ASSIGNMENT
Course Code : MS-01
Course Title : Management Functions and Behaviour
Assignment Code : MS- 01/TMA/SEM-I/2018
Coverage : All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment on or before 30st April, 2018 to
the coordinator of your study centre.
1. Briefly describe the Management processes. Explain any one of them with respect to its
significance and importance in organisational performance and efficiency. Explain with your
organisational experience. Briefly describe the organisation, you are referring to.
2. What are the techniques used in different steps of Decision-making? Based on your
organisational experience, discuss the importance and rules of Brainstorming in the process.
Briefly describe the organisation and the situation, you are referring to.
3. What are the major antecedent conditions for change? Based on your organisational
experience, discuss the necessity or otherwise of ‘why all organisations must change’ in the
background of ‘how an organisation grows’. Explain the situation and organisational settings
you are referring to.
4. Base on your organisational experience/exposure critically discuss the role and impact of
formal and informal groups on ‘Management’. Briefly describe the organisational setting,
you are referring to.

 
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Answer
1. Briefly describe the Management processes. Explain any one of them with respect to
its significance and importance in organizational performance and efficiency. Explain
with your organizational experience. Briefly describe the organisation, you are referring
to.
Ans.: Management processes are the methods that aid the structuring, investigation, analysis,
decision-making and communication of business issues. Examples include the strategic
planning process, talent planning, expense and capital budgeting, performance management
systems, product planning and management cost accounting.
The purpose of a management process is to ensure a disciplined and consistent approach to
analysis and decision making. They facilitate the use of a logical thought process that is
consistent with the objectives of the firm. The capital budgeting process, for example, is
based on financial market disciplines that encourage wise investment. Product planning is
focused on both creating customer value and realizing the benefits of new products for the
firm’s investors, not one or the other.
Management processes should be seen as a support to and not a replacement for management
judgment. These processes require the development of expectations about the future and
provide guidance in light of the associated assumptions. The wise manager uses these tools
as inputs to decision making which, when combined with business acumen, provide a solid
basis for choice.
Managers today are enamored of processes. It’s easy to see why. Many modern organizations
are functional and hierarchical; they suffer from isolated departments, poor coordination, and
limited lateral communication. All too often, work is fragmented and compartmentalized, and
managers find it difficult to get things done. Scholars have faced similar problems in their
research, struggling to describe organizational functioning in other than static, highly
aggregated terms. For real progress to be made, the “proverbial ‘black box,’ the firm, has to
be opened and studied from within.”
Processes provide a likely solution. In the broadest sense, they can be defined as collections
of tasks and activities that together and only together transform inputs into outputs. Within
organizations, these inputs and outputs can be as varied as materials, information, and people.
Common examples of processes include new product development, order fulfillment, and
customer service; less obvious but equally legitimate candidates are resource allocation and
decision making.
Over the years, there have been a number of process theories in the academic literature, but
seldom has anyone reviewed them systematically or in an integrated way. Process theories
have appeared in organization theory, strategic management, operations management, group
dynamics, and studies of managerial behavior. The few scholarly efforts to tackle processes
as a collective phenomenon either have been tightly focused theoretical or methodological
statements or have focused primarily on a single type of process theory.

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Yet when the theories are taken together, they provide a powerful lens for understanding
organizations and management:
• First, processes provide a convenient, intermediate level of analysis. Because they
consist of diverse, interlinked tasks, they open up the black box of the firm without
exposing analysts to the “part-whole” problems that have plagued earlier research.3
Past studies have tended to focus on either the trees (individual tasks or activities) or
the forest (the organization as a whole); they have not combined the two. A process
perspective gives the needed integration, ensuring that the realities of work practice
are linked explicitly to the firm’s overall functioning.
• Second, a process lens provides new insights into managerial behavior. Most studies
have been straightforward descriptions of time allocation, roles, and activity streams,
with few attempts to integrate activities into a coherent whole.5 In fact, most past
research has highlighted the fragmented quality of managers’ jobs rather than their
coherence. A process approach, by contrast, emphasizes the links among activities,
showing that seemingly unrelated tasks a telephone call, a brief hallway conversation,
or an unscheduled meeting are often part of a single, unfolding sequence. From this
vantage point, managerial work becomes far more rational and orderly.
My aim here is to give a framework for thinking about processes, their impacts, and the
implications for managers. I begin at the organizational level, reviewing a wide range of
process theories and grouping them into categories. The discussion leads naturally to a
typology of processes and a simple model of organizations as interconnected sets of
processes. In the next section, I examine managerial processes; I consider them separately
because they focus on individual managers and their relationships, rather than on
organizations. I examine several types of managerial processes and contrast them with, and
link them to, organizational processes, and identify their common elements. I conclude with a
unifying framework that ties together the diverse processes and consider the implications for
managers.
2. What are the techniques used in different steps of Decision-making? Based on your
organizational experience, discuss the importance and rules of Brainstorming in the
process. Briefly describe the organisation and the situation, you are referring to.
Ans.: Decision-making is the act of making a choice among available alternatives. There are
innumerable decisions that are taken by human beings in day-to-day life. In business
undertakings, decisions are taken at every step. It is also regarded as one of the important
function of management. Managerial functions like planning, organizing, staffing, directing,
co-ordinating and controlling are carried through decisions. Decision making is possible
when there are two or more alternatives to solve a single problem or difficulty. If there is only
one alternative then there is no question of decision making. It is believed that the
management without a decision is a man without a backbone. Therefore, decision making is a
problem-solving approach by choosing a specific course of action among various alternatives.
The importance of decision making can be discussed under the following points:

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• Proper utilization of resources: Organization has various resources like man,

money, method, material, machine, market and information. All these resources are
properly utilized without any leakage and wastage with the help of right decision at
right time. As a result, an organization can operate at a minimum cost.
• Selecting the best alternative: As we know that the problem has multiple solutions.
Decision making is important to select the best alternative among various alternatives
by analyzing them one by one using various financial, statistical, and accounting
tools/ technique.
• Evaluation of the managerial performance: Decision making is not only important
to select the best alternative but also essential for evaluating the performance of a
manager. The quality/success of manager largely depends upon the number of right
decision that he/she can take for the organizational success. Therefore, decision
making is important to judge the performance of top level of management.
• Employees motivation: Decision making is important to motivate the employees
within an organization. It provides an overall framework of operation and guideline to
the operating level of staffs. It also provides different types of facilities and benefit on
time. As a result, employees are motivated to their job or work as per the
organizational requirement.
• Indispensable element/ component: Decision making is indispensable element/
component for the organizational success because without taking the right decision at
right time, nothing can be performed as per the plan.
• Achievement of goal/ objectives : Decision making is important to achieve the
organizational goals/objectives within given time and budget. It searches the best
alternative, utilize the resources properly and satisfy the employees at the workplace.
As a result, organizational goal or objectives can be achieved as per the desired result.
• Pervasive function: Decision-making is a pervasive function of managers aimed at
achieving organizational goals. Decisions are to be taken in all managerial functions
such as planning, organizing, motivating, directing and controlling and in all
functional areas such as production, marketing, finance, personnel and research and
development. It indicates that the decision-making is spread over many areas of the
organization.
Courtesy and openness are the prerequisites of brainstorming. These are the rules of
brainstorming, all participants should be aware of:
• Never criticize ideas immediately: The ideas must flow freely in brainstorming. A
supposedly immature idea often leads to new ideas. Criticism during brainstorming
slows the flow unnecessarily. Rather than directly criticizing an idea propose
something better. However, from time to time, it can be helpful to point out the
weaknesses of a solution objectively and thereby give the brainstorming a new
direction. When doing so, highlight the positive aspects of the idea and try
brainstorming on other ideas on top of those positive aspects.

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• Ideas are no ones property: Brainstorming is a group process. That is why no

participant in a brainstorming session has a patent on his ideas. The idea is a product
of the group because it has arisen from the brainstorming process and input of the
other participants. The proposed solutions become the property group. Then, the
participant will not feel the need to defend his idea which would be hindering to the
brainstorming process. It is the task of the group in a brainstorming session to develop
the best out of any idea. At the same time, in a brainstorming no one has to be
ashamed of a bad idea.
• No idea is kept from the group: Brainstorming is all about quantity. The ideas are
valued later and the best solution will be voted on. It is important that each participant
appreciates the brainstorming session as an opportunity to express unusual thoughts.
In a brainstorming session, even the most crazy idea can inspire another participant.
The rules of brainstorming say, we should not criticize others for bad ideas. Everyone
should apply this golden rule of brainstorming also to himself!
• Be brief: Formulating accurate and short ideas makes it easier for all participants of
the brainstorming to follow the discussion and to develop new ideas. The discussion
should always be conducted separately from the brainstorming. Participants should be
aware that they hinder others from thinking by speaking too long. Electronic tools can
separate idea generation from idea consumption and allow everyone to follow at his
own brainstorming pace.
• Absorb the ideas of others: The brainstorming is based on the principle that each
participant is inspired by the ideas of others. Being attentive and respectful for the
ideas of others is just the basis of each brainstorming. It is important that each
participant is willing to actively work on the ideas of others and let the brainstorming
unfold. Brainstorming is in a way like a basketball game where the team is passing the
ball to each other until one of them has a brilliant idea and scores. And if he misses,
they start all over.
3. What are the major antecedent conditions for change? Based on your organisational
experience, discuss the necessity or otherwise of ‘why all organisations must change’ in
the background of ‘how an organisation grows’. Explain the situation and
organisational settings you are referring to.
Ans.: Change, the process of moving to a new and different state of things is a constant for
organizations in order to survive and stay competitive. Managing organizational change is, in
very large part, about managing the “people” aspects of that process. It is people who make
up organizations and it is they who are the real source of, and vehicle for, change. They are
the ones who will either embrace or resist change. Ultimately, for an organization to change,
it is essential that the employees of that organization also change. Thus, employee
cooperation with organizational change efforts is connected to either the ultimate success or
failure of a change initiative.
The relationship between employee and employer has faced revolutionary shifts in the past
decades, causing radical changes in psychological contracts. This study explores the impact

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of organizational change antecedents as cause (type of change, personal impact of change,

frequency of change and successfulness of past changes) on the perceived fulfillment of
organizational obligations as content/mediating variable (job content, career development,
social atmosphere, organizational policies, work life balance, and rewards) and job
satisfaction as consequence. Furthermore, this review offers propositions based on current
literature for further in-depth empirical investigations to find out the combined effects of
organizational change antecedents, perceived fulfillment of organizational obligations and
behavioral outcomes with academic and practical relevance.
Contemporary organizations are faced with several transformations in international and
external environment that requires the employer to redefine and adjust to already existing
promises, obligations, and expectations in exchange relationship with employees. It is
understood to consider an organization strong in operations has less negative consideration
about organizational change. According to Schalk and Freese organizational change is the
adaption by any organization to its environment i.e. growing competition, globalization,
governmental regulations, introduction of new technologies. Oreg, et al., in their seminal
work about 'Change recipients' reactions to organizational change' summarized the following
antecedents of organizational change:
(1) Change recipients' characteristics,
(2) Internal context,
(3) Change process,
(4) Perceived benefit/harm, and
(5) Change content
Antecedent analyzes empirical evidence shows that the performance variable of job
satisfaction proved to be a variable antecedent of job performance. There are many factors
underlying the high and the low of individual performance, one of which the most important
is job satisfaction. The statement is very logical, assuming that job satisfaction is a major
determinant of servant’s performance. Servants who feel that high job satisfaction can
explain the organization positively, helping colleagues, and make their performance beyond
the normal approximation. Moreover, servants who are satisfied are having the high levels of
adherence to the call of duty. Moreover, they even want to repeat their positive experience of
work that has been done. There are two reasons why job satisfaction is important in the
organization: first the fact of the strong correlation between job satisfaction and absence, as
well as between job satisfaction and the turnover. Servants who are satisfied have a high
commitment to organization, having positive nature of the job and the organization. By
getting high job satisfaction, servants will work harder in carrying out their work. Conversely
when the servant is not satisfied then the servant does not have the spirit to work, they are
easy to give up, and having difficulty in completing the work will contribute in lower
performance
Every organization goes through periods of transformation that can cause stress and
uncertainty. To be successful, organizations must embrace many types of change. Businesses
must develop improved production technologies, create new products desired in the

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marketplace, implement new administrative systems, and upgrade employees' skills.

Organizations that adapt successfully are both profitable and admired.
Managers must contend with all factors that affect their organizations. The following lists
internal and external environmental factors that can encourage organizational changes:
• The external environment is affected by political, social, technological, and economic
stimuli outside of the organization that cause changes.
• The internal environment is affected by the organization's management policies and
styles, systems, and procedures, as well as employee attitudes.
Typically, the concept of organizational change is used to describe organization‐wide
change, as opposed to smaller changes such as adding a new person, modifying a program,
and so on. Examples of organization‐wide change might include a change in mission,
restructuring operations (for example, restructuring to self‐managed teams or due to
layoffs), new technologies, mergers, or new programs such as Total Quality Management, re-
engineering, and so on.
If your organization is planning some significant changes to your knowledge management
strategy and systems, then you’re going to need a well-defined plan that considers the wants
and needs of the key stakeholders within your organization.
Changing the way you manage information is inevitably going to change the way people do
things, and without sufficient communication and support it’s going to be difficult to get
people on board for the change. An organizational change management plan considers all the
people and teams involved in an upcoming transition, how the change will affect them, what
they will be responsible for and what they need to know in order to succeed both during and
after the transition.
Today's business environment requires companies to undergo changes almost constantly if
they are to remain competitive. Factors such as globalization of markets and rapidly evolving
technology force businesses to respond in order to survive. Such changes may be relatively
minor as in the case of installing a new software program or quite major as in the case of
refocusing an overall marketing strategy, fighting off a hostile takeover, or transforming a
company in the face of persistent foreign competition. Organizational change initiatives often
arise out of problems faced by a company. In some cases, however, companies change under
the impetus of enlightened leaders who first recognize and then exploit new potentials
dormant in the organization or its circumstances. Some observers, more soberly, label this a
"performance gap" which able management is inspired to close.
But organizational change is also resisted and in the opinion of its promoters fails. The failure
may be due to the manner in which change has been visualized, announced, and implemented
or because internal resistance to it builds. Employees, in other words, sabotage those changes
they view as antithetical to their own interest
A manager trying to implement a change, no matter how small, should expect to encounter
some resistance from within the organization. Resistance to change is normal; people cling to
habits and to the status quo. To be sure, managerial actions can minimize or arouse

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resistance. People must be motivated to shake off old habits. This must take place in stages
rather than abruptly so that "managed change" takes on the character of "natural change." In
addition to normal inertia, organization change introduces anxieties about the future. If the
future after the change comes to be perceived positively, resistance will be less.
Education and communication are therefore key ingredients in minimizing negative reactions.
Employees can be informed about both the nature of the change and the logic behind it before
it takes place through reports, memos, group presentations, or individual discussions. Another
important component of overcoming resistance is inviting employee participation and
involvement in both the design and implementation phases of the change effort. Organized
forms of facilitation and support can be deployed. Managers can ensure that employees will
have the resources to bring the change about; managers can make themselves available to
provide explanations and to minimize stress arising in many scores of situations.
Some companies manage to overcome resistance to change through negotiation and rewards.
They offer employees concrete incentives to ensure their cooperation. Other companies resort
to manipulation, or using subtle tactics such as giving a resistance leader a prominent position
in the change effort. A final option is coercion, which involves punishing people who resist
or using force to ensure their cooperation. Although this method can be useful when speed is
of the essence, it can have lingering negative effects on the company. Of course, no method is
appropriate to every situation, and a number of different methods may be combined as
needed.
4. Base on your organisational experience/exposure critically discuss the role and
impact of formal and informal groups on ‘Management’. Briefly describe the
organsational setting, you are referring to.
Ans.: The classical approach to organisation and management tended to ignore the
importance of group and the social factors at work. The ideas of people such as F.W. Taylor
popularized the concept of the rabble hypothesis and the assumption that people carried out
their work, and could be motivated, as solitary individuals unaffected by others.
Organisations contain formal groups which have been put into place by the organisational
management to perform specific tasks in order to further the aims of the organisation. In
addition to the formal groups, there are informal groups which can assume an existence in
organisations as a result of the mutually shared interests of the individuals who are a part of
the organisation. Informal groups exist purely because of mutual interests and have no formal
mandate from the organisation. The membership of the informal groups seeks to satisfy some
need by belonging to these groups. These needs may include needs for security, knowledge
acquisition, informal attempts to shape organisational policy, family, social interaction etc.
A formal group can be a command group or a functional group that is relatively permanent is
composed of managers and their subordinates who meet regularly to discuss general and
specific ideas to improve product or service.
The formal groups usually work under a single supervisor, even though the structure of these
groups may vary. For example, in one form of group such as in production, the members of
the work group depend on each other as well as on the supervisor and in another form of

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group, such as sales force, the members of the group work fairly independently and their
common contact may be the district sales manager.
Other types of formal groups include task forces and committees. The task forces are
temporary in nature and are set up for some special projects. The committees can be
permanent, such as a planning committee, a finance committee or a budget committee and
may become an integral part of the organizational structure.
Whereas formal groups are established by organizations to achieve some specific objectives,
informal groups are formed by the members of such groups by themselves. They emerge
naturally, in response to the common interests of organizational members. They are formed
spontaneously, without any formal designation, and with common interests such as self-
defense, work assistance and social interaction.
They exist outside the formal authority system and without any set rigid rules. Though
officially unrecognized, they exist in the shadow of the formal structure as a network of
personal and social relations that must be understood and respected by the management.
Informal work groups are based upon socio-psychological support and reasoning and depend
upon member’s interaction, communication, personal likings and dislikings and social
contacts within as well as outside the organization. How powerful these informal groups can
be seen from the fact that if one member of the group is fired, sometimes all workers go on
strike in support of that member of the group.
The bonds between members are very strong and bring in a sense of belonging and
togetherness. This togetherness can have a powerful influence on productivity and job
satisfaction, since employees motivate each other and share each others burden by training
those who are new and by looking up to old timers for guidance, advice and assistance.
By structure, we mean the framework around which the group is organized, the
underpinnings which keep the coalition functioning. It's the operating manual that tells
members how the organization is put together and how it works. More specifically, structure
describes how members are accepted, how leadership is chosen, and how decisions are made.
Teamwork in organizational settings is an important aspect of creating a well-oiled machine
to get tasks and projects done. A single team often has a team leader, who guides all members
to reach the company’s expectations. In addition, each team leader must include all workers
to boost motivation and workplace morale. However, the role of teams in organizations also
has a practical importance.
Teamwork is important in an organization because of the scope of the work it performs on a
daily basis. A single employee cannot take on all of the responsibilities of an organization,
according to Net Team. Each employee hired by the company has a certain skill set, which
contributes to a single department. In other words, a single department has a collection of
workers who each contribute something to reach the organization’s goals and objectives.
Some organizations have managers and executives who travel frequently, meaning they are
not in the office every day. These individuals communicate via email and telephone to stay
updated with tasks, assignments and production. Teamwork is important in these situations,

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because modern technology allows all employees to stay in touch about tasks and
assignments despite being miles or time zones apart. Teamwork in these situations also shows
trust and reliability, because employees trust that other workers get the job done in their
absence.
Each organization is made up of various departments. Sometimes these departments must
work together in creating a project or task for the organization, such as the production
department working closely with the accounting department to create products on a budget.
These departments must work together as a team to meet the company’s goals and objectives,
despite having very different functions within the organization.
Another important reason for teamwork in an organization is the different backgrounds and
ethnicities of people working in a single organization. Each employee has a different
background or experience, meaning each of them can perform differently on any given tasks.
Teamwork is important as these differences get ironed out, so all employees think and
perform with the same goal in mind. In addition, all employees understand the methods used
to reach these goals.

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