SlideShare una empresa de Scribd logo
1 de 62
Descargar para leer sin conexión
Dear students, get ICFAI latest Solved assignments and case study
help by professionals.
Mail us at : help.mbaassignments@gmail.com
Call us at : 08263069601
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
AN INTRODUCTION TO DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING TOOLS
Participants in flexible learning programs have limitations on the nature of the
time they can spend on learning. Typically they are employed fully or partially,
pursuing higher studies or have other social and familial responsibilities.
Availability of time is a great constraint to these students.
To aidthe participants,we have developedfour unique learningtools as below:
 Bullet Notes : Helps in introducing the important concepts in each unit
of curriculum, equip the
student during preparation of
examinations and
 Case Studies : Illustrate the concepts through real life experiences
 Workbook : Helps absorption of learning through questions based on reallife nuggets
 PEP Notes :Sharing notes of practices and experiences in the Industry will help the student to
rightly perceive and get inspired to learn concepts at the cutting edge
application level.placementinterviews
Why are these needed?
 Adults learn differently from B. School or college going
students who spend long hours at campus.
 Enhancing analytical skills through application related learning
kits trigger experiential learning
 Availability of time is a challenge.
 Career success increasingly depends on continuous learning
and success
What makes it relevant?

How is it useful?


Where does this lead to?
As and when you get 5 to 10 minutes you can read one of these and absorb and comprehend.
Spending more time is your choice.
You can use the time in travel, waiting for meetings, lunch time, small breaks or at home
usefully.
Through these tools, the learning bytes are right sized for ease of learning for time challenged
participants.
The content starts from practice and connect to precept making it easy to connect to industry
and retain.
They can be connectedto continuous assessment process of the academic program.
Practitioners can use their real life knowledge and skill to enhance learning skills.
Immediate visualization of the practical dimension of the concept will offer a rich learning
experience.
 Easier to move ahead in the learning process.

 Will facilitate the student to complete the program earlier than
otherwise.Helpsstay motivated and connected.
When is it useful?

PEP Notes
Organizational
Be havior
 
© The ICFAI Foundationfor Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderab
ad, March, 2015.All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or
transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic,mechanical,photocopying or otherwise – without prior
permission in writing from The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderabad.
Ref. No. OB-PN-IFHE – 032015
For any clarification regarding this book, the students may please write to The ICFAI Foundation for Higher
Education (IFHE), Hyderabad giving the above reference number of this book specifying chapter and page
number.
While every possible care has been taken in type-setting and printing this book, The ICFAI Foundation for
Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderabad welcomes suggestions from students for improvement in fu ture
editions.
Our E-mail ID: cwfeedback@icfaiuniversity.in
ii
INTRODUCTION
Participants in ICFAI University Programs are eager to apply theory to practice. They realize that
application orientation can enhance their learning and subsequent usage of management precepts and
practices. Picking out the principle behind real world events is critical to this learning. Towards this end
the institution has introduced the PEP Notes.
The PEP Notes (Practice, Experience and Perspective Notes) is a collection of annotative notes on
practices, experiences and perspectives from industry as appearing in articles fromreputed sources such
as Harvard Business Review, Economist, Mckinsey Quarterly, Accenture, Bain Consulting etc.
Practice : Organizations follow practices based on their past learning
Experience: Based on changing context, they face fresh experiences
Perspective: Organization learns from the experience and the practice to gain fresh perspective
These notes connect the three dimensions of the real world to key concepts in the subject. Each note is
brief – about one to two pages and is adapted from t he article referred to in the note. The concept
underlying the note is highlighted in a box. The concept is also connected to the article through an
introductory abstract in a boxat the beginning.
The learning outcomes expected are:
1. Real world Application based approach significantly enhances absorption and retention.
2. Exposure to the current trends,practices with illustrations connect back to theory.
3. Thoughts from leading sources.
The PEP Notes may be used for Assessment.
iii
CONTENTS
Block I: Fundamentals ofOrganizational Behavior 6
1. Manager as Disturbance Handler 7
2. Managerial Effectiveness in Digital Transformation 8
3. Meditation Rejuvenates Cognitive State of Mind for Decision-making 10
4. Delivering Quality Care through Scientific Management 11
5. Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work 12
6. Working Fathers 13
7. Non-verbal Communications Work for Negotiations 14
8. Open Door Policy 15
Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations 16
9. Emotional Agility 17
10. Personality Traits of B Players – Driving force for organizations 18
11. Thanksgiving Day 20
12. Motivation Helps to Overcome Work Pressure 21
13. Perspectives of Healthcare 22
14. Changing Workplace Learning 23
15. Learn to Reinforce through Negative Feedback 24
Block III: Dynamics ofOrganizational Behavior 25
16. High Impact Leadership 26
17. Inclusive Leadership 29
18. Blue Ocean Leadership 30
19. Techniques to Empower Employees 32
20. With Whom Not to Negotiate 33
21. Group Dynamics 34
22. Stop the Innovation Wars-Team Building 35
23. Building Great Teams 36
24. Diversity in Teams Gives the Best Thinking 38
Block IV: The Organization System 39
25. Reducing Employee Work -Hatreds 40
26. Behavioral Decision-Making 41
27. Productive Workplace Interruptions 42
iv
28. Power Play 43
29. Power in Leadership 45
30. Impact of Culture on Healthcare 46
Block V: Organizational Change and Organizational Development 47
31. Pragmatic Pathways to Change 48
32. Ten Principles for a Sustainable Culture Change 49
33. How Mc Namara brought Change in World Bank’s Culture? 50
34. Seniors to handle Frustrations of Millennials 51
35. Client- Consultant Relationships at MQ Telecommuniques (MQTC) 52
36. Hiring through smart techniques 54
37. TQM at Ramaiah Institute of Management Studies 55
38. Jack Welch as an OD Practitioner 56
v
Block I:
Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior
1. Manager as Disturbance Handler
2. Managerial Effectiveness in Digital Transformation
3. Meditation Rejuvenates Cognitive State of Mind for Decision-making
4. Delivering Quality Care through Scientific Management
5. Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work
6. Working Fathers
7. Non verbal Communications Work for Negotiations
8. Open Door Policy
6
Block I: Fundamentals of OrganizationalBehavior
1. Manager as Disturbance Handler
Managers, as disturbance handlers,have to tactfully handle both positive
and negative interruptions.
Amelia Blanquera, a New York city attorney and writer was beset for months by a co-worker who wanted to
talk about his family problems, dating issues and experiments with new yoga styles. She tried to discourage
him by moving to a desk at the center of their open office, making their conversations more awkward. She
also donned headphones, if he popped up by her desk. As per a survey, more than 3 in 5 workers say they
have at least one co-worker who over shares.
One of the important roles of a manager is to act as a disturbance handler. Many people face interruptions at
work because of which they are unable to perform well. There are certain people who indulge in excessive
sharing of their personal problems with the colleagues causing damage not only to their careers but also to
that of their colleagues. Such disturbances are to be curbed by managers. Managers have to handle such
situations by giving them timely feedback, as this is a more of a psychological problem. Sue Shellenbarger
says employees need to be counseled against excessive personal talks during office hours. Managers should
openly say how uncomfortable and disturbed they are at work without hurting the employees who indulge in
over-sharing. Quality of work life improves if organizations provide a conducive environment for work
without distractions.
Henry Mintzberg classifies management roles into three categories depending upon the extent of the
interpersonal relationships, transfer of information and decision-making involved. One of the important
decision roles of a manager is that of a disturbance handler. Managers need to effectively handle
situations arising out of unforeseen circumstances.
Discussion Questions
1. Explain how manager, as a disturbance handler, should perform?
(Hints: handling difficult and unexpected situations-handling positive and negative interruptions-
providing conducive environment for work)
2. Discuss how to handle the common interruptions that take place at workplaces
(Hints: excessive sharing of personal and family problems- counseling-giving feedback- providing
conducive environment)
Source: Sue Shellenbarger, How to Curb Office Oversharing, Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
1.4 Disturbance handler Organizational Behavior
7
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
2. Managerial Effectiveness in Digital Transformation
Digital transformation requiresa strong leadership with efficient management skills.
A Sloan survey of over 50 companies with $1 billion plus sales establishes that the best impact of technology
resulting in transformation is when strong leadership intervenes. The pace, the scope and the success vary.
The three key areas of impact are customer experience, operational processes and business models. These
three key areas each have three elements that are changing.
The nine elements which form the building blocks are:
A. Transforming Customer Experience: Companies are digitally transforming customer experiences
through Customer Understanding,Top-line Growth and Customer Touch Points.
i. Customer Understanding: Technology helps in understanding the factors that lead to customer
satisfaction and customer dissatisfaction.
ii. Top line Growth: Technology has replaced the personal interactions between the companies and
customers with digital interactions. This is to update the customer data faster and to provide
customized services. Tablet based presentations; mobile tools, iPad with video etc are able to
increase company’s overall revenue.
iii. Customer Touch Points: Digital tools like twitter, online shopping and Smartphone apps linked to
customer profiles that allow integration across SMS help companies to offer their services based on
customer feedback. They enable them to shop fromhome and thereby save their time.
B. Transforming Operational Processes: Companies adopting the operational process transformation are
now able to focus more on Process Digitization, Worker Enablement and Performance Management.
i. Process Digitization: Automation of services allowed the companies to reduce the labor
requirements and to reduce product development lifecycle by 30%. It resulted in improved product
quality and enhancement in environmental, health and safety performance.
ii. Worker Enablement: Knowledge sharing and networking tools available for the collaboration
allowed the employees to virtually connect with the organization. Customers are able to gain access
to a single and global view of the company’s interaction.
iii. Performance Management: Digital transformation is changing the process of strategic decision
making by keeping the executives and top managers well informed and updated with detailed
information about the products, regions and customers.
C. Transforming Business Models: The three building blocks for this transformation are Digitally
Modified Businesses,New Digital Businesses and Digital Globalization.
i. Digitally Modified Businesses: Companies have understood the important role of digitization in
sustaining and achieving growth in the market. Some companies go for digital offerings while some
go for building digital wrappers around the traditional products.
ii. New Digital Businesses: Companies are refining their business models through digitization by
integrating their businesses with the multichannel and value chains to complement the traditional
products.
iii. Digital Globalization: The companies going digital are able to offer better customer services with
integrated global information.
None of the best companies are working on all nine elements. It requires management skills and strong
leadership to drive the change.
8
Block I: Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior
Managers need to possess management skills such as technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills
to successfully perform their jobs. The technical skills of managers in the field of accountancy, personnel
management, operations research, marketing, information system, etc help them in performing their jobs
better. Possessing human skills like the ability to understand people, the ability to communicate, and the
ability to motivate makes it easier for managers to maintain peace and cooperation among the employees
to ensure smooth functioning of the organization. Conceptual skills are the ability to analyze complex
situations and to rationally process and interpret available information.
Discussion Questions
1. What are the changing managerial skills required in the days of digital transformation?
(Hints: in addition to technical, human and conceptualskills managers require leadership skills)
2. Discuss the three key elements in digital transformation
(Hints: transforming customer experience- operational processes-business models)
Source: George Westerman et al., The Nine Elements of Digital Transformation, MITSloan Management Review,
January 7, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
1.5 Management skills Organizational Behavior
9
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
3. Meditation Rejuvenates Cognitive State of
Mind for Decision-making
Meditation changesthe cognitive state of mind and improves decision-making.
Some emotions obstruct decision-making process. Everyone has to overcome emotions to take unbiased
decisions to save time and money, valid from consumer to the head of a billion-dollar corporation.
Meditation can help reduce the dependence on past and future information for making unbiased decisions.
Research was conducted on the effect of meditation on the elimination of the sunk-cost bias on decision
making. Sunk-cost is a retrospective cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered.
Results of a particular sunk cost affect decision making. Experiments conducted in the research to prove that
relationship exists between mindfulness and the participant’s ability to refuse ‘the sunk cost bias’ prove d to
be true.
In the study, it was found that people who meditated were more resistant to the sunkcost bias than those who
did not meditate. Authors opine that meditation changes the cognitive state of mind and improves decision -
making.
The cognitive approach is based on the expectancy, demand, and incentive concepts. Under this
approach, behavior is determined with the help of cognition. The term cognition can be explained as a
psychological process of recollecting information and past experiences. Cognition, in general, precedes
behavior and thus provides inputs regarding a person’s thoughts, perception, problem solving, and
information processing.
Discussion Questions
1. Explain cognitive approach
(Hints: expectancy-demand- psychologicalexpression- thoughts-perceptions-problem-solving-
information)
2. Discuss the inter connection between meditation, cognition and decision-making)
(Hints: emotions obstruct decision-making- meditation stabilizes mind-helps in unbiased
decision-making- elimination of sunk cost)
Source: Making a Big (or Small) Decision? How Meditation Can Help, Knowledge@Wharton, May 27, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
1.7 Cognitive framework Organizational Behavior
10
Block I: Fundamentals of OrganizationalBehavior
4. Delivering Quality Care through Scientific Management
Scientific Management is the best way to increase employee efficiency and achieve quick result.
The alarming increase in the number of maternal and neonatal death cases reported in Namibia has put the
Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social Services in tragedy. Most of the cases were from the sub-Saharan
Africa. In order to meet the challenge, Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHS S)
partnered with McKinsey and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and planned a pilot project called MHI
(Maternal Health Initiative). MHI’s aim was to form different teams to target four most populous suburbs of
Namibia’s capital- Hakahana, Katutura, Okuryangava and SamoraMachel-that were deprived of the antenatal
checkups. The application of scientific methods like division of labor and proper methods of selection and
training improved staff efficiency in health systems and reduced maternal and neonatal deaths in Namibia.
• The division of labor: The entire team was divided into sub-teams to design solutions to the
problems related to health workers and to the prevailing health system. The formation of sub-teams
and delegation of work to reach the needy people fast were seen as hopeful. There were four sub -
teams aimed at different targets to ensure quick results.
• Selection and Training:
Team 1focused on educating the expecting mothers about the care during pregnancy with the help of
the hospital’s superintendent and with nurses and doctors. Earlier patients were not mentored due to
shortage of nurses and lack of motivators. This was met by involving social leaders, ambulance
drivers and middle managers by giving them proper training in the areas of mentoring and coaching.
Team 2 helped an NGO to design a mobile ‘container clinic’ w ith fully equipped examination room
to increase access to rural women because hospitals were located far from the village. Theynamed
the clinic as CWI, acronym for child, woman and infant. This not only costed them 25% less than
permanent buildings, but their nurses were trained to deliver quality care.
Team 3: There was a shortage of nurses. Those present also werenot utilizing their time properly at
the clinic. This team emphasized time management by reducing the operational time through
preparation of staff schedules and trained themto utilize the idle time.
Team 4: Women in these areas were illiterate and were unaware of the potential risks of HIV/AIDS
to their babies. This problem was attended by this team by promoting health shows in local radio
stations with the help of the Education and Health Care Officials.
The above case shows how MHI, through scientific management could improve maternal health care for rural
women.
Frederick W. Taylor, ‘the father of scientific management,’ propagated the importance of the human
element in organizations. Taylor proposed management practices such as division of labor and the use of
scientific methods in selection, placement, and training of workers. Taylor made a significant effort to
improve the working conditions of workers.
Discussion Questions
1. What are the management practices advocated in Scientific Management?
(Hints: division of labor- scientific methods of selection, placement and training of worker- improving
working conditions-increasing employee efficiency)
2. Explain how application of scientific method helped MHI in improving maternal health care for rural
women in Namibia
(Hints: formation of sub teams- educating expecting mothers- mobile clinics- time management- health
shows)
Source: Kathleen McLaughlin et al., Saving mothers’ lives in Namibia, McKinsey & Company, June 2010
Unit/Section Topic Course
2.4 Scientific management Organizational Behavior
11
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
5. Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work
Organizationscan utilize human limitations by redesigningwork to
handle the challengesof the 21st century.
People with ‘autism’ spectrum are generally unemployable bec ause of certain human limitations and
neurologically different behavior. ‘Autism’ is defined a s a developmental disorder with “impairment of the
ability to communicate with others” and “preoccupatio n with repetitive activities of restricted focus”. But
SAP AG, multinational software giant has set a target to hire 1% of their workforce with ‘autism’ by 2020.
The reason behind the decision was a belief that people who think differently will be ready to take up big
challenges. This emerging management principle was called by them as “the dandelion principle”.
The inspiration for this change was a Danish consulting company Specialisterne where 75 % of its skilled
employees were recruited with autism spectrum disorder as their abilities matched with software
requirements. Their claim was based on the following observations:
• Employees with autism were tolerant,able to focus and capable of taking up repetitive and detailed
work
• They do not interact much and generally work in solitary tasks
• They have abilitiesto perform certain information technology tasks
Specialisterne assigned special jobs to them that aligned with their individual abilities and tendencies to add
significant value to organization and to achieve better results. Inspired by Specialisterne, Passwerk in
Belgium, Auticon in Germany and Aspiritech in the United States implemented similar strategies.
Why name dandelion?
They named the principle as dandelion because though dandelion is considered a weed, it has got many
positive characteristics such as:
• Roots can be used to make coffee substitute
• Leaves can be used in making soups
• They are sources of calcium, potassium, iron and manganese
• They are full of vitamins A,C,E,K, riboflavin and beta-carotene
• Moreover, research is being carried out to see whether roots can be used to check cancer potential
Organizations that employed people with human limitations were able to achieve value by generating
opportunities for the untapped talent that people with different abilities possess. It helped them to harness
their peculiarities for innovations and to attain competitive advantage to survive in an innovative economy.
Human beings have certain physical and psychological limits beyond which they cannot change
themselves. It also leaves the person in a state of confusion and he/she might commit several mistakes
while processing the data. As a result, the person’s work might be ineffective. Though people make efforts
to achieve perfection in their work, it is not easy to completely overcome these limitations. Organizations
can design tasks in such a way that they can transformhuman limitations in productive ways.
Discussion Questions
1. What do you understand by Dandelion principle?
(Hints: people who think differently take up challenges- Dandelion, a weed has many strong points-
people with limitations use their untapped talent and are innovative)
2. How can organizations transform human limitations in productive ways, by giving examples?
(Hints: Specialisterne employed people with autism-used them in software which requires repetitive
actions- assigned specialjobs)
Source: Robert D. Austin and Thorkil Sonne, The Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work for the Innovation Economy,
MITSloan Management Review, May 19, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
3.4 Human Limitations Organizational Behavior
12
Block I: Fundamentals of OrganizationalBehavior
6. Working Fathers
Companieshave to acknowledge the changing roles of fathers, and create family-
friendly workplacesso asto have great dads and great employees.
Several changes are taking place in our society, transforming our hierarchical society into an egalitarian
society. There are sufficient laws to have gender equality in workplaces but in the domestic front we find
few. One of the important tasks in the domestic front is child care which traditionally was left to women.
With societal changes, men have also started contributing to the family in terms of quality time, on finding
the necessity as well as happiness derived in bringing up children, thereby calling for changes of certain
accepted traditions and beliefs. The Central Government of India way back in 1999 made provis ions for
paternity leave for a male Central Government employee (including an apprentice and probationer) with less
than two surviving children for a period of 15 days to take care of his wife and new born child. Leading
companies like Yahoo (8weeks), Bank of America (12 weeks), PwC (12-14 weeks), Cisco Systems India (12
weeks), Google India (10 days) and Infosys (5 days) grant paternal leave to their male employees. In this
regard, India appears to be more forward than U.S.
It is now recognized that workplace flexibility or work-life balance are as important to men as it is to women.
Men’s demands to have paternal leave, though not on par with women have been justified with media’s
active role. Men, along with great career s wanted to become great dads and there are many sportsmen who
missed golden opportunities in their careers to be near their wives at the time of their child birth. The
importance of both work and family to both men and women being clear, fathers or the new dads are now
increasingly engaged in childcare and household responsibilities.
Research shows that working fathers are being stressed and they are not being able to take time for their self
and this is a matter of concern. Companies have to reduce this type of stress to ensure excellent performance
from the new dads. It is important to have their well-being too. The HBR study shows significant
improvement in the performance of employees as also satisfaction levels of work and family when their
personal well-being is improved.
Taking time for Self Satisfaction level with Satisfaction Satisfaction level
personal well-being level with work with family
Before taking time for self 4.3 7.4 6.5
After taking time for self 6.5 8.4 8.5
The changing role of fathers warrants certain privileges and support fromcompanies to have great dads and
great employees. Family-friendly workplaces can enhance productivity and morale of the employees.
The aim of creating a family-friendly workplace is to improve employee morale, enhance productivity
and reduce absenteeism. By creating family-friendly workplaces, companies want to help employees in
balancing their family life with careers. Programs like flexible work hours, paid holidays, care centers for
the aged and children, relocation assistance have been taken up by organizations with the intention of
enhancing employee morale and ensuring that they retain the talented employees working for the
organization.
Discussion Questions
1. What are the aims of creating family-friendly workplaces?
(Hints: improve employee morale- enhance productivity-reduce absenteeism-work-life balancing)
2. Discuss the changing roles of fathers in the context of making our society egalitarian?
(Hints: need for fathers’ contribution in child care-changin g attitudes-desire to become great dads-
paternal leave- neglect of self- stress-need forpersonal well-being-satisfaction in work)
Sources: (i) Scott Behson, The Rise of the Hands-On Dad, HBR Blog Network, June 13, 2014
(ii) Alyssa Westring and Stew Friedman, Working Dads Need “M e Time” Too, HBR Blog Network, June 13, 2014.
Unit/Section Topic Course
4.4 Creating family-friendly workplaces Organizational Behavior
13
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
7. Non-verbal Communications Work for Negotiations
Using non-verbal communications like emotions Strategically help in negotiation process.
Managing emotions is very important in negotiations. It can either make us strong or spoil the relationships in
the process of negotiation. Negotiators generally have the fear of losing the power to act tactfully.
Researchers and experts have come up with solutions to manage emotions by overcoming or disposing them
at all sometimes.
However, some researchers believed that emotions can be transformed into valuable benefits. They
categorized emotions in to positive or negative emotions. They opined that the solution lies in the ability to
identify the category of emotion and increase or decrease or completely change the emotion accordingly. A
five-step approach to control emotions during negotiations are:
• Identify your emotion: First step is to evaluate the feelings and experience in a situation. Then find
out whether the feeling would benefit or obstruct you to achieve the goal of negotiation. Feeling can
be frustration, anger, empathy, or happiness etc. If it benefits, then you have to proceed further or
pass on the emotion in case of trouble. Ex:- An executive giving presentation to launch a new
product has observed that some people were not impressed by the presentation. This can cause him
to frustrate first.
• Find the source of your emotion: After identifying the emotion,one has to change the focus of the
concentration on the positive effects of the situation. Psychologists advise us on ways to relax, one
of them being closing our eyes and breathing in to overcome stress. This would help to activate
positive feelings to deal with the situation effectively. Ex:- The Executive can focus on people who
were interested and smiling and leave those who were creating frustration in him.
• Reinterpret the emotion: Often the first feeling is created out of fear. But, leisurely analyzing the
situation may help you to overcome the feel or change the emotion in to another category. Ex:-
Executive can attempt to identify the reason for the inattention of people and accordingly replace
frustration with relief.
• Replace the emotion:- When all the above efforts prove ineffective and when your feelings
outburst,you can change yourphysiological expressions, body posture or breathing intensity. Ex:-
The executive may attempt to turn towards the projector or change the speaking volume.
• Take action to reflect your changed emotion:- Feelings that are internally created would not be
visible to others unless expressed. Actions need to reflect those emotions. Ex:- The executive can
apologize verbally or smile and ask the person who was creating frustration about the reason. This is
necessary to continue the process further.
Managing emotions and using them genuinely and strategically can create value for everyone.
Non-verbal communication is the process of communicating without the use of words. It is also known
as ‘silent language.’ Non verbal communication can be in the form of gestures, facial expressions, cues,
vocal characteristics, etc.
Discussion Questions
1. Explain different forms of non-verbal communications
(Hints: communication without using words- gestures-facial expressions- cues-vocalcharacteristics)
2. Examine the five-step approach to control emotions during negotiations
(Hints: identification of emotions- source of emotions- interpretation of emotions- replacing
emotions-actions for changed emotions)
Source: Shirli Kopelman, Make Your Emotions Work for You in Negotiations, Harvard Business Review, May 16, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
5.8 Non-verbal Communication Organizational Behavior
14
Block I: Fundamentals of OrganizationalBehavior
8. Open Door Policy
Open door policies help management inestablishing connectivity with
employees, leading to trusted relationships.
When Jane McIntyre, took over as CEO of the United Way of the Central Carolinas, she had to face the
wrath of the employees as its predecessor left the company in a mess. In order to gain the trust of its
beleaguered employees, she announced an open door policy. She made sure that every decision was
discussed with employees in compulsory staff meetings and communicated face to face. She was open and
accessible to employees to win their trust. In the open meetings employees were free to question her and the
atmosphere was that of camaraderie.
In order to win the trust of his employees, Mike Volpe, the Chief Marketing Officer for a software company,
Hubspot, adopted few strategies, including radical transparency, sharing data, goals, missteps and
milestones with everyone at every level .He found employees doing extremely well when they were given
autonomy,authority and responsibility.He used to collect feedback anonymously and once he found the trust
between them was declining because few employees who were misfit were allowed to go. Mike openly
discussed the issue with employees and gave them facts which helped him to regain their trust.
Company’s success to a large extent depends on the trust managers’ gain from employees and on the open
door policies they adopt. One of the most effective trust building strategies is to have connectivity with
subordinates. As power increases for managers, they tend to lose trust from the employees. Dougherty
suggests few guidelines to help themto be in touch with themand to gain their confidence, which is essential
for their success:
• Be transparent and truthful-Managers should disclose company’s health and future goals
honestly.
• Encourage rather than command- Managers instead of forcing employees to do the job, need to
motivate them to do it by empowering them to align their goals with that of company’s goals.
• Take blame, but give credit- Recognizing and giving credit to employees and sharing the blames
help a lot.
• Don’t play favorites- Managers gain the trust of employees when they treat everyone equally
without showing favoritism to anyone.
• Show competence- Competence comes by updating the skills regularly and by collaborating with
experts. Managers should be competent to win employees trust.
If managers are open and adopt open door policies, success is most likely to be theirs.
Communications will be effective if open door policies are followed by organizations. The open door
policy allows the employees to approach their superiors,at any time, to discuss theirproblems.
Discussion Questions
1. What do you understand by open door policy?
(Hints: approaching superiors directly- connectivity with employees- trusted relationships)
2. Discuss the guidelines suggested by Dougherty to managers to win employee trust
(Hints: transparency and truthfulness-encouraging-taking blame for mistakes-giving credit to
employees-exhibiting competence)
Source:Carolyn O’Hara, Proven Ways to Earn Your Employees’ Tr ust, HBR Blog Network, June 27, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
5.10 Open door policy Organizational Behavior
15
Block II:
Individual Behavior in Organizations
9. Emotional Agility
10. Personality traits of B Players – Driving force for o rganizations
11. Thanksgiving Day
12. Motivation Helps to Overcome Work Pressure
13. Perspectives of Healthcare
14. Changing Workplace Learning
15. Learn to Reinforce through Negative Feedback
16
Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations
9. Emotional Agility
To remain emotionally stable, negative and difficult thoughts arising both at workplace and home are to
be replaced by value-driven thoughtsand actions through continued efforts.
Cynthia, a senior corporate lawyer with two young children always used to feel intense guilt about missed
opportunities—both at the office, where her peers worked 80 hours a week while she worked 50, and at
home, where she was often too distracted or tired to fully engage with her husband and children. She used to
feel guilty in both aspects and wanted to be a good worker in the office and also a good mother.
Jeffrey, a rising-star executive at a leading consumer goods company, though intelligent, talented, and
ambitious, was often angry—at bosses who disregarded his views, subordinates who didn’t follow orders, or
colleagues. He used to lose his temper several times at work and was being warned to get it under control.
In both the cases, they were feeling discomfort which they wanted to avoid. They were being controlled by
their inner experience, attempting to control it, or switching between the two.
Negative and difficult thoughts and feelings are to have no place in any office. Executives, and particularly
leaders, should be either stoic or cheerful; they must show emotional stability. But that is not possible always.
All human beings have feelings, expressions and inner stream of thoughts that include criticism, doubt, and
fear. The common problem with executives is that they face recurring emotional challenges at work—anxiety
about priorities, jealousy of others’ succ ess, fear of rejection, distress over perceived slights —and have
devised techniques to “fix” them: pos itive affirmations, prioritized to-do lists, total involvement in certain
tasks.
David and Congleton have worked with leaders in various industries to analyze emotional agility, which
enables people to approach their inner experiences in a mindful, values -driven, and productive way rather
than buying into or trying to suppress them.
The authors offer four practices (adapted from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT) designed to
help the two cases and also, in general, to develop emotional agility:
• Recognize your patterns- The first step in developing emotional agility is to notice when you’ve been
hooked by your thoughts and feelings.
• Label your thoughts and emotions- Labeling allows you to see them as transient sources of data that
may or may not prove helpful.
• Accept them- Respond to your ideas and emotions with an open attitude, The important thing is to show
yourself (and others)some compassion and examine the reality of the situation.
• Act on your values- You can decide to act in a way that aligns with your values.
Developing emotional agility is no quick fix- but over time, leaders who become increasingly adept at it are
the ones most likely to thrive.
Emotionally Stable people can endure stressful situations. They tend to feel emotionally secure. Such
people can overcome tensions and perform their jobs effectively even under severe pressure. Emotional
stability leads to emotional agility, which is ‘the ability to manage one’s thoughts and feelings’.
Discussion Questions
1. What do you understand by emotional agility?
(Hints: ability to manage one’s thoughts and feelings- emotional stability-driving away negative
thoughts –imbibing value-driven thoughts)
2. What are the practices offered in the case to develop emotional agility?
(Hints: recognition of negative thoughts quickly- labeling those thoughts-accepting them- acting on
them)
Source: Susan David and Christina Congleton, Emotional Agility, Harvard Business Review, November, 2013
Unit/Section Topic Course
7.3 Emotional Stability Organizational Behavior
17
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
10. Personality Traits of B Players – Driving force for organizations
Properly nurtured personality traits can be the driving forces for organizational development.
Ivan Farmer, a manager in oil rigs of a large conglomerate was dissatisfied with his B players as they were
less ambitious and were not comparable with A players. A players are star performers who are brilliant and
contribute a lot to corporate organizations. He started disrespecting and disregarding his B players. While
many B players left for being disregarded, A players also left the organizations for better prospects. As a
result, performance started declining and he started respecting, valuing and rewarding B players.
In general, organizations invest huge time, money and energy in recruiting s tar performers without
understanding the reasons for decline in profits. A company’s long-term performance including survival is
dependent on B players and not on A players. They help organizations with continued support, especially
during a crisis.
Characteristics of B Players:
Playing strong character parts:
• B players are not less intelligent than A, but A and B players differ in their temperament. B players
are self-managed and like the proverbial wheel that never squeaks. On the other hand, A players
squeak loudly to gain attention.
• B players have a very high premium on work-life-balance and also value the time spent with family
and friends, whereas A players would be ready to leave the organizations for personalreasons.
James Nuckollswho graduated top in class from Princeton was appointed to study third-world development
in Kenya. At 23, he was recruited by the American Foreign Service and held two major posts by 30. Leaving
major opportunities ahead, Nuckolls returned to US to join a small publishing firm. He continued with the
firm for more than a decade. He sacrificed his job of glory and fat paycheck to spend time with his family. A
players are more mobile and would be ready to scale down their career for family and friends.
• B players are truth tellers with religious zeal for honesty and true in their interactions with superiors.
They are functional experts interested in their work and not in career. They are obedient to the
company and this makes approachable to other colleagues.
• Pete Lessiter is a loner in the trading division of a financial services firm. He is interested in his
present job because of the technology,trading,and company infrastructure and with no intentions to
move out. He is committed and sincere towards company’s values and culture. Once he discovered
that office had paid more than the current price for its newly installed computer system, with the
influence of a powerful executive, to please the client. While no one opened their mouth, Pete got
involved courageously and saved millions of dollars to the company.
• B players, though with second-rate functional skills, have extraordinary affiliation to organization’s
processes and norms. They are called the ‘ go-to’ people.
Cindy Friedman is an investment broker who lacked the analytical skills required to excel as a deal maker.
As she was interested in the current high-paying job, she worked hard and developed a strong network that
all others started consulting, when in need.
• Some B players are called middling because they are less competent than other B players but they
respect organization’s values though are less risk taking and are not entrepreneurial.
Oscar-Winning Performance:
• B players bring depth and stability to organizations to improve performance and resilience. B
players balance to support the successes and failures equally. Especially in times of crisis, stability is
the organization’s saving grace.
18
Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations
Richard Snow is an honest type of B player in New York investment bank. He was continuing in a higher
position there safely but with no promotions. During the economic downturn of 2000, he was confident that
his job was safe, but other younger colleagues were worried about their job. Richard started telling them
stories about how Wall Street firms survived the financial crises and informed them that it requires some
time, concerted efforts and emotional energy to overcome problems. This helped the company move towards
a long-term recovery.
• B players are not afraid of restructuring. They understand that change is inevitable and support
accordingly. Not only do they assure to adapt on their part, they also impose a sense ofconfidence to
the rest of the organization. They are good mentors in times of transition, stress and during change.
Scibiolo is a group of biogenetics laboratories that underwent three disruptive change initiatives in five
years. After the second restructuring, Paul Chung, a lab assistant who joined in Los Angeles from Asia was
left without a boss for a research project. Bruce Jones, a veteran who once studied in Asia, took Paul into his
team. He taught him about how the system works. Later, Paul’s abilities were apparent to everyone.
• B players play a balancing role in transitions. When a new CEO takes over the organization, while A
players would be ready for promotions and C players would try to bury their incompetence, B
players get back to their work normally as they know the truth that they would be passed over for
promotions. They ignore all the political fights and remain a backbone for the organization.
Warewick Life Insurance is a company where, after huge losses, a new CEO took up leadership. She
immediately fired 400 employees and replaced top people to shift focus from personal agents t o electronic
commerce. While otherplayers wasted their time in expecting what would happen,B players were poised and
continued to work by managing with the use of computer technology, with very little guidance or mentoring.
The personality traits of B players and the cases given clearly show that B players are most suitable to
organizations and they need to be nurtured, encouraged and recognized for the success of the organizations.
An individual’s personality traits and attitudes determine his/her behavior to a large extent. Invariably,
these factors also have an impact on the person’s behavior at the work place. There are five important
personality traits – Extroversion, Agreeableness, Con scientiousness, Emotional Stability and Openness to
experience.
Discussion Questions
1. ‘Personality traits and attitudes determine one’s behavior’- Justify
(Hints: extroversion- agreeableness-conscientiousness-emotional stability- openness to experience)
2. Discuss the personality traits of B Players as driving forces for organization development
(Hints: self-managed- truth tellers- extraordinary affiliation to organization-adaptable-balancing
behavior)
Source: Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan, Let’s Hear It for B Players, Harvard Business Review, June,
2003
Unit/Section Topic Course
7.3 Personality traits Organizational Behavior
19
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
11. Thanksgiving Day
Expression of gratitude reflects positive attitude of the employees
towardsthe company which has a powerful effect.
Expression of gratitude, a positive attitude, enables people to feel valued. It increases pro-social behavior.
Research by Francesca Gino of Univ. of North Carolina and Adam Grant of Wharton show that gratitude
expressed in business increased quantumof business by up to 50%.
Thanksgiving Day, a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November every year
is a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and is also a celebration in acknowledgment of
kindness. Families like to reflect on the year and give thanks for their blessings. Francesca Gino writes that
the idea behind this is to thank all people who have helped them in their lives and express gratitude to them.
Gino says that we often forget expressing gratitude at our workplace, which is equally important.
A recent survey released in 2013 on 2000 Americans by John Templeton Foundation says majority of the
people are not thankful to their job and work related people who have helped them.
In fact there are several benefits in feeling and extending thanks:
• Indication of positive experiences
• Reduces stress and is a coping mechanism
• Helps in meeting challenges with courage
• Strengthens social relationships
• Gives greater life-satisfaction
• Improves health and well-being
• Makes a positive impact on the receiver
• Connects people.
• Leaves powerful and long-lasting effects on the receivers
• Enables people to be socially valued and increases pro-social behavior
Several research studies show that those who thanked have received several benefits compared to those who
did not and thanks receivers were more inclined to help further than those who did not receive thanking
expressions or letters.
The authorsays people should make use of thanks giving not only on Thanksgiving Day but also during other
occasions to make work happier, meaningful and constructive. Thanksgiving is a positive attitude which
improves our health and well-being
Attitude is the way people form an opinion, their thoughts or feelings toward a certain object, people or
events. It generally remains the same for a long period unless influenced by external forces. It can be
negative or positive. It is the feelings or beliefs held by an individual toward an object, person or event.
Discussion Questions
1. Explain attitude
(Hints: forming opinions- positive and negative- adds value- organizational effect)
2. What are the benefits in thanksgiving?
(Hints: reduces stress-meeting challenges- strengthens relationships-improves health- connects
people-increases social behavior)
Source: Francesca Gino, Be Grateful More Often, HBR Blog Network, November 26, 2013
Unit/Section Topic Course
7.7 Concept of Attitudes Organizational Behavior
20
Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations
12. Motivation Helps to Overcome Work Pressure
Motivation can help increase employee productivity and job satisfaction.
Mr. Luke Kissam, the chief executive of Albemarle, a multibillion-dollar chemical company recognized that
both he and his employees were experiencing exhaustion and burnouts at work. He took that as a challenge
and introduced breaks into his own work and to that of his employees. He used to think for a long time, at
least once in a week.He started sending handwritten appreciation notes to his people inside and outside the
organization. He also modified the practices of meetings, email, flexible work arrangements, conflict
resolution and recognition.
By 2014, as many as 1000 leaders and managers in his organization followed him. This shift in the mind set
encouraged employeesto increase their productivity,loyalty and performance. Safety records were improved
as employees were more focused and profitability was also on the increase.
Technological advancements and information explosions lead employees to work under pressure. The
demands of organizations are exceeding the capacities of employees. These pressures are halting employees
from fully utilizing their skill, talent and energy. A report by Gallup poll on employee engagement in 2013
has reported that just 13% were engaged at work. A survey conducted on 12,000 white-collar employees by
Harvard Business Review across employees at two Energy Projects revealed similar results.
From the surveys and reports, it was found that employees could be motivated to be committed and loyal
towards organizations when their four core needs were identified and met. The four core needs are Physical,
Emotional, Mental and Spiritual.
• Physical: Provide opportunities to renew and recharge employees at work.
Renew and recharge at work:- Employees who took 90 minutes break reported a 30% higher level of
focus than those who took one or no breaks at all during the day. Creativity also increased among them
by nearly 50% and raised health levels by 46%. It also increased the chances of employee continuity in
the organizations by 100%.
• Emotional: Create value and appreciate employee’s contributions.
Value:- A sense of trust and care from supervisors had a significant impact on employees. Employees
who had the support of their supervisors were 1.3 times more likely to stay with the organization and
were also 67% more engaged than others.
• Mental: Help employees to focus on one task at a time, by defining when and how to get their work
done.
Focus:- 20% respondents were able to focus on one task with 50% increase in engagement. Those who
were able to prioritize their tasks were 1.6 times better able to focus on one task.
• Spiritual: Assign such tasks to employees that they enjoy most and do best.
Purpose:- This was the highest impact variable in the survey. Employees who understood the meaning
and significance of their work were likely to stay with the organizations more than three times. They
reported 1.7 times higher job satisfaction and were 1.4 times more engaged at work.
Motivation is a psychological phenomenon and is regarded as the cause of behavior. In an organizational
set-up, managers need to motivate employees to ensure greater commitment on the part of employees.
Motivation is constituted by elements such as needs, drives, and incentives. Knowledge about these
elements helps in understanding motivation.
Discussion Questions
1. What do you understand by motivation?
(Hints: psychologicalphenomenon- needs,drives and incentives-improves performance)
2. What according to the Gallup Study-2013 are the needs to be met to motivate employees for higher
performance?
(Hints: Physical-emotional- Mental-spiritual needs)
Source: Tony Schwartz and Christine Porath, Why You Hate Work, The New York Times, May 30, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
8.5 Motivation Organizational Behavior
21
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
13. Perspectives of Healthcare
Perception centered on patient rather than provider can
create sustainable healthcare solutions.
KavehSafavi is Managing Director, Accenture’s Global Health Practice. Before getting into business of
healthcare, he started his career as a physician and served for six years. He is specialized in Pediatrics and
internal medicine.
In his professional life as a Physician, he observed the following challenges faced by patients:
• Healthcare was provider-centric rather than patient-centric.
• Patients face big challenges in getting appointment of doctoror to contact them through telephone.
Health records accessibility was also a challenge.
• Patient needs were not taken care of.
He gradually realized that healthcare was transforming, bringing about a radical transformation in the
perceptions of patients:
• Patient-centricities had become an important goal to all healthcare providers
• Patients were able to contact physicians through emails and social networking sites
• Healthcare technology increased the transparency of information
• Patients were able to access their electronic medical records
• Physicians approach towards patients changed and they now concentrated on solving patient
problems
He identified how healthcare delivery system became gradually organized and how technology helped to
foster the availability of care within the reach of rural poor. Eg:- Telemedicine reaching the doorsteps of
patients at every corner.
His contribution in healthcare development added value to the delivery systems. He believed that the most
critical problem in healthcare was not the relationship of cost and outcomes but of trust and relationship
between the provider and the patient.
Being a guest in the life of a patient and serving himby acting as a father or a caregiver can help build a good
relationship. The inclusion and forgiveness exhibited by Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson
Mandela were considered as powerful tools by him for his own transformation.
Perception is a cognitive process wherein an individual collects, organizes, and interprets data from the
environment to obtain a meaning from it. Perception differs from person to person for the same situation.
Each person interprets the data in his own way and comes up with different meanings. People react to
situations based upon their perception of reality rather than to the reality itself. Therefore, understanding
the variations in the perceptions of individuals will help in understanding their organizational behavior
better.
Discussion Questions
1. Perceptions vary from person to person- Justify the statement
(Hints: cognitive process-individuals interpret data differently- react differently- may not always be
real)
2. What are the perceptions of the Managing Director of Accenture with regard to patients?
(Hints: patients are contacting physicians frequently- able to access electronic media- relationship with
patients to improve)
Source: Q&A with Accenture’s Kaveh Safavi, Perspectives, Accenture.com, March 7, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
9.3 Significance of Perception Organizational Behavior
22
Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations
14. Changing Workplace Learning
Significance of learning can be measured through business impact.
CEOs around the world today are facing tough competition. Leading innovations can help them survive in
such a world. Innovations need talented and highly competent, motivated and engaged employees. Top
companies understand that more than acquiring talent, developing and nurturing it is more important to
achieve success in the future.
Companies are now reinventing workplace learning culture to develop innovative leaders in the organization
for the future success:
• Get out of the classroom:- To increase the workplace productivity, traditional methods of learning
in a classroom have to be replaced by new methods. Advances in mobile devices and cloud
technology can be used to find the best way of learning that creates innovation and informal
approaches to learning.
• How workplace learning is changing:- Networking, information sharing and informal coaching
allows workers to learn at anyplace and at anytime. Ex: short videos and game-like simulations.
More social collaborations, team-based activities and decentralized peer-to-peer learning help
workers to learn continuously and instantly. Companies today are emphasizing not on how
employees acquire knowledge but more on how they apply it. They understood that they have to
provide only an effective learning environment to enable workers to access knowledge repositories
for quick learning and for proving their new skills.
• Learning should be continuous:- To be successful, employees should continuously learn from day
one and should not wait for the management to provide themtraining, even in case of job expansion
or job enrichment. Technological advancements allow workers to access information continuously
without leaving scope to failures. Workers who do not learn and depend on their management are
likely to upset their careers.
• Measure results, not activity:- Results have to be measured not by the number of training classes
conducted and attended but on how the learning impacts the business. Learning success is measured
on how much an employee is engaged for increasing productivity. The measurement metrics include
sales cycles, service response times, customer satisfaction, product quality and other business
metrics.
Reinventing workplace learning resulted in developing innovative leaders at all levels of the organization
and reduced the attrition rate by 80 percent.
Learning is defined as “the acquisition of knowledge o r skills through study, practice, or experience.” The
concept of learning is significant in understanding, developing, and managing human resources in an
organization. Scholars and practitioners of behavioral science agree that analyzing learning helps in
managing the human resources of an organization effectively, as all the behaviors of people are learnt
either directly or indirectly. Hence, the process and principles of learning can be utilized by organizations
to mould the behavior of employees and to enhance their performance.
Discussion Questions
1. How important is learning for developing human resources?
(Hints: acquisition of knowledge- helps understanding and developing-moulds individual behavior-
enhances performance)
2. How are innovative leaders developed through workplace learning culture?
(Hints: learning through mobile and cloud technology-Networking-information sharing-continuous
learning-measuring business impact)
Source: Jenny Dearborn, Redefining Workplace Learning For The 21st Century, Forbes.com, October 16, 2013
Unit/Section Topic Course
10.3 Significance of learning Organizational Behavior
23
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
15. Learn to Reinforce through Negative Feedback
Learning to deal with negative reinforcement can reduce
disappointment and keep employees motivated.
“Praise in public, criticize in private” – old manag ement mantra.
This old mantra seems to be obsolete for today’s business environment. Sometimes criticizing in public
becomes necessary, especially when working in groups irrespective of others comforts. This does not mean to
say that people are not ready to take corrective feedback. Even well experienced and expert workers want to
receive the corrective feedback. Consulting firm Zenger Folkman reiterates that though managers do not like
giving critical feedback, employees feel that negative feedback will help them improve.
There is one limitation for this principle of feedback. It is the praise-to-criticism ratio. Studies conducted on
effective teams and happily married couples revealed that there is an ideal ratio of five compliments to every
criticism, which all managers should implement.
Tips for Dealing with Negative Feedback:
• Never combine praise with criticism – Separate negative feedback from positive feedback. If
combined, the message gets diluted.
• Regularly examine and give direct reports – Make it as a weekly routine practice
• Don’t merge negative feedback with pay and promotion – Discussing negative feedback in
performance appraisals would make even the soft employee emotional. Both the discussions should
be separated.
• Ask permission – Take their approval before giving them negative feedb ack. It reinforces them to
hear negative feedback.
• Ascertain Facts – Explain to them the negative behavior observed and ask for explanation before
drawing conclusions.
• Target the new behavior- Criticize for a positive reinforcement. Educate employees on the benefits
of working differently.
• Show empathy – Even if it is a bad news, tell them straight and giv e them some time to reflect on
it. Especially so with top performers because studies showthat they are very sensitive.
• Praise effort, not ability – Carol Dweck’s research asks to praise the effort and not the ability.
This will reduce the feeling of criticism and keep the employees motivated.
Managing positive feedback is easy for managers, but they have to learn how to deal with negative feedback
and reinforce them for desirable consequences.
Negative reinforcement and punishment are common forms of negative control of behavior. Negative
reinforcement also strengthens and increases the probability of a particular behavior being repeated,but by
withdrawing an undesirable consequence.
Discussion Questions
1. Differentiate positive and negative feedback
(Hints: praise-criticize; feedback- reinforcement- withdrawing undesirable consequences)
2. Give some tips to deal with negative feedback
(Hints: praise and criticism to be separate- feedback and pay to be dealt separately- ascertain facts-
praise effort)
Source: Sarah Green, Everything You Need to Know About Giving Negative Feedback, Harvard Business Review, June
30, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
10.5 Positive and Negative reinforcement Organizational Behavior
24
Block III:
Dynamics of Organizational Behavior
16. High Impact Leadership
17. Inclusive Leadership
18. Blue Ocean Leadership
19. Techniques to Empower Employees
20. With Whom Not to Negotiate
21. Group Dynamics
22. Stop the Innovation Wars - Team Building
23. Building Great Teams
24. Diversity in Teams Gives the Best Thinking
25
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
16. High Impact Leadership
High impact leadership can improve care and reduce cost to the healthcare sector.
High impact leadership is required for any organization which aspires to become a high performing
organization. Healthcare is no exception. Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) has developed a
framework with three goals for healthcare:
• Improve care- a shift from volume to value.
• Improve the health of populations-focus on improving the health.
• Reduce costs.
To achieve these triple aim goals, high impact leadership is required, which consists ofthree interdependent
dimensions:
• New Mental Models-How leaders think about challenges and solutions.
• High Impact Leadership Behaviors- What leaders do to make a difference.
• High Impact Leadership Framework- Where leaders need to focus their efforts.
1. How Leaders Think: It is important to know what leaders think because they are the ones who provide
the context and direction for leadership behaviors and for promoting innovation. High impact leadership
requires such mental models from leaders, moving from volume-based to value-based healthcare system.
New Mental Models: Volume to Value
Volume Value
Patient Satisfaction Persons as Partners in their Care
Increase Top- Line Revenue Continuously decrease per unit cost and waste
Complex All-purpose Hospitals and Facilities Lower cost,Focused care Delivery Sites
Quality Departments and Experts Quality Improvement in Daily work for all staff
2. What Leaders Do:
High impact leadership behavior focuses on persons and communities. If leaders depict role-model
behavior, their impact on persons and communities will be high. If persons in the organization and
communities change, the culture is also shaped in a new way. If leaders adopt High Impact Leadership
Behaviors, as reflected in Person-centeredness, Front-line Engagement, Relentless Focus, Transparency
and on being Boundariless, they will be moving their organizations to high performance levels.
Person-centeredness: Effective healthcare leaders are person-centered; interact with patients and families in
all aspects-about prevention,disease control, improvements and results
Jed Weissberg of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, Kaise Permanente adopted a
Communicating Unanticipated Outcomes Policy for communicating with patients and families with
empathy and skill in a coordinated way.
J. Michael Henderson, Cleveland Clinic always felt that future leaders should possess strong clinical skills,
commitment to patient care and ability to build multidisciplinary teams. He wanted Cleveland Clinic
leaders to be patient centered and to closely interact with the front line caregivers because they are the
ones who actually work.
Front Line Engagement: Effective leaders build trust and establish an understanding ofthe work at the
front lines of care by regularly meeting colleagues and exhibiting genuine interest in the work performed.
Derek Feeley, Chief Executive of Scotland’s National Health Service started interacting with staff when
some manipulation occurred. He insisted that leaders should be accessible, authentic and open for
developing cultural engagement when providing care patients. The four values to be imbibed are: care and
compassion; dignity and respect; openness and honesty; and quality and teamwork.
26
Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior
Relentless Focus: Focused leaders consciously spend time thinking on ways to reinforce and role-model the
vision through their actions and behavior. They believe in establishing a strategic vision to be achievers with
a sense of urgency.
David J. Ballard and leaders at Baylor Health Care System (BHCS) constantly reinforces the
organizational vision and strategy linked to STEEEP (Safe, Timely, Effective, Efficient, Equitable and
Patient-centered). The STEEEP shaped the culture at BHCS, focusing on healthcare quality to more than
20,000 employees.
Transparency: Transparency is a powerful catalyst for organizational change and learning. Leaders need to
be open and firm for eliminating defects. Leaders must ensure that their organization’s information system
provide the data needed to identify gaps so as to address them.
William Bill Rupp, CEO of Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida asked his staff to display relevant patient
centered performance data in the hallways for everyone to see. He leads morning rounds in the hospital to
review results with staff and participates in their efforts to improve them.
Boundarilessness: Connecting colleagues on multidisciplinary teams and from different parts of
organization is a good technique of being boundariless for achieving Triple Aim results.
Peter J. Knox of Bellin Health by creating a win-win arrangement for the health system, Dan Wolterman
of Memorial Hermann Health System by helping patients stay healthy through the use of sophisticated
monitoring and care management activities and Gary Kaplan of Virginia Mason Health System by
encouraging system thinking and collaboration across boundaries, tried to improve their respective
organizations.
3. What Leaders need to focus upon: Effective leaders focus their efforts. The IHI High- Impact
Leadership Framework is a practical method of focusing and organizing leadership efforts for leading
improvement and innovation. The six domains of the framework are:
IHI High-Impact Leadership Framework
Create Vision
and Build Will
Driven by
Persons and
Community
Develop
Deliver
Capability
Results
Shape Culture
Engage Across
Boundaries
1. Persons and community-Persons and community at the center indicates the prime responsibility of
leaders is to give personal and community centered care to patients.
2. Create Vision and Build Will- Articulation of a clear and compelling vision for the organization’s
future is a key to building good-will. Building will involves connecting emotionally with staff.
3. Develop Capabilities-Senior leaders must develop infrastructure that supports organizational
capacity and capability for embracing change and innovation.
4. Deliver Results-Delivering results on focus and setting,and managing priorities
27
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
5. Shape culture-Leaders must establish an organizational culture that supports achievement of the
vision and aims.
6. Engage across boundaries-To achieve Triple Aim results for the population they serve and move
toward truly person-centered care, leaders must engage with others- families, other providers,
community resources beyond the walls of their organization.
Thus the High Impact Leadership, as reflected in new mental models, high impact leadership behaviors and
high impact leadership framework are required for leaders throughout the organization for achieving Triple
Aim Results in healthcare. IHI has been successfully implementing these concepts.
The important traits of effective leaders are: initiative, ambition, desire to lead, integrity, self-confidence,
analytical ability, knowledge of a specific company, industry, or technology, creativity and flexibility.
These traits make a high impact on leadership.
Discussion Questions
1. Mention few important traits of effective leadership that lead to high impact leadership
(Hints: integrity- desire to lead- confidence- analytical ability-flexibility)
2. Explain the significance of high impact leadership in achieving the triple aim goals of healthcare
(Hints: For improving care, heath and reduce costs high impact leadership is required- Mental modes-
Leadership behavior-person centeredness-Focus-boundarilessness)
Source: Swensen S. Pugh M. Mc Mullan C Kabcenell A. High Impact leadership; Improve care, Improve the Health of
Populations and Reduce Costs, IHI White Paper, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement;
2013
Unit/Section Topic Course
11.4 Traits of effective Leaders Organizational Behavior
28
Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior
17. Inclusive Leadership
Inclusion in leadership behavior influences innovation.
Inclusiveness in leadership is different to different people and different countries. Jeanine Prime and
Elizabeth R. Salib from Catalyst Research Center have researched on inclusive leadership by surveying 1512
employees, picking about 250 employees each from six different countries -Australia, China, Germany, India,
Mexico and the United States, the sample consisting of equal number of men and women in their research.
They considerinclusive leadership as a combination of belongingness and uniqueness.It means that inclusive
leaders need to value the diversity of talents, experiences and identities that employees bring and also need to
find a common ground. When employees feel uniquely recognized for their differences and feel a sense of
belongingness based on sharing common attributes and goals, organizations become effective.
The findings of the research show that inclusion is linked to Employee Reports of Innovation and
Helpfulness. Innovation here implies-identifying opportunities for new products and processes and trying out
new ideas and approaches to problems.
In all the six countries,the following points are dominant:
• Employees who felt more included were more likely to report innovation on the job
• The more employees felt included, the more they are engaged in team citizenship behavior- going
above and beyond to help other team members and to meet workgroup objectives
• Employees felt included when, simultaneously, they perceived they were similar to or distinct from
their co-workers
• The four leadership behaviors linked to inclusion are Empowerment, Humility, Courage and
Accountability. These four behaviors togetherform altruistic leadership.
• Except in the case of India, in the rest of the five countries, those who perceived more altruistic
behavior, reported greater sense of uniqueness and belongingness, and consequently, inclusion. In
the Indian model, though, there was link between altruistic leadership and inclusion, there was no
evidence that uniqueness and belongingness were the causal factors.
The findings of the research showthat leadership behavior is important for organizational effectiveness.
Researchers believe that the success of leaders is largely dependent upon their behavior and actions and
less on personality traits. They say that behavior could be modified over a period and leaders could be
developed. It means that leaders were not born but had to be developed.
Discussion Questions
1. Air your views on ‘Leaders are born or made’
(Hints: leadership traits indicate leaders are born- Behavior and actions show leaders can be made-
behavior could be moulded )
2. Show that leadership behavior is important for organizational effectiveness
(Hints: Inclusiveness-belongingness-uniqueness-innovation-helpfulnes)
Source: Jeanine Prime and Elizabeth R. Salib, Inclusive Leadership: The Views from Six Countries, Catalyst 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
11.5 Leadership Behavior vs. Traits Organizational Behavior
29
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
18. Blue Ocean Leadership
Blue ocean leadership approach boosts the morale of
team members and enhances business results.
Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne,professors at INSEAD and authors of Blue Ocean Strategy, say that
companies can succeed by adopting ‘blue ocean leadership’ a pproach.
Changes that are brought in leadership with Blue Ocean Strategy:
• Blue ocean leadership focuses on what acts and activities leaders need to undertake to boost the
morale of their team members and to enhance business results. They do not concentrate on values,
qualities and behavioral styles because it is easier to change acts and activities.
• In blue ocean leadership, leadership practices are closely connected to market realities that enhance
motivation.
• Blue ocean leadership programs focus on all the three management levels -top, middle and frontline,
making all leaders empowered.
Four Steps in Putting into Practice Blue Ocean Leadership:
• Seeing Leadership Reality: Changes can be made only after thoroughly understanding who stands
where and who does what.
At British Retail Group (BRG), it was felt that senior managers spend most of the time on the
acts and activities of middle level managers. Frontline managers were deferring customer queries
to please their bosses. Everyone was playing safe without attending to customers. It required
changes at all levels.
• Developing alternate leadership profiles: Here Blue ocean leadership grid is prepared to analyze
which acts and activities leaders should do less or more and which acts and activities add value and
which do not.
• Selecting to be leadership profile: The leadership profiles are prepared and shown to everyone,
making every individual leader more open to change. Finally, ‘what to be’ leadership profile is
prepared by top managers to move forward on at each level.
30
Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior
At BRG, ‘Liberate, Coach and Empower’ was the tag-line for middle management’s to-be-profile
with which leader’s attention shifted from controlling to supporting employees. This involved
eliminating and reducing oversight activities and included new actions aimed at managing,
disseminating and integrating the knowledge of frontline leaders and their staff.
• Institutionalizing new leadership practices: Organizations then distribute the agreed-on to-be
profiles to the leaders at each level, explaining what should be eliminated, reduced, raised and
created. Leaders then explain how new leadership profiles become effective.
This transformation helped BRG to reduce frontline turnover from 40% to 11% in the first year and reduced
recruitment and training costs by 50%. BRG’s customer satisfaction scores climbed by over 30% and leaders
at all levels were less stressed and more energized. Blue ocean leadership works because leaders just have to
undertake a different set of tasks and that kind of change is much easier to implement and track than changes
to values and mind-sets.
The continuous advancement in technology in the present business environment has implied that the
leaders require more than just personality traits or behavior to accomplish their tasks. It has become
necessary for leaders to possess the relevant knowledge and skills to survive in this highly competitive and
complex business world. Blue ocean leadership skills are closely related to market realities.
Discussion Questions
1. How can Blue Ocean Strategy be used to bring about changes in leadership?
(Hints: focused on activities to boost employees’ morale-Focused on all levels of management)
2. Discuss the steps involved in implementing Blue Ocean Strategy.
(Hints: see leadership reality-Develop alternate leadership profile-Selecting leadership profile)
Source: W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Leadership, Harvard Business Review, May, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
11.6 Leadership Skills Organizational Behavior
31
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
19. Techniques to Empower Employees
Empowering enablesemployees to explore their real potential.
Employees rely on their boss to seek suggestions whenever a new task is given. A research conducted by
Claremont McKenna College, and Tsinghua University from Penn state shows that at places where boss is
not just a boss but is a transformational leader, employees are trained to become empowered and self-guided.
There are six techniques to empower employees:
• Encourage In-The-Moment Feedback: - Feedback whether positive or negative should be given to
employees immediately after the performance so that corrective steps can be taken consequently. It
should be a valuable and constructive feedback.
• Cultivate the Executive Mentality:-The mindset of employee has to be tuned towards achieving
main goals with clarity about his own tasks and processes. This can be done through regular
meetings with the teammembers and also sharing with other teams in the organization.
• Present New challenges and opportunities:- New tasks have to be assigned to employees based on
their strengths, work interests and skills. This will create enthusiasm and provide an opportunity to
improve their performance. Ex:- A person good at email interactions can be given the task of
handling phone interactions to explore his potentials. People who possess the skills of leadership can
be given an opportunity to lead a customer workshop.
• Respect their boundaries:- As far as possible, tasks have to be assigned to an employee bearing in
mind his capabilities and comfort zone.
• Give them flexibility:- New task should allow the employee to work with flexibility. However,
proper directions should be given to him to extend his flexibility within the purview of the new task
and see that it would direct him to the right path.
• Don’t babysit:- Freedom and autonomy has to be given to employees to work independently
without spoon feeding them for every task.
Manager should exhibit trust on employees and motivate them to achieve their goals with confidence.
Giving an opportunity to act independently to take decisions will certainly empower the employees.
Empowerment means involving employees in the organizational functioning by giving them more
authority to make decisions. Organizations can motivate the employees to achieve more by enhancing
their self-efficacy level. Empowerment can help to enhance the self-efficacy levels of employees in an
organization. Managers can empower employees through training, coaching, and guidance and can build
confidence through reinforcement techniques like appreciation, encouragement and positive feedback.
Discussion Questions
1. What are the various techniques used to empower employees?
(Hints: giving flexibility-Respect boundaries-cultivate executive mentality)
2. How can organizations benefit by empowering their employees?
(Hints: enhancing self-efficacy level-build confidence-explore real potential)
Source : Drew Hendricks, 6 Ways To Empower Your Employees With Transformational Leadership, Forbes, January
27, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
12.3 Empowerment Organizational Behavior
32
Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior
20. With Whom Not to Negotiate
Normal negotiating strategies do not work when certain issues in
negotiating process arise, especially when people are not negotiable.
Understanding negotiation process and strategies is not easy. Sometimes even the best negotiators fail in their
attempts. Judith White discusses with whom to negotiate and whom not to negotiate and suggests how to deal
with such people.
With Whom to Negotiate:
• Emotional counterparties- Emotions are common in conflict situations. But that should not stop
one to negotiate. Some people express more feelings than others and some use emotions to
strategically influence others. When conflict is resolved, emotions disappear. One has to distinguish
between conflict and emotion and act. So it is not necessary to stop negotiation with people who are
emotional.
• Unreasonable counterparts- People with different kind of opinions first appear to be unreasonable.
When proper discussions take place, it is possible to negotiate with such people and reduce the gaps.
With Whom not to Negotiate:
• People who alternate between conciliation and provocation- One should be careful with people
who change their approaches in negotiation, sometimes being conciliatory and some other times
provocative. Such people are not interested in amicable negotiation but want to have a control over
the other party. It is better not to negotiate with such people.
• Parties that see people as absolute good and evil- The main aim of negotiation is to resolve
conflict, not to find fault. It is unnecessary to negotiate with parties who judge people as absolutely
evil or absolutely good. Such people do not have the mindset for negotiation. They want people who
were perceived as evil to be punished and good to be rewarded. So there is no point to negotiate with
such people.
Suggestions for Dealing with Whom not to Negotiate:
• Be realistic- It is better to keep a distance and get maximum possible gains without going into
negotiation because the person has no mindset for negotiation.
• Stop making concessions- The purpose of concessions is to reach an agreement. It is a waste of
time to negotiate with people with a no-win mindset. However much you make concessions, the
promises made by him will not be fulfilled. It is better to stop making concessions to such people.
• Reduce your interdependence- It is better to keep a distance and work independently.If
unavoidable, division of work is the best solution.
• Make it public and use a third party- Discussions should be open and also in writing and it is safe
to involve a third party.
Normal negotiating strategies do not work always. In exceptional cases,it is betternot to negotiate with
people who are difficult to negotiate.
There arise several issues in the negotiation process. The negotiation process may be hindered by the
following factors: biases in decision-making, personality traits, cultural differences and third party-
negotiations.
Discussion Questions
1. What strategies could be usedwhile dealing with non-negotiable individuals?
(Hints:be realistic-stopoffering concessions-reduce interdependence)
2. What obstacles could hinder the negotiation process?
(Hints: biases in decision-making-personality traits-cultural differences)
Source: Judith White, Two Kinds of People You Should Never Negotiate With, HBR Blog Network, June 18, 2014
Unit/Section Topic Course
13.8 Issues in the Negotiation Process Organizational Behavior
33
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
21. Group Dynamics
To understand group behavior, group processes and group dynamics should be understood.
Warner Brothers invested $50 million dollar for the film ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’ which is an adaptation
of the best-selling novel by Tom Wolfe. Many involved in the film including the director were not convinced
of the casting selection and changesmade in the storyline.However, nobody voiced any apprehensions to the
director in the adaptation, resulting in losses.
It is true that consensual or decisions taken at group level rather than at individual level are far more
effective, but those decisions are not without their drawbacks. Paul Rogers and Todd Senturia, partners o f
Bain & Company, discuss some of such drawbacks that affect decisions adversely.
• Conformity- Many group members, not wanting to go against group norms, conformor endorse the
actions taken by one group member. Even when a decision taken was felt as not appropriate,
members do not speak against the decision, so as to go with the group. This is what happened with
Warner Brothers.
• Group Polarization- It is felt that group decisions moderate the views of individuals. But very often
the contrary happens wherein extreme decisions are taken. It was found that decisions taken by US
federal judges individually were 35% of times extreme in comparison to 65% when taken in groups.
• Obedience to authority- Group members in general like to follow group leader’s views, though
they think otherwise. They like to adhere to the authority of the leader. Subordinates do not like to
challenge the views of the superiors. When in 1977, KLM pilot decided to take off the plane while
there was another plane on the runway, none of the crew members challenged his decision.
• Bystander effect- ‘Go with the group’ is often followed even in crisis s ituations. If some ignore
dangerous situations, others follow. Barings Bank was brought down in1995 by unauthorized
trading.
Such ill effects of group processes can be minimized by responsible actions such as playing devil’s advocate,
diversity in decision-making, communicating directly with senior management and taking inputs in advance.
Group dynamics is a too powerful tool to be undermined.
Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group or
between social groups. The study of group dynamics is very useful in understanding decision -making
behavior of the group members. To understand group behavior, group processes such as communication
patterns, power dynamics, and behavior of the leader conflict within the group should be understood
clearly. Group processes should promote synergy wherein the performance of the group is more than the
sum of individual performance. The group processes can be effective if the tasks are planned according to
the comfort levels of the people.
Discussion Questions
1. According to Rogers and Senturia, what were the drawbacks of group decision-
making? (Hints: conformity-Group polarization-bystander effect)
2. How can the shortcomings of group decision-making be minimized?
(Hints: playing devil’s advocate-diversity in decision-making-open communication)
Source: Paul Rogers and Todd Senturia, How group dynamics affect decisions, Bain & Company, December, 2013
Unit/Section Topic Course
14.8 Group Processes Organizational Behavior
34
Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior
22. Stop the Innovation Wars-Team Building
Team effectiveness depends on the partnerships between team
members and people who maintain ongoing operations.
Special teams dedicated to innovation initiatives inevitably run into conflict with the rest of the organization.
The people responsible for ongoing operations view the innovators as indisciplined upstarts. The innovators
dismiss the operations people as bureaucratic dinosaurs. It’s natural to separate the two warring groups. But
it’s also dead wrong; opine Tuck Business School’s Govin darajan and Trimble. Nearly all innovation
initiatives build on a firm’s existing resources and know-how. When a group is asked to innovate in isolation,
the corporation forfeits its main advantage over smaller, nimble rivals—its mammoth asset bas e.
Team Building
Partnerships between dedicated team members and people who maintain excellence in ongoing operations,
called as ‘performance engine’ result in ‘successful inn ovation’, as is seen in BMW, Lucent Technologies,
and WD-40. The innovation leader has to collaborate well with the performance engine and senior executives
by assembling and handing the tasks to a dedicated team and by proactively managing conflicts that may
arise.
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly known as BMW is a German automobile, motorcycle and
engine manufacturing company, which experienced slow progress while designing a hybrid vehicle. Chris
Bangle, the then Chief of design at BMW created a dedicated teamto enable deep collaboration and could
succeed in moving the project forward quickly.
Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies, Inc. an American multinational telecommunications equipment company was
finding it difficult to handle the deal it signed in 2006 to help a major telecommunications company
transform its network. It felt the need to have a dedicated team to execute the project. It assembled a team
to that effect and hired an outsider as its leader. It adopted new HR policies and created a performance
scorecard. By four years, it could raise its revenues significantly.
WD-40
To spur organic growth, Garry Ridge, CEO of WD-40 created a team to develop breakthrough products.
He called it ‘Team Tomorrow’, with which marketing tea ms had some differences. Team Tomorrow
overcame the conflicts by adopting collaborative approach. They shared information, established an open
door policy and coordinated plans with the marketing team. That is how WD-40 could achieve success.
All these cases showthat innovation requires a partnership and partnerships are indispensable and teams
have to work collaboratively to make organizations effective.
Teams do have a positive effect on the performance of organizations in the form of improved quality and
productivity, encouraging innovative ideas and solutions etc. The effectiveness of teams can be achieved
by providing a supportive environment; establishing proper coordination and cooperation in the team;
focusing on super ordinate goals and linking rewards to the overall performance of teams.
Discussion Questions
1. How did companies like BMW and Lucent Technologies benefit from team building?
(Hints: project moved quickly-significant increase in revenues)
2. What measures could be used to ensure team effectiveness?
(Hints: providing supportive environment-establishing proper coordination-cooperation in team)
Source: Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble, Stop the Innovation Wars, Harvard Business Review, July,
2010
Unit/Section Topic Course
15.7 Team Effectiveness Organizational Behavior
35
PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior
23. Building Great Teams
Communication patternsplay a pivotal role in building effective teams.
In organizations, some teams click while others fail. Understanding the performance gaps requires a scientific
approach. MIT (MassachusettsInstitute of Technology) conducted a research and discovered that patterns of
communication can be a good measure to gauge the effectiveness of a team. Communication patterns helped
them to figure out energy, engagement and exploration as three elements of communication that characterize
group dynamics. These dynamics can be observed, quantified and measured to increase the efficiency of
teams.
Elements of Communication:
• Energy: Energy is measured by the number of exchanges between team members. The number of
exchanges engaged is weighted to get ‘team member energy score’, which is averaged and finally a
team energy score is obtained. Energy levels vary. Sometimes energy levels of team members will
be low and some other times high, depending on the nature of the meetings. Decisions of fully
engaged teammembers are always better.
• Engagement: Engagement is the distribution of energy within the team members. It is measured as
a function of the average amount of energy distributed among team members.
• Exploration: Exploration is the energy between a team and the other teams it interacts with.
Research revealed that people who spend time with members outside the team performed well and
were more innovative.
MIT’s research team included innovation teams, post-operation wards in hospitals, customer-facing teams in
banks, backroom operations teams and call center teams. Advances in wireless and sensor technology helped
them in research to develop a badge that can capture communication patterns at more than 100 data point a
minute.
The data collected is analyzed for improving individual and team performance in three steps:
1. Visualization: A picture is worth a thousand words. MIT team developed formulas to calculate energy,
engagement and exploration along with maps on group dimensions. Visuals were able to draw attention
on the basic weaknesses that were not recognized otherwise. Team members with low-energy and low
engagement were spotted easily in the maps.
Eg- A team constituting Japanese and American members, in Japan was selected for the study. The team
members were provided with each day’s performance for one week. By the end of the seventh day, it was
observed that while both team members improved energy and engagement, one team member could become a
driving force for the rest.
2. Training: Visual maps containing data was selected as a training tool. It helped to communicate the
feedback to team members for improvement through repeated visual feedbacks. Team members were
given their feedback on a daily basis along with the observations so that they could improve.
Eg- A team constituting Japanese and American members, in Japan was selected for the study. The team
members were provided with each day’s performance for one week. By the end of the seventh day, it was
observed that while both team members improved energy and engagement, one team member could become a
driving force for the rest.
3. Fine-tuning performance: The energy and engagement maps were used to measure the performance
metrics. This was especially observed in case of multilingual team members where improved
communication helped them to improve their performance and productivity.
Eg: A bank call centerwhere average handling time (AHT) was used as a statistical analysis measure for
team efficiency was selected for the study for six weeks. Study revealed that high-energy,high-engagement
36
Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior
teams were most efficient. Mapping the energy and engagement with AHT scores after some weeks showed
that overall efficiency increased by 8% on an average and 20% by the low performing teams.
MIT could prove that team building is an evolving science and patterns of communication are the most
important tool for measuring the effectiveness of a team. The research team is further progressing to collect
big data to explore the effectiveness for leadership, negotiations and performance reviews.
Teams have a positive impact on the performance of organizations in the form of improved quality and
productivity, encouraging innovative ideas and solutions, etc. The essentials for building effective teams
include providing a supportive environment, relevant skills and role clarity, focus on super ordinate goals
and team rewards. Management must foster a work environment in the organization that provides s upport
and encourage the members to work toward the fulfillment of organizational goals. Management can
establish proper co-ordination in teams when it clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of each
member in the team. It must emphasize the overall goals of the teamrather than the individual goals of the
team members. Team rewards must be designed in such a way that they encourage teamwork among the
members of a team.
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the various elements of communication.
(Hints: energy-engagement-exploration)
2. What steps were taken by MIT’s research team to analyze the data for improving performance?
(Hints: visualization-training-fine-tuning performance)
Source:Alex “Sandy” Pentland, The New Science of Building Great Teams, Harvard Business Review, April, 2012
Unit/Section Topic Course
15.7 Building effective teams Organizational Behavior
37
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help

Más contenido relacionado

La actualidad más candente

Social work: Crafting Goals and Objectives
Social work: Crafting Goals and ObjectivesSocial work: Crafting Goals and Objectives
Social work: Crafting Goals and Objectivesbernie3524
 
OECD Entrepreneurship360 white paper
OECD Entrepreneurship360 white paperOECD Entrepreneurship360 white paper
OECD Entrepreneurship360 white paperNorris Krueger
 
Pp feedbac kpresbanyulenetworkversion3
Pp feedbac kpresbanyulenetworkversion3Pp feedbac kpresbanyulenetworkversion3
Pp feedbac kpresbanyulenetworkversion3thsieh
 
090828 ~ O Connor ~ Coaching
090828 ~ O Connor ~ Coaching090828 ~ O Connor ~ Coaching
090828 ~ O Connor ~ CoachingFrank O'Connor
 
Design Thinking Action Lab Course reflection
Design Thinking Action Lab Course reflectionDesign Thinking Action Lab Course reflection
Design Thinking Action Lab Course reflectionSusan McHattie
 
BA 208 Chapter 11 power point
BA 208 Chapter 11 power pointBA 208 Chapter 11 power point
BA 208 Chapter 11 power pointBealCollegeOnline
 
Then, Now, Next: Next Generation Learning Environments
Then, Now, Next: Next Generation Learning EnvironmentsThen, Now, Next: Next Generation Learning Environments
Then, Now, Next: Next Generation Learning EnvironmentsGreg Louviere
 
CAES Example of a Work Personality Presentation Profile (Iintermediate)
CAES Example of a Work Personality Presentation Profile  (Iintermediate)CAES Example of a Work Personality Presentation Profile  (Iintermediate)
CAES Example of a Work Personality Presentation Profile (Iintermediate)Jim Gilchrist
 
BA 208 Chapter 10 power point
BA 208 Chapter 10 power pointBA 208 Chapter 10 power point
BA 208 Chapter 10 power pointBealCollegeOnline
 
Why Neuroscience 2
Why Neuroscience 2Why Neuroscience 2
Why Neuroscience 2Amy Brann
 
Change management-28477
Change management-28477Change management-28477
Change management-28477vishvasyadav45
 
ADHD Awareness Expo Take 1 Table
ADHD Awareness Expo Take 1 TableADHD Awareness Expo Take 1 Table
ADHD Awareness Expo Take 1 TableTara McGillicuddy
 
Employee Engagement Seminar1
Employee Engagement Seminar1Employee Engagement Seminar1
Employee Engagement Seminar1David Liddell
 
Is your boss bad your your mental health? Prof Stephen Bevan
Is your boss bad your your mental health? Prof Stephen BevanIs your boss bad your your mental health? Prof Stephen Bevan
Is your boss bad your your mental health? Prof Stephen BevanNottingham Business School
 
Corporate Training Myths and Facts
Corporate Training Myths and FactsCorporate Training Myths and Facts
Corporate Training Myths and FactsAllenComm
 
TalentMap-Webinar-Deck-Impact of-Immediate-Manager-26mar15
TalentMap-Webinar-Deck-Impact of-Immediate-Manager-26mar15TalentMap-Webinar-Deck-Impact of-Immediate-Manager-26mar15
TalentMap-Webinar-Deck-Impact of-Immediate-Manager-26mar15TalentMap
 
How Micro-Video Can Drive Learning Retention | Webinar 08.05.15
How Micro-Video Can Drive Learning Retention | Webinar 08.05.15How Micro-Video Can Drive Learning Retention | Webinar 08.05.15
How Micro-Video Can Drive Learning Retention | Webinar 08.05.15BizLibrary
 
Project Managers as instrument of change (change agents in action)
Project Managers as instrument of change (change agents in action)Project Managers as instrument of change (change agents in action)
Project Managers as instrument of change (change agents in action)PMI-Montréal
 

La actualidad más candente (20)

Social work: Crafting Goals and Objectives
Social work: Crafting Goals and ObjectivesSocial work: Crafting Goals and Objectives
Social work: Crafting Goals and Objectives
 
OECD Entrepreneurship360 white paper
OECD Entrepreneurship360 white paperOECD Entrepreneurship360 white paper
OECD Entrepreneurship360 white paper
 
Pp feedbac kpresbanyulenetworkversion3
Pp feedbac kpresbanyulenetworkversion3Pp feedbac kpresbanyulenetworkversion3
Pp feedbac kpresbanyulenetworkversion3
 
digitial book workplace brochure
digitial book workplace brochuredigitial book workplace brochure
digitial book workplace brochure
 
090828 ~ O Connor ~ Coaching
090828 ~ O Connor ~ Coaching090828 ~ O Connor ~ Coaching
090828 ~ O Connor ~ Coaching
 
Design Thinking Action Lab Course reflection
Design Thinking Action Lab Course reflectionDesign Thinking Action Lab Course reflection
Design Thinking Action Lab Course reflection
 
BA 208 Chapter 11 power point
BA 208 Chapter 11 power pointBA 208 Chapter 11 power point
BA 208 Chapter 11 power point
 
Then, Now, Next: Next Generation Learning Environments
Then, Now, Next: Next Generation Learning EnvironmentsThen, Now, Next: Next Generation Learning Environments
Then, Now, Next: Next Generation Learning Environments
 
CAES Example of a Work Personality Presentation Profile (Iintermediate)
CAES Example of a Work Personality Presentation Profile  (Iintermediate)CAES Example of a Work Personality Presentation Profile  (Iintermediate)
CAES Example of a Work Personality Presentation Profile (Iintermediate)
 
BA 208 Chapter 10 power point
BA 208 Chapter 10 power pointBA 208 Chapter 10 power point
BA 208 Chapter 10 power point
 
Why Neuroscience 2
Why Neuroscience 2Why Neuroscience 2
Why Neuroscience 2
 
Change management-28477
Change management-28477Change management-28477
Change management-28477
 
Change management-28477
Change management-28477Change management-28477
Change management-28477
 
ADHD Awareness Expo Take 1 Table
ADHD Awareness Expo Take 1 TableADHD Awareness Expo Take 1 Table
ADHD Awareness Expo Take 1 Table
 
Employee Engagement Seminar1
Employee Engagement Seminar1Employee Engagement Seminar1
Employee Engagement Seminar1
 
Is your boss bad your your mental health? Prof Stephen Bevan
Is your boss bad your your mental health? Prof Stephen BevanIs your boss bad your your mental health? Prof Stephen Bevan
Is your boss bad your your mental health? Prof Stephen Bevan
 
Corporate Training Myths and Facts
Corporate Training Myths and FactsCorporate Training Myths and Facts
Corporate Training Myths and Facts
 
TalentMap-Webinar-Deck-Impact of-Immediate-Manager-26mar15
TalentMap-Webinar-Deck-Impact of-Immediate-Manager-26mar15TalentMap-Webinar-Deck-Impact of-Immediate-Manager-26mar15
TalentMap-Webinar-Deck-Impact of-Immediate-Manager-26mar15
 
How Micro-Video Can Drive Learning Retention | Webinar 08.05.15
How Micro-Video Can Drive Learning Retention | Webinar 08.05.15How Micro-Video Can Drive Learning Retention | Webinar 08.05.15
How Micro-Video Can Drive Learning Retention | Webinar 08.05.15
 
Project Managers as instrument of change (change agents in action)
Project Managers as instrument of change (change agents in action)Project Managers as instrument of change (change agents in action)
Project Managers as instrument of change (change agents in action)
 

Similar a ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help

ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study helpICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study helpsmumbahelp
 
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - preparation notes
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - preparation notesICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - preparation notes
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - preparation notessmumbahelp
 
Building a learning organization
Building a learning organizationBuilding a learning organization
Building a learning organizationKinnar Majithia
 
ICFAI Human Resource Management - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Human Resource Management - Solved assignments and case study helpICFAI Human Resource Management - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Human Resource Management - Solved assignments and case study helpsmumbahelp
 
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study helpICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study helpsmumbahelp
 
Train to Ingrain Presentation
Train to Ingrain PresentationTrain to Ingrain Presentation
Train to Ingrain PresentationRick Stamm
 
Business Agility and Organisational Learning
Business Agility and Organisational LearningBusiness Agility and Organisational Learning
Business Agility and Organisational LearningShoaib Shaukat
 
Transforming Worker Attitudes Through Training Interventions- An Emotional In...
Transforming Worker Attitudes Through Training Interventions- An Emotional In...Transforming Worker Attitudes Through Training Interventions- An Emotional In...
Transforming Worker Attitudes Through Training Interventions- An Emotional In...galbabright
 
Lession Template
Lession TemplateLession Template
Lession TemplateArun Murali
 
Community Education Officer And Inclusion
Community Education Officer And InclusionCommunity Education Officer And Inclusion
Community Education Officer And InclusionSherry Ferguson
 
SCILs Executive CBA program
SCILs Executive CBA programSCILs Executive CBA program
SCILs Executive CBA programTomasKurten
 
course module of PPM
course module of PPMcourse module of PPM
course module of PPMpcte
 
Optimal Impact Trainings by Dan Maxwell, Jr
Optimal Impact Trainings by Dan Maxwell, JrOptimal Impact Trainings by Dan Maxwell, Jr
Optimal Impact Trainings by Dan Maxwell, JrDan Maxwell, Jr
 
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - work book
 ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - work book ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - work book
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - work booksmumbahelp
 
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study helpICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study helpsmumbahelp
 
Train the trainer (1)
Train the trainer (1)Train the trainer (1)
Train the trainer (1)Sumit Yadav
 

Similar a ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help (20)

ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study helpICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
 
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - preparation notes
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - preparation notesICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - preparation notes
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - preparation notes
 
Building a learning organization
Building a learning organizationBuilding a learning organization
Building a learning organization
 
ICFAI Human Resource Management - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Human Resource Management - Solved assignments and case study helpICFAI Human Resource Management - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Human Resource Management - Solved assignments and case study help
 
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study helpICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Principles of Management- Solved assignments and case study help
 
Train to Ingrain Presentation
Train to Ingrain PresentationTrain to Ingrain Presentation
Train to Ingrain Presentation
 
Business Agility and Organisational Learning
Business Agility and Organisational LearningBusiness Agility and Organisational Learning
Business Agility and Organisational Learning
 
Transforming Worker Attitudes Through Training Interventions- An Emotional In...
Transforming Worker Attitudes Through Training Interventions- An Emotional In...Transforming Worker Attitudes Through Training Interventions- An Emotional In...
Transforming Worker Attitudes Through Training Interventions- An Emotional In...
 
Lession Template
Lession TemplateLession Template
Lession Template
 
Vl Leadership Series Mkt
Vl Leadership Series MktVl Leadership Series Mkt
Vl Leadership Series Mkt
 
Community Education Officer And Inclusion
Community Education Officer And InclusionCommunity Education Officer And Inclusion
Community Education Officer And Inclusion
 
Employability Skills
Employability SkillsEmployability Skills
Employability Skills
 
2015 Lion Global HR Facilitated Training Programmes
2015 Lion Global HR Facilitated Training Programmes2015 Lion Global HR Facilitated Training Programmes
2015 Lion Global HR Facilitated Training Programmes
 
Chapter 13.ppt
Chapter 13.pptChapter 13.ppt
Chapter 13.ppt
 
SCILs Executive CBA program
SCILs Executive CBA programSCILs Executive CBA program
SCILs Executive CBA program
 
course module of PPM
course module of PPMcourse module of PPM
course module of PPM
 
Optimal Impact Trainings by Dan Maxwell, Jr
Optimal Impact Trainings by Dan Maxwell, JrOptimal Impact Trainings by Dan Maxwell, Jr
Optimal Impact Trainings by Dan Maxwell, Jr
 
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - work book
 ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - work book ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - work book
ICFAI - Business Communications and Soft Skills - work book
 
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study helpICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help
 
Train the trainer (1)
Train the trainer (1)Train the trainer (1)
Train the trainer (1)
 

Último

Riti theory by Vamana Indian poetics.pptx
Riti theory by Vamana Indian poetics.pptxRiti theory by Vamana Indian poetics.pptx
Riti theory by Vamana Indian poetics.pptxDhatriParmar
 
Metabolism of lipoproteins & its disorders(Chylomicron & VLDL & LDL).pptx
Metabolism of  lipoproteins & its disorders(Chylomicron & VLDL & LDL).pptxMetabolism of  lipoproteins & its disorders(Chylomicron & VLDL & LDL).pptx
Metabolism of lipoproteins & its disorders(Chylomicron & VLDL & LDL).pptxDr. Santhosh Kumar. N
 
Research Methodology and Tips on Better Research
Research Methodology and Tips on Better ResearchResearch Methodology and Tips on Better Research
Research Methodology and Tips on Better ResearchRushdi Shams
 
LEAD5623 The Economics of Community Coll
LEAD5623 The Economics of Community CollLEAD5623 The Economics of Community Coll
LEAD5623 The Economics of Community CollDr. Bruce A. Johnson
 
Dhavni Theory by Anandvardhana Indian Poetics
Dhavni Theory by Anandvardhana Indian PoeticsDhavni Theory by Anandvardhana Indian Poetics
Dhavni Theory by Anandvardhana Indian PoeticsDhatriParmar
 
2024 March 11, Telehealth Billing- Current Telehealth CPT Codes & Telehealth ...
2024 March 11, Telehealth Billing- Current Telehealth CPT Codes & Telehealth ...2024 March 11, Telehealth Billing- Current Telehealth CPT Codes & Telehealth ...
2024 March 11, Telehealth Billing- Current Telehealth CPT Codes & Telehealth ...Marlene Maheu
 
Alamkara theory by Bhamaha Indian Poetics (1).pptx
Alamkara theory by Bhamaha Indian Poetics (1).pptxAlamkara theory by Bhamaha Indian Poetics (1).pptx
Alamkara theory by Bhamaha Indian Poetics (1).pptxDhatriParmar
 
HỌC TỐT TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO CHƯƠNG TRÌNH GLOBAL SUCCESS ĐÁP ÁN CHI TIẾT - HK2 (...
HỌC TỐT TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO CHƯƠNG TRÌNH GLOBAL SUCCESS ĐÁP ÁN CHI TIẾT - HK2 (...HỌC TỐT TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO CHƯƠNG TRÌNH GLOBAL SUCCESS ĐÁP ÁN CHI TIẾT - HK2 (...
HỌC TỐT TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO CHƯƠNG TRÌNH GLOBAL SUCCESS ĐÁP ÁN CHI TIẾT - HK2 (...Nguyen Thanh Tu Collection
 
25 CHUYÊN ĐỀ ÔN THI TỐT NGHIỆP THPT 2023 – BÀI TẬP PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ ĐỀ MINH HỌA...
25 CHUYÊN ĐỀ ÔN THI TỐT NGHIỆP THPT 2023 – BÀI TẬP PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ ĐỀ MINH HỌA...25 CHUYÊN ĐỀ ÔN THI TỐT NGHIỆP THPT 2023 – BÀI TẬP PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ ĐỀ MINH HỌA...
25 CHUYÊN ĐỀ ÔN THI TỐT NGHIỆP THPT 2023 – BÀI TẬP PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ ĐỀ MINH HỌA...Nguyen Thanh Tu Collection
 
EDD8524 The Future of Educational Leader
EDD8524 The Future of Educational LeaderEDD8524 The Future of Educational Leader
EDD8524 The Future of Educational LeaderDr. Bruce A. Johnson
 
The OERs: Transforming Education for Sustainable Future by Dr. Sarita Anand
The OERs: Transforming Education for Sustainable Future by Dr. Sarita AnandThe OERs: Transforming Education for Sustainable Future by Dr. Sarita Anand
The OERs: Transforming Education for Sustainable Future by Dr. Sarita AnandDr. Sarita Anand
 
Auchitya Theory by Kshemendra Indian Poetics
Auchitya Theory by Kshemendra Indian PoeticsAuchitya Theory by Kshemendra Indian Poetics
Auchitya Theory by Kshemendra Indian PoeticsDhatriParmar
 
AUDIENCE THEORY - PARTICIPATORY - JENKINS.pptx
AUDIENCE THEORY - PARTICIPATORY - JENKINS.pptxAUDIENCE THEORY - PARTICIPATORY - JENKINS.pptx
AUDIENCE THEORY - PARTICIPATORY - JENKINS.pptxiammrhaywood
 
3.12.24 The Social Construction of Gender.pptx
3.12.24 The Social Construction of Gender.pptx3.12.24 The Social Construction of Gender.pptx
3.12.24 The Social Construction of Gender.pptxmary850239
 
3.12.24 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.pptx
3.12.24 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.pptx3.12.24 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.pptx
3.12.24 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.pptxmary850239
 
The basics of sentences session 8pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 8pptx.pptxThe basics of sentences session 8pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 8pptx.pptxheathfieldcps1
 
Arti Languages Pre Seed Send Ahead Pitchdeck 2024.pdf
Arti Languages Pre Seed Send Ahead Pitchdeck 2024.pdfArti Languages Pre Seed Send Ahead Pitchdeck 2024.pdf
Arti Languages Pre Seed Send Ahead Pitchdeck 2024.pdfwill854175
 
BÀI TẬP BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO ĐƠN VỊ BÀI HỌC - CẢ NĂM - CÓ FILE NGHE (GLOB...
BÀI TẬP BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO ĐƠN VỊ BÀI HỌC - CẢ NĂM - CÓ FILE NGHE (GLOB...BÀI TẬP BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO ĐƠN VỊ BÀI HỌC - CẢ NĂM - CÓ FILE NGHE (GLOB...
BÀI TẬP BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO ĐƠN VỊ BÀI HỌC - CẢ NĂM - CÓ FILE NGHE (GLOB...Nguyen Thanh Tu Collection
 
DLL Catch Up Friday March 22.docx CATCH UP FRIDAYS
DLL Catch Up Friday March 22.docx CATCH UP FRIDAYSDLL Catch Up Friday March 22.docx CATCH UP FRIDAYS
DLL Catch Up Friday March 22.docx CATCH UP FRIDAYSTeacherNicaPrintable
 

Último (20)

Riti theory by Vamana Indian poetics.pptx
Riti theory by Vamana Indian poetics.pptxRiti theory by Vamana Indian poetics.pptx
Riti theory by Vamana Indian poetics.pptx
 
Metabolism of lipoproteins & its disorders(Chylomicron & VLDL & LDL).pptx
Metabolism of  lipoproteins & its disorders(Chylomicron & VLDL & LDL).pptxMetabolism of  lipoproteins & its disorders(Chylomicron & VLDL & LDL).pptx
Metabolism of lipoproteins & its disorders(Chylomicron & VLDL & LDL).pptx
 
t-test Parametric test Biostatics and Research Methodology
t-test Parametric test Biostatics and Research Methodologyt-test Parametric test Biostatics and Research Methodology
t-test Parametric test Biostatics and Research Methodology
 
Research Methodology and Tips on Better Research
Research Methodology and Tips on Better ResearchResearch Methodology and Tips on Better Research
Research Methodology and Tips on Better Research
 
LEAD5623 The Economics of Community Coll
LEAD5623 The Economics of Community CollLEAD5623 The Economics of Community Coll
LEAD5623 The Economics of Community Coll
 
Dhavni Theory by Anandvardhana Indian Poetics
Dhavni Theory by Anandvardhana Indian PoeticsDhavni Theory by Anandvardhana Indian Poetics
Dhavni Theory by Anandvardhana Indian Poetics
 
2024 March 11, Telehealth Billing- Current Telehealth CPT Codes & Telehealth ...
2024 March 11, Telehealth Billing- Current Telehealth CPT Codes & Telehealth ...2024 March 11, Telehealth Billing- Current Telehealth CPT Codes & Telehealth ...
2024 March 11, Telehealth Billing- Current Telehealth CPT Codes & Telehealth ...
 
Alamkara theory by Bhamaha Indian Poetics (1).pptx
Alamkara theory by Bhamaha Indian Poetics (1).pptxAlamkara theory by Bhamaha Indian Poetics (1).pptx
Alamkara theory by Bhamaha Indian Poetics (1).pptx
 
HỌC TỐT TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO CHƯƠNG TRÌNH GLOBAL SUCCESS ĐÁP ÁN CHI TIẾT - HK2 (...
HỌC TỐT TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO CHƯƠNG TRÌNH GLOBAL SUCCESS ĐÁP ÁN CHI TIẾT - HK2 (...HỌC TỐT TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO CHƯƠNG TRÌNH GLOBAL SUCCESS ĐÁP ÁN CHI TIẾT - HK2 (...
HỌC TỐT TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO CHƯƠNG TRÌNH GLOBAL SUCCESS ĐÁP ÁN CHI TIẾT - HK2 (...
 
25 CHUYÊN ĐỀ ÔN THI TỐT NGHIỆP THPT 2023 – BÀI TẬP PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ ĐỀ MINH HỌA...
25 CHUYÊN ĐỀ ÔN THI TỐT NGHIỆP THPT 2023 – BÀI TẬP PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ ĐỀ MINH HỌA...25 CHUYÊN ĐỀ ÔN THI TỐT NGHIỆP THPT 2023 – BÀI TẬP PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ ĐỀ MINH HỌA...
25 CHUYÊN ĐỀ ÔN THI TỐT NGHIỆP THPT 2023 – BÀI TẬP PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ ĐỀ MINH HỌA...
 
EDD8524 The Future of Educational Leader
EDD8524 The Future of Educational LeaderEDD8524 The Future of Educational Leader
EDD8524 The Future of Educational Leader
 
The OERs: Transforming Education for Sustainable Future by Dr. Sarita Anand
The OERs: Transforming Education for Sustainable Future by Dr. Sarita AnandThe OERs: Transforming Education for Sustainable Future by Dr. Sarita Anand
The OERs: Transforming Education for Sustainable Future by Dr. Sarita Anand
 
Auchitya Theory by Kshemendra Indian Poetics
Auchitya Theory by Kshemendra Indian PoeticsAuchitya Theory by Kshemendra Indian Poetics
Auchitya Theory by Kshemendra Indian Poetics
 
AUDIENCE THEORY - PARTICIPATORY - JENKINS.pptx
AUDIENCE THEORY - PARTICIPATORY - JENKINS.pptxAUDIENCE THEORY - PARTICIPATORY - JENKINS.pptx
AUDIENCE THEORY - PARTICIPATORY - JENKINS.pptx
 
3.12.24 The Social Construction of Gender.pptx
3.12.24 The Social Construction of Gender.pptx3.12.24 The Social Construction of Gender.pptx
3.12.24 The Social Construction of Gender.pptx
 
3.12.24 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.pptx
3.12.24 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.pptx3.12.24 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.pptx
3.12.24 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.pptx
 
The basics of sentences session 8pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 8pptx.pptxThe basics of sentences session 8pptx.pptx
The basics of sentences session 8pptx.pptx
 
Arti Languages Pre Seed Send Ahead Pitchdeck 2024.pdf
Arti Languages Pre Seed Send Ahead Pitchdeck 2024.pdfArti Languages Pre Seed Send Ahead Pitchdeck 2024.pdf
Arti Languages Pre Seed Send Ahead Pitchdeck 2024.pdf
 
BÀI TẬP BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO ĐƠN VỊ BÀI HỌC - CẢ NĂM - CÓ FILE NGHE (GLOB...
BÀI TẬP BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO ĐƠN VỊ BÀI HỌC - CẢ NĂM - CÓ FILE NGHE (GLOB...BÀI TẬP BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO ĐƠN VỊ BÀI HỌC - CẢ NĂM - CÓ FILE NGHE (GLOB...
BÀI TẬP BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH 11 THEO ĐƠN VỊ BÀI HỌC - CẢ NĂM - CÓ FILE NGHE (GLOB...
 
DLL Catch Up Friday March 22.docx CATCH UP FRIDAYS
DLL Catch Up Friday March 22.docx CATCH UP FRIDAYSDLL Catch Up Friday March 22.docx CATCH UP FRIDAYS
DLL Catch Up Friday March 22.docx CATCH UP FRIDAYS
 

ICFAI Organizational Behavior - Solved assignments and case study help

  • 1. Dear students, get ICFAI latest Solved assignments and case study help by professionals. Mail us at : help.mbaassignments@gmail.com Call us at : 08263069601
  • 3. AN INTRODUCTION TO DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING TOOLS Participants in flexible learning programs have limitations on the nature of the time they can spend on learning. Typically they are employed fully or partially, pursuing higher studies or have other social and familial responsibilities. Availability of time is a great constraint to these students. To aidthe participants,we have developedfour unique learningtools as below:  Bullet Notes : Helps in introducing the important concepts in each unit of curriculum, equip the student during preparation of examinations and  Case Studies : Illustrate the concepts through real life experiences  Workbook : Helps absorption of learning through questions based on reallife nuggets  PEP Notes :Sharing notes of practices and experiences in the Industry will help the student to rightly perceive and get inspired to learn concepts at the cutting edge application level.placementinterviews Why are these needed?  Adults learn differently from B. School or college going students who spend long hours at campus.  Enhancing analytical skills through application related learning kits trigger experiential learning  Availability of time is a challenge.  Career success increasingly depends on continuous learning and success What makes it relevant?  How is it useful?   Where does this lead to? As and when you get 5 to 10 minutes you can read one of these and absorb and comprehend. Spending more time is your choice. You can use the time in travel, waiting for meetings, lunch time, small breaks or at home usefully. Through these tools, the learning bytes are right sized for ease of learning for time challenged participants. The content starts from practice and connect to precept making it easy to connect to industry and retain. They can be connectedto continuous assessment process of the academic program. Practitioners can use their real life knowledge and skill to enhance learning skills. Immediate visualization of the practical dimension of the concept will offer a rich learning experience.
  • 4.  Easier to move ahead in the learning process.   Will facilitate the student to complete the program earlier than otherwise.Helpsstay motivated and connected. When is it useful? 
  • 6. © The ICFAI Foundationfor Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderab ad, March, 2015.All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic,mechanical,photocopying or otherwise – without prior permission in writing from The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderabad. Ref. No. OB-PN-IFHE – 032015 For any clarification regarding this book, the students may please write to The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderabad giving the above reference number of this book specifying chapter and page number. While every possible care has been taken in type-setting and printing this book, The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), Hyderabad welcomes suggestions from students for improvement in fu ture editions. Our E-mail ID: cwfeedback@icfaiuniversity.in ii
  • 7. INTRODUCTION Participants in ICFAI University Programs are eager to apply theory to practice. They realize that application orientation can enhance their learning and subsequent usage of management precepts and practices. Picking out the principle behind real world events is critical to this learning. Towards this end the institution has introduced the PEP Notes. The PEP Notes (Practice, Experience and Perspective Notes) is a collection of annotative notes on practices, experiences and perspectives from industry as appearing in articles fromreputed sources such as Harvard Business Review, Economist, Mckinsey Quarterly, Accenture, Bain Consulting etc. Practice : Organizations follow practices based on their past learning Experience: Based on changing context, they face fresh experiences Perspective: Organization learns from the experience and the practice to gain fresh perspective These notes connect the three dimensions of the real world to key concepts in the subject. Each note is brief – about one to two pages and is adapted from t he article referred to in the note. The concept underlying the note is highlighted in a box. The concept is also connected to the article through an introductory abstract in a boxat the beginning. The learning outcomes expected are: 1. Real world Application based approach significantly enhances absorption and retention. 2. Exposure to the current trends,practices with illustrations connect back to theory. 3. Thoughts from leading sources. The PEP Notes may be used for Assessment. iii
  • 8. CONTENTS Block I: Fundamentals ofOrganizational Behavior 6 1. Manager as Disturbance Handler 7 2. Managerial Effectiveness in Digital Transformation 8 3. Meditation Rejuvenates Cognitive State of Mind for Decision-making 10 4. Delivering Quality Care through Scientific Management 11 5. Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work 12 6. Working Fathers 13 7. Non-verbal Communications Work for Negotiations 14 8. Open Door Policy 15 Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations 16 9. Emotional Agility 17 10. Personality Traits of B Players – Driving force for organizations 18 11. Thanksgiving Day 20 12. Motivation Helps to Overcome Work Pressure 21 13. Perspectives of Healthcare 22 14. Changing Workplace Learning 23 15. Learn to Reinforce through Negative Feedback 24 Block III: Dynamics ofOrganizational Behavior 25 16. High Impact Leadership 26 17. Inclusive Leadership 29 18. Blue Ocean Leadership 30 19. Techniques to Empower Employees 32 20. With Whom Not to Negotiate 33 21. Group Dynamics 34 22. Stop the Innovation Wars-Team Building 35 23. Building Great Teams 36 24. Diversity in Teams Gives the Best Thinking 38 Block IV: The Organization System 39 25. Reducing Employee Work -Hatreds 40 26. Behavioral Decision-Making 41 27. Productive Workplace Interruptions 42 iv
  • 9. 28. Power Play 43 29. Power in Leadership 45 30. Impact of Culture on Healthcare 46 Block V: Organizational Change and Organizational Development 47 31. Pragmatic Pathways to Change 48 32. Ten Principles for a Sustainable Culture Change 49 33. How Mc Namara brought Change in World Bank’s Culture? 50 34. Seniors to handle Frustrations of Millennials 51 35. Client- Consultant Relationships at MQ Telecommuniques (MQTC) 52 36. Hiring through smart techniques 54 37. TQM at Ramaiah Institute of Management Studies 55 38. Jack Welch as an OD Practitioner 56 v
  • 10. Block I: Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior 1. Manager as Disturbance Handler 2. Managerial Effectiveness in Digital Transformation 3. Meditation Rejuvenates Cognitive State of Mind for Decision-making 4. Delivering Quality Care through Scientific Management 5. Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work 6. Working Fathers 7. Non verbal Communications Work for Negotiations 8. Open Door Policy 6
  • 11. Block I: Fundamentals of OrganizationalBehavior 1. Manager as Disturbance Handler Managers, as disturbance handlers,have to tactfully handle both positive and negative interruptions. Amelia Blanquera, a New York city attorney and writer was beset for months by a co-worker who wanted to talk about his family problems, dating issues and experiments with new yoga styles. She tried to discourage him by moving to a desk at the center of their open office, making their conversations more awkward. She also donned headphones, if he popped up by her desk. As per a survey, more than 3 in 5 workers say they have at least one co-worker who over shares. One of the important roles of a manager is to act as a disturbance handler. Many people face interruptions at work because of which they are unable to perform well. There are certain people who indulge in excessive sharing of their personal problems with the colleagues causing damage not only to their careers but also to that of their colleagues. Such disturbances are to be curbed by managers. Managers have to handle such situations by giving them timely feedback, as this is a more of a psychological problem. Sue Shellenbarger says employees need to be counseled against excessive personal talks during office hours. Managers should openly say how uncomfortable and disturbed they are at work without hurting the employees who indulge in over-sharing. Quality of work life improves if organizations provide a conducive environment for work without distractions. Henry Mintzberg classifies management roles into three categories depending upon the extent of the interpersonal relationships, transfer of information and decision-making involved. One of the important decision roles of a manager is that of a disturbance handler. Managers need to effectively handle situations arising out of unforeseen circumstances. Discussion Questions 1. Explain how manager, as a disturbance handler, should perform? (Hints: handling difficult and unexpected situations-handling positive and negative interruptions- providing conducive environment for work) 2. Discuss how to handle the common interruptions that take place at workplaces (Hints: excessive sharing of personal and family problems- counseling-giving feedback- providing conducive environment) Source: Sue Shellenbarger, How to Curb Office Oversharing, Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 1.4 Disturbance handler Organizational Behavior 7
  • 12. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 2. Managerial Effectiveness in Digital Transformation Digital transformation requiresa strong leadership with efficient management skills. A Sloan survey of over 50 companies with $1 billion plus sales establishes that the best impact of technology resulting in transformation is when strong leadership intervenes. The pace, the scope and the success vary. The three key areas of impact are customer experience, operational processes and business models. These three key areas each have three elements that are changing. The nine elements which form the building blocks are: A. Transforming Customer Experience: Companies are digitally transforming customer experiences through Customer Understanding,Top-line Growth and Customer Touch Points. i. Customer Understanding: Technology helps in understanding the factors that lead to customer satisfaction and customer dissatisfaction. ii. Top line Growth: Technology has replaced the personal interactions between the companies and customers with digital interactions. This is to update the customer data faster and to provide customized services. Tablet based presentations; mobile tools, iPad with video etc are able to increase company’s overall revenue. iii. Customer Touch Points: Digital tools like twitter, online shopping and Smartphone apps linked to customer profiles that allow integration across SMS help companies to offer their services based on customer feedback. They enable them to shop fromhome and thereby save their time. B. Transforming Operational Processes: Companies adopting the operational process transformation are now able to focus more on Process Digitization, Worker Enablement and Performance Management. i. Process Digitization: Automation of services allowed the companies to reduce the labor requirements and to reduce product development lifecycle by 30%. It resulted in improved product quality and enhancement in environmental, health and safety performance. ii. Worker Enablement: Knowledge sharing and networking tools available for the collaboration allowed the employees to virtually connect with the organization. Customers are able to gain access to a single and global view of the company’s interaction. iii. Performance Management: Digital transformation is changing the process of strategic decision making by keeping the executives and top managers well informed and updated with detailed information about the products, regions and customers. C. Transforming Business Models: The three building blocks for this transformation are Digitally Modified Businesses,New Digital Businesses and Digital Globalization. i. Digitally Modified Businesses: Companies have understood the important role of digitization in sustaining and achieving growth in the market. Some companies go for digital offerings while some go for building digital wrappers around the traditional products. ii. New Digital Businesses: Companies are refining their business models through digitization by integrating their businesses with the multichannel and value chains to complement the traditional products. iii. Digital Globalization: The companies going digital are able to offer better customer services with integrated global information. None of the best companies are working on all nine elements. It requires management skills and strong leadership to drive the change. 8
  • 13. Block I: Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior Managers need to possess management skills such as technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills to successfully perform their jobs. The technical skills of managers in the field of accountancy, personnel management, operations research, marketing, information system, etc help them in performing their jobs better. Possessing human skills like the ability to understand people, the ability to communicate, and the ability to motivate makes it easier for managers to maintain peace and cooperation among the employees to ensure smooth functioning of the organization. Conceptual skills are the ability to analyze complex situations and to rationally process and interpret available information. Discussion Questions 1. What are the changing managerial skills required in the days of digital transformation? (Hints: in addition to technical, human and conceptualskills managers require leadership skills) 2. Discuss the three key elements in digital transformation (Hints: transforming customer experience- operational processes-business models) Source: George Westerman et al., The Nine Elements of Digital Transformation, MITSloan Management Review, January 7, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 1.5 Management skills Organizational Behavior 9
  • 14. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 3. Meditation Rejuvenates Cognitive State of Mind for Decision-making Meditation changesthe cognitive state of mind and improves decision-making. Some emotions obstruct decision-making process. Everyone has to overcome emotions to take unbiased decisions to save time and money, valid from consumer to the head of a billion-dollar corporation. Meditation can help reduce the dependence on past and future information for making unbiased decisions. Research was conducted on the effect of meditation on the elimination of the sunk-cost bias on decision making. Sunk-cost is a retrospective cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Results of a particular sunk cost affect decision making. Experiments conducted in the research to prove that relationship exists between mindfulness and the participant’s ability to refuse ‘the sunk cost bias’ prove d to be true. In the study, it was found that people who meditated were more resistant to the sunkcost bias than those who did not meditate. Authors opine that meditation changes the cognitive state of mind and improves decision - making. The cognitive approach is based on the expectancy, demand, and incentive concepts. Under this approach, behavior is determined with the help of cognition. The term cognition can be explained as a psychological process of recollecting information and past experiences. Cognition, in general, precedes behavior and thus provides inputs regarding a person’s thoughts, perception, problem solving, and information processing. Discussion Questions 1. Explain cognitive approach (Hints: expectancy-demand- psychologicalexpression- thoughts-perceptions-problem-solving- information) 2. Discuss the inter connection between meditation, cognition and decision-making) (Hints: emotions obstruct decision-making- meditation stabilizes mind-helps in unbiased decision-making- elimination of sunk cost) Source: Making a Big (or Small) Decision? How Meditation Can Help, Knowledge@Wharton, May 27, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 1.7 Cognitive framework Organizational Behavior 10
  • 15. Block I: Fundamentals of OrganizationalBehavior 4. Delivering Quality Care through Scientific Management Scientific Management is the best way to increase employee efficiency and achieve quick result. The alarming increase in the number of maternal and neonatal death cases reported in Namibia has put the Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social Services in tragedy. Most of the cases were from the sub-Saharan Africa. In order to meet the challenge, Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHS S) partnered with McKinsey and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and planned a pilot project called MHI (Maternal Health Initiative). MHI’s aim was to form different teams to target four most populous suburbs of Namibia’s capital- Hakahana, Katutura, Okuryangava and SamoraMachel-that were deprived of the antenatal checkups. The application of scientific methods like division of labor and proper methods of selection and training improved staff efficiency in health systems and reduced maternal and neonatal deaths in Namibia. • The division of labor: The entire team was divided into sub-teams to design solutions to the problems related to health workers and to the prevailing health system. The formation of sub-teams and delegation of work to reach the needy people fast were seen as hopeful. There were four sub - teams aimed at different targets to ensure quick results. • Selection and Training: Team 1focused on educating the expecting mothers about the care during pregnancy with the help of the hospital’s superintendent and with nurses and doctors. Earlier patients were not mentored due to shortage of nurses and lack of motivators. This was met by involving social leaders, ambulance drivers and middle managers by giving them proper training in the areas of mentoring and coaching. Team 2 helped an NGO to design a mobile ‘container clinic’ w ith fully equipped examination room to increase access to rural women because hospitals were located far from the village. Theynamed the clinic as CWI, acronym for child, woman and infant. This not only costed them 25% less than permanent buildings, but their nurses were trained to deliver quality care. Team 3: There was a shortage of nurses. Those present also werenot utilizing their time properly at the clinic. This team emphasized time management by reducing the operational time through preparation of staff schedules and trained themto utilize the idle time. Team 4: Women in these areas were illiterate and were unaware of the potential risks of HIV/AIDS to their babies. This problem was attended by this team by promoting health shows in local radio stations with the help of the Education and Health Care Officials. The above case shows how MHI, through scientific management could improve maternal health care for rural women. Frederick W. Taylor, ‘the father of scientific management,’ propagated the importance of the human element in organizations. Taylor proposed management practices such as division of labor and the use of scientific methods in selection, placement, and training of workers. Taylor made a significant effort to improve the working conditions of workers. Discussion Questions 1. What are the management practices advocated in Scientific Management? (Hints: division of labor- scientific methods of selection, placement and training of worker- improving working conditions-increasing employee efficiency) 2. Explain how application of scientific method helped MHI in improving maternal health care for rural women in Namibia (Hints: formation of sub teams- educating expecting mothers- mobile clinics- time management- health shows) Source: Kathleen McLaughlin et al., Saving mothers’ lives in Namibia, McKinsey & Company, June 2010 Unit/Section Topic Course 2.4 Scientific management Organizational Behavior 11
  • 16. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 5. Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work Organizationscan utilize human limitations by redesigningwork to handle the challengesof the 21st century. People with ‘autism’ spectrum are generally unemployable bec ause of certain human limitations and neurologically different behavior. ‘Autism’ is defined a s a developmental disorder with “impairment of the ability to communicate with others” and “preoccupatio n with repetitive activities of restricted focus”. But SAP AG, multinational software giant has set a target to hire 1% of their workforce with ‘autism’ by 2020. The reason behind the decision was a belief that people who think differently will be ready to take up big challenges. This emerging management principle was called by them as “the dandelion principle”. The inspiration for this change was a Danish consulting company Specialisterne where 75 % of its skilled employees were recruited with autism spectrum disorder as their abilities matched with software requirements. Their claim was based on the following observations: • Employees with autism were tolerant,able to focus and capable of taking up repetitive and detailed work • They do not interact much and generally work in solitary tasks • They have abilitiesto perform certain information technology tasks Specialisterne assigned special jobs to them that aligned with their individual abilities and tendencies to add significant value to organization and to achieve better results. Inspired by Specialisterne, Passwerk in Belgium, Auticon in Germany and Aspiritech in the United States implemented similar strategies. Why name dandelion? They named the principle as dandelion because though dandelion is considered a weed, it has got many positive characteristics such as: • Roots can be used to make coffee substitute • Leaves can be used in making soups • They are sources of calcium, potassium, iron and manganese • They are full of vitamins A,C,E,K, riboflavin and beta-carotene • Moreover, research is being carried out to see whether roots can be used to check cancer potential Organizations that employed people with human limitations were able to achieve value by generating opportunities for the untapped talent that people with different abilities possess. It helped them to harness their peculiarities for innovations and to attain competitive advantage to survive in an innovative economy. Human beings have certain physical and psychological limits beyond which they cannot change themselves. It also leaves the person in a state of confusion and he/she might commit several mistakes while processing the data. As a result, the person’s work might be ineffective. Though people make efforts to achieve perfection in their work, it is not easy to completely overcome these limitations. Organizations can design tasks in such a way that they can transformhuman limitations in productive ways. Discussion Questions 1. What do you understand by Dandelion principle? (Hints: people who think differently take up challenges- Dandelion, a weed has many strong points- people with limitations use their untapped talent and are innovative) 2. How can organizations transform human limitations in productive ways, by giving examples? (Hints: Specialisterne employed people with autism-used them in software which requires repetitive actions- assigned specialjobs) Source: Robert D. Austin and Thorkil Sonne, The Dandelion Principle: Redesigning Work for the Innovation Economy, MITSloan Management Review, May 19, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 3.4 Human Limitations Organizational Behavior 12
  • 17. Block I: Fundamentals of OrganizationalBehavior 6. Working Fathers Companieshave to acknowledge the changing roles of fathers, and create family- friendly workplacesso asto have great dads and great employees. Several changes are taking place in our society, transforming our hierarchical society into an egalitarian society. There are sufficient laws to have gender equality in workplaces but in the domestic front we find few. One of the important tasks in the domestic front is child care which traditionally was left to women. With societal changes, men have also started contributing to the family in terms of quality time, on finding the necessity as well as happiness derived in bringing up children, thereby calling for changes of certain accepted traditions and beliefs. The Central Government of India way back in 1999 made provis ions for paternity leave for a male Central Government employee (including an apprentice and probationer) with less than two surviving children for a period of 15 days to take care of his wife and new born child. Leading companies like Yahoo (8weeks), Bank of America (12 weeks), PwC (12-14 weeks), Cisco Systems India (12 weeks), Google India (10 days) and Infosys (5 days) grant paternal leave to their male employees. In this regard, India appears to be more forward than U.S. It is now recognized that workplace flexibility or work-life balance are as important to men as it is to women. Men’s demands to have paternal leave, though not on par with women have been justified with media’s active role. Men, along with great career s wanted to become great dads and there are many sportsmen who missed golden opportunities in their careers to be near their wives at the time of their child birth. The importance of both work and family to both men and women being clear, fathers or the new dads are now increasingly engaged in childcare and household responsibilities. Research shows that working fathers are being stressed and they are not being able to take time for their self and this is a matter of concern. Companies have to reduce this type of stress to ensure excellent performance from the new dads. It is important to have their well-being too. The HBR study shows significant improvement in the performance of employees as also satisfaction levels of work and family when their personal well-being is improved. Taking time for Self Satisfaction level with Satisfaction Satisfaction level personal well-being level with work with family Before taking time for self 4.3 7.4 6.5 After taking time for self 6.5 8.4 8.5 The changing role of fathers warrants certain privileges and support fromcompanies to have great dads and great employees. Family-friendly workplaces can enhance productivity and morale of the employees. The aim of creating a family-friendly workplace is to improve employee morale, enhance productivity and reduce absenteeism. By creating family-friendly workplaces, companies want to help employees in balancing their family life with careers. Programs like flexible work hours, paid holidays, care centers for the aged and children, relocation assistance have been taken up by organizations with the intention of enhancing employee morale and ensuring that they retain the talented employees working for the organization. Discussion Questions 1. What are the aims of creating family-friendly workplaces? (Hints: improve employee morale- enhance productivity-reduce absenteeism-work-life balancing) 2. Discuss the changing roles of fathers in the context of making our society egalitarian? (Hints: need for fathers’ contribution in child care-changin g attitudes-desire to become great dads- paternal leave- neglect of self- stress-need forpersonal well-being-satisfaction in work) Sources: (i) Scott Behson, The Rise of the Hands-On Dad, HBR Blog Network, June 13, 2014 (ii) Alyssa Westring and Stew Friedman, Working Dads Need “M e Time” Too, HBR Blog Network, June 13, 2014. Unit/Section Topic Course 4.4 Creating family-friendly workplaces Organizational Behavior 13
  • 18. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 7. Non-verbal Communications Work for Negotiations Using non-verbal communications like emotions Strategically help in negotiation process. Managing emotions is very important in negotiations. It can either make us strong or spoil the relationships in the process of negotiation. Negotiators generally have the fear of losing the power to act tactfully. Researchers and experts have come up with solutions to manage emotions by overcoming or disposing them at all sometimes. However, some researchers believed that emotions can be transformed into valuable benefits. They categorized emotions in to positive or negative emotions. They opined that the solution lies in the ability to identify the category of emotion and increase or decrease or completely change the emotion accordingly. A five-step approach to control emotions during negotiations are: • Identify your emotion: First step is to evaluate the feelings and experience in a situation. Then find out whether the feeling would benefit or obstruct you to achieve the goal of negotiation. Feeling can be frustration, anger, empathy, or happiness etc. If it benefits, then you have to proceed further or pass on the emotion in case of trouble. Ex:- An executive giving presentation to launch a new product has observed that some people were not impressed by the presentation. This can cause him to frustrate first. • Find the source of your emotion: After identifying the emotion,one has to change the focus of the concentration on the positive effects of the situation. Psychologists advise us on ways to relax, one of them being closing our eyes and breathing in to overcome stress. This would help to activate positive feelings to deal with the situation effectively. Ex:- The Executive can focus on people who were interested and smiling and leave those who were creating frustration in him. • Reinterpret the emotion: Often the first feeling is created out of fear. But, leisurely analyzing the situation may help you to overcome the feel or change the emotion in to another category. Ex:- Executive can attempt to identify the reason for the inattention of people and accordingly replace frustration with relief. • Replace the emotion:- When all the above efforts prove ineffective and when your feelings outburst,you can change yourphysiological expressions, body posture or breathing intensity. Ex:- The executive may attempt to turn towards the projector or change the speaking volume. • Take action to reflect your changed emotion:- Feelings that are internally created would not be visible to others unless expressed. Actions need to reflect those emotions. Ex:- The executive can apologize verbally or smile and ask the person who was creating frustration about the reason. This is necessary to continue the process further. Managing emotions and using them genuinely and strategically can create value for everyone. Non-verbal communication is the process of communicating without the use of words. It is also known as ‘silent language.’ Non verbal communication can be in the form of gestures, facial expressions, cues, vocal characteristics, etc. Discussion Questions 1. Explain different forms of non-verbal communications (Hints: communication without using words- gestures-facial expressions- cues-vocalcharacteristics) 2. Examine the five-step approach to control emotions during negotiations (Hints: identification of emotions- source of emotions- interpretation of emotions- replacing emotions-actions for changed emotions) Source: Shirli Kopelman, Make Your Emotions Work for You in Negotiations, Harvard Business Review, May 16, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 5.8 Non-verbal Communication Organizational Behavior 14
  • 19. Block I: Fundamentals of OrganizationalBehavior 8. Open Door Policy Open door policies help management inestablishing connectivity with employees, leading to trusted relationships. When Jane McIntyre, took over as CEO of the United Way of the Central Carolinas, she had to face the wrath of the employees as its predecessor left the company in a mess. In order to gain the trust of its beleaguered employees, she announced an open door policy. She made sure that every decision was discussed with employees in compulsory staff meetings and communicated face to face. She was open and accessible to employees to win their trust. In the open meetings employees were free to question her and the atmosphere was that of camaraderie. In order to win the trust of his employees, Mike Volpe, the Chief Marketing Officer for a software company, Hubspot, adopted few strategies, including radical transparency, sharing data, goals, missteps and milestones with everyone at every level .He found employees doing extremely well when they were given autonomy,authority and responsibility.He used to collect feedback anonymously and once he found the trust between them was declining because few employees who were misfit were allowed to go. Mike openly discussed the issue with employees and gave them facts which helped him to regain their trust. Company’s success to a large extent depends on the trust managers’ gain from employees and on the open door policies they adopt. One of the most effective trust building strategies is to have connectivity with subordinates. As power increases for managers, they tend to lose trust from the employees. Dougherty suggests few guidelines to help themto be in touch with themand to gain their confidence, which is essential for their success: • Be transparent and truthful-Managers should disclose company’s health and future goals honestly. • Encourage rather than command- Managers instead of forcing employees to do the job, need to motivate them to do it by empowering them to align their goals with that of company’s goals. • Take blame, but give credit- Recognizing and giving credit to employees and sharing the blames help a lot. • Don’t play favorites- Managers gain the trust of employees when they treat everyone equally without showing favoritism to anyone. • Show competence- Competence comes by updating the skills regularly and by collaborating with experts. Managers should be competent to win employees trust. If managers are open and adopt open door policies, success is most likely to be theirs. Communications will be effective if open door policies are followed by organizations. The open door policy allows the employees to approach their superiors,at any time, to discuss theirproblems. Discussion Questions 1. What do you understand by open door policy? (Hints: approaching superiors directly- connectivity with employees- trusted relationships) 2. Discuss the guidelines suggested by Dougherty to managers to win employee trust (Hints: transparency and truthfulness-encouraging-taking blame for mistakes-giving credit to employees-exhibiting competence) Source:Carolyn O’Hara, Proven Ways to Earn Your Employees’ Tr ust, HBR Blog Network, June 27, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 5.10 Open door policy Organizational Behavior 15
  • 20. Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations 9. Emotional Agility 10. Personality traits of B Players – Driving force for o rganizations 11. Thanksgiving Day 12. Motivation Helps to Overcome Work Pressure 13. Perspectives of Healthcare 14. Changing Workplace Learning 15. Learn to Reinforce through Negative Feedback 16
  • 21. Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations 9. Emotional Agility To remain emotionally stable, negative and difficult thoughts arising both at workplace and home are to be replaced by value-driven thoughtsand actions through continued efforts. Cynthia, a senior corporate lawyer with two young children always used to feel intense guilt about missed opportunities—both at the office, where her peers worked 80 hours a week while she worked 50, and at home, where she was often too distracted or tired to fully engage with her husband and children. She used to feel guilty in both aspects and wanted to be a good worker in the office and also a good mother. Jeffrey, a rising-star executive at a leading consumer goods company, though intelligent, talented, and ambitious, was often angry—at bosses who disregarded his views, subordinates who didn’t follow orders, or colleagues. He used to lose his temper several times at work and was being warned to get it under control. In both the cases, they were feeling discomfort which they wanted to avoid. They were being controlled by their inner experience, attempting to control it, or switching between the two. Negative and difficult thoughts and feelings are to have no place in any office. Executives, and particularly leaders, should be either stoic or cheerful; they must show emotional stability. But that is not possible always. All human beings have feelings, expressions and inner stream of thoughts that include criticism, doubt, and fear. The common problem with executives is that they face recurring emotional challenges at work—anxiety about priorities, jealousy of others’ succ ess, fear of rejection, distress over perceived slights —and have devised techniques to “fix” them: pos itive affirmations, prioritized to-do lists, total involvement in certain tasks. David and Congleton have worked with leaders in various industries to analyze emotional agility, which enables people to approach their inner experiences in a mindful, values -driven, and productive way rather than buying into or trying to suppress them. The authors offer four practices (adapted from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT) designed to help the two cases and also, in general, to develop emotional agility: • Recognize your patterns- The first step in developing emotional agility is to notice when you’ve been hooked by your thoughts and feelings. • Label your thoughts and emotions- Labeling allows you to see them as transient sources of data that may or may not prove helpful. • Accept them- Respond to your ideas and emotions with an open attitude, The important thing is to show yourself (and others)some compassion and examine the reality of the situation. • Act on your values- You can decide to act in a way that aligns with your values. Developing emotional agility is no quick fix- but over time, leaders who become increasingly adept at it are the ones most likely to thrive. Emotionally Stable people can endure stressful situations. They tend to feel emotionally secure. Such people can overcome tensions and perform their jobs effectively even under severe pressure. Emotional stability leads to emotional agility, which is ‘the ability to manage one’s thoughts and feelings’. Discussion Questions 1. What do you understand by emotional agility? (Hints: ability to manage one’s thoughts and feelings- emotional stability-driving away negative thoughts –imbibing value-driven thoughts) 2. What are the practices offered in the case to develop emotional agility? (Hints: recognition of negative thoughts quickly- labeling those thoughts-accepting them- acting on them) Source: Susan David and Christina Congleton, Emotional Agility, Harvard Business Review, November, 2013 Unit/Section Topic Course 7.3 Emotional Stability Organizational Behavior 17
  • 22. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 10. Personality Traits of B Players – Driving force for organizations Properly nurtured personality traits can be the driving forces for organizational development. Ivan Farmer, a manager in oil rigs of a large conglomerate was dissatisfied with his B players as they were less ambitious and were not comparable with A players. A players are star performers who are brilliant and contribute a lot to corporate organizations. He started disrespecting and disregarding his B players. While many B players left for being disregarded, A players also left the organizations for better prospects. As a result, performance started declining and he started respecting, valuing and rewarding B players. In general, organizations invest huge time, money and energy in recruiting s tar performers without understanding the reasons for decline in profits. A company’s long-term performance including survival is dependent on B players and not on A players. They help organizations with continued support, especially during a crisis. Characteristics of B Players: Playing strong character parts: • B players are not less intelligent than A, but A and B players differ in their temperament. B players are self-managed and like the proverbial wheel that never squeaks. On the other hand, A players squeak loudly to gain attention. • B players have a very high premium on work-life-balance and also value the time spent with family and friends, whereas A players would be ready to leave the organizations for personalreasons. James Nuckollswho graduated top in class from Princeton was appointed to study third-world development in Kenya. At 23, he was recruited by the American Foreign Service and held two major posts by 30. Leaving major opportunities ahead, Nuckolls returned to US to join a small publishing firm. He continued with the firm for more than a decade. He sacrificed his job of glory and fat paycheck to spend time with his family. A players are more mobile and would be ready to scale down their career for family and friends. • B players are truth tellers with religious zeal for honesty and true in their interactions with superiors. They are functional experts interested in their work and not in career. They are obedient to the company and this makes approachable to other colleagues. • Pete Lessiter is a loner in the trading division of a financial services firm. He is interested in his present job because of the technology,trading,and company infrastructure and with no intentions to move out. He is committed and sincere towards company’s values and culture. Once he discovered that office had paid more than the current price for its newly installed computer system, with the influence of a powerful executive, to please the client. While no one opened their mouth, Pete got involved courageously and saved millions of dollars to the company. • B players, though with second-rate functional skills, have extraordinary affiliation to organization’s processes and norms. They are called the ‘ go-to’ people. Cindy Friedman is an investment broker who lacked the analytical skills required to excel as a deal maker. As she was interested in the current high-paying job, she worked hard and developed a strong network that all others started consulting, when in need. • Some B players are called middling because they are less competent than other B players but they respect organization’s values though are less risk taking and are not entrepreneurial. Oscar-Winning Performance: • B players bring depth and stability to organizations to improve performance and resilience. B players balance to support the successes and failures equally. Especially in times of crisis, stability is the organization’s saving grace. 18
  • 23. Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations Richard Snow is an honest type of B player in New York investment bank. He was continuing in a higher position there safely but with no promotions. During the economic downturn of 2000, he was confident that his job was safe, but other younger colleagues were worried about their job. Richard started telling them stories about how Wall Street firms survived the financial crises and informed them that it requires some time, concerted efforts and emotional energy to overcome problems. This helped the company move towards a long-term recovery. • B players are not afraid of restructuring. They understand that change is inevitable and support accordingly. Not only do they assure to adapt on their part, they also impose a sense ofconfidence to the rest of the organization. They are good mentors in times of transition, stress and during change. Scibiolo is a group of biogenetics laboratories that underwent three disruptive change initiatives in five years. After the second restructuring, Paul Chung, a lab assistant who joined in Los Angeles from Asia was left without a boss for a research project. Bruce Jones, a veteran who once studied in Asia, took Paul into his team. He taught him about how the system works. Later, Paul’s abilities were apparent to everyone. • B players play a balancing role in transitions. When a new CEO takes over the organization, while A players would be ready for promotions and C players would try to bury their incompetence, B players get back to their work normally as they know the truth that they would be passed over for promotions. They ignore all the political fights and remain a backbone for the organization. Warewick Life Insurance is a company where, after huge losses, a new CEO took up leadership. She immediately fired 400 employees and replaced top people to shift focus from personal agents t o electronic commerce. While otherplayers wasted their time in expecting what would happen,B players were poised and continued to work by managing with the use of computer technology, with very little guidance or mentoring. The personality traits of B players and the cases given clearly show that B players are most suitable to organizations and they need to be nurtured, encouraged and recognized for the success of the organizations. An individual’s personality traits and attitudes determine his/her behavior to a large extent. Invariably, these factors also have an impact on the person’s behavior at the work place. There are five important personality traits – Extroversion, Agreeableness, Con scientiousness, Emotional Stability and Openness to experience. Discussion Questions 1. ‘Personality traits and attitudes determine one’s behavior’- Justify (Hints: extroversion- agreeableness-conscientiousness-emotional stability- openness to experience) 2. Discuss the personality traits of B Players as driving forces for organization development (Hints: self-managed- truth tellers- extraordinary affiliation to organization-adaptable-balancing behavior) Source: Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan, Let’s Hear It for B Players, Harvard Business Review, June, 2003 Unit/Section Topic Course 7.3 Personality traits Organizational Behavior 19
  • 24. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 11. Thanksgiving Day Expression of gratitude reflects positive attitude of the employees towardsthe company which has a powerful effect. Expression of gratitude, a positive attitude, enables people to feel valued. It increases pro-social behavior. Research by Francesca Gino of Univ. of North Carolina and Adam Grant of Wharton show that gratitude expressed in business increased quantumof business by up to 50%. Thanksgiving Day, a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November every year is a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and is also a celebration in acknowledgment of kindness. Families like to reflect on the year and give thanks for their blessings. Francesca Gino writes that the idea behind this is to thank all people who have helped them in their lives and express gratitude to them. Gino says that we often forget expressing gratitude at our workplace, which is equally important. A recent survey released in 2013 on 2000 Americans by John Templeton Foundation says majority of the people are not thankful to their job and work related people who have helped them. In fact there are several benefits in feeling and extending thanks: • Indication of positive experiences • Reduces stress and is a coping mechanism • Helps in meeting challenges with courage • Strengthens social relationships • Gives greater life-satisfaction • Improves health and well-being • Makes a positive impact on the receiver • Connects people. • Leaves powerful and long-lasting effects on the receivers • Enables people to be socially valued and increases pro-social behavior Several research studies show that those who thanked have received several benefits compared to those who did not and thanks receivers were more inclined to help further than those who did not receive thanking expressions or letters. The authorsays people should make use of thanks giving not only on Thanksgiving Day but also during other occasions to make work happier, meaningful and constructive. Thanksgiving is a positive attitude which improves our health and well-being Attitude is the way people form an opinion, their thoughts or feelings toward a certain object, people or events. It generally remains the same for a long period unless influenced by external forces. It can be negative or positive. It is the feelings or beliefs held by an individual toward an object, person or event. Discussion Questions 1. Explain attitude (Hints: forming opinions- positive and negative- adds value- organizational effect) 2. What are the benefits in thanksgiving? (Hints: reduces stress-meeting challenges- strengthens relationships-improves health- connects people-increases social behavior) Source: Francesca Gino, Be Grateful More Often, HBR Blog Network, November 26, 2013 Unit/Section Topic Course 7.7 Concept of Attitudes Organizational Behavior 20
  • 25. Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations 12. Motivation Helps to Overcome Work Pressure Motivation can help increase employee productivity and job satisfaction. Mr. Luke Kissam, the chief executive of Albemarle, a multibillion-dollar chemical company recognized that both he and his employees were experiencing exhaustion and burnouts at work. He took that as a challenge and introduced breaks into his own work and to that of his employees. He used to think for a long time, at least once in a week.He started sending handwritten appreciation notes to his people inside and outside the organization. He also modified the practices of meetings, email, flexible work arrangements, conflict resolution and recognition. By 2014, as many as 1000 leaders and managers in his organization followed him. This shift in the mind set encouraged employeesto increase their productivity,loyalty and performance. Safety records were improved as employees were more focused and profitability was also on the increase. Technological advancements and information explosions lead employees to work under pressure. The demands of organizations are exceeding the capacities of employees. These pressures are halting employees from fully utilizing their skill, talent and energy. A report by Gallup poll on employee engagement in 2013 has reported that just 13% were engaged at work. A survey conducted on 12,000 white-collar employees by Harvard Business Review across employees at two Energy Projects revealed similar results. From the surveys and reports, it was found that employees could be motivated to be committed and loyal towards organizations when their four core needs were identified and met. The four core needs are Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual. • Physical: Provide opportunities to renew and recharge employees at work. Renew and recharge at work:- Employees who took 90 minutes break reported a 30% higher level of focus than those who took one or no breaks at all during the day. Creativity also increased among them by nearly 50% and raised health levels by 46%. It also increased the chances of employee continuity in the organizations by 100%. • Emotional: Create value and appreciate employee’s contributions. Value:- A sense of trust and care from supervisors had a significant impact on employees. Employees who had the support of their supervisors were 1.3 times more likely to stay with the organization and were also 67% more engaged than others. • Mental: Help employees to focus on one task at a time, by defining when and how to get their work done. Focus:- 20% respondents were able to focus on one task with 50% increase in engagement. Those who were able to prioritize their tasks were 1.6 times better able to focus on one task. • Spiritual: Assign such tasks to employees that they enjoy most and do best. Purpose:- This was the highest impact variable in the survey. Employees who understood the meaning and significance of their work were likely to stay with the organizations more than three times. They reported 1.7 times higher job satisfaction and were 1.4 times more engaged at work. Motivation is a psychological phenomenon and is regarded as the cause of behavior. In an organizational set-up, managers need to motivate employees to ensure greater commitment on the part of employees. Motivation is constituted by elements such as needs, drives, and incentives. Knowledge about these elements helps in understanding motivation. Discussion Questions 1. What do you understand by motivation? (Hints: psychologicalphenomenon- needs,drives and incentives-improves performance) 2. What according to the Gallup Study-2013 are the needs to be met to motivate employees for higher performance? (Hints: Physical-emotional- Mental-spiritual needs) Source: Tony Schwartz and Christine Porath, Why You Hate Work, The New York Times, May 30, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 8.5 Motivation Organizational Behavior 21
  • 26. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 13. Perspectives of Healthcare Perception centered on patient rather than provider can create sustainable healthcare solutions. KavehSafavi is Managing Director, Accenture’s Global Health Practice. Before getting into business of healthcare, he started his career as a physician and served for six years. He is specialized in Pediatrics and internal medicine. In his professional life as a Physician, he observed the following challenges faced by patients: • Healthcare was provider-centric rather than patient-centric. • Patients face big challenges in getting appointment of doctoror to contact them through telephone. Health records accessibility was also a challenge. • Patient needs were not taken care of. He gradually realized that healthcare was transforming, bringing about a radical transformation in the perceptions of patients: • Patient-centricities had become an important goal to all healthcare providers • Patients were able to contact physicians through emails and social networking sites • Healthcare technology increased the transparency of information • Patients were able to access their electronic medical records • Physicians approach towards patients changed and they now concentrated on solving patient problems He identified how healthcare delivery system became gradually organized and how technology helped to foster the availability of care within the reach of rural poor. Eg:- Telemedicine reaching the doorsteps of patients at every corner. His contribution in healthcare development added value to the delivery systems. He believed that the most critical problem in healthcare was not the relationship of cost and outcomes but of trust and relationship between the provider and the patient. Being a guest in the life of a patient and serving himby acting as a father or a caregiver can help build a good relationship. The inclusion and forgiveness exhibited by Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela were considered as powerful tools by him for his own transformation. Perception is a cognitive process wherein an individual collects, organizes, and interprets data from the environment to obtain a meaning from it. Perception differs from person to person for the same situation. Each person interprets the data in his own way and comes up with different meanings. People react to situations based upon their perception of reality rather than to the reality itself. Therefore, understanding the variations in the perceptions of individuals will help in understanding their organizational behavior better. Discussion Questions 1. Perceptions vary from person to person- Justify the statement (Hints: cognitive process-individuals interpret data differently- react differently- may not always be real) 2. What are the perceptions of the Managing Director of Accenture with regard to patients? (Hints: patients are contacting physicians frequently- able to access electronic media- relationship with patients to improve) Source: Q&A with Accenture’s Kaveh Safavi, Perspectives, Accenture.com, March 7, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 9.3 Significance of Perception Organizational Behavior 22
  • 27. Block II: Individual Behavior in Organizations 14. Changing Workplace Learning Significance of learning can be measured through business impact. CEOs around the world today are facing tough competition. Leading innovations can help them survive in such a world. Innovations need talented and highly competent, motivated and engaged employees. Top companies understand that more than acquiring talent, developing and nurturing it is more important to achieve success in the future. Companies are now reinventing workplace learning culture to develop innovative leaders in the organization for the future success: • Get out of the classroom:- To increase the workplace productivity, traditional methods of learning in a classroom have to be replaced by new methods. Advances in mobile devices and cloud technology can be used to find the best way of learning that creates innovation and informal approaches to learning. • How workplace learning is changing:- Networking, information sharing and informal coaching allows workers to learn at anyplace and at anytime. Ex: short videos and game-like simulations. More social collaborations, team-based activities and decentralized peer-to-peer learning help workers to learn continuously and instantly. Companies today are emphasizing not on how employees acquire knowledge but more on how they apply it. They understood that they have to provide only an effective learning environment to enable workers to access knowledge repositories for quick learning and for proving their new skills. • Learning should be continuous:- To be successful, employees should continuously learn from day one and should not wait for the management to provide themtraining, even in case of job expansion or job enrichment. Technological advancements allow workers to access information continuously without leaving scope to failures. Workers who do not learn and depend on their management are likely to upset their careers. • Measure results, not activity:- Results have to be measured not by the number of training classes conducted and attended but on how the learning impacts the business. Learning success is measured on how much an employee is engaged for increasing productivity. The measurement metrics include sales cycles, service response times, customer satisfaction, product quality and other business metrics. Reinventing workplace learning resulted in developing innovative leaders at all levels of the organization and reduced the attrition rate by 80 percent. Learning is defined as “the acquisition of knowledge o r skills through study, practice, or experience.” The concept of learning is significant in understanding, developing, and managing human resources in an organization. Scholars and practitioners of behavioral science agree that analyzing learning helps in managing the human resources of an organization effectively, as all the behaviors of people are learnt either directly or indirectly. Hence, the process and principles of learning can be utilized by organizations to mould the behavior of employees and to enhance their performance. Discussion Questions 1. How important is learning for developing human resources? (Hints: acquisition of knowledge- helps understanding and developing-moulds individual behavior- enhances performance) 2. How are innovative leaders developed through workplace learning culture? (Hints: learning through mobile and cloud technology-Networking-information sharing-continuous learning-measuring business impact) Source: Jenny Dearborn, Redefining Workplace Learning For The 21st Century, Forbes.com, October 16, 2013 Unit/Section Topic Course 10.3 Significance of learning Organizational Behavior 23
  • 28. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 15. Learn to Reinforce through Negative Feedback Learning to deal with negative reinforcement can reduce disappointment and keep employees motivated. “Praise in public, criticize in private” – old manag ement mantra. This old mantra seems to be obsolete for today’s business environment. Sometimes criticizing in public becomes necessary, especially when working in groups irrespective of others comforts. This does not mean to say that people are not ready to take corrective feedback. Even well experienced and expert workers want to receive the corrective feedback. Consulting firm Zenger Folkman reiterates that though managers do not like giving critical feedback, employees feel that negative feedback will help them improve. There is one limitation for this principle of feedback. It is the praise-to-criticism ratio. Studies conducted on effective teams and happily married couples revealed that there is an ideal ratio of five compliments to every criticism, which all managers should implement. Tips for Dealing with Negative Feedback: • Never combine praise with criticism – Separate negative feedback from positive feedback. If combined, the message gets diluted. • Regularly examine and give direct reports – Make it as a weekly routine practice • Don’t merge negative feedback with pay and promotion – Discussing negative feedback in performance appraisals would make even the soft employee emotional. Both the discussions should be separated. • Ask permission – Take their approval before giving them negative feedb ack. It reinforces them to hear negative feedback. • Ascertain Facts – Explain to them the negative behavior observed and ask for explanation before drawing conclusions. • Target the new behavior- Criticize for a positive reinforcement. Educate employees on the benefits of working differently. • Show empathy – Even if it is a bad news, tell them straight and giv e them some time to reflect on it. Especially so with top performers because studies showthat they are very sensitive. • Praise effort, not ability – Carol Dweck’s research asks to praise the effort and not the ability. This will reduce the feeling of criticism and keep the employees motivated. Managing positive feedback is easy for managers, but they have to learn how to deal with negative feedback and reinforce them for desirable consequences. Negative reinforcement and punishment are common forms of negative control of behavior. Negative reinforcement also strengthens and increases the probability of a particular behavior being repeated,but by withdrawing an undesirable consequence. Discussion Questions 1. Differentiate positive and negative feedback (Hints: praise-criticize; feedback- reinforcement- withdrawing undesirable consequences) 2. Give some tips to deal with negative feedback (Hints: praise and criticism to be separate- feedback and pay to be dealt separately- ascertain facts- praise effort) Source: Sarah Green, Everything You Need to Know About Giving Negative Feedback, Harvard Business Review, June 30, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 10.5 Positive and Negative reinforcement Organizational Behavior 24
  • 29. Block III: Dynamics of Organizational Behavior 16. High Impact Leadership 17. Inclusive Leadership 18. Blue Ocean Leadership 19. Techniques to Empower Employees 20. With Whom Not to Negotiate 21. Group Dynamics 22. Stop the Innovation Wars - Team Building 23. Building Great Teams 24. Diversity in Teams Gives the Best Thinking 25
  • 30. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 16. High Impact Leadership High impact leadership can improve care and reduce cost to the healthcare sector. High impact leadership is required for any organization which aspires to become a high performing organization. Healthcare is no exception. Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) has developed a framework with three goals for healthcare: • Improve care- a shift from volume to value. • Improve the health of populations-focus on improving the health. • Reduce costs. To achieve these triple aim goals, high impact leadership is required, which consists ofthree interdependent dimensions: • New Mental Models-How leaders think about challenges and solutions. • High Impact Leadership Behaviors- What leaders do to make a difference. • High Impact Leadership Framework- Where leaders need to focus their efforts. 1. How Leaders Think: It is important to know what leaders think because they are the ones who provide the context and direction for leadership behaviors and for promoting innovation. High impact leadership requires such mental models from leaders, moving from volume-based to value-based healthcare system. New Mental Models: Volume to Value Volume Value Patient Satisfaction Persons as Partners in their Care Increase Top- Line Revenue Continuously decrease per unit cost and waste Complex All-purpose Hospitals and Facilities Lower cost,Focused care Delivery Sites Quality Departments and Experts Quality Improvement in Daily work for all staff 2. What Leaders Do: High impact leadership behavior focuses on persons and communities. If leaders depict role-model behavior, their impact on persons and communities will be high. If persons in the organization and communities change, the culture is also shaped in a new way. If leaders adopt High Impact Leadership Behaviors, as reflected in Person-centeredness, Front-line Engagement, Relentless Focus, Transparency and on being Boundariless, they will be moving their organizations to high performance levels. Person-centeredness: Effective healthcare leaders are person-centered; interact with patients and families in all aspects-about prevention,disease control, improvements and results Jed Weissberg of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, Kaise Permanente adopted a Communicating Unanticipated Outcomes Policy for communicating with patients and families with empathy and skill in a coordinated way. J. Michael Henderson, Cleveland Clinic always felt that future leaders should possess strong clinical skills, commitment to patient care and ability to build multidisciplinary teams. He wanted Cleveland Clinic leaders to be patient centered and to closely interact with the front line caregivers because they are the ones who actually work. Front Line Engagement: Effective leaders build trust and establish an understanding ofthe work at the front lines of care by regularly meeting colleagues and exhibiting genuine interest in the work performed. Derek Feeley, Chief Executive of Scotland’s National Health Service started interacting with staff when some manipulation occurred. He insisted that leaders should be accessible, authentic and open for developing cultural engagement when providing care patients. The four values to be imbibed are: care and compassion; dignity and respect; openness and honesty; and quality and teamwork. 26
  • 31. Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior Relentless Focus: Focused leaders consciously spend time thinking on ways to reinforce and role-model the vision through their actions and behavior. They believe in establishing a strategic vision to be achievers with a sense of urgency. David J. Ballard and leaders at Baylor Health Care System (BHCS) constantly reinforces the organizational vision and strategy linked to STEEEP (Safe, Timely, Effective, Efficient, Equitable and Patient-centered). The STEEEP shaped the culture at BHCS, focusing on healthcare quality to more than 20,000 employees. Transparency: Transparency is a powerful catalyst for organizational change and learning. Leaders need to be open and firm for eliminating defects. Leaders must ensure that their organization’s information system provide the data needed to identify gaps so as to address them. William Bill Rupp, CEO of Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida asked his staff to display relevant patient centered performance data in the hallways for everyone to see. He leads morning rounds in the hospital to review results with staff and participates in their efforts to improve them. Boundarilessness: Connecting colleagues on multidisciplinary teams and from different parts of organization is a good technique of being boundariless for achieving Triple Aim results. Peter J. Knox of Bellin Health by creating a win-win arrangement for the health system, Dan Wolterman of Memorial Hermann Health System by helping patients stay healthy through the use of sophisticated monitoring and care management activities and Gary Kaplan of Virginia Mason Health System by encouraging system thinking and collaboration across boundaries, tried to improve their respective organizations. 3. What Leaders need to focus upon: Effective leaders focus their efforts. The IHI High- Impact Leadership Framework is a practical method of focusing and organizing leadership efforts for leading improvement and innovation. The six domains of the framework are: IHI High-Impact Leadership Framework Create Vision and Build Will Driven by Persons and Community Develop Deliver Capability Results Shape Culture Engage Across Boundaries 1. Persons and community-Persons and community at the center indicates the prime responsibility of leaders is to give personal and community centered care to patients. 2. Create Vision and Build Will- Articulation of a clear and compelling vision for the organization’s future is a key to building good-will. Building will involves connecting emotionally with staff. 3. Develop Capabilities-Senior leaders must develop infrastructure that supports organizational capacity and capability for embracing change and innovation. 4. Deliver Results-Delivering results on focus and setting,and managing priorities 27
  • 32. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 5. Shape culture-Leaders must establish an organizational culture that supports achievement of the vision and aims. 6. Engage across boundaries-To achieve Triple Aim results for the population they serve and move toward truly person-centered care, leaders must engage with others- families, other providers, community resources beyond the walls of their organization. Thus the High Impact Leadership, as reflected in new mental models, high impact leadership behaviors and high impact leadership framework are required for leaders throughout the organization for achieving Triple Aim Results in healthcare. IHI has been successfully implementing these concepts. The important traits of effective leaders are: initiative, ambition, desire to lead, integrity, self-confidence, analytical ability, knowledge of a specific company, industry, or technology, creativity and flexibility. These traits make a high impact on leadership. Discussion Questions 1. Mention few important traits of effective leadership that lead to high impact leadership (Hints: integrity- desire to lead- confidence- analytical ability-flexibility) 2. Explain the significance of high impact leadership in achieving the triple aim goals of healthcare (Hints: For improving care, heath and reduce costs high impact leadership is required- Mental modes- Leadership behavior-person centeredness-Focus-boundarilessness) Source: Swensen S. Pugh M. Mc Mullan C Kabcenell A. High Impact leadership; Improve care, Improve the Health of Populations and Reduce Costs, IHI White Paper, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2013 Unit/Section Topic Course 11.4 Traits of effective Leaders Organizational Behavior 28
  • 33. Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior 17. Inclusive Leadership Inclusion in leadership behavior influences innovation. Inclusiveness in leadership is different to different people and different countries. Jeanine Prime and Elizabeth R. Salib from Catalyst Research Center have researched on inclusive leadership by surveying 1512 employees, picking about 250 employees each from six different countries -Australia, China, Germany, India, Mexico and the United States, the sample consisting of equal number of men and women in their research. They considerinclusive leadership as a combination of belongingness and uniqueness.It means that inclusive leaders need to value the diversity of talents, experiences and identities that employees bring and also need to find a common ground. When employees feel uniquely recognized for their differences and feel a sense of belongingness based on sharing common attributes and goals, organizations become effective. The findings of the research show that inclusion is linked to Employee Reports of Innovation and Helpfulness. Innovation here implies-identifying opportunities for new products and processes and trying out new ideas and approaches to problems. In all the six countries,the following points are dominant: • Employees who felt more included were more likely to report innovation on the job • The more employees felt included, the more they are engaged in team citizenship behavior- going above and beyond to help other team members and to meet workgroup objectives • Employees felt included when, simultaneously, they perceived they were similar to or distinct from their co-workers • The four leadership behaviors linked to inclusion are Empowerment, Humility, Courage and Accountability. These four behaviors togetherform altruistic leadership. • Except in the case of India, in the rest of the five countries, those who perceived more altruistic behavior, reported greater sense of uniqueness and belongingness, and consequently, inclusion. In the Indian model, though, there was link between altruistic leadership and inclusion, there was no evidence that uniqueness and belongingness were the causal factors. The findings of the research showthat leadership behavior is important for organizational effectiveness. Researchers believe that the success of leaders is largely dependent upon their behavior and actions and less on personality traits. They say that behavior could be modified over a period and leaders could be developed. It means that leaders were not born but had to be developed. Discussion Questions 1. Air your views on ‘Leaders are born or made’ (Hints: leadership traits indicate leaders are born- Behavior and actions show leaders can be made- behavior could be moulded ) 2. Show that leadership behavior is important for organizational effectiveness (Hints: Inclusiveness-belongingness-uniqueness-innovation-helpfulnes) Source: Jeanine Prime and Elizabeth R. Salib, Inclusive Leadership: The Views from Six Countries, Catalyst 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 11.5 Leadership Behavior vs. Traits Organizational Behavior 29
  • 34. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 18. Blue Ocean Leadership Blue ocean leadership approach boosts the morale of team members and enhances business results. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne,professors at INSEAD and authors of Blue Ocean Strategy, say that companies can succeed by adopting ‘blue ocean leadership’ a pproach. Changes that are brought in leadership with Blue Ocean Strategy: • Blue ocean leadership focuses on what acts and activities leaders need to undertake to boost the morale of their team members and to enhance business results. They do not concentrate on values, qualities and behavioral styles because it is easier to change acts and activities. • In blue ocean leadership, leadership practices are closely connected to market realities that enhance motivation. • Blue ocean leadership programs focus on all the three management levels -top, middle and frontline, making all leaders empowered. Four Steps in Putting into Practice Blue Ocean Leadership: • Seeing Leadership Reality: Changes can be made only after thoroughly understanding who stands where and who does what. At British Retail Group (BRG), it was felt that senior managers spend most of the time on the acts and activities of middle level managers. Frontline managers were deferring customer queries to please their bosses. Everyone was playing safe without attending to customers. It required changes at all levels. • Developing alternate leadership profiles: Here Blue ocean leadership grid is prepared to analyze which acts and activities leaders should do less or more and which acts and activities add value and which do not. • Selecting to be leadership profile: The leadership profiles are prepared and shown to everyone, making every individual leader more open to change. Finally, ‘what to be’ leadership profile is prepared by top managers to move forward on at each level. 30
  • 35. Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior At BRG, ‘Liberate, Coach and Empower’ was the tag-line for middle management’s to-be-profile with which leader’s attention shifted from controlling to supporting employees. This involved eliminating and reducing oversight activities and included new actions aimed at managing, disseminating and integrating the knowledge of frontline leaders and their staff. • Institutionalizing new leadership practices: Organizations then distribute the agreed-on to-be profiles to the leaders at each level, explaining what should be eliminated, reduced, raised and created. Leaders then explain how new leadership profiles become effective. This transformation helped BRG to reduce frontline turnover from 40% to 11% in the first year and reduced recruitment and training costs by 50%. BRG’s customer satisfaction scores climbed by over 30% and leaders at all levels were less stressed and more energized. Blue ocean leadership works because leaders just have to undertake a different set of tasks and that kind of change is much easier to implement and track than changes to values and mind-sets. The continuous advancement in technology in the present business environment has implied that the leaders require more than just personality traits or behavior to accomplish their tasks. It has become necessary for leaders to possess the relevant knowledge and skills to survive in this highly competitive and complex business world. Blue ocean leadership skills are closely related to market realities. Discussion Questions 1. How can Blue Ocean Strategy be used to bring about changes in leadership? (Hints: focused on activities to boost employees’ morale-Focused on all levels of management) 2. Discuss the steps involved in implementing Blue Ocean Strategy. (Hints: see leadership reality-Develop alternate leadership profile-Selecting leadership profile) Source: W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Leadership, Harvard Business Review, May, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 11.6 Leadership Skills Organizational Behavior 31
  • 36. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 19. Techniques to Empower Employees Empowering enablesemployees to explore their real potential. Employees rely on their boss to seek suggestions whenever a new task is given. A research conducted by Claremont McKenna College, and Tsinghua University from Penn state shows that at places where boss is not just a boss but is a transformational leader, employees are trained to become empowered and self-guided. There are six techniques to empower employees: • Encourage In-The-Moment Feedback: - Feedback whether positive or negative should be given to employees immediately after the performance so that corrective steps can be taken consequently. It should be a valuable and constructive feedback. • Cultivate the Executive Mentality:-The mindset of employee has to be tuned towards achieving main goals with clarity about his own tasks and processes. This can be done through regular meetings with the teammembers and also sharing with other teams in the organization. • Present New challenges and opportunities:- New tasks have to be assigned to employees based on their strengths, work interests and skills. This will create enthusiasm and provide an opportunity to improve their performance. Ex:- A person good at email interactions can be given the task of handling phone interactions to explore his potentials. People who possess the skills of leadership can be given an opportunity to lead a customer workshop. • Respect their boundaries:- As far as possible, tasks have to be assigned to an employee bearing in mind his capabilities and comfort zone. • Give them flexibility:- New task should allow the employee to work with flexibility. However, proper directions should be given to him to extend his flexibility within the purview of the new task and see that it would direct him to the right path. • Don’t babysit:- Freedom and autonomy has to be given to employees to work independently without spoon feeding them for every task. Manager should exhibit trust on employees and motivate them to achieve their goals with confidence. Giving an opportunity to act independently to take decisions will certainly empower the employees. Empowerment means involving employees in the organizational functioning by giving them more authority to make decisions. Organizations can motivate the employees to achieve more by enhancing their self-efficacy level. Empowerment can help to enhance the self-efficacy levels of employees in an organization. Managers can empower employees through training, coaching, and guidance and can build confidence through reinforcement techniques like appreciation, encouragement and positive feedback. Discussion Questions 1. What are the various techniques used to empower employees? (Hints: giving flexibility-Respect boundaries-cultivate executive mentality) 2. How can organizations benefit by empowering their employees? (Hints: enhancing self-efficacy level-build confidence-explore real potential) Source : Drew Hendricks, 6 Ways To Empower Your Employees With Transformational Leadership, Forbes, January 27, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 12.3 Empowerment Organizational Behavior 32
  • 37. Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior 20. With Whom Not to Negotiate Normal negotiating strategies do not work when certain issues in negotiating process arise, especially when people are not negotiable. Understanding negotiation process and strategies is not easy. Sometimes even the best negotiators fail in their attempts. Judith White discusses with whom to negotiate and whom not to negotiate and suggests how to deal with such people. With Whom to Negotiate: • Emotional counterparties- Emotions are common in conflict situations. But that should not stop one to negotiate. Some people express more feelings than others and some use emotions to strategically influence others. When conflict is resolved, emotions disappear. One has to distinguish between conflict and emotion and act. So it is not necessary to stop negotiation with people who are emotional. • Unreasonable counterparts- People with different kind of opinions first appear to be unreasonable. When proper discussions take place, it is possible to negotiate with such people and reduce the gaps. With Whom not to Negotiate: • People who alternate between conciliation and provocation- One should be careful with people who change their approaches in negotiation, sometimes being conciliatory and some other times provocative. Such people are not interested in amicable negotiation but want to have a control over the other party. It is better not to negotiate with such people. • Parties that see people as absolute good and evil- The main aim of negotiation is to resolve conflict, not to find fault. It is unnecessary to negotiate with parties who judge people as absolutely evil or absolutely good. Such people do not have the mindset for negotiation. They want people who were perceived as evil to be punished and good to be rewarded. So there is no point to negotiate with such people. Suggestions for Dealing with Whom not to Negotiate: • Be realistic- It is better to keep a distance and get maximum possible gains without going into negotiation because the person has no mindset for negotiation. • Stop making concessions- The purpose of concessions is to reach an agreement. It is a waste of time to negotiate with people with a no-win mindset. However much you make concessions, the promises made by him will not be fulfilled. It is better to stop making concessions to such people. • Reduce your interdependence- It is better to keep a distance and work independently.If unavoidable, division of work is the best solution. • Make it public and use a third party- Discussions should be open and also in writing and it is safe to involve a third party. Normal negotiating strategies do not work always. In exceptional cases,it is betternot to negotiate with people who are difficult to negotiate. There arise several issues in the negotiation process. The negotiation process may be hindered by the following factors: biases in decision-making, personality traits, cultural differences and third party- negotiations. Discussion Questions 1. What strategies could be usedwhile dealing with non-negotiable individuals? (Hints:be realistic-stopoffering concessions-reduce interdependence) 2. What obstacles could hinder the negotiation process? (Hints: biases in decision-making-personality traits-cultural differences) Source: Judith White, Two Kinds of People You Should Never Negotiate With, HBR Blog Network, June 18, 2014 Unit/Section Topic Course 13.8 Issues in the Negotiation Process Organizational Behavior 33
  • 38. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 21. Group Dynamics To understand group behavior, group processes and group dynamics should be understood. Warner Brothers invested $50 million dollar for the film ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’ which is an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Tom Wolfe. Many involved in the film including the director were not convinced of the casting selection and changesmade in the storyline.However, nobody voiced any apprehensions to the director in the adaptation, resulting in losses. It is true that consensual or decisions taken at group level rather than at individual level are far more effective, but those decisions are not without their drawbacks. Paul Rogers and Todd Senturia, partners o f Bain & Company, discuss some of such drawbacks that affect decisions adversely. • Conformity- Many group members, not wanting to go against group norms, conformor endorse the actions taken by one group member. Even when a decision taken was felt as not appropriate, members do not speak against the decision, so as to go with the group. This is what happened with Warner Brothers. • Group Polarization- It is felt that group decisions moderate the views of individuals. But very often the contrary happens wherein extreme decisions are taken. It was found that decisions taken by US federal judges individually were 35% of times extreme in comparison to 65% when taken in groups. • Obedience to authority- Group members in general like to follow group leader’s views, though they think otherwise. They like to adhere to the authority of the leader. Subordinates do not like to challenge the views of the superiors. When in 1977, KLM pilot decided to take off the plane while there was another plane on the runway, none of the crew members challenged his decision. • Bystander effect- ‘Go with the group’ is often followed even in crisis s ituations. If some ignore dangerous situations, others follow. Barings Bank was brought down in1995 by unauthorized trading. Such ill effects of group processes can be minimized by responsible actions such as playing devil’s advocate, diversity in decision-making, communicating directly with senior management and taking inputs in advance. Group dynamics is a too powerful tool to be undermined. Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group or between social groups. The study of group dynamics is very useful in understanding decision -making behavior of the group members. To understand group behavior, group processes such as communication patterns, power dynamics, and behavior of the leader conflict within the group should be understood clearly. Group processes should promote synergy wherein the performance of the group is more than the sum of individual performance. The group processes can be effective if the tasks are planned according to the comfort levels of the people. Discussion Questions 1. According to Rogers and Senturia, what were the drawbacks of group decision- making? (Hints: conformity-Group polarization-bystander effect) 2. How can the shortcomings of group decision-making be minimized? (Hints: playing devil’s advocate-diversity in decision-making-open communication) Source: Paul Rogers and Todd Senturia, How group dynamics affect decisions, Bain & Company, December, 2013 Unit/Section Topic Course 14.8 Group Processes Organizational Behavior 34
  • 39. Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior 22. Stop the Innovation Wars-Team Building Team effectiveness depends on the partnerships between team members and people who maintain ongoing operations. Special teams dedicated to innovation initiatives inevitably run into conflict with the rest of the organization. The people responsible for ongoing operations view the innovators as indisciplined upstarts. The innovators dismiss the operations people as bureaucratic dinosaurs. It’s natural to separate the two warring groups. But it’s also dead wrong; opine Tuck Business School’s Govin darajan and Trimble. Nearly all innovation initiatives build on a firm’s existing resources and know-how. When a group is asked to innovate in isolation, the corporation forfeits its main advantage over smaller, nimble rivals—its mammoth asset bas e. Team Building Partnerships between dedicated team members and people who maintain excellence in ongoing operations, called as ‘performance engine’ result in ‘successful inn ovation’, as is seen in BMW, Lucent Technologies, and WD-40. The innovation leader has to collaborate well with the performance engine and senior executives by assembling and handing the tasks to a dedicated team and by proactively managing conflicts that may arise. BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly known as BMW is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company, which experienced slow progress while designing a hybrid vehicle. Chris Bangle, the then Chief of design at BMW created a dedicated teamto enable deep collaboration and could succeed in moving the project forward quickly. Lucent Technologies Lucent Technologies, Inc. an American multinational telecommunications equipment company was finding it difficult to handle the deal it signed in 2006 to help a major telecommunications company transform its network. It felt the need to have a dedicated team to execute the project. It assembled a team to that effect and hired an outsider as its leader. It adopted new HR policies and created a performance scorecard. By four years, it could raise its revenues significantly. WD-40 To spur organic growth, Garry Ridge, CEO of WD-40 created a team to develop breakthrough products. He called it ‘Team Tomorrow’, with which marketing tea ms had some differences. Team Tomorrow overcame the conflicts by adopting collaborative approach. They shared information, established an open door policy and coordinated plans with the marketing team. That is how WD-40 could achieve success. All these cases showthat innovation requires a partnership and partnerships are indispensable and teams have to work collaboratively to make organizations effective. Teams do have a positive effect on the performance of organizations in the form of improved quality and productivity, encouraging innovative ideas and solutions etc. The effectiveness of teams can be achieved by providing a supportive environment; establishing proper coordination and cooperation in the team; focusing on super ordinate goals and linking rewards to the overall performance of teams. Discussion Questions 1. How did companies like BMW and Lucent Technologies benefit from team building? (Hints: project moved quickly-significant increase in revenues) 2. What measures could be used to ensure team effectiveness? (Hints: providing supportive environment-establishing proper coordination-cooperation in team) Source: Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble, Stop the Innovation Wars, Harvard Business Review, July, 2010 Unit/Section Topic Course 15.7 Team Effectiveness Organizational Behavior 35
  • 40. PEP Notes –Organizational Behavior 23. Building Great Teams Communication patternsplay a pivotal role in building effective teams. In organizations, some teams click while others fail. Understanding the performance gaps requires a scientific approach. MIT (MassachusettsInstitute of Technology) conducted a research and discovered that patterns of communication can be a good measure to gauge the effectiveness of a team. Communication patterns helped them to figure out energy, engagement and exploration as three elements of communication that characterize group dynamics. These dynamics can be observed, quantified and measured to increase the efficiency of teams. Elements of Communication: • Energy: Energy is measured by the number of exchanges between team members. The number of exchanges engaged is weighted to get ‘team member energy score’, which is averaged and finally a team energy score is obtained. Energy levels vary. Sometimes energy levels of team members will be low and some other times high, depending on the nature of the meetings. Decisions of fully engaged teammembers are always better. • Engagement: Engagement is the distribution of energy within the team members. It is measured as a function of the average amount of energy distributed among team members. • Exploration: Exploration is the energy between a team and the other teams it interacts with. Research revealed that people who spend time with members outside the team performed well and were more innovative. MIT’s research team included innovation teams, post-operation wards in hospitals, customer-facing teams in banks, backroom operations teams and call center teams. Advances in wireless and sensor technology helped them in research to develop a badge that can capture communication patterns at more than 100 data point a minute. The data collected is analyzed for improving individual and team performance in three steps: 1. Visualization: A picture is worth a thousand words. MIT team developed formulas to calculate energy, engagement and exploration along with maps on group dimensions. Visuals were able to draw attention on the basic weaknesses that were not recognized otherwise. Team members with low-energy and low engagement were spotted easily in the maps. Eg- A team constituting Japanese and American members, in Japan was selected for the study. The team members were provided with each day’s performance for one week. By the end of the seventh day, it was observed that while both team members improved energy and engagement, one team member could become a driving force for the rest. 2. Training: Visual maps containing data was selected as a training tool. It helped to communicate the feedback to team members for improvement through repeated visual feedbacks. Team members were given their feedback on a daily basis along with the observations so that they could improve. Eg- A team constituting Japanese and American members, in Japan was selected for the study. The team members were provided with each day’s performance for one week. By the end of the seventh day, it was observed that while both team members improved energy and engagement, one team member could become a driving force for the rest. 3. Fine-tuning performance: The energy and engagement maps were used to measure the performance metrics. This was especially observed in case of multilingual team members where improved communication helped them to improve their performance and productivity. Eg: A bank call centerwhere average handling time (AHT) was used as a statistical analysis measure for team efficiency was selected for the study for six weeks. Study revealed that high-energy,high-engagement 36
  • 41. Block III: Dynamics of OrganizationalBehavior teams were most efficient. Mapping the energy and engagement with AHT scores after some weeks showed that overall efficiency increased by 8% on an average and 20% by the low performing teams. MIT could prove that team building is an evolving science and patterns of communication are the most important tool for measuring the effectiveness of a team. The research team is further progressing to collect big data to explore the effectiveness for leadership, negotiations and performance reviews. Teams have a positive impact on the performance of organizations in the form of improved quality and productivity, encouraging innovative ideas and solutions, etc. The essentials for building effective teams include providing a supportive environment, relevant skills and role clarity, focus on super ordinate goals and team rewards. Management must foster a work environment in the organization that provides s upport and encourage the members to work toward the fulfillment of organizational goals. Management can establish proper co-ordination in teams when it clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of each member in the team. It must emphasize the overall goals of the teamrather than the individual goals of the team members. Team rewards must be designed in such a way that they encourage teamwork among the members of a team. Discussion Questions 1. Discuss the various elements of communication. (Hints: energy-engagement-exploration) 2. What steps were taken by MIT’s research team to analyze the data for improving performance? (Hints: visualization-training-fine-tuning performance) Source:Alex “Sandy” Pentland, The New Science of Building Great Teams, Harvard Business Review, April, 2012 Unit/Section Topic Course 15.7 Building effective teams Organizational Behavior 37