Sunday, 24 February 2013

State the characteristics of management.

Management is a continuous, lively and fast developing science. Management is needed to convert the disorganized resources of men, machines, materials and methods into a useful and effective enterprise. management is a pipeline, the inputs are fed at the end and they are proceeded through management functions and ultimately we get the end results or inputs in the form of goods, services, productivity, information and satisfaction. Management is a comprehensive word which is used in different sciences in the modern business and industrial world. In the narrow sense, it signifies the technique of taking work from others. In this way a person who can take work from others is called manager. In the wide sense, the management is an art, as well as science, which is concerned with the different human efforts so as achieve the desired objective.

Explain sensitivity training.

This approach evolved from the group dynamics concept of Kurt Lewin and the first sensitivity training session was held in 1946 in State Teachers’ College, New Britain, USA. Since then, it spread to numerous training centers in USA and other countries. Sensitivity training is a small-group interaction process in the unstructured form which requires people to become sensitive to others’ feelings in order to develop reasonable group activity. The objectives of sensitivity training are as follows:

What are the consequences of conflict in organisations?

Organizational conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests between people working together. Conflict takes many forms in organizations. There is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those individuals and groups affected. There are disputes over how revenues should be divided, how the work should be done, and how long and hard people should work. There are jurisdictional disagreements among individuals, departments, and between unions and management. There are subtler forms of conflict involving rivalries, jealousies, personality clashes, role definitions, and struggles for power and favor. There is also conflict within individuals — between competing needs and demands — to which individuals respond in different ways.

Describe the bases of power

Power can be categorized into two types:
Formal and informal
A. Formal Power:
It is based on the position of an individual in an organization. Formal power is derived from either one’s ability to coerce or reward others or is derived from the formal authority vested in the individual due to his/ her strategic position in the organizational hierarchy. For example, a manager may threaten to withhold a pay raise, or to transfer, demote, or even recommend the firing of a subordinate who does not act as desired. Such coercive power is the extent to which a manager can deny desired rewards or administer punishments to control other people. The availability of coercive power also varies across organizations. The presence of unions and organizational policies on employee treatment can weaken this power base significantly. Formal power may be categorized into four types which are as follows:

What are the hindrances that we face in perception?

Individuals have a tendency to use a number of shortcuts when they judge others. An understanding of these shortcuts can be helpful toward recognizing when they can result in significant distortions.

1. Selective Perception

Any characteristic that makes a person, object, or event stand out will increase the probability that it will be perceived. It is impossible for an individual to internalize and assimilate everything that is seen .Only certain stimuli can be taken in selectively. Selectivity works as a shortcut in judging other people by allowing us to “speed-read” others, but, not without the risk of drawing an inaccurate picture. The tendency to see what we want to see can make us draw unwarranted conclusions from an ambiguous situation.

Explain the four processes of Social Learning Theory.

Social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling. Among others Albert Bandura is considered the leading proponent of this theory.
General principles of social learning theory follows:
1. People can learn by observing the behavior is of others and the outcomes of those behaviors.

Saturday, 23 February 2013

“Fashion4Now” is a famous and old magazine. The top management decides to start the e- edition of the magazine. They also decide the redefine the policies and culture of window to truth’ To start implementing, this change, they frequently call meetings of employees. They have also formed groups at different levels to clarify doubts and explain the perspective of change. Analyze the situation in the context of organizational change and elaborate why the top management is following the discussed practices and what approach is most evident in the context.

Typically, the concept of organizational change is in regard to organization-wide change, as opposed to smaller changes such as adding a new person, modifying a program, etc. Examples of organization-wide change might include a change in mission, restructuring operations (e.g., restructuring to self-managed teams, layoffs, etc.), new technologies, mergers, major collaborations, "rightsizing", new programs such as Total Quality Management, re-engineering, etc. Some experts refer to organizational transformation. Often this term designates a fundamental and radical reorientation in the way the organization operates.