is an assertive person
does an adequate job and is very conscientious
became the leader in the company and she was praised lavishly

by everyone
BAD :
She is a egoistic person
She is not a friendly person
She cannot digest other persons success

RESULT OF THE ANALYSIS

Tony Stark is probably square in the middle of the relatedness sector,
works very hard at trying to get along with people. Unfortunately, he
cannot secure growth as he desires, but we can see in him a
specification between causes and effects, specifically that of a
professional adherence to consistent methods of work, to
conceptions of what is problematical, and to criteria for what are to
be included or excluded from the daily workflow. He is hardworking
and dedicated person but he is at the higher end of confusion and
started thinking if perhaps he had made a mistake in accepting the
Reece offer without finding out more about what he was getting into.
The job at the previous company had met his personal goals and
expectations perfectly and he believed he had grown greatly as a
person. But Reece is unfortunately not upto his expectations. The
weakness is decision making and its value depends on the specific
relationships between causes and effects and they are measured
using methods depending on organizational or theoretical basis.
Susan Harrington is in a senior position in the company. She is in a
state of confusion and unable to take decision whether to fire Jack or
not. Because she has a lot of confidence in him knowing he has a
criminal record. She has confidence in him because she also
experienced an early brush with the law and a short stay in prison.
This made her realize the importance of honesty and hardwork and
thought she should hire Jack because every person should get a
chance in life to correct themselves and move on in their life. She
decided to give him that chance just as Henry Clarkston had given
her one. But to her dismay, things at the office started becoming
worse when people claimed Jack to be the responsible person for all
the problems that took place in the company. Now Susan has a fear
that if she did not fire Jack, She would lose the trust of everyone and
some people might even begin to question her own motives
Alice Thornton is the person who took over the control of the
company when the company is in great trouble. The company had
started out as an innovative company, known for creating a new
product and it continued to be successful for almost two decades.

But now the company is in trouble and it needs a strong

management in order to get back its previous status. In that
position, the company hired Alice Thornton as chief executive officer.
Her predecessor instituted a uniform set of rules for all employees.
Alice after looking into the current situation realized that there is a
need to change the rules at Cosmo Plastics in order to setback all
the issues. But her proposal to decentralize all the rules and
procedures in the company will work or not is the real challenging
issue.
Mindy Martin on the other hand, is firmly at the growth stage and
ready to take on the next challenge. She doesnt maintain a good
relation with AI Sharp. She tries to keep him away from her. Later
she determined to get along with everyone in the office, so she
started being friendly with him. She has a competitive spirit and
believed that with a good recommendation from Sharp she would
get her desired promotion. Later things became worse when she
didnt receive promotion instead someother person got it and she
thinks Sharp was responsible for it. Again the conflicts started and in
order to clear the conflicts between Mindy and Martin, William
Attridge their boss has to involve to clear the misunderstandings
between both of them. Since they could not solve their problem on
their own, we can see in them a specification between between
causes and effects specifically that of a professional adherence to
consistent methods of work, to conceptions of what is problematical,
and to criteria for what are to be included or excluded from the daily
workflow.
LOCUS OF CONTROL LEVEL FOR INDIVIDUAL GUIDANCE AND
ANALYSIS OF TONY STARK, SUSAN HARRINGTON, ALICE
THORNTON, MINDY MARTIN
In the study of organizational behaviour, as with life, there are no
absolutes. This is particularly true in discussing the attribution
theories. For instance, there are no clear-cut distinctions concerning
when, and in what situations, an employee feels that the locus of
control is internal or external, and the situation could and does
change day-by-day or hour-by-hour

ACTION PLAN
It can be defined as a sequence of steps that must be adopted in order to
lead an

Organisation in a successful manner. The three major

elements involved in Action plan are

Specific tasks
Time management
Resourcing
The main steps involved in preparing an Action plan are

Have a clear objective

List the benefits you would gain by achieving your goal
Define clearly the steps you will take
Identify the end point for each step
Arrange the steps in a logical, chronological order and put a date by

which you will start each step

Try to map out several paths to your goal
Review your progress mix with progress people
SHORT TERM ACTION PLAN
Job Satisfaction - It is a pleasant feeling that you get when you receive
something you
wanted to do.

wanted or when you have done something you

Perception - It can be described as a process by which individuals

organise and interpret

their sensory impressions in order to give

meaning to their their environment. A Perceptual set is also known as

Mental set
MEDIUM TERM ACTION PLAN
Job Enrichment- It is a common motivational technique use by
organisation to given employee greater satisfaction in his work. It means
giving an employee additional resposibility previously reserved for his
manager or other higher ranking positions.
LONG TERM ACTION PLAN
Job Enlargement- It is the horizontal expanding of a job. It involves the
addition of task at the same level of skill and resposibility. People doesnt
get bored because of this. Workers in enlarged jobs are able to use more
skills in performing their task
IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFIC GOALS
Specific goals have been found to be more effective than vague or
general goals, such as do your best, as well as no goals at all. Specific
goals result in higher levels of performance. For instance, sales people
should have goals in dollar amounts or units of volume, production
departments should have targeted and defined goals in terms of
numbers, percentages, and dates, and all other departments should
incorporate measurable objectives or specific metrics and dates rather
than things such as try as hard as you can or try to do better than last
year.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFICULT AND CHALLENGING GOALS

Besides clearly stated goals, performance targets should also be

challenging rather than easy or routine. At the same time, goals should
be reachable and not so difficult that pursuing them becomes frustrating.
GOAL ACCEPTANCE, PARTICIPATION AND COMMITMENT
Specific goals are most likely to affect performance when employees
accept and are committed to them. This ownership and acceptance of
goals are best accomplished through a participative process. Selfcommitment can be given to assigned goals as well as to personal or selfset goals, especially when goals are equivocal. Commitment tends to run
higher when goals are specific as opposed to general or broad. Monetary
incentives can also increase commitment to goals if the goals are
perceived as being achievable.

CASE QUESTIONS
TONY STARK
1. Identify several concepts and characteristic from the field of
organisation behaviour that this case illustrates?
Decision making is usually defined as a process or sequence of
activities involving

stages of

problem

recognition,

definition

of

alternatives and the selection of an actor of one from two or more

alternatives consistent with the ranked preferences. In this case the
main problem of Tony is Decision Making and Perception. He is unable
to figure out whether he had taken a wrong decision by choosing Reece
Enterprises over OGrady.

2. What advice can you give Tony Stark ? How would this advice
be supported or tempered by behavioural concepts and
process?
He should be more determined and understand the reality that
everywhere in every place the people and things wont be in favour of
us. He should get habituated to all kinds of people and environment.
He should adjustable mentality and work with commitment
3. Is it possible to find an ideal place to work? Explain?
From the Employees perspective, a great place to work is the one
where they
Trust the people they work for
Have pride in what they do
Enjoy the people they work with
From the Managers perspective, a great workplace is the one where
they
Achieve Organisational objectives
With employees who give their personal best
Work together as a team/family in an environment of trust

SUSAN HARRINTON
1. Explain the events in this case in terms of Perception and
attitudes
In this case, most of the people working in the office assumed or
claimed Jack was the thief. It clearly depicts Perception. People thought
in that way because Jack has a criminal record. The people developed a
kind of perception about Jack right immediately after knowing that he
had a brush with the law. So, based on their perceptions they
developed a rude attitude for Jack and strongly believed that he was
the responsible person for all the mishappenings in the office.

2. What should Susan do? Should she fire Jack or give him
another chance?
Firstly, Susan had a lot of confidence in Jack Reed and strongly believed
that every person should get a chance to rectify their mistakes and
move on in their life. But after knowing that Jack was the thief,
definitely he doesnt deserve her trust. So I conclude that Susan should
fire Jack not just because he is thief but for dropping the trust of her.
ALICE THORNTON
1. Do you think Alice Thorntons proposal to decentralise the
rules and procedures of cosmo plastics will work?
Her proposal to decentralise the rules and procedure of cosmo plastics
work in the longer run because company is in great trouble and it
needs a strong management in order to get back its previous status. In
that position, the company hired Alice Thornton as Chief executive
officer . But her proposal to decentralise all the rules and procedures in
the company will work or not is the real challenging issue.
2. What kind of rules and procedures do you think the
department managers will come up with? Which departments
will be more formalized? Why?
She made a proposal to change the rules and procedures at Cosmo
Plastics. If it would be implemented, it should more concentrate on
higher official people so that they will lead the organisation in a
successful direction.
3. What risks will the company face if it establishes different
procedures for different areas?
Alice Thornton is the person who took over the control of the company
when the company is in great trouble. In that position, the company
hired Alice Thornton as chief executive officer. Her predecessor
instituted a uniform set of rules for all employees. Alice after looking
into the current situation realized that there is a need to change the
rules at Cosmo Plastics in order to setback all the issues. But her

proposal to decentralize all the rules and procedures in the company

will work or not is the real challenging issue.
MINDY MARTIN
1. What

might

have

happened

had

William

Attridge

not

intervened?
If William attridge havent had intervened, the misunderstandings
between two egoistic people Mindy Martin and AI Sharp wouldnt have
been cleared. The miscommunication due to hostility would have
continued and perhaps they might never talk to each other.
2. Are the sources of misunderstanding between Martin and
Sharp common or unusual?
In my perspective, the sources of misunderstanding between Martin
and Sharp are pretty common in real life. Every individual has a bit of
ego and jealousy which is quite common.